OMG!!! Some people want to see Serenity real bad.

POSTED BY: Jeremy757
UPDATED: Saturday, May 7, 2005 02:00
VIEWED: 20634
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CHRISISALL

Monday, May 2, 2005 10:16 PM

The right place-
Did ya see what happened to that cow that was lowered into the raptor cage in Jurassic Park?!?

Jus' a joke Chrisisall

ZOID

Monday, May 2, 2005 11:05 PM

Knibblet:

I'm posting this to you, but it's for everyone gnawing on this unexpected bone of contention. (NB: And I guarandamntee you, Joss and The Studio never wanted it to be one.)

A little thought experiment on morals:

Let's say that -- instead of paying $450 for a $10 Serenity sneak preview ticket -- I decide to purchase myself a little female companionship instead. I have the need (although it's not a life-threatening one) and some extra cash that I can afford to spend on such a luxury, and the girl in question has no qualms about performing the services for which I'm willing to pay. A straight transaction, nobody forced to do anything they weren't willing to do. Really, it's the same thing as paying for the scalped ticket, isn't it? Nothing wrong with it, right?

Now let's say the girl in question is your daughter, sister, mother... Hey, why not make it your son, brother or father! I mean, this is a free society, is it not? Now how do you feel?

Okay, so we can all agree with the concept of prostitution as a 'good thing', right? It's just another form of free enterprise, supply and demand...

"So, zoid," you're thinking, "you're comparing the scalpers to prostitutes." No, I'm not. I'm comparing the scalpers to pimps. None of it means anything to them, because they've checked their souls at the door. They're not risking anything, yet they have wrongly finagled their way into the role of middlemen, reaping profit without any justification to do so.

On the one hand, we have JW and The Studio -- the creators of this heart's desire -- and on the other we have the 'consumers' -- us -- with desires that range from normal, responsible to obsessive or even downright sick. The pimps take something wholesome and pure (the intentions of JW and The Studio) and prostitute it to anyone who's got enough of a whacked notion of morality that they think it's okay.

Wanna stop pornography and prostitution? Stop buying it. Wanna end ticket scalping? Make the 'pimps' eat their tickets. To put an end to immoral and predatory practices affecting your life, you need not stand on a street corner or carry a placard screaming at the 'sinners'. All you need is a well-developed sense of morals of your own, and then apply them equally to whatever form of prostitution you encounter. If it's wrong in one case, it's wrong in all of them.

If that's still a little vague, think of this: It's possible to prostitute money, acting as a middleman between the resource itself and those who need/want it (whether that need/want is normal or even downright sick), and in the process reap an unjust profit. Starting to ring a bell? Look for other examples in your life and you'll find 'em. When you do, I promise you'll also find a dark place in your soul.

This is absolutely my last word on the subject. The fact that many of you feel similarly to me (and I know we otherwise disagree politically, in some cases) is something I find heartening. That so many think scalping is okay, that no one is getting hurt, ya-da, ya-da, is deeply troubling.

I guess that's what JW/The Studio get for scratching our surface, hmmm? Turns out we're no better than Star Wars fans...

Respectfully,

zoid

P.S.
I know many didn't want to hear me spout morality. But, I really don't want impressionable minds to think this sh!t is okay, without at least expressing an opposing viewpoint. Maybe someday, when someone runs afoul of this type of exploitation, they'll remember these words and think, "Hey! I have a choice! I can try that 'morals' thing for awhile and see if it makes me feel any better about myself!"

What's more, I've got Malcolm Reynolds on my side. Re-watch Shindig, if necessary, to see how he feels about having your heart's desire turned into a commodity, having something beautiful (JW/Studio's gesture to the fans) turned into something prurient ( http://tinyurl.com/bjdt8) in the name of making a buck. And of course, what that does to anyone whose sense o

CHRISISALL

Monday, May 2, 2005 11:25 PM

Zoid, scalpers are like mosquitos, they do what they do to get their blood, and what would happen if they dissappeared? Bats would die or be forced to seek out a new food source. Well, it meant something before I typed it...
I mean, they're inevitable, like, well...like ...mosquitos...
* Chrisisall realizes he's being neither funny or pointed*
And what's this?

Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
Turns out we're no better than Star Wars fans...

Didn't we all start out as such?

I still got a lightsabre Chrisisall

ZOID

Monday, May 2, 2005 11:44 PM

chrisisall wrote:

Quote:
(re: Star Wars fans comment) ...Didn't we all start out as such?

Yeah, heh-heh, it wouldn't be a post of mine if I didn't figure out some way to poke my finger in everybody's eye unexpectedly, at least once (that's what '

' means; I'm being intentionally arch).

But, if you think about it, how has the Star Wars we all once loved been prostituted, simply in the name of making more money off of our desire for that original beauty? Can you say 'digitally remastered', or "Han shoots first?!"

"I knew that'cha could!" -Vinnie Barbarino, Welcome Back Kotter

v/r,
-zed

P.S.
Whether you're scalping one ticket or a hundred makes no difference. There's no such thing as "I'm just doing a little prostitution." And you're right about the mosquitos, too. Blood-sucking carriers of disease...

CHRISISALL

Monday, May 2, 2005 11:57 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:

But, if you think about it, how has the Star Wars we all once loved been prostituted, simply in the name of making more money off of our desire for that original beauty?

Yeah, it started with too many teddy bears, and Chewie doing a Tarzan yell, and ended up with Jar Jar Binks! I hear tell this last one isn't so bad, though.

Quote:
Can you say "Han shoots first?!"

No, but it seems from the trailer that Mal already has that covered!ha ha ha
(take that, revisionist dorks!)

Ain't misbehavin' Chrisisall

HELL'S KITTEN

Tuesday, May 3, 2005 12:43 AM

Zoid -

Never in all my time here have I ever disagreed with anything you've posted. Most times, I look to your posts as a sort of 'moral compass,' if that doesn't sound too stupid (and cuz I get to learn new words). However, I must've wondered into some strange electro-magnetic storm or something, cuz I'm just not reading you here.

Universal is the biggest pimp of all; they're not being altruistic about this one bit. That's what business is: you want this? you need this? it's yours... for a price. How you feel about this particular thing is of no relevence to the business, and tying such strong emotion to a particular thing doesn't automatically make you (generic 'you') morally or ethically superior to those who don't feel the same way about it.

You really think the 'Versal execs are basing their decisions about Serenity on how much we fans love it? With 99.99% confidence, I can gaurantee that if there were only 3 fans in existance, all the love in the world we had wouldn't convince them to back the flick. Unless I were that exec, of course.

Heh, in my industry, Marketing is synonymous with pimping.

I agree completely in that, if you want to try to put an end to this sort of thing, don't buy it and convince all your friends to do the same. But I can't really judge someone who decides that, in this instance, viewing this unfinished movie May 5th is more important to them than mere money. Don't necessary agree with that, but I can't condemn it. Maybe it's why I never saw Badger as a "bad guy."

I'm not entirely sure you do have Mal on your side. If you recall, he couldn't give two good gorrams if what he was selling didn't directly impact the lives of others. Evidence of this is the blackmarket sale of the medicines he stole, cattle, and those grade A food cubes (foood cuuuuuube!), all of which was sold to someone who was gonna up the price even more. All of those things could greatly improve the lives of others, but he didn't know 'em personally. Where he took issue was when it got personal; when there was a direct impact on the lives and well being of others. He certainly didn't have an issue with Nandi and her merry band o'whores. Situational morality, I guess.

Perhaps I just need more guidance... probably didn't get this nickname for being an angel and all. Don't ever leave us, Zoid.

Cheers.

无党派人士

JEREMY757

Tuesday, May 3, 2005 12:45 AM

I would like to invite anyone who is selling or plans to buy any of these overpriced auction tickets to tell us your side of the story.

I know out of all the people selling and buying these tickets at least a few of them have to frequent this site.

