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Category: Commentary

A Controversy to Blow you Away

Published by NiteMayr on December 23, 2008

M. Night Shyamalan has decided to cast white actors in the main roles of the upcoming motion picture based on the TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender. The problem: Avatar featured an Asian world with Asian characters, including Aang, the titular character, and his friends Sokka and Katara.

Some people are pissed, pointing to other instances of whitewashing. There’s a letter writing campaign and a Facebook group.

Bingo anyone?

So now what?  I’m tired of reading the LJ drama aroudn all of this; but here’s what I was going to post about this somewhere else:

I dig on the Airbender;  it’s clever and funny.  It’s not as smart as Phineas and Firb but what is on Saturday mornings?  All that said, I don’t get this outrage at all.

Not a bit.

I’m not from North America, I come from a culture that is as old as any other, but I don’t “get” when people (who are predominantly not a member of my cultural group) both co-opt and defend my group.  It’s my culture guys, if I want to defend it, let me handle the heavy lifting.

I can’t speak for the billions of Asians, no way, but I can speak for me and let me simply state what the outraged seem to fail to grasp, there is a vital and vibrant Asian film production market, Asians get to churn out all shades of asian movies all the time.  If an Asian film maker wants to make a movie that resembles the Airbender story (let’s face it, it’s REALLY generic) with an all Thai cast (for example) then so be it.

In this case a Malay person is at the reigns (for the most part) and has cast some box office candy in the roles.  This outrage really smacks of Otaku-Fanism, as if sharing your toy with the unwashed masses will somehow dilute the experience.  I’m not grasping how this is Racist at all, it might be a bit desperate or money grubbing, but Racist?  Please.

Me, I don’t know if I will pay to see a movie adaption of Avatar, why bother, right?  The cartoons are out there for me to watch with the kids if I want.  Why waste cash on what is bound to dilute the experience by virtue of not being the source material.

The last movie I saw that really expanded upon and made the source material pop was Trainspotting, so I don’t think any adaption cum money grab is going to shake any trees.

If you are REALLY outraged, vote with your feet and just avoid the damn thing.

I (for one) will be disappointed if they do recast the roles that have already been set; I’d hate to lose a job over my ethnicity,  wouldn’t you?  That kind of sums it up right there, in some way there are people out there so obsessed with their own ethnicity that it allows them to attempt to victimize others (en-masse) to somehow promote and protect that ethnicity.  Imagine if there had already been a full cast of Asians in place and the reverse was now true?  A bunch of European fans get together and form groups around demands for Caucasian actors in the roles of the title character and the blind girl (along with most of the people in the snow kingdom)  then what?

In the end; the source material stands and the movie will be the movie.  If you feel that strongly about the movie’s cast, by all means, feel strongly about it, but why impose your beliefs upon the general public?  Avatar isn’t some cultural phenomenon like “Kung-Fu” it’s a somewhat well known Nick cartoon, the general public isn’t down with it, so it doesn’t have a cultural cache to pull from, it’s got a studio, some creative types and a need to make money.  If we (as the general public) could have our dreams casts in our favourite movies Pierce Brosnan would have been bond right after Roger Moore and the Next Doctor might have been Joanna Lumley (or Rowan Atkinson)  but we don’t get our dreams. Do we?

Fight on you crazy stars, it’s your right to complain about casting choices, but damn if I wish that the racism card wouldn’t be tossed around so quickly, and this is coming from a guy who actually profiles racists on his blog.  I know that the last qualifier reads like “I can’t possibly be racist” which is the furthest from the truth, I totally can be racist and catch myself being so.  It’s one of those human failings that we should recognise in ourselves.

The whole discussion of “I don’t see people like me on the screen” argument blows me away.  Seriously.  Outside of imported TV, I don’t see anyone like me on TV either, and when I do see someone like me on North American TV or Movies, they are buffoons (without fail).  So What? Should I bitch about it and keep a blog of how offensive it is?  OR have I learned one of the big lessons about life that some folks still need to learn, the prevailing culture of North America is a melange of cultures that end up in a stew or milieu that doesn’t actually reflect society instead it distorts society for it’s own entertainment, which the majority seems to like.  Case Closed.

As for “I can’t Be Ang if Ang isn’t Asian on screen” what?  How did you kill that kid’s imagination?  Is it drugs?  Seriously, that kid is having trouble seperating themselves from cartoons as fantasy.

In Defense of my Religious Upbringing

Published by NiteMayr on December 16, 2008

Frequent readers of this blog or people who just look at the preceeding post to this one might get the idea that I’m a firm anti-religious type, and you’d be wrong.

