• Re: "Eternals" Signals The End Of Marvel As We Knew It

    From BeamMeUpScotty@21:1/5 to Ubiquitous on Thu Oct 28 06:40:54 2021
    XPost: alt.tv.pol-incorrect, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.politics.correct
    XPost: rec.arts.movies.current-films

    On 10/28/21 4:41 AM, Ubiquitous wrote:
    If “Eternals” is any indication, Marvel’s glory days are officially behind it.

    Some lovely world-building, full of color and light notwithstanding,
    from beginning to end, the film is a mess.

    The storyline centers on a group of immortal beings fashioned by the
    great celestial energy god Arishem to battle deviants — neon, fiber-
    optic dinosaurs that traverse the planet feeding on humankind. After thousands of years, the Eternals have finally destroyed the last of
    them, and are free to roam the world finding their own purpose, hanging
    in bars, making movies, riding the range.

    That’s what they’re doing when an evolved breed of deviant shows up, setting them off on a journey for answers.

    This sounds kind of fun. And I wish it were. But with the exception of
    Kumail Nanjiani who offers, without question, the only real reason to
    see the movie, the story takes itself far too seriously for fun or,
    really, even logic.

    Complicating plot twists surface and disappear and we’re never clear if they were important to begin with. Someone is suddenly revealed to be
    in love with someone else yet there’s been no foreshadowing to achieve emotional impact. Characters’ motivations, that we are supposed to
    believe were forged through millennia, shift on a dime, but seem to
    indicate deep religious faith is bad and will make you kill the people
    you love.

    Ultimately Eternals commits the one sin a blockbuster, superhero movie
    can never be redeemed from — it’s dull.

    The issue is primarily that Marvel is no longer content to make entertainment. Now, under Kevin Feige’s new direction, it wants to make commentary. It wants to be relevant. Instead, it often ends up
    ridiculous, taking you out of the world of the movie as you begin
    thinking about the kind of fawning, celebratory headlines Slate and Vox
    are going to write about it.

    The prime example is Arishem’s creative decisions in fashioning this
    team of minor divinities: A Chinese woman, a Middle-Aged white woman, a Hispanic woman, a deaf woman, an androgynous child, a Korean man, an
    American black man, an Indian man, and, finally, a pair of Gaelic white
    guys.

    This overt rainbow coalition would have been fine if the film had
    bothered to offer some utilitarian explanation for it. How hard would
    it have been to throw in a line about needing to reflect the varieties
    of humans, or some such superhero boilerplate? Instead, the
    unaccountable diversity is taken as such a bedrock, unimpeachable good,
    Zhao and team don’t even think they need to clarify it.

    During my press screening, this perfect illustration of ethnic, gender, sexual, and ability variety inspired my completely non-politically-
    minded brother to lean over and whisper: So what then — even a cosmic
    space deity is worried the woke mob will come after him if he doesn’t
    get the representation right?

    With “Eternals,” it seems clear Feige has officially won the struggle
    for wokeness. The revelation that one member of the team is gay is no
    quick aside Disney can easily disentangle to pass muster with Chinese censors. He is black and has a husband of a different ethnic minority.
    They dote in the suburbs over a little boy; they linger long in a kiss.

    The same impulse to make statements also led Feige to tap Chloe Zhao,
    an art-house Oscar-winner to helm this project. He and others at Disney
    have celebrated it as a step forward in politics, not story-telling. It shows.

    The best Marvel movies have always come from the scruffy guys rising up
    from the unrespectable genres of horror and comedy. Directors like
    Taika Waititi, James Gunn, and the Russo Brothers had histories making crowd-pleasers on shoe-string budgets. Zhao has a history of inspiring
    deep think-pieces in The Atlantic. She’s done wonderful work as a meditative auteur, but she’s a terrible fit for Marvel.

