Media in a Prosocial Alternate Reality

I just discovered a fascinating site called Thumbs and Ammo. Their motto is "Real tough guys don't need guns; they just need a positive, can-do attitude." What they do is take popular media images from action movies and photoshop out the guns. In their place...well, I'll let you see for yourself.

 

 

 For some movies, the titles had to change to reflect their new, prosocial message, so the movie Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot! (yeah, I've never heard of it, either) becomes Stop! Or My Mom Will Be Encouraging! From the Judge Dredd catchphrase "In the future...one man is judge, jury, and executioner," 'executioner' becomes 'positive reinforcer.'

What do you think? How does this change our perspective on our favorite action heroes? I think they still look pretty awesome like this...but then some plot lines would need to change, and things could get complicated. It would definitely put an interesting twist on things, and could be an interesting experiment to try with one movie or episode, cutting out the weapons and replacing them with a thumbs up. I would approve of such an endeavor, and it looks like Rick Grimes would, too.

 

Debt Limit

In my finance class a little while back my teacher, Dr. I, was talking about the current situation in the US with concern to our income and our "outgo," if I may adopt the phrase. The situation looks bad; we're in debt and we're not getting out of it any time soon. It's hard to understand the situation when we're talking in trillions of dollars, though, so it's media to the rescue to help put it in perspective. Sure, we could just use the tables at the end of the clip, but seeing it dramatized is so much more...more. It draws you in and keeps you engaged. It makes it more enjoyable and memorable. So...yeah. Click play.

Megamind

So I love Megamind. It's hilarious, and laid the groundwork for the "What if I don't want to be bad?" movement among super villains. He's the bad guy because people expect him to be so. In the nurture vs. nature argument, he's only bad because he was raised for it. On the other hand, we later see Hal, as Tighten, become a villain due to nature.

So Megamind is really a good guy at heart. Yes, he's trying to kill Metro Man, but as he himself says, he never thought it would actually work. Once he "kills" Metro Man, he has his moment of triumph but then grows melancholy because he's not really evil, he doesn't really have evil plans of destroying and killing, and he doesn't really want to be the bad guy. He just wanted to have a purpose, to be accepted. In the  old system, he had purpose because Metro Man needed a nemesis. Otherwise, there would be no one to save his people from.

With Metro Man gone, he thinks the answer is to make a new hero so he can fight someone like in the good old days. This plan backfires and eventually he must become the good guy to fight the bad guy he created to be the good guy. He finally finds acceptance, the people see that he is good, and he ends up happy as the hero.

I love Megamind's personality, as he acts the part of the villain while really having a good heart, telling the now evil Tighten that he shouldn't be doing bad things and teaching him moral lessons, etc. etc. Megamind is never actually evil, but only judged and rejected and trying to fulfill to the best degree he can the role given him.

To close, a couple of good lines from the movie:
 

Metro Man: We all know how this ends; with you behind bars!

Megamind: Oh, I'm shaking in my custom baby seal leather boots!

Megamind: In case you've noticed, you've fallen right into my trap.

Metro Man: You can't trap justice. It's an idea, a belief!

Megamind: But, even the most heartfelt belief can be corroded over time.

Metro Man: Justice is a non-corrosive metal.

Megamind: But metals can be melted by the heat of revange!

Metro Man: It's 'revenge', and it's best served cold!

Megamind: But it can be easily reheated in the microwave of evil!

Metro Man: Well, I think your warranty's about to expire!

Megamind: Maybe I got an extended warranty!

Metro Man: Warranties are invalid if you don't use the product for it's intended purpose!

 

Roxanne Ritchie: [sarcastically] Could someone stamp my frequent kidnapping card?

Megamind: *laughs* You of all people know we discontinued that promotion.

*Roxanne starts to throw things at Metro Man*

Roxanne Ritchie: How could you do this? The people of the city rely on you and you deserted them. You left us in the hands of...HIM! *points at Megamind*

Roxanne Ritchie: (to Megamind) No offense.

Megamind: No, I'm with you!

Inception

So I heard an interesting theory about Inception that I wanted to test out. According to the theory, you can tell when Cobb is dreaming and when he's in reality because of his wedding ring. In reality, he's never wearing it after Mal's death; in dreams, he's always wearing it. So, I watched the movie, and with the help of my cousin identified that yes indeed, the theory holds true.

It even clued me in to some scenes I hadn't realized were dreams. Specifically, during their planning they talk about buying out the airline and I never realized before but they're in the lobby of the hotel they use in the dream. Only, there's no one at the concierge desk, no other people, and Cobb has his wedding ring on. I guess making plans in a dream was more secure...or just more awesome.

This puts an end to the whole debate over whether or not Cobb really does make it back to reality or not. Everyone sits there staring at the top to see if it will topple, when I believe we can just get the answer from the wedding ring perspective. Did he make it back from Limbo?

Yes.

People say it's hard to tell if he's wearing his ring or not in that final shot, but you can clearly see he's not wearing it on the plane and in the airport, thus showing that he has returned to reality and that if the final shot were a dream he would have to have knowingly entered a new dream. He never wanted to see his kids in a dream, only in reality, and now that he is free to do so, seeing them in reality is the only logical course.

Samwise the Wise

Frodo: I can't do this, Sam.

Sam: I know. It's all wrong. By rights, we shouldn't even be here…but we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end…because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was…when so much bad had happened?

But in the end, it's only a passing thing…this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you…that meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going, because they were holding on to something.

Frodo: What are we holding on to, Sam?

Sam: That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it's worth fighting for.

