for 11 August 2000. Updated every WEEKDAY. |
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Metaphoria
Quote from this article: "By reducing the Holocaust to dramatic backstory for a superhero movie, Bryan Singer has confirmed his role as the first great director of the 20th Century." So, am I real dense, or is there a typo there? Should that be "21st Century?" Or are you saying that Singer is somehow behind the times, directing 20th-century movies in a 21st-century world? Like, if you said "the first great director of the 14th Century," haw haw haw? Or is it a reference to the fact that the Holocaust happened in the 20th century? Or maybe some really nerdy mathematical calendar point about how the year 2000 is REALLY still part of the 20th century? I dunno, it just doesn't ring true to me. SRB, Mr. Bad <mr.bad@pigdog.org> Hi, Mr. Bad. Although I'd like to claim it as an across the board snub that would make John Simon proud, it's just a typo. Best, 40th Street Black 
Ok, I've been reading your stuff for a while now, and I've enjoyed about every article that you've written. That being said, the smarminess and sarcastic tone of your X-Men article was a big disappointment. I was a fan of the comic book when I was a kid, and the marked difference between the X-Men and any of the other possible movie titles that you suggest is this: X-Men the comic book was completely based around the more serious concept of discrimination and prejudice. The book was an allegory from the start - one that became even more serious in tone as the years went on. Don't get me wrong, the stories feature people in tights and a bunch of ass-kicking, but I (and many others) always gave credit to the series because it dealt with a wide variety of thoughtful issues instead of just serving up the same old crime fighting bullshit. Brian Singer's use of the holocaust to establish Magneto's motivation for combating the human race isn't directorial (poetic) license, it just follows the history of the comic book accurately. Your contempt or amusement (I can't decide which) at such weighty matters being showcased in such a juvenile or mindless format (summer blockbuster and comic book combined? Good heavens!) is somewhat understandable, but c'mon, let it slide. It adds to the story, and the franchise's popularity might gently nudge another generation of dorky young 'uns to draw positive conclusions about tolerance. You're still batting about .800 in my book, Bill Ardolino <Bill.Ardolino@MeriStar.com> Thanks for your note, and thanks for your kind comment about batting .800. The problem I have with the X-Men-as-discrimination-parable argument and similar broad metaphors in popular media the last 20 years or so is that they're used less as an opportunity for literary exploration than as a quasi-marketing tool to argue cultural weight for escapist entertainment. Watching a film like X-Men doesn't yield a wealth of insight. Since I don't think that victims of racism and superheroes have very much in common, I'm left without a compelling description of how racism works. And unless the film's creators are meditating on degrees of violent response as a proper solution, I don't think the metaphor extends very far past "This is bad." While it's certainly better to say "Discrimination is bad" than "Discrimination is good," the cultural value of such messages in popular entertainment resides on a slippery slope that almost always ends up with a favorite cliche from the early '90s - the "very special episode of Blossom." Those kinds of entertainment make for fine rudimentary civics lessons; but they also display all the signs of being bad art, and there's a real danger of exploiting the issues engaged for ratings/box office if you're not careful. Generally, I think films that try to engage sophisticated issues should be examined on their ability to do so, and I think these broad modern fantasies really fail. Best, 40th Street Black
Just read your recent article "Metaphoria" on Suck. Amusing in many respects. With regards to the Battlestar Galactica part, the humans did not create the brutish tin can Ceylons. The Ceylons were created by another race who suffered the fate you described and then went on the warpath to kill the humans. Have to find another series for the dumb-humans-did-it-to-themselves jokes. Byron Barker <barkerb@northcoast.com> I stand admonished. Although the humans were stupid enough to enter into treaties with them, which I guess makes that first episode of BG clumsy Cold War commentary. You know, if you think about it, "dumb-humans-did-it-to-themselves" describes EVERY TV show. Best, 40th Street Black
Dear Mr. Spurgeon, I really enjoyed your column in today's Suck. You might be interested in taking a look at the review of X-Men I posted on my Web site that touches on some of the questions you raise about the film.Best wishes, Dave C Dave Clayton <daveclayton@worldnet.att.net> I think we start with similar insights and go in different directions, but that's by far the most interesting reading of the movie I've seen. Anyone who uses "apotropaic" or "desuetude" without blinking is my kind of film reviewer to begin with. Best, 40th Street Black
"...Martin Luther King and Malcolm X funded elite militias that constantly beat the crap out of each other." Where can I find out more about this? TWF I know what you mean. I would have actually paid attention those last few weeks of high school history class if there had been less talkin', more blowin' stuff up. 40th Street Black By reducing the Holocaust to dramatic backstory for a superhero movie, Bryan Singer has confirmed his role as the first great director of the 20th Century. first...of the 20th Century? Stephen Ericson <sjericson@mindspring.com> I know, I know. It's all part of my overall plan to erode whatever small amount of trust exists between the Suck copyeditors and myself. Best, 40th Street Black
And yet, you forget the Tick... Mason <mason@gol.com> We've all forgotten the Tick. Every last one of us. But I think there's a TV show, right? So we'll all soon be reminded. Thanks for writing, 40th Street Black
