• About
  • Cats Dig Hemingway
  • Guest Bookings
  • John King’s Publications
  • Literary Memes
  • Podcast Episode Guide
  • Store!
  • The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film
  • Videos
  • Writing Craft Discussions

The Drunken Odyssey

~ A Podcast About the Writing Life

The Drunken Odyssey

Monthly Archives: March 2016

21st Century Brontë #14: Overhyped Heroes

31 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in 21st Century Bronte, Comic Books, Film

≈ Leave a comment

21st Century Brontë #14 by Brontë Bettencourt

Overhyped Heroes

Last Thursday was the premiere of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. I’ve been asked by numerous friends my thoughts on the movie, as if I obviously led the charge on opening night. I haven’t seen the movie, nor do I intend to. The instant that the DC Cinematic Universe announced this movie, I was skeptical since Versus felt like a rush to establish key Justice League heroes in a film series that mimicked the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s buildup. Considering the many negative reviews of too many heroes, plot lines, and allusions for the story to breathe, my speculations were on point.

I’m not saying that the MCU is without fault.

In my junior year of college, I was obsessed with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And since my close friends were also obsessed, we fed each others’ superhero addiction. I’ve seen The Avengers a total of eleven times in theaters. Once was with my grandpa, once was at a drive-in theater with seven police cars speeding down the closest street in hot pursuit of someone. Regardless of the peril, or the number of views, or the state of my bank account, the experience of watching the camera slow pan around the heroes circled up and weapons at the ready, coupled with the valiant background music, rose the hairs on my arms every time.

Avengers-Assemble-12

Now, I really wish something would puncture the bloated franchise because keeping up is exhausting. Not only is there a constant flux of heroes and movies streaming to theaters, but now there’s mimics attempting to ride off the coattails of all the seller hype.

The problem that I have with the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the steady increase of superheroes and characters that aren’t given room to breathe, due to the sheer number of them crammed into a single film. On top of fleshing out these characters in movie-length segments, there has to be a plot driving the story forward, as well as alluding to the ultimate end goal of the much anticipated Infinity Wars, while paying homage to the heroes established in the movies prior, and sprinkling the film with Easter Eggs hinting at other heroes or events to come.

There will also be a Stan Lee cameo, which has become more of a game of Where’s Waldo than a clever surprise.

I wish the end goal of the Infinity Wars hadn’t been foreshadowed at the end of the The Avengers movie, since twelve movies later we will finally see Thanos wreak havoc on the big screen. The story feels less centered on the characters, and more on the predestined events that are to come.

I’ve stopped feeling any form of heightened engagement. How can we have the Infinity Wars if another villain seizes Earth, Asgard, or any of the other defined realms? And any villain introduced ultimately falls short due to the looming threat of Thanos. This is a being who courts death, who controls space, time, energy, and a series of other catastrophic abilities thanks to the Infinity Gauntlet. So what if Ultron nearly created incited an age (which hardly spanned a week in real time)? What is an army of one-hit KO bots to the might of the endgame villain?

Avengers-Age-of-Ultron-art-poster

But despite all of the drawbacks, maybe the superhero franchises prevail because we’re in a time that these characters can prevail on a mainstream platform. As a child I’ve seen the geek stereotype exist in cartoons and sitcoms. These stereotypes clung to their comic books, and played Dungeons and Dragons in mothers’ basements, when not engaged in online MMORPGS like World of Warcraft.

I used to think, “Well, I may go to anime conventions, but at least I don’t play WoW.” Then I leveled a human warlock all the way to endgame, before the final dungeon with the Lich King was released.

My thinking evolved to, “Well, at least I’m not into the comic book scene.” Then I ended up driving down south with two friends in a naive quest to meet Robert Downey Jr., who was in south Florida filming for Iron Man 3.

195

The set of Iron Man 3, in the distance.

And well, I’ve already elaborated in my dabbling with D&D. My point is, with all of these interests I’ve bonded with people bearing similar interests, both in person and online. Technology today provides more avenues for social connection, making it harder to isolate someone for having different interests. And even so, this “other” is given more opportunity for acceptance in an age where so many at least in my generation, find value in the unique.

