Avatar

[Joe Allonby]

Don't mistake the commercials and the TV coverage of "heroes" for
reality. I'm constantly surrounded by "military types". The sterotype
is unfair. A buzzcut does not equal a lobotomy. Don't forget Veterans
Against the War and similar organizations that are springing up today.
Combat veterans have a unique and valuable perspective on what an
imperialist foreign policy means up close and personal.Some of those
men and women might really surprise you.

On Sun, Dec 27, 2009 at 12:10 AM, Thomas Beshear <tbeshear at insightbb.com> wrote:
> I agree. It's a message at least some people will absorb. And it's needed.
> Among the commercials before a movie I saw today (it wasn't Avatar) was a
> spot for the National Guard, complete with martial music, "24"-style
> graphics, and plenty of scenes of camouflaged badasses "protecting freedom."
> If Avatar can make a few kids question that message, all the better.
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joseph Tracy" <brook7 at sover.net>
> To: "pynchon -l" <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Sent: Saturday, December 26, 2009 11:29 PM
> Subject: Avatar
>
>
>>  Avatar is the Ist full length imax 3D film I have  seen. It was  quite a
>> ride if not exactly a bold  venture into the unknown as  storytelling. Lotta
>> silly shit in here, but I think the Newitz review  is too harsh and too
>> narrow as a cultural lens. This is about  civilization's war on tribal
>> cultures , not dark skinned people.  Also it ignores the fact that a film of
>> mass appeal is taking an  openly subversive position on the role of the  US
>> corporate/military/  colonial/ mercenary nexus. Nothing was disguised  and I
>> saw military  looking fellows walking out after the movie shaking their
>> heads and  looking disturbed. For me that justifies the many weak points.
>> This  is not pure escapism, and I hope it has some disturbing effects on
>>  the culture, particularly on youth.
>>
>>
>> We really do live at a time when the last traces of tribal cultures  are
>> being extinguished along with vast swaths of the planet's complex
>> ecosystems. All done in pursuit of the rocket fuel of infinite consumption.
>>
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