Is Everything Political?

Introduction

Normally I try to keep topics like religion and politics out of my reviews, but I felt somewhat compelled to tackle this subject after ABC cancelled its successful sitcom Last Man Standing starring Tim Allen. When most programs on television, be it the basic letter stations or the major networks on cable and satellite TV, want to get politics involved, they typically go for pushing the "liberal agenda." Last Man Standing, ABC's big boost to Tim Allen's career, did the opposite by having Allen make jokes that came with him venting his conservative views, especially during the first five seasons when Barack Obama was still the President of the United States. After Trump's win, the political jabs seemed to be shrinking, and some think this may have been part of the show's cancellation. Others say it's because of the conservative views being pushed in a "#NotMyPresident" era that the show needed to be canned, so we didn't have to hear Tim Allen continue to talk about how Hollywood is like 1930's Germany. To me, I think it's a combination of there not being much left for Allen to mock, Disney trying to silence voices of dissent (Look up PewDiePie and ESPN scandals), and the show just needing to admit it may be time to end since the two younger daughters are getting older, something that affected another Tim Allen sitcom once on ABC, Home Improvement.

Oh, wait, we were supposed to be tackling a bigger question here. Since the past election, Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump, have we hit a point where everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, has become political? The answer, sadly, is yes. Between Disney dropping stars and shows, YouTube algorithms blocking channels that dared to question the norms being pushed, and a need to persuade people that there are 76 genders and man has caused the climate to change, everything has become political, from the shows we watch to the classes we study.

Science

No, you didn't read that header wrong. As Bill Nye, the man we called "The Science Guy," has said "Science is political." Which is apparent given what his new show Bill Nye Saves the World teaches. Science has typically been viewed as the pursuit of truth, but nowadays if you are questioning the "truth" that has been found in modern science, you're a science denier! Here's an example, in classic Bill Nye, he spoke about how chromosomes contained all the information to make a person and that the probability of being a boy or girl was one-in-two, not one-in-76 nor one-in-pansexual-gender-fluidity. However, with Bill Nye Saves the World, gender is said to be on a spectrum, making the social justice push for non-binary gender seem true despite there being no evidence in actual science. Huh, and here I thought even an actor with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering would understand basic biology and not give in to Tumblr logic.

Entertainment

This one gets crazy because there are so many examples of how the entertainment industry has become super political to the point that it isn't funny, it's annoying. If you make an anti-Obama, anti-Sanders, or anti-Clinton joke, you're pushing cancellation. If you are a successful entertainer, you better be careful when it comes to what you say or your agency may drop you and you're out of work for a long time. For the former, Tim Allen's Last Man Standing gets cancelled for pushing the boundaries of taking jabs at Democrats or leftist culture. For the latter, Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg got dropped by YouTube's partner company, Disney owned Maker Studios for making jabs at the media and making controversial jokes. In addition to Kjellberg, Jon "JonTron" Jafari was also facing backlash from YouTube for his stances on illegal immigration and social justice, which he expressed both on Twitter and in an archived stream with Sargon of Akkad. This resulted in Jafari seeing a cut in his revenue and a number of his videos being placed in the subscriber only Restricted Mode. Hollywood and YouTube are very progressive, which is why they choose to silence voices of dissent rather than allow everyone to speak their mind without fear of backlash. Me, I prefer to say what I want and what I believe, and I don't care what the consequences may be.

Conclusion

Difference of opinion should not lead to a person being fired from their job, a television program being cancelled, or any form of fallout. Factual evidence should not be replaced by feelings. So, why do we allow it? Because we believe feelings come first and if someone is offended by what someone else says, then the someone else should be jailed and shunned because "How dare they have a different opinion?" or "How dare they use facts to disprove my feelings?" Because we believe it's better to coddle and protect grown adults from the outside world, we let the special snowflakes of the Millennial generation believe that they are the most important people and that anyone else is wrong. Sorry, but I'd rather be on the wrong side of history by believing in laws, God, a right to self defense, two genders, heterosexual marriage, and the values of conservatism and capitalism, than be with the "everything is racist, everything is sexist, everything is homophobic" Bernie Sanders supporting socialists that are demanding the wrong form of change.