    At times this striving to celebrate global cultures juxtaposed with
    American progressive sexual ethics grows ridiculously obtuse and contradictory. As when the gay Eternal decides to journey to the Middle
    East, a land portrayed as a glittering, exotic gem in the desert sands. Again, a joke from my brother, whispered a little too loudly across the
    dark theater—The LGBT guy’s going to Iraq?! Don’t think he’s going to like it there…

    In short, this is a movie chock-full of important messages that are
    ripe for lampooning by the very guys who used to be Marvel’s target audience.

    That’s not to say the MCU eschewed politics in its best movies — but
    they were interesting politics that grappled with real complexity.

    What responsibility do independent nation’s have to the well-being of
    the rest of the world? (“Black Panther”). What are the best means to combat religious fanaticism when you inhabit a tolerant, pluralistic
    society? (“Guardians of the Galaxy”). What culpability do powerful
    actors have when the law of unintended consequences ultimately come
    home to roost (“Avengers: Age of Ultron”). Are bureaucracy and
    government oversight a necessary evil or just evil? (“Captain America: Civil War”).

    Now, the questions are no more interesting or authentic than a yard
    sign in an expensive, urban neighborhood. Full of virtue and self- importance, signifying nothing.

    Girl power! (“Captain Marvel”). Racial grievance! (“Falcon and the Winter Soldier”). Patriarchy! (“Black Widow”). Even if your ideology is in line with these preoccupations, where’s the discovery, where’s the thrill in watching a gender or race studies lecture given by guys
    dressed up in tights? It largely has the effect of reminding you, Huh,
    I’m a grown woman watching guys dressed up tights.

    This doesn’t mean, of course, that Marvel still won’t have some hits on its hands with the old guard. Thor, Spider-Man, the Guardians, and a
    few fan favorites—established before the political themes grew easy,
    cheap, and flat—will still put backsides in seats, no doubt. But
    Marvel’s natural lifecycle is drawing to an end. A long slow slide into mediocrity and irrelevance has begun.

    --
    Let's go Brandon!

    To be honest, it was never great and should have remained in comic books
    and with the Marxist Propaganda oozing out of every super hero they
    recreate as part of a woke Marxist cult, it has less and less appeal.
    The actual idea is to entertain people, which is becoming less and less
    a reality while the characters become more and more like virtue
    signaling LEFTIST losers.

    But then again I also don't play video games. Maybe the comics and the
    video games are for people with virtual intelligence.





    --
    That's Karma

    *The first rule of SURVIVAL CLUB is we talk about it*
    We hate censorship. Never trust what Democrats or Marxists tell you.
    Make them prove it with actual verifiable facts and science. And if you
    didn't find the duplicitous lies in what the Marxist-Democrats told you
    then you didn't dig deep enough. The *Gruber Doctrine* is the
    Marxist-Democrat plan that says it's "to the Democrats advantage to have
    a lack of transparency and then lie about everything". https://rumble.com/vkt8ld-call-it-the-stupidity-of-the-american-voter-or-whatever.-how-libs-exploit-t.html



    *The next rule of SURVIVAL CLUB is*
    60 - Government doesn't create, it consumes what the people create.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Ubiquitous@21:1/5 to All on Thu Oct 28 04:41:54 2021
    XPost: alt.tv.pol-incorrect, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.politics.correct
    XPost: rec.arts.movies.current-films

    If Eternals is any indication, Marvels glory days are officially
    behind it.

    Some lovely world-building, full of color and light notwithstanding,
    from beginning to end, the film is a mess.

    The storyline centers on a group of immortal beings fashioned by the
    great celestial energy god Arishem to battle deviants neon, fiber-
    optic dinosaurs that traverse the planet feeding on humankind. After
    thousands of years, the Eternals have finally destroyed the last of
    them, and are free to roam the world finding their own purpose, hanging
    in bars, making movies, riding the range.

    Thats what theyre doing when an evolved breed of deviant shows up,
    setting them off on a journey for answers.

