Have We All Become Judge Dredd?

When it comes to Star Trek vs. Star Wars . . . wars, I have to admit I’m pretty much on the side of Star Trek. Not that I dislike Star Wars, it’s just that I never got into that universe (or, more appropriately, that “galaxy far far away”). I don’t think I’ve ever watched a Star Wars movie more than once. I may have, but don’t recall. Now, Star Trek, on the other hand . . .

I think my love for Star Trek is partly due to my love of all things “time” related. I also enjoy the stories of us Earthlings and where the future may take us.

My wife and I have worked our ways through The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, and Deep Space Nine. We are in the first season of Voyager currently. Being that we have several seasons to go with that series, and the entire Enterprise series as well, it may be a while before we get to the newest (current) incarnation: Discovery.

However, in the “I Want That Exact Same Suit But In A Completely Different Style” category, there is the newest creation from the mind of Seth MacFarlane: The Orville.

Oh. My. God. I LOVE The Orville. It is so much like Star Trek while at the same time being nothing like Star Trek. Each of the nine episodes (as of this writing) have been a fantastic ride - and very different in style from each other. I’m excited to say that the series has been green-lit for a second season.

The episodes have also been timely in the issues they have tackled. One such episode, “Majority Rule” (S01 E07) is almost a distress call to our current society.

As the episode is described, “Ed sends a team to find missing anthropologists on a planet similar to 21st century Earth; the mission goes awry when they realize the planet uses a public voting system to determine punishment.”

Today we are inundated in social media. Facebook and Twitter have been daily topics in the news. Was there collusion in the 2016 election by Russia via the purchase and display of political ads in Facebook? President Trump continually “kicks the hornet’s nest” with his tweets. And now, celebrities of all ilks are being “outed” as sex offenders and child molesters - many judged guilty in the “court” of social media as if it were fact.

Recently, George Takei had spoken out against Kevin Spacey over Spacey’s recent child molestation charges, announcing himself as gay, and his reinforcement of the stereotype that conflate said homosexuality with pedophilia.

What happened next? George Takei was accused of sexually assaulting a model back in 1981.

I saw George Takei’s rebuttal/apology/explanation in Twitter. The comment thread that followed was people believing it to be true because the victim is always the truthful one, people believing it to be false because false accusations are common, and people wanting to believe George Takei because he is George Takei.

Which brings me back to The Orville episode.

Have we become a society that allows social media to be the voice of reason, and ultimately judge, jury, and prosecution? Does anyone else see the danger here?

From "The Orville" - "Majority Rule"

Taylor Swift went through hell online because she didn’t say something against the Nazi march QUICK ENOUGH.  

People agree with things (“like” things), or disagree with things, just so their social circles will accept them. There is dopamine hits for liking and hating things online.

It has gotten to the point that if a man had looked at a woman the wrong way that woman will cry out on social media that she was molested. And more so, there are women who are saying #MeToo so they don’t “suffer” the same consequences as Taylor Swift.

The danger is that when all forms of harassment are classified as the most heinous, the most heinous will no longer be the most heinous. They will lose their impact (and therefore the attention such vile acts should receive.)

I’m going to confess something: I’m a white male. I was born this way. It was not a choice. And therefore, I can be accused of a life of “white privilege”. And being male, I am automatically guilty of sexual harassment if I’ve ever given a woman a compliment. Am I perfect? God no. Have I ever said or done something that might be deemed inappropriate? Absolutely. As Jesus made it so clear, “He who is without sin cast the first stone.”

You won’t find a stone in MY hand.

But on social media, there are many with both hands cocked and ready to throw a heater.

Does that sound extreme? It should. And if it doesn’t?

Well, I guess that is something to think about.

© Emittravel 2017

The Song Remains the Same

Enough time has passed that I think I can write a non-spoiler-free post about a recent movie. If you haven’t seen the movie, and you don’t want to have your visual experience tainted, stop reading. If you don’t really care, go ahead.

I guess I should start off and mention the movie. The official title is “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”. The concept of this is that this is a movie that is not part of the current Star Wars storyline, but actually an offshoot in the same universe.

Bulls**t!

Here are the two Tweets I sent immediately after leaving the theater:

Just saw #StarWarsRogueOne

Two things: Is this now the new Episode IV in the sequence? (1/2)

#StarWarsRogueOne

Not saying it's good or bad. Just that it did not pass the pee test.

(2/2)

Let’s address the first one.

Again, based on the title, this movie was supposed to be a separate story from the Star Wars we’ve all grown up with (regardless of which trilogy was YOUR trilogy). Except, it wasn’t.

My wife and I love going to bookstores. Especially small town bookstores. I love the big chains too, but there is something about that mom ‘n pop atmosphere. Same for restaurants. When in a bookstore, one of the areas I check out is the Home and Garden section - Nah! Just kidding. I check out the Science Fiction and Fantasy section!! Yeah baby!! In that section you will usually find a bunch of novels grouped together: Star Trek and Star Wars. I’ve read a couple of Star Trek novels, mainly because of my infatuation with all things time and time travel related. I haven’t read any Star Wars novels yet, but usually they way outnumber the Star Trek novels on the shelves.

