New Vid: "Shock the Monkey" (Hawaii Five-0)

[giandujakiss]

AKA, how I spent my Sunday....

Song: Shock the Monkey by Peter Gabriel
Fandom: Hawaii Five-0

Summary: Full immunity and means.

Spoilers: Through 1x18

Sizes: 30 MB (540 x 360 .divx), 14 MB (420 x 280 .wmv)
Length: 2:14

Download from Sendspace: The .divx file is here and the .wmv file is here.

Notes: Honestly, this vid is more catharsis for me

Comments

[zed_pm]

I loved it. :)

[giandujakiss]

Thank you!

[nicole_anell]

Wow, fantastic and infuriating vid. Also more than a little hard to watch, especially as I'm not a fan of the show in the first place (luckily immune to the hotness of these particular guys? and Jin and Athena just weren't worth it) and REALLY turned off by this kind of thing when it goes unchallenged in the actual source.

Something I found really telling in the clips and song choice was the feeling of dehumanizing the bad guys/criminals, in addition to the abuse of power.

I liked the freeze-framing and juxtaposing the violence with images of the uniforms, badge, etc. I really admire you for being able to so clearly and scathingly critique a show that you enjoy other elements of. Very well-done vid!

[giandujakiss]

Thank you so much! Yeah, it not only goes unchallenged in the source - it's valorized. The entire tone of the show is "Because these guys are freed from pesky restrictions, they can get stuff done!" And that's on top of this ongoing militarism.... anyway, yes, it's a real problem. And I'm very glad you liked the uniforms, badges, and so on because for me that's the heart of the problem - the episode where Kono (aka Athena) gets sworn in as a cop makes me want to throw things - she takes an oath to uphold the Constitution, but the characters violate that oath in every episode.

Anyway, thanks again!

[streussal]

This was one of my issues with the show too. When the supposedly stable cop does things I would expect of cops on the edge of a mental breakdown? Yeah. It pushes way fast the whole rebel cop thing without even blinking.

[giandujakiss]

Hee - you're right - it would be more palatable if we were supposed to think Steve and Danny were breaking down. Sadly, we're supposed to admire them.

[iamrosalita]

Well done and thought provoking. I do wish that they'd left Danny above the fray so that it would be possible for him to continue calling Steve on his actions. But they've put him into a position where he really can't anymore because he is doing the same things although not quite to Steve's level of craziness.

[giandujakiss]

Yes, it's particularly troublesome because I of course 'ship Steve and Danny, and so much of their flirting takes place while they torture suspects and witnesses, so it's really quite inseparable from their relationship.

I'm glad you liked the vid - thank you!

[foreverdirt]

Eugh, thank you. This is really well made and a very pointed, clever critique of the way police brutality and torture are not just condoned by the show, but seen as almost a bonding activity.

[giandujakiss]

Yes, a bonding activity! Exactly - which makes it particularly tough to take because I like the Steve/Danny relationship, but the brutality really pervades their scenes.

Anyway, I'm glad you liked the vid - thanks!