This post was originally published in Watch The Skies fanzine – June 2020
You Should Be Watching OR more precisely, you should watch again.
Netflix has recently made the Nickelodeon show Avatar – The Last Airbender available for viewing. Airbender is an animated series following the journey of Aang, the last of the air nomads as he travels a world where adepts have the ability to change the elements around them using a form of martial arts known as bending. Aang is the Avatar, a person who has the ability to blend all forms of bending (earth, water, air and fire) together. His quest? Save the world.
I originally watched the show with my daughter when it first aired back around 2008. As soon as the show became available we grabbed it up on DVD so we could revisit it when we wanted to. As happens with many discs, the show languished for us at the back of a dusty shelf. We did revisit an episode now and again, but less frequently than we might have. Since the show has popped up on Netflix we sat down and re-watched the entire series in order. It might be more than a decade old, but the show holds up.
This show is one of those rare animated series that combines so many parts that anyone in the family can enjoy it. The world building shows a fantasy world with a number of cultures. There are matters of daily life, holidays, politics and any other sort of thing you’d expect in a world. It’s a place that feels lived in. The characters are as varied as the cultures they visit. Diversity is on display without making a big deal about said diversity. Characters with physical differences and abilities were not treated as if they were somehow lacking, it was the spirit that mattered. As the heroes journeyed through three seasons of shows they dealt with corruption of those in power, sexism, love, loss vulnerability and the use of true power. Heroes can make mistakes. Villains can redeem themselves. Mistakes can be forgiven. I will even say that the ending was one of the most satisfying I’ve watched for any series.
If you’ve seen Avatar, it’s worth a re-watch. If you haven’t seen it you should seek it out.
“I’m not looking for anyone’s approval, I know who I am…” Toph Bei Fong (aka The Blind Bandit)
Like so many people I’ve spent a lot of time with YouTube (and many over streaming services) lately. Along the way I bumped into a list video. These videos are not uncommon. Most of the time I can either enjoy or ignore them. One caught my attention – the top ten sword and sorcery movies list.
This particular list made it difficult to tell if they were in a particular order or not. I chose to believe they were in random, jumble order. If they weren’t, it only made the list more challenging for me. I could only agree with a handful of them. As I thought about it I tried to assemble my own list and realized I needed to narrow down what I meant by sword and sorcery and then what my own top ten would be.
Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of general fantasy films. They are mythic adventures involving a great deal of action and supernatural or magical entities. They can (and often do) involve romance, but it is not always the case. The story could be a world saving adventure but doesn’t have to be. It can just as easily be a single hero’s journey to achieve some goal.
That definition puts epic scale fantasy in a different category. I love the Lord of the Rings series but I would call that epic fantasy rather than sword and sorcery. I think Narnia falls into the epic category as well, though that one is also clearly a portal fantasy. It also eliminates a really wonderful movie – The 13th Warrior (1999) from contention. While it has swords and action it is very short on sorcery. There is the barest hint of prophecy at one point, but it’s really just a great adventure movie set in the time of the Vikings.
In narrowing the field I found it made the choices here much more clear. My list starts at number 10 and works up to my favorite. It’s entirely possible that this list shifts over time. I haven’t seen a lot of great sword and sorcery coming out recently, but there’s always the chance that something new will jump in here too. The list:
#10 The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982) This is a pure nostalgia pick. The story of a mercenary with a triple bladed sword who is recruited to help stop a tyrant and his sorcerer, this was the very first R rated movie I ever went to the theater to see. It’s a bit dark at times, a bit cringy at times, and I don’t think it holds up well, but it makes the list.
#9 Sword of the Valiant (1984) This movie does not get the credit it deserves. Sean Connery, John Rhys-Davies, Ronald Lacey and Peter Cushing are all in this movie. I’m genuinely shocked more people are not on board with it. The story is of Sir Gawain accepting the challenge of the the Green Knight and the journey he takes to meet that challenge. I am actually looking to pick this one up on DVD to add to the collection. It shocked me that I don’t already have it.