I’m still a big fan of the Catholic School Board I was educated by from 2-13 in Ontario and wouldn’t exchange it for an irreligious or secular school any day.  I was taught by (for the most part) dedicated people who handed the students the tools and means to make an informed decision about Church and Religion. They taught us about comparative religion and evolution and science and reasoning and problem solving and history.  It wasn’t “The Catholic” version of things, it was “the facts as they knew and understood them”  which prepared my class and some of the surrounding years for a future where we could choose for ourselves.  I like that and encourage it.  I was handed a bible and a measuring stick and told to find out the distance the words in it would go.  For a long time they went pretty far.

I still write Roman Catholic on Government forms when I’m asked to identify my Religious Affiliation; although I don’t practice anymore (I got it right and decided that I’d leave an open seat for others).  I’m an Agnostic, not an Atheist.  I don’t know if there is something more than me, I don’t think it is likely that the Christians, Jews  or Moslems or any of the other Religious groups are correct though.  I critique the “Religious” because they are the Rediculous, they just seem to want comfort from the Universe; comfort from a Parent that they can’t touch or see.  I’ll admit that the thought that this life is all I have is scary, shouldn’t it compel me to make the most of this life?

I imagine that where the Religious and My Agnostic classmates diverge is motivation.  I do good things to make others feel good, not for the rewards (well, not the rewards alone anyway) but I do good things in secret too, without anyone knowing.  I don’t need magical rewards that only show up when I die to motivate good deeds; I try to encourage this in my daughter.  However in the Religious, good deeds are motivated not by love for one another, but by fear of punishment beyond the grave.  If you are living in fear of Hell, please take this simple advice:

If you die and there IS a god and a heaven and you have been good according to their rules, WIN!

If you die and there IS a god and heaven and you have been bad and end up in hell, at least you have eternal life and take comfort in the fact that eventually god saves all the souls in hell once they have been redeemed.  Also, famous dead people! WIN!

If you die and that is it, what would you know about it?  You’re gone.  Win (for you)

Death, scary as it is, is only hard on the living, the dead don’t suffer from the heartache that the survivors feel.

My Dad (who knows everything) says that Hell is probably the Black Nothing of being without life, but if one was aware of said blackness, then isn’t that still eternal life?  This is why my Dad calls me a smart ass.

All of that aside, I was well-educated and prepared for life by my teachers, almost all of them religious people, good church going folk.  Only three of them ever made me feel in danger for either my physical well-being or my uh sexual well-being  (One time a Religion teacher growled at me as I walked by, he was a former Monk and I swear he was coming on to me in some clumsy way that still puzzles me. I’m tubby, hit on someone who wants it Mr. Beardy Former Monk).  My history teachers gave us a rich view of the world, spanning the centuries, putting into perspective the stories from the Bible as the work of Men who lived in fear of the Night.  Our Science teachers (biology, Chemistry and Physics) gave us the keys to the worlds workings, showing us the diversity and simple beauty of the math behind it all.  Our Social Studies and Technology teachers showed us how we interacted with the world and let us discover how our interactions affected it.  Our arts teachers let us appreciate the written word and visual arts for what they were (within a strict and often compellingly bad structure, at least we had creative writing!)

All of this aside, I was given a good Education at Catholic School and wouldn’t prevent my own daughter from experiencing it or discourage other parents from signing up their kids for the same district.  I can only speak for my own experience and would love to hear from my former classmates if they happen on this post.

Prophet for Profit

Published by NiteMayr on December 14, 2008

“I think that you should hear what my opinion about the Obama election is: that he will not be the next president. I said on my home page in August that if he lost to expect to see the ‘riots’ that 2 Peter 2:13 tells us about. He didn’t lose. But the story is not finished yet. I still think they may begin the riots before Christmas 2008, as I said.”

Parowan Prophet — on Obama  (2008)

‘I”ve never lived through an explosion,’ Freeborn said. ‘But I”ve stood in the fire [in a vision], I”ve smelled the smoke, I”ve felt the blast and the wind. God has realistic videos that are fantastic.’

Freeborn”s visions get grimmer.

‘One million will die between Brigham City and St. George,’ he said. ‘If you live beyond 10 miles of Hill Air Force Base don”t let the sun go down without a full tank of gas.’ He suggested going there because Cache Valley won”t suffer as much damage as the rest of northern Utah.

Parowan Prophet — Predicting Nuclear war in 2003

Again the mystical Right Wingers take flight!  Rod Parsley’s Guest Gary Bauer proclaimed that if Obama was elected, which Rod (of course) bobble-headed.  Don’t forget the non-so-subtle threats from the “Concerned Christians” over there at the Victoria Advocate.  In Fact, let’s ask Yahoo Answers how the Mystics of the Desert feel about Obama.

It’s comforting to think that the last guy was so blessed with the power of “the sight” too.

When will it end?  Well, according to the Prophet, in about 10 days.   Good Luck!

