#which first of all the republic doesn't have one culture it's made up thousands of planets with different cultures | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

steampunkforever · 10 days

Text

Almost every American has thought about the prospect of a second Civil War. Considering the man hiding pipe bombs around DC last election year, it becomes clear why this would come to mind. Which is why this election season is the perfect opportunity to release a movie about a modern civil war written by an Englishman who quite apparently doesn't know anything about American culture, politics, or small unit tactics.

Alex Garland's Civil War is a movie about the fall of democracy as the US is shattered by a violent military conflict as its fascist President violates the constitution in order to retain power, but it actually wants to be a movie about a cozy witch in a small German village in the alps. Ok not really. This is a movie that promises to be about political violence in America but is really about War Journalism. It tries to do both and does none of them well. But first and foremost it's a showcase of regrettable AR furniture and trite culture war references.

After January 6th, 2021, I was discussing the Capitol riots with some right-voting blue-collar workers, and the most memorable takeaway from that conversation was being told "it was our turn." This one sentence told me everything about American cultural rage that this film completely misunderstands.

Every now and then I come across a film that's very good from a visual and structural standpoint but completely falls apart thematically. This is Civil War. Alex Garland knows how to make movies, and this is a solid film that knows how to position needle drops and position the camera to really Say Something About America. Except it doesn't do that last thing.

Politically, this is a film you could make if you fed the AI bot that writes Nancy Pelosi's campaign donation emails ten thousand hours of January Sixth footage and asked it to write an article for The New Republic. Close readings reveal that this is a film about Covid, particularly journalism, but Garland shoehorns the story he wants to tell about journo ethics Cloverfield-style into a much more complicated narrative. It's simply intellectual laziness to make a movie about a morally and politically complicated war and then handwave it away with a simple "it doesn't matter." You're releasing this on an election year! This is a movie that needs a spine! How does Micheal Bay have a more biting criticism of American presidential candidates in his movies than you do?

The movie isn't politically neutral necessarily. Nick Offerman looks exactly like a certain 45th president of the United States (he even dissolves the FBI). There's a proud boy/boogaloo boy militia committing war crimes. One of the main battles we see is fought in Charlottesville, a city that saw little fighting during the actual Civil War but is infamous for the 2017 murder of a counterprotestor at a confederate statue rally. And let us not forget the film's much-quoted "what kind of American are you?" segment so prominently displayed in the trailers. The movie displays the prototypical NPR host handwringing, and this level of political commentary only serves to make the film feel even more out of touch, made all the more lukewarm at the film's halfhearted play at neutrality in the pursuit of something that #makesyouthink.

The film is like Apocalypse Now! if Coppola really wanted to shoehorn in a thematically irrelevant main plot and never answer any of the questions raised by the much more interesting events that make up the movie's backdrop. It's like Children of Men if the director didn't really care about the atrocities his characters were witnessing as much as he just wanted to make a roadtrip movie. It's not bad, it's lazy, and this makes me angrier.

This is a movie that reminded me about Greta Gerwig's Barbie. A very well shot film with a solid director, great cinematography, and no idea what its message is. Except Garland didn't have a feel good montage at the end to save the movie for him. Just underwhelming combat. The only thing this film got remotely right about a modern American Civil War 2 is the fact that the Ford Excursion is the perfect vehicle to take into a war zone.

No matter how gorgeous the cinematography, don't let this movie fool you.

The White House isn't so cartoonishly simple to storm. Attack Helicopters would not be performing air support roles that close to buildings. M4 pattern rifles have a much sharper report. An abandoned JC Penny doesn't mean that America has fallen, it just reminds you that the Shopping Mall was never a sustainable business practice. The sniper scene is really good, I'll admit, but also not how any of this works.

This movie lacks the spine and the conviction to say anything real about the American Condition in any meaningful way other than "they own guns and experience cultural polarization," a take much too bland to be worth the price of tickets + popcorn.