#8 The Beastmaster (1982) I went back and rewatched this one recently. The story of a warrior who could communicate with animals – an ability that those in power tried to eliminate from the world. He and his animal companions set out to track down his father’s killer and take revenge. There are a lot of parts that are very cringe worthy given today’s view of things. I still put this one in the top ten.
#7 Willow (1988) This movie is just a lot of fun. It is the heart of what I think a sword and sorcery film can be. A villager who would be a wizard sets off on a quest to return a lost child ends up protecting her from an evil queen. This wizrad is joined by the great warrior Mad Mardigan – a masterful swordsman with a delightful mercenary streak. I really enjoy this one.
#6 Excalibur (1981) A wonderful film version of the Arthurian legend. It’s soooo shiny! The sword work is all over the place and Merlin is just as nutty and dangerous as you would imagine. One of my favorite versions of this tale.
#5 Jason and the Argonauts (1963) My only real inclusion of the Greek mythos in this list. I clearly remember watching this one on Saturday afternoon television as a kid. The story telling is solid and the special effects are from the one and only Ray Harryhausen. Stop motion battles at an amazing level. Harpys, skeletons, a hydra… just fantastic stuff that is still watchable today.
#4 The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) Everything I said for the previous entry applies here as well. The fantasy aspects combined with pirates racing to save a princess from a sorcerer who has holed up on an island filled with monsters. Just as with Jason – still totally watchable all these years later. Harryhausen’s stop motion is magic.
#3 Legend (1985) I love the visuals of this movie. I love the soundtrack(s) from this movie. I love the villain in this movie SO much. Legend is the story of a young man who must stop the Lord of Darkness from destroying the last unicorns and ending daylight forever. It is a legend.
#2 Ladyhawke (1985) Significantly more romance than most of my top picks, this is the story of a thief who is rescued by a warrior after escaping from a dungeon. The thief becomes involved with the warrior and his plan to destroy the bishop in the city the thief just escaped from. IF the bishop can not be faced, the warrior will lose his love forever. Some anachronistic parts, but still great sword and sorcery.
#1 Conan the Barbarian (1982) Conan must take the top spot here. The Arnold Schwarzenegger portrayal of Robert E. Howard’s iconic hero is hands down my favorite. It has everything. War, cultists, magic, partying, stealing and vengeance. It is violent and grim. It had one of the first villains that gave me something to measure other villains against. When James Earl Jones plays the cult leader Thulsa Doom and says, “now they will know why they fear the night…” it gives you shivers.
That’s the list. My top ten. Do you agree? Is the order all wrong? Are there any that are missing?
This article was previously published in Watch The Skies
There has been a lot of binge watching out there since folks have gone into isolation. The global pandemic has put a whole new focus on finding something to watch that doesn’t exacerbate the anxiety of the real world. A number of shows have leaped in popularity that might never have gotten the chance in the past simply for the lack of other entertainment. Many of those shows likely won’t last, but parts of them might endure. It’s difficult to predict. The same has always been the case with the big screen. Movies that “flop” in the theater become cult classics. Movies that people had modest hope for endure for generations. These movies can have an impact that lasts long after their run in the theater is done.
That lasting impact, in the form of physical objects, is the focus of the show Prop Culture now streaming on Disney+. The show hosted by Dan Lanigan digs into the physical props that remain from some Disney films that have had a significant impact on pop culture. The first season includes: Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Mary Poppins, Tron, Nightmare Before Christmas, The Muppet Movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Chronicles of Narnia, and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
Dan digs in behind the scenes and hunts down various creators and actors to reconnect them with the objects that helped make these films great. Hats, swords, puppets, matte paintings and all manner of samples. Not all props are small either. Ten foot tall models, cars and tall ships are part of this as well. Seeing these real world things give both the creators and the viewer a very strong sense of nostalgia.
At a half hour in length these episodes are just the right length. They don’t drag and they don’t hold back for the sake of false anticipation. There are expected pieces along with little things that evoke strong emotions for all. Along with strong emotion there is a fun sense of humor. You get quotes like, “There’s a lot of bald yaks out there…” from a effects studio head. It hits all the right notes to help the viewer feel good after each episode.
If you have the opportunity and love to know more about the movies this show is definitely worth a look.
