It is a grand day for America, human rights, and civil liberties.
Michele Bachmann has announced that all people deserve the right to marry whomever they wish.
It is exciting that Rep. Bachmann has seen the light.
It takes great courage to stand up for individual freedoms and the right to honor God and/or one’s conscience however one sees fit.
Michele Bachmann has realized that America has always encouraged the free expression of one’s values freely in life, liberty, and happiness. And that must include the freedom to decide one’s own destiny and structure their family as they see fit.
Michele Bachmann has repented and now stands in solidarity with millions of LGBTQ and plural-lover families of faith who want to marry into families in ways that honor their faith.
Bachmann must also see now that it is not just an issue of religious freedom, but an issue of discrimination due to body configuration or chromosomes. Should one have to have a full body inspection before marriage to determine by a bloated government agency their sex? Should one undergo lab tests at the local City Courthouse to find if they have a Y chromosome before being granted by bureaucrats in Washington the ability to go to their Church and become fully recognized spouses?
Bachmann says ‘No!’
Why? Because Bachmann loves America. And freedom. And discrimination is unAmerican.
Thank you, Michele Bachmann. Gays and Lesbians thank you.
You can thank me later. In fact you’ll have to because you’re not even born yet.
But I certainly can’t wait for your bleary huge eyes to adjust to the world that you’ve just been thrust into because you’re gonna love what I’ve done to the place.
It’s no secret that I compost. I brag about it at parties and my neighbors, when they wake up early enough, can see me and my chocolate lab ‘Mocha’ both doing our business on their lawn.
Compost is Earth soup and for me it’s always the du jour. I serve it up all over Mother Nature’s soup kitchen. Squirrels seem to enjoy the natural cotton of my old Q-Tips and I don’t know what animal took them, but all the used up porn magazines that I left by the middle school are gone. You can think of me as an Ec0-Warrior. You can think of me that way as I bury lost house cats by the dozen in my backyard.
Mulch much? Mucho!
I really enjoy collecting compostable items from around the office. I grab the coffee grinds from the office kitchen and though I’ve asked Sherry to scrape the coffee stains from her teeth, she declines because she probably hasn’t watched the Captain Planet youtubes clips I emailed her.
When you become my age, the year will be 2067 and you’ll be fighting cyborgs for the future of the Earth. It will be crucial that you know that I’ve buried several cans of baked beans and 9 millimeter ammunition in my compost bin.
If I’m not alive to thank, do the next best thing will you? Cremate my remains so that the cyborgs can’t harvest my DNA to clone me into an automaton assassin. Thanks.
George Washington: This tall gent cut his teeth racing horses. Not impressed? How about if I told you he raced horses that were on fire? True. Also true: Shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. First president of the US of A and set the gold standard for being an Executive strength sex addict.
John Adams: Less admired brother of Samuel Adams who bottled an early non-alcoholic horse hoof beer. John Adams never really wanted to be President but after college he took the first job he could get and just ended up “stumbling into a career path.”
Thomas Jefferson: After a long and difficult life, finally moved on up to the East Side in an apartment in the sky. Owned over 600 slaves and had an annoying goofy looking white neighbor. Not the first nor the last, but perhaps the most blatant white supremicist President.
James Madison: Led the country during the War of 1812. Spent most of his two terms trying to remember who America was fighting against in the war of 1812. Usually guessed Portugal. Spoke so well that people would say of Madison that he “was a fast talking car salesman sonofabitch.” Loved cabbage.
James Monroe: Dying words were “Name a high school after me.” First words were: “mama up.” and first sentence was “Name a middle school after me.”
John Quincy Adams: Son of former President John Adams. Would regularly consult father on how to run a country and if he made him proud. Never made his father proud. Would regularly have his heart broke when he overheard people say “Here comes John Adams! Oh, shit. It’s the Quincy one.”
Andrew Jackson: Hailed from the great state of Tennessee, or as it was known at the time: Tennnessseee. Coined the term for a sex move he invented calling “the missionary position with the lights on.”
