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nuclearblastuk · 6 years

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METAL ALLEGIANCE | New video for 'The Accuser' feat Trevor Strnad

METAL ALLEGIANCE | BAND RELEASE OFFICIAL TRACK VIDEO FOR 'THE ACCUSER' FEATURING TREVOR STRNAD VOLUME II - POWER DRUNK MAJESTY OUT NOW

METAL ALLEGIANCE began as a celebration of heavy metal, powered by the almost tribal bond shared between the extreme music community’s most revered trailblazers, armed with a list of contributors onstage (and off) that read like a Wikipedia entry on the genre itself. Today marks the release of the band's sophomore album Volume II - Power Drunk Majesty as well as the release of the band's fourth single, 'The Accuser' featuring Trevor Strnad of THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER. Check out the track video for 'The Accuser' here: youtu.be/0Hu2forElhA Trevor Strnad comments, "I am super honored to have been asked to join METAL ALLEGIANCE as a guest vocalist for the track 'The Accuser'! The list of greats that have contributed to this union of might and metal over the course of these two albums is truly staggering. To be considered a peer to any of these musicians is a high benchmark for achievement. I spit out my coffee when I saw that they chose the song I contributed to be the opening track for the album… I was simply shocked!" Alex Skolnick states, "We'd been searching all over for a vocalist on our opening track 'The Accuser' - someone who fits the tune but who could also kick off this album right. One day, while getting ready to go on at Ozzfest/Knotfest, I heard THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER way off in the distance - Trevor Strnad was using many vocal tones and a few felt perfect for the song. I suggested him to Mark, and as it turned out, we not only found the right guy for our most aggressive track yet, we also got to bring someone from a new generation of metal into the fold; it's great to have him on board." "The vocalist for 'The Accuser' had to fit a certain mold and sing these lyrics with honest conviction - he or she had to be willing to dig deep and understand what we were speaking of lyrically", comments Mark Menghi. "Enter Trevor Strnad, who absolutely nailed it. It seems that in today's society, it's very easy to blame a person (or persons) for something in order to save their own ass and cover-up their own lies with heinous accusations. Someone once told me that the greatest fiction novels are the ones with the most detail; unfortunately, that's how society works today and it's sad for the people that truly need the help." Order Volume II - Power Drunk Majesty, here: All formats: nuclearblast.com/metalallegiance2-pdm CD: nblast.de/MetalAllegiance2PDMAZ Black Vinyl: nblast.de/MetalAllegianceVinyl Digital album: nblast.de/MetalAllegiance2PDMIT Watch the official music video for 'Bound By Silence' featuring John Bush here: youtu.be/2535DYnw78U The thrash worshiping new album merges old-school legends with the modern metallers of the scene to produce groove driven, adrenaline-soaked anthems while tackling the frustrating state of the world. The list of musicians for Volume II - Power Drunk Majesty include Trevor Strnad (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER), John Bush (ARMORED SAINT), Bobby "BLITZ" Ellsworth (OVERKILL), Mark Tornillo (ACCEPT), Max Cavalera (SOULFLY), Floor Jansen (NIGHTWISH) and Johan Hegg (AMON). It also marks the return of Mark Osegueda (DEATH ANGEL) and Troy Sanders (MASTODON). Listen to the first single 'Mother of Sin' featuring Bobby 'BLITZ' Ellsworth (OVERKILL): youtu.be/sxDy11uRxNc Watch the video for the band's second single 'Voodoo Of The Godsend' featuring Max Cavalera, here: youtu.be/AXqhvUVV23I Volume II - Power Drunk Majesty was produced by Mark Menghi and Alex Skolnick while Mark Lewis of MRL Studios handled the mixing and mastering. The cover artwork was created by renowned artist Marcelo Vasco (SLAYER, MACHINE HEAD, SOULFLY, HATEBREED) and Rafael Tavares. The tracklist racks up as follows: 1. The Accuser (feat. Trevor Strnad) 2. Bound by Silence (feat. John Bush) 3. Mother of Sin (feat. Bobby Blitz) 4. Terminal Illusion (feat. Mark Tornillo) 5. King with a Paper Crown (feat. Johan Hegg) 6. Voodoo of the Godsend (feat. Max Cavalera) 7. Liars & Thieves (feat. Troy Sanders) 8. Impulse Control (feat. Mark Osegueda) 9. Power Drunk Majesty (Part I) (feat. Mark Osegueda) 10. Power Drunk Majesty (Part II) (feat. Floor Jansen)

