For those of you who are unaware, there is a film out currently that is the third installment of a cinematic trilogy. However, it does not have a roman numeral, or a 3, or even a designating subtitle in its name. It is called The World's End and it is the completion of the Cornetto Trilogy.
The creative team of Edgar Wright (Director), Simon Pegg (writer/actor), and Nick Frost (writer/actor) have known each other for a long time and have collaborated on some of the funniest films of the last decade. The films in question are of course Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the aforementioned The World's End. They do not tell a continuous story, or relate in any wayto each other besides returning actors, a kinetic style of film-making and a love of the European ice cream brand Cornetto.
Ricky Gervais is a funny guy. He created The Office and has written for dozens of shows and movies. He's a talented stand up comedian as well, with his quirky mannerisms and delivery. He's a thoughtful guy too, often weighing in on world events and commenting on society, which is a comedian's job after all. He's also an Atheist.
I decided on Ricky Gervais as the focus for this Friday's post because I needed a laugh and he's a great person to get one from. Often times religious comedy is either harmless or harmful. With Gervais, he is usually goofy as hell. Take for instance his reading of the Noah story (Language advisory).
That was great! "Why did the dove get a second go and not the raven? Racist!" He doesn't think the Bible has much credence to it, FYI. You may have guessed that from a little movie called The Invention of Lying. In it, his character lives in a world without lies, and he, the first person to lie, also is the founder of religion.
That's some pretty funny stuff. I recommend seeing the rest of the movie too. I want to share a few more of my favorite bits of his. Come on it's Friday, have a laugh!
And This...
And this...
And Finally, this talk he had with Richard Dawkins...
Not just funny, but thoughtful. A good human being.
Have a splendid weekend!
A growing list of influential artists, writers, poets, filmmakers, and creatives.
Cliff Chiang
Today I wanted to spotlight one of my favorite artists that's currently hard at work making amazing art. And who should be up today but Cliff Chiang, the fabulous artists behind DC's current run on Wonder Woman (which is awesome by the way!). Cliff's work is a beautiful balance of classic line-work with a contemporary dynamism that makes his style right for almost anything.
A new installment of the "Superhero-for-every-state" project.
NEBRASKA: One of the nation's most popular corn-themed heroes, Kernel
Corn fires his cob-klobbs at all opponents of freedom. By merely
shucking an ear and tossing it, he creates an explosion of popcorn that
traps wrongdoers. Beware his hot-buttered Justice!
Now that we've been introduced to Alan Moore, I'd like to share his rather refreshing view of religious belief and practice. He believes that spiritual pursuit should be decided by the individual, or that one religion for everybody doesn't make sense. Everyone is different, and since everyone id different, we each have our own spiritual needs that we should seek to satisfy on our own. If you don't have much of a spiritual hunger, then just get a salad and a diet coke. But if you crave exotic tastes, then look into the ancient deities of the Mayans, Inuit, or Roman snake deities.
Moore, as I've said before, is a bit of a weirdo. As a comic writer he has been incredibly influential on the medium, and has even been called one of the most in important contemporary writers in Britain. Many of his comics have been turned into films, though you'll notice his name isn't on it. Why? Because for him, the movie is something completely different than the comic, and he wants no part of it and thus, he gives his portion of the royalties to the other contributors. At least he practices what he preaches.
He supports an open view of reality, religion, and personal values. He also has some interesting views on the idea of magic and mysticism. Simply put, magic is Art. Magic is manipulation of symbols, words, and ideas in order to change the consciousness of yourself and others. This is so cool to me. To think that being a magician is to someone who creates with words, with colors, and with objects what was not before is empowering to me. I think I will be a magician.
Moore is a fascinating personality because he is at the same time mystical and rational. He has poetic air bout him that is almost intimidating, yet he has a gentle sense of humor and an open mind that would invite you to join him for tea. There are many great interviews with him on Youtube and other places, including an 80 minute documentary about him. Here is a few (10 minutes worth) words from Kevin Smith and friends on the amazing run on Swamp Thing that Moore worked on in the 80s.