    This sounds kind of fun. And I wish it were. But with the exception of
    Kumail Nanjiani who offers, without question, the only real reason to
    see the movie, the story takes itself far too seriously for fun or,
    really, even logic.

    Complicating plot twists surface and disappear and were never clear if
    they were important to begin with. Someone is suddenly revealed to be
    in love with someone else yet theres been no foreshadowing to achieve emotional impact. Characters motivations, that we are supposed to
    believe were forged through millennia, shift on a dime, but seem to
    indicate deep religious faith is bad and will make you kill the people
    you love.

    Ultimately Eternals commits the one sin a blockbuster, superhero movie
    can never be redeemed from its dull.

    The issue is primarily that Marvel is no longer content to make
    entertainment. Now, under Kevin Feiges new direction, it wants to make commentary. It wants to be relevant. Instead, it often ends up
    ridiculous, taking you out of the world of the movie as you begin
    thinking about the kind of fawning, celebratory headlines Slate and Vox
    are going to write about it.

    The prime example is Arishems creative decisions in fashioning this
    team of minor divinities: A Chinese woman, a Middle-Aged white woman, a Hispanic woman, a deaf woman, an androgynous child, a Korean man, an
    American black man, an Indian man, and, finally, a pair of Gaelic white
    guys.

    This overt rainbow coalition would have been fine if the film had
    bothered to offer some utilitarian explanation for it. How hard would
    it have been to throw in a line about needing to reflect the varieties
    of humans, or some such superhero boilerplate? Instead, the
    unaccountable diversity is taken as such a bedrock, unimpeachable good,
    Zhao and team dont even think they need to clarify it.

    During my press screening, this perfect illustration of ethnic, gender,
    sexual, and ability variety inspired my completely non-politically-
    minded brother to lean over and whisper: So what then even a cosmic
    space deity is worried the woke mob will come after him if he doesnt
    get the representation right?

    With Eternals, it seems clear Feige has officially won the struggle
    for wokeness. The revelation that one member of the team is gay is no
    quick aside Disney can easily disentangle to pass muster with Chinese
    censors. He is black and has a husband of a different ethnic minority.
    They dote in the suburbs over a little boy; they linger long in a kiss.

    The same impulse to make statements also led Feige to tap Chloe Zhao,
    an art-house Oscar-winner to helm this project. He and others at Disney
    have celebrated it as a step forward in politics, not story-telling. It
    shows.

    The best Marvel movies have always come from the scruffy guys rising up
    from the unrespectable genres of horror and comedy. Directors like
    Taika Waititi, James Gunn, and the Russo Brothers had histories making crowd-pleasers on shoe-string budgets. Zhao has a history of inspiring
    deep think-pieces in The Atlantic. Shes done wonderful work as a
    meditative auteur, but shes a terrible fit for Marvel.

    At times this striving to celebrate global cultures juxtaposed with
    American progressive sexual ethics grows ridiculously obtuse and
    contradictory. As when the gay Eternal decides to journey to the Middle
    East, a land portrayed as a glittering, exotic gem in the desert sands.
    Again, a joke from my brother, whispered a little too loudly across the
    dark theaterThe LGBT guys going to Iraq?! Dont think hes going to
    like it there

    In short, this is a movie chock-full of important messages that are
    ripe for lampooning by the very guys who used to be Marvels target
    audience.

    Thats not to say the MCU eschewed politics in its best movies but
    they were interesting politics that grappled with real complexity.

    What responsibility do independent nations have to the well-being of
    the rest of the world? (Black Panther). What are the best means to
    combat religious fanaticism when you inhabit a tolerant, pluralistic
    society? (Guardians of the Galaxy). What culpability do powerful
    actors have when the law of unintended consequences ultimately come
    home to roost (Avengers: Age of Ultron). Are bureaucracy and
    government oversight a necessary evil or just evil? (Captain America:
    Civil War).