#Metal Allegiance #The Accuser #New Video #Nuclear Blast #trevor strnad

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georgepavlidis · 3 years

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Blog Post #2 - Gilbert Lowell

Host: Up next, get ready guys this next guy is great, I mean wow, I’m so thrilled to finally have this guy on the show, leader of the geek revolution of 1984 at Adams University but more recently, founder of his very own church, we’ve got a doozy for ya here today, everyone, please welcome to the show Gilbert Lowell!

Gilbert, welcome to the show/

Gilbert: It’s great to be here, I’ve been listening to your show on the radio for years, thought this would be the best place to come back to!

Host: That’s amazing, now let’s talk about the church because I feel like, it took a lot to get from where you were, this guy to unite a huge swarm of students of different backgrounds and different social “statuses” if you like, in the college you attended, Adams. (Gilbert nods). What made you think, “you know what, let me go ahead and start my own… (laughs a bit) religious… organization?”

Gilbert: (smiling) Uhhhh..

Host: And what do you promote there at your church? If you don’t mind.

Gilbert: Well it’s interesting, cause you’re right, it is a bit of a weird path to take, but you know one of the things that not a lot of people know about me is that I am very religious, in fact, one of my girlfriends, who I was very serious with in college, Judy, actually dumped me for my christian beliefs, which was hard, and from then on, I was always questioning things at my own church as to why things were done a certain way, until I met my wife of 17 years, Julissa, and we felt the same about religion and with the lord on our side, we were able to open our own church, so I think my experiences from college really stuck with me, and I feel blessed that I am able to run this church with my wonderful wife. And so basically what we do is um, hold daily services, we have a wonderful pastor and most of the people are local, so we like to have separate services for the kids for them to really get them to understand why worship is so important, and a big thing for us is sexual education.

Host: Sexual Education?

Gilbert: Yes, Sexual Education, because, where were located, a lot of these families, don’t have a lot, and so what we do is we promote abstinence to kids, and teach them to focus on bettering their lives and saving their hormones till after marriage so that when they are financially stable, they can then move on to the next stage of their lives, knowing they never made a mistake.

Host: That is an interesting thing you do there, uh, Gilbert! But, I noticed how you said a lot of what you did in college set you up for what ended up becoming your future, so tell me Gilbert, did you have a lot of sex in college?

Gilbert: HAHA well, you know, I did have a decent amount, but like I said, I was different at the time than I am now, so I don’t really see how that’s relevant, in fact, let me explain it a bit more because I feel like you’re not understanding. We’re trying to keep these kids from getting pregnant so that they live happy lives! A lot of parents actually choose us for that reason. They don’t want their kids to make the same mistakes they did and throw their lives away.

Host: So are you worried that these kids will grow up to be sex addicts? Rapists? Because that’s what it sounds like.

Gilbert: No! No of course not! Come on! We just want to be a positive influence in people’s lives and in these children’s lives, and I think we are doing that!

Host: See here’s what I think, Gilbert, I just can’t shake this feeling that you couldn’t care less about people, and you are extorting people for their money in exchange for bullshit teachings of abstinence, when really, you are the LAST person they should be taking this advice from! Do you remember your old pal from high school? Lewis Skolnick?

Gilbert: Lewis! Oh Yeah! Were still very close.

Host: Did you know that he sexually assaulted a girl from your college? Betty Childs? He Raped her.

Gilbert: Well, I would hardly call it rape, they hooked up once and then they dated for a while. A typical college relationship I would say.

Host: Except it shouldn’t be. Are you aware he did not have consent from Betty to perform those acts on her?

Gilbert: How do you have this information?

Host: Lewis Skolnick was arrested four hours ago for sexual assault. Did you know he was a rapist? And why did you condone this behavior in college?