I don’t spend a lot of time watching shows or movies that are outside of my comfort zone. I think it’s worth noting that getting outside your own comfort zone is important, but it’s also work. I have declared before that I am a true child of media – the original MTV generation – but over all this time I have really moved away from so many forms of entertainment. I have narrowed my focus and made an effort to get away from the things I just don’t enjoy.
I was drawn to a particular publisher based on the description listed on their submission page:
If it’s a story about a 13 year old girl named Mary coping with the change to womanhood while poignantly reflecting the recent passing of her favorite aunt Gertrude, we DON’T want it! Now, if Mary is the 13 year old daughter of a vampire cowboy who stumbles upon a government conspiracy involving aliens & unicorns while investigating, hard-boiled style, the grizzly murder of her favorite aunt Gertrude, then we’ll take a look at it.
This seemed like a place where I would fit right in. I stick to what I like a lot of the time. It has taken a long while, but I have started to figure out what it is that I like. I can define it. I understand it. Yes, sometimes it’s quite predictable and I’m just fine with that.
So, when I was given a homework assignment for a class I am taking that amounted to reporting on the movie The Peanut Butter Falcon I was… less than enthusiastic. This movie had a lot going against it.
First and easiest, it was assigned homework. I could get past that ~ I am taking the class after all. I’m paying for it, I’m sure as hell going to do the homework.
It’s frequently described as “heartwarming”, “real” and “wholesome” along with a lot of other things that make this story about a man with Down syndrome who goes on a life altering adventure start to sound WAY too close to that description above. Definitely not something I’d consider go-to entertainment.
It also stars Shia LaBeouf. I have never met the man in person. I don’t know him and would genuinely reserve my personal opinions about a person… however he has managed to so thoroughly annoy me that I can’t stand watching him. It doesn’t matter the role, I only see his annoying face. I really can’t stand him. At all. He makes it easy to dislike all things Hollywood.
Normally that’s strike three, that movie would be out. Add to the case against with it’s hard to find. It’s not on any streaming service that I have. I have been told it’s on Hulu, but I wasn’t signing up for an additional service just to dig up this film. Thankfully my Luddite self is still part of the DVD program with Netflix. Yes, you digital natives, I get an actual physical disc in the mail when I request it so that I can play it in my local player. I do not depend on the whims of streaming services nor the speed of the internet when I really want to just sit and watch without interruption. So I added this movie to the que and waited for it to come in.
A couple of Saturdays ago I found myself in possession of said disc and happened to have a couple of hours to deal with it. I treated it like a chore. It was an unpleasant side effect of something I wanted to do, so I sucked it up, sat down and hit play.
I believe your expectations of a film factor heavily in how you feel about the film when you’re done. I had built this up to such a terrible thing in my mind that it would have had to be truly terrible to meet what it had become in my head. Tempered with that in mind, I will tell you that this is a genuinely good movie. It’s not just good, I’d recommend it.
No, I still can’t stand LeBeef. Yes, he was exactly what that part needed. Exactly. I will not hesitate to tell you that Zack Gottsagen’s character hooked me immediately. He’s hilarious and genuine and IS that part. Yes, it was written with him in mind, but I’ve seen films where the script is written with an actor in mind and they still suck. Definitely not the case here. The other characters were dead on. There was no smarmy pandering – Zack is an actor playing a role and he killed it. Yes, it was a little bit predictable, but that does not detract from the story at all. It was real.
Normally I’d write up a media post about “what to watch” for the fanzine, but I really don’t know if I can recommend watching Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045.
I am not an anime purist. I suspect most anime lovers would suggest that I’m barely a fan. Yes, I’ve been hanging around the fringes for a very long time (yes, I still call it Starblazers, thank you) but I’m not super invested. When GITS popped up on Netflix I didn’t rush to it. I was interested enough to start, and finish the series so far.
IF you’d like a review filled with fans and spoilers – head over to Gizmodo and check them out.
I’ll stay away from the spoilers (I think). I’m not sure if Patrick Huge is a spoiler or not… but it was a ridiculous character name in this show. I find little things like that distracting.
Anyway, the story itself is set in the future of the GITS characters, beyond a lot of the other material I’m familiar with. It presents some very interesting world building. There’s a lot of room for action and the creators do not shy away from that. There’s a lot of clunky action.
