Welcome to the World That I Create for Myself

First, I'll direct you to read this article.

Then, to read this response.

Now, you may find yourself just laughing, or making a few moron jokes about Sarah Grunfeld.

How short-sighted of you.

What we have, clearly, is a young woman who apparently can't decode basic English, and is dead certain that is not her problem. A girl who entered a institution of higher learning, apparently with an attitude that the assumptions she makes are just as valid, if not more so, than the data being provided by her instructors. A girl who chose to hear what she wanted to hear, formulated outrage based on incomplete data and personal opinion, and then held unshakably firm to her interpretation of the facts. Miss Grunfeld has created for herself a world where there is right, a.k.a what she believes, and wrong, a.k.a. any other opinion.

In other words, a shining example of an internet-age human being. Her reasoning and attitude mirrors almost any internet posting, on any subject, you will find. Kudos to Miss Grunfeld for having the courage to bravely flaunt her ignorance outside of cyberspace, without hiding behind an internet "handle" or some other such hogwash. I hope she moves forward to tackle politics, or maybe internet piracy next.

I think we have our first candidate for the Nobel Prize.

A Truly Poor Showing...

For myself this week. Really awful. I managed TWO whole blog entries this week.

Normally this blog is enjoyable to write, and I have a good time with it. Sometimes, however, the pressure to actually produce something starts to get to me. I've also, by trying to keep up a five days a week schedule, put myself in a position where I have to generate a lot of material. I make no bones about the fact that a lot of what I put up here is just random crap that falls out of my head. Sometimes it coalesces into an actual point, and sometimes it doesn't.

But that's what a blog is for, isn't it? A public diary for folks who are just egotistical enough to believe that things they find interesting, other people will find interesting. There was a quote from Eddie Van Halen, years ago (probably around 1997 when the last full Van Halen album came out - before the turn to full-on loony-bird status), where he said, essentially, that. It always struck me that statement encompassed pretty much everything "art" is about.

Anyway....

Sitting here looking at my Facebook account, and I'm struck by all the political posts. I strive, in most cases, to be a pretty apolitical person. I just don't care to get so angry about things. I tend to the left, but at the same time, I can see the logic of some conservative viewpoints. I say this only to position myself in you, my reader's eyes.

What the hell is the point of political posts on Facebook? I mean, generally speaking, I see the same links and blogs re-posted ad nauseum. Most of my Facebook friends are friends with each other, the circle is not that big. So, basically you're just re-posting the same point over and over and over again. I was asked to write my congressmen about funding for public broadcasting (link to the exact same page, with the exact same phrasing) no less than, and yes, I kept track, 46 times.

I sent the e-mail after the 2nd.

I also LOVE the "if you don't agree with this, you can just unfriend me" line.

I mean, really?

I have conservative friends on Facebook, but I'm near-completely certain that they're not violent homophobes or out-and-out fascists. If you are so invested in this blog/video/article/youtube clip (whatever it might be) that you are instructing your assembled friends that, unless they agree with you, they need not be your friends, WHY THE HELL ARE YOU FRIENDS WITH THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE?!?!?

Are you just accepting every, single friend request you get?

...Because, folks, that's dangerous.

I also love the "shotgun blast" advocacy. I have a friend, and I do consider him a friend, who will start posting links to various blogs, and just not stop. It just turns into link, after link, after link. I'm talking about 10 blogs linked in 15 minutes.

Do you have ANY IDEA how annoying that is? Do you realize that, no matter if the blog sounds interesting, I'm just blocking it out now? I mean, did you confirm, or even read, all this shit?

Magic 8-Ball says....Response Hazy, Try Again Later.

Then the Magic 8-Ball exploded.

You killed Magic 8-Ball, you BASTARD!!

The point of all this, because I guess I should get to it, is that too many of you fine folks out there have boiled being "involved" and "socially active" down to sitting on your ass in front of a computer and regurgitating the crap you've read somebody else say on the internet.

Y'know the garbage about Obama not being born in the US? That started just like this.

When I found that picture above, I just jumped at it. It's the perfect metaphor for what the internet, and our human society has become. A little tube you crawl into that reflects and reinforces your own views as you ride through it. We're not learning anything on the internet, we're just finding fuel for what we already believe.

Then we turn around and spew it out as "evidence" and feel good about the "good" we've done. Being a socially conscious advocate for change is so easy when all we have to do is click a link, isn't it?

