http://rt.com/news/bahrain-ban-mask-vendetta-478/
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/antiprotest-bahrain-bans-import-of-plastic-guy-fawkes-masks-8510615.html
So Bahrain bans the import of the eponymous masks made famous by the graphic novel and movie 'V for Vendetta'. This ridiculous measure merely highlights the power that these symbols have gained through the recent activities of the Occupy movement and the Starbucks tax protests.
No coverage from the BBC at this point. Presumably there exists some double standard whereby the most absurd autocratic acts can be excused so long as they are performed by allies of the UK and America.
[Disclaimer] - think twice before reading the comments threads on Russia Today articles. They tend towards profanity, paranoia and racism as strongly as certain Youtube video commentaries.
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
McCalmont's top Science Fiction films
http://www.filmjuice.com/smart-sci-fi.html
Jonathan McCalmont's top five science fiction films are definitely worth a read. I especially like his subversive take on Children of Men, identifying the crumbling post-birth world as merely an extreme version of contemporary society's political apathy and inability to consider any alternative to capitalism.
Personally I might well have been tempted to put Looper on the list but, having recently purchased the DVD, I can see that the Hollywood-style action sequences might be seen as distracting from the sophisticated 'dystopian noir' atmosphere of the film by those with more refined tastes in science fiction.
I will have to venture out for the new film of Cloud Atlas at some point. I liked the book but have a sneaky suspicion that it will take some extra-special directing to skilfully weave the interlocking narratives into a coherent and engaging film.
Jonathan McCalmont's top five science fiction films are definitely worth a read. I especially like his subversive take on Children of Men, identifying the crumbling post-birth world as merely an extreme version of contemporary society's political apathy and inability to consider any alternative to capitalism.
Personally I might well have been tempted to put Looper on the list but, having recently purchased the DVD, I can see that the Hollywood-style action sequences might be seen as distracting from the sophisticated 'dystopian noir' atmosphere of the film by those with more refined tastes in science fiction.
I will have to venture out for the new film of Cloud Atlas at some point. I liked the book but have a sneaky suspicion that it will take some extra-special directing to skilfully weave the interlocking narratives into a coherent and engaging film.
Saturday, 9 February 2013
Thoughts on Dollhouse after the first series
(spoilers below)
Joss Whedon definitely lived up to expectations! It was no Firefly and some of the plot lines were better than others but all in all I loved his development of an interesting premise. Plenty was left open for exploration in the second series and the epilogue was a wonderful bitter-sweet sending off .
My thoughts that De Witt might turn out to be a deep-cover active were quickly quashed in the hilarious 'Echoes', where her and Topher react in the same 'natural' intoxicated manner to chemical exposure. However, I was guessing along roughly the right lines as Doctor Saunders was revealed to be an active acting as unwitting staff in the Dollhouse. Her development over the last couple of episodes was fantastic and made good use of a previously under-utilised talent.
As the series went on I was also surprised by Whedon's tendency to reuse scenes and ideas from other series. The interview process in 'A Spy in the House of Love' was especially glaring as he had famously already used the technique of mashing the interrogation of several characters together and cutting away at different points to create an intriguing meta-dialogue. The Butchers of the Epilogue and Alpha's taste for mutilation also closely mirrored Firefly's Reavers while the use of programmable people as weapons through neural manipulation brought to mind River Tam's conditioning in Firefly and Serenity. However, it was hard to begrudge these repetitions as they were solid ideas in the first place and were appropriate to the melodramatic atmosphere of the Dollhouse episodes.
The resolution of Alpha's plot was a bit of a mix bag. I didn't see the twist coming and loved his rapid transformation from comically neurotic environment designer to dangerously neurotic rogue active. The villain's subsequent encounter with Caroline's Omega was also breathtaking and cut to the heart of the identity issues on which the premise rests. However, after the reveal he could hardly hope to live up to the silent menace that he had represented in earlier episodes and I was not sad to see him largely absent from the epilogue (albeit with one enigmatic nod to his activities during the apocalypse).
I can't wait to see what Whedon comes up with for the second series. The existence of a network of different Dollhouses remains mostly unexplored and I suspect we will be returning to the dystopian future of the Epilogue before the programme is wrapped up!
Joss Whedon definitely lived up to expectations! It was no Firefly and some of the plot lines were better than others but all in all I loved his development of an interesting premise. Plenty was left open for exploration in the second series and the epilogue was a wonderful bitter-sweet sending off .
My thoughts that De Witt might turn out to be a deep-cover active were quickly quashed in the hilarious 'Echoes', where her and Topher react in the same 'natural' intoxicated manner to chemical exposure. However, I was guessing along roughly the right lines as Doctor Saunders was revealed to be an active acting as unwitting staff in the Dollhouse. Her development over the last couple of episodes was fantastic and made good use of a previously under-utilised talent.
