(no subject)
I'm watching media coverage of the tragic events in Norway with horror. It's not surprising that a white, right-wing Christian attacker is labelled a "mad man" instead of a terrorist, but it is disappointing. He probably is mad - you'd have to be, to do something like this - but that should not mean we stop looking into the socio-political origins of his ideas. He may have worked alone, but he certainly didn't exist in a vacuum.
That's really not much else I can say. My thoughts go out to all the victims and their families.
In comparitively totally insiginificant news, overall I liked Torchwood: Miracle Day Ep. 3, but there's one little thing that really bugs me.
The good:
That sex scene was hot. I liked the mirroring of the two couples.
Gwen continues to be the best thing about this show.
I am shipping the heck out of femslash pairings, here! Gwen/CIA girl and BAMF doctor/evil publicist all the way. (As you can tell, I haven't learned anyone's name).
The women really are the most likeable characters on this show.
You go with your shameless leftist politics, Torchwood.
The bad:
Why are there no aliens? :(
Okay. So it really bothers me when TV shows rely on "the masses are made up of idiots" tropes without any explanation into their motivations.
What is this cult? Who leads it? How are they getting their message out? Why are people joining? Why do none of our characters seem interested in answering any of these questions? Doesn't it seem weird to them?
Why do people suddenly love the child-killing pedophile? No seriously, why? He's not even a very good speaker. A few talk show appearances and suddenly they're worshipping the ground he walks on?
See, the show wants us to just accept that that's the way these gullible crowds are, because of the ~evil~ power of the mass media. I'm a media studies student and trust me, it's more complicated than that. People are not total dupes. If you want to make commentary on mass media and celebrity that's fine, but you're going to need to try harder than that. People are attracted to celebrities because they have reasons to be; the show failed to show me any of that.
Instead, we've just got our few special elites who are capable of seeing through the fog, while everyone else falls all over themselves being stupid and gullible. I've read way too many studies of fandom that do the exact same thing to buy it.
That's really not much else I can say. My thoughts go out to all the victims and their families.
In comparitively totally insiginificant news, overall I liked Torchwood: Miracle Day Ep. 3, but there's one little thing that really bugs me.
The good:
That sex scene was hot. I liked the mirroring of the two couples.
Gwen continues to be the best thing about this show.
I am shipping the heck out of femslash pairings, here! Gwen/CIA girl and BAMF doctor/evil publicist all the way. (As you can tell, I haven't learned anyone's name).
The women really are the most likeable characters on this show.
You go with your shameless leftist politics, Torchwood.
The bad:
Why are there no aliens? :(
Okay. So it really bothers me when TV shows rely on "the masses are made up of idiots" tropes without any explanation into their motivations.
What is this cult? Who leads it? How are they getting their message out? Why are people joining? Why do none of our characters seem interested in answering any of these questions? Doesn't it seem weird to them?
Why do people suddenly love the child-killing pedophile? No seriously, why? He's not even a very good speaker. A few talk show appearances and suddenly they're worshipping the ground he walks on?
See, the show wants us to just accept that that's the way these gullible crowds are, because of the ~evil~ power of the mass media. I'm a media studies student and trust me, it's more complicated than that. People are not total dupes. If you want to make commentary on mass media and celebrity that's fine, but you're going to need to try harder than that. People are attracted to celebrities because they have reasons to be; the show failed to show me any of that.
Instead, we've just got our few special elites who are capable of seeing through the fog, while everyone else falls all over themselves being stupid and gullible. I've read way too many studies of fandom that do the exact same thing to buy it.