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Ta-metru_defender

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  1. Ta-metru_defender
    Essays, Not Rants! 068: Violence and Video Games
     
    Violent video games are a hot topic, or at least they really were six months ago. Well, here’s the thing: video games aren’t violent. Angry bears are violent. Video games aren’t. That said, there is violence in video games. The thing is, the portrayal of violence in video games is as varied as in books of film.
     
    Can video games glorify violence? Sure. Look at Army of Two: Devil’s Cartel. You play as two mercenary-commandos sent into a cartel-run town in Mexico to escort/rescue/defend a mayoral candidate. Like any action movie with a similar pitch, Devil’s Cartel is light on the thought and heavy on the guns and explosions as you blow limbs off cartel members. Is it violent? Yes. Is it fun? Yes. Is it clearly fictional? Yes. Despite some tidbits in early loading screens, the game is completely detached from any semblance of real-life cartel warfare. It’s a video game; the characters even call out some of the more ridiculous aspects of the game. Like The Expendables or one of the GI: Joe movies: it’s over the top and meant purely for entertainment. Being unable to distinct differentiate a game like this from reality is a problem that lies not with the game itself.
     
    But video games with violence aren’t all senseless and flashy with blood flying everywhere. There are games out there that attempt to address or at least justify the violence in the game. It could be Elizabeth calling Booker out on his ease of killing in BioShock Infinite or Snake forced to walk a ghostly river populated by everyone he’s/you’ve killed thus far in Metal Gear Solid 3. They’re often just in passing as the game’s focus lies elsewhere.
     
    At first blush, Spec Ops: The Line seems like your standard military shooter. Captain Walker and his squad are sent into Dubai months after its been ravaged by a massive sandstorm in search of John Konrad and the 33rd Battalion. Then you realize it’s been nicknamed Heart of Darkness: The Video Game and it starts to set in. Sure, in early combat you’re shooting faceless middle-eastern men like many other shooters. Then you meet members of the 33rd. And you find out they’ve gone rogue. And now you’re shooting American soldiers.
     
    It’d be a ballsy move in any form, but in a genre and medium where more often than not you’re Sergeant American gunning down terrorists, nazis, or soviets, seeing the familiar American ACU in your reticule is especially jarring. Spec Ops: The Line revels in this discomfort and uses it again and again. Sneaking around a building you see two soldiers at the foot of the stairs, one asking the other for a stick of gum. Not only are they not wearing balaclavas or any kind of face mask, they’re speaking English — with an American accent. You have to kill them. The game does not give you a choice.
     
    The Line has a feature where any explosion causes the game to briefly switch into slow-motion. In most games it’d be a cool little gimmick where the player gets to delight in their destruction. The Line isn’t much different: you get to watch your target — more often than not a familiar American soldier — get blown apart or lose his legs by the grenade. Then suddenly you’re reminded of wounded veterans and any sense of empowerment quickly dissolves. At another point you might, out of reflex, shoot someone running towards you only to realize immediately after your target was an innocent woman running to safety. You will encounter soldiers and civilians burned alive by white phosphorus. You will become a monster. You’re not playing a hero here; you’re doing horrible, terrible things. The game doesn’t let you forget it either. There is little glory in the violence of this game.
     
    Similarly, The Last of Us will never let you glibly take a life. Whether if its you as Joel sneaking up on a sobbing Infected — are you executing her or putting her out of her misery?— or Ellie swearing as you blow a man’s head off with a shotgun, The Last of Us will not let you forget the consequences of your actions. You will wound a man and fire the killing blow just as he begs for his life and exclaims he has a family. You see the effects of violence on the relatively naive Ellie and as it chips away what little that’s left of Joel’s soul. The Last of Us is the only action game I’ve played where I’ve wished I could continue the game without having to shoot anyone else.
     
    Games like Spec Ops: The Line and The Last of Us force players to think about the violence they deal out. There is violence in video games, and the violence can be gruesome. But it’s not always mindless. There are games out there that give violence its due diligence and those that revel in it, just as there are movies or books that do. To write off video games as a whole because of their violence is a thoughtless disservice to the medium.
  3. Ta-metru_defender
    Here we are. Again. Finally. I've been busy.
     
    Welcome To The 4th Annual TMD Music Awards!
     
    Once again I find myself ranking ten albums from 2012 in order of bestness. As such there is not much need for an interlude, just that all ten of these albums are great albums you should check out.
     
    Special EP Mention:
    Freaks EP, The Hawk In Paris
    These guys are amazing. And Birds on a Wire is one of my favorite songs of the year. Give the EP a listen, a full album will be out in 2013.
     
    Top 10 Albums of 2012
     
    10

    Fallen Empires, Snow Patrol
    Let me forewarn you, my only other exposure to this band is Up To Now; their compilation that came out a couple years ago. This new album is good, though nothing quite rises to the quality of, say Chasing Cars or Just Say Yes, but it has its share of gems.
    Listen to/Download:
    -New York
    -Called out in the Dark
    -The President
     
    9

    Landline, Greg Laswell
    One of the great things about being back in the US is Pandora. I discovered Laswell over the summer and recently decided to listen to a bunch of his stuff on ###### and shortly thereafter bought this album. It's good, to say the least. Especially good when he duets with someone else.
    Listen to/Download:
    -Landline
    -Come Back Down
    -Another Life to Leave
     
    8

    California 37, Train
    I like Train. Their songs provide a nice break with their more mature love songs (as opposed to the poppy sort of love songs). This'll Be My Year is a fantastic song that echoes Billy Joel's We Didn't Start The Fire, only in this song all the events lead up to meeting his love. It's a sweet song typical of Train. 50 Ways is a goofy counterpoint about a breakup, so hey. Train's fun, and this album too.
    Listen to/Download:
    -This'll Be My Year
    -50 Ways to Say Goodbye
    -When The Fog Rolls In
     
    7

    Cold Hard Want, House of Heroes
    Look, by now you've probably realized the things I like in music: good writing and an appropriate sound. House of Heroes embody this, they've got a very organic sound that compliments their great lyrics. They're good.
    Listen to/Download:
    -Dance (Blow It All Away)
    -We Were Giants
    -Comfort Trap
     
    6

    Vital, Anberlin
    What I like about Anberlin is their sound changes a little album to album. Vital has them infusing their usual alt-rock with shades of electronica, and it works fantastically. It gives their sound something different.
    Listen to/Download:
    -Modern Age
    -Other Side
    -Self Starter
    -God, Drugs, & Sex
     