Why clunky? Because this is all done as 3D render, not traditional anime style. It’s downright distracting and tough to watch. It’s twitchy and looks cheap. I know it can’t be cheap, but I’ve been spoiled. IF you haven’t seen the animation from the Netflix series Love Death + Robots you should definitely go watch that. That stuff is amazing work. This variation of GITS was a struggle.
So, getting past the animation style itself – the story could have continued with the starting point, but then it felt like it changed half way through the episodes. We switched focus from this giant, world building economy based story to this other post human thing and it’s just messy. I’ll probably take a look at the next season to see if they tie all this stuff together, but I’m not in a rush.
IF you’re desperate for some new GITS then you can give these a look, otherwise I’d wait and see what so called season 2 will be… and hopefully we’ll avoid naked back flipping things…
I’m not good at it. Listening is not
easy. Genuinely hearing what other people are saying is active – a
verb. You are doing something, not just passively sitting and waiting
for your turn to speak. Most people don’t listen with the intent of
understanding, most people listen with the intent of responding.
I’m going to frame this conversation in
terms of entertainment, both written and other media, but it is
something that should be applied to any other communication.
The movies have always been for me. The
massive, record breaking, blockbuster films for the vast majority of
my life have been super white. The awards given out have been all
white. The works they were based on were overwhelmingly white. It’s
been a white, white, white world.
February is black history month. The Academy of Motion pictures is holding it’s annual awards this first weekend of February. Will diversity show up? I have my doubts. Check out this video to hear what prompted my thought process.
When the comic book adaptation film
Black Panther came out I was very excited to see another part
of the Marvel cinematic universe come to life on the screen. BP
crushed at the box office and had amazing staying power in the
theaters. It got extremely positive reviews. When I reviewed the
movie the take away for me was “this movie was not aimed at me”.
It was a black superhero telling a story that showed that white
wasn’t the only way. It was aimed at NOT white kids to say, “look,
this is for you too”. I thought that was one of the best parts of
the movie. I have no idea the “realness” of the backgrounds of
characters, the authenticity of the costume inspirations – non of
that is history I know. It was wonderful, but in the end it didn’t
have the same impact it would if I were part of a community that grew
up with, knew or understood those things. I appreciate what it is and
what it did, but it was not going to be inspirational to me or have
the kind of impact it will with people not from my background.
I attempted to explain what I meant to
another white person. This white person said something to the effect
of, “What? You don’t like it? How can you not like it? Look what
Marvel is doing! All those costumes and colors…”
This
person wasn’t listening. To them the film was just another part of a
bigger whole without the context of inclusion. To be fair – I don’t
know if it was a matter of accepting this diversity without question
or completely missing the point. The feeling I got during the
conversation was that they were completely missing the point. It’s
not easy to listen without putting forward your own view and making
things fit into the framework you’re comfortable with. Saying that it
wasn’t for me was not a condemnation of the film, it was an attempt
to understand that an expanded and multi-faceted creation had more to
offer than the same old reworked all white framework that I have
known my entire life.
Sometimes when listening becomes action
it means accepting a different role. Really listening means you’re
open to changing your views. Sometimes the different role is not the
“in charge” role. Not making decisions or leading. If you’ve
always been in the lead it is not easy to relinquish that to anybody
else, let alone someone that doesn’t mesh with the homogenized system
you’ve become comfortable with.
This is also not an easy conversation to have. Being the middle aged white guy makes putting forward any thoughts on diversity of any kind dangerous. It’s easy to go wrong due to lack of understanding and a lack of willingness to listen. There’s a quote I heard in the past about media that essentially said if you let somebody talk long enough you will be able to take six lines out of context and use that against them – even if that was never what they meant. Sometimes you don’t know or can’t know the right context for asking questions. It can be challenging to put forward that you don’t know something. It will make you vulnerable and people don’t generally like that. The landscape of social media makes it easy to hide behind anonymity and scream out about the faults of others. Nobody wants to be vulnerable. Vulnerability scares people.
