#that's a serving suggestion from the movie that i wholeheartedly can support

[c-schroed]

"Suzume" – The Movie for Everyone Who Didn't Get What "Your Name" Was All About

I love, I really, really love Makoto Shinkai's 2016 anime movie "Your Name", because aside from telling an absolute blast of a perfectly entertaining body-swap romance story that en passant tackles hot topics like gender roles and urban versus rural life (which alone would make it a close-to-perfection mainstream movie), it also manages to find the perfect metaphor for an indescribable loss, for a kind of grief so profoundly that it cannot be put into words. And although never mentioned in the movie, for me it was always clear that the central catastrophe of "Your Name" directly alludes to the Great Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami that started on 11 March of 2011. Which for me made this movie into a great piece of art for generations to come.

Enter "Suzume", another anime movie by Makoto Shinkai. About dealing with the aftermath of catastrophic events. A movie that directly states that the central trauma of its main protagonist can be traced back to a specific day 12 years ago. A day in march. And yes it is stated which exact date in march it was. Guess the number. Yeah, that one.

I won't lie, the way this was revealed in the movie was a pretty darn strong moment. It was foreshadowed throughout the whole movie, it was stated more and more clearly, and it still struck me quite a bit when it was finally revealed. Because Makoto Shinkai is a fucking genius of a director who just knows how to tell a story. But still. I admit to being a bit disappointed by the lack of subtlety that "Suzume" revealed here.

Plus, the resulting plot leaves a bit of a weird aftertaste. As one Japanese reviewer whom I watched on Youtube mentioned, one of the narration's implications is that most earthquakes in Japan have a supernatural cause that can be avoided if certain gifted people resolve some kind of emotional imbalance in the area. Which is a fascinating idea that – like all of Shinkai's movies that I know – is wonderfully deeply rooted in Japanese Shinto religion. But it still results in a weird mix of mainstream fiction and real-life tragedy. Maybe as if one was told that the Winchester brothers of "Supernatural" would have been responsible to prevent the Columbine school shooting, or that Marvel's Avengers should have prevented the September 11 Attacks. It's just a bit weird to me.

On the other hand, I heard Makoto Shinkai talk about his inspirations in an interview, and he pointed out that his main motivation for "Suzume" was him finding out that many people that watched "Your Name" did not understand its relation to the 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake, and that, even more dramatically, a lot of young people – abroad as well as in Japan! – seemed to never have heard of this tragedy. So yeah, I understand him. And I can accept that "Suzume" might be an important film, and a great addition to "Your Name". I guess it's just that I'd sometimes prefer to live in a world where things don’t need to be spelled out to be understood.

However. All my whining about a lack of subtlety and potentially weird aftertastes aside, "Suzume" is one heck of a ride. From its marvellous first scene that blends into the title screen with a verve that I have not seen for years, to the lovely "what happens to the protagonist next" animations that accompany the credits, "Suzume" is a marvellously animated movie bursting with beautiful images, clever foreshadowings and heartbreaking tributes to the remnants of past disasters. It is what Makoto Shinkai can do best: A perfect mix of mainstream fun and hot topic commentary. Most likely the best fantasy dramedy romance road movie of the next years to come!

One detail still bothers me though. It's something that already annoyed me in Shinkai's previous film, "Weathering with You": While most products depicted in "Suzume" are just clever allusions to real brands (e.g., we have POKKA sweets instead of POCKY, and – my personal favourite! – BEIKO clocks instead of SEIKO ones), there is one scene in the middle where Suzume goes hitchhiking and the family she travels with makes a lunch break at some burger place. And, gosh, that scene really that goes immense lengths to assure that even. the. dullest. goshdarn. audience. member. will notice this burger place to be FUCKING MCDONALD'S. Just… Why?

Anyway, if you have the chance to watch "Suzume", do give it a try. Especially if you know and love "Your Name". And if you can view it at a cinema, then go for it! The sound alone is worth the ticket, and gosh those pictures!

Just… do me a favor and don't visit McDonald's afterwards, yes?

#better eat some yakiudon #with japanese potato salad #that's a serving suggestion from the movie that i wholeheartedly can support #surprisingly tasty #suzume #suzume no tojimari #your name #kimi no na wa #movie review #tohoku earthquake #schroed's thoughts

[sophcaro]

Destiny | WMatsui - Chapter 40 Part 1

Eight months later.