    5

    Weapons, Lostprophets
    Okay, full disclosure, The Betrayed was mildly disappointing. But Weapons is Lostprophets at what might prove their best. Most every song sticks out as being particularly strong; Somedays is a quieter, poignant song, and Jesus Walks and Another Shot are two great anthems that, again, call back to songs like Last Train Home and Rooftops. Took 'em six years, but they're back.
    Listen to/Download:
    -Somedays
    -Jesus Walks
    -Another Shot
    -We Bring an Arsenal
    -A Song For Where I'm From
     
    4

    Babel, Mumford & Sons
    If you thought Sigh No More was pretty good, then give Babel a listen. it's like Sigh No More, but better. It feels that their first album was them finding their voice, and Babel is them shouting it out. The album flows far better than their prior one, songs building off of each other. Hopeless Wanderer and Below My Feet are easily their best songs yet.
    Listen to/Download:
    -Hopeless Wanderer
    -Below My Feet
    -I Will Wait
    -Broken Crown
     
    3

    Not Quite Yours, Barcelona
    This album is different from Absolutes, but not in a bad way. There's slightly less piano and a bit more rhythm. The tone as a whole seems lighter too, but it's still them. It's a natural evolution from Absolutes, and a welcome one. Also: I helped fund the production of this album. Yeah.
    Listen to/Download:
    -Till Death
    -Evermore
    -Less Than Two
     
    2

    Monsters Calling Home, Monsters Calling Home
    I saw these guys open for Anberlin over the summer. They seemed like the lousy band to tide audiences over. Dude. I was wrong. These guys are an incredible outfit. They're just starting out (and recently changed their name to Run River North) and man, their music is good. It's folk, yes, but it's not the cliche sort. Check them out. Seriously. Make them famous.
    Listen to/Download:
    -Foxbeard
    -Goodnight Moon
    -Fight to Keep
    -Whole Dang Album
     
    1

    Scars and Stories, The Fray
    If you thought their last album was good give this one a listen. It's incredible; taking everything from their prior work and just making it so much better. Songs like Rainy Zurich and Heartbeat have this atmospheric sound to their lyrics that just bring it to life. I Can Barely Say is a beautiful song about coming home but not. And The Fighter is their best song yet. Lyrics like "he swings with all his might and all that might have been" just leave you speechless. The other songs on the album are all as good, songs about the Berlin Wall or subtly comparing the uncertainty of the search for the Higgs-Boson to a relationship. It's great.
    Scars and Stories is the best album to come out in 2012. Hands down.
    Listen to/Download:
    -The Fighter
    -I Can Barely Say
    -Heartbeat
    -Rainy Zurich
     
     
    So there you have it, my very biased opinions on good music. No, I'm good at writing about music, but hey, here they are. Check 'em out.
     
    Cheers.
  4. Ta-metru_defender
    Essays, Not Rants! 044: In Defense of Fan-Fiction
     
    I’ve written my share of fan fiction. Be it about Star Wars, Bionicle adventures, or Mega Man stories; trust me: I’ve written my fanfics. Thing is, that was years ago. I’ve hardly done anything remotely fan fictiony (be it an animation or a piece of writing) in years.
     
    I guess I grew out of it; I wanted to make my own worlds and not lean on someone else’s work as a basis. I wanted my stories to be mine and independent. Of course, I still read the Star Wars Expanded Universe, where science fiction writers have their go at continuing or adding stories to the Star Wars ‘verse. Sure, it’s official fan fiction but it’s cool stories, yeah?
     
    Arguably the best writer for the Expanded Universe is Timothy Zahn. His Heir To The Empire Trilogy is not only a fantastic piece of fiction, but it legitimately feels like a Star Wars story. It doesn’t seem like a random piece of science fiction with Star Wars elements but rather like another movie. It has the same feeling of adventure and space opera, and, best of all, the characters actually sound like the characters. They act like them and speak like them; Zahn wonderfully captures the essence of the main characters. He also introduces new characters as well as a new villain; his trilogy is a whole new story while staying true to the originals.
     
    So yes, I’m using Timothy Zahn’s Star Wars novels as the epitome of fan fiction. Granted, they get approved and vetted by the bigwigs at LucasFilm, but at their heart they’re pretty much fan fiction. And dang good ones.
     
    See, it’s easy to get fan fiction wrong. You could write a story that sounds like just another story with characters from some franchise tacked on. Taking nuanced characters and stereotyping them isn’t good writing. Changing the way the world works for the sake of your story, well, can be done right, but often winds up feeling unnecessary. Look, worlds need rules, so if you’re playing in someone else’s world, play by their rules lest you wind up making your own world. If your fan fiction hardly seems like it’s a part of the world, might as well make your own, yeah?
     
    One of the main reasons I stopped writing fan fiction was ‘cuz, well, it wasn’t my own world. Anything I wrote would only be well received by people of the fandom. It wasn’t accesible and all that. More so, it felt lazy. I wasn’t making my own characters, I wasn’t doing my own world building. So I stopped.
     
    Thing is, fan fiction (if done right) can be a challenge. You’re playing in someone else’s world; with someone else’s characters. Are you up to being able to capture both the world and the characters? TV writers do the same thing: they didn’t come up with the world but it’s their job to write the episodes. It’s a challenge, no doubt to fit your writing style and dialogue to another. For all the flak fan fiction gets, it can be a remarkable writing exercise. It’s also useful if you want to just get started writing something and don’t want to have to do all the research and all normally required. So yeah, if you’re lazy and just want to write, fan fiction is a valid outlet.
    Why am I writing a post about fan fiction? Simple, I’m starting work on an Uncharted one. Yeah, I know; I’m a nerd who needs justification. I want to write an adventure story, so why not use one of my favorite video games? I’m doing historical research and really want the challenge of trying to capture the spirit of the story and characters.
     
    So yeah. Fan fiction.
     
    Writer’s Note: Apologies again for another shorter/lackluster post; I’m now in Morocco on a school trip. Yes. That is my excuse. Again. Now let me go get shawarma.
  5. Ta-metru_defender

    High Stakes

    By Ta-metru_defender,

    Essays, Not Rants! 318: High Stakes
     
    For a reason that can be tracked back to one specific thing that won’t be discussed due to spoilers, I’m thinking a lot about stakes. There’s this idea in a lotta stories that really good stakes are “will they die?” It was Game of Thrones’ modus operandi in the early seasons, and it was the explicit reason why Chewbacca was killed in the first book of the New Jedi Order book series. The logic makes sense enough, if there’s the chance that anyone can die in any moment of peril, all of them will be high stakes. The highest of stakes.
     
