The following was a comment posted on this article, over at ArtofManliness. I'm reposting it here both for personal reference and as a summary of my views on certain things.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
The Decline and Fall of Milo and Otis, or, Why I Hate Talking Animal Movies
I was sitting with my sister at Prince Caspian the other night, and we saw the teaser trailer for the upcoming Disney live action/CG/travesty, "Chihuahua Somethingorother." I fought the urge to throw my Subway bag at the screen and walk out in frustration and wound up exchanging vexed glances with my sister. Someone behind me muttered "they're getting desperate." I agree.
There was a time (about 1994, to be precise) when talking animal movies were well done despite the virtual nonexistence of CG'ed lip syncing for our furry companions. What happened? Crappy writing happened. The reason talking animal movies suck these days is because as a rule most movies marketed towards children are complete drivel (and talking animal movies are an unfortunate subset). This is not to say that all examples of the aforementioned genre are recycle bin-bound, as there have been some movies in the past few years that are outstanding on both a production value standpoint and a storytelling standpoint (Finding Nemo comes to mind, which always struck me as a sort of urbane Land Before Time).
However, most of the talking animal films produced and marketed are appealing to a consumer base that most of Hollywood considers incapable of understanding morality in film and production value. I think one of the most significant boons of the early 90's "children's" films and television shows was that there was a commensurate effort to see that all presentations had a degree of good morality wrapped into them--and I'm speaking of the "hey, these are timeless values that you should live by" morality, not the "hey, you're your own person so you get to do whatever you like and no one can get in your way" which is the kind of morality a lot of television shows and films are trying to sell to our kids.
I'm 19. I don't have kids and I don't plan on having them anytime soon. However, I do understand messages, and I do remember what it was like to be a child. That's why I can go back and watch things I watched as a child (Animaniacs--perhaps one of the most Christian cartoons ever made--Land Before Time, Beauty and the Beast, Hercules, &c.) and remember the lessons they taught me during their prime. I won't go so far as to say that cartoons and movies are formative experiences that have the power to turn a child into Pol Pot or Saint Augustine, but I will say that they provide the foundation that a lot of kids will grow up with. That foundation will likely effect the way children perceive messages in media.
Why do you think kids act like such little retards these days? That's not to say I didn't perform my share of shenanigans when I was a kid, but it seems a heck of a lot worse. I'm of the opinion that every kid should have older movies as part of their media diet--let's be honest, who didn't watch such films as Sleeping Beauty and Robin Hood and other such "antiquated" works?
Sidebar: There was just a promo on ABC, and the catch line was "Where can you see Usher?" I swore they were going to respond "Only in Kenya."
There was a time (about 1994, to be precise) when talking animal movies were well done despite the virtual nonexistence of CG'ed lip syncing for our furry companions. What happened? Crappy writing happened. The reason talking animal movies suck these days is because as a rule most movies marketed towards children are complete drivel (and talking animal movies are an unfortunate subset). This is not to say that all examples of the aforementioned genre are recycle bin-bound, as there have been some movies in the past few years that are outstanding on both a production value standpoint and a storytelling standpoint (Finding Nemo comes to mind, which always struck me as a sort of urbane Land Before Time).
However, most of the talking animal films produced and marketed are appealing to a consumer base that most of Hollywood considers incapable of understanding morality in film and production value. I think one of the most significant boons of the early 90's "children's" films and television shows was that there was a commensurate effort to see that all presentations had a degree of good morality wrapped into them--and I'm speaking of the "hey, these are timeless values that you should live by" morality, not the "hey, you're your own person so you get to do whatever you like and no one can get in your way" which is the kind of morality a lot of television shows and films are trying to sell to our kids.
I'm 19. I don't have kids and I don't plan on having them anytime soon. However, I do understand messages, and I do remember what it was like to be a child. That's why I can go back and watch things I watched as a child (Animaniacs--perhaps one of the most Christian cartoons ever made--Land Before Time, Beauty and the Beast, Hercules, &c.) and remember the lessons they taught me during their prime. I won't go so far as to say that cartoons and movies are formative experiences that have the power to turn a child into Pol Pot or Saint Augustine, but I will say that they provide the foundation that a lot of kids will grow up with. That foundation will likely effect the way children perceive messages in media.