Great quote from a great movie, “I have the right to see fine in any color…”
I am trying to listen. I am hoping to be part of a meaningful change. It won’t be easy. It’s something I’m working on. I think I’m getting better, but that’s not really for me to judge. Diversity matters. It matters an awful lot more than we understand. Listen ~ and be part of the change.
Make no mistake, writing is work. I know there are people out there who throw down thousands upon thousands of words and they just seem to flow out of them, but even for those people this is work.
I’m beginning to get myself back to a creative place and be able to do this work more regularly. This is a boon for actually putting words up here. Sometimes there are extra words that don’t actually fit in the stories I’m working on and they slop over the side of the cup. On good days I can mop up those words and squeeze them out into something vaguely coherent here.
Sometimes those words just leave a ring shaped stain on my desk.
The most difficult times are when I really want to lay down a screed about something that has caught my attention in the news and I just don’t have the ability to get here and do it. It’s a spoon thing for folks that subscribe to that analogy. I just run out of spoons.
A good example of this is the latest Star Wars film. I went to see it on opening day. I was at the theater for the earliest show. I went early and had my favorite seat, right in the middle in the middle. Popcorn in hand I was on board to see more Star Wars!
I watched it. I was confused by so many parts of it. It was big, it was splashy and decidedly a “need to see it on the big screen” kind of film. That was the best thing I could say for it. There were a ton of clearly fan service moments in there. There were a ton of really questionable story telling choices. I would honestly need to see it again just to parse out all the weird combinations of stuff that either did or didn’t work. What I really needed to do at the time was jump on here and write all those things down while they were fresh in my mind…
And here I am a month later mentioning that I wanted to talk about it.
Would the words still be relevant? The moment is past. There are a half dozen other things that have come up and made waves since then. There are tons and tons of reviews in either direction (love it or hate it ~ take your pick) and my take would be a rehash of various parts of a lot of them. I didn’t get to the work in time.
That actually brings up another point. Work. I like putting my thoughts up here and having a place where I can land all this stuff that is my own. It’s my web site ~ I own it. I will put what I want up here, when I want to put it here and not worry if some massive company is going to accidentally “ban” me for a month or whatever. It’s my own and I will do as I please. It is my own, and this doesn’t pay. All these words are free and sometimes I need to focus on the words that pay. I will be the first to tell you that they don’t pay well, but they do pay (from time to time).
So I’m going to continue to work. If you’ve meandered with my train of thought all the way to the bottom of this ~ thank you. I appreciate that you’re reading. I’m off now to hammer out some more of those words that are supposed to pay.
If you’d like to see a really amusing take on all sorts of aspects of the most recent Star Wars film that didn’t really work head on over to YouTube and check out Pitch Meeting. I thought it was more than funny, it was pretty right on.
I’ve been a fantasy fan for a long
time, but I haven’t played video games since the days of Atari. When
the Netflix series “The Witcher” was announced I had no
idea what was headed to the screen. While a long time fan of fantasy
I’ve drifted away recently and read in many other genres. I still
love it, but missed anything related to this series. I started
watching the show with a blank slate, just really hoping for some
excellent, accessible fantasy.
Before I get to the spoilers I will say that I did in fact like the series. I can’t say that I loved it, but it is swords and sorcery and that usually works out well for me. If you’re a fan of swords and sorcery it’s worth watching. There is a book series. I thought I would go and grab up the books, then I read this review. Perhaps I’ll hold off. Maybe it’s better to let the show stand on its own.
SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT
Why didn’t we get more of *this* Witcher?
Yes, it’s swords and sorcery. It’s got
a ton of standard fantasy tropes in there. Eleves, dwarves, wizards,
and even dragons. There are castles and wizard battles and swamp
monsters and ghouls and…
and all those things are rammed in and
around the plot in just 8 episodes.
The problem with epic fantasy is rarely
the fantasy part. The problem is the epic part. There
is SO much world building and background that it’s almost impossible
to cram it all in to anything less than a massive series. The writers
tend to do exactly what I said ~ they cram. The push and mash and
squeeze as many of the eye catching ‘cool’ fantasy things into as
short a span as they can in a desperate grab for eyeball time. The
Witcher suffers from this. There is so much there and very, very
little of it is actually the main character doing his job. Geralt is
a magically created warrior designed to hunt and destroy monsters.
