Before I get in to why this trailer made this film one of my MOST anticipated movies of the summer, I would like to mention the ONE QUOTE that made me go, “Oh… shit. Now I HAVE to see this movie!”
The line in question was spoken by whoever Gob Bluth’s character is playing. You can say that the quote was quite… MAGICAL. “Yes,” you’re saying, “we get it, you watch a lot of Arrested Development. GET ON WITH IT ALREADY!”
“Four Turtles and one of ’em is fighting a robot samurai… eh, WHY NOT?!”
Once that quote was said, it made me understand that the people behind this movie know EXACTLY what they were doing. They are self-aware of how stupidly awesome that concept is, and are having absolute fun with this adaptation. That’s the key word here. ADAPTATION. It’s not simply a re-imagine-booting, whatever-ing, for money, though of course that’s always a factor in these situations and understandably so. To these people’s credit, rather than push out some dreck that will still make barrels full of cash, they are taking a source material they love and are smart enough to modernize that film in an earnest way. You still with me here? Good. Let Us show you this trailer, and we’ll give you the breakdown:
I’m sorry, did you hear that last quote? Megan Fox earned herself a “toe”-thumbs up when she said, “They’re not aliens. That’s stupid. They’re turtles.” That is the writer’s jab at EVERYONE who said that concept was ridiculous. It’s called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and they are mutants because radioactive waste in the sewers gave them the ability to walk upright and learn ninjitsu from a rat (*and aliens are really stupid).
*read that in a sarcastic font please.
All joking aside, let’s take a step back, away from all the fighting and debating about what they look like and get to the reason why this incarnation of the Ninja Turtles looks like a SHELL of a time. These turtles are an amalgamation of nerds and frat bros. In the beginning of the trailer, after they appear to have successfully completed a mission, they are just geeking out on the rooftops:
“This is OUR TOWN!”
“Yea!”
“Totally unseen!”
“Ninjas of the Dark!”
They are totally having fun and celebrating just like anyone between the ages of 17-25 would do! The demographic they are directly aiming for are the nerdy college-aged folk because this specific age group grew up with the franchise and made it the sensation that it is today! It is a complete LOVE LETTER to that generation in every way, if the dialogue is any indication. I mean, I could be wrong, because I never really watched the Ninja Turtles. However, I know good writing when I see it!
And once I figure that out, it is tied with Dawn of the Apes as my most anticipated thing this summer. But what of the Ussians?! What doth they speaketh on this presented trailer? WHAT SAY YOU IN THE COMMENTS BELOW?!
Richard, Chris and one very angry Monkey (the cat) star on this week’s episode of Digital Noise. Will they get through this massive list of titles? Will they find nice things to say about Walk of Shame or 300: Rise of an Empire? Can they keep from having a spontaneous man-gasm over The Lego Movie, Judex or Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6?
Will Chris be able to handle two giveaways all on his lonesome without calling Brian for emergency assistance? And will surgeons be able to save Richard’s beard? All the answers to these questions and more on this week’s episode of Digital Noise.
Please do consider using our links below to make all your Amazon purchases! Much appreciated.
A lonely man walks down the streets of a desolate concrete jungle. The smell of asphalt, vegetation, and death sickens him, for it reminds him that he has been walking for far too long. As he makes his way through the decaying city, a sight stops him in his tracks. Swinging from a lamppost is a body hanging from a noose with a sign around its neck. As the man gets closer to the body, he sees a handgun beneath its swaying feet. He reads the sign:
There is more hope
in death
I’ve recently been fascinated with multiple theories of social psychology and ideas of human nature regarding how we acquire perceptions and behavior. After playing through The Last of Us and catching up on The Walking Dead, I started to think about how some of these paradigms would shape human behavior during the zombie apocalypse (like every college daydreamer).
That’s why I love the post-apocalyptic genre: it can be a form of sociological fiction. If people were born into a world where society is obliterated and the concept of humanity becomes distorted, how would they behave? How would philosophies, beliefs, and perceptions evolve and shape a world fueled by nihilism and chaos? With this lens, I would like to explore two ideas: terror management theory and Albert Camus’ idea of the absurd.
Terror Management Theory (TMT)
This theory has brought to light an interesting paradigm as to how we view human behavior. It combines both philosophies of evolutionary and existential psychology to explain certain functions of in-group/out-group behavior, aspects of self-esteem, and the psychological foundations of culture. There are two main constructs of this theory:
1. We are biologically predisposed towards self-preservation.
2. We don’t like the idea of the universe being meaningless chaos because that deflates the value of our own existence. Thus, we create our own meaningful universe through language, symbolism, and culture, which provides the foundation for our well-being.
