8 posts tagged “gay”
California is not subsequently consumed by the Fire of Hades. Surprise! Funny how the world doesn't end when things like this happen.
Meanwhile, the country continues to be embroiled in an immoral and
illegal war, the economy continues to creep toward complete meltdown,
and our president cravenly invokes "appeasement" for the purpose of
smearing a Democratic candidate while speaking in Israel. This
fucker still has half a year to destroy America, people. Don't
lose sight of that just because there's some good news from California.
Oklahome State Representative Sally Kern recorded at a meeting. This is what they say when they think nobody is listening:
(Found at Crooks and Liars.)
I was driving behind a fellow today whose car's back end was fully plastered with bumper stickers: various hippie, liberal, bicycle-riding slogans. Generally I agreed with them all, but it was still ugly, and I found myself wondering what, exactly, Sammy Pinko was hoping to accomplish by messing up his car with all of these gaudy proclamations. Is he going to change anybody's mind? Somebody will be following in traffic and suddenly exclaim: "Oh my God! I never realized that war is not the answer until I saw this bumper sticker!" Then he will immediately pull over, whip out his phone and resign his commission, because that man will have been a U.S. NAVY ADMIRAL!
And if it's not the weed-mobile, it's the GODHUMMER, all "baby-killing" this and "gay-fag-sin" that. Those people are the worst, because they offend me on two levels: politically and aesthetically.
So, I was following this guy, and it occurred to me that you never see politically themed bumper stickers that have sentiments that we can all agree with. So, I created these gems. Print them up and slap them on your car today!
Whew! There we go! Four stickers, four statements that nobody could possibly disagree with. Put them on your car today and let people try and figure out where you stand on these important issues.
Every Republican lawmaker in the United States of America is gay. If they have a history of anti-gay rights voting, that makes them extra-gay.
I recommend that you take your expectations down a peg. It is a very good movie, but it's not the non-stop awesomefest that the trailer (still one of the finest ever cut) has led us all to believe.
What isn't great?
1) David Wenham's narration is WAY over the top and frequently unneccessarily intrusive. I understand the framing idea of the "storyteller", I totally get why it's in the movie [and was, no doubt, in the original graphic novel, which I've never read (confession: I don't think Frank Miller is a very good writer)], but we could have easily done without it. There is no information imparted by the narration that we cannot discern on our own, and that's the surest sign of ill-conceived narration (see also: Blade Runner).
2) The interruption of the action to to fill us in on the Queen's dealings at home. Seriously: who cares? We came to see a movie about 300 Spartans standing firm against thousands of enemies, not a movie about a loyal wife trying to drum up support for her husband's war. This sort of political "intrigue" is precisely the reason why I never really enjoy these sword-and-sandal epics as much as I'd like. Film-makers, take heed: this shit is BORING. That aside, Lena Heady is a very talented and beautiful actress, and those two facts alone made her subplot tolerable (plus, admittedly, there's a great payoff at the end).
3) The same speed effect is used OVER and OVER again during the battle sequences. You know, the one where it goes regular speed, then SUPER FAST, then immediately SLOOOOWS DOOOOWWWNN, then SUPER FAST again. Repeat. Okay, I GET IT. It's all very pretty, but it gets a bit repetitive when every fucking sword- or spear-hit is accompanied by the same change in film speed.
4) That shitty Enya-esque vocal crap that movies like this always use when the good guys are dying. Hey, guess what? Just because they used it in Gladiator doesn't mean we need to hear it every time a guy wearing sandals bites it. KNOCK IT OFF. I don't like to listen to that shit no matter the context.
What's Good?
1) Everything you have seen in the trailer.
2) Gerard Butler's King Leonidas easily secures a high position on the list of Cinema's Greatest Badasses. This is a towering, titanic, thundering performance that should seriously raise this guy's profile.
3) For once, I love the use of anachronistic instrumentation in a period movie.
4) Every second that occurs on the battlefield.
5) It's all very pretty.
Observations:
1) There's been some talk about the political agenda of this film. There isn't one. Folks, this is based on a comic book which is based on a legend which is based on historical fact. Spartans really were this fanatical about defending their freedom. If you want to vew this as some sort of pro-war diatribe just because the bad guys are Persians and we're currently waving our swords at Iran, go right ahead. You can choose to view everything through a jaded political prism, or you can sit down and have a good time.
2) This may be the gayest movie ever made. I don't think I've seen such a celebration of the male physique outside the confines of the man-on-man section of my favorite porn shop. If you are a man or woman who likes to watch half-naked guys with amazing abs getting all sweaty and dirty, then RUN, don't walk, to purchase your ticket for this film. You won't be disappointed. (As an aside, there's a fair amount of female nudity as well, but truth be told, I have to keep REMINDING MYSELF.)
3) It sort of sucks that the footage looks prettier on my computer monitor than it does on a big screen. I'm getting a bit frustrated with this disconnect between digital film-making and analog presentation. The sad fact is, I'm not going to really get to see 300 the way it was meant to be seen until the DVD comes out. I know there's no way that this film was sent out from Hollywood with this much fucking grain. Hey, Regal Cinemas: spend some coin and convert your older theaters to digital projection, you fucking cheapskates! I'm tired of going to watch eye-candy and watching something that looks like it's 30 years old. You guys suck.
I don't watch or follow sports. I have no emotional investment in who wins the Super Bowl or the World Series any more than I care which Little League team is winning when I drive past a kiddie baseball game. The idolizing of sports figures baffles me: why admire a group of spoiled millionaires just because they're really good at playing (let's face it) a child's game?
Anyway, here's Tim Hardaway being a total creep on the radio. What does it say about the culture of hate we are breeding in this country that somebody feels comfortable spewing this crap on the air? He had every right to say it, don't get me wrong, but I hope he reaps the whirlwind on this (to borrow a phrase from Emilio Estevez). I hope he loses some fans. I hope the supporters of whichever basketball team he plays for (I've already forgotten) think twice before throwing their Hardaway jerseys on before heading to the game.
He might dribble, pass and shoot pretty good, but that doesn't keep him from being a deplorable human being.
Is second grade too young to learn that sometimes boys like boys "in that way"? I don't know, but one thing I do know is that these parents are hysterical jackasses. Of course, these idiots probably believe that homosexuality is a "choice", and that if we teach kids that it's okay for two people of the same gender to be in love, they'll "choose" to become gay.
Guess what, morons? Homosexuals come from religious families too. Homosexuals existed before same-gender marriage became legal in Massachusetts. Homosexuals existed before they started reading "King and King" in little billy's 2nd grade class. Teaching kids that gays are people too won't create more gays, but it will create a future in which fewer gays will live in fear and denial and self-loathing, and that sounds like a good thing to me.
A quick trawl through the Internet also reveals a general belief that Lady Sovereign appeals primarily to ladies and gay men.
We have four artists here that are presumed, correctly or not, by the average American to be "gay" artists. Take a look at that photo of Scissor Sisters, for chrissakes. Any further questions? Do you get it now, sir?
(Everybody else: this is in reference to this discussion.)