Gilbert: (shocked) Well, in college, Lewis was always very enthusiastic about girls. He was crazy about this one particular girl, Betty. And when they hooked up, all he told me was, they hooked up, and she was in that cheerleader outfit, which was a short skirt and a tanktop that was very popular, and it encouraged him, and she liked it. And he was so happy that she liked it, and she made him so very happy. Now I was happy for my friend, and I love my friend, despite these accusations. I think that for her to now turn around and accuse him of sexual assault almost 40 years later is a bit extreme. After all, she liked it! And they liked each other, so I don’t see what the problem is. That is actually one of the reasons we like to keep our women at the church from dressing too nice, we prefer long dresses and to have shoulders and arms covered. So that they become less appealing to men their age, which can really help in our abstinence mission.

Host: Wow, I actually can’t believe what I’m hearing, so you would not only fail to condone the actions of your rapist friend, and furthermore, you would limit what the girls wear to church in order to keep them from being taken advantage of by men?

Gilbert: That is correct. I firmly believe that…

Host: Here’s an idea, take all your boys into a room and teach them the importance of SELF CONTROL! Gilbert, ever since you arrived here, you have said nothing but terrible things about our youth, about the morality of rape, and women! And here you are, trying to promote that GOD loves us? That GOD will forgive our sins? You have to admit to yourself that you have sins before you can ever be forgiven for them! So here’s what I think, Gilbert, I have a list of frankly, FUCKED UP things you did at Adam’s College, and I for one, can’t WAIT to read them to you!

You installed video cameras in the ladies sorority house after they failed to show up for your party and betrayed you. From then on, you continued to SPY on them changing and taking provocative photos of them throughout the rest of the term. That sounds like sexual assault to me, my friend.

Gilbert: That was just simple fun! We didn’t mean any harm by it.

Host: But you did harm! You harmed these girls in a way that you will never be able to undo! You violated their privacy! And you exploited them, used them as your own personal porno whenever you felt like it. Doesn’t that make you sick!

Gilbert: I assure you, we did not save or take pictures of ANY of that footage!

Host: Oh yeah? Then how do you explain the plates you used to win the vendor contest at the Frat Games? Where you put a topless photo of Betty Childs on the plate so that more people would buy from you??

Gilbert: That was just a good tactical decision from our fraternity, we never intended to insult Betty and she never had a problem with it afterwards!

Host: Did you ever ask her how she felt about it?

Gilbert: No, but…

Host: Then how do you know that she was fine with it? (pause) Tell me Gilbert, do you teach mental health in your, prestigious, place of worship?

Gilbert: You know what, I don’t need this. I don’t need to sit here, and be ridiculed by you! Who never understood me or my friends intentions. And who is looking to pursue a negative perspective as opposed to a positive one! That is not the way the lord works!

Host: Sometimes, Gilbert, we need to look at the negatives in our society in order to understand how to be positive moving forward, maybe you should take a good long hard, look at yourself and your values, and see where it takes you, because I sure as hell am not promoting a religious institution run by someone who fails to condone rapists and celebrates lack of accountability!

(Gilbert gets up and leaves)

Host: Well, that’s it for the show folks, you can put the popcorn way now, we’re done. I hope you all learned a lesson today. These people, people like Gilbert Lowell, they don't like to give away their power over people, they like to expound it. If you’re not careful, people like this could enter your homes, and teach you things that just aren’t right. It is no longer a question of whether something is “politically correct” it is a question of what is right, and what is wrong, and ladies and gentlemen, I hope you all are able to realize tonight, that a lot of people are wrong, and they don’t even know it.

ONE MONTH LATER

Host: Hello everyone welcome to the show, our top story today is regarding our old friend Gilbert Lowe! Who today has closed his church, the former prodigee turned failed televangelist has said that he quote “Rushed into things without thinking first” Way to go, Gilbert, now you’re only HALF the asshole! But hey, maybe the old man did learn a lesson, at least I hope he did, we can’t forget guys, we always want people to learn from their mistakes, and become the best versions of themselves. So Gilbert, if you’re listening, I hope you’re doing that bud.

In other news, Lewis Skolnick was sentenced to 15 to life on for the multiple counts of sexual assault he has been accused of this past month...

