I might add, I am referring to the media of course…i try not to examine the media in too much depth if i don’t think it is aiding & abetting govts. in “constructing” wars & promoting invasions. But if i saw signs of animal cruelty then i’d feel the need to express it.

I must admit tho, i’m finding some of the media campaigns today using irresponsible labelling, manipulative & disturbing. Regardless of what some may think, these are political & profit-oriented propaganda campaigns…creating MORAL PANIC & linking fairly unrelated incidences in order to gain readership/viewership. The news media is quite right to focus on cases such as this “freak” confining his own daughter in Austria…but to define Austrian society as “the look away” society…a society of “concealment” is just plain BS. Particularly when you link that view to pasting Soc Dems as hiding NAZIS. One wonders about this need to paint the LEFT of late as being the refuge & motivation for NAZISM…let’s look at some facts:

To be sure, the problem is not specific to the SPÖ and also affects the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP). Maria Rauch-Kallat, the general secretary of the ÖVP, described Gusenbauer’s move as “an important step” for the SPÖ and added that, unlike the Social Democrats, her party had already dealt with and overcome its Nazi past and in 1980 created the Karl Vogelsang Institute for this purpose

As Herbert Lackner explains in an article for the magazine Profil, the ÖVP has long described Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss (murdered by the Nazis in 1934) as “the first victim of National Socialism” [5] and emphasised its distinct ideological roots and the fight of “Austrofascism” with National Socialism in the 1930s.

Yet, the ÖVP also has problematic relations with the past, as evidenced, for instance, by its approval of former Wehrmacht officer Kurt Waldheim’s candidacy (and victory) in the 1986 presidential elections or its appointment of former Nazi Hans Kamitz as finance minister in the 1950s.
(Brown Stains, Magali Perrault: ce-review .org, Vol 2, No 15
17 April 2000)

So yes, Soc Dems in Austria contributed to the “national amnesia” but so did Righties. But this was not mentioned in the Times reporters comments on last night’s LATELINE interview. Biased stuff.

I lived in Austria & the major worrying thing I saw was the occasional lack of respect for some of the hard working Turks there. I met one, old Hitler apologist…but the youth I knew were all to the LEFT & roundly condemned his views. I sometimes wonder if these reporters have an original idea in their head, that isn’t part of some campaign to “hook-in” audiences based on reductionist, generalised & moral panic inciting comments. If the mainstream media is so concerned about “concealment” pehaps they need to look into their own backyards…that includes their own organisations & governments (particularly the Americans).

And just maybe that’s what Oshii is reflecting, a distrust of both forms of politics…in the end it might be better to “take your own path”…& make your own REALITY (Tho, not like the abusive creep in Austria obviously). In the fighting between the mainstream, old hat, systems (as portrayed by so much of today’s “non-independent” thinking media) the society & individual gains little…they are often pawns in a chess game…too often victimised, exploited or used to make an example of, to gain ratings, to make a political/ideological point. The GOTYA media have alot to answer for. As do their “campaign managers”. The imaginative & curious filmmakers that Oshii refers to in his films & interviews often got it.

The GAME…the journey…the brutality of naked “survivalism”…& the beauty constructed by the merging of imagination & aspects of reality.

“so it becomes like a game and it also flattens out emotion and affect too.”

Sobchack obviously hasn’t played computer games w/ some of my old mates…emotions heightened, fists clenched, adrenal glands working overtime, heads almost at SCANNERS’ explosion level…:)

Still, interesting point. Granted, those reactions were primarily in the early stages of gaming. Those pesky Space Invaders & PACMEN could be really irritating…:)

And I’m sure ‘Diablo’ was created to put up our collective blood pressure.

