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[PA Comic] Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - The Wisdom Of Crowds
Dog
Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
[PA Comic] Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - The Wisdom Of Crowds
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2015/05/06
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About the comic itself: I agree with Gabe here, the artist is usually there own worst critic, I know that from experience.
...is that possible? I mean it's not as good as the first one, but it's still a good blockbuster.
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I usually just use it when I'm bored at work or I don't have enough time to put into something more constructive, and it's so easy to get sucked in.
I find interesting things a lot of times, but sometimes it's just not worth the bewilderment and disgust many of the denizens generate.
Only a mere 136 pins to go!
edit: I would like to edit this post in light of new information, but have decided against it. It's ironic that I accuse others of misunderstanding a situation when my response here is borne out of my own misunderstanding of a situation. So, you know, let the record show.
From what I understand, certain people took issue with how Black Widow was portrayed.
I thought Age of Ultron was way better than the first one. Super pumped for Infinity War, but that's three years away
My info's secondhand, but apparently she has a line where she tells Bruce (the Hulk) that she's also a monster
Might be that I've been misinformed, but if true... Wow, that's some pretty terrible writing.
2. Hawkeye's super nuclear family and perfect life also upset people. This is more so because it sort of becomes this point of the plot where it makes everyone else feel like their life is damaged. Tony Stark and Captain America pine for the life Hawkeye has, assuming that Agent Carter and Pepper Potts would be willing to throw their careers away for them to go live on a quiet farm somewhere, etc.
3. After Hawkeye's big reveal that he has a token perfect family Black Widow reveals to Bruce Banner that when she was being trained to be a super assassin at the age of 13 in Russia that she was made sterile (I assume a hysterectomy) and goes on to talk about how she's a freak because of it and that she can never have kids, etc.
4. Unrelated to feminism, there was this really out of place Cave scene that was in the film where Thor goes on a vision quest half-naked and sees a bunch of post-apocalyptic visions related to the Infinity Gems. It's a scene that a lot of people who weren't huge nerds were confused about and something Joss fought to keep out of the film despite Marvel's insistence that it NEEDED to be in the film. It was also HEAVILY edited down because it tested poorly with audiences. But, it's the big advertisement for Avengers 3 or whatever so they kept it in.
5. Also unrelated to feminism, Ultron has as much depth as Malekith from Thor 2. This is mostly because the film spends a lot more screen time on the above listed issues and not the story of Ultron.
While those two points come in close proximity, that's not exactly what or how it is said. There's a bigger point being made that is being missed when people conflate those two bits.
I saw a few posts saying Joss Whedon quitting (ostensibly because of harassment from feminists) took away any moral high ground feminists might have over GurbleGicks. That alone makes me think they are behind it.
Ah. See, I am working on secondhand accounts. What's the larger point?
My understanding was
I don't think the sterilization was specifically what she was referring to, though it would obviously be part of the emotional scars she carries.
You can't give someone a pirate ship in one game, and then take it back in the next game. It's rude.
Would it be alright if I posted an article where Whedon clarifies his reasons for leaving? The short of it is that it wasn't some feminist-led attack, but a desire to reclaim some of his personal life.
How about, from now on, when a group attacks someone, we just call them assholes.
Because that's the group they actually belong in for harassing people regardless of what they might say they stand for.
The fact that this seems to have opened up his own work for scrutinization and hypercriticism would seem to be a poetic justice.
I didn't like it, but I don't really like blockbuster action films or super hero films so that was no surprise! (I had a gift card and friends wanted to go). It seemed like an average offering for the genre though.
And I never got the idea that Tony and Steve wanted Peggy and Pepper to give up their careers and become housewives, but both guys would like a stable home life. Tony's home was blown up in the last Iron Man movie with Pepper there while Steve can't seem to even connect with a woman romantically, let alone marry one.
I enjoyed the movie but it definitely has some major issues.
Yeah, as other people have said that's one uncertain interpretation of a larger scene. I just saw the movie, so I'll try to summarize how I remember it going:
So yeah, she talks about being sterilized, and then talks about being a monster, but it's only "sterilized woman = monster" if you're looking for something to be outraged at and decide to ignore everything else
http://www.buzzfeed.com/adambvary/joss-whedon-on-leaving-twitter#.qh3eQd8LDR
Well, that's certainly better, yes.
Seeing it spelled out, I think it would've been cool if the story had ended with something like "I've seen real monsters."
what i DO have a problem with though is the criticism aimed at it for dumb reasons:
2. I don't think that black widow was intentionally portrayed as being a monster for not being able to have children....but sure as hell its something a woman (or indeed a man) who is sterile could legitimately feel in that situation. we all know and in fact im sure black widow knows that it doesnt make her worthless or broken to be sterile but when you want a family is exactly the kind of thing that would make someone FEEL that way and its not helpful to say that people in movies should not represent a realistic reaction to having that done to you against your will.
[\spoiler]
Also, how many movies can marvel regurgitate the same villains at us? Iron man 1, the villain is in an iron man suit of a sort. Iron man 2, the villain uses a host of iron man suits. Now we have avengers 2 age of ultron and once again a bunch of iron man suits. Only difference, no one is inside them this time. Also why are ironman suits so delicate when tony stark isn't in them? When he wears a suit, it is bullet proof and can even take a few hits from thor or even the hulk. When he is not wearing the suit, hand guns take them down and people without super strength can break them with their fist.
The ones Tony wears are the newest, most-upgraded versions, and the other ones are outmoded junk by this point?
That, or they're adhering to the Law of Inverse Ninjutsu, which stipulates that there is weakness in numbers, especially if you're nameless and identical.
Black Widow in AoU:
Sometimes I think Gabe was on the right track:
this does not logically follow even in the slightest.
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That's the Culture War for you.
Any work of art that does not promote a socially constructive agenda, as determined by the fickle and inconsistent hivemind of the internet, supports the opposing agenda by default, and is therefore an acceptable target for aggression.
Artists aren't allowed to create realistic or flawed protagonists anymore, because all art is assumed to be some form of propaganda, regardless of whether or not it's actually intended as such.
this is entirely unsupported by logic or pretty much anything
if an artist has made the decision to publish her or his work publicly, for public consumption, this does not make the work immune or unassailable from criticism. to even claim such is absurd. art doesn't happen in a vacuum. it's the culmination of both the artist and how the audience sees and reacts to the work. doesn't matter if the work happens to be a summer blockbuster, a PA strip, the Illiad, or whatever.
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