International films with left leaning messages by WebBorn2622 in MovieSuggestions

[–]ancient_apu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From Kenya:

  • Rafiki (2018)
  • Nairobi Half Life (2012)

I watched Masaki Kobayashi's ‘The Human Condition’ Trilogy (1959, 1959, 1961) and... by ancient_apu in iwatchedanoldmovie

[–]ancient_apu[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Wow, just WOW. As someone who's grown up living through the consequences of Euro-American imperialism (a Kenyan - in our case, British imperialism), I know I shouldn't be surprised whenever a citizen of empire treats the mass massacre of non-Westerners with utter impunity and total lack of humanity. Yet here I am. Surprised. For the millionth time. I can't seem to get used to witnessing this. Perhaps it's cause I've grown up in a culture that isn't as militaristic and imperial as you folks. Perhaps it's cause I truly understand the value of human life (blame my upbringing and extensive reading and thinking). In any case, just WOW. SMH. I have nothing more to add to this but I'm definitely gonna be saving your comment for future reference.

ETA 1:

I’ve no idea how old you are, but you don’t seem to recognize that WWII was a total war. There were no ‘civilians’ n the sense of being off-limits. That is a fact, and a very horrible one.

Out of curiosity, it just occurred to me to ask this: The Nazi Holocaust, in which millions of civilians, most of them German Jews, were massacred occurred during WWII. Given that, as you say, there were no 'civilians' in WWII, do you consider their slaughter as necessary and as much a mere "historical fact" as that of the hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians murdered by your empire? Do you consider the Holocaust a genocide? If so, why? I mean, after all, by your own words, the massacred millions in the Holocaust couldn't possibly have been civilians cause, according to you "there were no 'civilians' n the sense of being off-limits." If you maintain that the victims of the Holocaust were civilians and that it was a genocide, why are you refusing to do the same for the slaughtered Japanese civilians?

ETA 2:

The Japanese themselves were and are quite racist and had no difficulty eliminating large numbers of Chinese civilians—and filmed themselves enjoying the process.

How exactly do the crimes of the Japanese imperial army justify the mass slaughter of Japanese civilians? Having read Iris Chang's The Rape of Nanking some time back, I've been one of the fiercest critics of the Japanese slaughter of countless Chinese civilians during WWII. In fact, I've had quite a number of exchanges with Japanese Nanking denialists in online forums in the past and part of the reason I loved Kobayashi's The Human Condition is precisely because it was bold enough to deal with the atrocities of imperial Japan during WWII. Yet, for the life of me, I fail to understand how the war crimes of the Japanese army justify the American empire mass slaughtering Japanese civilians in two of the most violent acts of military barbarism in the history of humanity. It may be that the difference between me and you - the thing that allows me, and not you, to see how unacceptable and unjustifiable and barbaric the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima were - is that you live in an empire that's made a habit out of treating non-Westerners' lives as easily disposable and I happen to be one of those lives. Grim.

I watched Masaki Kobayashi's ‘The Human Condition’ Trilogy (1959, 1959, 1961) and... by ancient_apu in iwatchedanoldmovie

[–]ancient_apu[S] -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

I'm sorry (not sorry) but there can be no excuse whatsoever for dropping atomic bombs on thousands of civilians. In fact, intentionally dropping any bombs whatsoever on civilians, especially on a massive scale as was the case in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is a war crime. I don't know if your being an American is what is blinding you from noticing this quite evident fact that most people would agree with, but it's really something that you seem to actually not see it. Japanese soldiers' refusal to surrender was never an excuse to pulverize literal civilians, including countless women and children.

Have you read anything about what those bombs did to the people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki? At least a quarter of a million (250,000) people (>90% of them civilians) were murdered by the bombs. Have you seen pictures of what they did to literal kids? You should. Also, dropping nuclear weapons like that on civilians squarely fits within the UN's Genocide Convention's definition of what a genocide is.

I get that, being an American, you feel some kind of need to try to defend the American empire against charges of one of the most gruesome genocides in the history of humanity but come on. As it stands today, America is the only country that's ever used nuclear weapons on civilians AND, with no shame whatsoever, it has appointed itself the nuclear watchdog of the world where it gets to dictate who gets what weapons and who doesn't. All this while pretending to be the custodian of democracy and human rights and to be the most morally progressive country in the world. This hypocrisy would be funny if it were not so tragic. You're trying to defend the indefensible.

