Posted on 05/05/2003 1:53:35 PM PDT by Moose4
May 5 — It was a simple plan, really. All I wanted to do was see a movie. Pretty straightforward. No strings attached. A two-hour escapist vacation in a darkened theater. No war. No politics. I knew the movie had planes in it, but I was pretty sure President Bush would not be flying any of them. So what happened? I headed into “X2: X-Men United,” unprepared for what may be the most socially relevant blockbuster of our times.
(snip)
All too heady for a comic-book movie? Well, I’d go so far as to say that the persecution of mutants had already been occurring in the weeks preceding, during, and after the Iraqi conflict. There are those among us who are different; they are the contemporary “other.” They exist among us, sometimes completely undetected. They work in our offices. They shop at our malls. A small group of Americans have been treated like real-life mutants, regarded with hostility, misunderstanding and even violence.
No, I’m not talking about Muslim-Americans. I’m talking about liberals.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.com ...
}:-)4
Not nearly enough of it.
I hope it lasts quite a bit longer.
Still, I thought it was pretty cool and wanna see this one ;-)
Usually, movies do not have as a primary narrative device the “normal” coming into contact with the outsider and learning an important life lesson.
For crying out loud, this is practically a cliche. Guess he has never seen any white-lives-with-nonwhite films like Dances With Wolves.. or even just rich-person-goes-incognito films like Roman Holiday..
It’s a universe that at its core celebrates difference as a noble (and necessary) quality in society.
Author kind of imposes his wishes onto the film, here. The "difference" of Magneto certainly is not something noble or to be celebrated. And there's nothing "necessary", really, about the differences of the mutants. They just happened. It's true enough that they want tolerance, and of course no one would deny the morality tale embedded in these comic book stories, but the author has spun it all into the standard orthodox Diversity 101 line, and it's just not quite accurate.
The majority’s inherent fear of the other is unfortunate, but does not deter the other’s fundamental moral center.
Aha, except it does - at least, for the Bad Mutants led by Magneto. Their reaction to society has twisted their morals (and turned them bad).
To blindly adhere to the social norm is, within the moral universe of the movie, to accept defeat.
Again, the author completely ignores the Bad Mutant faction.
Hmm, I've only seen the first movie, maybe he's reacting to the plot of the second. But still...
Well, I’d go so far as to say that the persecution of mutants had already been occurring in the weeks preceding, during, and after the Iraqi conflict. .... No, I’m not talking about Muslim-Americans.
Uh, who said you were, dummy?
I’m talking about liberals.
Ah, and here it comes. Liberals, so "persecuted". Amazing.
In 2003, being antiwar can get your CD albums burned on the street.
Is this the worst he can do? that some people might choose to burn CDs they have purchased (which I do not advocate - CDs do not "burn" nicely and smell horrible)? How "chilling", this is "persecution" indeed
The rise of conservatism, both in public opinion and within the media, turned being antiwar from a political stance to an insult.
Hmm, he's really defensive isn't he. Someone points out that he's antiwar and he thinks it's an insult. Maybe he's a little self-conscious
The doctored Natalie-Maines-meets-Saddam-Hussein photo that popped up on a giant video screen at a Toby Keith concert in Alabama demonstrates this.
Demonstrates what, exactly? Free speech? So some Toby Keith technicians cooked up some silly jokey stuff for the video screen, and this is tantamount to the villain Senator's Mutant Registration Act
Talk about melodramatic
especially when liberals are painted as caring more for a looted scroll than a human life
Wow, that's a great line. I'd totally forgotten about the looting crocodile tears. It seems to be still on this guy's mind, however. Not for the first time methinks he protests too much, if he really doesn't care more for a looted scroll than a human life, why's he so sensitive to the charge hmm?
It’s just that the stunningly quick defeat of the Iraqi regime has amplified the neoconservative voice
AAARGH. there's that "neoconservative" boogieman used incorrectly again. when will it end?
When forced to come up with a practical alternative, many liberals simply shouted, “No blood for oil!,” and wondered why so few listened. Maybe they should stop shouting and go to the movies. “X2” provides a mode of thought and action that liberals would be wise to follow in the upcoming months.
LOL. It's a good sign that he recognizes the feebleness of the left's arguments, I suppose. But it's a bad sign that his plan for action calls for watching X-Men 2 and emulating the exploits of Maverick, Rogue, Storm et al.. ;-)
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