Aliens: A History Of Sociopolitical Allegory
From this weekend's major releases, the movie generating the most excitement: District 9, a relatively low-budget thriller about human-alien relations in South Africa. But it - like many films like it - has a heavy theme: goddamn aliens! District 9's set in Johannesburg, and that - in and of itself - speaks volumes about it's intention to resonate messages about apartheid. Aliens in the film end up stranded in South Africa after not being able to get their ship off the planet. Years later, and they've been integrated into society there in a ghetto, in what basically amounts to an existence as a science experiment. And then the aliens start to start some ruckus. But this isn't the only film in which aliens and humans interact in a way in which something meaningful may be produced. There're plenty of these films! But these are the five I picked. If you've got any better ones, throw them in the comments, where the Alien-Evil factor, the Human-Evil factor, and the social message of these films shall be subject to intense debate. Aliens of the universe: live long and prosper, or die a shitty death. Just don't mess with humans. District 9, 2009, directed by Neill Blomkamp. How Bad Are The Aliens?: 3/10. Without spoiling too much, meh, not so bad. Like any oppressed people, they get worse the more they're encroached upon. They (supposedly, ooh) just want to go home! How Bad Are The Humans? : 7/10. Total assholes! They put them in the ghetto and life sucks for them. A few people are alien rights advocates. Social Message: 7/10. Apartheid's bad, most humans are inherently bad, but occasionally, there're a few people who will stand up for the rights of the oppressed. Cloverfield, 2008, directed by Matt Reeves How Bad Are The Aliens?: 8/10. Okay, so maybe just a monster, but it could be an alien! We don't know! The point here is that it's just another monster who wants our ass on a plate. Apparently, this one's been sitting off of Coney Island for a few hundred years - maybe - but he wakes up, is pissed, and decides to murder everything in sight. If I lived that close to Coney Island, however, I'd be pissed, too. He basically wrecks Manhattan and as far as we know, avoids Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. I don't know if this makes him tasteful or despicable. How Bad Are The Humans? : 4/10. I mean, they didn't do anything wrong, but at least one of them is a trust fund baby who lives in the Time Warner Center, and they're total downtown gentrifiers. Also, they're whiny. Social Message: 8/10. It's incredibly subtle. Basically: if you gentrify/destroy New York of its culture, one day, karma - in the form of a thirty-story, hungry, pissed-off alien - will come and finish the job for you, stomping Manhattan, you, and your Beatrice Inn-missing friends out of existence. Independence Day, 1996, directed by Roland Emmerich. How Bad Are The Aliens?: 10/10. They want to kill us all. Somewhere, out there, there might be something that will bring the pain... MORE >>
Journalist Fired After Exposing Crooked Practices Of Advertiser?
Plenty of New Yorkers are familiar with Sleepy's, the Manny Noriega-esque monopoly on mattresses. They suck! And a longtime Hartford Courant consumer affairs columnist was fired from the paper, who they advertised with, possibly for saying and proving so. How's this for small-town journalism? The Hartford Courant - who recently underwent a serious change in management - just canned their columnist, consumer advocate George Gombossy, for reporting on the shitty, widespread practices of awful Mattress retailer Sleepy's. According to him: So says The Consumerist: ...what did he do to justify being shown the door? The last column, which the paper refused to run, is about a Connecticut Attorney General investigation into mattress emporium Sleepy's. The chain is accused of selling used mattresses as new, and-even worse-selling used mattresses infested with bedbugs as new. Ew. Ew, indeed! Just as gross is the fact that while, yes, newspapers are struggling to survive, their integrity is going to be compromised by owners dictating investigative content about their advertisers. Conflicts of interest: they happen. Meanwhile, Sleepy's still sucks: I have my own Sleepy's horror story, but it's not nearly as bad as some of the ones very easily Googled, or the stories from the consumers Gombossy advocated for. Not only are they delivering shitty, bug-infested mattresses now, but they're fucking up the future of journalism as well. Sleepy's: you're awful. MORE >>
Brad Pitt's Perfect Joint Rolling Strategy, Political Positioning