I wonder if characters such as Peter Parker can be portrayed correctly, considering that the draw of his personality – this awkward otherness – would be embraced today. I’ve been told that while Andrew Garfield as Spider Man was on point, his rendition of Parker in The Amazing Spiderman movies fell short. He was either too likeable, or not awkward enough, which an unlikable personality carrying a mainstream movie critique aside, he seemed plenty awkward without catering to a nerd stereotype.

Well, despite my dismay at the constant influx of movies, I am excited to see Black Panther and Captain Marvel appear on the big screen. I’d be even more ecstatic if Kamala Khan’s Ms. Marvel take on the mainstream mantle. But the executives at Marvel and DC should know that I’ll need a reason to try to keep up.

Marvel and DC Cinematic Universes aside, 20th Century Fox’s Deadpool was an incredibly refreshing. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a character who breaks the fourth wall to bludgeon his enemies with his own health meter in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom® 3.

Healthbar

Naturally, there was violence, nudity, and vulgarity. But the humor did not center on a meme-centric asshole, but a fully fleshed out personality who wasn’t striving to be a hero. Instead, Deadpool strove to slaughter every individual who fucked up his life.

Although this is another origin story, Deadpool’s ability to break the fourth wall parodied this cliché. Because this character’s star power outshines any allusion to future happenings or characters, the driving focus remained on him. And because of the R rating, the character remained true to the comic books, even subtly nodding at the character’s fluctuating sexuality.

I wish the cinematic universes would push the envelope in this aspect. Yes, they’ve established that they can bring these characters to life on the big screen. Implementing Phase One of the MCU, from Nick Fury reaching out to Tony Stark at the end of the Iron Man, to the pay off in the first Avengers was a major risk that had not been done before. Since then, the thrill has waned. Maybe now what is needed is not yet another Peter Parker, but a Miles Morales.

What we maybe need now are characters that are representative of the fan base who buys the tickets.

_______

21st Cen Bronté

Brontë Bettencourt (Episode 34) graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelors in English Creative Writing. When she’s not writing or working, she is a full time Dungeon Master and Youtube connoisseur.

McMillan’s Codex #32: Kingdom Hearts 2

30 Wednesday Mar 2016

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Disney, McMillan's Codex

≈ Leave a comment

McMillan’s Codex #32 by C.T. McMillan

Kingdom Hearts 2

The difference between Western and Japanese roleplaying games (RPG) is staggering. Where the former focuses on character growth and story arc, the latter prefers steadfastness of character. Both have their merits, but in terms of escapism, WRPGs give you more opportunities, whereas JRPGs tend to be restrictive. Before I discovered Elder Scrolls, I played Kingdom Hearts 2 (KH2), from the developers of Final Fantasy (FF). Even at 14, I noticed problems.

kingdom-hearts-ii-20060711114142942-1574163_640w

To the uninitiated, KH is a blend of FF and the Disney mythos. Some of the characters and settings are from The Lion King, Mulan, and many others. The worlds you visit include Space Paranoids, the Pride Lands, and Halloween Town, each a faithful recreation of their respective movies. Most of the player interactions are with Disney characters and the story has strong themes of friendship and purity of heart, something shared by the Japanese elements, which is, in my opinion, the game’s main problem.

Having watched a lot of anime and read a ton of manga, I would like to think I have an understanding of Japanese story tropes. There is always an air of moral ambiguity and dimension around the antagonists, a side that either justifies why they are villains or makes them good. In Metal Gear Solid 4, Liquid Ocelot wants to destroy the Patriot System, an AI that controls the war economy like an invisible Big Brother, and your mission is to stop him. Why? The characters argue the System is good for keeping the peace, but at the cost of wars to consume resources and maintain the status quo? In fact, most of the Metal Gear villains are more sympathetic than the heroes.

The villains of KH2, Organization XIII, are called Nobodies, the remains of people once they go Heartless (the shadow side of the soul made corporeal). XIII travels around the Worlds to create Heartless and gain the power of Kingdom Hearts (the sum of the good hearts released when Heartless are killed) in order to make themselves whole. You play Sora, who joins Donald and Goofy on a quest to stop the Nobodies by murdering them without question.

kingdom-hearts-ii-20060711114143567-1574164_640w

The Nobodies of XIII are people with the capacity to feel. The first one you meet, Axel, cries and has an emotional breakdown in his search for a friend. The only reason the Nobodies are considered bad is … we are told they are. Sure, they may not be whole in a spiritual sense, but they are humanlike and possess emotions. If you just told them they do not have to have hearts to be whole, such information would safe everyone a lot trouble. KH2 is like a Nicholas Sparks story where the characters do not communicate and are surprised when someone dies over a matter that could have been resolved over the phone.