#civil war #alex garland #filmposting #a24 #jesse plemons #kirsten dunst #film

6 notes · View notes

rainofaugustsith · 2 years

Text

Blogger Interview

Thank you so much to @cinlat and @jeswii for tagging me in this - I am sorry it took so long to do, but it was fun! Tagging, let's see, @verbose-vespertine @tishinada @itstheelvenjedi NO PRESSURE.

Why did you choose your url?

It's from my Ao3 account name which was made first. August - I actually don't remember why. Rain - well, I like the rain and I could not think of anything else. For Tumblr I added Sith at the end because my main is an Old Republic Sith (not to be confused with a post-Darth Bane Sith) and because 'rainofaugust' was actually taken.

Any sideblogs?

I have Rain Plays SWTOR, which is a player guide to the Star Wars: The Old Republic game I played for years. I wanted to make a guide that would explain some of the things I found confusing when I first played, give some helpful tips, and break down content to make it more playable for people. I especially liked concentrating on parts of the game that were considered group content and showing solo players how to get through it.

I stopped playing SWTOR when 7.0 hit, although to be honest I'd been, overall, unhappy with the story since the end of KOTFE. Having said that I've left the sideblog up because a lot of what I wrote might still help those playing the game.

How long have you been on tumblr?

Since 2017.

Why did you originally start your blog?

I started it because I noticed there were a lot of sapphic/wlw fans of Star Wars here, and one doesn't really find that elsewhere too much.

Why did you choose your icon?

It's artwork that was made by the wonderful of my main, Viri. It's such a lovely picture of her, and I thought it was perfect for an icon.

Why did you choose your header?

It's from my favorite part of my favorite flashpoint in SWTOR - A Traitor Among the Chiss. It's a little too long, and when it was released it was far too tedious, but aside from that I feel that the Copero flashpoint represents everything SWTOR could have been. It's got absolutely beautiful, detailed design that you could spend hours exploring - a city with little alleys you can explore; stunning scenery; a flashpoint that includes puzzles and not just 'destroy it all' gameplay; really good decorations and armor as drops; and even a transition from day to night. This scene is toward the end, where the PC ascends a staircase in some ancient ruins at twilight. It's such a beautiful backdrop that I always stopped to admire it during the flashpoint.

What is your post with the most notes?

There's one with like 10K notes, and it's about Diana Serra Cary, who was the last surviving silent film star. I wrote it few days after she died. That one still shows up in my reblogs now and then. There's another where I was talking about cultural appropriation of Jewish ritual items and the Hebrew alphabet in various media that has a few thousand reblogs.

How many mutuals do you have?

I actually don't know.

How many followers do you have?

Right now 329 I think?

How many blogs do you follow?

211.

Have you ever made a shitpost?

Not intentionally.

How many times do you use tumblr a day?

I more or less have it open in the background for messages and such, even if I'm not actively on the site.

Have you ever fought another blog?

Not really. A few of the fandom sheriffs and Lana Hate Club sorts have tried to start drama with me in the past, and in general my policy has been to block and add their names to my Tumblr filters immediately without engaging, or with a general warning. I don't owe them a debate, it's not really worth my time and attention to respond, and I'm not interested in the drama. I also am pretty proactive about blocking if I see someone being hateful on someone else's posts/relogs/comments because I don't need that nonsense here. If you want to act like a clown do it on your own time, not mine.

How do you feel about “need to reblog” posts?

It's a surefire way to get me not to reblog it. I'm not a fan of that sort of manipulation.

Do you like tag games?

I do, although I'm always anxious about tagging others. Like, is someone going to feel left out or not want the tag or…yeah.

Do you like ask games?

Yes, with the same caveat as above.

Which of your mutuals do you think are tumblr famous?

See this is one of those questions that I feel like I can't answer because again, will someone feel left out or not want to be mentioned, or what. I have some artists and writers on my mutuals list who are scary talented at what they do, and some have more recognition/followers than others - but for all of them, I really love it when their work pops up on my dash.

Do you have a crush on a mutual?

I'm demisexual. Crushes aren't really a thing. I've met some awesome friends here, though.

#asks #all about rain

7 notes · View notes