As the series went on I was also surprised by Whedon's tendency to reuse scenes and ideas from other series. The interview process in 'A Spy in the House of Love' was especially glaring as he had famously already used the technique of mashing the interrogation of several characters together and cutting away at different points to create an intriguing meta-dialogue. The Butchers of the Epilogue and Alpha's taste for mutilation also closely mirrored Firefly's Reavers while the use of programmable people as weapons through neural manipulation brought to mind River Tam's conditioning in Firefly and Serenity. However, it was hard to begrudge these repetitions as they were solid ideas in the first place and were appropriate to the melodramatic atmosphere of the Dollhouse episodes.
The resolution of Alpha's plot was a bit of a mix bag. I didn't see the twist coming and loved his rapid transformation from comically neurotic environment designer to dangerously neurotic rogue active. The villain's subsequent encounter with Caroline's Omega was also breathtaking and cut to the heart of the identity issues on which the premise rests. However, after the reveal he could hardly hope to live up to the silent menace that he had represented in earlier episodes and I was not sad to see him largely absent from the epilogue (albeit with one enigmatic nod to his activities during the apocalypse).
I can't wait to see what Whedon comes up with for the second series. The existence of a network of different Dollhouses remains mostly unexplored and I suspect we will be returning to the dystopian future of the Epilogue before the programme is wrapped up!
Thursday, 7 February 2013
Miliband talks sense
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/david-miliband-interview-on-the-future-of-the-uk-in-the-eu-a-881974.html
"The EU costs the British people £1 (€1.15) per person per week." Ed Miliband said in an interview with Der Spiegel this week. Sensible man to actually look at the facts rather than stirring up public xenophobia and paranoia for political gain.
"You can be a good European without being in the euro." also gives a battering to Cameron's recent rhetoric. Labour did not move the country towards sharing a currency with Europe and his ever more shrill accusations that they did so merely represent the scaremongering nature of his own policy.
"The EU costs the British people £1 (€1.15) per person per week." Ed Miliband said in an interview with Der Spiegel this week. Sensible man to actually look at the facts rather than stirring up public xenophobia and paranoia for political gain.
"You can be a good European without being in the euro." also gives a battering to Cameron's recent rhetoric. Labour did not move the country towards sharing a currency with Europe and his ever more shrill accusations that they did so merely represent the scaremongering nature of his own policy.
Sunspots will not kill us all (but may destroy Canada)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21357909
Phew, how reassuring!
Phew, how reassuring!
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
Frankly Orwellian
So Parliament will be making one of their most important decisions in the next few hours. Obviously the economy and European policy are important and vital to our collective future but the decision on gay marriage will have a profound effect on thousands of ordinary people's lives.
The oft repeated claim of some Conservatives and church figures that such a re-definition of marriage is 'Orwellian' shows a twisting of the term that really is characteristic of Orwell's big brother. How can a move towards greater equality for people of all sexualities be seen as in any way underhand or unnatural? Marriage is a social construct and, while opposition to such an idea does not make you a bigot unless it goes along with genuine homophobia, it is up to our Parliament and our society to define who can marry and what such a commitment means.
The oft repeated claim of some Conservatives and church figures that such a re-definition of marriage is 'Orwellian' shows a twisting of the term that really is characteristic of Orwell's big brother. How can a move towards greater equality for people of all sexualities be seen as in any way underhand or unnatural? Marriage is a social construct and, while opposition to such an idea does not make you a bigot unless it goes along with genuine homophobia, it is up to our Parliament and our society to define who can marry and what such a commitment means.
Saturday, 2 February 2013
Latest attack on Cameron's Referendum
I don't usually side with the British aerospace firms in their global initiative to push weapons on any country that they can get away with bribing.
However, Robin Southwell (head of ADS) is the latest high profile critic of Cameron's pandering to the Europhile fringe of the Conservative party. Like many before him, Southwell points to the economic consequences of antagonising Europe.
"If you look at both exports and imports, the eurozone does more business with the UK than with any other trading bloc", he pointed out whilst noting that we are also now Germany's biggest trading partner.
Cameron talks a lot about his support for industry and defence but apparently short term political gains can be pursued to the detriment of both.
However, Robin Southwell (head of ADS) is the latest high profile critic of Cameron's pandering to the Europhile fringe of the Conservative party. Like many before him, Southwell points to the economic consequences of antagonising Europe.
"If you look at both exports and imports, the eurozone does more business with the UK than with any other trading bloc", he pointed out whilst noting that we are also now Germany's biggest trading partner.
Cameron talks a lot about his support for industry and defence but apparently short term political gains can be pursued to the detriment of both.
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