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brinaedwards · 3 years

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Inside our Culture: Its Definitely Something

When I would talk to my grandparents about what life was like growing up during the Great Depression, or when I would ask my parents what it was like growing up during the Civil Rights Movement. The response was always the same “it was definitely something”. I never understood what that meant when I was younger. I never understood why the answer didn’t have more detail. I would ask myself “where are the stories” “what really happened that the history books left out”. But now that we are in the middle of such a changing time, a time where we are dealing with a global pandemic, a vast cultural movement and wondering what the next day will bring, I can now understand why the answer was simply “it was definitely something”. I can understand that because well, it definitely is something.

We live in a world that is basically controlled by the media. I’m not wrong in saying this because I can post something now and a year later be shamed for it. My words or posts can be used against me to prove a point. We all know I’m talking about cancel culture and while yes it is warranted, I feel that is taken in the wrong direction. That it fell victim to wrong hands. Media has given us this false idea that everything has to be perfect and if we fall out of line we get shamed for it. Not just by your group of friends, your town, your state but by the whole world. Once you have been canceled by a majority, there is not going back. Betty Hart puts out an idea that we should “suffer” together in her TED Talk about Cancel culture. She doesn’t mean that in a bad way, however she means it in a way that we should respect each other's opinions, that we should go about ideologies in a “compassionate way” rather than such a hateful and one sided position. Easier said than done right?

I fell into this cultural rabbit whole and like many vast movements there are so many moving parts. It’s not just limited to one thing, everything is connected. As I was in my search I noticed that cancel culture and the #MeToo movements are connected. These past few years, sexaul assault confessions have been made more public. We saw a new light shine on Hollywood which shook a lot of people. More stories came out and the world got a huge wake up call that our systems our, our abuse of power went to very dark places. That power was abused by powerful men, men that would before be seen as Saints and could do no harm. The MeToo Movement page says that rape culture isn’t just sexual assult. It can be subtle jokes, misogynist phrases, even unsubtle statements.

The more I found out the more I came to the conclusion that there is another aspect of cancel culture. Racism has always been an issue in our society. It can be subtle, it can be full-frontal even. The more I dug the more disgusted I got by a society I grew up in. A society I was taught to love and respect. But then, it hit me. The emotions I’m going through, the thoughts swirling through my head of what the next day will bring must have been what my parents and grandparents felt during their time in such an unknown world.

In that moment I knew I had to ask others what life was like back then, what it must feel like now with all this chaos going on. I reached out to five people who were willing to tell their stories, reached out to those in high professional positions, to those who live as normal residents. I spoke to Mookie, a Brooklyn resident of Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. John “Bluto” Blutatsky a former D. C man who is facing his own battle with cancel culture. Dr. Gilbert Lowe who was close friends with Dr. Lewis Skolnick, the scientist facing multiple rape allegations. Wan Li a.k.a. “Short Round” a very close colleague of the late Dr. Indiana Jones and Samantha Baker-Ryan.

MOOKIE:

Q: It’s been a little over a year since the death of George Floyd. How do you feel about his death being the tipping point of this year's recent BLM activity?

A: People like to think that what happened to Floyd was a new thing. Shit like that happens all the time around here. Police didn't do shit, they killed our friend Radio Rakeem back in the day. Everyone saw it but did nothing.

Q: If you could change one thing about how police behave or their procedures, what would it be?

A: HA! For one thing I would change the man on the top. Switch him out for someone like us, someone who knows what it is like growing up around here.

Q: Do you feel that police back then were different from police today?

A:No. They all the same. They may change how they word shit, dress everything up all nice for the cameras but it's all the same. Ain’t nothing ever changin no matter what everyone is tryin to do.

Q: Do you think there will ever be peace in this world, well America, when it comes to the topic of race?

A: Peace? Listen there is one thing I know, one thing that only matters and that’s doing the right thing. Whether that be for your community or yourself. I’ve been living here all my life and i’ve seen alot of shit. But ain’t no one asking me about peace. You want an answer to that? No, not in my lifetime and probably no in yours. Like I said everything is the same, the players may be different but hunny its the same game. We all play even if we don’t want to.

Q: What would you tell your younger self about the world today?

A: Hang on tight cuz it only goes downhill from here.

JOHN “BLUTO” BLUTATSKY:

Q: Do you believe school/college is harder than it was when you were a student?

A: In all honesty I don’t remember doing much studying back then but with all these gadgets and high speed internet it don’t think it would be that difficult.