Studies done under TMT generally involve the idea of mortality salience, which is a term used to describe something that brings about the awareness of one’s inevitable death. The theory is that when something reminds us of our own mortality, it generates anxiety, and the reaction is a compensatory one that attempts to restore balance to your psyche. This is because when thinking about death, people have a strong aversion towards the notion that in death, one yields no more significance than the same decaying organic matter as everything else (thanks Tyler Durden).
This creates a dissonance with the desire for self-worth. As a result, people tend to tighten their grasp on the ‘truths’ of their own beliefs in order to refute that nihilistic reality, and that their value persists beyond death. This means that if anyone or anything disagrees with our beliefs and tries to burst our proverbial bubble, we will tend to lash out and attack them either intellectually or physically.
Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla was amazing!
So why am I telling you all this? What does this mean within the context of the zombie apocalypse? Well, like I said, when we are fearing for our own lives, we tend to grasp on to anything that gives our lives meaning. Religion, gangs, culture, anything that we can relate to that allows us to establish a meaningful presence, will have a heightened sense of importance. It explains why people form many different groups/clans with their own ways of living, and why there is a lot of hostility towards others (i.e. Seasons 3 and 4 of The Walking Dead with Woodbury vs. The Prison).
Think about the medieval times. This was a time where death was everywhere. With disease, famine, and the inability of medicine to deal with common injuries, death was a brutal part of most people’s everyday experience. So what happened as a result of all this? With the Catholic Church being the only church in Europe at that time, it became a very powerful force, being involved with politics and daily living. Soon, military campaigns were being sanctioned by the church a la the Crusades. The Church’s wrath was also felt domestically. The idea of witchcraft goes against everything their ideologies stand for, which resulted in the strong aversion towards these so called “witches,” resulting in initiatives such as the Salem Witch Trials.
If we view the zombie apocalypse like a ‘second Dark Age’ in our history, where mortality becomes highly salient everyday, that might give a realistic picture of how society could adapt to this newly integrated force of nature. What’s even more fascinating to think about is within the context of the diversity in the U.S. since we are somewhat more accepting of all these religions and cultures. After the apocalypse has hit, society will be fragmented as people will close their doors and hold on to their in-groups. What is even more interesting to think about, is how these religions and cultures will evolve to incorporate and explain what these zombies are doing here… but that is a whole article on its own.
Post-Apocalyptic Happiness
Let’s think about thinking. It was the great philosophers from Aristotle to John Locke, and everyone in between, before, and after them, that paved the way we perceive the world today. From politics, science, education, enlightenment etc., we can all thank history’s pioneering thinkers for establishing the foundations of life and providing us with a unique human trait: reason. Everything we do is because of reasons. We can be happy because of , and can make us happy. In a world swallowed by death and chaos, manifested in the form of rotting flesh, everything becomes about survival. There are no ambitions to pursue personal endeavors. Whether it be becoming president, filmmaker, or Justin Beiber, scavenging for food and living the day after next is what’s important… and it’s the only thing people have to live for. A very nihilistic and meaningless way of living. So what’s the point of living in this world, if all we are doing is prolonging the inevitable? What is there to live by?
It would be easy to say that it is within our nature to survive like I mentioned in TMT. Our buddy Charlie D. would say that it’s about survival of the fittest and natural selection. We live to procreate and perpetuate our species forward. Bam. Done. However, there is a philosopher by the name of Albert Camus that provides a very interesting way of thinking that is both nihilistic yet optimistic. His idea of living is through what he calls the absurd.
Sisyphus doing the impossible task
In his book The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays he essentially discusses that what is ‘absurd’ about human existence, is the conflict between what we want from the universe (meaning, order, and reasons) and what we actually find in the universe (formless chaos). It is, in ways, similar to the pillars of TMT, but Camus takes it to a different direction. He proposes the idea that we can accept and live in a world devoid of meaning or purpose. In fact, trying to find the meaning of life is impossible, and just leads to frustration and despair.
