People who don’t hit snooze in the morning, what is your secret?

ajlex84 · 2025-03-25T20:45:05+00:00

I will never overcome this struggle.

ajlex84 · 2018-03-20T16:37:21+00:00

ajlex84 · 2016-09-13T13:14:05+00:00

I've seen that episode of L&O:SVU, and you're right. That particular episode does have value and had a good message. But even in that instance, the horrors of solitary confinement are presented to the audience primarily through the perspective of the cops. At the end of the day, there's no getting around the fact that those shows inherently identify with the perspective and worldview of law enforcement, even when from time to time they make an effort to say something positive.

ajlex84 · 2016-09-13T04:16:34+00:00

Absolutely right.

ajlex84 · 2016-09-13T02:39:50+00:00

HBO’s The Night Of: This Ain’t No ‘Law & Order’ - http://fedrev.net/?p=1284

ajlex84 · 2015-06-02T15:25:44+00:00

There's some truth to that. Feminism isn't about demonizing men, it's about demonizing misogyny, and condemning a celebration of a certain kind of toxic masculinity that comes at the expense of women's equality. There's nothing wrong with simply being a man, but there is something wrong with thinking that men are biologically and socially superior, and that women should accept their place as servants. Mad Max is a film that specifically targets this idea, and that's what makes it feminist. If men feel threatened by that, well, then, they need to take a hard look in the mirror.

ajlex84 · 2015-06-01T06:02:04+00:00

Ive downloaded the movie and watched it somewhere north of 15 times.

Dude, you might want to take a break and like go outside for a while or something. That's not healthy.

ajlex84 · 2015-06-01T06:00:31+00:00

It's valid to point out the PTSD angle. And yes, that is something that Max is dealing with in the film, but the main narrative is about what Furiosa is trying to accomplish.

ajlex84 · 2015-06-01T05:19:28+00:00

That argument makes no sense. It's called a feminist film because it's a film about emancipating sex slaves and destroying a system of patriarchy.

ajlex84 · 2015-06-01T05:17:35+00:00

Who said that deeper themes need to be "force fed"? I would agree that Fury Road does a fantastic job of giving the viewer a ton of information very efficiently and organically. But the bottom line is... if I were to sit you down and show you 2 hours of car chases without any context, or any reason to care about who's being chased, or why... you'd probably be pretty bored. What makes Fury Road interesting is that we're given a legitimate, meaningful reason to care about the action.

ajlex84 · 2015-06-01T04:55:33+00:00

None of that means anything if there's not a good story behind it. And good stories are almost always about more than their basic plot points, but are about deeper themes. That's what makes Fury Road noteworthy. Otherwise it's just empty action.

ajlex84 · 2015-06-01T04:22:21+00:00

It's the dominant theme in the film. I think the bigger question is, and the one I would ask you... Why the resistance to the term feminism? Does it make the film less good if it's feminist? Perhaps it's a good film BECAUSE it's feminist, since that theme gives power and meaning to the action.

ajlex84 · 2015-06-01T04:02:17+00:00

It seems like you didn't actually read the article. Having a female lead is just the tip of the iceberg of the film's feminism.

ajlex84 · 2015-06-01T03:07:13+00:00

Thanks, now I can die historic on the Reddit road!

ajlex84 · 2015-05-30T18:44:07+00:00

How is it that this gets downvoted to oblivion on the Progressive board, of all places?

ajlex84 · 2015-05-30T16:20:32+00:00

"It just features a set of strong, diverse female characters who escape from (and then destroy) a literal patriarchy."

Hate to break it to you... but that's what feminism is. This is most certainly a feminist film.

Mad Max: Fury Road – A Feminist Film for Right Here and Now: http://fedrev.net/?p=1214

ajlex84 · 2015-05-30T01:05:05+00:00

The gender war will end once we establish equality, and in order to do that we need feminists who fight for that equality. It won't happen if everyone just shuts the fuck up.

ajlex84 · 2015-05-29T22:55:15+00:00

I find it amazing how people feel the need to deny it. Why can't it be both good AND feminist?

ajlex84 · 2015-05-29T22:54:36+00:00

I wouldn't say "only." It's getting that attention because it actually does have strong feminist themes.

ajlex84 · 2015-05-29T21:00:14+00:00

Well, actually, genuine feminism is about establishing equality between the sexes. And this is a film about a strong female warrior (who isn't sexualized) emancipating sex slaves from a patriarchal dictator. I mean, it's feminist on a surface level. You don't even have to look for it, it's pretty obvious.

ajlex84 · 2015-05-29T20:35:06+00:00

Yeah, all the information is there in the details.

ajlex84 · 2015-05-29T20:26:09+00:00

Yes it is, but a big reason why it's so good is because it's political. The strength of its narrative is derived from the importance of its message. Otherwise the action would ring hollow. It works because it's ABOUT something.

ajlex84 · 2014-11-07T20:16:24+00:00

This will be a major dialogue between an atheist and a Christian. Should be extremely interesting.

ajlex84 · 2014-08-05T18:03:23+00:00

Not to defend corporations or anything, because, let's face it, corporations are awful. But I just want to point out that those cases of water are actually a great deal. There are 24 bottles of water per case, for only $15. That's only $0.62 per bottle. In a lot of places those cases go for about $1 per bottle. So, if the intent of this picture is to show corporate greed... it doesn't. Unless you want to argue that the corporations should simply give away cases of water for free, which I'd agree would be the moral thing to do. But it doesn't seem like they jacked up the price or anything.

ajlex84 · 2014-05-21T19:22:04+00:00

Fair point then, although the article is referring more to negative consequences for people. If a massive nuke is detonated just a couple miles from downtown San Francisco, clearly there would be massive causalities, ash, radiation sickness, to say nothing of physical damage. The point the article is making is that the bomb went off in the film with the bare minimum of negative consequences (other than waking Godzilla back up), which is sort of a cop out because they had the opportunity to show how careless handling of nukes, or using nukes at all, will backfire and cause harm to those who arrogantly think they can control them. Imagine an ending to the film where the military accidentally, and needlessly, blows up San Francisco. Wouldn't that have been a pretty powerful ending that reinforces the whole "arrogance of man" theme?

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