The series opens with him battling a swamp dwelling giant spider with
human features, then shows his fighting powers against people, then
that fades away in order to start stacking in story.
As I wrote that I had to stop and
really think about it. How could I complain about building in story?
It’s exactly what I always say that I want. That is the part about
cramming in the ‘epic’ part. The story is named for Geralt’s job, but
then we spend huge amounts of time on Ciri, Yennifer, Jasker the
bard, The Brotherhood (that is mostly women?) and a jumble of other
bits. We see Geralt’s part in things, but only just.
Witchers are supposed to be constructed
to have no human emotions. I suspect this is not the truth and much
like the manner in which Spock is portrayed in the modern updates of
the Star Trek series the character is deeply emotional, simply
repressed to the point of psychological damage. I believe the
emotions will burst forth in the form of rage at some point. A truly
emotionless character would be far less interesting. What this
emotionless warrior does is drift through the story. I want to like
Geralt, but he’s flat. On purpose? Maybe.
So a flat character and a jumble of
story. At least the whole thing will make sense when it’s fully
rendered on screen, right? Wrong.
The time line jumps all over the place.
I could never tell when in the story we were supposed to be. Were we
in the past, the distant past, the present? It was almost impossible
to tell for sure. Flashbacks to dead characters that have been
replaced by magic shape shifters only made this worse. Apparently
both the sorceress Yennifer and Geralt are supposed to be
significantly older? Sorcerers are supposed to have greatly expanded
life spans, but we’re only getting vague references to that? It was
very frustrating.
The other part I found frustrating was
the indecision of what the nature of the show wanted to be. Getting
past organizational aspects of how the story was made, what were they
trying to portray? There were tons of gratuitous nudity scenes.
Generally speaking I am in favor of that sort of thing – if it
advances the story in some way. These scenes all gave me the feeling
that what they were aiming for was trying to take over the space
vacated by Game of Thrones. The show wanted to be dark, and
mysterious, violent and sexy… and then they added in Jasker the
bard. Jasker should have been Joxer from Xena: Warrior Princess.
They could have gone for a much lighter, entertaining version of the
entire series. There were still monsters and fighting and love
stories just with added camp.
I don’t know if I would stay on board
for campy epic fantasy and that’s the show’s biggest issue. It can’t
decide what it wants to be or where it wants to go. It’s a retro feel
stuffed in a modern package that doesn’t quite fit.
There are other issues associated with
the show as well. Yennifer as hunchback and deformed never sat quite
right with me. Something was off about that portrayal. When she was
transformed it confirmed my fear. This was actually a gorgeous
Hollyweird actress that they’d made up to look that particular way,
then magically transformed. I do not fall into any category other
than ‘able’ so it’s not for me to discuss the depth of this, but
despite truly excellent make-up and special effects it just didn’t
sit right.
For more depth on this you should check out this article.
I’ve spent quite a few words picking
this show apart. These issues are what distract me from flat out
loving a successful fantasy series. There are really excellent parts
to this show and good stories within the larger story. The series has
been announced as having a second season already. My hope is that the
story lines get sorted in better order, the actual power of Geralt
comes forward (there was a lot of hype around the black eyes in the
promo stuff and we almost never see that in the series) and the
writers decide to make this story it’s own, not just a GOT
replacement.
I do recommend watching the series. As
always, supporting something new is vital to showing that we, the
consumer, are actually interested in new and exciting shows and that
we want something more than another remake.
I am not a Luddite, but I am often
accused of being one because I tend to express very negative opinions
about tech and the issues that result from it not working correctly.
I spend an exceptional amount of time
working with technology, specifically digital tools, at my day job. I
am part designer, part modeler, and part film maker when I’m working
on a project. I absolutely depend on having up to date hardware and
software. I am connected all the time while I am working having three
screens and up to a dozen windows open at any given time on my
computer. I live in the future when I’m working. When I am not at
work, totally different take on things.