Q: You were recently “canceled” how are you dealing with that

A: I'm not a subscription to some magazine that can just be deleted. You can’t cancel anyone that is absurd. Is that what we are calling that? “Canceled” Jesus what did I do? That was all in the past, Get over it.

Q: I take it you don’t agree that people should bend to todays culture?

A: Listen, I am not responsible for the Bluto of the past, I'm only responsible for the man I am today. I should not be ridiculed for things I did as a young adult. I was drunk half the time so what? I say one thing about a dress code and now I am the bad guy. I could have done something with my career, I could have gone far up in D.C but no.

Q: How do you feel about the recent sexual assault allegation against your once school mate Eric “Otter” Stratton?

A: What Otter did to those girls has nothing to do with me. Next question.

Q: Do you think your daughters or granddaughters should be treated by men the same way you and your buddies treated girls back then?

A: Oh my God, of course not. We were just young men back then, hormones!! Not for nothing but those girls should have known better than to flaunt themselves around like that. I know my kids and grandkids know better than to dress like that.

DR. GILBERT LOWE:

Q: Your best friend's ex wife came out saying that she was raped by Lewis in college. Do you care to elaborate on that?

A: I had no knowledge of that at the time. He told me it was consensual and I believed him. He had no reason to lie to me.

Q: She stated that he “dressed in the same costume as her then boyfriend, performed sexual activity without revealing his identity. Gilbert, would you consider that to be rape?

A: Well I suppose yes but, she could have had him take off the mask beforehand. Like I said, Lewis told me it was consensual back then.

Q: So do you believe that it was right your friends relationship, hell, marriage was based on sexual assault?

A: I say this again, I was told it was consensual at the time. Even if it was rape, the statue of limitaions is way up. Nothing legally could be done about it now. Can we move on please.

Q: Can you elaborate on your collaboration with the cameras you and your friends placed in the sorority house?

A: I'm not going to elaborate on that at all. After what happened to my friend, saying anything about a napkin the wrong way can tank my career.

Q: Just one more question, do you believe that selling nude images of a girls photo in a college fair was wrong at the time?

A: I'm leaving.

WAN LI “SHORT ROUND”:

Q: Can you describe your life before you met Indiana Jones?

A: Ah, yes. I don’t remember much. It happened such a long time ago but from what I do remember, it was awful. I was what would be called “trafficked”. I remember being so scared being sold off to someone. I didn’t know what would happen to me.

Q: Do you think Indiana was racist and did he ever make you feel less than?

A: No, I don't think he was racist. He was a man of knowledge and culture. He never stayed in one place. He wanted adventure, he wanted to learn new things, new people. I was treated nicely by his side. I learned so much, I was given so much. He treated me like a son and for that I am grateful.

Q: How do you feel about the recent allegations of your late friend being defamed a racist?

A: I feel sick. Who ever said that is reaching, looking too hard at something that isn’t there. I told you the man was always looking at different cultures, he was very open minded. If anything he was the one who fell victim to racial scrutiny being the only white man in some of the places we explored.

Q: Do you think you benefited from being with Indiana?

A: My time with Dr.Jones was the best time of my life. I would have been dead a very long time ago if it weren't for that man, he was my best friend.

Q: How do you think this world can be changed culturally?

A: I think this world could use a little self reflection. I believe if people were to just put away the hatred. Put away the finger pointing of the past, to accept the bad things and to maybe forgive. We could all benefit.

SAMANTHA BAKER-RYAN”

Q: Samantha, being a highschool principal what do you think is the problem with cancel culture?

A: Oh I think it is consuming children. Kids stare at their phones all day concerned about their favorite actors and actresses being persecuted from God knows what. Not to mention how it is affecting the parents.

Q: What are your thoughts on the recent sexuall assault allegations against one of your teachers?

A: The situation is being handled, I can’t elaborate on it anymore.

Q: Being a highschool principal, what are your thoughts on the dress code, specifically to the girls?

A: Our dress code is there for a reason, girls can wear very provocative things, and don't want boys getting the wrong idea now. I understand why that question would be brought up and I have had my arguments with parents but I don’t make the rules I just enforce them.

Q: With the recent allaegations against on of your teachers, have you held any assembles regarding sexual assault, consent etc?