Martin Van Buren: Known to allies as “The Little Magician”, his best magic trick was sawing people in half and that wasn’t really magic, but just a saw and earplugs to drown out the screaming. Had sideburns the size of my ass. Was the Anakin to Aaron Burr’s Obi-Wan. Or vice versa. Did magic tricks with his genitals including the ”mangina”, “the hippo”, “the noose”, “the time warp”, and “the Executive Privilege.” Died when his sideburns got caught in the anchor of a whaling ship.
William Henry Harrison: Middle name was “John David Michael”. Known to his friends as “Ol’ Strong and Healthy” and to his doctors as “A Fucking Walking Deadman”. Last President born under British rule and first President to give up and die while in Office like a coward.
John Tyler: Was afraid of the dark. Utilized Andrew Jackson’s ”missionary position with the lights on”. Won the annual “Ichabod Crane Look-a-like” contest. Was afraid of his own voice which resulted in him spending hours saying. “Did you hear that? Ohmygawd. Did you hear that? What is that? Holy shit what is that? There it was again. Again.”
James Knox Polk: Led the country during the Mexican-American war. Was often wracked with guilt because he loved Mexican food. Was caught by the Secret Service entertaining burritos in his private quarters but the incidents were covered up for political expediency.
Zachary Taylor: Twelfth President of the United States from 1849-1850. Best. President. Ever. One can only imagine how awesome America would be right now if he wouldn’t have eaten that tuna salad. Called “Ol’ Rough and Ready” until his death when he became “Ol’ Rough”.
Millard Fillmore: What a douche this guy was. Seriously. Millard Fillmore pfft. This guy. Fillmore ate the ass of a donkey big time.
Franklin Pierce: Had a vision of a transcontinental railroad that was shut down by the horse and buggy lobby. Had the desire to establish hospitals but succumbed to the powerful dysentery lobby.
James Buchanan: Jimmy Buchanan was just plain adorable. He would often ride his bike down Pennslyvania avenue trying to do “pop a wheelies”, pulling up on his handle bars futilely with his skinny little arms. Once he fell into the swimming hole and his border collie jumped in and pulled him to safety. When that ol’ dog died, Jimmy never smiled the same way again.
Abraham Lincoln: Orchestrated the terror plot against the President of the Confederate States, Jefferson Davis. For his sedition and treason, Lincoln was found guilty and executed.
Andrew Johnson: A curly haired orphan who had a lot of spunk. I hate spunk. Was saved by his Sikh servant while dangling from an office desk in a TV station.
Ulysses S. Grant: Had a desire to be loved most of his life. His sick obsession to be loved led him to meditate seeking to tame his ego, fill the void in his heart with religion, and love himself as though that would help. Also avid antisemite.
Rutherford Bircher Hayes: Was the body of an unsuspecting barber taken possession of by a demon named Khazzol. Spawned several hundred imps per egg-sack deposit. Would let out blood curdling screams when he was busy curdling blood for his blood cheese making hobby.
James Abram Garfield: Shot in the heart and Guiteau’s to blame–he gave love a bad name. Garfield was then set in a ‘sunny spot in the garden’ to heal him from his gunshot wounds. Doctors were surprised when it didn’t work. Was later resurrected on the third day only to be runover by the first bicycle.
Chester Alan Arthur: Won “Racist of the Year” award only four times despite his efforts for more.
Grover Cleveland: Was the first Muppet elected to Presidency. Red flat lips never made sense since they were connected directly to his hinged jaw. Gave friendly advice to children in turtlenecks.
William McKinley: You got a problem with William McKinley? Because he will hurt you. You want some of this? Thought so. I thought so. What? Kicking the shit of Spaniards is what this hurt machine was made to do. What? Oh! Oh my god! You shot him! This shit can’t happen to McKinley! That’s Garfield’s thing man!
Theodore Roosevelt: Ate glass. Pooped silverware. Rode horses and punched snakes. His safe word was ”bully”.
William Howard Taft: New Mexico and Arizona became states while Taft ruled from his throne made of skulls. He ruled with an iron fist with bacon gripped in it. He never forgave himself for letting Arizona into the union.
Thomas Woodrow Wilson: Allowed women the right to vote just to get the waitress at Perkins to sleep with him.
Warren Gamaliel Harding: Loved a good pickle. Had a tattoo of a pickle on his belly, just below his panty line, of which he was later embarrassed.