For what it is, the story is not bad. There is a lot of detail to digest, and you will not understand unless you pay attention. The cast is large. A lot of these details are not important, but the Japanese tend to be very fond of their supporting characters and details. That being said, KH2 is a straightforward story about a hero trying to reconnect with his friends and save the world. Then you have the fusion of FF and Disney in a melting pot of East and West. The game is so out there and strange, and yet it finds a way to make sense.

The lack of character personalization is not as jarring an issue as one would think. Since JRPGs are more concerned about keeping their characters steadfast, the linearity of the narrative and lack of customization is too be expected. As a protagonist, Sora is well rounded and likable because he just wants to hang out with his friends. His appearance depends on your subjective response, and if you do not like him, then you simply won’t play the game.

Personalization has more of a practical use in JRPGs. KH2 is action-oriented, with combo-based, real-time combat. The weapon you use is called a Keyblade, which is exactly what it sounds like. As you progress you gain a new one, each with different effects. When you level up, you have access to abilities that modify your attacks and movements. There are a lot of options like a guard break, various aerial attacks, and some passive ones like scan where you can see enemy health bars as you fight. Choosing your abilities allows you to tailor the combat to be as effective as possible. Once you work out the perfect formula, fighting is very satisfying as you easily overtake the enemy. If you are thrown in to the air, there is an aerial recovery that will put you right back into combat without skipping a beat. The gameplay is as fun as it is gratifying.

kingdom-hearts-ii-20060711114129412-1574143_640w

While these elements are not necessarily congruent with the roleplaying genre, Kingdom Hearts 2 works better as a straightforward action adventure that can be enjoyed for its gameplay, wholesome themes, and creativity. Disneyphiles and Final Fantasy fans alike will find a lot to enjoy. The version I played was on the PlayStation 2, but there have been HD updates of the original games for last generation consoles, including the spinoffs. If any of the above interests you, consider picking up the updated editions.

_______

CT McMillan 1

C.T. McMillan (Episode 169) is a film critic and devout gamer.  He has a Bachelors for Creative Writing in Entertainment from Full Sail University.

Episode 198: Mixtape #6 (Who Put my Spurs in the Fire?)

26 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Episode, Mixtape, Music

≈ Leave a comment

Episode 198 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

*******

TDO LOGO Country MixtrapeTEXTS DISCUSSED

Residuum

NOTES

Please review us on iTunes here.

Subscribe on iTunes

*******

Episode 198 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

The Curator of Schlock #121: The Ten Commandments

25 Friday Mar 2016

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in The Curator of Schlock

≈ 1 Comment

The Curator of Schlock #121 by Jeff Shuster

The Ten Commandments

(The 11th Commandment, Thou shalt not blog, does not exist.)

Moses1 

I know. I know. Many of you had given up hope that your Curator of Schlock would never return, but I told you that I’d be back in March and your Curator keeps his word. Since Easter weekend is upon us, I thought I’d lend my commentary to 1956’s Cecil B. Demille’s The Ten Commandments from director Cecil B. DeMille. No doubt many of you will be watching its annual run on Network television this weekend. Okay. Let’s put some lipstick on this golden calf. I have some points to make about this classic epic.

1. Why is the director talking to the audience?

Who does this guy think he is, William Castle? Mr. DeMille comes right out of the curtains to address the audience before the movie starts. I wonder if audiences back in the day actually thought he was in the movie theater. He’s rambling on about dictators and freedom and the Commmies (well, maybe he didn’t mention that last part.)

2. I like Rameses more than Moses.

So we’ve got Yul Brynner as Rameses II, and he’s cool. I’m sorry, but I love the man’s attitude.

Moses2

He just wants the throne of Egypt and he is the rightful heir. He kintones, “So let it be written, so let it be done.” When Nefretiri, the princess to be, says that she’ll never love him, Rameses is like “What does that matter?” Like a boss!