    Now, the questions are no more interesting or authentic than a yard
    sign in an expensive, urban neighborhood. Full of virtue and self-
    importance, signifying nothing.

    Girl power! (Captain Marvel). Racial grievance! (Falcon and the
    Winter Soldier). Patriarchy! (Black Widow). Even if your ideology is
    in line with these preoccupations, wheres the discovery, wheres the
    thrill in watching a gender or race studies lecture given by guys
    dressed up in tights? It largely has the effect of reminding you, Huh,
    Im a grown woman watching guys dressed up tights.

    This doesnt mean, of course, that Marvel still wont have some hits on
    its hands with the old guard. Thor, Spider-Man, the Guardians, and a
    few fan favoritesestablished before the political themes grew easy,
    cheap, and flatwill still put backsides in seats, no doubt. But
    Marvels natural lifecycle is drawing to an end. A long slow slide into mediocrity and irrelevance has begun.

    --
    Let's go Brandon!

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From James Fabiano@21:1/5 to BeamMeUpScotty on Sat Nov 20 11:49:25 2021
    On Thursday, October 28, 2021 at 6:41:00 AM UTC-4, BeamMeUpScotty wrote:
    On 10/28/21 4:41 AM, Ubiquitous wrote:
    If “Eternals” is any indication, Marvel’s glory days are officially behind it.

    Some lovely world-building, full of color and light notwithstanding,
    from beginning to end, the film is a mess.

    The storyline centers on a group of immortal beings fashioned by the
    great celestial energy god Arishem to battle deviants — neon, fiber- optic dinosaurs that traverse the planet feeding on humankind. After thousands of years, the Eternals have finally destroyed the last of
    them, and are free to roam the world finding their own purpose, hanging
    in bars, making movies, riding the range.

    That’s what they’re doing when an evolved breed of deviant shows up, setting them off on a journey for answers.

    This sounds kind of fun. And I wish it were. But with the exception of Kumail Nanjiani who offers, without question, the only real reason to
    see the movie, the story takes itself far too seriously for fun or, really, even logic.

    Complicating plot twists surface and disappear and we’re never clear if they were important to begin with. Someone is suddenly revealed to be
    in love with someone else yet there’s been no foreshadowing to achieve emotional impact. Characters’ motivations, that we are supposed to believe were forged through millennia, shift on a dime, but seem to indicate deep religious faith is bad and will make you kill the people
    you love.

    Ultimately Eternals commits the one sin a blockbuster, superhero movie
    can never be redeemed from — it’s dull.

    The issue is primarily that Marvel is no longer content to make entertainment. Now, under Kevin Feige’s new direction, it wants to make commentary. It wants to be relevant. Instead, it often ends up
    ridiculous, taking you out of the world of the movie as you begin
    thinking about the kind of fawning, celebratory headlines Slate and Vox are going to write about it.

    The prime example is Arishem’s creative decisions in fashioning this team of minor divinities: A Chinese woman, a Middle-Aged white woman, a Hispanic woman, a deaf woman, an androgynous child, a Korean man, an American black man, an Indian man, and, finally, a pair of Gaelic white guys.

    This overt rainbow coalition would have been fine if the film had
    bothered to offer some utilitarian explanation for it. How hard would
    it have been to throw in a line about needing to reflect the varieties
    of humans, or some such superhero boilerplate? Instead, the
    unaccountable diversity is taken as such a bedrock, unimpeachable good, Zhao and team don’t even think they need to clarify it.

    During my press screening, this perfect illustration of ethnic, gender, sexual, and ability variety inspired my completely non-politically-
    minded brother to lean over and whisper: So what then — even a cosmic space deity is worried the woke mob will come after him if he doesn’t get the representation right?

    With “Eternals,” it seems clear Feige has officially won the struggle for wokeness. The revelation that one member of the team is gay is no quick aside Disney can easily disentangle to pass muster with Chinese censors. He is black and has a husband of a different ethnic minority. They dote in the suburbs over a little boy; they linger long in a kiss.