Hit & Run Who cares, exactly, that Renata Adler is a self-serving ass? You ignored the part of her piece that had the most merit: the fact that reporting news today too often amounts to repeating the received wisdoms of so-called experts. For all the space you devoted to it, you'd think the Times didn't have it in for her. They do, and probably for the reasons she says. Her reasoning regarding Sirica's character was torturous and strained in places. However, she correctly pointed out that obfuscation was an obvious goal in the writing of his autobiography. The writing sucks, relevant details are absent, and speculation as to what really happened is practically obligatory. What comes across in your piece is that you don't like her. Me neither. Who gives a fuck? She's right that the Times doesn't print retractions, isn't she? She's right that it doesn't admit mistakes, isn't she? And just how the hell does a small-time nothing like Sirica come to be friends with the Tailgunner? You don't seem interested. Talk about that. Stop behaving like irony is all there is. It IS all there is, but behaving like it is doesn't appeal. Brian <brian@dealmakers.net> We could try to respond to your letter but all that would come across in our response is that we don't like you. You don't seem to like you either. Who gives a fuck? You're right that we're not interested in her friendship with Tailgunner, aren't you? You're right to assume that we won't care what you're so helpfully instructing us to talk about, aren't you? We should give you more credit. And you should stop behaving like scornful, pointless one-upmanship is all there is. It IS all there is, but behaving like it is doesn't appeal. Appealingly, Sucksters
I was glad to see that you'd analyzed that Renata Adler article. I was stymied by it, thought I was probably just unwilling to understand that what she was getting at. Could it be that the whole long and tortured piece was about nothing but her anger at having to prove the grounds by which she'd accused a long-dead judge of familial mafia ties? Apparently, it was. However, what really got my goat in that issue was the Dave Eggers rant, where he was begging all of us critics to quit while we still have a chance to save our immortal souls. Now that he's won a large pot, he wants to end the poker game. Though maybe this renunciation of his past is some sort of preparation for a career in politics? Sincerely, Richard Von Busack <regisgoat@earthlink.net> Contrary to popular belief, maintaining a stubborn unwillingness to understand is sometimes an incredibly adaptive trait, enabling one to breeze over volumes of pointless material, freeing up one's time for more important things, like ass sex, and creme-filled cruellers! Sucksters
How can i obtain an associates degree in fire management from a university or college? cost? realism? e mail me at chief <029@aol.com> Also how long will it take to receive. Frank jr Larosa <flrjr@worldnet.att.net> Hey Frank, let's hear it for Whistler Ass Sex Weekend 2000! Unwilling to understand or be understood, Sucksters
Metaphoria It's early and I've yet to guzzle coffee, but in the following: "By reducing the Holocaust to dramatic backstory for a superhero movie, Bryan Singer has confirmed his role as the first great director of the 20th Century." Shouldn't it be "21st century?" Though again, I might be missing something sans caffeine. Anyways, excellent article, and Terry's work with the Hulk was the evil sort of funny. Zach Bush <c0n4m@hotmail.com> This was considered in the editing process, and - leaving aside the pedantic argument about whether the 21st century begins 1.1.00 or 1.1.01 - I just saw X-Men, and the movie kicks off with the stirring Fox theme and an unchanged logo that reads: "20th Century Fox." My motto in all matters has always been "I'll believe black is white if Rupert Murdoch tells me so." 20th century it is. Tim
Actually, I was earlier looking in the Thomas Register of American Manufacturers for small cryogenic refrigerators and decided to do a web search. I usually go to Yahoo for a keyword search; but, this morn I decided to touch the Hot Bot URL link instead. Before I entered my keyword, I noticed Suck.com. Some of what you wrote was really interesting (especially the part about reality verses fantasy). I could go on, but the point I would like to impress is this: At the bottom of the screen was a continuously flashing logo for Adobe products. Blip, blip, blip...How annoying and how pathetic that that is as capable as you are able to perform. Is there a way to read your notes without an ad flickering in the foreground? Or, if you insist on advertising, could you use a better version of metaprograming where the message was more like visual stimulation to give immediate positive feedback. Try to dream a little more and watch fewer movies. Perhaps you like this idea: you attach each computer with a wave form generator capable of reading and transmitting signals in multiple frequencies: such as light frequency, periodicity, and intensity. Kinetic energy would also be considered, especially as it relates to the generation of molecular vibration and the propagation of sound. The person at the computer interface is actually giving a near real time corneal and retinal record(with some sort of twoway hmd) to the wave form generator operator (person and/or machine), which plays, orchestrates and adjusts the white noise and light for the stimulation of production of wealth and the diminution of ...I really don't have to finish because you probably won't read this unless you can take it and let your ai answer it by sending a message back to my ai agent. See you in the holoverse, Leonard Bromberg <bromberg@swcp.com> At last! Someone gets the point of the essay! Thanks, Leonard. 40th Street Black
"Humankind cannot bear too much reality." But you knew that, right? Alan S Kornheiser <ASKornheiser@prodigy.net> Well, it's easy to pass judgment on humankind when you live in a big house and employ a faithful manservant. That was Nixon's problem, for one. Best, 40th Street Black
I was getting beat up a lot back when Battlestar Galactica was on, and the resulting repressed memories and mild concussions mean that I don't recall much of that time. Who did Fred Astaire play on Battlestar Galactica? Mark Wright <markscottwright@hotmail.com> Fred Astaire played a con man who pretended to be young fighter pilot Starbuck's father in order to avoid a thuggish beating or worse at the hands of some offensively-portrayed space extremists. But as things worked out, blood tests confirmed that he was indeed related to Dirk Benedict's character, indicating that in advanced space civilizations almost no genetic material is passed father to son. In the kind of touching scene that gets an aged star like Astaire the hell off a set, the con man convinced doctors not to tell Starbuck, so that his son could continue the military career of which he was so proud. The fact that I remember this off the top of my head indicates that not only was I, too, smacked around a lot back then, but that I also probably deserve a beating or two now. Thanks for reading! 40th Street Black
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