The absurd is a contradiction that cannot be reconciled, and any attempt to reconcile this contradiction is simply an attempt to escape from it. Instead, to be constantly aware of this meaninglessness, and to struggle against it, is what allows us to live life to the fullest; live life by the absurd. Once we adapt this philosophy of life, there are three pillars of how this lifestyle will make us happy:
1. We must not accept any answer or reconciliation in our struggle.
2. We are absolutely free to think and behave as we choose
3. We must pursue a life of rich and diverse experiences
He uses Sisyphus as an example of how to live by the absurd, if we imagine him as happy. The story of Sisyphus in a nutshell is about a guy who was punished by the god to roll a rock up a mountain, only to have it roll back down the bottom when he reaches the top. The task is endless and impossible to accomplish, so this task will last all of eternity. In a way, it can serve as an analogy for the human condition in the zombie apocalypse: he must struggle perpetually and without hope of success. Camus goes on to say that we must imagine Sisyphus as happy, once he accepts the futility of his actions. Once he realizes that the task is impossible and meaningless, he is actively aware of the ‘absurdness’ of the task. He becomes happy because letting go of hope, is to also let go of any kind of frustration and anger when he constantly fails this task, meaning the gods no longer have anything to punish him with. What is left is to accept that his life is nothing more than an absurd struggle, and that even though this task is impossible, the effort and struggle is what provides him the feeling of being alive. The journey is more important than the destination.
With that being said, that is just one idea of how people might view the world in the apocalypse. One thing that would be interesting to look at would be how philosophy would evolve. If someone were to be born in to this world with a blank mind (Locke’s Tabula Rasa theory), what perceptions would they acquire? If you are born in to a world of zombies, then that becomes your reality; it becomes a normal way of living. With that state of mind, how would philosophers pave the way for humanity?
Love in the time of zombies
There are so many other themes and ideas I would like to explore under this context. For example, the idea of gender and love. In the apocalypse, the idea of gender might disappear and relationships as we know it now might not exist either, due to the harsh sociological setting. Indeed, there are no social contracts here, there is no gender role, as the world we would live in is a masculine one in the sense that you kill or get killed. Men and women (and children) kill or get killed. In the sociological sense of it, there are no women and men, no hetero- or homosexuals. There are people and individuals. Period. In such a world there is naked love (again, the question how love itself changes in such a context is intriguing), but man-woman, or man-man, or woman-woman love might not exist, since gender might not exist. All the characters have is their physical sexes, but no social-psychological attachments to them.
SO MANY IDEAS!
But I believe I have talked too much. I would like to hear what you guys have to say about the apocalypse! What are your favorite Post Apocalyptic canon? Are you prepared for the fall of humanity? Whatever your thoughts, comment below and discuss with the Us!
Also, special thanks to Sarah Amburgey for drawing up that cool piece for my intro, and Alexander Brox for the featured image! Check out their art portfolios by clicking on the pictures below!
Sarah Amburgey
Alexander Brox
References:
Solomon, S., Greenberg, J., & Pyszczynski, T. (2000). Pride and Prejudice Fear of Death and Social Behavior. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9(6), 200-204
Camus, A. (1955). The myth of Sisyphus, and other essays. Random House LLC
It’s an odd week at THEOG as pretty much ALL of the regular cast had other commitments and could not make it to a recording, but Chris, as usual, pushes on. He grabbed an old friend from The League of Extremely Ordinary Gentlemen, Harris (who you may now know better as Dr. Nerdlove), and a new member of our team: introducing all of you to Ed Travis from the movie website cinapse.co who is joining the Unusual Suspects movie reviewing team.
The trio got together at Harris’ pad and talked current news stories about Star Wars and Marvel television which generally digressed and segued to exploring pretty much every corner of geekdom. We also break down the best movies of 2014 so far. Check it out…
After an ungodly amount of time watching misfires and squandered potential, it’s good that TNA Wrestling can hit a home run every now and then and palliate my frustration. Slammiversary, despite a last minute change up to the main event of the night, was one of the better pay-per-view offerings that TNA has served up in quite a while.