Why the Internet Sucks

Look, let it be known, I really enjoyed The Town, which was, yes, directed and co-written by Ben Affleck. I even reviewed it on this blog. I also have a soft spot for Ben Affleck, who I think is fairly underrated as a actor (which is understandable, in the face of the poor choices he's made, repeatedly), and is proving to be a very competent filmmaker. So, yes...I liked The Town quite a bit.

You may not. I enjoyed it as a well-constructed crime thriller with decent performances. I suspect it'll make my top ten for 2010, and I also suspect, in a ten film Best Picture race, it'll get a nomination. Your mileage may vary.

Is it "genius?" No. It's not. It's no The Departed, because Affleck, as much as I like his workmanlike direction, and his tastes in subject matter match mine (based on this film, and the fantastic Gone, Baby, Gone), is not Martin Scorsese. I certainly don't think it'll win Best Picture.

However, it's a very well-made mainstream thriller. Y'know, the kind of thing that used to be respected because it does the job, tells a story, and doesn't get too involved it trying to be impressive. Affleck, Jeremy Renner and Jon Hamm are all very good in it. It's a guys movie, the ladies have somewhat thankless roles, but both Rebecca Hall and Blake Lively (yes, THAT Blake Lively) do good work with what they have.

It's also a film that doesn't cheat. It sets up an untenable position for the characters, and marches purposefully toward the bad end. Yeah, sure there's a few rays of hope, but characters we are invested in die, and the guy doesn't really get the girl.

I got up after seeing it, and felt really good about paying full price to see it. That's a damn fine review in my book. Again, your tastes may not jibe with this, but it's not a disaster, and it's certainly not embarrassing for Mr. Affleck. I hate star scales, usually, but I'd give a very solid 4 out of 5.

And y'know what? A lot of people agree with me.

So, yesterday when I stumbled across a "review" of the film that was offensive in it's dismissal, I felt the need to comment. I won't even link to it, because, frankly, I don't want to drive traffic to them. I respect a conversation about any film, I certainly don't expect everyone to agree with my opinions.

That said.

I see far too many "reviews" that read like what was watched wasn't the movie, but a trailer. No, I don't think it's funny when you say things that amount to "of course it's a stupid movie, BEN AFFLECK directed it." Or, your sole critique of Blake Lively's performance is that it's BLAKE LIVELY.

I read that, and all I can say is...Fuck You.

Fuck you because you are not interested in a discussion of film, you are not interested in craft, you are interested in building a online cachet by saying snarky thinks about famous people. There's a difference between trying to instigate a conversation about a movie, and talking trash because you want to feel superior to famous people. Read that as: You are jealous of famous people.

Seriously, I am so tired idiots that spill drivel and bile, and feel entitled to do so just because they paid for a domain, or can set up a blogger account. You want to talk about movies, or music, or comics, or whatever...that's fantastic, but if you can't back up what your saying with anything more than personal swipes, go to hell. Not to say there's not films that deserve to be marginalized, I'll accept a complete dismissal of a film, as long as you explain why. Roger Ebert's classic review of I Spit on Your Grave comes directly to mind.

Plus, there's the pervasive internet belief that, if you have a blog, you know everything. Take, for example, from this review I'm looking at, the comments about Affleck's "crappy" Boston accent...

Well, see, Affleck is a Boston NATIVE. You are not, or at least your bios don't indicate you are. I would, in this particular case, defer to his ear on the subject, rather than a couple of bloggers from Chicago.

That's just me.

Oh, and I know, the defense will be, "but we were just trying to be FUNNY!" There's a difference between pretentious snark and funny. There's a difference between what this "review" was doing, and what happens over at, say, Eric & Andy's Reviews You Can Lews.Which has it's share of snark, for sure, but it comes from a place of utter ridiculousness to begin with. What it also has is zero pretension. Eric and Andy, no matter how far they go, never give you the sense that they're above what they're writing about.

And before you get all high and mighty about me...Yep, I have a blog. Yep, I share my opinions. I also make every effort to share exactly why I feel the way I do about everything I write about. If I were to ever review some like say, The Awful Truth, or whatever it was called, I'd have to tell you I hate it, and it's because Katherine Heigl is an actress that makes me want to punch the screen. And, yes, it is because she's made apparently every effort to share with the whole world what a colossal bitch she is.

But...that's why I would never review one of her films, because I know my personal feelings would completely get in the way of any sort of constructive discussion.