Haneda airport was crowded on this Saturday morning, between the permanent come and go of tourists entering the Japanese territory, and the flow of passengers waiting for their plane to take off. It hadn’t taken more than half an hour for Jurina and Rena to check-in their baggage at the All Nippon Airways counter, then pass the security control, and were as for now settled down in the departure waiting room. Rena retrieved a book from her backpack, before reading the airline’s company information screen: their flight was due for takeoff at 11:45 a.m. as planned, and their boarding time had been announced.

“We’ll be boarding in 45 minutes,” Rena spoke up. When she received no answer, she tilted her head to her traveling companion.

Jurina was desperately trying to stay awake, her head having already on several occasions leaned towards her side and fallen upon her shoulder. Rena smiled fondly, conscious her girlfriend was sleep deprived. But how could it be otherwise? All month, Jurina was so excited about their upcoming holidays that she had been unable to contain her enthusiasm, going through their program and all the places they planned to visit. To add it up, Rena suspected that Jurina hadn’t slept that much last night, considering the number of times she had turned over in bed.

Well, at least, she would be able to take advantage of their 12-and-a-half-hour flight to catch up on sleep, Rena hoped.

As she was ready to plunge herself back into her reading, two eyes fluttered open and slowly gazed back at her. “Sorry, did you…” Jurina covered her mouth with her palm when a small yawn escaped her. “Did you say something?”

“I wanted to take a look around the different shops.” Rena placed a bookmark at the page, and closed the book on her lap. “Will you be fine? Do you want something to drink?”

“Don’t worry about me,” Jurina answered, blinking the sleep away. “I wouldn’t mind Ramune. Straw-” When her stomach growled, she stiffened. “Strawberry flavored, if they have it. Please.”

“I can buy you something to eat too, but lunch will be served on the plane,” Rena reminded her, not bothering to hide her amusement.

“No, I’ll wait,” Jurina straightened up, before checking her phone in concern. “They still haven’t arrived yet. Maybe… Maybe I should call to check where they are?”

“I’m sure they’ll be here soon,” Rena tried to sound reassuring, raising herself from her seat. “I’m leaving my backpack with you. I won’t be long.”

“Take your time,” Jurina left her phone aside, grabbing her Ipod and untangling the earpieces. “I’ll listen to music. It will keep me awake.”

“Alright,” Rena caressed her shoulder gently, then grabbed her wallet and slowly made her way out the departure waiting room. By the way the place was being filled with passengers progressively, she figured out their flight would probably be full. It didn’t come as a real surprise: it was, after all, a destination of choice.

Rena wandered around the halls of the airport, passing by the several perfume, clothing and souvenirs shops, then made a halt at the Books & Drugs store. She went through the magazines at the front, finding none of her interest, before taking a look at the book section, notably the latest releases. There would be plenty of occupation on the plane, with the large selection of movies to watch, to the games, books and music she had brought along with her, yet her attention got caught by the mysterious cover of a foreign novel.

Removing it from the shelf, she flipped the book over to read the backcover, discovering it was a French writer whose works had been recently translated into Japanese. Her interest was piqued by the pitch, a science-fiction story mingling romance, drama and time traveling. Well-decided to add that book to her reading list, she moved in the direction of checkout with her next purchase, when she was distracted by the sound of her cellphone vibrating. While waiting in line, she checked the screen, reading the text she had received.

Rena-chan,

Please look over my daughter and make sure she doesn’t get lost when you’re abroad; she always had a terrible sense of direction. If you could also remind her to send me messages and pictures from time to time, I would be truthfully grateful. We both know how distracted she can be when she’s in good company and enjoying herself, and she can tend to slightly forget about her worrying mother.

Have a safe flight.

Yumiko

Rena chuckled softly at the last words and typed back a short, reassuring message, before replacing the device inside her pocket. When it was her turn to pay, she advanced towards the cashier, handing out her Suica card to the employee, then walked out the store to retrace her steps back to the waiting room. With her brand-new book, a couple of snacks, the drink Jurina had requested and her own melon soda secured in a plastic bag, Yumiko’s last text stayed imprinted in her mind, making her reflect upon the bond she had forged with Jurina’s mother those past few months.

If she had to be perfectly sincere, it had not been without a certain apprehension that she had followed Jurina to the dinner organized by her mother at the beginning of January. It clearly wasn’t the first time she met Yumiko, as she had interacted and crossed her path on dozens of occasions when she and Jurina were members of the idol group. However, the special circumstances surrounding this dinner in particular couldn’t help but slightly worry her about its outcome.

Rena was fully aware that Jurina had every intention of formally introducing her as her girlfriend: she had expressed clear determination on the subject. But, further than that, and despite wanting to remain optimistic, it was hard to predict how this reunion would turn out, considering the recent fallout between Jurina and her mother. Was Yumiko ready to openly accept their intimate relationship? But most of all, would Jurina manage to put the past behind and reconcile with her?