EDDIE EDWARDS vs. DAVEY RICHARDS vs. CRAZZY STEVE vs. TIGRE UNO vs. MANIK vs. SANADA (TNA X-Division Championship Ladder Match): This match was a hell of a way to open a pay-per-view. There were so many awesome spots (including Crazzy Steve’s homage to Terry Funk’s usage of a ladder to clear the ring) that I couldn’t keep up. However, in the back of my mind, I knew what the outcome would be. There was little to no build up for this match, so it was pretty obvious the X-Division title would not change hands. WINNER: SANADA
BOBBY LASHLEY vs. SAMOA JOE: With MVP’s injury occurring, he could no longer face Eric Young in the main event title match. This was one of two matches to determine Eric Young’s opponents in the, now a triple threat, main event match. After all of the speed and high flying of the previous match, this match was a nice change of pace. Both men are physical, smash-mouth, yet deceptively quick ring workers. These men left it all on the mat and though the referee distraction was a bit far-fetched to work on someone who just doesn’t give a damn like Joe, it set up a devastating spear from his opponent to gain the pin fall. WINNER: BOBBY LASHLEY
WILLOW (with Abyss in corner) vs. MAGNUS (with Bram in corner): As a huge fan of Magnus, I have to say that I am disappointed that he’s been removed from the title picture so soon after losing the belt. That being said, this feud with Willow seems decent enough and this match had quite a few entertaining, though predictable (as Jeff Hardy/Willow matches will always be) spots. Though Willow hit two finishers on Magnus, he kicked out and somehow found a way to lay out Willow for the victory. WINNER: MAGNUS
KENNY KING vs. AUSTIN ARIES: The second of two qualifying matches for the main event title bout, this match was a much different style than the Joe/Lashley bout. These men took it to high flying, striking and even ground/technical wrestling. Minus a blown spot where the guardrail collapsed into the first row of the crowd, this was definitely one for the ages. A high spot reversal by Aries, nailing his Brainbuster off the top rope, secured his shot at the title later that evening. WINNER: AUSTIN ARIES
MARSHALL AND ROSS VON ERICH vs. THE BROMANS: I’ve had a soft spot for the newest torch bearers of the Von Erich legacy. But I have yet to see them really impress me in the ring. They did show tons of promise in this short, but sweet bout. Though the Bromans resorted to the steel chair and got themselves disqualified, they looked to send a message to the Von Erich boys…until family showed up for back up in the name of the legendary Kevin von Erich. Not only did he hit the Iron Claw in their home state, but it occurring on Father’s Day? TNA could not have brainstormed a more well-deserved pop than what they got at the end of that match. (WINNERS: VON ERICHS BY DISQUALIFICATION)
ANGELINA LOVE vs. GAIL KIM (TNA Knockouts Championship): Though I’ve never been sold on Angelina Love, she did put on quite the performance against the always solid Gail Kim. Maybe it’s just me, but how many matches can the Beautiful People win using nearly the exact same distraction tactic (this time, referee Earl Hebner taking an accidental dropkick)? Then Brian Stifler came in and refused to count when Kim had the pin, but made the quick count when Angelina pinned Gail. WINNER: ANGELINA LOVE
ETHAN CARTER III vs. BULLY RAY (Texas Deathmatch): The “no disqualification/last man standing” rules of this match made for a brutal display of violence. There were the standard tables, chairs and other wrestling paraphernalia. Then we started seeing weapons that gave me that warm, fuzzy feeling that I haven’t had since watching ECW in the mid-late 1990s (cowbells, glass shards and yes, a cheese grater). I’m no fan of Ethan’s aunt, TNA President Dixie Carter, being involved in matches or storylines. Her acting ability leaves much to be desired. But Dixie sticking her nose into this match, and nearly getting driven through a table, was enough to put any fan that is upset with TNA upper management on the edge of their seat. But interference from Rockstar Spud allowed EC3 to avoid getting a pile driver to the exposed ring foundation that Bully tore open earlier. He then gave Bully Ray a taste of his own medicine, putting him through some tables. WINNER: ETHAN CARTER III
KEN ANDERSON vs. JAMES STORM: After Storm spent a few minutes clowning on the hometown Dallas Cowboys. Said Cowboys were in attendance and were pretty irate at Storm’s disparaging comments and gestures. Anderson and Storm had quite a brief match, with Anderson hitting the Mic Check merely a few minutes in. But it was all about getting the crowd into it and Anderson to get over with the fans even more by standing triumphant in the ring with the Dallas Cowboys in the end. WINNER: KEN ANDERSON
BOBBY LASHLEY vs. AUSTIN ARIES vs. ERIC YOUNG (TNA World Heavyweight Championship Steel Cage Match): This is the big one and MAN, it did not disappoint. I have been overly critical of Eric Young’s matches and him basically being champion just to promote his new television series. But I have to eat some of those words, as he and his opponents had probably the best triple threat cage match I’ve seen in about a decade. 3-way cage matches tend to get cluttered and the camera tends to miss important high spots. But these men knew how to work this match. Between Lashley’s power, Aries’ technical/high-flying style and EY’s insane devil-may-care ring style, they told quite the narrative. Young dropping an elbow off the top of the 20 foot cage, possibly made Macho Man look down from heaven and smile. Young in the end hit a pile driver on Aries to retain the title. Though it remains to be seen if Aries was truly defeated, or if he just laid down to allow EY the win as a “screw you” to the Director of Wrestling Operations, MVP. WINNER: ERIC YOUNG
I sincerely hope that this is the dawn of a new era for TNA Wrestling. This was, in my opinion, the best pay-per-view put out from either of the big 2 promotions all year long. What were your thoughts on Slammiversary?