Of course, yes, you have caught me. My personal feelings about the way you went about reviewing a film that I personally like have spilled out all over this blog entry. However, I also think I've more an adequately supported my feelings on the matter in a way that could be debated and discussed.

Had you done the same, this blog wouldn't exist.

Monday Randomness

Didn't watch the Golden Globes last night. I tend to view the Globes as a scam. Awards that seem to go to whatever studio gives the Hollywood Foreign Press the best party, but you can't deny that they influence the Oscars, for good or ill.

So, so happy that Jeff Bridges won. The film, as I've said, is nothing new, but the performances is vintage Jeff Bridges, and, frankly, he should've been showered with awards years ago.

So, so disappointed that Robert Downey Jr. beat Matt Damon in the Musical/Comedy category. It's the award version of star fucking...Downey is "hotter" than Damon, and his move made more bank. Never mind that Damon just killed in The Informant!

And Avatar took it home over The Hurt Locker. Netflix shipped us The Hurt Locker over the weekend, so I expect to be watching it very soon (finally), so I can't really compare, but, that said, I don't think this is a horrible choice. Avatar did provide a visual experience the likes of which I've rarely experienced, and lest we forget...film is a visual medium. I read a snarky tweet that said, "Avatar can be watched on mute to the same effect."

Well, so what?

I'd lay money, based on Kathryn Bigelow's past films, you could say the same about The Hurt Locker, or many of Martin Scorsese's films, or Steven Speilberg's. The fact you could tell a story using mainly visual information is a really illogical way to criticize a movie, or it's maker.

Avatar isn't the greatest movie ever, or even of this year, in my opinion, but it's top-flight ginormo-scale Hollywood filmmaking, and it actually has a compelling message. It will trigger a huge change in, at the very least, how films are presented. This is why I don't entirely balk at it winning awards, and certainly don't think Cameron is undeserving of beating out his ex-wife Bigelow for a Best Director win. Avatar is a director's film, just like The Hurt Locker, the kind that takes every skill a director has to pull off.

I think it's really great that two genre, "action" directors are apparently the frontrunners going into the Oscars. Look at Bigelow's filmography, she and Cameron are from the same school. It's just easy to be snobbish, and think that, because Bigelow made a film about Iraq, and not blue aliens, hers is "more important."

Anyway, I fell down yesterday morning. I am stiff, sore, and my right elbow is tender to the touch. I thank those who've showed concern, but also want to reassure everyone...If I REALLY hurt myself, the LAST thing I'm going to do is run to the phone to tweet about it. Lots of asprin, taking it easy, and I'll be fine.

But it did make me think of something, along with some complaints leveled at me by a friend on Saturday night....

I post a lot of crap via twitter/facebook. I tend to use these status updates as a stream-of-conciousness way to document my own, frankly, worthless musings. Likewise, I use this blog to pontificate on various topics that interest me, and get out various emotional states. I ALWAYS strive to be honest in my blogs or status updates, I am an artist, a performer, and I am my material. There's no point to this blog if I hide my emotional state! Facts, details, names, these are details that made be changed/hidden to protect the innocent, but what I write here is true, and comes from as honest a place as possible.

However....

I am rarely as depressed as I appear, or as excited. Things bother me, things make me happy, and I post them. I consider life changes, and I make mention of them. It's part of my process and sharing myself with the world. If I didn't want to share myself, then, frankly folks, acting is just about the LAST thing I ought to be doing.

What I find interesting is how much importance seems to be attached to a lot of what I say. I mean, half of my status messages are stupid jokes, a good portion quoting lyrics (which may, or may not, be tired to my emotional state...sometimes I just have a song stuck in my head), and the rest is...snippets of me. True, yes, but hardly anything to get upset about.

"I read it on the internet." How often I hear that. Where? Who said Obama wasn't a US Citizen? Who said Jeff Goldblum fell off a cliff in New Zealand? Or that Jackie Earl Haley is playing Sinestro? I mean, these are all false. Obama's birth certificate plainly says he was born in Hawaii, Jeff Goldblum is alive and well, and, according to the Director of Green Lantern, Haley's never even been mentioned. How does this start? Somebody makes a joke, or says "wouldn't this be cool..." and somebody reads it, and adds in their own interpretaion. And it bulids and builds...

Most of what I post is, like most of the internet, far from the full story. Jumping to conclutions is, apparently, now part and parcel of surfing the web.

I fear for us. I really do.