A: Yes, we have. There are weekly assemblies about the matter. We focus on the use of safe sex, consentual sex and if there is anyone who has fell victim to such assault to come forward.

Q: Have you known someone that fell prey to such things?

A: I don’t know this person personally but I heard such things happen at my old highschool when I went there. It was disgusting to think that men could do as they please even when you weren’t conscience.

After those interviews I came to the conclusion that, we can’t change everyone’s point of view on things. Betty Hart said it right when she talked about “compassion” there will be those with different opinions but we have to understand from another perspective. Luvvie Ajayi talks about being a domino. That change only happens when that first domino falls. With that I like to think that we are all the dominos, falling waiting for the sequence to end. But like some domino setups, things may take time. There may be bigger things that need to fall. At the end of the falling dominos, a picture is revealed. We all may just have to wait till the picture is seen.

Buchanan, Larry, et al. “Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 3 July 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html.

“Canceling Cancel Culture with Compassion” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbihoXj0QwM

“Get Comfortable with being uncomfortable” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QijH4UAqGD8

Vogels, Emily A., et al. “Americans and 'Cancel Culture': Where Some See Calls for Accountability, Others See Censorship, Punishment.” Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech, Pew Research Center, 27 Sept. 2021, https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/05/19/americans-and-cancel-culture-where-some-see-calls-for-accountability-others-see-censorship-punishment/.

“You're Not Alone.” Me Too. Movement, 16 Apr. 2021, https://metoomvmt.org/disrupt-rape-culture/.

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dweemeister · 7 years

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Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

Here is a confession: my only prior viewing history about college comedies includes a grand total of three films that I have seen in their entirety. Those films are Legally Blonde (2001), Monsters University (2013), and 22 Jump Street (2014). The “Slobs v. Snobs” comedic subgenre is also a weakness of mine, as their plots test my patience for both slobs and snobs. Combine these two, and you have a movie beyond my experience, but one that I found entertaining and wittier than expected – despite deep concerns by the rampant comedic misogyny that became more explicit in the 1980s that also appears. Jeff Kanew directed Revenge of the Nerds: the third and final episode of this prequel trilogy as it chronicles the final stages of the Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker’s transformation into Darth Vader, the devastation of the Jedi Order, and the dissolution of the Galactic Republic for the Galactic Empire.

Apologies. That’s the wrong movie. Gosh, I can’t wait for Star Wars fans to hound me this December.

Armed with thick-rimmed glasses and pocket protectors, best friends and nerds Lewis Skolnick (Robert Carradine) and Gilbert Lowe (Anthony Edwards) are entering Adams College as computer science majors. Soon after they have moved into their dorm room, the boys – along with the other nerds inhabiting that building – are forced out by the college football team and must stay in the gymnasium. Tensions between the nerds and the football team increase to the point where Stan Gable (Ted McGinley) – the school’s starting quarterback and head of the Alpha Beta fraternity (which many of the football players are members of) – denies the nerds’ application to create a fraternity and their requests for remedial justice against Alpha Beta harassment. The nerds will then seek sanction from black fraternity Lambda Lambda Lambda (the frat president is played by Bernie Casey) – imagine if a blaxploitation movie dropped into a raunchy, largely white college comedy for several scenes – and will eventually receive their fraternity commission. The Tri-Lambs and Alpha Beta essentially go to war for the rest of the film. Nerdy sorority Omega Mu allies with the Tri-Lambs; sorority Pi Delta Pi assists the Alpha Betas.

Other Tri-Lamb members include Poindexter (Timothy Busfield), Wormser (Andrew Cassese), Booger (Curtis Armstrong), Lamar (Larry B. Scott), and Takashi (Brian Tochi). Notable Alpha Betas include Burke (Matt Salinger) and Ogre (Donald Gibb); notable Pi Delta Pis include Betty Childs (Julie Montgomery) and Judy (Michelle Meyrink). John Goodman is the football coach and James Cromwell is Lewis’ father, who drives his son and Gilbert to Adams.