When I first scored this writing gig here on One Of Us, one of the main things I wanted to do was cover Big Finish audio dramas. With the blessing of my lords Chris and Brian, I launched Big Finishing Move, which has been the most fulfilling thing I’ve been able to do on the site. It has allowed me to flex my critical muscles as well as explore my love for Doctor Who in new and exciting ways. It also helped me justify all the money I was blowing collecting these stories, but that’s neither here nor there.
I bring this up because when I launched this series, I did it with Big Finish’s first solo Doctor story, Phantasmagoria and I haven’t been back to the Fifth Doctor on his own since that time. Today, that streak ends as we again meet up with everybody’s favorite vegetable-wearing friend in a story of biblical proportions (you are required by law to make that joke when covering this story), The Council Of Nicaea.
TARDIS Team: Fifth Doctor, Peri and Erimem
Let’s address this right out the gate; this is a purely historical story and deals with the Christian Church. There are no monsters or alien plots to foil here, just the Doctor and company meeting important figures from history and reacting to the major events of that time. As the title suggests, our story takes place in 325 CE in the lead-up to the First Council of Nicaea. The Roman Empire was tearing itself apart as the young Christian Church warred over many things, including just what was the proper relationship between God and Jesus. Rather than let everything go to pot, the emperor Constantine convened a whole bunch of bishops to sort things out and restore order.
With violence in the streets and everything going way too far, this seems the typical kind of situation that the Doctor solves all the time. However, this is a fixed point in time, so the Doctor’s hands are tied. That doesn’t stop his companion Erimem (not, not Eminem, but that would make quite a story!) from getting heavily involved to the point where she might disrupt the entire timeline and get herself, Peri, and the Doctor killed.
What makes this story work is that it is set up so that you can enjoy it no matter where on the religious spectrum you place yourself. The story is about how this moment affected the entire western world and still does: what happened, why it happened, and what happened because of it. The story doesn’t care if you find the arguments silly or the most important decisions in the world, it is about how much it means to the characters and what they are willing to do to resolve the issue. Politics and religion have always been a messy business and the story and this story shows this in all its “glory.”
This story comes to us courtesy of Caroline Symcox, wife of long time Doctor Who writer Paul Cornell, co-author of Seasons of Fear, and priest of the Church of England. Her care and knowledge on the First Council really shines through in this story. While she does have a firm grasp of the history, the story is not without flaws. The dialogue and pacing are a little stilted and the story relies heavily on convenience at several points.
While everyone is on point, special notice should go to David Bamber as Constantine. He brilliantly plays the Emperor, showing multiple layers to the character with ease. It would be easy to just go and ham it up for all it is worth, but Bamber instead reigns it in at points giving us a deeper and much more complex performance.
Your enjoyment on this one is going to come down on how much do you want to think when it comes to Who. Are you up for a story drenched in historical fact that makes you think about the nature of religion and politics and challenges just what a Doctor Who story can be about, or are you looking for some sci-fi monsters and things going boom? This story isn’t for everyone and I can’t fault anybody who finds it dry or boring, I however found it refreshing and entertaining. I’ve always felt that while this franchise deals with history all the time, it is so rarely focused on that history in an intense manner. Interesting and important stuff happened in our history and it would nice to dive in it without needing to have some boogeyman waiting in the shadows. Don’t misunderstand, I love me some monsters, but variety as they say, is the spice of life. Check it out if you are in the mood for something different.
Purchase ‘Doctor Who: The Council Of Nicaea’ Here:
As always let me remind you good people that One Of Us has its own audio drama, Infinite Variations. As for me, I’ll be back before the month is out with the next Fourth Doctor romp:
Could it be true? The rumors were spreading like wildfire as soon as multiple reports claimed that Rian Johnson (Looper) would be helming the next episodic Star Wars chapter after J.J. Abrams (Star Trek). It was finally reported on Friday by the Hollywood Reporter that Johnson would not only write and direct Star Wars Episode VIII, but would also tackle the first draft of the screenplay for Star Wars Episode IX.
Disney and Lucasfilm haven’t stopped trying to get as much young talent as possible for the new films in the iconic franchise. In keeping up with their trend of hiring directors with impressive science-fiction credentials, Johnson joins Josh Trank (Chronicle) and Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) as filmmakers tapped to direct Star Wars films.
Johnson’s past work for the silver screen has been more than exceptional. Making his debut in 2005 with the impeccably well-written high school noire Brick, Johnson has made a career out of presenting smart thrillers that could be both dark and wickedly funny.
In 2009, Johnson released his second film, TheBrothers Bloom. The strange but well-loved film about con-man failed to generate a sizable reaction from audiences when it was initially released in theatres. It did find success on DVD, and now has a sizable cult following.