I'll leave you with a quote from the video I linked to in the last article. As Alan stands on stage a callous version of himself accuses him of having a messiah complex. He responds:
A growing list of influential Artists, Writers, Poets, Filmmakers, and Creatives.
Alan Moore
I like this guy, he's weird. He's the oddball who cut his name out of the movie adaptations of his works and refused to accept the money for it. He has weird religious beliefs (more on that Friday), a bizarre dress code, and he thinks comics are the best kind of art (can you guess what I think of him?). Alan Moore is one of my favorite comic writers because he consistantly challenges himself and the medium with complex characters, morally ambiguous stories, and vivid visual storytelling. To keep things brief, I will list off a few of my favorite works by him.
This project started from an idea I came up with while talking to a
friend about superheroes. The specific comment made was, "What would a
superhero inspired by Ohio be like?" I took that comment and set out to
create a superhero for every state, representing their state as
critically and humorously as possible.
Florida
In a state of spring break, gators, and oranges comes the
hottest superhero of 1968! Retired Man may find it hard to get to the
bathroom on time, but he's never late taking evil down a peg through his
incredible storytelling skills.
For More, Go Here!
I was asked for my thoughts on the new Superman movie Man of Steel.
I could have just done that, but after watching the first three
Christopher Reeve movies with a few friends recently, I feel the need
to talk about the new movie in reference to the old. The reason for
that: I feel much of the criticism of the new film is due to referring
to what has gone before.
Man of Steel (2013)
Finally
to the point of all of this. If you couldn't tell already, I think that
Superman could due with a cinematic course correction. When Looking back at the other films, aside from a nostalgic desire to say they're great, they aren't so much: plots are dicey, character development is weak, and, aside from Reeve, the other characters just aren't particularly interesting. So I felt, going into Man of Steel that the filmmakers needed to completely forget what had been done on film before.
And they pretty much did.
Today I get to combine Superheroes and religion into one post! I heard a story about this on NPR and I just had to tell everyone about it. There's a new hero in Pakistan and she is called " The Burqa Avenger" or "The Lady in Black." By day, she is kind, educated, and strong school teacher Jiya by day, and a costumed fighter for social justice by night. The Avenger uses karate that employs books and pencils as weapons and can glide with her Burqa. This animated series tackles social issues that are relevant to its audience, and wrap it up in the colorful and dramatic dressings of a superhero story. In other words, this is really neat.
Her creator, Haroon Rashid, had some pretty awesome things to say about this project. One of the things he addressed was the use of the Burqa itself. To many it is a symbol of oppression and not of a liberated woman. Here is what he had to say:
"We chose the burqa because of course we wanted to hide her identity the
way superheroes do. She doesn't wear the burqa during the day — she
doesn't even wear a headscarf, or a hijab or anything like that; she
goes about her business as a normal teacher would. And so she chooses to
wear the burqa, she's not oppressed ... and on the other end of the
spectrum, a lot of female superheroes in the West are objectified, and
sort of sexualized in their costumes, like Catwoman and Wonder Woman,
and that certainly would not work here."
He does have a point.
He goes on to explain that The Burqa in this case functions like Batman's costume, a disguise to protect her identity, which is actually functional in doing so. It's like the opposite of a Domino Mask.
So wait, you're not Ryan reynolds?
The animated series has gained praise from children and parents alike, much of which for what its creator talks about here:
"There's a huge space for children's entertainment in Pakistan. There's
practically no local entertainment; ... a lot of the entertainment is
imported from the West; it's not relevant, socially relevant or
culturally relevant, and most of it's just entertaining junk, like,
let's say, Ben 10. ... They don't have any social messages, and
I think it's important to have positive social messages and themes and
morals. And a lot of young children who don't get the opportunity to get
a great education need programming which is entertaining and yet also
educational."
I hope this show does really well. I think educational entertainment is a great medium to support. And I think the world needs more superheroes that everyone can look up to; girls and boys, young and old.
The animation is alright, but the concept is awesome.
For more info, check out the interview with the creator on NPR,