3. Vincent Price is in this movie!

Yeah, he plays Baka, the Master Builder. I guess he’s the architect of the Pharaoh’s Treasure City. Imagine that, a city filled with treasure like golden doubloons and sapphires and…um…more golden doubloons. He fancies the water girl, Lilia, and wants to make her his house slave, but Moses breaks his back, killing him instantly. Vincent Price never gets the girl!

4. Nefretiri is a femme fatale!

Webster defines a femme fatale as “a very attractive woman who causes trouble or unhappiness for the men who become involved with her.” Yeah, Nefretiri as played by Anne Baxter fits that role.

Moses4

She goads Rameses into sending his army into the parted Red Sea. Rameses would left well enough alone, but no, his whole army has to get wiped out because of his scheming Queen. Incidentally, Ann Baxter starred in a noir picture called The Come On the very same year.

5. This is a looooong movie!

The Ten Commandments is 220 minutes long. That over three and a half hours! Maybe if Cecil B. DeMille had quite narrating at random points in the movie, he could have shaved about an hour off of this thing!

6. Those who will not live by the law, shall die by the law!

So Edward G. Robinson plays Dathan, a bad Hebrew who leads the others astray while Moses is up in the mountain getting The Ten Commandments. They build a golden calf to worship and there’s much, ummmmmm, nakedness.

Moses3

Dathan wants to sacrifice Lilia, the water girl, to their new god, but then Moses comes down with the Ten Commandments and he is not pleased. Let’s just say if you were standing by that golden calf, you’ve just received a one-way ticket to hell.

Happy Easter everyone! Oh, and Happy Passover too! Huh? Passover isn’t for another few weeks. How does that work?

_______
Jeffrey Shuster 1

Photo by Leslie Salas

Jeffrey Shuster (episode 47, episode 102, episode 124, and episode 131) is an MFA candidate at the University of Central Florida.

21st Century Brontë #13: Trust The Process

24 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in 21st Century Bronte

≈ Leave a comment

21st Century Brontë #13

Trust The Process

My editor asked me to write about what I’ve learned about writing since starting 21st Century Brontë. Initially, I thought of a kid reading her book report to the class. I was Stan or Kyle at the end of an older episode of South Park, summarizing my experience with a moral that began with “You know, I learned something today…”

Except life doesn’t consist of 22 minute long episodes. There aren’t any commercial breaks to ruminate over the events that transpired. And at first I couldn’t begin to think what to write. This is the thirteenth post, and this question left me with a blank mind and a mouth dumbly agape. I felt like I regressed as a writer, and in my work life.

An analogy of second graders learning math problems helped me understand my growth. My friend Sammie explained that she tested her class’s understanding of math concepts by giving her students some harder problems. She found that there were several students who, for simpler problems, knew how to reach the answer as well as mimic the work to reach it. But they were clueless on how to solve more complicated problems.

“The problems weren’t especially complicated at all,” she explained, “If students understood the process of solving the problem, they could achieve the answer.”

Although this blog went live in November, discussion for it began months before the launch. I was afraid of not having anything profound to say, that people would see me as a poseur. I was told that I did not need to write anything literary, but just what was on my mind.

A less daunting task, but then the fear of being dull began to freak me out.

I soon came to realize that I was really good at fabricating excuses, but with a deadline looming over my head, I needed to write something. I received that something back, bleeding out with all the red edits. My editor told me told me not to panic.

That initial draft laid the foundation for my first post. My anxieties are part of a routine now, familiar enough to override because of the value of the final product.

I forget so easily that the books, shows, and anime that I marvel at are the finished products of hours of trial and error, second-guessing, and many, many drafts that could’ve been bleeding from all the edits. The final product doesn’t just happen, and I think I’m becoming comfortable in knowing that I really know comparatively little. All I can do is write it the best I can.

At this point I don’t believe there’s anything to be ashamed of. The definition of adult is to be fully grown and developed physically, or to be mature and sensible mentally. Alas, I don’t believe I’m getting any taller in this lifetime, so this is it: I’ve already achieved adulthood simply by aging. This doesn’t sound like a big deal unless it’s broken down:

I’ve been alive for nearly twenty-four years, each comprised of 365 days excluding leap years, broken down into 8670 hours, and so on and so forth.

When I was a kid I never thought I’d be this age, not because I’d die but because I couldn’t fathom becoming someone my mother or my grandfather or my teachers identified with. So this is simultaneously not a big deal, but still really awesome now that I’m here as well.