    But on the flip side, constantly having high stakes like that also tends to lead to a fatigue of it all. When you’re always worried someone’s gonna die, you sometimes stop getting attached to characters. Why should I care about this new character we’ve introduced if we don’t know how long he’s gonna last? Though is that better than never worrying about your characters because there’s no way they’re gonna kill someone this important off, right? When Jack Sparrow gets eaten by the Kraken in Dead Man’s Chest, you don’t really care do you? After all, there’s a third movie coming out and you know he’ll be back. Han in Carbonite is an issue, sure, but he’s coming back for Return of The Jedi.
     
    I tend to disagree. Knowing that someone survives, or someone having plot armor, doesn’t necessarily mean you stop caring for lack of stakes. There’s a bunch of fun in finding out how someone survives. Like in Return of The Jedi we know that Luke and Han aren’t gonna be eaten by the Sarlaac. But it’s still exciting because we wanna see them get out of the pickle. The question of suspense, y’know, the element that keeps us invested, isn’t "will they die?" but instead "how will they survive?"
     
    When done well, the question of 'how?' can be a really interesting one. When Buffy dies in season finale of the fifth season of, well, Buffy (oh, spoiler alert) there’s no question that she’ll be back in season six. After all, she’s the titular character. The question is how will she come back — and what will the ramifications of that be?
     
    I think these days, with stories like Lost and Game of Thrones big in the public consciousness, we can conflate the willingness of a story to kill of its characters with its quality. There’s a general animus towards fake-out deaths (like Jack in Dead Man’s Chest or, more recently, Wolverine in the comics), because why give us all that drama over a death that won’t stick? Why fear for a character’s life when we know they won’t die?
     
    So again, I come back ton the question of how. The creation of an unwindable situation creates a narrative need for an ingenious way out. If the catharsis is to come, and in a good story the catharsis must be earned, then the way out’s gotta be a good one. Circling back to Jedi, the plan to escape Jabba’s clutches is so outlandish and unpredictable that it’s so much fun to see them escape. It doesn’t undo the drama of Han’s carbonite freezing detour; it’s another fun twist to the plot, another complication for the heroes to figure out. There’s a fun to it that’s a really good addition.
     
    Like I said, I’m thinking about stakes and the cliffhanging suspense that goes with it. I don’t think knowing that things have to turn out alright, be it due to announced sequels or even the conventions of the medium makes things less dramatic or less fun. I really enjoy the romantic fun of finding out how protagonists escape from a situation. The trick is, I figure, to make the resolution interesting and not making it feel like a cop out. It’s the how that makes it interesting, so making the how count is what matters.
  7. Ta-metru_defender
    Essays, Not Rants! 117: In Defense of Michael Bay
     
    Michael Bay gets a bad rap. His movies are criticized as being low on plot and depth with anything worthwhile being substituted with mindless explosions. His characters are either terribly dull or more resemble caricatures than actual people. Also, sometimes they’re Megan Fox. Michael Bay makes movies that, when boiled down to it, are just excuses for big action set pieces that feel ripped from a lousy Saturday morning cartoon.
     
    And, way I see it, most of those are reasons Michael Bay is excellent at what he does.
    
Some storytellers are known for having very particular styles. Joss Whedon is known for strong women and witty banter. Chris Nolan’s films are often told in a non-chronological fashion. M. Night Shymalan has his twists. If you watch one of their movies, you know what you’re in for. A Quentin Tarantino film is going to be ridiculously violent and have women’s bare feet. A Tarantino movie isn’t bad whether or not you like his over the top violence, rather it’s a vital part of what he does.
     
    This goes for Michael Bay too. Transformers never claimed to be more than a story about giant robots beating up other giant robots, though some humans got in the way. This issue was rectified in the third one where the human-to-robot-action ratio is much better and, way I see it, Transformers Dark of the Moon was all the better for it.
     
    See, Michael Bay, like Whedon, Nolan, and the others, has his trademarks: explosions, ‘Murica, and butts. You know what you’re getting into when you watch one of his movies. Pain and Gain was a mess of storytelling. However, it had everything you’d expect from a Michael Bay film: things explode, there are American flags a plenty, and lots of poolside shots. Pain and Gain’s failure wasn’t inherently in any of those three things, it was in it trying to be more than what it was. It’s hard to fit a moral conundrum and a descent into darkness in a movie that feels plain goofy.
     
    Most of Michael Bay’s movies — particularly the often derided Transformers series — never try to be more than what they were. The first Transformers was a typical coming-of-age film (which it pulled off alright) with giant robots (which it pulled off better). It had its off beats, but when it came time to do what it set out to do (giant robots) it excelled. Revenge of the Fallen had a ridiculous story, but great actions scenes. Dark of the Moon was overwrought but, again, I saw it because I wanted to see giant robots beating the stuffing out of other giant robots while laying waste to Chicago. That’s all I wanted.
     
    I don’t go into a Michael Bay movie expecting a deep plot and to have something to stick with me afterwards. I go into a Michael Bay movie to turn off my brain and see flashy colors (which are often explosions and, lately, giant robots). If I want both, I’d watch Pacific Rim, which layers its Saturday-morning action with much deeper character and subtext. But, if I want to see Optimus Prime charging into battle on top of a robot dinosaur while brandishing a broadsword, well, Age of Extinction seems the right choice.
     
    Some movies aim high and succeed (The Avengers), others aim high and fail horribly (Hereafter). Then there are some movies that have no idea what sort of movie they are (Need for Speed). Then there’s most of Michael Bay’s filmography: his films have no illusions about what kind of movie they are. His movies are big, dumb action movies. And all the better for it.
  8. Ta-metru_defender
    I have a ZipCar subscription (ostensibly 'cuz I end up driving film equipment around somewhat often) and I found out that on Monday nights you can rent one for a flat rate of $35 from 6pm to 8:30am. So my brother, his girlfriend, and I decided to hit Brooklyn to do an errand and go to Ikea Ikea for food and some basics. Made sure we drove across both the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges.
     
    But it was not even 10pm. We could have the car for longer.
     
    So I asked a couple friends if they were up for a joyride and told them to meet me outside their apartment in six minutes.
     

     
    And off we went, but not shopping shopping: vague plan being to drive up Park, hit the Park Avenue Viaduct around Grand Central (which we did after a couple missed turns) and criss cross Central Park.
     

