Oscar Spurns Serenity
POSTED BY: DonCoat
UPDATED: Friday, February 3, 2006 02:14
VIEWED: 13576
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Gelassenheit wrote:
Quote:
yea, okay. I believe you.
Yeah, do.
Mostly, I was just venting on the vacuousness of Hollywood, where opinions are not so much formed from careful introspection as they are spread like a contagion. As I said, the cause celebre effect: What is the trendy thing to believe? What is the popular cause to espouse? As a result, what movies and actors will I be giving the nod to this year for the Oscars? How will what I think and say in public affect my 'Q' ratings? ...zoid is not keen on political correctness (and neither am I).
People are inherently flawed. Many of them, regardless of sexual orientation, are desperately lonely. If they find someone to love who loves them back, then I am genuinely happy for them. Everybody deserves to have Love in their otherwise miserable existence.
But if you -- or anyone else, for that matter -- are advocating homogenized, corrected thought, you can count me out. I know what appeals to me in the arts, and two guys kissin' and cuddlin' (and other goings on) ain't it. Coincidentally, I hold no ill will towards any person who finds depictions of heterosexual relationships unwatchably distasteful, and consequently skips watching those movies.
Ruefully,
zoid
P.S.
I apologize for making a joke of the movie's name. I was just riffing, but it's only funny if everybody laughs. It's "Brokeback Mountain".
_________________________________________________
" 'If you can't do something smart, do something right.' " -St. Jayne of the Broken Scope, Serenity, a.k.a. 'the BDBOF'
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I'm not too surprised about the Oscars. I would tentatively say that the script was not Joss' best work, seeing as how he was tied to both saving Firefly and writing a whole new story all in one movie. Plus, as mentioned in the commentary, movies where everyone knows each other are damned hard to write. So... shame there.
As for actors/actresses, and even directors, I attribute it to two things:
first, that the beauty of Firefly and Serenity has always been in the collaboritive effort, actors working great together, crew and viz effects working together... none really outshining the others. In some movies that happens, viz shows off too much, or actors show off too much, etc, and well... that gets em awards sometimes... not how Firefly works.
second: the characters our BDHs play, aside from being difficult to relate to simply because they know each other already, are also hard to relate to from a reviewer's POV because they are NOT what you come to expect from a movie, a western, a heroine flick, or really anything. What we browncoats know and love about Firefly and Serenity are these people who are an amalgamation of every character trait, in different, degrees, something every real person has, and at the same time, these fully fleshed out characters are all living in an equally fleshed out but very different world from our own. Thus, the simple reviewer (that is, reviewers who grade you down for being overly complex, since the regular viewer might not get it) will find that many acting nuances our crew do (aside from possibly being confusing becuase of the show) are lost or distorted thanks to the setting.
Ok, that was rambling... just meant in second point that we have suprisingly fleshed out people on a very different moral platform than our world today... that breeds confusion. (ie, star trek is on some level just self-rightous americans in space, a lot of sci-fi is... stargate literally 
)
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Damn, I'm starting to feel better about my Hollywood award for "best director" in 2005, if a movie as good as Serenity can't even get nominated... But then again, aren't there other awards out there that Joss can shoot for? Presuming, of course, Universal gives a damn.
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Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
...zoid is not keen on political correctness (and neither am I).
Uh, wasn't that post made by Zoid? (Confused, as the poster refers to Zoid in the third person.) Is Zoid two people? Is Zoid (uh -- trying to think of a gentle way of stating this) touched in the head -- albeit, in a nice way (like River)? Is this Zoid we're talking to now? Or is this Miranda?
Okay, seriously...
No need to apologize for your views, Zoid (or whoever you are at the moment) -- whether your views are totally rational and sane OR extreme and crazy. No one has to agree with them, and everyone has a right to state their opposition.
Speaking of PC (I guess it's no secret that I'm not a big fan, either)...
It's ironic that in a culture which champions "free speech", that people feel a need to bend over backwards to clarify something (or apologize) because something they said may not be acceptible to someone else. Or is the "free speech" embraced by the PC crowd a one-way street?
