tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post128900619247747167..comments2024-03-17T11:05:22.464+00:00Comments on The Life And Opinions of Andrew Rilstone: If you don't tell me what you thought about Solo in a minute, I'm going to get very, very cross. Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-55495974589438745792018-06-07T18:08:32.951+01:002018-06-07T18:08:32.951+01:00Ryan Frost, honestly! What do you think you're...Ryan Frost, honestly! What do you think you're doing commenting on a film which you've seen? Do you not understand how this sort of thing is supposed to work?Gavin Burrowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16347163260510316959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-64729607409522361642018-06-06T23:06:46.252+01:002018-06-06T23:06:46.252+01:00Well I HAVE seen the film, and for the life of me ...Well I HAVE seen the film, and for the life of me I still can’t decide whether the robot character was a genuine attempt by the film-makers to highlight feminist issues (if so, yay!), or whether it was a parody of a feminist. After all, she was a bit of a comedy character, and everyone else just reacted to her schtick by rolling their eyes at her.<br /><br />So yeah, there was certainly a lot of ambiguity there as to which side the film was coming down on. Personally, I think the best female character in the movie was (spoiler alert) the rebel gangster kid. Strong-willed, resourceful, a great leader etc. etc. I think she was a far more ‘woke’ creation than the comedy robot, but it’s the robot that people are upset about?Ryan Frosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10625711911863140868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-11095564312062875282018-06-05T21:38:22.130+01:002018-06-05T21:38:22.130+01:00So there are people who see a film in which a char...So there are people who see a film in which a character representative of a group of sentient beings who in-universe are quite definitely being enslaved and see this as representive in someway of a section of society in real life who aren’t being enslaved?<br />Is there any reason why we should really take this point of view seriously???<br />Nick Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03741867414321172768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-29553615928610372012018-06-05T19:02:06.217+01:002018-06-05T19:02:06.217+01:00“"Am asked what I think of Harriet Hume but a...“"Am asked what I think of Harriet Hume but am unable to say, as I have not read it. Have a depressed feeling that this is going to be another case of Orlando about which was perfectly able to talk most intelligently until I read it, and found myself unfortunately unable to understand any of it.”<br />Diary of a Provincial LadyAndrew Rilstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05786623930392936889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-52424946537392381482018-06-05T14:39:36.093+01:002018-06-05T14:39:36.093+01:00Gaius - So in your opinion which real life sentien...<i>Gaius - So in your opinion which real life sentient group of people do droids represent?</i><br /><br />Like I said, I haven't seen the film, so I don't want to comment in too much detail.<br /><br /><i>And why would ‘enslaving this group of people be bad’ be a potentially problematic statement that we need to unpick?</i><br /><br />I think most of the people complaining about the film aren't doing so because it's against slavery, but because they think that it's suggesting that there are groups of people in the modern west whose situation could reasonably be compared to slavery.Gaiushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13683100808581061355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-61453548822340001062018-06-05T07:50:51.646+01:002018-06-05T07:50:51.646+01:00Gaius - So in your opinion which real life sentien...Gaius - So in your opinion which real life sentient group of people do droids represent? And why would ‘enslaving this group of people be bad’ be a potentially problematic statement that we need to unpick? Nick Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03741867414321172768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-45746655183447243172018-06-05T02:11:11.202+01:002018-06-05T02:11:11.202+01:00My comments are in a separate post. Thanks for fee...My comments are in a separate post. Thanks for feedback. Andrew Rilstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16934052271846235431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-48714291082848819302018-06-05T00:21:13.281+01:002018-06-05T00:21:13.281+01:00L3-37 advocates treating droids as equals. In-univ...<i>L3-37 advocates treating droids as equals. In-universe this is a perfectly defensible position. Outside the Star Wars universe droids don’t exist. I can’t see why it would be in any way controversial therefore.</i><br /><br />"Jonathan Swift writes about tiny little people called Lilliputians. In-universe, his observations about their society are perfectly apt. Outside the Gulliver's Travels universe Lilliputians don't exist. I can't see why the book would be in any way controversial therefore."<br /><br /><i>Yes. But the only people complaining about it seem to be the one who haven't seen it.