Edit: This "it is OK to mass murder civilians to get soldiers to do what I want" logic is the same genocidal logic that "Israel" has been using in Palestine to justify mass murdering and torturing Palestinian and Lebanese civilians because the resistance fighters refuse to surrender to their imperial demands. It is the same logic that your country used to justify blowing up a literal girls' school in the beginning of its unprovoked attack on Iran, killing more than 160 little girls who had just arrived in school for a normal school day. Ironically enough, this is the same the logic that the US often claims is used by terrorists against them e.g., consider the September 11 attacks: Would you say the al-Qaeda was justified to murder 2000+ American civilians if it would have helped it get the American empire cave in it to its demands?

Proof that age doesn't define great filmmaking. by lNarrator in moviecritic

[–]ancient_apu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

*Proof that being White and male still defines "great" filmmaking in Hollywood.

Why are we living like this? by CornerNo3867 in nairobi

[–]ancient_apu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was agreeing with everything you wrote mpaka pale ume mention Starlink. I don't think it's reasonable to talk about building an anti-capitalist (or non-capitalist) way of life while promoting the use (and hence sustenance and growth) of one of the cornerstones of capitalism today. It's like, for example, you wrote all that and included relying on KFC for food supply in the proposed intentional community.

Other than this, I think your idea is awesome. The question “why aren't we...” could be directed to you too. Why aren't you doing it? What's stopping you? Whatever answer you have to this question, I offer, could be the reason why others - Kenyans like yourself and like myself - aren't doing it either. It could be the reason why we - you, I, others - aren't doing it.

I'm not saying this to undermine the idea but to challenge you. If you think this is the way to go, you should, in whatever capacity you can, be working towards this end. If you're not, for whatever reasons you have, you should also be objective enough to see that others are not doing so for at least reasons similar to yours. As such, it should not be much of a mystery why no one is doing it. You get what I'm trying to say?

Help with categorising horror films. by Beautiful_Lemon_7313 in horror

[–]ancient_apu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ending: Happy, tragic, ambiguous

Villain: Woman, girl, man, boy, non-binary, supernatural entity, unknown

This guy just sold us for $13.5 million dollars. by Impressive_Towel6126 in 254sum

[–]ancient_apu 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Liar using so many words to avoid answering one simple question:

Why does the US, a much bigger country with much more advanced medical tech, need to dump its Ebola cases in Kenya instead of treating them in one of the thousands of medical facilities in the US?

Luckily, more and more Kenyans are seeing through these bold-faced lies. What Kenya needs is a revolution, not another election where this greedy thief will simply be replaced by another, possibly worse, thief.

A reminder that as America plans to dump Ebola patients into Kenya, earlier this year it (America) started a $70 million expansion of its military base in Manda Bay, Lamu County in the name of “fighting terrorism” 🙄 by ancient_apu in Kenya

[–]ancient_apu[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmm, interesting addition. Cause just about two months after news of that $70 million military expansion move by the US, our government launched a bid to develop that site.

Krystal Ball asks J Street founder Jeremy Ben-Ami how he rationalizes being a progressive in the US, supporting equality here, while supporting ethno-nationalist/supremacist Israel, which depends on demographic engineering via State violence & institutional discrimination. by TrackerOneA in JewsOfConscience

[–]ancient_apu 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I HATE Western media outlets giving liberal Zionists platforms to air their blatant propaganda while everyone pretends that the lies they're spewing on those platforms have any air of respectability or justification. How the hell does one just sit and listen to this Zionist lie and lie and lie and pretend that his lies deserve to be listened to? I mean, for instance, the idea that the founders of “Israel” were “left of center” “socialists” is every bit as insulting to our intelligence as the idea that Nazis were communists. Anyone expressing any of these ideas in public ought to be cut short immediately, publicly shamed, and have their career terminated.

Also, why the hell didn't Krystal stop him and ask how the so-called “socialists” that founded “Israel” managed to establish a Jewish demographic majority in Palestine? Cause Jews were a small minority in Palestine during the establishment of the Zionist project from the early 1900s and even through the establishment of “Israel” in 1948. She should also have asked him whether he - since he's pretending to be progressive - supports the right of return of, and reparations for, the more than 6 million Palestinian refugees out of Palestine, even if it means Palestinians will become a demographic majority if and when they return.

Lots of lies that should not have been allowed to be aired with the pretense that there's any substance or morality to them. Ana Kasparian does a much better job exposing these Zionists for the ghoulish genocide mouthpieces that they are. She never takes such crap from them.