The first few seconds, when they had passed the door of the family home and exchanged polite greetings, had been marked by a certain tension in the air. Rena had let Jurina take the lead, remaining quieter than usual, cautious not to cross boundaries as she refused to commit any unfortunate blunder in the light of all the stakes at hand. As the evening slowly progressed and the conversations became less awkward and more natural, Yumiko’s behavior startled her pleasantly. Jurina’s mother was doing everything in her capacity to put them both at ease. Her intention to mend the rift with her daughter was more than manifest in her gentle approach, and every affectionate word addressed to her.

During the course of dinner, Rena witnessed the progressive renewed complicity between mother and daughter. No mention was ever made of the events that had been at the origin of the conflict. It wasn’t necessary: everything had already been shared, confessed, and explained at length. The purpose of this dinner wasn’t to dwell over the past and reopen old wounds, but to make peace and look towards a brighter future. More than once, Jurina had turned to her side and not been shy to speak tenderly about her, even make light affectionate gestures, whether a brief touch of her hand or a gentle, innocent kiss on the cheek, in Yumiko’s presence.

Rena hadn’t hesitated to reply to a few of them, while paying attention to her mother’s reaction, in case of any sign of unease. Much as Jurina wanted to openly be herself in front of her mother, the last thing Rena wished was to make the latter feel uncomfortable. To her greatest relief, Yumiko had responded in a favorable way to every single demonstration of affection expressed, even surprising them both when she had openly stated that she wholeheartedly considered Rena as a member of the family, and she would always be welcomed at home.

Jurina’s eyes had shimmered in reaction, and she would be lying if she said she hadn’t felt warmth spreading through her chest at the verbal acceptation of her role in Jurina’s life. This dinner constituted not only a key turning point in the relationship between Jurina and her mother, but also in regards to her own with Yumiko. The following months, it wasn’t rare that they would exchange texts, and she gladly went along with Jurina when she was invited for dinner at the family home, each and single time received and treated very warmly.

In March, her relationship with the younger girl took on a higher level when they moved in together in Tokyo. When Rena suggested to Jurina this new living arrangement one evening over dinner, it had been a well-considered decision. She was fully conscious of what leaving their respective apartments and find a new place of their own implied. It was one thing to date and love someone, it was another to accept to have them share your personal space on a daily basis.

For so many years, Rena had valued her independence above all, yet she was forced to admit than nothing had ever completely been the same anymore when her heart began to beat for Jurina. When she voiced her wish to live together, and witnessed her girlfriend radiating joy and happiness, she didn’t feel an ounce of doubt within her about this important decision. Jurina hadn’t waited to announce it to her mother over the phone, the latter receiving the news with joy, and giving them her unconditional support.

One week, when Jurina had to travel abroad for the shooting of a TV commercial, Rena had taken the direction of Toyohashi, her hometown, conscious it was time to share with her parents the recent important changes in her life. Being an idol, then an actress, prevented her from seeing her family as often as she would like. Nevermind the circumstances and her busy schedule, Rena had constantly tried to maintain a close contact with them, exchanging frequent texts and phone calls to keep them updating on her professional life, and the doubts sometimes placating her.

However, as much as Jurina had preferred to keep their relationship secret from her mother for so many years, her own relationship status had been a subject she had equally carefully kept private. When she and Jurina rekindled the flame in December, then took this next important step in their life by moving in together, the strong and long-lasting nature of their love didn’t make any more doubt to her. Rena knew it was the right moment to make her relationship with Jurina official.

Rena was certain about her decision of being upfront with them, yet a natural flicker of apprehension had surged within her when she had announced the news to her parents. They had listened to her attentively, not manifesting any sign of disapproval or even expressing much astonishment. She didn’t ask, yet the lack of real surprise made Rena wonder if they had already figured it out, and if something she might have said in the past concerning Jurina had betrayed her true feelings.

When her mother suggested her to bring ‘young Jurina-chan’ along with her next time - an affectionate nickname she had given her for so many years, and from the very first moment they WCentered SKE48 - Rena couldn’t help but bathe in nostalgia. Gently reminding her mother that Jurina had grown up a lot these last few years, and was far from the child she still had in mind, she agreed to do so, fulfilling her promise when she and Jurina visited her family hometown two months later.

   “Stay with daddy. I’ll go buy some drinks.”

“Yes.”