John Calvin Coolidge: Originally from North Dakota but moved to West Egg, when he became filthy rich through bootlegging. Had a horrible obsession with Daisy Fae Buchanan.
Herbert Clark Hoover: Prided himself in being a “normal, down home kinda guy” by which he meant that he was racist. Looked out the window one day and saw a Great Depression and had his windows painted over.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: His safe word was “Tomorrow”. Never consummated his marriage with Eleanor, which was fine with him.
Harry S. Truman: His motto was: “Speak softly and carry the loudest most ungodly murderous stick ever.”
Dwight David Eisenhower: Totally threw in the towel on Korea. He started to do a jig saw puzzle once but quit with two pieces left. Never finished getting his GED. Used coitus interruptus.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy: Appeared in weirdly colored home movies which for some reason only ever had somber music playing softly.
Lyndon Baines Johnson: Passed Civil Rights laws into effect. All Presidents, living and dead, shivered.
Richard Milhous Nixon: The 37th President could sweat at will. Fed off the psychic energy of children’s nightmares.
Gerald Rudolf Ford: The Pete Best of Presidents.
James Earl Carter Jr.: Believes in Santa to this day. The son of a brazil nut farmer, Jimmy later played down his families’ occupational heritage because of the shame. “Brazil nuts are always the grossest nut in any mixed nut assortment.” He stated in his Presidential acceptance speech. “I uh…was the son of a peanut farmer.” He lied to cheers of adoration.
Ronald Wilson Reagan: The Great Cunnilinguser
George Herbert Walker Bush: Favorite movie is “Coyote Ugly” because “finally someone is telling my story.”
William Jefferson Clinton: He did not have sex with that woman.
George Walker Bush: Jesus wept.
Barack Obama: Deciding on how to reveal that he has been injected with Super Soldier Serum.
I’ve given up on you. I don’t want to know where this is going.
You’re like the mole on my shoulder that’s getting bigger and I refuse to look at anymore.
Name to me one instance of fun in the first three episodes. Do days normally go by on Caprica without a single moment of laughter? Maybe the Cylons put those emo, hat wearing slouches out of their misery.
Note: People like characters that they can identify with and care about.
Who is likeable so far?
Mopey diva mom whose character so far is 1) skinny 2) irritable
Dickish Steve Jobs dad who so far is 1) kinda good with computers 2) idiotic in everything else
Judgmental dickish prodigy girl who is Pollyanna/Avatar/Clunky Robot
Judgmental dickish prude wierdo girl
Low energy bad lawyer
Two bit parody of a mafia thug
Judgmental drug addict fundamentalist school teacher
The first three episodes have been like Dark Shadows meets Depressed Buck Rogers.
“Let’s sit around and mourn kids who we either know nothing about or probably wouldn’t want to know.”
Next time you start up a series, have some gripping and compelling drama with high stakes start it off.
(Like you did with BSG!)
Not focus on a group of Fundamentalist Church Youth Group Nerds and technical musing.
Caprica is a boring planet where everything seems inconsequential and ‘smart’ people act dumb when its convenient to the story.
The purpose of this blog is to get you ready for the second most important day of your life–the first being the day you drank those four quarts of bleach. I want to convey to you 1) the great urgency in the world 2) urgency I personally feel for a bathroom 3) the atmosphere of urgency I want to create so that you could be compelled to make a horrible life decision about religion.
Everything the Bible declares has the full authority of God Himself. How do I know that the Bible is true? The Bible says it’s true. How do I know that Superman is stronger than Bizarro? The comics tell me so. How do I know that the transmissions I receive in my head are the voices of Frank Capra and Eugene O’Neill? They said so.
Now, at this time, information is coming forth from the Bible through me through this blog which all clearly reveal God’s plan for Judgment Day, the end of the world, and the International Beer Festival in Frankenmuth Michigan.
The Bible has opened up slowly it’s milky white pages and parted it’s silky smooth bindings to reveal it’s delicate and sweet sweet secrets to me.
This information was never previously known because God had been coy and kept the blossom of his Word pure until now.
It has become very obvious to the serious student of the Bible, meaning every highschool drop out who has read The Bible Code and watched the movie The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe that we are now living in the last few days of earth’s history. The history of the Moon is ending soon too. Sorry, lunar rover.
