Costume nerd alert - that thing you see on the back of this seat? The "cracked" appearance in the silk? This is called shattering. Also, is that a stain I see on the front upholstery, under the cushion?
After all my television viewing reviewing of late, I'm interested in others' ethical takes on popular entertainment. Here's an interesting piece from Vulture.com on the fascism of The Walking Dead. I couldn't watch that show past one episode because of the violence, myself - as compelling as even just one show was, but being aware of its force, it's pretty arresting to see who has chosen to advertise with them - and why.
Curiously, and (ahem) blood-related to the diversity issues touched on in the TWD article above, here's a story about Trek's first Woman of Color as a main character. Sad that it's taken 50 years since Nichelle Nichols' turn as "ain't no maid" to reach this point, but Trek has always had a reputation for progressive inclusion and has had POC and women at the fore before. And now for intersectionality.
Today in "calling it Medieval means it's a relic of The Stupid, Stupid Past" news: our American junta. The thing about the stupidity of the past is? Like many artifacts, we DIY things back to life. Just because a dress doesn't fit anymore doesn't mean some asshat isn't going to recycle it as a scarf.
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I don't agree with TWD being fascist. I see groups of people who by chance group together, because there's safety in numbers, and we humans have a natural tendency to search out companionship. The leader of the main group that we follow (Rick) is the leader only because he was a Police Officer "before". He knows how to handle crises and how to rally people. He wasn't the leader when the group first found each other. He made good tactical decisions and saved lives frequently. People want to follow him. In all groups of people they've come across, most have a leader that hasn't been elected. He or she is a natural leader who knows how to get things done and how to motivate people. When it comes to the "bad" groups (sometimes only one or two people), their leader rules with violence and fear against anybody he or she believes will harm their group dynamic (even those of his or her own group), and he or she has no qualms about cruelly public punishments for them. All said, I see TWD as a simple way to just stay alive.
Of course, I haven't seen but one episode, admittedly, but the concept itself has to me always seemed a bit too ripe for the us-versus-them mentality of the worst regimes, and I do think the article made a fascinating case for that in the context of our times. Certainly the Trump campaign was persuaded, and sought to take advantage of the prejudices *some* audience members might have, in choosing to advertise with the show.
The thing about any show is that it is conceived and developed by the minds of those who write and produce it. Right now, there's no question that a lot of minds - which must include some creative thinkers - are fixated on us-versus-them questions. And that can play out ... well. As brutally as The Walking Dead is. It's how we end up: exactly where we are right now, nationally (or nationalistically) and internationally.
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