Jurina glanced up from her IPod, observing the child who had arrived with her parents and taken a seat opposite her in the airport waiting room. The little Japanese girl, who couldn’t have been more than 5, opened her pink Hello Kitty backpack, taking out a children book along with a 3DS. She made herself comfortable into the chair and hesitated between both choices, then slipped the reading book by her side to place the console on her lap. Switching it on, her fingers soon quickly pressed the buttons as she got invested in her game.

Jurina followed her actions in amusement, the child’s passion and undivided attention on her game reminding her so much of someone else. When the girl groaned and squirmed in her seat, visibly displeased with the direction her game was taking, the book by her side slipped and fell down. Jurina didn’t wait to remove her earpieces and got up from her seat, kneeling down to grab the fallen book. “Here.”

A pair of startled eyes fell upon her. “Ah, thank you…” the little girl bowed slightly, a small guilty look crossing her features as she placed it back inside her backpack.

“It’s nothing,” Jurina brushed it off, going back to her seat. A quick look at the silent father beside the child told her he had fallen asleep, briefly acknowledging the wedding band on his ring finger.

“Daddy works late,” the little girl whispered.

“Oh, I see,” Jurina whispered back. When the little girl looked down to her console and resumed her game, curiosity got the best of Jurina when a frown gradually appeared on her face. “The game is too difficult?”

“I can’t catch it,” the little girl mumbled. “Can you… Can you help me?”

“Well I…” Jurina hesitated, but couldn’t resist the hopeful look directed at her. “I can try,” she offered, the little girl’s face immediately brightening.

Jurina accepted the console yet, after multiple attempts of trying to catch the recalcitrant Pokemon, she had to concede defeat. “I’m sorry. I’m not good with games,” she winced at the girl’s blatant disappointment. “I know someone who is clearly better than me, but she left. I’m sure she’ll be able to help you when she comes back.”

“You’re not alone?” The little girl seemed genuinely surprised.

“No, I’m not. I’m traveling with some friends and…” Jurina’s voice trailed away, before adding more confidently. “And someone very special to me.”

“A boyfriend?”

Jurina’s eyes widened, taken aback by the girl’s directness. “No…” she suppressed a smile. “Not a boyfriend.”

“You are not married?” She asked again, Jurina not missing the way her new curious friend was studying her hand intently. “But you have a ring like daddy and mommy.”

Jurina glanced down to the silver ring on her finger. “Ah, that’s not a wedding ring,” Jurina explained, facing the little girl’s confusion. “But I cherish it a lot.”

Jurina believed the conversation to be over when her interlocutor didn’t utter another word and focused on her game, frenetically pressing buttons, only to lower her 3DS the moment after. “I don’t like boys. They are stupid. I like Yukiko better.”

“Who is Yukiko?” Jurina found her interest piqued.

“Yukiko is my friend,” The little girl straightened up proudly in her seat. “We always play together and I want to spend my life with her.”

Jurina couldn’t help but find the little girl’s honesty and candor truly adorable. “I’m happy you have such a good friend.”

“I brought you your drink,” Jurina jumped a little, startled at the familiar sound of Rena’s voice. So engrossed in her conversation with her recent friend, she had failed to notice her coming back and approaching. “I also bought some snacks,” Rena took back her seat, and passed her the Ramone Strawberry flavor soda from the plastic bag. “For later on the plane.”

“Thanks,” Jurina sent her a grateful smile. Pulling the cap off, she took a few generous sips, surprising herself at how thirsty she was.

While Rena was busy putting away her recent purchases into her backpack, Jurina diverted her attention to her previous young companion who had fallen extremely quiet, only to discover the little girl watching them both intently. “No, you don’t need a boyfriend. You have better.”

Jurina blinked at her enigmatic words, before noting the little girl’s giddy expression as she was now staring at Rena’s matching ring. Jurina opened her mouth to speak yet she didn’t have the opportunity to answer that the mother had returned, giving her daughter a soft drink that she had bought for her. The mother’s arrival and conversation with her daughter had also led the head of the family to stir up from his short nap, and Jurina understood that her unexpected yet interesting conversation with the little girl had come to an end.

“Do you know her?” Rena shifted closer, and whispered in her ear. “What did she mean by that?”

Jurina dragged her eyes away from the cute family scene, listening as the little girl was badgering her mother to help her with the game. “You know, sometimes,” Jurina said, suppressing with difficulty her amusement. “I think children are much more perceptive than adults.”

The boarding of the flight NH215 is about to start. Group A, please approach the counter and have your passport and plane ticket ready.