Brad Pitt went on Bill Maher's show last night for a fairly candid interview. Maher grilled Pitt on his joint rolling technique, his PR invincibility, his stances on gay marriage, and life at home with the kids. All in all, a pretty great interview. Pitt knows he's walking on somewhat dubious ground going on Maher's show. "You are known as someone who uses your celebrity to raise awareness for worthy causes that the media overlooks. Is that why you're on this show?" Maher asks. "I'm not sure why I'm on this show," Pitt happily mumbles back. Maher makes the case for Pitt's seeming inability to do anything for Americans to dislike him, and it's true: he's quiet, calm, and somewhat reserved in his speaking style, and also - maybe strategically - just self-depreciating enough. Typical Pitt. Also, this, on America's religious zealots: To the three who are watching, I just say you have to, you really have to check what country you're living in because the freedom that allows you to practice religion is the same freedom you're stepping on. That's not right....And I want to add... if there was a nation of gay married couples that were telling you you couldn't practice your religion, I'd be speaking up for you, too.... So, let's stop the nonsense. And when confronted on his perfect joint-rolling form: "I'm an artist." And a movie star. Definitely, maybe one of the last. But definitely a movie star. Pitt, giving Maher some great interview, below. Catch it before HBO pulls it from YouTube: MORE >>
Jakob Lodwick's Guide To The Pressures Of Fame(balls)
Ousted founder of Vimeo, the Original Fameball, and now pointedly crazy internet personae Jakob Lodwick has finally written the definitive treatise on how to deal with the pressures he's experienced from "a prominent online gossip publication." And it's not terrible! Lodwick's potential swan song goes like this: 1. I'm okay. 2. Sometimes, being made fun of stings. 3. I acknowledge being stung, and move forward emotionally. 4. I compensate for being stung intellecually by writing off the stingers as perpetually unhappy downers. 5. Tone it down, prominent online gossip publications. You're fucking with the potentially advantageous harmony of the universe. 6. You make fun of weird people, but weird people are special, and you are mean. Or to quote Lodwick: Most people do not have my resilience. Eccentrics are delicate and need room to grow. Perhaps a gentler or more balanced approach to telling stories of our lives is in order. An attitude of "these guys are crazy but we love 'em anyway" might be better for everyone than today's apparent mission: "destroy the weirdos". Maybe he's correct! There's nothing wrong with eccentrics. They're enjoyable. And so are Lodwick's ridiculous exploits: in the same way a newscaster needs news to thrive, Lodwick's been giving us - spoon-feeding us - solid material for two years strong, now. In fact, one week ago was the two year anniversary of our first "Jakob Lodwick" tagged post! It all started wayback in August of 2007, when the O.G. of Fameballing started dating Julia Allison, who, over the course of her career, has had few reservations about sacrificing herself on the altar of dignity in older to get a little publicity. She's now on MTV, so you can't say she didn't get the job done. Around that time: "I believe I am an early-stage Fameball, and nothing I do or say will change my trajectory. I will attempt to use this to my advantage," Vimeo founder and Star Editor At Large Julia Allison doinker Jakob Lodwick has been quoted as saying. And so it was. Lodwick was ousted from the company he started and hit the bong for us all to see. He claimed he was going to act like a normal human being. And then, after trying to start his own record label, is now aiming for New Museum-esque fame with videos like these: Jealousy from Odwick.com on Vimeo. And proclamations about how "cool" he is, like these: I thought I was joking when I said I was so cool for being oblivious to the Super Bowl. But last night after dinner and a dance [sic] performace, quietly walking through the [sic] streetes of Manhattan and fearing for my safety in light of hundreds of screaming, drunken brutes, the joke became real. I do think I'm cool for being totally unaware of this moronic celebration of big men, big crowds, big bowls of dip, big commercials, and little brains. Mind you, this is a guy who once had a pretty hot tech startup that perpetual money-spender Barry Diller - currently hosing down The Daily Beast with his cash, sans... MORE >>
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