If the nerds and jocks in this film weren’t as exaggerated as they are, this might be the subject of a documentary given the United States’ reflexive, masturbatory obsession for American football where the football players can do whatever, whenever they want. There is nothing groundbreaking about the depiction of the nerds and the jocks in Revenge of the Nerds, but what is remarkable about how Steve Zacharias and Jeff Buhai’s screenplay develops the nerds is that it betrays its only message: accepting others for who they are, that difference in interests and appearance is to be celebrated, and that tolerance and compassion for others is to be valued over a person’s external superficialities. The film’s sympathetic approach to the nerds in the film’s opening half is commendable; the abuse they suffer allows us to laugh – in joy, sometimes in confusion – when they are being themselves. But for near-identical reasons I find The Breakfast Club (1985) to be hypocritical, Revenge of the Nerds breaks its central idea and makes a mockery of it several times. Most everything that is shown about the Alpha Beta and Pi Delta Pi members is irredeemable – hazing based on humiliation, superiority complexes, excessive alcohol and drug consumption, and an obsession with physical and sexual prowess as a means to organize the fraternity/sorority hierarchy. The basis of the nerds’ revenge is not staying true to who they are, although they use their brainpower to figure out how their scheme will work. By the film’s conclusion, the nerds’ personalities become identical to the jocks’ – actively seeking out to humiliate their opponents, treating women as sexual playthings, and valuing their hedonism over everything else. I imagine Lewis’ father to be heartbroken if he heard about this; but given the rules set forth in Revenge of the Nerds, maybe not.

This is a comedy – a college comedy, some might emphasize – meant to entertain and skewer the jocks and their girlfriends for their behavior. But comedy is often double-edged, as it is here, and I could not bring myself to laugh as the nerds began to emulate. Maybe I do not know enough about comedies, but I tend to think the best comedies that attempt a message (that excludes pure farce, like 1980′s Airplane!) should hold steady to what they are trying to espouse as there is a moral responsibility that exists in that space. Message comedies often subscribe to a rule usually associated with journalism: to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. As the nerds become relentless in their revenge, the film resorts to racial stereotypes and misogyny as supporting plot devices. For all the hilarious pratfalls of the combat between the Tri-Lambs and Alpha Beta and the end-of-film festival’s events, these depictions overshadow Revenge of the Nerds’ intents.

According to British film critic Robert Ager, a DVD commentary interview including actor Curtis Armstrong had him claim that, in this film, “nerd” can stand in for any group of people being oppressed. What Armstrong and Ager fail to note, however, is that this statement is less applicable for Revenge of the Nerds’ black and Asian characters and rooted in decades of Hollywood history.

Larry B. Scott’s Lamar is obviously gay, presenting himself as an aberration to the rigidly heterosexual jocks. But Lamar is employed as comic relief in times when the Tri-Lambs wherever the film needs him to be. The queer black male is a stock character from blaxploitation – a subgenre of exploitation film which catered to African-American audiences and emerged in the early 1970s; blaxploitation films have been acclaimed by some as portraying more empowered black characters, but have also been criticized for reinforcing damaging stereotypes. Lamar’s queerness, if we are to look at him with a blaxploitation lens, is decontextualized by Revenge of the Nerds, as the stock queer black male – as seen in Shaft (1972) and Blacula (1972) – is usually employed to challenge black masculine norms (it can be comical or otherwise), that there is more than one way to be “authentically” masculine as a black man. Lamar is indeed a nerd, but what he could represent – as a black queer man – is erased, though I will admit that the performance he gives near the film’s end is one of the most positive depictions of a gay rapper I have seen. Additionally, the depiction of the Lambda Lambda Lambda administration – recall that it is a black fraternity – is of stoic men whose appearances are bookended by the expected funk music and cultural insensitivities by the largely white kids trying to form a Tri-Lamb chapter at Adams.

The filmmakers never even try with Japanese student Takashi (Brian Tochi), rendering him overly polite to those insulting and assaulting him, mixing up or simply dropping L’s and R’s in his speech, and being completely dense to everything surrounding him. We have been here too many fucking times before. If the filmmakers’ intentions were to expose the follies of these stereotypes by replicating them and showcasing their absurdities, the final product has too many mixed messages for me to take such a claim seriously. From Revenge of the Nerds’ nerd-jock dichotomy with nothing in between, the nerds’ adoption of the jocks’ behavior, and their portrayal of black and Asian characters, this almost drowns out the numerous clever verbal and sight gags there are.