Why do you think kids act like such little retards these days? That's not to say I didn't perform my share of shenanigans when I was a kid, but it seems a heck of a lot worse. I'm of the opinion that every kid should have older movies as part of their media diet--let's be honest, who didn't watch such films as Sleeping Beauty and Robin Hood and other such "antiquated" works?
Sidebar: There was just a promo on ABC, and the catch line was "Where can you see Usher?" I swore they were going to respond "Only in Kenya."
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Side note: I like how Sis-A references my blog in her sidebar.
It is finals week! I really ought to commit my exam schedule to memory better, because I sat in the lobby of McCrelless this morning for a good 15 minutes wondering where everyone was. Turns out our written theory final is tomorrow at 9:00 as opposed to, you know, today.
Do I win or what?
My current joy is found in playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii. I'll be picking up Mario Kart Wii here in the next few weeks to give my sisters something to do, but I think I may have them buy their own remotes (because they're freakin' $60 a piece if you get the remote and nunchuck). I took a bit of a hiatus from being a Wiitard due to class work and Halo(s) 1&2 (but mostly class work. No, seriously.)
What the heck, I'm getting sick again. That's twice this semester, probably because I haven't been running like I should be or taking my vitamins. Shame on me--that'll have to be fixed over the summer because I can't go around DYING all the time.
It is finals week! I really ought to commit my exam schedule to memory better, because I sat in the lobby of McCrelless this morning for a good 15 minutes wondering where everyone was. Turns out our written theory final is tomorrow at 9:00 as opposed to, you know, today.
Do I win or what?
My current joy is found in playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii. I'll be picking up Mario Kart Wii here in the next few weeks to give my sisters something to do, but I think I may have them buy their own remotes (because they're freakin' $60 a piece if you get the remote and nunchuck). I took a bit of a hiatus from being a Wiitard due to class work and Halo(s) 1&2 (but mostly class work. No, seriously.)
What the heck, I'm getting sick again. That's twice this semester, probably because I haven't been running like I should be or taking my vitamins. Shame on me--that'll have to be fixed over the summer because I can't go around DYING all the time.
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I thought this article was very good but something needs to discussed a bit more and that is love. It was mentioned in the original article a few times but never defined or seriously discussed. Those who promoted the promiscuous point of view never mentioned it or talked about it except to say that they thought you could be promiscuous and then transition to monogamy no problem.
The big problem as I see it is that being unchaste makes you the type of person who finds true love repulsive. So what is true love? St. Thomas Aquinas points out that the pagan Aristotle perceived two kinds of love. The first kind of love (which I will call desire) is the love of something because of what it gives us. I love good food because it tastes good and makes me feel good. The second kind of love (which I will simply call love) is when we love something for it’s own sake and not for what it gives us - and this is the starting point of friendship.
If you really love someone though you don’t just wish them well, you actually give of yourself for the sake of their own true happiness. How much you love is measured by how much you give.
This points to the problem of lust and why being unchaste makes love repulsive. Several people have brought up the idea of needing to find out if they’re “sexual compatible” with the other person, that they learned some really neat sex tricks from other partners or porn, that wide-oats need to be sowed, etc. The problem with all of these is that it’s all about providing pleasure, ultimately for yourself. Even the people who want to provide pleasure to their partner get a great deal of pleasure from the pride of “performing well” and from the gratitude that they receive. But none of these things involve sacrifice. None of these things involve giving up what you have for the good of another.
The problem with promiscuity is that something can create a new life and unite two people together in an intimate way that involves (at least) two people and uses it for one’s own person pleasure. That’s called being selfish. And that is why unchastity is not manly. Because men think of others before themselves. And men who are great lovers reserve their first thoughts for the beloved. And people who think like that and love like that give their bodies totally to the one whom they have already totally committed their lives.