The Bible’s calendar of history is completely accurate and trustworthy. I have removed my iCalendar function from my computer and now rely solely on Nahum and Habukkuk to remind me when my electroshock therapy is scheduled so that I can ‘accidentally’ be out of town and miss the appointment.
Since this Bible calendar is given by God in His Word, it can be trusted wholeheartedly.
So can it’s recipes. Have you ever had honey and locusts? Try it!
I highly recommend that you obtain a free copy of the book “We Are Almost There!” by writing to the following address: Family Stations, Inc., 290 Hegenberger Rd., Oakland, CA 94621.
If you are too busy to mail an envelope as you get ready for the end of the world, i.e. building a bombshelter, screaming on sidewalks, or shamefully crying over your recent masturbation session to the Mormon Tabernacle DVD your Grandmother gave you, get more apocalyptic know-how at: www.familyradio.com.
The Times Of Every Important Event In History
11,013 BC—Creation. God creates the world and Adam. 11,o13 BC–God creates woman from Adam’s rib. 11,039 BC–Another hole is tried out and Cain is born.
4990 BC—The flood of Noah. Everybody dies in a worldwide flood. Only Noah, his milf wife, and his 3 sons and their swappable wives survive in the boat along with dinosaurs, buffalo, dodos, and dragons (6023 years from creation). Frannie Mickelsen tragically dies at the age of 9 after just learning how to doggy paddle really good.
7 BC—The year Jesus H. Christ is born (11,006 years from creation). NOT 4 AD. Seriously. And on Christmas Day. Seriously.
33 AD—The year Jesus H. Christ goes on vacation to India and gets food poisoning and dies.
(11,045 years from creation; 5023 calendar years from the flood).
1988 AD—This year ended the church age and Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up tops the charts (13,000 years from creation). Seriously.
1994 AD—On September 7th, the first 2300-day period of the greater tribulation came to an end and Here Comes the Hotstepper by Ini Kamoze makes number one on the Billboard charts (13,006 years from creation). Seriously. I’m not making this shit up.
Hello Taylor Swift. Its me.
I’m just taking some time away from my cauldron to thank you for the Grammys performance.
It’s great to finally have the video proof that singing talent just isn’t what it used to be.
Did I bet my friends 4 boxes of patchouli incense that I would rock your small world?
Let’s just say that the layer of mist coming towards you isn’t an evil skunk Weather Machine created fog.
What a joy it was to cringe near you as you gyrated and howled! It reminded me of the time I dated a white belt in Karate who had tourettes. I imagine that if you shared dinner the way you ‘share’ a stage, you’d pull the half chewed couscous from my mouth and then make your ‘sexy’ face while stabbing your fork into my neck.
By the way, I can’t make your BBQ party this weekend. I’d made arrangements for a seance that conflicts. I’ll be trying to resurrect your future career.
But in all seriousness, I really do want to thank you for allowing me to be the last person to perform with you. Because after people see the mockery you made of yourself and told me through body language that you wanted me to hide behind the backup singers, no one except maybe Lindsay Lohan will ever come close to you again. And Lindsay will only be approaching you to ask for money and Vagisil.
I have no hard feelings towards you. I hope to see you on page 48 of Teen People striking your best “I’m a down home idiot” pose often.
Oh and you know how people say “Don’t quit your day job?” you should quit your day job.
Pick up a night shift at a Jamba Juice or somewhere you won’t be asked to sing and if you do sing they’ll have a walk in refrigerator they can lock you in.
David Brooks has become the most recent but surely not the last in a long line of Avatar critics who level the charge of the film portraying the “White Messiah” narrative. I submit that Brooks’ analysis fails on a number of levels.