Dear Canada

Published by NiteMayr on December 1, 2008

I know you somehow become blindly enamored by the Harper Conservatives, with their eyes cast up and southward, but you may have a second chance to right what went wrong in the recent election.

Think back, for a bit, to when the Gomery inquiry wasn’t all over the headlines and you didn’t have just one reason to punish the dirty politicians for being dirty politicians.  The Liberals stewarded an unprecedented economic period in Canadian history, with eyes towards balanced budgets and zero deficits, where you had jobs and were reasonably well cared for by a federal government less interested in running like a corporation with a church in its boardroom and more like a government with hands in its pockets.

When was the last time you looked at a staunch church-going CEO and thought of them as a warm, charitable person? That’s a  Tory.  One Half Cold Businessperson-out to gut the Government, one half authoritarian scold, looking to put a camera in your shower to make sure you’re not touching yourself or using unapproved oils for moisturizing, all while whistling past graveyards they fill with your kids.

This is a fairly inflammatory statement, but lets face it, reason doesn’t always work.

Racist of the Week: Sad Bastard BNP Member

Published by NiteMayr on November 19, 2008

I’m a fucking Prison Officer! My name is printed on the list too! I’d like the party to make a legal case under the DPA 1998 and the Human Rights Act to have all the people on this list protected in some way.

Anonymous Commenter

An unknown party leaked the Party Membership rolls of the British National Party to the Internet.  Which prompted some discussion on the matter.

Like other organizations of the same stripe (The National Socialist Party or the Christian Heritage Party) the BNP gets by on either Xenophobic persecution of the “other” in society or the call for a return to “traditional values”.  This appeals to people on a number of levels; it appeals to their desire for a stable society (which is an admirable desire, as society really needs some form of status quo) and a desire for a “return to gentler values” which may be suspect as I think a long-view of history would show that the world is in fact a much gentler place than it has ever been, but with a more aggressive face (all hat no battle so to speak).

Yet, where these organization stray from their admirable goals is the use of prejudices to gain acceptance, rather than organizing around an ideal like “You remember how when you were a kid, your mom took good care of you, we’re like that” they say “remember when there were no something-ies in the neighbourhood, we liked that and want things like that again”.  We have one ideal of a positive and one couched in a prejudicial negative.   Rather than “for” something, the BNP is organized as “against” something and someone else.  Which is where they have really lost their way.

I’m all for cultural preservation and the celebration of national history, swing that bat all you want.  It’s just that in civil society, you don’t threaten to use a REAL BAT to do it.

As for this sad little Prison Officer, look where he wants to go, he wants the Government to protect him, the same Government he previously chided for giving asylum to other oppressed persons.  The Irony is thick and delicious, kind of like a nice Clotted Cream.

It is a rare day where I get to pass along the good vibes

Published by NiteMayr on November 14, 2008

Looking through my Spam Filter I found this comment:

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Take that 1950s America!

No, Thank You for providing an email address that can be harvested and spammed by other criminal scum like yourself!

Truthfully, I don’t care about spammers; but this was a brazen extorsion attempt mixed with a a “how stupid are you” test.   Enjoy your spam, Sirs.

Pray for a Lottery win and don't play

Published by NiteMayr on November 5, 2008

In the Pat Robertson Prayer Challenge I asserted that Pat could not lose when he compels his flock to pray for something.  All over the web; Christians took to the Deitic Airwaves to call for God to come down and press the lever on their behalf.

“There are millions of people around this world praying to their god—whether it’s Hindu, Buddha, Allah—that his opponent wins, for a variety of reasons. And Lord, I pray that you will guard your own reputation, because they’re going to think that their God is bigger than you, if that happens,” said Arnold Conrad, the former pastor of Grace Evangelical Free Church in Davenport.

(at a McCain Rally)

Pray for Obama to lose election

Christians should stand united in prayer on Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. around the world for the coming election.

Have you done your research yet? What is leading you to vote — mammon (money) or what God says is right?

We are supposed to lead the blind. We are not supposed to tell them what is right in their eyes is right, because they cannot see.

Have you voted already? Why is Barack Hussein Obama pushing that you vote early? Is he hiding something?

Is Jesus going to ask you on Judgment Day why you voted for a president who is a Democrat in 2008 if you knew that he lies.

A lot of people say the politicians lie. Sometimes we believe what they say, because we hope for the best. We are supposed to hope for the best. When you know someone is lying you are not supposed to vote for that person.

If someone says they’re a Christian it doesn’t mean they are. If you sit in a garage it doesn’t make you a car, just like if you sit in church it doesn’t mean you’re a Christian. How do you know if someone is a Christian? You know by they’re works or deeds not just their words. A Christian means to be Christlike. Jesus says “Thou shalt not kill” Obama says, that it’s OK to kill babies. Even if the baby was supposed to be aborted, but lives, the nurses are supposed to put them in a laundry cart and let them starve to death, naked.