So I guess I did learn something today. Buckle down and work, and try to understand the process while you do so.

 _______

21st Cen Bronté

Brontë Bettencourt (Episode 34) graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelors in English Creative Writing. When she’s not writing or working, she is a full time Dungeon Master and Youtube connoisseur.

Aesthetic Drift #9: Dramatic Stakes, and Why Dawn of Justice Will Likely Suck

24 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Aesthetic Drift

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Batman, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Frank Miller, High stakes storytelling, Superman, The Dark Knight Returns, The Great Gatsby, The Portrait of a Lady

Aesthetic Drift #9 by John King

Dramatic Stakes, and Why Dawn of Justice Will Likely Suck

Thirty years ago when Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns series appeared, this epic of what would happen to superheroes in the future changed the culture of comic books. Miller introduced an expressionistic art style that could be crude and gothic. Miller worried about the physics of the world Batman inhabited, so that the world was as real as the art was wild. And by making his heroes old, he inadvertently revealed American culture’s doubts about whether these pop culture icons could be meaningful with about fifty years of continuous storytelling occurring with many of the same archetypal characters.

TDKR-Batman-vs-Superman

In The Dark Knight Returns, Batman would have his final confrontation with his nemesis, The Joker. Batman would have his final confrontation with his other nemesis, Superman. All of this seemed so intriguing in large part because of the dramatic stakes this finality implied. We see Batman’s heartbeat. We see our heroes, even Superman, bleed and suffer. We see The Joker die laughing.

If you want people to read your fiction or watch your play or film, the dramatic stakes need to be high. Highly abstract emotions and average slice-of-life narratives might be appealing, but they are most appealing when they turn out to be related to high-stakes storytelling. Gatsby has to die trying to outmaneuver the American class system in the name of love. Isabel Archer must learn that her freedom and pride were high prices to pay at the expense of her truest friendship, the depths of which she should have seen earlier. And Batman must try to slay Superman to prove the truth of his own perhaps unhealthy convictions.

High-stakes define character in indelible ways, and watching such storytelling changes us, when those stories are good.

Batmans V Superman

This is why Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is likely to be terrible.

Batman-Vs-Superman-Dawn-Of-Justice-2015

Besides the actual animated adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns, no other movie seems to be leaning quite so heavily on the Miller comic. In Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, we are going to see Batman in battle armor face off with Superman, but this will not be their final confrontation. Instead, this looks to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship, in which they can quip to one another about how cool Wonder Woman is, since a glib Lex Luthor will create a new villain that makes the rivalry, the fatal ideological and psychological conflict, between Batman and Superman irrelevant on their way to kicking a lot of CGI ass.

_______

1flip

John King (Episode, well, all of them) is a podcaster, writer, and ferret wrangler.

McMillan’s Codex #31: Far Cry 3

23 Wednesday Mar 2016

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in McMillan's Codex

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Nostalgia, Warrior of the Lost World

McMillan’s Codex 31 By C.T. McMillan

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

In entertainment, nostalgia is dead. For about five years the Internet, pop culture, and Hollywood milked the past to the point of saturation. The remakes, reboots, sequels, and merchandise compounded my frustration in a vain search for originality until I could not take it anymore. This was before Adam Sandler’s Pixels, a cynical abortion that cemented my decision to abandon nostalgia all together. As a film critic, I have made a conscious effort to avoid remakes and sequels lest I contribute to the problem. But for Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, I am willing to let my guard down.

FC3DragonBlood_Poster

Built on the graphics and gameplay of Far Cry 3, Blood Dragon is a spinoff you can play without owning the previous game. Far Cry is a shooter series with an emphasis on open-world stealth and roleplaying with upgradable abilities, equipment, and weapons. Blood Dragon is much the same with skill enhancements to your total health and reload speed. Weapon attachments give your small arsenal an added punch like exploding rounds for the sniper rifle, extra shotgun barrels, and laser rounds for the assault rifle.

One element from 3 that is missing is the crafting system. In the previous game, you were in a tropical environment with a variety of animals you could hunt for skins to craft pouches for items and weapons. There are animals in Blood Dragon, but all you get is money for killing them. Instead of pouches, you start out with the ability to carry all the weapons and items.

