In case you don't get the joke... There is a spectacular book and film from Japan called Battle Royale!
There is also this novel from America called The Hunger Games that has a cult following of teenage girls (who I suspect are so ashamed of having been 'tweens' they need something 'cool' to identify with) and has now become a blockbuster film.
Battle Royale is an art film that glorifies the spectacularly violent deaths of each individual child in the narrative and appeals to a savage, boisterous and drunken audience.
The major theme of the film is hard to pin down beyond the idea that glorified violence can be spectacular and fun, perhaps one could look deep into the plot and compare it to Lord of the Flies...but that's beside the point. Sadly the film went largely unnoticed by the international film community and never found a distributor in North America until the buzz of Hunger Games found its momentum.
Hunger Games (published 12 years after Battle Royale) is the exact same narrative as Battle Royale just told in a different setting and context, kids killing kids for survival on a television show. When you compare and contrast the two it is extremely hard to not see the similarities. The major themes and/or messages in this one is that bows (and girls using bows) kick coccyx, and that love is the trump card in the game of 'The Running Man meets Lord of the Flies'...
But I suspect there is a deeper message here of revenge against the Asian film industry for pirating so many Hollywood films...
Moral of both stories combined... If your enemy is making cheap photocopies of your crappy big budget product, photocopy their excellent low budget product and market it as an original big budget product.
Ladies and Genital Men, let the battle games of Hollywood Cinema and Asian Cinema begin!
When he asked "What's wrong with this picture?" Someone responded... "The spray paint could get into the cows meat and make a human sick!" That sure is a trolololol comment if I have ever heard one...
Perhaps the correct answer he was seeking might have been "The anthropocentric view that commodified a living breathing creature, while still alive, is immoral with respect to a biocentric view that could save more than just humanity."
Review imgur.com/bcox5.gif and imgur.com/9sLbx.jpg
As well watch Part 13/14 at about 1:52 - 1:54 and see if you can notice the 1/4 second long dissolve transition followed up by some pretty prime looking 1990s CGI wings....
I cannot even imagine the value of this entire collection! Firing a Thompson is another one of those things on the bucket list that I cannot legally do...Oh Canada...*sighs*
More information on the Thompson Sub-Machine Gun can be found here.
The 'censorship' rectangle and circle was inspired by the Wilfrid Laurier University Global Citizenship Conference 2012 theme of 'UNseen UNheard' and was added for dramatic effect.
Script;
So I've avoided discussion on this topic...as I do not agree with many aspects of the movement, and I do not wish to bother others of their beliefs or disrupt their sense of empowerment through activism.
So anywho...I changed my mind tonight.
I just came from the Global Citizenship Conference at Wilfrid Laurier University and while there I was lucky enough to have the privilege of hearing Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish speak. The only way to describe his one hour lecture is as a life changing experience.
Now, one of my fundamental issues with Kony 2012 is the glorification, exploitation and monetization of human suffering and social injustices through online advertising. Yes, it is important war-criminals are known to the world community and its actors. But instead, I would much rather see the social media spotlight and all the Facebook walls and all the news feeds focused on a positive figure such as Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, rather than the negative figure that is Kony and a need for ‘armed justice.’
Kony 2012 is a message, the message of a 'charity.' Their message is that Kony is a bad guy and needs to be captured by men with guns and be sent directly to jail. Now keep in mind I am over-simplifying this here with a rather minimalist attitude. This is a message of fear, hate, and control.
Why not promote the message of education, love and freedom of Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish and his charity Daughters For Life. He witnessed the death of his three studying daughters when artillery strikes landed on his home. He is not preaching this fundamental concept of 'revenge justice' that Kony 2012 is, he is instead advocating that educating women is the most fundamental method of bringing peace to the entire world. The justice that he is seeking is to see women receive an education – to see women he is supporting (and would never ever have the opportunity) complete the education that his daughters were so unjustly robbed of.
Now that is a cause I wish 55 million people discovered within 48 hours, and that his charity and its cause earned the millions of dollars due to online advertising surrounding a viral video that Invisible Children did let alone the resulting donations.
I ask you now, what's more important?
The International Criminal Court and their severing of 'justice' by SUPPORTING A MILITARY TO USE LETHIAL WEAPONS AND ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE HIM WHILE MURDERING ANYONE WHO STANDS IN THEIR WAY REGARDLESS OF AGE, SITUATION, AND GENDER. (And who is to say the military will not just kill him and drop him in the ocean instead of bringing him to the ICC for global justice).
Or...
Increase the international quality of education for women -- so that if and when they are faced with violent injustice that they are armed with education and not with a firearm or with a bomb during their personal quest for justice.
Where would you rather put your dollar?
Why does mass media sell us fear, hate and control instead of promotion education, love and freedom? And the bigger question is why are we so willingly consuming it?
"Education is the most powerful weapon." -- Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish
MAKE THE INTERNMENT OF THE JAPANESE DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR FAMOUS BEFORE THE END OF 2012!...*whispers* Oh, and give me $30 so you can click a glorified share button while you are it....
I always wondered why Mr. Sulu was an expert sword fighter....
An excellent cause and congratulations to you George!
To those of you that do not follow Mr. Takei's cyber exploits, you should!
<EDIT>
Somehow I totally forgot that people might not know of the issue George is trying to bring to the spotlight, and that others are totally clueless as to how to research a bandwagon (while this should be present in my mind...thanks KONY 2012...)
Being a diver, I have always fantasized about going spear fishing. Thank to fellow YouTuber EdgunUSA who produces Ted's HoldOver we are all able to vacation vicariously and enjoy his experience. While this is an excellent example of fishing with spear guns, personally, I would prefer to fish with just a spear and no gun. But alas, using a metal stick underwater is illegal here in Canada... and I'm a Sad Panda....
My goodness, that looks like so much fun! Given my ability to equalize my ears without pinching my nose I suspect this could result in some spectacular footage.
But then there is the price of $795...
and film from Japan called Battle Royale!