BTW, yesterday on the radio, I heard yet another misuse of that movie's title -- which I found to be both humorous and crude (also right on the mark), but not something I'd repeat in a public forum.
"There's times I think you don't take me seriously. And I think that oughta' change."
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cartoon asked:
Quote:
Uh, wasn't that post made by Zoid? (Confused, as the poster refers to Zoid in the third person.) Is Zoid two people? Is Zoid (uh -- trying to think of a gentle way of stating this) touched in the head -- albeit, in a nice way (like River)? Is this Zoid we're talking to now? Or is this Miranda?
Well, yes, of course i'm zoid. But zoid only exists on the Internet. I, on the other hand, am a real human being, who doesn't always say the right thing, or mean precisely the words that come out of my mouth. The spoken language can be a tricky thing.
On the other hand, zoid writes things. he can wrack his brain for just the right word without interrupting the conversation. Likewise, if pre-publication review reveals a need for editing, he can go back and rephrase in order to say things just the way he wants them to be said. zoid can manipulate words in order to evoke a response, or to fully illustrate a complex idea (like this one, sheesh!).
Communicating in real life is not nearly so fool-proof. So, yes, zoid is 'real' in that he is a digitally mastered version of myself, metaphorically speaking. And I try to keep him real. I don't let him lie, or aggrandize himself. He's got to be as true to me as possible.
But there's no doubt in my mind that zoid is not the real me. If you think about it, I think you will all find that your online personae differ from the everday you in at least some small way (for some, in very large and significant ways). Even a small difference means that it's not the real you...
I was just being brutally honest with myself. Hope this helps (though I fear it will not
).Self-Analytically,
zoid
(as dictated by Me)
P.S.
Ask Joss. It's easier to be witty when you're writing; you can edit the words for desired effect.
P.P.S.
As to your "serious" comments: I always apologize when I unintentionally offend someone. The fact that others do not, does not alleviate my responsibility to do so. But, like I said, neither 'zoid' nor 'I', in the context of this post, are interested in kowtowing to a convention that only serves to further distance people from one another. Being falsely polite leaves no one with any idea where they stand; false flattery is an insult. So, when I (or zoid) intend to jab or insult someone it's fairly unmistakeable, and neither of us (
) ever apologize for it._________________________________________________
"You don't know me, son. So let me explain this to you once: If I ever kill you, you'll be awake, you'll be facing me, and you'll be armed." -Capt. Mal Reynolds, Firefly, "Serenity", Part II
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Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
Well, yes, of course i'm zoid. But zoid only exists on the Internet.
Cartoon is now more confused than Cartoon had been previously.
Cartoon!! Stop pretending to be a person!! You are not a person!! You are just text typed by a person who is confused by the explanation of the person who typed the Zoid text.
Cartoon still doesn't think that one should apologize for "unintentional" offense -- particularly as there's likely nothing which can be written (or said) that someone, somewhere isn't going to find offensive. In actuality, one can just sit still and never utter (or type) a single word, and somewhere, I guarantee you, that someone will still find that offensive.
Actually, I think I'm offending myself right now.
Yes, Cartoon agrees.
Cartoon!! Stay out of this!!
Nope. Don't want to. Freedom of speech.
But, you're not actually speaking. You're typing text.
Actually, you're typing the text. I don't exist.
See what you started, Zoid?
"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."
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The 'cartoon' character wrote:
Quote:
...See what you started, Zoid?
Yeah, I'm known for that.
One of my favorite things in movies is whenever a character is looking in a mirror and the camera captures that image for us. Know why?
As to the PC thing, since it may have gotten lost in all the other existential crap I've written in this thread: I think there are things for which we should say we are sorry, even if the apology makes no difference to the person(s) to whom we are apologizing. This is the basis for Christian confession and assorted therapeutic methods (and at least one current hit TV sitcom): saying 'sorry' for our transgressions against God and against our fellow human beings. For those who've never tried that: It can be very refreshing.