Jurina put her things away and stood up at the public announcement, following Rena who – after carefully making sure they hadn’t left anything behind – was the first to progress towards the waiting line. “Maybe… Maybe I should call them,” Jurina said tentatively, once more checking her cellphone. “Don’t you think it’s strange? Something must have happened. They should already have arrived by now.”

“I’m sure they would have warned us if something serious happened. There was probably a little traffic, or they were delayed at security control,” Rena suggested, remaining optimistic, yet knew by her girlfriend’s worried expression that her words were not having the desired effect. “But you’re right, you should send a text to check where they are.”

Jurina didn’t wait any further to quickly start typing a message on her phone, until pausing when Rena gave her a small tap on the shoulder. “After consideration, I don’t think it will be necessary.”

Jurina, taken aback by Rena’s strange little smile, turned around to follow her gaze, only to see two very familiar faces approaching their direction. “What…” Jurina couldn’t contain herself any longer. “What took you so long?!”

“Why? We’re on time, aren’t we?” Mayu said casually.

Jurina’s jaw dropped. “Barely!”

“It was that taxi driver’s fault!” Yuki protested, throwing her hands into the air with a gesture of despair. “From the moment we left the apartment, I had a bad feeling about him. First, he drove atrociously slowly and got all the red lights. Then, he managed to bring us right into traffic, and failed to find an alternative route. And finally, he dropped us at the wrong terminal! Can you believe it?”

“It’s true that you are often unlucky with taxi drivers,” Rena replied seriously, a flash of humor breaking through her face.

“I know!” Yuki shook her head in exasperation, failing to catch the playful undertone in Rena’s voice. “I wanted to send both of you a text to warn you, but Mayuyu said there was no use and we would make it on time. Thank God we left home in advance, otherwise who knows what could have happened? We could have missed the flight!”

“You’ve arrived on time, it’s all that matters,” Rena stated, looking alternately between Yuki and Mayu, before giving Jurina’s arm a light, comforting squeeze. “Everything is fine. Everyone is here. And it’s now time to board the plane.”

“You’re right,” Jurina’s features slowly relaxed. “Now that we’re all here, I wanted to say,” she spoke up solemnly, facing the other couple. “I’m conscious that it wasn’t easy for us to find a week we were all available at the same time, but I’m really happy we’re going on holidays together.” She turned to meet Rena’s gaze, and looked her full in the eye for a moment. “I really, really am.”

“I had missed it too,” Yuki smiled in agreement.

“Let’s be honest,” Mayu chimed in. “It’s not our fault if you had such a tight schedule these last 8 months. Between your TV commercials, dramas and everything, you were probably the busiest of all.”

“Me?” Jurina exclaimed, incredulity surging within her. “What about you?! You were busy shooting a movie for almost 6 months!”

Rena let out a laugh, not missing Mayu’s playful expression. “I think we can all agree that everyone of us was swamped with work. But you’re right.” She slipped her hand inside Jurina’s, giving her fingers a brief, gentle squeeze. “I’m also glad that we were all able to clear our schedule for the occasion. So, let’s make sure to make this week holiday as memorable as possible?”

“Yes,” Jurina replied, momentarily caught off guard by the mysterious twinkle in Rena’s small brown orbs. “It will be my first time there,” she admitted, feeling a rush of anticipation. “So I want to enjoy every minute of it.”

The boarding of the flight NH215 is starting. Group A, please approach the counter and have your passport and plane ticket ready.

At the second announcement, they all fell quiet and patiently waited for their turn in the waiting line, until Rena remembered a certain topic she wanted to share with Jurina. “By the way, your mother sent me a text earlier on.”

“She did?” Jurina raised her eyebrows in astonishment. “Why? What did she want?”

“Oh, nothing out of the ordinary. Only making sure I would take good care of her precious daughter while we’re abroad,” Rena said teasingly.

A flush of embarrassment crept into Jurina’s cheeks. “I can’t believe she would bother you for that. She sends you too many trivial messages lately. It can’t continue. Just give me the word, and I’ll ask her to stop.”

“Don’t. I really don’t mind,” Rena chuckled softly.

Jurina went silent, uncertain. “I still think she’s going a bit too far…”

When the passenger in front of Rena passed the counter, the older Matsui extended her passport and plane ticket to the female staff, before moving forward and waiting aside for Jurina’s turn. “Actually, I kind of like it,” she continued sincerely, as they walked down the corridor leading them to their Boeing 737, Mayu and Yuki following closely behind. “In a way, I’m glad that she does. It means she completely trusts me around you.”

