I weigh in on the issue you've all been concerned about
James Cameron's Avatar definitely counts as Content.
Thank you.
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unless James Cameron is a brand at this point, which i suppose isn't far-fetched
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
See Benjamin's comments on fascism.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
but i was baffled and honestly kind of disturbed and upset by how people seemed to latch on to characters that, to me, just seemed purely evil with no redeeming qualities
like, that actually kind of scared me, it was a confusing and frightening response to being shown a really shallow kind of nastiness
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
that this should be a sin so great that it caused people to root for characters who were downright monstrous was immensely troubling to me
i dunno, i get that fiction is fiction, but i feel like what appeals to a person vicariously has to say something about their attitudes in general, and i see nothing that makes the idea of rooting for the villain of that movie even palatable. He's more boring than the Na'vi, he just also happens to be a violent, racist colonial entirely driven by a profit motive.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
i'm sure it's been done. But i want to see if the qualities that Tolkien liked about them can be made to be scary.
This is why there are five billion elf subraces.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Kind of but not quite? Tolkien is drawing on the Norse conception of elves, which is less alien than the Celtic one—namely, hide your kids and lock your windows—but still more godlike than human. They're angelic in appearance, but at least in Norse tradition susceptible to the same temptations as men and caprices as gods. They also seem to be associated with Freyr, who is both a god of light and a fertility deity. Tolkien's a bit more Christ-y about it but as far as his work goes they're pretty low on the weird race stuff scale. Which is weird, since they're kind of the nexus of racial weirdness in a lot of later stuff.
Incidentally, in Norse cosmology, dwarves and elves are just the same sort of entity as associated with different deities and domains: Light, sky, fire, wind versus earth, darkness, caves, minerals.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
with, of course, the understanding that if they were real i'd like em even less than i like the USMC
i only have this opinion because my mom watched avatar like twenty times in the course of one month.
i dunno, maybe it's just that space marines never had any inherent appeal to me, so i'm missing whatever qualities made the Avatar ones entertaining to people
i can sympathize with Sredni here cuz fairies and (pre-Tolkien-style) elves are far and away the most interesting type of fantastic/mythological being to me and i don't want people who read my writing to think 'yawn, this shit again'
Pratchett's elves are great, but not really what i had in mind
relatedly i really should read more contemporary fantasy before embarking on my high fantasy epic whatever, but at this rate i'm never gonna write it since there's always more to read . . .
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
For those graced with true vision, Elves comprise the finest race in all the worlds. We are that which other races aspire to be: Our longevity, our beauty, and our craftsmanship are all the stuff of legends. Certainly, each of these attributes can be recreated in some fashion by the lesser races, but theirs is an artifice of face and form and creation never as fine as those that come naturally to us.
Our lives are long and filled with happiness, for we recognize the impermanence of all things, excepting ourselves. Indeed, we do not suffer death as do the mortals. Only through violence, accident, or disease do we die at all.
Although we vanish from the ken of mortal knowledge after hundreds of years of existence in this plane, you may rest assured that we continue on elsewhere. Even those who perish on the battlefield do not truly die, but instead become part of the earth's cycle of growth and rebirth. Our spirits linger on, for we are intimately tied to the world and its core. Indeed, we are the integral part of that core.
We would turn now to other matters, for to continue on in this vein would, no doubt, lead you to believe that we are boasting of elven prowess. We do not boast. Anyone who has seen even the slightest fraction of elven ability knows the truth of what we say within these pages.
Yes, we are a proud race, but do we not have just cause? Are we not Elves—creatures of most wondrous might? Simply understand that we are what we are and that nothing you can do will change us—then may we become good friends. But beware: We are a complex race, and the workings of our lives will ever be a mystery to you, our dreams foreign from yours. You will never truly understand us, no matter how you try.
Enigmatic and powerful, elves have dominated the fantasy landscape for years. Although their civilizations and powers have always been a mystery to those who travel in the realms of fantasy, their influence is undeniably strong. Abandoned cities, lost technology, forgotten lore . . . all these things and more lie within the mystique of the elves. Their land, their culture, and their philosophy remain cryptic mysteries to those not blessed with the love of elves.
No longer. With The Complete Book of Elves, many of the elves' mysteries are open for perusal. But take care with the information gleaned; some secrets of the elven way of life still remain hidden—knowledge forever forsworn from non-elves. Be forewarned: The pieces of fact and fiction learned within can, if incorrectly applied, spell destruction for those who misuse this knowledge.