Looper, the most recent of his films, would become his most commercially successful. With an all-star cast featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt, the film presented a tale about time travel in a dystopian Kansas. Not getting lost in its own “science,” Looper concentrated on character development and story, and it paid off in spades. It not only reminded audiences that Willis was more than capable of delivering a strong performance, but it showed that Johnson could deliver on an intelligent concept, while making a ton of money too.
Perhaps Johnson’s greatest credentials involve him telling a story in someone else’s world. His past work on Breaking Bad shows that he can create compelling stories just as much, if not more so, on the small screen. Directing three episodes in the series, Johnson is probably best remembered for directing Season 3’s “Fly,” which was an experimental episode set in one location, and Season 5’s “Ozymandias,” an episode that Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan has said is easily the best of series.
So, what could we possibly see in a Rian Johnson Star Wars movie? Perhaps a little too early to start speculating right now, it would be a safe guess that the second chapter of this third trilogy could potentially be the darkest. If these movies follow the original films in tone, which Disney and Lucasfilm seem to be desperately trying to recapture, Johnson could potentially be directing the Empire Strikes Back for this generation.
I realize that’s a hell of a statement to make, and I’m basing it off nothing, but Johnson’s resume points to someone who doesn’t sacrifice good storytelling for CGI explosions. If he can deliver those feelings of shock and dread that gripped audiences to their seats like the iconic game changing reveal in Empire, then he’s more than qualified. I for one could not be more excited to see him get the job, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can bring to a galaxy far, far away.
What about you reader? Excited that Rian Johnson will be helming a Star Wars film? Let us know in the comments below!
Duke and Kia spend about much time talking about Brazil 2014 as England spent being part of the tournament. Kia gives her predictions for the end of Breaking Bad (shhh she is only on season 3! – Praise be upon Netflix). Also, with the sad passing of Rik Mayall, Kia schools Duke on slapstick comedy from the turn of the 20th Century and how it really isn’t en vogue anymore!
The British Bodcast is a top secret M:I6 sponsored black op. The mission is classified, but rumor has it, the Bods have been recruited to turn good old Americans into fully fledged Anglophiles through the power of radio. It is part of a multi-pronged attack which also includes: Doctor Who, Tom Hiddleston and Downton Abbey. Catch the Bods each month on OneofUs.net as part of the World of UScast series or weekly on 3 Bods 1 Pod, a needtoconsume.com pod cast.
The Boondocks was always a show steeped in controversy. The first episode opens with the show’s lead, a militant youth named Huey Freeman, declaring that “Jesus was black, Ronald Reagan is the devil and the government is lying about 9/11” to a garden party of rich white folks. The show only got progressively more blatant about it’s political stance from there.
From the beginning of its run on Adult Swim, the show was an outlier from the rest of the network’s programming. While shows like Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab 2021 and Squidbillies went for the more surreal end of lowbrow, The Boondocks was genuinely intelligent and striking satire. So, one would figure that for the end of it’s nine year/four season run, this unique animated series would go out with a bang of a final season that squired modern cultural issues of race, media representation and the celebration of ignorance with a firm but funny hand, right?
No. That. Didn’t. Happen.
Season 4 of The Boondocks is, for my money, one of the worst examples of how horribly a show can degrade without the guiding light of its original creator. Said creator is Aaron MacGruder, a Chicago born cartoonist who initially created The Boondocks as a syndicated comic strip in 1996. I haven’t read that much of the strip myself, but from what I have seen, it’s clear that McGruder’s comic had a strong political edge in the same fashion as the early years of Doonesbury. The strip initially made it’s huge wave of controversy in the weeks following 9/11, with a series installments involving Huey calling the CIA terrorist hotline to expose the truth about the United States’ funding of terrorists during the Regan-HW Bush administration. McGruder took risks that made his strip controversial, but also gained him the respect and adoration of millions.
“Vision? What do you know about my vision? My vision would turn your world upside down, tear asunder your illusions and send the sanctuary of your own ignorance crashing down around you. Now ask yourself: are you really ready to see that vision?”
That sort of edge was clearly present in the television adaptation from its start in 2005. During its first season, The Boondocks covered every satirical topic it could muster: the post-9/11 fear mongering, the willingness of people to forgive celebrities for heinous crimes they obviously committed, the horrible diets of the average American, etc. At the same time, some episodes were simply very heightened comedic hijinks that served to give the characters room to grow, sprinkled with moments of satiric jabs and well choreographed action scenes.