“Of course she does. She loves you as much as I do,” Jurina replied, her tone softening. “Well, I mean.” A mischievous expression appeared on her face. “Not as much as I love you, that’s not possible.” When Rena giggled and shook her head in response, Jurina hid a smile, aware of how terribly corny she sounded. Not that she truly cared anyway: when Rena was concerned, she refused to be shy about her affection for her.

Two female Japanese flight attendants welcomed them on board and Jurina responded to the polite greeting, following Rena as she led them towards the Premium Economy seats. After making sure to have at their disposal everything they needed for their long international flight, they put away their bags in the luggage compartment, Jurina feeling a mixture of excitement and impatience as she settled down in her seat.

Their anticipated 1-week holiday was finally starting.

Author's note: I apologize for the long wait, but I had to properly sort out my ideas for this last chapter, and make sure not to forget any detail during its elaboration. While I was writing it, this chapter 40 was getting longer than planned, so I decided to divide it in two parts. The second part will be coming up in May, followed by the epilogue, final conclusion of the trilogy. 

#wmatsui #matsui jurina #matsui rena #wmatsui fanfic #SKE48 #AKB48 #Destiny #Heartbeat trilogy #Chapter 40 part 1

[clubofinfo]

Expert: Mass shootings have become routine in the United States and speak to a society that relies on violence to feed the coffers of the merchants of death. Given the profits made by arms manufacturers, the defense industry, gun dealers and the lobbyists who represent them in Congress, it comes as no surprise that the culture of violence cannot be abstracted from either the culture of business or the corruption of politics. Violence runs through US society like an electric current offering instant pleasure from all cultural sources, whether it be the nightly news or a television series that glorifies serial killers. — Professor Henry A. Giroux This latest mass shooting in Las Vegas that left more than 50 people dead and more than 500 injured is as obscure as they come: a 64-year-old retiree with no apparent criminal history, no military training, and no obvious axe to grind opens fire on a country music concert crowd from a hotel room 32 floors up using a semi-automatic gun that may have been rigged to fire up to 700 rounds a minute, then kills himself. We’re left with more questions than answers, none of them a flattering reflection of the nation’s values, political priorities, or the manner in which the military-industrial complex continues to dominate, dictate and shape almost every aspect of our lives. For starters, why do these mass shootings keep happening? Mass shootings have taken place at churches, in nightclubs, on college campuses, on military bases, in elementary schools, in government offices, and at concerts. This shooting is the deadliest to date. What is it about America that makes violence our nation’s calling card? Is it because America is a gun culture (what professor Henry Giroux describes as “a culture soaked in blood – a culture that threatens everyone and extends from accidental deaths, suicides and domestic violence to mass shootings“)? Is it because guns are so readily available? After all, the U.S. is home to more firearms than adults. As The Atlantic reports, gun fetishism has become mainstream in recent decades due in large part to “gun porn in music, movies, and TV, [and] the combination of weapons marketing and violent videogames.” (Curiously enough, the majority of gun-related deaths in the U.S. are suicides, not homicides.) Is it because entertainment violence is the hottest selling ticket at the box office? As Giroux points out, “Popular culture not only trades in violence as entertainment, but also it delivers violence to a society addicted to a pleasure principle steeped in graphic and extreme images of human suffering, mayhem and torture.” Is it because the government continues to whet the nation’s appetite for violence and war through paid propaganda programs (seeded throughout sports entertainment, Hollywood blockbusters and video games)—what professor Roger Stahl refers to as “militainment“—that glorify the military and serve as recruiting tools for America’s expanding military empire? Is it because Americans from a very young age are being groomed to enlist as foot soldiers—even virtual ones—in America’s Army (coincidentally, that’s also the name of a first person shooter video game produced by the military)? Explorer scouts are one of the most popular recruiting tools for the military and its civilian counterparts (law enforcement, Border Patrol, and the FBI). Writing for The Atlantic, a former Explorer scout described the highlight of the program: monthly weekend maneuvers with the National Guard where scouts “got to fire live rounds from M16s, M60 machine guns, and M203 grenade launchers… we would have urban firefights (shooting blanks, of course) in Combat Town, a warren of concrete buildings designed for just that purpose. The exercise always devolved into a free-for-all, with all of us weekend warriors emptying clip after clip of blanks until we couldn’t see past the end of our rifles for all the smoke in the air.” Is it because the United States is the number one consumer, exporter and perpetrator of violence and violent weapons in the world? Seriously, America spends more money on war than the combined military budgets of China, Russia, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Saudi Arabia, India, Germany, Italy and