First, Brooks’ reiteration of the White Messiah critique of Avatar fails in originality. There have been numerous articles written almost verbatim before him including Annalee Newitz to whom I responded to here:
http://mindflowers.net/2009/12/22/thoughts-upon-avatar-and-response-to-annalee-newitz/
Secondly Brooks gives no idea of what consequences he would expect from the viewing audience (potential and realized). He writes: “Avatar is a racial fantasy par excellence…It’s just escapism, obviously, but benevolent romanticism can be just as condescending as the malevolent kind…” That sounds like a pretty serious charge. Are we to not see the movie? Protest it? Are considerate viewers to be encouraged to educate others about post-colonialism, systemic racism, the history of race in film? Brooks gives no hints at redemption for this film. As I am a movie lover and also a person committed to social justice and anti-racism, I take great joy in finding ways to lead viewers to make tough critical decisions about films and ‘redeem’ them through analysis. This can mean thinking through how the story fails, but also how it can still lead to positive and change-making dialogues. I feel that Brooks’ article commits a common misstep in throwing out a charge of cultural insensitivity without offering new inroads towards positive action, dialogue, or thought. Brooks stays at the (sophomoric) thesis level of ‘this phenomenon exits’. Does his list of six movies including Fern Gully create evidence that these films are alike in disparaging of non-European cultures? This is connected then to my first point: the White Messiah charge is already a tired thread on the internet. What else can a person say about this film besides a quick-reference meme tag, or Hollywood in general that may lead towards true effective and just post-colonial work?
Third, and most importantly, Brooks must misrepresent the film to the point of fabrication to fit it into his pre-conceived mold. I will explain below the statements he makes that lead me to wonder if he saw the film at all or just didn’t watch closely.
Now let me state where I do agree with Brooks. I agree with his spirit and the sentiment of where he is coming from. American big-production house movies have almost a 100% failure record as far as their depictions of cultures that deviate from the white-privileged mainstream. This is not only in issues of race, but of course gender, class, religion, LGBTQ communities, ‘outlaw’ sexuality, etc. I also am in full agreement that white folk have largely just not ‘got it’ as far as how to engage in anti-imperial, post-colonial, anti-racist work.
I will also add that I do feel that the process of greater justice will be greatly quickened through the work of allies, inclusive solidarity movements, and finding connections between oppressions of race, class, gender identities, spectrum of abilities, etc.
I applaud for Brooks listing some more movies than just ‘Dances with Wolves’ and ‘Last Samurai’ that qualify as White Messiah films beginning with ‘A Man Called Horse’. Leaving behind the need of a clear comparison of Avatar with these films (I’m sure by reason of space constraint) we are left to take Brooks’ (and multitudes of others) word for it. These movies are White Messiah narratives.
How are we to interpret White Messiah or White Savior charges? Are Jake Sully of Avatar or John Dunbar of DwW savior or messiah types?
In DwW, Kevin Costner’s character does what that is savior type? He joins the group, the Army finds his journal which threatens the Sioux by disclosing information about them, and then he flees into the snowy passes.
This could lead to some interesting conversations about what a messiah is and how historically savior types have been interpreted.
How about in Avatar? Is Jake Sully a messiah? Brooks is content to limit his characterization of Sully as a messiah by this kind of description: “he’s the most awesome member of their tribe. He has sex with their hottest babe. He learns to jump through the jungle and ride horses. It turns out that he’s even got more guts and athletic prowess than they do…” It doesn’t matter that this isn’t necessarily true. Even if it was, does that a messiah make? Sully does show leadership, by garnering support from the other Navi cultures and he does his part in battle. Is being a leader and warrior count as messiah? And does Brooks neglect that Sully works in relationship and support of both human and Navi allies? Is Brooks overlaying the Great Man theory unto this film also?
Or is Grace Constantine a messiah? She dies and becomes a petitioning saint in a sense, telling Eywa about the dangers posed by the invading humans.
Or is Tsu’tey the fallen Navi warrior? Or are they all messiah? As some traditions hold ‘messiah has a thousand faces’ and many individuals enact redeeming, divine action into the world.
Let me take Brooks point by point:
“The formula [of White Messiah] also gives movies a little socially conscious allure.”
I would posit that Brooks’ own article has the easy veneer of ‘socially conscious allure’. It gives a name to a supposed genre which will sound good to justice minded folks but gives no critical depth, and offers no countering positive input.
“Academy Award voters like it because it is so multiculturally aware.”