    The same impulse to make statements also led Feige to tap Chloe Zhao,
    an art-house Oscar-winner to helm this project. He and others at Disney have celebrated it as a step forward in politics, not story-telling. It shows.

    The best Marvel movies have always come from the scruffy guys rising up from the unrespectable genres of horror and comedy. Directors like
    Taika Waititi, James Gunn, and the Russo Brothers had histories making crowd-pleasers on shoe-string budgets. Zhao has a history of inspiring deep think-pieces in The Atlantic. She’s done wonderful work as a meditative auteur, but she’s a terrible fit for Marvel.

    At times this striving to celebrate global cultures juxtaposed with American progressive sexual ethics grows ridiculously obtuse and contradictory. As when the gay Eternal decides to journey to the Middle East, a land portrayed as a glittering, exotic gem in the desert sands. Again, a joke from my brother, whispered a little too loudly across the dark theater—The LGBT guy’s going to Iraq?! Don’t think he’s going to
    like it there…

    In short, this is a movie chock-full of important messages that are
    ripe for lampooning by the very guys who used to be Marvel’s target audience.

    That’s not to say the MCU eschewed politics in its best movies — but they were interesting politics that grappled with real complexity.

    What responsibility do independent nation’s have to the well-being of the rest of the world? (“Black Panther”). What are the best means to combat religious fanaticism when you inhabit a tolerant, pluralistic society? (“Guardians of the Galaxy”). What culpability do powerful actors have when the law of unintended consequences ultimately come
    home to roost (“Avengers: Age of Ultron”). Are bureaucracy and government oversight a necessary evil or just evil? (“Captain America: Civil War”).

    Now, the questions are no more interesting or authentic than a yard
    sign in an expensive, urban neighborhood. Full of virtue and self- importance, signifying nothing.

    Girl power! (“Captain Marvel”). Racial grievance! (“Falcon and the Winter Soldier”). Patriarchy! (“Black Widow”). Even if your ideology is
    in line with these preoccupations, where’s the discovery, where’s the thrill in watching a gender or race studies lecture given by guys
    dressed up in tights? It largely has the effect of reminding you, Huh, I’m a grown woman watching guys dressed up tights.

    This doesn’t mean, of course, that Marvel still won’t have some hits on
    its hands with the old guard. Thor, Spider-Man, the Guardians, and a
    few fan favorites—established before the political themes grew easy, cheap, and flat—will still put backsides in seats, no doubt. But Marvel’s natural lifecycle is drawing to an end. A long slow slide into mediocrity and irrelevance has begun.

    --
    Let's go Brandon!
    To be honest, it was never great and should have remained in comic books
    and with the Marxist Propaganda oozing out of every super hero they
    recreate as part of a woke Marxist cult, it has less and less appeal.
    The actual idea is to entertain people, which is becoming less and less
    a reality while the characters become more and more like virtue
    signaling LEFTIST losers.

    But then again I also don't play video games. Maybe the comics and the
    video games are for people with virtual intelligence.





    --
    That's Karma

    *The first rule of SURVIVAL CLUB is we talk about it*
    We hate censorship. Never trust what Democrats or Marxists tell you.
    Make them prove it with actual verifiable facts and science. And if you didn't find the duplicitous lies in what the Marxist-Democrats told you
    then you didn't dig deep enough. The *Gruber Doctrine* is the Marxist-Democrat plan that says it's "to the Democrats advantage to have
    a lack of transparency and then lie about everything". https://rumble.com/vkt8ld-call-it-the-stupidity-of-the-american-voter-or-whatever.-how-libs-exploit-t.html



    *The next rule of SURVIVAL CLUB is*
    60 - Government doesn't create, it consumes what the people create.

    I UHGREE!

    THANKS FOR THE INFO! :-D :-D :-D

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)