Tho I did find MediEvil & the early Final Fantasy’s relaxing. As for the likes of ‘Grand Theft Auto’ & ‘World of Warcraft’…i reckon they’re too violent & loud for this sober soul…i’d prefer to find some game where you can journey to the land of Avalon and hear the twittering of birds & shuffling of wee mammals in the autumn lit hedges…and indulge in an imaginary sip of some sweet nectar…before grabbing a magical sword…& slicing & dicing the neanderthals who constructed Dick Cheney out of poisonous play doe…:)

The discussion about characterisation brings to mind a comment by film scholar (and my fellow cyborg!) Vivian Sobchack that the dystopian future of cyberpunk (really a certain present we’re in, of course) tends to flatten out perception with a surfeit of images and possible moves - so it becomes like a game and it also flattens out emotion and affect too.

yea, well i guess when you’ve had a government in as long as they have (tho a few changes recently) you can get pretty paranoid & dispirited…and rebellious. At least thru yer art. I doubt tho these auteurs are thinking along the lines of Mishima tho…:)

as for the dog…don’t some directors like to insert some symbol/act that represents themselves?…constructing continuity by way of a recurrent motif thru a number of their projects? Hitchcock’s intrusive moments being the most obvious example.

“Ewww. Gatorade?”

I originally found both to be commercially “in your face” & lacking most redeeming features of a desirably consumeable product. But in the long run they both lured me in…:) I’m a sucker for playing the “particular slob”. That’s why Homer in The Simpsons appealed to me for so many years. Whilst not at WAR I tend to look the other way more often than not…except when it comes to animal cruelty. The last 5 years have been one long headache, I can tell ya.

I’m quite fond of the 5th Element. I watched it again recently. It’s all hammy acting - even Mila. But it’s the aesthetics, and the anarchistic energy that drives it.

Nabs, that dude couldn’t act with or without a hawk’s head superimposed.

And why does he use the exact same dog in both movies?

I’m sure SG…i’m w/ you on not reducing a diverse society into a western-centric box…but perceptions can echo & I was wondering if the focus on homeless ex-workers/businessman, the recession, the plight of the aged w/out caring relatives news stories, even if they were a “beat-up” had secured themselves in Oshii’s consciousness at the time. Furthermore, the project (released in 2000 Japan /2001 overseas) may have been in early stages during the bursting of the Dot-Com bubble. That could have affected his view of the cyber-world, Capitalism and so on.

In a Midnight Eye interview relating to the film “Innocence” Oshii mentions his adoration for Eastern European architecture, respect for Blade Runner as a “foundation film” for the genre, his preference for dogs as companions (perhaps a similar form of disillusionment with & mistrust of humanity we observe in Ripley’s character in Alien???)…and his liking for such Tarkovsky films as Solaris & Stalker.

[link]

There’s also a review on Avalon if you do a SEARCH.

Oshii makes this interesting assessment of his state of being: “Since people are all starting to lose part of or all of their ‘bodies’, they need to associate themselves with something else to identify themselves. It could be dogs like myself, or it could be cats or other animals. It does not need to be living things.”

I haven’t seen the film The Golden Compass but doesn’t it use human characters whose souls reside in animals or such? Just a thought.

As for the relationship between politics & culture Mark, I agree that it can be a murky “chicken & the egg” area to delve into. Tho plenty of governments/leaders have used art & other forms of expression to construct symbolism & promote their belief systems.

The Fifth Element grew on me…but so did the taste for Gatorade…:)

You try emoting with a green screen for a hawk’s head where your own should be.

But now I think about it, I kinda take back some of the acting thang vis a vis “The Fifth Element”. Gary Oldman was a brilliantly hammy villain, Milla Jovovich wasn’t too shabby at all, Ian Holm was Mr Reliable and Bruce Willis entered into the spirit of the piece with the kinda gusto he does best.

It was a B-Grade movie with A-Grade talent. A SF Raiders Of The Lost Ark with additional sexy.

Whereas Immortel was driven by a high concept idea, superb art direction but fell apart at the end because they didn’t properly sell the back story necessary to keep you engaged with the narrative.

Apparently they’re now planning a remake of ‘Barbarella’. I’m awaiting that one with distinctly unbated breath.

Meanwhile, Jeff Hawke, the comic strip about a suave sixties British astronaut/diplomat outfoxing alien criminal masterminds just goes begging.

It’s like “The Fifth Element” with better acting and art direction but less money and joie de vivre.

I liked it, but “better acting”? They’re all bloody awful apart from Charlotte. Really. The standard of the acting ruined it for me.

Try this instead
[link]

Unlike this Metal Hurlant/Enki Bilal screen expedition where the script was apparently tattooed on the art director’s derriere but still vaguely readable by the rest of the above the line talent.