I have a deep seeded need for
technology to simply work when and where I want it to. This is
where the problem starts. There are a multitude of technology based
things for any and all parts of the home these days. I find that most
of them amount to solutions gone looking for a problem. Could I have
voice commands turn all the lights on and off in my house? Yes, yes I
could. Will I ever do that? Not a chance. I can walk over and flip a
switch to complete a circuit. The only times I’ve ever had a problem
with that is when the light itself failed to work. How many people
can say they never have a problem getting their automated things to
work properly every single time without more effort that
flipping a switch? I’ve witnessed it at the office I work in. One
office’s lights are connected to a digital assistant. Guess what set
of lights constantly has issues? Good guess.
So, why am I on about digital tools and
connectivity? I am also one of the people that still has the Netflix
DVD by mail service. Yes, actual discs in the good old postal
delivery service. I can’t say I’m a constant on the mailing list,
sometimes not getting to my new disc for a couple of weeks, but
generally I get to at least three or four per month. I also still buy
actual discs of the movies that I know I really enjoy and want to go
back to.
When I really want to watch an older
movie that I love I follow a procedure that’s remarkably similar to
the light switch… I get off my ass, walk to the shelf where the
movie sits, then take the disc back to the DVD player and watch my
movie. Relatively little failure there.
What if you wanted to watch Dogma
tonight? Could you? Even with Kevin Smith out there all over the
place promoting stuff you still can’t just get it if you don’t own
the disc. Sure, there may be some digitally savvy folks out there
that could come up with it, but at what cost? What system? Do you
have the right service?
This article in GQ has some really excellent points on this.
My bottom line is this – If I own the
disc, there’s not a service out there that can stop me from watching
it when and where I want to. I don’t have to depend on Netflix having
it in their rotation. I don’t have to worry that there’s some kind of
transmission problem that’s bogging down Hulu. No buffering on my
computer. I just watch it. Pause it, come back to it… basically all
the things associated with streaming, without the need to worry about
what service has the movie or IF my digital library copy is still
available or not… or worse, if it’s been altered for some kind of
directorial re-write (thanks for that Lucas).
IF that makes me a Luddite, so be it.
I’ll still watch my movies whenever I want and not depend on some
service to do it.
I am a long time fan of the fantasy
genre. Yes, I was first hooked by The Hobbit a long time ago,
but since then the heroic sword and sorcery story has always had a
place in my heart. I love it.
I admit, for a while I wandered away.
I’d seen plots that looked, felt and moved the same way for a long
time. Before I began writing and learning what a trope was I began to
see and understand the commonality among my favorite stories. I still
like them.
Since then I have always hunted for
fantasy stories that could give me the heroic journey without making
me bored while doing it. Subtlety, nuance, shifts in the way things
are presented or the way worlds are constructed are all things that
catch my attention. I am a particular fan of changes to world
building.
IF you’re of a similar mindset, I
humbly suggest you find a way onto Netflix and watch The Dragon
Prince. It is excellent fantasy – the best I’ve seen in a long
time. You might look at it and think it is a show aimed at children.
That is and is not true. This show takes on a number of very deep
themes and issues. These affect people no matter how old they are and
we all still need to deal with those things.
The characters are strong and complex.
There are good examples of behavior and bad examples of behavior.
Both examples show the consequences of those actions, and it’s not
always black and white. Clear cut answers are few and far between in
this show.
The story is stronger because it can’t
take short cuts. There’s something to be said for avoiding the cheap
method of getting a point across. The romance isn’t punctuated with
explicit sex – that’s not an option. There is no violence simply
because an ‘action scene was needed’. The story needs to carry the
day.
Things that are considered divergent to
many people are shown in this show without needing to sledge hammer
the point home. Nobody bats an eye at the fact that one of the best
generals for the humans is deaf. I don’t know ASL, but I’m betting
those lines are actually animated with real words. There is a
creature missing a leg (trying not to be spoilery) that has been made
to look ‘normal’ because of preconceived viewpoints. It’s there, but
it’s not the point and that’s what I really like about it. You can’t
use your standard assumptions because they might not be the case. I
think that’s a very strong argument for world building and quality
story telling.
IF you’re not worried about spoilers,
check out those articles. Either way, do yourself a favor and go
check this show out. Totally worth your time.