Part of what makes science fiction such an interesting genre for me is its ability to ask questions and remain open to multiple interpretations. Is this movie ‘about’ being multiculturally aware? Or does it ask questions of us? Does it challenge us to reflect on our histories especially the ‘minority reports’ that
nationalism and European privilege would mute? Does it challenge us to consider the future we are creating? I honestly wonder how many people who enjoy the movie have said: “I like this movie because it is multiculturally aware.”
“Critics like it because the formula inevitably involves the loincloth-clad good guys sticking it to the military-industrial complex.“
Does Brooks have Spartacus or Jesus in mind here? Or Rocky vs. Ivan Drago?
“The peace-loving natives — compiled from a mélange of Native American, African, Vietnamese, Iraqi and other cultural fragments — are like the peace-loving natives you’ve seen in a hundred other movies.“
Interesting that Brooks doesn’t mention Hebrew culture. Considering that Navi means ‘to see’ with the connection to ‘seer/prophet’ in Hebrew and Eywa is obviously close to Yahweh. And how about conversations about Moses? He was another ‘in between’ identities person as a Hebrew/’Egyptian’ Prince. Can you imagine the loyalties and boundary transgressing he must have gone through?
And are the Navi peace loving? It seems that in the few Navi characters we get to know well, one is quite ready to kick the shit of Sully. Does the movie ever say that the Navi have to history of violence? They do seem to have multiple cultures separated at least by geography and specialization–can we rule out that there is no beef between these peoples?
“They are phenomenal athletes and pretty good singers and dancers.“
Phenomenal athletes compared to who? They’re not human. And I guess I forgot the scenes that display the Navi’s singing and dancing that was so impressive. Look. In science fiction, the aliens will have something that is understandable to us. Can you imagine a movie where an alien species we are to connect to in some way didn’t have religion, music, language, communities, physical bodies? That’s why people scratched their heads at the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey. There was trippy lines across the screen and a floating baby.
“Along the way, he has his consciousness raised.“
I suggest that Brooks take a look at this cool article about embodied cognition that states that selfhood involves at the least our entire body.
http://io9.com/5462883/the-science-fiction-of-embodied-cognition
It also explains how our the title “Our Bodies Ourselves” is really insightful: consciousness is not just floating in our brains but infuses our bodies. When we experience trauma or change to our bodies, it is not like our car getting a dent. Of course Sully’s experience in a different body, created through the DNA of his deceased brother and a Navi, would change his consciousness. Add to that the blossoming love he has for Neytiri. Add to that his experience as a wounded soldier who has seen the effects of violence and war and of course you would have a character who would be ripe for a change of worldview.
“Because they are not corrupted by things like literacy, cellphones and blockbuster movies, they have deep and tranquil souls.“
Are the Navi illiterate? I must have missed that scene. I don’t recall them saying that they do not have a written language. I was interested to find that in one draft of the script, Grace and Sully go to an old Navi school that had been created by the humans to teach the Navi youth, including instruction of English. Grace says something to the effect “The youth are exceptionally bright.” Was this taken out because of the history of Native American schools?
(Read more at Mindflowers about this history here:)
http://mindflowers.net/2009/01/15/did-you-know-about-indian-boarding-schools/
Again, Brooks asserts that the Navi have “deep and tranquil souls”. We see a whole lot of emotion from the Navi. It appears that they are not some species of unfeeling stoic monastics. Also. Why would the Navi want or need movies and cell phones when they have neuro-jacks directly into their heads? They have an equivalent of the internet pumped into their nervous system. There are already plenty of good articles about the possibilities of future human illiteracy due to this type of developments in technology.
“[Avatar] rests on the stereotype that white people are rationalist and technocratic while colonial victims are spiritual and athletic.”
But the humans in the film are depicted as not just white people. There are humans of different races, represented by men and women. Also, the Navi are spiritual in the way that physicists on Earth are ‘spiritual’. The rules on Pandora are not those of Earth. That ecosystem operated as a cohering consciousness. The Navi evolved in that milieu and they operated within the given rules of their physiology and environment. We can also assume their athleticism is similar to a couch potato here on Earth. Is it amazing to Superman that he can fly? No he is from Krypton, his lazer vision to him is as normal as me choking on chicken bones.