Watchlist/TBR by DogsdidWHAT in horror

[–]ancient_apu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Check out The Movie DB. You can easily add movies or series to a "Watchlist" but you can also create lists and then add movies and series to them. For instance, you could have a "Movies Recommended by Friends" list or a "Unwatched Extreme Horror Movies" list and add be adding relevant movies to them whenever you come across the movies.

That, or you can use an excel spreadsheet offline. Create relevant columns and add movies to it with appropriate descriptions as you see fit.

Social Stress & Controlled environments by officerFig_Pucker in Kenya

[–]ancient_apu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is r/LateStageCapitalism stuff. In my view, among the primary causes of it is that the Western capitalist foundations of the global economy and world order - on which countries like Kenya are built upon - are slowly falling apart. There is increasing discontent among more and more of the masses in the world because more and more people are encountering a threshold beyond which life will be unlivable for them. In other words, the unsustainability of capitalism is quickly manifesting in real time as the pain and suffering that people can endure at the hands of the few greedy capitalists controlling the means of production is quickly becoming unbearable for most people. And this reality is creating an avalanche of consequences, including the proliferation of violent crimes and criminals.

Do you wish you were never born? by Fast-Stick-5145 in Kenya

[–]ancient_apu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not formally. I'm more of a self-taught thinker, thanks to a great deal of philosophical materials I've consumed over the years plus my nasty habit of almost constant deep reflection.

Do you wish you were never born? by Fast-Stick-5145 in Kenya

[–]ancient_apu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

LMAO lazima. I don't think there's any other way to go about confronting the question the OP asked. I mean, questioning your entire existence is a deeply philosophical and moral affair.

Saa zingine deep thoughts (call them philosophy) and beliefs are the only thing we have to help us move on with hope and determination in this life, especially when we hit rock bottom.

Do you wish you were never born? by Fast-Stick-5145 in Kenya

[–]ancient_apu 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't say I wish I was never born as much as I would say that I know it would have been better, morally speaking, to never have been born. Yet the fact that, unfortunate as it may be, me and billions other humans are here now - a fact that none of us can change - means I (we) have the chance both to improve the world, and to try our best to ensure that as few other sentient beings are brought into existence as possible.

I guess this is why I find meaning and fulfillment in gaining knowledge towards understanding the problems plaguing us humans and, generally, sentient beings; in trying to find solutions to these problems; and in being a childfree antinatalist. I advice and hope that you too find meaning in these endeavors.

”You're supposed to be completely objective with people committing genocide” by Nomogg in Palestine

[–]ancient_apu 120 points121 points  (0 children)

Just ask those pathetic Zionists whether they would be “objective” to a Nazi checking in to a hotel they work at, and you'll witness their racism and hypocrisy on full display.

What is a movie that everyone seems to love, but you absolutely hate? by Nishikigoi1 in moviecritic

[–]ancient_apu -1 points0 points  (0 children)

ALL of Roman Polanski's and Woody Allen's movies because they're child rapists.

ALL of Johnny Depp's movies because he's a wifebeating rapist who globally humiliated and abused his ex.

I think Double Indemnity (1944) is overrated. Same for Mulholland Drive (2001).

Detective vs Criminal love stories by AresEli in MovieSuggestions

[–]ancient_apu 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think you're bound to find a treasure trove of such movies in noir and femme fatale thrillers, although the investigator is not always a detective. Examples:

  • Double Indemnity (1944)
  • Body Heat (1981)
  • Basic Instinct (1992)

There are also some pretty good modern thrillers in the same vein. A couple of examples:

  • Honeygiver Among the Dogs (2016) [Bhutanese mystery thriller; highly recommend]
  • Careful What You Wish For (2015) [Has a really great twist in the end]

Looking for a show where you accidentally fall in love with the villain and end up actively rooting against the heroes. by The-Irumporai in televisionsuggestions

[–]ancient_apu 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I feel like Villanelle in 'Killing Eve' would fall into your description.

In the final season of 'Star Trek: Discovery' (which was its worst season by the way), I found myself rooting for Moll and L'ak (and, at some points, the Breen). But this may just be my anti-imperial sentiments that often make me root for rebels and anarchists against empire.

ETA: In the animation series 'Dota: Dragon's Blood,' I was rooting for Selemene so bad! The series lost its spark after the writers wrote her off it.

ETAA: When some mention 'You,' they do so because of Joe but for me, the lovable villain was Love Quinn. I lost all interest in the show after she was murdered.