Brazil. America polices the globe, with 800 military bases and troops stationed in 160 countries. Moreover, the war hawks have turned the American homeland into a quasi-battlefield with military gear, weapons and tactics. In turn, domestic police forces have become roving extensions of the military—a standing army. Or is the Second Amendment to blame, as many continue to suggest? Would there be fewer mass shootings if tighter gun control laws were enacted? Or would the violence simply take a different form: homemade bombs, cars driven into crowds, and knives (remember the knife assailant in Japan who stabbed 19 people to death at a care home for the disabled)? Then again, could it be, as some have speculated, that these shootings are all part of an elaborate plan to incite fear and chaos, heighten national tensions and shift us that much closer to a complete lockdown? After all, the military and our militarized police forces have been predicting and preparing for exactly this kind of scenario for years now. So who’s to blame for the violence? This time, in Las Vegas, it was a seemingly nondescript American citizen pulling the trigger. At other times, it’s organized crime syndicates or petty criminals or so-called terrorists/extremists. Still other times, it’s the police with their shoot first, ask questions later mindset (more than 900,000 law enforcement officers are armed). In certain parts of the Middle East, it’s the U.S. government and the military carrying out drone strikes and bombing campaigns that leave innocent civilians dead and their communities torn apart. Are you starting to get the picture yet? We’re caught in a vicious cycle with no end in sight. Perhaps there’s no single one factor to blame for this gun violence. However, there is a common denominator, and that is a war-drenched, violence-imbued, profit-driven military industrial complex that has invaded almost every aspect of our lives. Ask yourself: Who are these shooters modelling themselves after? Where are they finding the inspiration for their weaponry and tactics? Whose stance and techniques are they mirroring? In almost every instance, you can connect the dots back to the military. We are a military culture. We have been a nation at war for most of our existence. We are a nation that makes a living from killing through defense contracts, weapons manufacturing and endless wars. In order to sustain the nation’s appetite for war over the long haul in spite of the costs of war in lives lost and dollars spent—and little else to show for it—the military has had to work overtime to churn out pro-war, pro-military propaganda. It’s exactly what President Eisenhower warned against (“the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex”) in his 1961 farewell address. We didn’t listen then and we’re still not listening now. All the while, the government’s war propaganda machine has grown more sophisticated and entrenched in American culture. Back when I was a boy growing up in the 1950s, almost every classic sci-fi movie ended with the heroic American military saving the day, whether it was battle tanks in Invaders from Mars (1953) or military roadblocks in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). What I didn’t know then as a schoolboy was the extent to which the Pentagon was paying to be cast as America’s savior. By the time my own kids were growing up, it was Jerry Bruckheimer’s blockbuster film Top Gun—created with Pentagon assistance and equipment—that boosted civic pride in the military. Now it’s my grandkids’ turn to be awed and overwhelmed by child-focused military propaganda in the X-Men movies. Same goes for The Avengers and Superman and the Transformers. (Don’t even get me started on the war propaganda churned out by the toymakers.) All of the military equipment featured in blockbuster movies is provided—at taxpayer expense—in exchange for carefully placed promotional spots aimed at indoctrinating the American populace into believing that patriotism means throwing their support behind the military wholeheartedly and unquestioningly. Even reality TV shows have gotten in on the gig, with the Pentagon’s entertainment office influencing “American Idol,” “The X-Factor,” “Masterchef,” “Cupcake Wars,” numerous Oprah Winfrey shows, “Ice Road Truckers,” “Battlefield Priests,” “America’s Got Talent,” “Hawaii Five-O,” lots of BBC, History Channel and National Geographic documentaries, “War Dogs,” and “Big Kitchens.” And that’s just a sampling. It’s estimated that U.S. military intelligence agencies (including the NSA) have influenced over 1,800 movies and TV shows. And then there are the growing number of video games, a number of which are engineered by or created for the military, which have accustomed players to interactive war play through military simulations and first-person shooter scenarios. This is how you acclimate a population to war. This is how you cultivate loyalty to a war machine. This is how, to borrow from the subtitle to the 1964 film Dr. Strangelove, you teach a nation to “stop worrying and love the bomb.” As journalist David Sirota writes for Salon, “[C]ollusion between the military and Hollywood – including allowing Pentagon officials to line edit scripts – is once again on the rise, with new television programs and movies slated to celebrate the Navy SEALs….major Hollywood directors remain more than happy to ideologically slant their films in precisely the pro-war, pro-militarist direction that the Pentagon demands in exchange for taxpayer-subsidized access to military hardware.” Why is the Pentagon (and the CIA and the government at large) so focused on using Hollywood