All of those characters had humorous yet eloquent points to them: Huey was the straight man with bold convictions; Riley was the wannabe thug that served as a representation for the ignorance of youth; Granddad was the silly elder that commented on the dishonesty of the older generations; Tom Dubois was the bland suburbanite who had a lack of cultural roots; Uncle Ruckus was the total Uncle Tom who speaks on behalf of the blind trust of those in power; the list goes on. Yet, what always consistently rang true was it’s desire to go after the hypocrisy of the ignorant, no matter what their racial background was. That would only continue during Seasons 2 & 3, which took on the fervor of the 2008 election, the lack of action from FEMA post Hurricane Katrina and (in episodes that never aired in the United States) the negative cultural impact of BET.
Then… there’s the fourth and (supposedly/hopefully) final season. Gone is Aaron McGruder and with him the biting satire that made the show as exciting & entertaining as it was highly controversial. Instead, we have a collection of episodes that, at best, feel like solid premises that didn’t go much further than the early outlining stages and at worst feel like retreads of earlier much better episodes during the show’s height. The most egregious example of the latter would be Stinkmeaner: Begun the Clone War Has, which starts with the titular recurring antagonist looking directly into the camera and saying “Welcome to ‘The Nigga Moment Reboot.’ We’re gonna do some shit we already did and just pretend you didn’t see that shit the first time. That’s right nigga, we don’t respect your intelligence.”
Now, out of context, one may think that this is a clever parody of Hollywood’s need to remake popular properties by using the fan favorite topics of the show like Stinkmeaner and “The Nigga Moment.” However, the rest of the episode plays out like a blatant beat-for-beat rip off of the original Stinkmeaner episode, without any real twist on the formula. Merely pointing out your laziness isn’t the same as reflecting upon the laziness of an industry that recycles everything, Boondocks writing staff minus McGruder. Go watch 22 Jump Street and learn a thing or two about satire of that fashion.
“You think we put this shit on the air because it’s entertaining?! We air this shit because we despise our audience!”
That laziness is really what haunts this season. Episodes so often meander without much of a plot and go for the most shiftless jokes possible, rather than the complex weaving of humor and righteous satire that made the show so critically praised. Most of the targets for season 4 are ones worth taking shots at, but the shots have no bite to them. One of the worst examples of wasted potential this past season is the Granddad Dates a Kardashian episode. Instead of thinking of a new route from which to jab at a familiar target-much like the show did countless times in it’s earlier years-the episode takes no risks, making the same giant ass jokes and opportunist reality show star jokes we’ve seen in something as one note as an Aaron Seltzer/Jason Friedberg production. The same goes for the Breaking Granddad episode’s lampooning of Breaking Bad & the African American hair product industry and the Freedomland episode’s attempted commentary on the degradation of the middle class & the poor treatment of workers being compared to slavery. It all just doesn’t coalesce into anything thought provoking or even the least bit entertaining. It’s just… boring.
The satire isn’t the only element that’s suffered, though. Huey Freeman no longer crusades for real change in society with a militant attitude and a pension for martial arts, instead just standing by and sighing as ignorance happens around him. The same sidelined nature goes for Riley, Tom and many of the other popular characters on the show. Granddad has most of the focus in season 4’s episodes, but his once funny antics that displayed the naive foolishness on the elderly end up being poorly plotted acts of asinine behavior. And don’t even get me started on how much they’ve misused Uncle Ruckus, whose racism has become less about laughing at the ludicrous chauvinism of a bigot and more about simply shouting slurs.
All of these formerly entertaining characters have become empty one-note shells of what they once were, being mere dispensers for flavorless jokes rather than exaggerated caricatures for modern society that were still capable of real moments of humanity. Even when they were at their lowest depths of decency during the Aaron McGruder years, Granddad, Riley and Huey all still had these occasional moments of genuine sympathy, whether it be the mural reveal in Riley Waz Here, Huey’s crisis of faith at the end of The Passion of the Ruckus or the brief comforting moment between Huey and Grandad at the end of The Hunger Strike. Hell, even the action this season was poorly implemented, with each fight having no real weight on a story, satiric or even comedic level.
“Maybe I’m too young to know what the world is supposed to be. But it’s not supposed to be this. It can’t be this.”
Ultimately, the reason all of this hurts as much as it does is because The Boondocks was such an important show to me. As a white kid raised in the suburbs, I had a rather sheltered upbringing. I didn’t think about much else beyond the bubble of my neighborhood. Then, I saw The Boondocks‘ first season as it aired in 2005. As a thirteen year old, it shook my perceptions of what animation could do, what it could say and how it could make me think. I’d still cite The Return of the King episodeas one of the most important half hours in television history, managing to mix the show’s silliest jokes with hard hitting satiric arguments on the state of mainstream African American culture up to that point and how a civil rights leader like Martin Luther King Jr. would react to it upon seeing it first hand. Hell, I love it so much that I still watch it annually on MLK Day. That episode and many others like it made me question the world around me and opened my eyes to perspectives I’d never thought of before. It wasn’t just that the show entertained me; it helped change me into a more culturally aware person.