There's really a lot more I feel moved to say on the related subjects of 'image vs. reality', and 'intentional vs. unintentional error'; but, they've really got very little to do with this thread, "Oscar Spurns Serenity", except in how they apply to Hollywood in the most general of fashions. And I've lost track of even that.
So, I'll stuff a sock in it...
Reflectively,
zoid
P.S.
The reason I like 'mirror shots' is because they reveal how the actors or actresses see themselves as an actual person. I especially like to see how people who have low facial symmetry see themselves, like Nat Fillion (or myself) for instance. Most of us barely recognize a photograph of ourselves because it's reversed from the image we see when we shave or put on makeup every morning. We get used to seeing that mirror image of ourselves and it becomes the 'me' with which we identify; even though it is the reversed image of what the entire world sees us as, our real physicality.
So that mirror image of the actor we occasionally glimpse in the movies, is the same reverse image that he or she sees in the mirror every morning. It is a picture of their real self, as far as they are concerned, as opposed to the movie image we all see of them. I find that fascinating; my wife is totally non-plussed by the notion. Meh. I especially like it when an actor says that, in order to get a particular facial reaction just right, they practice it in a mirror.
[Wow. Long and repetitive postscript there, zoid.]
_________________________________________________
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[Reminiscent of my wife's reaction to this topic]
"You are such a boob." -River Tam, Firefly, "The Message"
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Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
P.S.
The reason I like 'mirror shots' is because they reveal how the actors or actresses see themselves as an actual person. I especially like to see how people who have low facial symmetry see themselves, like Nat Fillion (or myself) for instance. Most of us barely recognize a photograph of ourselves because it's reversed from the image we see when we shave or put on makeup every morning. We get used to seeing that mirror image of ourselves and it becomes the 'me' with which we identify; even though it is the reversed image of what the entire world sees us as, our real physicality.
So that mirror image of the actor we occasionally glimpse in the movies, is the same reverse image that he or she sees in the mirror every morning. It is a picture of their real self, as far as they are concerned, as opposed to the movie image we all see of them. I find that fascinating; my wife is totally non-plussed by the notion. Meh. I especially like it when an actor says that, in order to get a particular facial reaction just right, they practice it in a mirror.
[Wow. Long and repetitive postscript there, zoid.]
Dude. For years I've been fascinated by that fact, and I've never heard anyone mention it but you. I'll be looking at pictures with friends and remark on how different my actual image is from my mirror image, and they'll give me the "you're crazy" eye.
Just to continue your total off-topicness, there was a shot in the latest Pride and Prejudice adaptation, the Keira Knightley one, where she is staring into a mirror for some time, and we see it as if we were her. It weirded me out, and I knew why, and thought how cool it was to see her reversed (as far as I'm concerned) face.
Alright, I'll stop hijacking the thread now...
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Quote:
Ruefully,
zoid
P.S.
I apologize for making a joke of the movie's name. I was just riffing, but it's only funny if everybody laughs. It's "Brokeback Mountain".
Actually, all my gay friends refer to it as "Bareback Mountain" and think it's hilarious. I know this because I corrected Mike when he first said it and everybody laughed even harder, assuring me this was a big joke.
They thought it was especially funny that two avowed heterosexuals were playing the part. "Guess there aren't two talented "mos" in Hollywood willing to take the roles." was the exact comment, I believe.
Of course, if two avowed homosexuals HAD taken the roles, it probably would have been written off as a "special interest" film and totally ignored. Lets face it, the only reason they got the Oscar noms is because the voters think they were "so brave" to take the parts and make the movie.
Incredibly ironic!
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The reason Serenity didn't make the Oscars is because it is far too smart for most of the Hollywood drones. If the previews of a particular movie say it will be the BEST MOVIE of the YEAR! all the people who can't think and decide for themselves go see it; Hollywierd rakes in the dough then points to the income as proof that the movie was the best. When in reality, most of the stuff that comes out of Hollywood is regurgitated from years past and TV shows past. I swear, Joss Whedon is one of the few original thinkers left in Tinseltown.
George Smiley
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