Over and over and over...
*Worked from since I woke up, and working into the night. I love work I love it love it love it love it, and I’m sorry this weekend was so lite on this site I'm sorry I'm sorry.
*Pet Concerns Dept: Chris Butcher presents the Paul O’Brien-prompted semi-brouhaha as, in part, indicative of the hegemonic grip the Big Two holds over online comics discussion. Key quote:
“Is the discourse about comics at the moment really just people being angry at superheroes, people being angry about people being angry about superheroes, and people excited about superheroes? Because if it is, perhaps we should all take my advice up top and just fuck off away for a little while.”
Very well put. And naturally, this fits right into my own preoccupations. In the cold, cruel words of that awful bastard, The President of Comics:
“If the conversation is always pointed toward two companies, then it makes sense to focus the conversation into a batch of interrelated talking points, bits of debate handed down. If you praise them, they win. If you complain, they win again, because at least they are talked about. At least the conversation reinforces them. And if you don’t care for that, the realities of shops across the country scream ‘why not’? They scream ignorance! A clawing at your mind! It’s like a super Medusa, turning you to stone even while gazing upon her through a mirror! You can only hope to not enter the cave at all, and what epic hero dares not enter the cave?”
But need we be heroes? Or superheroes, for that matter? These are the thoughts that keep me from finishing all of this awful crap I have to do any earlier…
*For the anime fans out there, or anyone who loves the works of Studio Ghibli, home of beloved filmmakers Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, here’s an old but good interview with the Disney-hired folks who are supervising the dubbing of Studio Ghibli’s works into English for R1 dvd release. Just this last Tuesday, a pair of Takahata films were released to stores everywhere: the gag manga based (and financially unsuccessful in Japanese theaters) My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999), and Pom Poko (1994). The interview is most fascinating when focusing on the localization troubles inherent to the latter of that pair; the story is intensely culture-specific to a Japanese audience, featuring heroic tanukis beating back oppressors with their engorged scrotums, among other fascinating sights. Takahata inevitably plays second fiddle to Miyazaki in most English-language discussions of Studio Ghibli, but his career has taken an arguably more interesting, varied track. He’s dealt with so much more than Grave of the Fireflies, where the discussion of his career seems to begin and end, partially due to simple availability issues. Now, however, a richer dialogue is possible, along with the delightful bonus aspect of films about raccoon-like beasties whapping folks with their giant balls invading Wal-Marts across the US.
*Pet Concerns Dept: Chris Butcher presents the Paul O’Brien-prompted semi-brouhaha as, in part, indicative of the hegemonic grip the Big Two holds over online comics discussion. Key quote:
“Is the discourse about comics at the moment really just people being angry at superheroes, people being angry about people being angry about superheroes, and people excited about superheroes? Because if it is, perhaps we should all take my advice up top and just fuck off away for a little while.”
Very well put. And naturally, this fits right into my own preoccupations. In the cold, cruel words of that awful bastard, The President of Comics:
“If the conversation is always pointed toward two companies, then it makes sense to focus the conversation into a batch of interrelated talking points, bits of debate handed down. If you praise them, they win. If you complain, they win again, because at least they are talked about. At least the conversation reinforces them. And if you don’t care for that, the realities of shops across the country scream ‘why not’? They scream ignorance! A clawing at your mind! It’s like a super Medusa, turning you to stone even while gazing upon her through a mirror! You can only hope to not enter the cave at all, and what epic hero dares not enter the cave?”
But need we be heroes? Or superheroes, for that matter? These are the thoughts that keep me from finishing all of this awful crap I have to do any earlier…
*For the anime fans out there, or anyone who loves the works of Studio Ghibli, home of beloved filmmakers Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, here’s an old but good interview with the Disney-hired folks who are supervising the dubbing of Studio Ghibli’s works into English for R1 dvd release. Just this last Tuesday, a pair of Takahata films were released to stores everywhere: the gag manga based (and financially unsuccessful in Japanese theaters) My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999), and Pom Poko (1994). The interview is most fascinating when focusing on the localization troubles inherent to the latter of that pair; the story is intensely culture-specific to a Japanese audience, featuring heroic tanukis beating back oppressors with their engorged scrotums, among other fascinating sights. Takahata inevitably plays second fiddle to Miyazaki in most English-language discussions of Studio Ghibli, but his career has taken an arguably more interesting, varied track. He’s dealt with so much more than Grave of the Fireflies, where the discussion of his career seems to begin and end, partially due to simple availability issues. Now, however, a richer dialogue is possible, along with the delightful bonus aspect of films about raccoon-like beasties whapping folks with their giant balls invading Wal-Marts across the US.
posted by Jog at 10:35 PM
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