Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Politics and moviegoing...bad for the stomach, good for stress.

Today's OCRemix: "G-Storm" Extreme G Remix by bLiNd. One of the golden rules of OCR: If you are unsure of the game, or unsure of the song, you can always trust the remixer. I'm not familliar at all with the game Extreme G for the N64, and, for that reason, unfamilliar with the music, but as soon as I saw the name bLiNd, I was more than enthusiastic to get the mix. bLiNd, for those of you who haven't been here for awhile, is the mixer of my favorite OCR mix from Starfox, called Meteorave. For this reason, I decided to trust my instincts on this one, and got the mix. to my pleasure, I was not disappointed, and decided to put it up. Extreme G, by my guess, is some kind of racing game much like the F-Zero series, and I like the trancy remix because of the oddly reverbed synthesized drums that almost sound like gusts of wind, and the wicked drum pattern and synths that give you a definite sense of speed. Enjoy. Now, I planned on trying to update myO on a lighter note...until I saw the thread for the movie "Farenheit 9/11" by Michael Moore. The opinions varies, and I'll try to avoid names, but I could find a few more contradictions in the arguments of the people who disagreed with Moore's view over those who agreed with him. I feel that the OB is no place for such personal feelings of mine, so I'd rather vent my frustrations on MyO, where there is actually room for that. If anyone feels like arguing with me, I'd rather do it as a regular one on one debate, instead of making it "public" on the OB. Personally, I found holes in what those who disliked Moore's view in the film, one of the first things I noticed was that a few of those who disliked it even admitted that they had never even seen the movie. If you never saw the movie, then why in the hell are you commenting on it?! Furthermore, due to this, some of the arguments were flawed, spoken like people who had never seen the movie, including "the war in Afghanistan was bout oil" or "no one bothered to mention Saddam Hussein". How can these statements be justified by those who have never seen the movie? Did the people who wrote these supposed "reviews" or "articles" even see the movie themselves? Furthermore, a certain member posted an article about the movie being R-rated because of dead bodies, people attacked by bombs, and music with coarse language. ("The Roof is on Fire" by the Bloodhound Gang) I suppose the "Bloodhound Gang" song was justified, but there is argument that Michael Moore claimed: "I encourage all teenagers to come see my movie, by any means necessary. If you need me to sneak you in, let me know," Now, one thing that wasn't mentioned was whether or not Moore was even being serious. What's a little joke now and then? That is a good a possibility as him being deathly serious, as the person who wrote this article gave us no context in that quote. It is said that a leftist philosophy involves reaching the children to brainwash them, but is it possible that the younger generation, (soon-to-be voters and/or military personnel) would want to hear the story from the "other side" since they may end up being thrown headfirst into a war? Personally, I think that younger people should have some interest in politics, that they should see this movie, and, if they do not agree with it, by all means, I encourage everyone to go out and research what the opposition is saying. Isn't the fact that the movie's R rating is the non-liberal way of brainwashing the public youth? Their parents should tell them that something is bad just because all the posters have an "R" on it? That sounds about as much like brainwashing as the creation of the movie in the first place. Besides, to quote the writer, Tammy Bruce: "I’m sure they (Michael Moore/Tom Ortenberg of Lion's Gate Films) fantasized about thousands of DVDs being sent, at no cost of course, to high school history and civics teachers nationwide. This message would then have the legitimacy in your child’s eye of being presented in a school environment where they are to accept and “learn” whatever is thrown their way. The agenda of Michael Moore and Tom Ortenberg is obvious. They know adults will and do see this film as propaganda, and will dismiss it accordingly. Children, on the other hand, do not have the critical thinking skills required to understand when they’re being taken for a ride by an angry and miserable man. And children must see it without that pesky parent who might actually put things in context or even provide a running editorial with the material." If you think that the younger generation, the "children", are so stupid that they cannot think critically about the news presented to them, then maybe there really is something wrong with the system, that people ages 13-16 cannot have the critical thinking skills to be able to argue or research a point intelligently enough to justify "Farenheit 9/11". As I said before, this is brainwashing in the exact same way that the making of "Farenheit 9/11" was considered brainwashing. If the youth doesn't have the capacity to think like that, then why do people on the OB write about politics? Are we too stupid to think clearly on these subjects too? Based on what I see, I think not. They say Moore claimed that almost every American is stupid compared to other countries, and asked the Canadian Conservative Party not act like George W. because they do not want to attach the label of American-like behavoiur to themselves. If that is, in fact, true, then my liking for Michael Moore, as a person, just dropped a whole lot, but if I may not like the man as a person, then I can sympathize with his views on how the system in the States is worse, and no mater how much I may dislike Michael Moore, my absolute despisal of George W. Bush will always remain exponentially greater. People criticized the book: "Stupid White Men", and about how the system is always out to hurt the poor and reward the rich, and how the government will prey on the blue-collar working-class man, making Amrecia seem like such a terrible place. I can find some truth to that, as was shown in "Farenheit", that only the poorer classes in the US will join the army for a hope of having a future, and the rich have no need of joining the military service. To quote Michael Moore: "Those who are most hurt by the system are always the first to rise to protect it." How sad. Furthermore, Moore also went into the story on the war in Afghanistan, and how Iraq lasted (is lasting) much longer. How Bush reacted weakly to suppress the Saudis and Bin Laden, but is now in "control" (controlled anarchy, more like) of Iraq for its oil. On a business level, I can see how this works, as was said in the movie. The Saudi Areabians are some of the largest investors in the American economy, and if Bush were to attack Afghanistan any harder, he would lose all kinds of money, and would rather opt to attack Iraq, where the oil is, and where the major companies who supply weapons (also invested in by the Saudis) would make huge profits. For this reason, I see what Bush is doing as intelligent....but unethical. I admit, though, that the movie was probably weak at displaying Iraq as being "victims" of the US, since they showed an almost conry scene of Iraqi children playing at a local park before the US began its bombings, and that, possibly, the only purpose of the movie was to overturn an upcoming election and, therefore, was the only reason it won the Cannes film festival award. As a film, I admit it wasn't the best I've seen, but I do like the view, a little something from the opposite side of the political spectrum, since the media tends to focus (from what I can tell) on Bush and his persective on the war. Especially since, supposedly, private investigation by the independent media on 9/11 itself was not sanctioned by Bush. Well, that's about all the ranting I have energy for at the moment, but I would like to thank those of you who read this, as it means much to me that I can talk to someone about a subject like this (even if it is an argument) and try and express my opinion as best I can, and, hopefully, get to know people a little better on that personal level of political opinion. Please comment on this, even if you want to bring up something I missed, as it would mean a lot to me. To learn from everyone. -WDS-

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