In Judges, it says that the men wanted to know ( to have sex with) the visitor (a man) who came to town and God said, “That is a vile thing and should not be found among his children”

Obama says that to be gay is OK and for homosexuals to marry their partners is OK. Take a look at the presidential report card at http://www.savecalifornia.com/PresidentialReportCard.pdf.

Dawn Poniente, Wisconsin Dells

It has occurred to me that this could mean our prayers for a McCain victory are going to be answered in the affirmative, and that somewhere inside me, I know better than to worry. On the other hand, it could be the result of a deep realization that I am becoming separate from the world, and that my security comes from God, not politicians.

Hog on Ice

And So on…

Now, the Pat Robertson’s of the world can say, “Well, God answered the prayers of those who Prayed FOR Obama to Win.”  or “Now we sit back and wait for God’s Punishment” whatever.

Those who truly believe in Prayer will never see it’s failure as an indictment against it; only that they didn’t pray correctly or that they didn’t do it hard enough.  The first Murder in the Bible was in part Inspired by this same fervor, Caine could not make an offering to God that he felt was “good enough” and so he sacrificed his brother.  Rather than take the advice of their own “book” the Fundamentalist overlooks the obvious lesson and just takes the punishment.

It’s this continued avoidance of learning and understanding that makes a Fundamentalist who they are and allows Cynics like Mr. Robertson to prey on them again and again.

These guys need to be found, arrested and punished

Published by NiteMayr on November 3, 2008

An Islamist rebel administration in Somalia has had a 13-year-old girl stoned to death for adultery after the child’s father reported that she was raped by three men.

Amnesty International said al-Shabab militia, which controls the southern city of Kismayo, arranged for 50 men to stone Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow in front of about 1,000 spectators. A lorry load of stones was brought to the stadium for the killing.

From “The guardian UK“

Dear Muslims,

Like the Christians, you have a great deal to answer for; not the least of which is your continual adherence to the desert god worship that justifies this kind of crap.  In Short, like said Desert Gods, dry up and blow away.

Signed,

The Twenty-First Century

Seriously?  This is simply unacceptable.  These people need a long thrashing with the clue stick, as much as the people in “Jesus Camp” are backwards idiots, these guys are the same.  Hiding behind a 2000 year old imported religious tradition to justify long-term terrorism, and terrorism this is, the 1,000 witnesses were not volunteers, they were there to “spread the word” that this “militia” are the hardest and most observant Muslims in the area.  Why don’t they just start a rap label and just sing about how hard they are?

Well, what is going to be done about this folks?

A Letter to the Editor

Published by NiteMayr on November 1, 2008

Dear Editor:

I am a homecare worker, delivering home health and home support services in Kincardine and area for The Red Cross. I’m writing to inform the community of our current situation.

Ontario homecare workers work hard and deliver quality service. With low wages, no pension and no benefits, our employment conditions are well below the standards set for colleagues working in facilities and hospitals.

Providing homecare requires that I must travel between clients. Many homecare workers, like myself, spend as much time on the road getting to clients as we do actually providing care to them. Currently this time spent on the road travelling between clients is unpaid, but is demanded of us. It’s actually part of our job description to travel, but we don’t get paid for this time on the road. This means some workers are out for 8-10 hours a day but only getting paid for 4-6 hours of work.

I ask you, is that fair?

We do get some compensation for mileage, but at a meager 32 cents per kilometer. With today’s gas prices it often results in the worker cutting into their weekly pay just to fill the tank. We maintain our vehicles out of our own pockets and fill our tanks to get to those people who need our care.

I know the homecare system can be improved. Compensation for all of our work, including travel time, is very important. Fair wages, mileage compensation and work protections for homecare workers – like all other workers – is the place to start.

I love the work I do and know I’m a professional delivering the kind of care that’s essential to the health of patients I meet each week.

But at the present working conditions, a lot of the current homecare workers will not be able to continue providing care to these family members, friends and neighbours, because they can no longer afford to get there.

I ask if delivery people were only paid while they were actually handing over their items and not while on the road in between deliveries, do you think we would have many deliveries being done?

We home care workers deliver a service also and are asking that we are treated fairly and paid for the work we do.

At a time when the healthcare sector is relying heavily on our services for seniors, discharged hospital patients and others requiring care and support, homecare workers are being pushed to their limits and are being pressured by poor working conditions and low wages to leave the profession.

Change must occur!

I encourage you to contact our local MP/MPP and make them aware of this situation.

Kerry Wardrop

PSW/CSW

Kincardine

For More information please visit runningonempty.ca