When it came out that there were going to be these one-off Star Wars stories, I had really hoped that we would reach into that vast universe and pull out some really cool stories. Nope. What we got instead was yet another story of the SAME universe. I hear that the next Star Wars Story may be about a young Han Solo.

Just goes to prove that the studios are too scared to try ANYTHING new! (C’mon, you didn’t think “The Force Awakens” WASN’T a rehash of “A New Hope”?!?)

My first Tweet above asked where in the sequence Rogue One fell. Some fanboys pointed out that it didn’t fall anywhere, because it was a “Star Wars Story”. EXCEPT, this particular movie fell JUST BEFORE the first Star Wars movie (“A New Hope” or “Star Wars” as it was originally released.) It was more of a prequel than the prequels. Not only did it encompass the plans to the Death Star, but it included Grand Moff Tarkin, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, and several other cameos from the “real” Star Wars storyline.

So don’t tell me this was an offshoot. It wasn’t. It fell directly in the main storyline. As a matter of fact, the movie ended right before “A New Hope” started. Princess Leia was even wearing the same outfit.

Speaking of Princess Leia, let’s get to brass tacks here. We’ve come a long way from the erie looking kid in the original “Toy Story”. But to be honest, we’ve a LONG way to go before we can escape the uncanny valley of a CGI Princess Leia and Grand Moff Tarkin! That CGI work may “pass” now, but give the movie ten to fifteen years, and those characters will be the downfall of the movie. “And can you imagine them trying to pull off a CGI person back in 2016? You might as well have been working in 8-bit!”

Okay, the acting was really well done. Though, to be honest, I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about any of the characters. KNOWING this was a prequel to “A New Hope”, I knew that none of the main characters were going to make it out of the story alive. So I didn’t get emotionally invested in any of them - even the lead. Though to be honest, the movie didn't give us much to be invested in as it was.

The music was REALLY well done. That’s one thing I hope never becomes missing from the Star Wars movies, whether in or out of the main Skywalker/Vader/Solo storyline. Love, love, LOVE that music!

As far as my second Tweet, I judge movies on a basic scale. I call it the “Pee Test”. You can probably guess what I mean by that. I can’t remember the last movie I walked out on to empty my bladder. I usually just hold it until the credits end (thank you Marvel Studios for extending THAT bladder ache!)

As far as “Rogue One” goes, the morning coffee was more compelling than the movie.

(The title for this article comes from the song of the same name by Led Zeppelin.)

©Emittravel 2017

Please J.J., No More

Have you ever heard of J.J. Abrams? He's a producer, writer, and director; best known for shows like "Lost", "Alias", and "Fringe", and movies like "Super 8", "Star Trek", and the upcoming "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens". I really enjoy his work, overall. There is just one thing that really bugs me about it: lens flairs.

What are lens flairs? They are small glares that cut across the camera lens; usually because strong sunlight hits at just the right spot while filming. Now, I really don't mind lens flairs overall. It's just that Mr. Abrams (may I call you "J.J."?) likes to put them in post - after the shots have been taken - as a "special effect" - a sort of signature.

I think that J.J. likes to use them to create a sort of realism - to give the viewer what the director might see from his perspective.

Please, J.J., no more lens flairs.

It's one thing to see them in a highly-lit scene, where the small flash can go almost completely unnoticed. But, when there is an outdoor scene, in November, in Boston, with an overcast sky, there is NO REASON for a lens flair. At that point you don't have a neat effect: you have a distraction that takes you out of the scene. STOP IT!

There was an episode in the show "Fringe" where the above HAPPENED. My wife and I are watching through the series, and, you can confirm with her, I find I keep yelling at the screen: "Stop it, J.J.! Enough with the lens flairs!" What does this mean? Instead of being pulled into the scene, captivated by what I'm seeing, I'm being told "Hey you! You there! Sitting on your couch! This is only a TV show!!"

We're also watching the series "Doctor Who" (a non-J.J. Abrams production). But, unlike most, instead of starting with the more recent "reboot", we went back to the original, black and white, first episode. For me, I love a good story. I don't care if the ship in space is a model held up by really visible strings. Tell me a good story and I won't mind. The difference is, those effects weren't added in later. They were the actual scenes. The lens flairs added after the fact take me out of the story. It's like seeing the boom mic floating over the heads of the actors. You can't help but notice the mic, and then not even hear what they were saying.

So what's next, J.J.? What do you plan for Star Wars? Will we get flairs off of R2D2? Maybe off of the shaft of Luke Skywalker's light saber? Most likely, we'll get one on Tatooine, in a cave, without a single light source.

So please, for the sake of the story: stop it.

I wanted to post a bunch of pictures of lens flairs throughout this post, but I found something better. Below is a link to one of my favorite YouTube channels, Screen Junkies. They have what they call Honest Trailers. They are both hysterical and thought-provoking. After you watch this, you'll want to see all of them.

Enjoy: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OTfBH-XFdSc

© Emittravel 2015