Is Brooks speaking here of Star Wars? A lot of the Imperial officers were white. And they loved technology. The Jedi were not always white (Mace Windu, Ki Adi Mundi, Kit Fisto) and spiritual. And athletic. Holy shit! David Brooks is right. Star Wars is about race too.
“It rests on the assumption that nonwhites need the White Messiah to lead their crusades.“
Jake did do his part as leader in gathering alliances and acting as one leader in the battle. I get it. But remember what won the battle and defeated the humans: Grace Constantine told Eywa (the planet consciousness) that the humans would not stop in their destruction and presumably some tips on how to defeat the humans. A dead woman’s supplications to a godlike force won the day. Out of courage and conviction of what was right, Navi and a number of humans worked together. Isn’t this the way that social justice movements have often been framed? A power of balance and justice that is greater than humanity working with and through people of diverse backgrounds in alliance and community?
A clear and honest portrayal of what actually happens in the movie can lead to better discussion of our contemporary values and strategies for racial justice. While it is positive to critique white folks’ when they ‘step in’ the way of progress (even out of the best intentions), and stop them in their tracks when they presume to have the answers about white privilege, let us continue to encourage multilateral and mutually vulnerable allied action on all fronts!
“Natives can either have their history shaped by cruel imperialists or benevolent ones, but either way, they are going to be supporting actors in our journey to self-admiration.“
This is a sentiment I agree with. Yes! Do I want more movies that depict alien species without a human protagonist? Yes. Do I want more movies that honestly depict the struggle for greater justice on Earth from the place of marginalized voices? Yes. We definitely need American movie goers to support movies that are written, directed, and produced by people other than rich white people.
In response to Brooks’ article this response was written to the New York Times:
“The most galling line to me in this latest installment was when “the Messiah” personage was somehow able to rouse the spirits of all the animals and natural forces to choose sides and retaliate against the invasive forces — something that even the supposedly more naturally inclined natives were unable to accomplish.” –David E. Wilkins
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/opinion/l12brooks.html
And again to this I have to ask: Did the person see the movie? A dead woman, Grace Constantine told the planet consciousness about the humans and we can guess that the planet acted in its own wisdom from there. Let us not overlook the character of Grace either! She is the most interesting character to me because of the insidious threat that she herself poses as an ‘anthropologist’. Her interest in aiding the Navi originally comes from a place of scientific interest while Jake Sully’s advocacy is born of relationship, community, and love.
So let me put aside Brooks for now and continue with other Avatar thoughts:
What about the movies that Avatar gets compared to? I heard one loud voice recently saying “I thought Avatar’s story was totally a rip off of Fern Gully.” Uh uh. And of course Dances with Wolves. Are people just repeating what other people say? Or do people have a really small knowledge base of films so that every movie they see gets compared to Fern Gully? And why when people talk about DwW do they gloss over the fact that Stands With A Fist is a white woman ‘adopted’ into the Sioux culture? Isn’t the idea of multiple or liminal identities also present in Avatar?
What about Schindler’s List? There we have a German helping Jews. Was he a White Messiah by Brooks’ standards?
What about Baby? You got environmentalism and cross-species advocacy and adventure.
What about Lawrence of Arabia? The English T.E. Lawrence combating the big bad Ottoman Empire (those rationalist technocrats!) with the spiritual Arabs tribes…
If we want movies to also spark conversation about race why not also discuss He Got Game, Mississippi Burning, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Get on The Bus, Ernest Goes to Africa, Tyler Perry’s films, Killer of Sheep, Malcolm X, Hate, …(these of course are just the tip of the iceberg of films that may be useful to beginning conversations. I know it is not a comprehensive list nor does it represent many voices)
This year’s Precious and The Blind Side also might be good starting points about race. We might start with how The Blind Side does or does not fit with David Brooks’ description of White Messiah. Better yet, let’s look at movies that I feel really do align with Avatar: District 9, and Terminator Salvation.
In District 9, we have the theme of a human who transforms into the body of an alien species and through his experience (slowly) grows to feel empathy for their situation. This film is one of the year’s best and certainly one of the most interesting scripts I’ve seen in a long time. The question of how does one relate to sentient beings is asked. We are challenged here, as well as in Avatar to question the boundaries of our ethics and empathy. Does might make right? What are acceptable body forms? Can we learn from other ways of being? We need to start forming answers to these questions because while we may not meet Prawns or Navi anytime soon, we do interact with many cultures today and will soon be living with Artificial Intelligences and silicon based life.