as a propaganda machine? To those who profit from war, it is—as Sirota recognizes—”a ‘product’ to be sold via pop culture products that sanitize war and, in the process, boost recruitment numbers….At a time when more and more Americans are questioning the fundamental tenets of militarism (i.e., budget-busting defense expenditures, never-ending wars/occupations, etc.), military officials are desperate to turn the public opinion tide back in a pro-militarist direction — and they know pop culture is the most effective tool to achieve that goal.” The media, eager to score higher ratings, has been equally complicit in making (real) war more palatable to the public by packaging it as TV friendly. This is what Dr. Stahl refers to as the representation of a “clean war“: a war “without victims, without bodies, and without suffering”: Dehumanize destruction’ by extracting all human imagery from target areas … The language used to describe the clean war is as antiseptic as the pictures. Bombings are ‘air strikes.’ A future bombsite is a ‘target of opportunity.’ Unarmed areas are ‘soft targets.’ Civilians are ‘collateral damage.’ Destruction is always ‘surgical.’ By and large, the clean war wiped the humanity of civilians from the screen … Create conditions by which war appears short, abstract, sanitized and even aesthetically beautiful. Minimize any sense of death: of soldiers or civilians. This is how you sell war to a populace that may have grown weary of endless wars: sanitize the war coverage of anything graphic or discomfiting (present a clean war), gloss over the actual numbers of soldiers and civilians killed (human cost), cast the business of killing humans in a more abstract, palatable fashion (such as a hunt), demonize one’s opponents, and make the weapons of war a source of wonder and delight. “This obsession with weapons of war has a name: technofetishism,” explains Stahl. “Weapons appear to take on a magical aura. They become centerpieces in a cult of worship.” “Apart from gazing at the majesty of these bombs, we were also invited to step inside these high-tech machines and take them for a spin,” said Stahl. “Or if we have the means, we can purchase one of the military vehicles on the consumer market. Not only are we invited to fantasize about being in the driver’s seat, we are routinely invited to peer through the crosshairs too. These repeated modes of imaging war cultivate new modes of perception, new relationships to the tools of state violence. In other words, we become accustomed to ‘seeing’ through the machines of war.” In order to sell war, you have to feed the public’s appetite for entertainment. Not satisfied with peddling its war propaganda through Hollywood, reality TV shows and embedded journalists whose reports came across as glorified promotional ads for the military, the Pentagon turned to sports to further advance its agenda, “tying the symbols of sports with the symbols of war.” The military has been firmly entrenched in the nation’s sports spectacles ever since, having co-opted football, basketball, even NASCAR. Remember, just before this Vegas shooting gave the media, the politicians and the easily distracted public something new to obsess over, the headlines were dominated by President Trump’s feud with the NFL over players kneeling during the national anthem. That, too, was yet another example of how much the military entertainment complex—which paid $53 million of taxpayer money between 2012 and 2015 to pro sports teams for military tributes (on-field events recognizing military service members, including ceremonial first pitches, honor guards and Jumbotron tributes)—has infiltrated American culture. This Trump-NFL feud is also a classic example of how to squash dissent—whether it’s dissent over police brutality or America’s killing fields abroad. As Stahl explains, “Supporting the troops is made synonymous with supporting the war. Those who disagree with the decision to send soldiers to war are thus identified with the enemy. This is done through a variety of associations… Dissent becomes synonymous with criminal activity.” When you talk about the Las Vegas mass shooting, you’re not dealing with a single shooter scenario. Rather, you’re dealing with a sophisticated, far-reaching war machine that has woven itself into the very fabric of this nation. As Stahl concludes, “War has come to look very much like a video game. As viewers of the TV war, we are treated to endless flyovers. We are immersed in a general spirit of play. We are shown countless computer animations that contribute a sense of virtuality. We play alongside news anchors who watch on their monitors. We sit in front of the crosshairs directing missiles with a sense of interactivity. The destruction, if shown at all, seems unreal, distant. These repeated images foster habitual fantasies of crossing over.” You want to stop the gun violence? Stop the worship of violence that permeates our culture. Stop glorifying the military industrial complex with flyovers and salutes during sports spectacles. Stop acting as if there is anything patriotic about military exercises and occupations that bomb hospitals and schools. Stop treating guns and war as entertainment fodder in movies, music, video games, toys, amusement parks, reality TV and more. Stop distribution weapons of war to the local police and turning them into extensions of the military—weapons that have no business being anywhere but on a battlefield. Most of all, as I point out in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, stop falling for the military industrial complex’s psychological war games. http://clubof.info/