So, naturally, watching season 4 felt like a stab in the gut. The show that was once known for taking risks and being an unique voice has been sullied into one of the blandest and least funny shows on television in recent memory. The fourth season feels like a show that the Aaron McGruder era would have mercilessly called out back in the day; a lazy, hypocritical and comedically trite mess that claimed to be fighting against stereotypes it ended up promoting. Yet, I can still say that through re-watching the earlier seasons as research for this article, they still really do hold up. Even if the topics they cover are slightly dated, the show’s first three season have this energy and thought provoking bite that still works tremendously.
Sure, not every episode is a solid hit; some of season 3’s episodes rely on being a bit too one note with its characters (i.e. The Story of Jimmy Rebel). Yet, most of the wit and righteousness indignation that Aaron McGruder and his staff put into those initial years of the show still shines through in even the worst of those episodes and many of those characters will remain some of my favorite animated ones of all time. Hopefully that same wonderful mix can come through in McGruder’s new Adult Swim show, Black Jesus. And maybe – just maybe – we’ll get to see a spark of what a fitting final season for The Boondocks would have been through that show.
Something bad is going to happen in this movie. How do I know? Well, with a title like Nothing Bad Can Happen, how can it not? The freshman debut for German filmmaker Katrin Gebbe, Nothing Bad Can Happen is a disturbing and dark German-language drama inspired by real-life events.
Also known as Tore Tanzt (Tore Dances), Gebbe’s film analyzes the idea of holding on to faith in the face of abject cruelty. It’s a difficult watch, and may be too much for some, but it does deliver a number of powerful performances and a few scenes of creative imagery.
The film follows Tore, a naive vagabond who has entrusted his entire existence to the Jesus Freaks, a “punk” Christian movement that occupies a dilapidated half-way house. Tore, who takes his Christian vows even more seriously than his fellow lovers of Christ, meets a seemingly ordinary family suffering from car trouble on the road. The father of the family, Benno (Sascha Gersak), is pleased and amused when Tore’s prayer to Jesus miraculously brings the car back to life. After a falling out with his Christian brothers, Benno’s family takes Tore in as one of their own.
However, the image of the kind, picture perfect family is quickly revealed to be a farce. Tore is frequently subjected to mental and physical abuse at the hands of Benno, who takes great joy in mocking and testing his faith. Tore, ever steadfast in his love of Jesus, believes that he can demonstrate the love and kindness of God by enduring the unending cruelty that is forced upon him.
Those who enjoy the indie cinematic fare may want to be cautious if they choose to see Nothing Bad Can Happen. While the film features strong performances, particularly when the child actors are on screen, its violence and horrific abuse can be a little more than just disturbing. Mental abuse quickly turns physical, and sexual violence also occurs onscreen.
Gerask’s monstrous Benno is the standout among the adult characters. While not physically imposing (he’s actually shorter than Tore), his sinister personality makes up for his lack of height. Viewers will begin to dread his quiet dead-eye stares, and wince when he starts to smile. A drum of water and a stuffed kangaroo are the weapons he uses. Unusual, yes, but they manage to be effective tools of fear all the same.
The film manages to spend a few quiet moments away from the more violent scenes by showing the budding romance between Tore and Benno’s 15-year-old step-daughter, Sanny (Swantje Kohlhof). While initially unsure of Tore’s place in her home, she quickly gravitates to him for solace from her step-father and aloof mother. He’s kind to her and she returns his kindness in force. There scenes together are the film’s strongest, and she asks the questions that viewers might be thinking about as they’re watching the drama play out on screen.
Why do you believe? Why don’t you fight back? Why don’t you leave? These are the types of questions that Sanny asks. Tore replies that Jesus is testing him, that this is his plan for him. She still questions him, and his answers reveals just how alone he actually is. Without his belief, he would have nothing.
Viewers will have to go with that point of view if they plan to sit through the picture. It can get frustrating to follow Tore’s belief that all of this is just some spiritual test. It reveals something about the character that might be difficult to grasp. His naivety mixed with his feelings of devout faith present a person who is completely dedicated to his mission of proving that the love of Jesus can conquer all. Whether it does or not is up to the audience to interpret for themselves.
While not for the faint of heart, Nothing Bad Can Happen will certainly leave an impact on you long after watching the drama play out. It’s a dark, disturbing and thoughtful film that takes the time to consider whether one’s faith can truly withstand the cruelties of individuals. Nothing Bad Can Happen will be released in theatres Friday, June 27.
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