It has some great set pieces, piss elegant gallic art direction, Charlotte Rampling doing her grave yet mystic MILF number, shape shifting Egyptian gods (Bilal owes Zelzany a big thank you there), a Stalker type zone in the Bois de Boulogne (which is a seriously strange place anyway) and scarlet flying killer squid sharks. It’s like “The Fifth Element” with better acting and art direction but less money and joie de vivre. And an even more inscrutably gallic storyline.

Definitely worth four bucks at the movie shop.

Also Nasking, I would shy away from or reconsider any analysis of Japanese authors which relies on the notion that Japanese people are enslaved to consumer culture or live in houses the size of shoeboxes. Neither of these claims are as true, in my experience, as people in the west want to think they are (but I agree generally with that comment at 17).

On Avalon, Ghost in the Shell, etc, can I recommend Ergo Proxy as an anime series that is really nicely composed artistically and deals with similar themes? I’m not sure if it’s been on Oz tv. But it’s in the dvd shops.

Wiki entry: (spoilers)

[link]

Image:

YouTube excerpt:

[link]

That’s a mash up and the soundtrack is added by the person who made it, not part of the series soundtrack.

There’s also obviously a left wing strand in science fiction - particularly British sf - but it probably also tends towards anti-statism. It would be interesting to tease that out further.

Before I’d make any specific comments about the way government and the state are regarded in Japanese sf, I’d want to know much more about Japanese political culture - a topic on which, unfortunately, I’m completely ignorant.

I’ll have a think about all that, nasking, when I’m feeling somewhat brighter. Right now, I’m watching a bit of Ghost in the Shell in honour of this interesting chat!

and me…but the newie has grown on me.

The rise of the Libertarian voice (Alex Jones etc) that understandably (?) despised &/or mistrusted mainstream parties and their connection to lobby groups & those of wealth & influence might not have just been spawned from conspiracy novels, & the “American Colonial militia” (defend the Constition & your Rights from GOVT & the War Machine whilst at WAR) attitudes…but also the growth of the internet that led to a mass of conflicting, contradictory propaganda & so called TRUISMS.

Lot of sh*t to wade thru…:) But such is life…from such pools new life explodes forth…:)

Anyway, add to that sci-fi that is fairly dystopic…often relying on characters who survive on their wits, TRUST no govt…work as a diverse team w/ flexible morals…well, you get the gist. The governments are generally portrayed as “untrustworthy” and politicians narcissistic, corrupt & self-interested…w/ only the occasional special patriotic military-based teams that keep themselves at a distance from authority being identified as “real heroes” or worth believing in.

Hey, I luv my “survivalism” & “beat the bad guys at all costs” sci-fi…but i sometimes wonder if the addicted/fan isn’t sometimes voting against their own self-interests once the themes & messages feed into their behaviour & sub-conscious? Particularly if they can’t afford health-care, education costs etc…but don’t VOTE out of this suspicion of any mainstream Party….& refuse to take a chance w/ the alternative to the Busheviks etc….those who generally shift the cream back into the coffee of the well off.

Don’t get me wrong, I can empathise w/ the Libertarians & other independents/govt haters & skeptics at times. When I see wealthy, hypocritical celebrities & CEOs and such supporting “fair-go” promoting parties & candidates I get the overwhelming feeling that i shouldn’t bother voting…that we’ve been “sold out”.

Then all that over-powering sense of “powerlessness” & frustration can temporarily diminish my more pragmatic aspects (particularly when drinking, which i was i generally gave it up…the paranoia can be intrusive)…so yes, the anger i feel towards politicians at times can lead to desire for some “transformation” in me or the population (think Jap anime…can have quite self-destructive characters)…perhaps to become a non-corporeal being…or a super being that can right wrongs (whatever the heck they are…lol)…or alien intervention - as in compassionate aliens who empower us rather than the types who deliver horrendous pathogens or eggs in yer belly (some look to God)…

considering that my generation has spent gawd knows how many hours in front of the tele absorbing every kind of sci-fi idea/theme known to man/woman in an edible package…it’s not surprising we can be “fickle” voters. Add the books & games to that…phew! Have fun pollies…;)