Being a small game, the lack of content is reasonable, and I would say such streamlining makes the experience better. The game gives you just enough to leave a good impression. Even after you complete the main story, you have a whole island dotted with enemy outposts to liberate and test your improved weapons and abilities. There are also superfluous hunting missions where you track down impossibly rare 1980s animals like neon eels and robosharks.

FC3DragonBlood_SS1

Blood Dragon bills itself as a trip down memory lane with an opening cinematic of still frames over hammy narration. The frames are small with a thick black border and white subtitles, not unlike cut-scenes from before the rise of 3-D animation. In gameplay, the screen is striped with scan lines from an old TV and the color scheme is entirely neon with a heavy use of black and bright light. The soundtrack is synth by a group called Power Glove that fits well with the retro aesthetic.

Since the game is trying to be a campy grindhouse feature, the narrative and dialog is a treasure trove of 80s tropes and clichés. In the year 2007, you play Rex Power Colt, a cyborg soldier sent on a mission to take out Sloan, a rogue colonel who wants to send humanity back to the Stone Age with a biological weapon. There are also allusions to the world at large with talk about the nuking of Canada, an invasion of Australia, and Vietnam War 2. Voiced by Michael Biehn, Rex grunts and growls one-liners, hamming it up as much as possible when shouting or breaking the fourth wall to complain about videogame tutorials. He epitomizes Reagan Era ideals of heroism as he denies the use of performance enhancing drugs and screams his head off when firing a machine gun at full blast.

The references in Blood Dragon are too numerous to count. Some are obscure while others are blatantly obvious and I will share just a handful. The shotgun is a Winchester 1887 called the Galleria 1991, a call back to the arcade in Terminator 2 from 1991. The pistol is a Beretta 93R called the A.J.M. 9, the initials of Alex J. Murphy from Robocop who used the same gun. The main enemy Omega Force is from Warrior of the Lost World. Following the opening intro is a turret sequence where “Long Tall Sally” plays in the background, followed by a still frame of Rex and his partner Spider grasping hands, two references to Predator. And the ending track is from Miami Connection, a good-bad movie about karate, friendship, and ninjas.

FC3DragonBlood_SS3

So, why is Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon the exception to the over-exploitation of nostalgia? Why is this ultra-homage so gratifying? Far Cry 3 is devoid of self-awareness and takes itself seriously, its use of references feels earnest without the cynicism of entertainment media using a familiar name for profit. The game is an honest experience that knows how to have fun and it is even more fun to play. Nostalgia may be dead, but the adventures of Rex Power Colt gives me hope we will learn how to make good creative use of the past.

_______

CT McMillan 1

C.T. McMillan (Episode 169) is a film critic and devout gamer.  He has a Bachelors for Creative Writing in Entertainment from Full Sail University.

On Top of It #20: Dancing/Balls

21 Monday Mar 2016

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in On Top of It

≈ Leave a comment

On Top of It #20 by Lisa Martens

Dancing/Balls

I spent the weekend at the PURE dance conference, and one panel discussed intimacy and dance . . . and quickly became a discussion about why some people seem to hate when women embrace their femininity and own the stage, especially if said woman is not conventionally beautiful.

Project Harpoon was, to me, a spectacular example of this misogyny online. For those who are lucky enough not to know, this was . . . and still is . . . a “project” that takes plus-size female models and photoshops them slim, so these women can see how hot they “could” be. So basically this involves these steps:

  1. Take a photo of a plus-size woman, who has overcome insecurities and pursued a career in modeling, and who is successfully working as a model
  2. Spend possibly hours photoshopping it
  3. Post the photoshopped photo online where other people are also spending time to voice their opinions on the before and after
  4. Attempt to shame this woman into being thin

This is so confusing on so many levels.

A woman who is confident with herself, and with her body, taking this stage and putting herself in front of a camera, is not somehow hurting the people who are photoshopping and posting these edited photos. There are also lots of thin women online. Thanks to smart phones, you can scroll past a woman who does not meet your preferences with a flick of your thumb.

The Internet gives some people the ability to be unnecessarily cruel (and seriously, even if you forget the lack of human decency part—the whole task is futile and time-consuming).

So I began to think—what on earth could be said that would begin to unravel the hatred these people behind their computers must feel? What about a confident, sexy woman who is not conventionally attractive offends some people in such a visceral way? Why do they feel the need to spend so much time fighting something the Internet allows them to ignore?