And this is not even beginning to touch upon how this film treats its women characters. From the panty raid scene to the nerds’ installation of a camera to watch females undress in the supposed privacy of their bathrooms (a young elementary school-age kid is depicted watching these scenes and enjoying them) and bedrooms to a rape-by-deception/false identity (because as long as the fornicating is mind-blowing, the sex is totally okay, and the girl will fall for your dick, right?), there is nothing salvageable about how Revenge of the Nerds treats its women. Rape is a punchline and that – call me a prude all you want – is indefensible (Revenge of the Nerds would not be the first or last film to do this).

Made with money 20th Century Fox earned with Return of the Jedi (1983), Revenge of the Nerds spawned three sequels – the later two being television movies – despite the fact Fox executives were expecting a modest box office intake (and thus left the production alone without much administrative interference). The film was shot on the campus of the University of Arizona, located in Tucson. The young cast – though some were certainly no longer the usual age for an undergraduate student – had a brilliant time shooting the movie, despite their initial reservations about playing such obvious nerds or loathsome jocks and cheerleaders. A Greek life-like atmosphere surrounded the set, and the stars found themselves partying with the university’s students when shooting was completed for the day.

Without the film’s surprisingly thoughtful portrayal of the nerds in the opening third of the film, the score that appears below might otherwise have been much lower. Without some pretty shocking or dirty lines from Lewis, Gilbert, and especially Goober, I might have liked this film a lot less than I do now (yes, this review has been scathing, but there are elements I appreciated). Yet all of that racially insensitive writing and misogyny is something that this film could all too easily could have gone without.

My rating: 5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found here.

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retropopcult · 4 years

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Anthony Edwards and Robert Carradine in Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

#Revenge of the Nerds #1984 #Anthony Edwards #Robert Carradine #college #Gilbert Lowe #Lewis Skolnick #Adams College #nerds

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schlock-luster-video · 3 years

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Today in sexploitation / 80s comedy movie history: on May 6, 2014 Revenge of the Nerds was released on Blu-ray in Canada.

Here's some Louis art to mark the occasion!

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laberintos-espinas · 4 years

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Best Movies About College

Getting instruction is significant in the present society, so significant; it has been the point for a great deal of films. There are a few films out there about school that are superior to other people, obviously that likewise relies upon your own inclination on film types. There are a wide range of film sorts about school like loathsomeness, parody, show, sentiment, there are even narratives regarding the matter. Be that as it may, similar to I stated, some are superior to other people, which lead us to our rundown of the best motion pictures about schools.

The film 'Acknowledged' is about a gathering of children who didn't make it into a school and choose to make their own, South Harmon Institute of Technology. The primary character, Bartleby (Justin Long), is the driving force behind the plan that winds up reverse discharges on him when a huge gathering of understudy appears prepared to begin the semester. Bartleby and his companions choose to give the entirety of the understudies access and have classes that are intended to what they need to find out about. In the end the school educational committee discovers and they need to battle to make South Harmon a decent college https://gomovies-online.vip/most-watched 'Vengeance of the Nerds' is a great school film. At the point when two companions, Lewis Skolnick and Gilbert Lowe, who are likewise huge geeks, are acknowledged to Adams College, they are pestered and prodded by individuals from the Alpha Beta crew and Pi Delta Pi sorority. The two companions choose to join a society so they can achieve their grievances the Alpha Betas to the Greek Council, yet they are dismissed from the entirety of the national clubs with the exception of the Lambda Lambdas. The geeks utilize their rationale and expertise to assume control over the Greek Council and in the end the geeks get their retribution on the Alpha Betas.

National Lampoon's 'Van Wilder' featuring Ryan Reynolds is about school life. Van Wilder goes through 7 years in school and is the most mainstream understudy at Coolidge College. Van meets a young lady, Gwen Pearson (Tara Reid) who is one of the head correspondents at the schools news paper, the issue is she as of now has a beau. Obviously, the two are then battling for the young lady, not as in dueling, yet observing who can cause the most harm with various tricks. One of the tricks nearly gets Van ousted, however rather he is compelled to complete the school year in six days and must alumni. Van gets the young lady toward the finish obviously, and he effectively graduates school.

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