</i><br /><br />I haven't really got that impression, so I guess we'll have to agree to differ on that point. Though given that there are also articles praising the droid's political message ("the first woke bot of Star Wars", as the Atlantic calls it), I still don't think that the analogy with the original trilogy is apt. Nobody bothers to praise movies for pushing uncontroversial bromides like "fascist dictatorships are bad".Gaiushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13683100808581061355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-53619553676054109182018-06-03T22:39:56.743+01:002018-06-03T22:39:56.743+01:00"The fact that people are complaining about i..."The fact that people are complaining about it would indicate that it is, in fact, controversial now. Indeed, that's sort of the definition of "controversial"."<br /><br />Yes. But the only people complaining about it seem to be the one who haven't seen it.Mike Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06039663158335543317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-6664904132685071072018-06-03T21:58:07.530+01:002018-06-03T21:58:07.530+01:00L3-37 advocates treating droids as equals. In-univ...L3-37 advocates treating droids as equals. In-universe this is a perfectly defensible position. Outside the Star Wars universe droids don’t exist. I can’t see why it would be in any way controversial thereforeNick Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03741867414321172768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-85043654894178100412018-06-03T21:42:16.116+01:002018-06-03T21:42:16.116+01:00Yes, yes it is.
If you're living in the state...<i>Yes, yes it is.<br /><br />If you're living in the state of Kentucky in the 1950s.<br /><br />Otherwise, not so much.</i><br /><br />The fact that people are complaining about it would indicate that it is, in fact, controversial now. Indeed, that's sort of the definition of "controversial".Gaiushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13683100808581061355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-27350291822330884132018-06-03T21:28:41.556+01:002018-06-03T21:28:41.556+01:00"I also haven't seen the film yet, but [...."I also haven't seen the film yet, but [...] the sort of woke-ness which, I gather, L3-37 advocates is pretty controversial."<br /><br />Yes, yes it is.<br /><br />If you're living in the state of Kentucky in the 1950s.<br /><br />Otherwise, not so much.<br /><br />See the film. You'll enjoy it <i>and</i> you'll be able to comment intelligently on it.Mike Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06039663158335543317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-24105880170581358692018-06-03T11:44:41.891+01:002018-06-03T11:44:41.891+01:00I haven't seen this film either and... well, i...I haven't seen this film either and... well, in my case, it means I don't know what happens in it. Very impressed with these commentators who can tell exactly what's wrong with it without the rigmarole of seeing it first.Gavin Burrowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16347163260510316959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-33513698514339269912018-06-03T10:48:35.311+01:002018-06-03T10:48:35.311+01:00Some people think that this is an unwarranted intr...<i>Some people think that this is an unwarranted intrusion of politics into what is basically just a series of adventure movies about plucky revolutionaries overthrowing a fascist regime.</i><br /><br />I also haven't seen the film yet, but I don't think this is a fair comparison. "Fascism is bad" is pretty much universally agreed-upon in the West (yes, I know there are some neo-Nazis out there, but they're a tiny minority whom all of mainstream society basically hates), whereas the sort of woke-ness which, I gather, L3-37 advocates is pretty controversial. So I don't really think it surprising that people get annoyed by a preachy woke droid and not by watching the overthrow of fascism.Gaiushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13683100808581061355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-68667799046220846782018-06-01T22:52:57.183+01:002018-06-01T22:52:57.183+01:00"I didn't believe that the kind of advent..."I didn't believe that the kind of adventures Ewan McGregor was having were the kinds of adventures that Alec Guinness would have had when he was young."<br /><br />I've been trying to figure out, since I read that, what adventures the young Alec Guinness would have had. I'm curious what you imagine<br /><br />Perhaps I'm too influenced by being introduced to him on Tatooine, but I find myself picturing him as Lawrence of Arabia -- leading a band of irregulars in a messy and bloody part of a messy and bloody war. But I don't think that would make a good Star Wars movie. . . .NickSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-3328060863710436812018-06-01T10:50:49.028+01:002018-06-01T10:50:49.028+01:00I haven't seen the film; but one of the things...I haven't seen the film; but one of the things I dislike about current <i>Doctor Who</i> is the way that so much of it seems designed to be made into screen-captures and put on the tumblenumpty. <br /><br />It means that these bits don't feel like coherent parts of the work; they feel contrived, inserted. <br /><br />Yes, of course all art is supposed to say something. But the whole trick is to make that saying-something integrate smoothly into the diegesis. If it seems instead to be clumsily inserted from outside in order to make a good out-of-context screen-capture then it has failed: not because of what it's saying, not because it's saying something, but