Until the next review, have a nice day!

-Napoleon Jonamite

Skipping Some 2017 Movie Releases

2017 is already almost a quarter of the way done, and we have had some pretty hyped up movies, while others are just... Eh... Regardless, we all have those movies that we choose to skip seeing despite the hype. Is it because of a fear of a poor adaptation? Not having much understanding of what the film will be about? No real interest in the film based on either content or premise? There are a number of reasons for some. Me? Well, let me list off a few of my skips for 2017 and you'll get the details there.

Ghost in the Shell (2017)

Let's start it off with this one. Based on the original Japanese animated film and anime franchise, Ghost in the Shell stars Scarlett Johansson as Major Motoko Kusanagi, a cyborg, and a rather hot one too. From what I understand, this movie is looking to serve as an adaptation of the original movie.

Why am I skipping this one? Let's start off with the fact that none of my reasons have anything to do with the outrage over the "white washing" of the leading cyborg lady. My main reason for skipping this movie is a weak understanding of the lore of the Ghost in the Shell franchise. I had only seen the original movie once, and I had some difficulty understanding the lore. What is a "ghost" in this movie's case? How does one pull off "mind hacking"? This lore seems way deeper than I think even Leonardo Dicaprio is willing to go. Inception joke aside, without much understanding of the basic lore, I'd feel pretty lost while trying to watch Johannson kick butt and attempt to see how faithful the adaptation would be. Sorry folks, but this wannabe Otaku is skipping Ghost in the Shell's western live-action adaptation.

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Wait, Napoleon Jonamite is skipping a Disney movie? It's true. Disney is continuing its current trend of making their animated classics into live action films. Starring Emma Watson as Belle, Disney is hoping to bring that same magic we got in animated form when we were kids to the big screen in a live action musical.

Why am I skipping this one? Let's face it, we've all grown up with the original animated movie. It's a timeless Disney animated classic that deserves to be in our film collections even to this day. The big problem comes with Disney trying to outdo itself and hope for another moneymaking remake. Reviews came in fairly mixed from critics and viewers alike. Comments came in from Doug Walker and Steven Crowder about the music being auto-tuned, new songs adapted from the Broadway show to lackluster results, bad CGI that ruined the experience, etc. Crowder's producer "Not Gay" Jared Monroe also commented on some of the casting choices not working out, citing Ewan McGregor's accent "changed like, seven times." While the LeFou "gayness" was overplayed in terms of the controversy, it wasn't the best direction for the character. Crowder noted that the social commentary could've been more like "I really admire this man." "Are you secretly gay?" "No." Personally, I think there are some things you just can't adapt to live action, and Beauty and the Beast is one of them.

Power Rangers

If you're familiar with any generation of Power Rangers, you should have no problem understanding the premise of this movie. If you aren't, let me give you the bare basics. An ultimate evil arrives on Earth to conquer it, a mysterious force for good calls for a group of young heroes to fight this ultimate evil by going through a monster-of-the-week until season's end.

Why am I skipping this? Let's start with what we've seen in terms of the things we watched as kids being revived as a potential film franchise. Transformers has a great box office financial record yet has received mixed reviews that lean toward negative. GI Joe fell off the map recently, blame Channing Tatum and Dwayne Johnson looking into better projects. Power Rangers moving to the big screen by reviving its early years may not work well considering the number of changes made and its aesthetics looking like Transformers 4. Add in the fact that I never really grew up with Power Rangers, and you have a genuine lack of interest in this potentially overhyped reboot.

There are still plenty of movies releasing in 2017 that I'm genuinely interested in seeing, but that may need to be another blog entry for another day.

Until the next review, have a nice day!

-Napoleon Jonamite