In Terminator Salvation we have Mr. Jake Sully himself Sam Worthington doing a role where his identity is multiple, or liminal. Is he human or cyborg? He feels human and fights along side them, but is ‘really’ not of the human ‘tribe’. ‘Salvation’ and Avatar of course are even in their titles appealing to religious connotations. The idea of avatars appearing in different forms and Christian incarnation are all fair game with these two films. I feel that something is being said in these about the ‘limits’ of a body. How connected are we? Where is empathy born? Would Jesus have been able to understand humanity as fully if he had not been a Meat-God?
I am so excited about the progress in the area of displacing consciousness through the work of an ‘empathy machine’ that situates a person’s perspective and sensation into the body of another. Tests have shown that people projected into bodies of age, skin color, gender, or size difference feel more empathy for those bodies upon exiting. Of course my hope is that all people would feel deep compassion for all living things without any tech assists, but I won’t say no to anything that helps…
And I will conclude on that note:
I won’t say ‘no’ to anything that helps our human situation.
And I say ‘no’ to David Brooks’ article on Avatar because I feel he is misrepresenting the film to fit a type that he does not sufficiently argue for and he offers no helpful insight further than ‘Hollywood films suck at issues of race’. If and when movies are white privileging, we film and social critics need to be clear about what we find demeaning or condescending or racist. We also must be ready to face the complexities of oppressions and not rely on simplistic labels like ‘White Messiah’ and expect the conversation to be over.
I will say ‘yes’ to anything that helps the human situation. So I will enthusiastically take feedback and dialogue about this film. As a white anti-racist ally I want to always be checked and held accountable and be a helpful voice in the movement.
The Article by David Brooks is called “The Messiah Complex” and was written for the New York Times. All quotes are from his article except where otherwise cited and can be found here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/08/opinion/08brooks.html
As you may have read, our elected leaders continue their never-ending efforts to pass some form of government subsidized widely affordable and freely chosen insurance option. Though millions of hard working Americans have spoken clearly and told the politicians that they require some form of affordable health care insurance for their families, we Tea Partiers are still not listening. We want Americans–all Americans to be independent of health insurance.
Our country is also crippled by loss of healthy labor hours due to American workers missing work due to medical problems that they can’t afford to fix.
And you know what? That’s the cost of freedom. Freedom isn’t free people. Neither is the ability to receive medical attention and prescriptions.
We want all Americans to be independent–from the option of affordable insurance.
Despite the Tea Partiers’ misportrayal of the health care option many Americans believe that health insurance reform is needed because of bloated costs and huge bureaucracies.
Our elected officials seem unable to get a handle on their fiscal obesity, and it appears they are committed to a course of national economic suicide.
So we say: “Allow our nation’s children to continue in their world leading obesity and diabetes! And give us the freedom to have our depression untreated giving rise to higher rates of suicide! http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/state-ranking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate
Government size and spending will be overlooked when the military is concerned. Keep those wars a comin’!
Tea Party Patriots stand for individual responsibility. If you get cancer–go fuck yourself.
Tea Party Patriots stand for constitutionally limited government. We’ll be asking to repeal the VA, Medicare, and Social Security Benefits soon. Not to mention state subsidized programs.
Tea Party Patriots stand for free markets. We want our money to go to for profit corporations via bloated, greedy, and out of control insurance companies.
None of the proposed bills even remotely fall within our core values.
We Tea Party Patriots will represent health insurance options as:
“Government taking over our health care” and that would not be smaller, limited government.
Even though government would not be ‘taking over’ health care but really providing an affordable insurance option to working middle class Americans, we still don’t like the sound of it.
We want independence from compassion.
We want independence from options.
Taking leadership is a patriot trait.
That’s why we’re determined to lead America down a road of opposing anything that looks like affordable options for health insurance for middle class working families.
The Tea Party Patriot will always stand ready to stand in the way of at least 21 million Americans getting healthy and back to work. Because that’s the obstinant, inhumane, and INDEPENDENT thing to do.