because it's not saying it well. <br /><br />Perhaps that is what people are complaining about with the robot? As I wrote, I haven't seen this film (I dare say it will turn up on TV one of these Christmases, which is the only correct way to watch a <i>Star Wars</i> film). But it does sound like the same problem <i>Doctor Who</i> has these days, that I would have described as 'turning into its own fan fiction', ie, becoming so much a commentary upon itself that it no longer works as an integrated, coherent piece of art rather than as an ephemeral cultural artefact designed to be pulled apart and made into memes.SKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09102522819364312684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-50103013333357024412018-05-31T22:17:38.883+01:002018-05-31T22:17:38.883+01:00I’d take this more seriously if I thought this was...I’d take this more seriously if I thought this was an issue actually worth taking sides overNick Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03741867414321172768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-32885146923979199962018-05-31T19:22:11.513+01:002018-05-31T19:22:11.513+01:00"What about reviewers with no particular opin...<i>"What about reviewers with no particular opinion on the matter, who think that specific inclusion is so ridiculous that they wonder it might actually be a parody?'</i><br /><br />Reviewers with no particular opinion on the matter, apart from the strongly held opinions they hold on the matter?<br /><br />Er.....Gavin Burrowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16347163260510316959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-71834696107569764172018-05-31T15:42:22.754+01:002018-05-31T15:42:22.754+01:00"Dismissive refusal to unpack". Yes. Tha..."Dismissive refusal to unpack". Yes. That's it. <i>That</i> is what characterises Andrew's writing.<br /><br />I'm amazed I never realised this before.Mike Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06039663158335543317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-10897111661010650062018-05-31T14:29:53.091+01:002018-05-31T14:29:53.091+01:00And the blogs, op-eds and so forth, that think the...And the blogs, op-eds and so forth, that think the intrusion of current political themes into Star Wars is the best thing since sliced bread? What do they need? What about reviewers with no particular opinion on the matter, who think that specific inclusion is so ridiculous that they wonder it might actually be a parody? What about the creators and participants in the films who go on record not only to confirm these inserted themes, but to highlight them as reasons to see the film?<br /><br />I could enjoy your rebuttals, Andrew, if there was much to them besides the reduction to <i>ad hominem</i> and dismissive refusal to unpack, just a little. (For another example: Sean Connery wasn't Bond for forty years. All those books and comics weren't written and drawn with Alden Erenreich in their mind's eye.) I could read about you picking apart the topic of 'leet' with points on why it's silly to worry about. But "seek help hurr" is a fourteen-year-old's comeback. It's sweeping the thing under the rug. It would be mere trolling if it was directed outside this blog. It's a childish kneejerk reaction - an "I'm right so there" - on a level with the people you're attempting to ridicule.<br /><br />(I can't decide if tweeting it is much better or worse. Oh Mike. Mike Mike Mike...)<br /><br />I've seen those complaints about L337. (among other things) I see what point they're trying to make, partly because they go into actual detail; but I can't go with them because they're too obstinate and obtuse. Imagine the frustration when 'the other side' - ostensibly the rational side - turns out to be practically the same.Warren JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11743987856127631574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-22828395820694283932018-05-30T18:01:28.158+01:002018-05-30T18:01:28.158+01:00That was the representative section that I selecte...That was the representative section that I selected to tweet: https://twitter.com/MikeTaylor/status/1001860664644767745Mike Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06039663158335543317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-81323182746963462642018-05-30T17:56:42.257+01:002018-05-30T17:56:42.257+01:00"Some people think that this is an unwarrante...<i>"Some people think that this is an unwarranted intrusion of politics into what is basically just a series of adventure movies about plucky revolutionaries overthrowing a fascist regime. If you are one of these people, you need to seek professional help immediately."</i><br /><br />On the other hand, maybe <i>that</i> was peak Rilstone.<br /><br />Gavin Burrowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16347163260510316959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-32315608021567859292018-05-30T17:08:21.086+01:002018-05-30T17:08:21.086+01:00"I don't know if I quite believed that th..."I don't know if I quite believed that the young lad who knocks about the universe getting in and out of scrapes is the same person as veteran smuggler who Luke bumps into in the second act of A New Hope."<br /><br />To my surprise, I very quickly did believe that. It was a big part of what made me enjoy the film so much.Mike Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06039663158335543317noreply@blogger.com