And, most importantly, how could that ball of anger be unraveled, and that energy be used for something productive?

I’m not being as catty or sarcastic in this post as I usually am . . . as I am towards people who catcall me or tell me to smile. Sometimes incredulity is the only response I can give.

On my way back from the airport a week ago, bags in tow, as I did my best to curl up and take as little space as possible, a man actually told me I was taking too much room, and he needed to spread his legs. “Don’t you know I have balls?”

Verbatim quote.

I was too exhausted to fight, or even to say anything. I just stared at him. I didn’t move. I just couldn’t help but look at the person before me, and wonder: What the hell causes someone to think his balls need more room than my suitcases?

_______

Lisa Martens

Lisa Martens (Episode 22) currently lives in Harlem. In her past 10 years in New York, she has lived in a garage on Long Island, a living room in Hell’s Kitchen, the architecture building of CCNY, and on the couch of a startup. She grew up in New York, Costa Rica and Texas, and she’s still not sure which of these is home. She completed her MFA in Creative Writing from CCNY. Her thesis, What Grows in Heavy Rain, is available on Amazon. Check out her website here. Follow her on Instagram here.

The Rogue’s Guide to Shakespeare on Film #20: Macbeth (2015)

20 Sunday Mar 2016

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in The Rogue's Guide to Shakespeare on Film

≈ 2 Comments

Rogues Guide to Shakes on Film

20. Macbeth (2015)

Confession: I don’t like the play Macbeth, which I regard as the tragic story of a porter who is trying to do his job when Scotland decides to miserably implode, politically speaking.

MACBETH

[Aside] If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me,

Without my stir.

If only the imbecile went with that. Instead, he tries to outsmart the prophecies of the weird sisters, which (again) makes me not much like him. We are supposed, I suppose, to grasp hold of the importance that this opportunity does to Macbeth’s ambition, his greed for power, that did not seem to exist before it was awakened and then inflamed by his wife. Perhaps such dangerous temptation could happen to any of us, provided we are Scottish officers who encounter a trio of gothic weirdos after a miraculous performance in battle.

Basically, then, any performance of Mackers has to trick me into liking it.

MacBeth poster

Justin Kurzel’s film starring Michael Fassbender as our title character, Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth, and David Thewlis as King Duncan, is a visionary go at the material. The setting is traditional, yet the ambient score, mesmeric violins and bagpipes and bass and who knows what other instrumentation, and the cinematography, using slow motion and flashbacks over soliloquies, makes the material feel gloriously vital.

MacBeth 1

Part of the subtext of the play is that the Macbeths are childless, and implied in their plot against the king, in their coup, is an erotics of mourning, and the script by Jacob Koskoff, Michael Lesslie, and Todd Louiso lean heavily into this, beginning with the funeral of their son. Lady Macbeth is driven by her anger at her loss. And the sexual relationship between the patricidal maniac and his wife is seen as a consequence of their sorrow, a compulsive attempt to ease one another’s pain.

Macbeth 4

After the murder of Duncan, Fassbender climbs into bed next to the corpse. The jump cuts during intense scenes simulates well the tortured mental state of its characters.

Michael Fassbender delivers his lines with minimal affect, allowing his Macbeth to be a quiet warrior. Most of the acting is in a martial set to his jaw, and a hard look in his eyes, that is holding his rage and sanity barely within. The scenery, cinematography, and score mix so well with this minimalist approach to the role that its psychology is powerful–much more so than when actors try to ride every nuance of Macbeth’s hysterical attachment to his idea of his fate.

MacBeth 5

Marion Cotillard is very much Fassbender’s equal as Lady M. Theirs is very much a love story, and while I may not adore the play, this is a much more successful treatment of this material than, say, Natural Born Killers. Cotillar’s Lady Macbeth shows courage to be her husband’s companion when he seems to be losing his mind and a threat to her.

MacBeth 1

They might be both going mad, but not equally mad, or the same kind of mad, at the same time, and we see Lady Macbeth fear and mourn the loss of her husband even as she succumbs to her own overwhelming grief at the enormity of their crimes.

MacBeth 6

The approach to the weird sisters is also sublimely done, strange, yet psychologically believable. The mental confusion that such a phenomenon would cause is well simulated by the film editing. (I won’t give more away on that score. In stage productions, one of the joys is the new ways one must find to simulate the sublimity of those three prophesiers.)