ZOID

Tuesday, May 3, 2005 12:51 AM

chrisisall wrote:

Quote:
...I hear tell this last one isn't so bad, though.

If the pencil-necked geek in the really expensive Darth Vader Holloween costume dismembers Jar-Jar with a blunt lightsaber, I'll consider it a win. Otherwise...

Just be glad I wasn't responsible for marketing Star Wars Episode III: The Sudden But Inevitable Betrayal. Being 'intentionally arch', I'd have gotten one of those overly bright-voiced announcers to say things like: "See all the Jedi killed!" or "See the entire known Universe hurled into darkness in the clutches of Evil Incarnate!"... "See Yoda exiled to a swamp! See Obi-Wan marooned in a desert!"... "See Amidala killed and her children separated... Hidden from each other and their monstrous father!"... "Uproarious fun for the whole family!"

On the lighter side, everything runs in cycles, and yesteryear's fads become new again. SWIII:TSBIB should be the biggest anti-hero movie since 1976's Taxi Driver. All those who fondly remember rooting for Travis Bickle will have that love affair rekindled by Hayden Christensen's 'hero'.

Hopelessly,

zoid

P.S.
Why am I the only one who finds (supposedly smart enough to have been elected Queen) Amidala's judgment of character unbelievably bad? I mean the Angel and the Reruns song from Bachelor Party was not titled "Why Do Good Girls Like Mass Murderers?" If she's so wise, why did she bear Hitler's children?! Maybe she's secretly a Sith too, huh?
_________________________________________________

"Sure as I know anything, I know this: I aim to misbehave." -Capt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity, a.k.a. 'the BDM'

MALICIOUS

Tuesday, May 3, 2005 1:24 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
There's no such thing as "I'm just doing a little prostitution."

Crap!

(Mal-Licious goes off to find a new hobby)

Mal-licious

"Let's go be bad guys."

ZOID

Tuesday, May 3, 2005 1:37 AM

Hell's Kitten:

Please don't mistake heartsickness for condemnation. I'm not condemning others, I'm just saddened by their unthinking (okay, in some cases pre-meditated) actions.

As to medicines, I already provided evidence about the medicine on TTJ. As to medicines in "Ariel", the whole crew had to be reassured by Simon that the hospital's meds would be promptly replaced and that their stolen ones would be put to good use on the Rim. For the cattle, the scene goes (emphases mine):

Quote:
HARROW
You're mistaken, sir. I'm an honest
man.

MAL
Seems to me, there's nothing
dishonest about getting your goods to
people what need them.

HARROW
You're concerned about the poor. And
yet, for what you're offering, you'd
want money, I imagine.

MAL
Well, sir. I think you'll find that
working with me is giving to the poor.

For the food cubes, maybe; but they sure weren't doing anybody any good in a space-wrecked derelict. I still say Mal is a man of morals, regardless how much he'd like to turn his back on them and be a real bad guy. Hell, even Inara remarks that he's a pretty poor excuse for a criminal (geisha bobbleheads scene). That's why he protects the 'whores' for free, even though Inara insists on paying him (why does she feel the need to give him money for what he does naturally? Things that make you go, "Hmmm!") It's also why he slept with Nandi: She may have been telling a whore's lie to a john, but I believed her when she said she wanted him, and no money exchanged hands... (NB: She also says, "I'm not her", meaning Inara. If she was only doing it for the debt she owed Mal and crew, not for her own sake, she'd have been anyone Mal wanted to call her.)

Respectfully,

zoid

P.S.
...And I think that's why Inara was crying: Because Nandi could let herself go and tell Mal the truth about how badly she wanted him, which Inara couldn't or wouldn't do.

And I'm not going anywhere just because other people disagree with me. I know you were just being respectful, that you really wanted to tell me off. I get that, and I appreciate your graciousness and gentility (qualities I clearly lack, heh-heh). But if I pulled up stakes and left every time someone in this world vehemently disagreed with me, I'd have already run out of places I could be.
_________________________________________________

"Take me out to The Black, tell 'em I ain't comin' back..." -The Ballad of Serenity

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