    The Plan
     
    Then one of our number (who shall be referred to as Charlotte for reasons that will soon become obvious) suggested we go to Serendipity 3 since my brother (Sam) wanted ice cream. Now, Charlotte's a bit of a foodie and he claimed this was one of the places you had to go to in New York at some point. Also, it was in Sex and the City, of which only I (Carrie) had seen anything of (the movie, for class, if you're wondering[it was terrible]).
     

    The New Plan
    Serendipity 3 serves expensive, very sugary, ice-cream/milkshake lovechilds. We all got one and us four guys decided which Sex and the City character we were (Sam's girlfriend, obviously, would be Mr. Big). We did this by using the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as reference, and there we were, Carrie, Sam, Charlotte, and Miranda united. We think.
     
    Those ice-cream/milkshake things were really sweet and only Sam finished his, with the rest of us very much giving up and sorely regretting the money paid. We also spent a lot of time trying to figure out what the decoration reminded us, Sam offered Hunger Games-​esque opulence, Miranda figured it looked like a serial killer's lair, and Mr. Big an Applebees.
     
    Yeah. That place wasn't our scene. We were far too broke college kids for that.
     
    Now with a sugar high that I'm currently still getting over, we loaded back in the car, drove past the cupcake ATM, crisscrossed Central Park, found our way up around 135th St, and managed to drive along the Hudson before dropping everyone off.
     

    The Joyride
     
    Which sounds a lot quicker than it was and doesn't account for the screaming, mild panic, wrong turns, frustratingly infallible GPS, Utada Hikaru singalongs, and bawdy humor that accounted for the three hours in between Serendipity and me dropping the car off.
     

    Miranda, Sam, Carrie, Charlotte taking up the sidewalk
     
    So that was tonight. And my hands are still jittery.
  9. Ta-metru_defender
    Essays, Not Rants! 126: Antisocial Gaming
     
    My brother recently got Titanfall which means that I got to go a few rounds at it. That game is fun. It’s also unique in that there’s no traditional single player mode; the only way to play is competitive online multiplayer. It makes sense. There are plenty of games out there where the single player campaign is often passed over in favor of the far more popular multiplayer. But here’s the thing aboutTitanfall: only one person can play per console. If you want to play with a friend, they’ll need their own copy of the game and their own console and tv to play.
     
    What strikes me as odd is how opposed this is to what gaming used to be. When video games first went mainstream with Pong back in the ‘70s, the arcade cabinet was designed so that when people were playing it they’d be forced to be almost shoulder to shoulder. In this brave new world of digital gaming there would still be interaction with other people. Sure, single player games against AIs were there too, but there was always the option to play a game with someone.
     
    I’ve always loved playing video games with someone else. Sometimes this would mean scrambling to find my cable so I could battle that kid’s Pokémon team with my own. I have many fond memories of hours spent playing Crash Team Racing and Bomberman Party Edition while growing up. Heck, we even found ways to make single player games in the Mega Man series multiplayer by taking turns every game over/level.
     
    In recent years this could be four of us yelling and taunting each other while playing Fifa or the hilarity that inevitably ensues when playing Super Smash Bros at four in the morning. Then there are the hours spent playing Halo in one form or another, or running around Lego New York with a friend in LEGO Marvel Super Heroes. Sure, these games can be played alone and you don’t necessarily even need to be in the same room as someone else to play with them, but there’s something special about sitting on the couch and playing against or with those around you. There’s a shared enjoyment for the comedy of what can play out on screen, or even the simple knowledge that someone saw that awesome move you just pulled.
     
    Social-on-the-couch-with-your-friends-gaming probably hit its peak with Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Those games let you live out your rockstar fantasies and were that much more fun when you have some friends playing members of your band. You could play on your own, and it was still fun, but the experience was enhanced by having people with you. These games were designed around sociality. By having the controllers be plastic instruments rather than tapping buttons on a gamepad, players were encouraged to really immerse themselves not only in the game, but in the fantasy of being in a band on stage. And c’mon, if you’re gonna play a cover of “Livin’ On A Prayer” you can’t do it alone.
     
    But as those plastic controllers have gotten dustier it seems that less and less games are aiming for that on-the-couch interaction. No, not all games need to have local multiplayer. Some do very well without it: The Last Of Us’ incredible atmosphere works best when it’s only one person using the television. But even then, when racing games with local multiplayer are becoming less and less common, it’s worrisome.
     
    Don’t get me wrong, I think some of the stuff that’s happening in games is great. Titanfall making the campaign a competitive multiplayer is a cool idea and Destiny’s amalgamation of the FPS and MMO genres is not only unique but a heck of a lot of fun. Destiny in particular fosters a sense of togetherness by letting you team up with other Guardians roaming the wastes. It’s fun, especially if players have other friends with the same game and console. I just want there to always be games for those of us on the couch.
  11. Ta-metru_defender
    Essays, Not Rants! 181: Expository Conflict
     
    Othello really hits the ground running. The first time we see the titular character in Shakespeare’s play he’s on trial in a war room. Now, it’s important to note that this is his introduction, this is when we learn who he is.
     
    The easiest way to clue the audience in would be to just give us an infodump. Have people go “This is Othello, the Moor, who’s a general, and married to Desdemona, a senator’s daughter” in some fashion. No, it’s certainly not the most elegant way to disperse information, but, well, it works.
     
    Thing is, exposition is boring. Really boring. No one wants a huge lecture in their story, especially if it comes right at the top. Which presents a unique problem for Shakespeare in Othello, how can he bring the audience up to speed on an unusual situation without boring the audience five minutes into his play? Simple: He turns exposition into conflict.
     
    Conflict occurs when there’s disagreement. They can argue, they can fight, they can spend all day undermining each other. Conflict is also usually quite interesting. Two people going “as you know, such-and-such is whatever” is boring; an argument over whether such-and-such is whatever, however, keeps the audience interested. Now there’s tension over the exposition: Is it true? Who’s right? What’s gonna happen when one of ‘em is proven wrong?
     
    And that’s what the first act of Othello is. He’s put on an informal trial and forced to prove he is who he is. We don’t hear the story of how Desdemona fell in love with him just out of the blue, rather their story is the explanation and evidence for his elopement. It doesn’t feel forced or out of place, and it’s interesting. Othello’s reputation is on the line and we want to see what happens next.
     
    Exposition has to be interesting. Having it happen in conflict raises the tension and makes us pay attention. Compare two characters getting to know each other over coffee versus an interrogation. This is something that Lost does very well. Not only are all the characters strangers (and thus all serve as audience surrogates as they learn things about each other), but the mystery island setting has everyone tense and suspicious of one another. Secret agendas, angles, and hidden pasts make getting to know the characters exciting by itself.
     
    It’s helped along in earlier season by flashbacks which further flesh out the characters. Once again, these flashbacks, which are basically just exposition, are made interesting through conflict. Charlie’s Dad doesn’t tell him he’s irresponsible, we see Charlie being irresponsible and butting heads against people close to him which in turn affects how we see him in the present. There’s also an arc to the flashbacks which helps invest us in the proceedings.
     
    This is, of course, something that Fantastic Four did fantastically wrong. So much of the movie felt like pure exposition with no conflict to push things along. Reed meets a pre-evil Doom and the two simply, well, coexist. There’s no clash of worldview or rivalry of genius, they’re just there. I’m not asking for a Shakespearean trial; a competition for Sue’s affections would be insulting, but at the very least would be more interesting that what was essentially a series of “I’m smart,” “So am I,” “Cool, let’s science,” “Yes, let’s science.”
     
    Stories have to introduce their audience to a new world. Could be a world inhabited by friends who work at a brewery or where a Moor in an interracial marriage is on a Venetian war council; could also be a world where a kid is able to create an inter-dimensional teleporter. No matter what there's gonna be something the audience doesn't know and will have to learn (seriously, if you're doing an adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood you're still gonna have to tell us why she's going to her grandmother's). Exposition happens. It always happens. The trick is to make it work, and not bore us with it. So let's keep Othello on trial.
  12. Ta-metru_defender
    Essays, Not Rants! 008: The Artificial Family
     
    I grew up on a ship. Well, not really grew up exactly, more spent four very key years of my youth onboard a ship. It’s a long story. The thing about living on a ship, though, was that with only two hundred people on board it was a small community. Smaller still were the number of kids on board. I’m not kidding when I say there were a handful. Out of necessity we became more of a family than a group of friends. Life’s changed and gone on, but even though it’s been several several years since those days I still find myself drawn to stories about that sense of community, about building that group of people who aren’t so much friends as they are family.
     
    There’s this Japanese word, nakama, that has no proper English translation. A rough rendition of it means something to the effect of a deep friendship not unlike family. Everyone can think of people fitting that description. And if not, well, I’m so sorry, you’re missing out.
     
    This concept of friends who are family is everywhere in literature. Like Harry, Ron, and Hermione in Harry Potter. Once they became friends nothing stood in their way. They fought with each other, but, when they chips were down, they were there for each other. They were those good friends who came out on top. You’ve got the protagonists of Zombieland, or the members of the Bartlett administration in The West Wing, the heroes in Chuck, Drake and Sully in Uncharted, or the Fellowship of the Ring. It’s that group of friends who, even if they don’t always like each other, will stick together through it all.
     
    Lost shows just how strong that relationship is. The survivors on the island don’t get along. They fight, they steal, they kill; they really don’t get along. But the relationships that form over time are real. They might not always be friends but throughout the six seasons they come to be something like a (highly dysfunctional Arrested Development-esque) family. Their bonds are to the point where in the end, it’s all that really mattered, and as long as they have each other, they will be content.
     
    So what draws this people together? CS Lewis describes friendship as “the moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one!’”. There’s this movie out now called The Avengers that you may have heard of. The titular Avengers are all lonely people in their own way; Joss Whedon said so himself. Their connection that forms comes from being lonely together. Tony Stark and Bruce Banner - the two scientisty characters - have a conversation about it; about having something that is both a blessing and a curse. It was their moment of realizing they weren’t the only one alone. The seed of friendship, leading to that team, that community of people who can’t be broken.
     
    Then there’s Community (did you really think I’d let that semi-forced transition slip by?). The Study Group has the common ground of all being students Greendale Community College. Over the seasons they’ve grown closer and had their moments. Like all of these artificial families; they break at the edges. But the heart of it is simple: they were all at Greendale lacking something, needing someone, lacking stability, or any host of reasons. They found what they needed in each other, creating that familial bond in the process. Yes, they are (in their own words), a dysfunctional and incestuous family, but they are one all the same. A, you know, community. Hence the name.
     
    Firefly, another one of Whedon’s creations that I love, is another example of this bond. The crew of Serenity have been with each other through a lot. They’ve seen the best and the worst of each other and they definitely don’t always like each other. But since they’re there together on that ship, they have no choice but to reconcile and stick with it. They can’t walk away from it because they’re in it together, no matter what. Like the members of Community’s Study Group and the Avengers: they’re alone. They’ve left their lives behind and are wandering the black alone together. By the time the film Serenity rolls around they’ve gone beyond just being crew members who live on the same ship.
     
    So yeah I’m drawn to the story of the artificial family. That sense of building a group of friends who will stick with you through it all. People who find what they need in each other, finding strength in their bonds.
     
    A few months ago I met up with some of the others who had been kids on the ship the same time I was. Most of us hadn’t seen or hardly spoken to each other in years. But when we sat down together it was as if we hadn’t missed a day. Life went on and our ship was gone, but our connection was still there.
     
    Makes sense though, we’re family.
  13. Ta-metru_defender

    Buy My Book!

    By Ta-metru_defender,

    What's that you say? You have $2.99 lying around an a device capable of running the Kindle app (that is, any pc, mac, smart phone, iPod touch)?
     
    Why not help two aspiring writers pay for college, food, and other such necessities?
     
    You, yes, you can help! And not only will you get the satisfaction of doing something good, but you'll get a collection of no less than SIX short stories!
     
    They're stores about being in airports, about that weird feeling of in between you get when traveling. Some due with that sort of homelessness travelers get, others with weariness and homesickness. The book's about people, and what better subject to write about?
     
    So what are you waiting for? Click here to purchase In Transit for your device!
     
    And c'mon man, it's my book. Support me!
  14. Ta-metru_defender
    If you've been reading Essays, Not Rants! you'll have realized that I was a huge fan of the movie Chef, in no small part to the food. I love cooking (and eating), so a movie about it was a pleasure.
     
    Having recently coming across the recipe for the Pasta That Seduced Scarlett Johansson, the girlfriend and I decided to make it for dinner.
     
     



    Dang. It was good.
  15. Ta-metru_defender
    Do we call 'em pilots? Like is the first episode of a Netflix series a pilot? I mean, by virtue of the way Netflix does their shows it wasn't commissioned to see if the show worked so...? How much of classic television parlance carries over into new distribution methods?
     
    Anyway.
     
    Dude.
     
    Dude. Dude. Dude.
     
    Lot to say. Action is impeccable. Dude.
     
    Also really digging the very different tone; how it's gritty and dark, but not overbearingly so. It's doesn't feel washed in grimness, there's still pathos and joy and everything in between (even levity!), yet still able to bring the grit and the blood and the grime.
     
    It also feels very New Yorky. I've a friend who lives in H–, uh, the Kitchen, and it's fun to see that part of Manhattan, albeit recovering from an alien attack and not gentrified.
     
    So I'm stoked. To watch more of this series (dead god do I need more free time), but also for the rest of the Defenders. Man.
     
    Also, Charlie Cox spoke in a friend of mine's class and is apparently a "real legit dude" so there's that too.
  16. Ta-metru_defender
    So I didn't really sketch out much for the adventure, opting more to go with however the players went. It meant the break was a little too easy. I was also a bit under-nourished as a GM, having only had cereal for breakfast before arriving and having a couple beers. Soooo...
     
    But yeah. Was fun. PC's spent more time at the cantina than I expected. Leesi pickpocketed everyone. Fran found the most emotionally vulnerable person there and charmed him into buying drinks and offering Imperial codes the next morning (Leesi picked his pocket too). Fran then tried to charm the entire cantina into taking off their pants, but she failed the roll.
     
    The parking ticket debacle was a debacle. There was some trying to talk their way out, but Jobi attacked (low willpower and all that). Leesi tried to run, ended up tripping. Ten went to the ship, but it was impounded. Boba just walked away casually. Anyway, they all got tranq'ed and sent to an orbital prison.
     
    After processing, where we got a fun look at their rap sheets (Jobi's was "mercenary activity, tax evasion, resisting arrest, assault on an officer, grievous bodily harm, and arson. In one night. To which Kat/Jobi replied: "And tax evasion was the only one that stuck!"
     
    They immediately started plotting an escape, because these PC's have no chill. While talking at a table a Gungan name Cantin approached them. Before he could say anything, Ten throat-punched him and kinda broke his trachea (Jen/Fran's a biochemist, so she filled us in on the effects). They then found out he was a gang leader.
     
    Ten also made an impassioned speech about the privatization of prisons that riled up the crowd, but no one thought to use that as a diversion.
    When asked about cellmates, I paired up Jobi and Fran, Ten and Leesi (nonstop arguing), and Boba... Well, Boba got Cantin the Gungan. Through a series of events, Cantin inducted Boba into his gang and became the family Boba always wanted. It was truly beautiful.
     
    The next day, Boba found himself torn between his new family and his crew as the latter prepared to enact their plan. Leesi needed a prosthetic leg and so sent Jobi to get one. She brought back the guy's good leg first by mistake before making another trip to get the prosthetic. Leesi used said limb to hack through the doors out as the others caused a diversion.
     
    Which involved Fran trying to charm everyone out of their pants again, only this time she succeeded. So no one was wearing pants.
     
    Once through the door, Boba and Ten went to get their equipment, Leesi and Jobi to unclamp the ship, while Fran kept up the distraction. Boba and Ten almost managed to stealth in past the guards, but failed at the last minute. So Boba (successfully) seduced them while Ten grabbed the stuff. The pilot threw a weapon to Boba, but, uh, Boba didn't catch it. After the guards were taken out, they loaded a gravsled with as many of the other boxes of equipment as they could carry. Gotta loot the room and all that.
     
    ​Meanwhile Jobi just punched the guards in the control room to unconsciousness, as she does.
     
    Anyway, the team reassembled and headed to the hangar bay.
     
    Where Cantin the Gungan and his band of thieves waited. A blistering fight ensued, with Leesi's lightsaber making short work of the henchmen. Jobi got hit with a vibroaxe, but, to everyone's (including my) surprise, it only a third of her HP. Oh, and Fran got a couple kills (#2 and #3) including stabbing Cantin to death.
     
    They then escaped the prison for another adventure.
     
     
    Then we played another boardgame and I, Sash/Leesi, and Kat/Jobi went out for food and a Brooklyn bar crawl.
  17. Ta-metru_defender
    tl;dr: I no longer have a bar in my chest.
     
    Longer version:
    Got into Singapore on the 10th. Spent the intervening time playing video games and eating, Monday morning local time went into surgery to have my bar removed. Since, y'know, it's time. Everything went well; the bar's sitting on a shelf here in the hospital room (along with some chips of bone [my bones]); I can walk and move and stuff. Useful abilities, those. Current signs point to heart being alright.
     
    So yes. I did just pull an Iron Man 3.
     
  18. Ta-metru_defender
    Three years ago to the day I was hospitalized for the first time on account of my heart trying to kill me.
     
    What's happened in the last three years? Here's the quick timeline:
    July 13 2010, Josh goes for a cardiac stress test, his heart goes into Ventricular Tachycardia and hits 255 BPM. Is subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with ARVC: his heart is turning to fat.
    Plans emerge to implant an ICD (defibrillator), however an MRI discovers water near his heart and the surgery is postponed and Josh is sent home to recover.
    Josh's Dad speaks at a relative's church, after someone offers to see Josh for free.
    After much consultation, it's decided that Josh probably doesn't have ARVC, tests are done to try and figure out what exactly it is.
    After stuff keeps coming back negative, it is theorized that Josh's pectus excavatum (sunken chest) is rubbing on his heart and causing trouble. CT Scans show that, yeah, his sternum and ribs are pushing on his heart. It looks almost heart-shaped from above.
    Nuss Procedure is performed on November 8 2010 to correct his chest.
    Normal procedure entails a bar being inserted and turned, breaking the sternum out and the ribs along with it. Josh's doctor has the idea to nick the cartilage between the sternum and ribs, causing nothing to break and reducing recovery time. Due to some plotting on the doctors' part, this is all done through the public system and paid for by the Singapore Army.
    Everything seems normal.
    In December 2011 Josh temporarily goes off his medication and another stress test is performed. No VT. However, ECG still shows an anomaly.
    Late October 2012, Josh stops taking his medication again because, y'know, Hurricane Sandy. Never gets back into the habit. Terrible.
    March 21 2013, date is booked for Josh to have bar removed on June 24.
    May 3 2013, Iron Man 3 is released, in which Tony Stark has his Arc Reactor removed. Josh checks over his shoulder.
    June 12 2013, Josh does another stress test (still off medication). No VT. ECG appears normal. Prior anomaly is gone.
    June 24 2013, the exact same team that put the bar in take it out, at a different hospital, and, due to more plotting on the doctors' part, all covered by Josh's insurance. Now with no metal bar in the way, an MRI is done
    July 5th 2013, Josh's cardiologist informs him that everything checks out. No more scarring on the heart. Heart is no longer weirdly shaped. ECG is normal. Josh doesn't have heart disease.

    So yeah. As that last sentence says: I don't have heart disease anymore. I'm fine. Healthy. Normal. Or at least as normal as I'm gonna get. Bad news is I can't use heart disease as an excuse anymore.
     
    Frankly, it's been a heck of a time. No one likes being told their heart tried to kill them when they're 19 and no one knows why. Yet every twist and turn since has fallen so perfectly into step (doctors accommodating financially, timing being perfect, not dying at any other point along the way, etc) that, well, it's hard for me not to see a plan in all this. This could have gone very differently. I could have had the ICD in me and needed my batteries changed every few years (and the whole thing replaced every so often too) and been unable to do a lot of things I do. I could have died at any point along the way. This could have all gone down at a point when neither army nor insurance could help pay. And yet it all happened when it did and how it did.
     
    So what now? Well, tonight, a beer or two and video games and movies, as is tradition. After that I've got another stress test coming up (because the insurance is paying for it, so let's go for it again, yeah?) but in the couple weeks since the surgery I've worked up enough of a sweat/pulse that it's certain nothing will happen. I'm fine. The bar that used to be in my chest is sitting on my desk next to my phone.
     
    Thanks to all of you; thanks for listening to my late night ranting, thanks for the prayers, thanks for the hugs, thanks for putting up with my endless barrage of heart disease jokes. Seems like this heart disease thing is finally over.
     

  19. Ta-metru_defender
    Hey guys.
     
    Yep. It's late. As it happens college is conducive for procrastination. Whodathunk?
     
    Welcome To Josh's Fifth Annual Movie Awards Part One
     
    As usual I'm listing every movie I saw this year. You get the idea. Naturally these are all subjective.
     
    Legend:
    º means did not see it in cinemas
    Multiple * denotes number of times saw in cinema
    - — Eh. More or less sucked.
    -/+ — Meh. See it if you want.
    + — Fairly good film, worth a watch.
    ++ — One of the better films of the year. Definitely go see this.
    +++ — Amazing is not description enough. Go watch it.

    Contraband, -/+, it's not a bad film but it doesn't really stick with you after
    Haywire, +, interesting, smart, enjoyable action flick with a great cast
    Chronicle, ++, blends a unique use of the superpowers and found footage genre into a gritty, well done drama.
    Safe House, -/+ decent action flick with not much else going for it.
    This Means War, —, the winning leads can't salvage this lousy movie.
    Act of Valor, ++, deft action film that's further enhanced by its SEAL actors.
    John Carter, ++, a severely underrated science fiction film that's exceptionally good.
    21 Jump Street, +/-, it's funny enough, but nothing to write home about.
    The Hunger Games, ++, fantastic adaption of a fantastic book.
    October Baby, —, I've written enough about this film's flaws on Essays, Not Rants!, so nothing else.
    Wrath of the Titans, -/+, it's alright, but nothing memorable
    The Cabin in the Woods, ++, phenomenal post-modern piece of horror fiction.
    Blue Like Jazz, ++, I drove two hours to watch this movie. Worth it.
    Lockout, -/+, it's Die Hard in space, but Guy Pearce isn't quite as charming as Bruce Willis.
    The Five-Year Engagement, -/+, forgettable comedy with few merits.
    The Pirates! Band of Misfits, +, fun stop motion film.
    The Avengers******, +++, perfect.
    BZP Lovers 3, +, it's enjoyable enough, but nothing more.
    Moonrise Kingdom, ++, quirky and enjoyable, it's Wes Anderson being Wes Anderson.
    Snow White and the Hunstman, —, just blah.
    Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, +, though not as good as the second one, it's fun enough
    Prometheus, -/+, look, it's not horrible, but it doesn't use its Alien roots.
    Rock of Ages, —, good as the songs are, the movie itself sucks.
    Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, ++, great piece of historical fiction with vampires.
    Brave, +, Pixar does a fairy tale, and a great one at that
    Beasts of the Southern Wildº, —, not terrible, but sorely lacking in anything distinctive
    Ted, ++, hilarious comedy with particularly great effects
    The Amazing Spider-Man**, ++, yeah, the new Spider-Man is a better Spider-Man. Great cast too.
    The Dark Knight Rises**, +, it's good even if it doesn't live up to The Dark Knight.
    The Watch, —, lousy piece of not-quite-funny comedy.
    Total Recall, -/+, Arnold did it better.
    The Expendables 2, +, not as good as the first, but still a big dumb action movie.
    Dredd, ++, like John Carter, another piece of underrated science fiction.
    End Of Watch, +, well put together cop drama
    The Perks of Being a Wallflower, ++, well done heartfelt coming of age story
    Looper, ++, again: exceptional piece of science fiction
    Taken 2, +, though not as good as the first, still a decent action flick.
    Argo, ++, fantastic drama with absolutely terrific acting and direction that deserved its Oscar
    Seven Psychopaths, +, it's funny, it's weird, and Sam Rockwell is amazing.
    Cloud Atlas, +, a surprisingly coherent blur of storytelling.
    Skyfall, ++, absolutely amazing James Bond film that might be the best.
    Wreck-It Ralph, +, probably the best video game movie ever.
    Lincoln, +, Spielburg and Day-Lewis nail this biopic of the 16th President.
    Silver Linings Playbook, +++, beautiful movie about broken people.
    Life of Pi, +, beautiful adaption of a great book.
    Deadfall, -/+, a messy story that could have almost been good.
    The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey**, +, not as good as The Lord of the Rings, but not quite terrible.
    Zero Dark Thirty, ++, has what might be the best piece of military action on film.
    Django Unchained, +, it's Tarantino at his Tarantinoist, and all the better for it
    Les Misérables, +, there's a lot of singing in this tearjerking film.

     
    So there it is, my Big List. Tune in tomorrow for the proper awards.
  20. Ta-metru_defender
    Essays, Not Rants! 089: Why I (seldom) Write About Ships
     
    I grew up on a ship. I also like writing.
     
    Now, these two should go hand-in-hand. Write about living on a ship, it’s what you know! But then, who lives on a ship. No one would believe that. So I write science fiction. Because it’s easier to believe folks living on a spaceship than on a real ship. Less time explaining stuff. Also, I really like science fiction.
     
    But, and I do get asked this, why don’t I write about a real ship instead? After all, then I can reap the prestige literary fiction. Why do I waste my talents/history on science fiction?
     
    Because, surprisingly, living on a ship is actually quite boring. Yes, you travel, but that’s hardly unique (you could do the same in a bus or plane). The actual parts of living on a ship are terribly routine. You wake up, go to school (or work, but I went to school), come home, read, homework, video games, eat, whatever, sleep. Whether we were in Sierra Leone or Barbados, that’s what we did. Life is life.
     
    So what is it then that makes living on a ship special? Relationships. Bonds. The sense of a weird sort of family formed by virtue of having no one else.
     
    Like in Firefly. I’ve found that show to be the most honest take on life on a ship. Sure, my ship was lacking in the fugitive doctors and smuggling part, but there was certainly that sense of community. On the show Jayne may antagonize Kaylee, but when the chips are down he’s as ready to protect her as the captain. Serenity’s crew has a decided “we’re in this together no matter what” mentality. Sometimes it touches on the idea of family, but, as cemented by Mal’s speech at the end of Serenity, it’s about making a home. You want a story about life on a ship? About what makes life on the ship special? Look at Firefly and Serenity.
     
    But that feels pretty obvious, y’know, Serenity is a ship, of course it’s going to have parallels. What about when there’s no ship?
    Well, this might explain one of the many reasons why I love Chuck. Over the series, Team Bartowski and the other characters slowly come together to form, well, a crew of sorts. Even though the lot of them don’t always get along, they’ve formed a sort of family. Yeah, it’s very similar to my example from Firefly above, but it’s that idea again. For much of the series Casey doesn’t even like Chuck, but again, will come through for him when it counts; as will the others for him. Everyone has this forged bond with each other. That’s the essence of life on a ship.
     
    Sure, there’s the incredible sublime feeling of being in the middle of the ocean at night, the ship’s running lights extended less than a stone’s throw away; but it’s nothing that can’t be transported elsewhere or substituted. Because that’s just setting, it’s not the interesting part.
     
    I suppose that’s one reason I love writing science fiction; it gives me liberty. If I want to explore the idea of home I can add a plot device that threatens it. Could be, say, a mysterious box that shows an alternate world. Wanna stress the bond between the Captain and his Bosun? Arrest one of them. There’s a great freedom in a world where you get to make the rules.
    Not to say I don’t put everything in science fiction. One of my short stories I’m the most proud of is set in a small town (though there’s a ship in a character’s past) and the screenplay I’m working on with my brother is set in the real world, though on a boat. But the former is about coming home and the latter is about an adventure. Writing about a ship in and of itself is boring. It’d like be writing about everyday life in the suburbs or a city or anywhere.
     
    But writing about home, about family, about leaving? That’s interesting. So I seldom set my writing aboard an actual ship; but I always write about life on a ship.
     
     
    Writer’s Note: Yeah, did something this week. Something almost...bloggy. Stuff in this vein may show up again.
  22. Ta-metru_defender

    Rebels

    By Ta-metru_defender,

    So the girlfriend and I recently started watching Star Wars Rebels.
     
    And holy cyprinidae it is so good.
     
    We're only five-or-so episodes into Season Two (she's studying for Major Graduate Physics Exams), but dang. I'm surprised by how much I unapologetically enjoy this show.
     
    Also: Chopper is wonderful.
  23. Ta-metru_defender
    Essays, Not Rants! 176: Why I Take Issue With Johnny Storm Being Black
     
    So y’know that new Fantastic Four movie coming out next week? It caused a bit of uproar when casting was announced since Michael B. Jordan’s playing Johnny Storm, a character who, in the comics, has been white. This is further complicated by the fact that his sister, Susan Storm, is being played by Kate Mara, who is rather obviously white.
     
    This ‘race lift’ given to Johnny Storm has caused quite the hullabaloo. In an apparent case of trying provide a quick and superficial overcorrection a lack of diversity in super hero films they went and changed Johnny’s race, rather than having a different superhero join up. Making things even more convoluted is that his sister’s white, meaning either one’s adopted, their parents remarried, or are a very rare quirk of mixed-race parents.
     
    Which, y’know, is fine. Representation is a big deal; it’s always great to see different sorts of people on screen. Marvel’s comics have been taking great strides to diversify their heroes, Ms. Marvel’s a Pakistani-American teenager, we’ve Spider-People of all a variety of race and genders, Sam Wilson took over as Captain America; it’s cool for the movies to follow suit (even if Fantastic Four isn’t part of the MCU).
     
    The issue is that it’s just Johnny who got his race changed. And it has to be Johnny; not Reed ‘cuz he’s the main character, not Ben because he spends most of the movie rocky, and especially not Sue because she’s the love interest. Johnny being black — and only Johnny — belies a much more systemic problem in pop-culture in general. And it’s not the tendency for casts to have a token minority (though that is an issue too).
     
    There are a few things central to the Fantastic Four’s mythos: they get their powers from a scientific project, Doctor Doom is their greatest foe, Ben and Jonny are somewhere between rivals and friends, and Reed and Susan are lovers.
     
    And that last one is where things would get hairy if the siblings were both now black.
     
    There’s going to be a romance between Reed and Sue, because of course there will be. But a mixed race couple simply isn’t something that you usually have in a movie; especially if it’s between a white man and a black woman. Fantastic Four wanted to make someone a minority but also keep the romance subplot.
     
    Which really bugs me. Because the whole Johnny-is-black-but-not-his-sister-Sue thing smacks of a fear of having a mixed couple in a major movie. It’s something I find really frustrating. Look, I’m biased; I’m the son of a couple who got married when interracial marriages had less public approval than same-sex marriage did in 2011. It’s one of those things that I want to be more present in pop-culture because it’s something very present in my life. It’s 2015; c’mon, let’s get with the times already. The President of the United States is the product of a mixed-race relationship!
     
    Seeing a movie bend-over-backwards narratively to ensure that the white protagonist’s love interest isn’t black is incredibly frustrating. It’s not director Josh Trank’s fault, or even that of studio Fox: it’s systemic.
     
    At the end of the day, I think I’m disappointed more than anything else. There was a chance here to, even in a small way, shake things up a little bit. ‘cuz I’m cautiously eager to see this movie, and I’m glad that they’ve taken steps to make Susan Storm’s powers more practical/offensive than in the last film. I also really liked Trank’s work on Chronicle. I guess I just wish if they were gonna switch a character’s race, they took the next logical step and did the same thing for his sister.
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