*Shire theme plays*

Good old Sam. I love the guy. Here they are coming off a Nazgul attack, with Shelob and more right in front of them, and he can think well enough to shed some hope on the situation. Hope is often one of the first things to go when we look at how awful the world is getting, but while there is terrible wickedness and darkness all around us, there are still pockets of light dotting the Earth, and as Frodo and Sam proved, that one little light can make all the difference for the world.

Re-Releases

So I love that every time we figure out a new trick in movie-making we have to do a complete over-haul of our movie collections. "That's a nice wall of VHS' you have there, but there's this new thing called the DVD and we're gonna need you to switch over." Then, of course, we had to upgrade to Blu-ray, and while we're at it let's just get digital copies as well.

It's not just the hardware that's changing, either. How many different versions of the same movie are offered? Extended editions, director's cuts, limited/collector's/Diamond-whatever editions, etc. The new big thing, and the one that sparked the thought for this post, is re-releasing every movie that ever existed, one by one, in 3D.

I'm in the theaters today, and amid the trailers of new movies coming out is one for Jurassic Park. Jurassic Park...coming up on its 20th anniversary here, but hitting theaters again because it's in 3D. Now, I've nothing wrong with Jurassic Park; I love it and it'll be cool to see in 3D, but you can forget it if you think I'm buying another version of it.

With current trends and the expense of recreating entire movie libraries every so many years, I think I'll just wait for complete cinematic immersion in virtual reality theaters. Yeah, I think I'll hold out for that. Until then, I'm just buying one copy of each movie, thank you very much.

Geography

Hudson Bay, New York, Denver, the Bering Strait, the Sunshine State, Hawaii, Vienna, California, Seattle, Puget Sound, Maine, Nebraska, Alaska, L.A., Miami Beach, West Palm Beach, the Midwest, Fort Lauderdale, Tokyo, San Francisco, Paris, New Jersey, Tampa Bay, Juneau, Thailand, Prince Edward Island.

These are the specific places Adam Young mentions in his songs, but on top of that you'll find his many references to celestial bodies like the moon, sun, stars, and the galaxies that contain them. If you still want more variety, you can look at all the places without names that he visits in his works: caves, oceans, fields, mountains, forests, rivers, and more.

It's not the only thing he talks about, but it is revealing of some of his major themes. He loves nature, obviously; the beauty and wildness of it, as well as the sense of wonder it instills in us. Juxtaposed with that, though, is a strong current of modern and future technology, of travel through the stars and architectural  design placed amidst the treasures of nature.

Adam started producing his music as a remedy for his insomnia. What things occupied his mind? Apparently, the wonder of the natural world created by God (who he talks about in a number of songs), mixed with the marvel of human ingenuity and our place in the universe. Then, of course, he also talks plenty about love, loneliness, and the varied topics that comes to one's mind in the stillness of the night when you really should be sleeping but can't help staying up instead to wonder and think.

Background

In class the other day a study was mentioned where it was found that people who studied while listening to sound of any kind (music, traffic sounds, anything) did better when tested on the material. I know there are a lot of people who need silence to study, but I've found that for me music really helps me to concentrate. Of course, that doesn't apply if I'm just watching music videos on YouTube, because then there's no studying happening, but just putting on a playlist and getting to work does help. Sometimes I think it's because that part of my brain that wants to distract me and get me to check Facebook is already occupied listening to the music, or maybe it is that it helps my brain work better. There's always the possibility it's both. What about for all of you? Do you need silence to study, or do you prefer having music or some form of background noise?

Adam Young

I would have titled this Owl City, but since Adam is also Sky Sailing, we have to make the distinction. Whatever he's calling himself at the time, I love his music. I love the mellow tone of most of his songs, especially the older ones. But, of everything, what gets me most are the lyrics. He sings a lot about travel, flying, water, relationships, and places he loves.

Now, sometimes it's a bit tricky to tell exactly what connection he's trying to make with some of the words in his songs, but that can make it even better. Even when you wonder exactly what he means, the words add to the overall feel of the song. His lyrics often seem a little random associative, in that there is always a connection, but the looser the better. He uses puns, oxy-morons, sharp juxtaposition, and just clever little twists of thought paths that make sense but you know you never would have thought of on your own.

In that way, it fulfills one of the great principles of music. Music expresses things there aren't words for, and in Adam's seemingly random lyrics I feel he gets across those things that normal, linearly logical lyrics can't.

Just for a taste, here's "Hello Seattle" for you:

Hello Seattle, I am a mountaineer
In the hills and highlands
I fall asleep in hospital parking lots
And awake in your mouth

Hello Seattle, I am a manta ray
Deep beneath the blue waves
I'll crawl the sandy bottom of Puget Sound
And construct a summer home

Hello Seattle, I am the crescent moon
Shining down on your face
I will disguise myself as a sleeping pill
And descend inside of you

Hello Seattle, I am a cold seahorse
Feeling warm in your sand
I sing about the tide and the ocean surf
Rolling in the evening breeze

Hello Seattle, I am an albatross
On the docks and moored boats
I sail above your inlets and interstates
Through the rain and open wind

Hello Seattle, I am an old lighthouse
Throwing beams of bright lights
Red in the morning, blue in the evening sun
Taking heed for everyone

Hello Seattle, I am a mountaineer
In the hills and highlands
I fall asleep in hospital parking lots

Take me above your light
Carry me through the night
Hold me secure in flight
Sing me to sleep tonight

Take me above your light
Carry me though the night
Hold me secure in flight
Sing me to sleep tonight