Jacob Koskoff, Michael Lesslie, and Todd Louiso managed to almost rush through the plot of Macbeth as quickly as can meaningfully be done, and makes us feel the drama with a wonderful amount of force. The premise of the play–a man contends with the perverse whims of fate–is rather uninteresting when dwelled upon and catalogued as extensively as Shakespeare’s full text does. The relationship of these characters to one another, on the other hand, is capable of moving me.

MacBeth 7

Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth is an unforgettable psychedelic meditation that indeed charms me into this bizarre tale of sound and fury, signifying, perhaps, nothing.

_______

1flip

John King (Episode, well, all of them) holds a PhD in English from Purdue University, and an MFA from New York University. He has reviewed performances for Shakespeare Bulletin.

Episode 197: A Craft Discussion of Carole Maso’s Break Every Rule!

19 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Episode

≈ 1 Comment

Episode 197 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

In this week’s episode, I talk about Carole Maso’s Break Every Rule with Vanessa Blakeslee,

Break Every Rule John and Vanessa

plus Jeremy DaCruz writes about a lucky day on the Econlockhachee River.

Jeremy Da Cruz

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Break Every Rule_______

Episode 197 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

← Older posts

Online, shop here:

If you must, shop Amazon and help the show.

Audible.com

Blogs

Not forgotten

Categories

  • 21st Century Bronte
  • A Word from the King
  • Aesthetic Drift
  • animation
  • Anime
  • Art
  • Autobiography
  • AWP
  • Biography
  • Blog Post
  • Bloomsday
  • Buddhism
  • Buzzed Books
  • Cheryl Strayed
  • Children's Literature
  • Christmas
  • Christmas literature
  • Comedy
  • Comic Books
  • Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart
  • Craft of Fiction Writing
  • Creative Nonfiction
  • David Foster Wallace
  • David James Poissant
  • David Lynch
  • David Sedaris
  • Disney
  • Dispatches from the Funkstown Clarion
  • Doctor Who
  • Drinking
  • Dungeons and Dragons
  • Editing
  • Education
  • Episode
  • Erotic Literature
  • Essay
  • Fan Fiction
  • Fantasy
  • Film
  • Flash Fiction
  • Florida Literature
  • Francesca Lia Block
  • Functionally Literate
  • Ghost writing
  • Graphic Novels
  • Gutter Space
  • Help me!
  • Heroes Never Rust
  • History
  • Horror
  • Hunter S. Thompson
  • In Boozo Veritas
  • Irish Literature
  • Jack Kerouac
  • James Bond
  • James Joyce
  • Jazz
  • Journalism
  • Kerouac House
  • Kung Fu
  • Like a Geek God
  • Literary Magazines
  • Literary Prizes
  • Literary rizes
  • Literature of Florida
  • Litlando
  • Live Show
  • Loading the Canon
  • Loose Lips Reading Series
  • Lost Chords & Serenades Divine
  • Magic Realism
  • Mailbag
  • manga
  • McMillan's Codex
  • Memoir
  • Miami Book Fair
  • Michael Caine
  • Military Literature
  • Mixtape
  • Music
  • New York City
  • O, Miami
  • Old Poem Revue
  • On Top of It
  • Pensive Prowler
  • Philosophy
  • Photography
  • Poetry
  • politics
  • Postmodernism
  • Publishing
  • Recommendation
  • Repeal Day
  • Science Fiction
  • Screenwriting
  • Sexuality
  • Shakespeare
  • Shakespearing
  • Sozzled Scribbler
  • Sports
  • Star Wars
  • Television
  • The Bible
  • The Curator of Schlock
  • The Global Barfly's Companion
  • The Lists
  • The Perfect Life
  • The Pink Fire Revue
  • The Rogue's Guide to Shakespeare on Film
  • Theater
  • There Will Be Words
  • translation
  • Travel Writing
  • Vanessa Blakeslee
  • Versify
  • Video Games
  • Violence
  • Virginia Woolf
  • War
  • Word From the King
  • Young Adult
  • Your Next Beach Read
  • Zombies

Recent Posts

  • The Perfect Life #1
  • Episode 455: Elif Shafak!
  • Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart #105: Peeking Into the Future
  • Lost Chords & Serenades Divine #16
  • Episode 454: Sarah Kuhn!

Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel