LA mostly is a dystopia, but because of the people. It's a beautiful city otherwise. Mulholland Drive, Beverly Glen, Santa Monica Blvd, Pacific Palisades, Palos Verde, Malibu, even as far out as Pomona, it is a unique metropolis in a beautiful setting. What I mean is that the people who live here are either stuck for life because they won't change what's wrong internally, and are constantly looking for validation externally (i.e. fame), or they are those who are holding out the carrot for the ones seeking validation. There are some who don't fit either category, sure - like the immigrants or the homeless - but they are only a consequence of the Hollywood carrot that draws the crowds and the $$$. They exist on a separate plane until their progeny get sucked into the vortex thanks to the aforementioned public schooling system and/or media bombardment. Advertising isn't the cause, nor is industry. It is sick people who control others with the promise of fame. Weinstein is no secret around here, most guys and many women executives know how to pull strings in weak people. Take Jonah Hill for example - the most recent issue of New York Magazine has him as the cover story, saying that he 'felt like he was living his life for how other people wanted to see him', and that now he doesn't care any more - he's still stuck in that loop though, wearing wacky clothing, doing funky shows, being all 'indie' trying to find the self he threw away to please the studio execs by throwing anything he can at the wall to see what sticks. It is a devil's dance, where both parties trade favors, and where no one has a soul at the end of it; a soft ballet of blackmail etched into every crack in the sidewalk, smeared in every grease stain in Hollywood, pasted on every billboard along the Sunset Strip - and yet the world still turns! They Live is half right. The screenwriter and director know implicitly what I'm talking about, but can't quite put it down - or that draft was scrapped, who knows.
What did you view the alien elite pulling the strings as a metaphor for? That last paragraph has me very intrigued. There is something far more nefarious happening among the hollywood "elite" then I think you may realize. Your right about the sick people, but your only scratching the surface when it comes to the lengths they will go to achieve their worldly desires.
Having watched this again I'm a changed man. Never again will I have forge block! My favorite quote from this video: "...looks like it's a SAW vs SAW battle..." Edit - seriously has someone remade this? I could run customs on that all day!
congrats on this, MMC! I am also proud to see that there has been a practical use of smooth linear motion tech!
It's a popcorn flick. As such, it misses the deeper points - none of which would likely have been allowed to air by the producers at Universal. I have misgivings about their understanding because the film is pretty barren in an intellectual sense. https://uproxx.com/news/harvey-weinstein-accuser-footage-groping/ This is a pretty timely illustration. Think about the premises both of these 'actors' are operating from in order to bring about this little slice of kino. And then think about the premises the interviewer must be operating from, and the kind of implicit response to such a film might elicit from the average viewer. As for the metaphor they were going for in the film, it's pretty clear. They are referring to business people, corporate hotshots, WallStreet exectutives, Republicans (did you catch the "Morning in America" reference?), generally the successful people, all the while lionizing the working man, the homeless, the destitute. It's a Reagan-era Hollywood burnout perspective. It's a lot more subtle than that in real life. And philosophically speaking, they are completely wrong. People are not bad because they are successful. People are bad because they are dishonest, liars, cheaters, and any visible success borne out of such is no success at all. I think that would be the best way to read into the 'signal fog' the aliens broadcast, but it isn't the one that the screenplay offers. You don't need to tell me twice - there's a much longer history to it, and a much deeper root cause that flares up in each individual. I personally know people who've been through the grinder either by accident or by choice, and watched as they slowly passed on the scars to their children, friends, and loved ones without a second thought.
Also, there's gonna be plenty of interesting layouts out there with the hurricane, make sure everyone posts pics of crazy landscapes!
@MartianMallCop Thanks for sorting out the Roaming King playlist. It's been providing some of the most tolerable Halo 5 matches I have ever played! The maps are great and I hope the mode gets adopted as an official game type in the next Halo. It's as accessible as Slayer but makes camping impossible, with the moving objective making for really dynamic games. Great work!