From Streetcars To Spaceships

Consequences in Fiction, Part Two

So I see that yesterday's post has already drawn traffic searching on the phrase "burn notice". Good. Especially since the last straw for me had been having Sam, one of the lead characters, getting beaten and interrogated for three days (unless I'm misunderstanding the timeline in the episode) and, as soon as he's untied, standing up (after three days tied to a chair?!), running into combat, and, as soon as it's over, being casually dropped off at his place looking no more than a bit tired, with just a manly "thank you, brother".

Okay, now I've never been tortured, but I've gotta say that I think that almost three weeks tied to a bed in a burn ward gives me a little to say about this, especially since I kept flashing back to those weeks while I watched the torture scenes. And I can tell you now that after three days tied to a chair, frequently with his mouth duct-taped shut (which, by the way, in a hot, enclosed space like that would have almost certainly killed him right there), being beaten, interrogated, screamed at, and spending most of the rest of the time alone in that dark metal room, he wouldn't even be able to lift his arms or walk, let alone jump into manly action. And when they go out? I'm sorry, but just about anybody would have fucking well fallen over sobbing. Would he, maybe, in theory, wait for his buddy to drive away? Possibly. But one way or another he would be very, very fucked up indeed and a couple of smart guys like those, old pros as they're supposed to be, would have acknowledged that in no uncertain way.

So, just to let y'all know, that was the thing that inspired my previous post.

And, as it happens, my timing was good. Looks like Slashdot has a thread going right now about torture in fiction based on an expansion pack for WoW, and the article they link to turns out to be about just the same point as my previous post, about the stories that fiction tells about actions having consequences. Or not.

And you know what? I think that the article says these things damned well. So I'm done. Go read it. You'll be glad that you did.

The right wingers try yet again to be funny.

So I see that one of the Zuckers is fronting a new movie that they're presenting as a satire of Michael Moore. A few years from now I'll want to get together with some friends and a bootleg copy and try a drinking game. Drink every time you spot a strawman argument. We should all be stuporous by fifteen minutes in. I would suggest drinking every time beating somebody up is used "for laughs" but I don't like binge drinking.

In the meantime, what I'm waiting to see is how blatantly they jigger the ticket sales. How many ways will they "paper the room" and then claim that their movie is a popular success? How many corporate screenings? How many church-subsidized showings? How far will they go to try to make it look like their film is pulling 'em in by the millions?

I'm guessing that the attempts will be blatant, indeed. These are not people with a history of subtlety. And if their supporters could think their way out of a wet paper bag they wouldn't be supporters, would they?

I've said it before and I'll keep saying it. The most important battlefield is the minds of children. If this movie pisses you off, respond by spending some time teaching a child critical thinking, ethics, and bravery. That's the best way to reduce the number of right wingers in the next generation.

-Rustin