tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post5739964050639675720..comments2024-03-29T03:57:26.974-04:00Comments on Grim's Hall: Protective Coloration, and its ReverseGrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-1589803996586520172013-12-29T21:56:36.272-05:002013-12-29T21:56:36.272-05:00Eric:
That's true of almost any historical ev...Eric:<br /><br />That's true of almost any historical event that becomes a cultural myth. <a href="http://www.medievalists.net/2013/12/28/would-the-real-william-wallace-please-stand-up/" rel="nofollow">William Wallace</a> was a real man, but he occupies a somewhat similar position (especially if you think of him chiefly from <i>Braveheart</i>, which is almost wholly composed of falsehoods, though it sometimes aspires to mere distortions).Grimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-59391653869917693222013-12-29T20:29:32.841-05:002013-12-29T20:29:32.841-05:00Eric Blair, my oldest two sons (who grew up having...Eric Blair, my oldest two sons (who grew up having LOTR read aloud to them) tell me The Hobbit isn't so bad if you just tell yourself it really should be titled "The Further Adventures of Bilbo and his Pals." That's not enough for me, but point taken. They did prevail on me to watch LOTR years after it came out.<br /><br />As for the elven princess, I should perhaps really try to be neutral and let the artist have his try at something unusual and creative that he just might pull off. Yet somehow, love-triangle with a dwarf just announces clearly "this person has deeply misunderstood Basic Points Of The Story."<br /><br />I'll let the dust settle for 4-5 years before deciding whether to see it or not.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-83167156178238940392013-12-29T20:22:19.233-05:002013-12-29T20:22:19.233-05:00Friend of mine told me that this second hobbit mov...Friend of mine told me that this second hobbit movie was "a great movie, but it has nothing to do with 'The Hobbit'". <br /><br />As for the 47 Ronin, Steven Turnbull's book on the incident "The Revenge of the 47 Ronin" basically tells you everything you thought you knew about this story is wrong. But the tale 'grew in the telling' as it were, and is now as much a part of Japanese culture as the gunfight at the OK corral, the Alamo or other such events are in American culture. Eric Blairnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-88083793767939946792013-12-29T09:26:18.505-05:002013-12-29T09:26:18.505-05:00It is a sacrifice of internal character developmen...<i>It is a sacrifice of internal character development to over the top action sequences. </i><br /><br />That's how I saw it, coupled with heavy handed propaganda (the elf warrior-princess in a love triangle with a dwarf). Silly, silly stuff.Cassnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-81241893783651265322013-12-28T22:40:25.347-05:002013-12-28T22:40:25.347-05:00It is a sacrifice of internal character developmen...It is a sacrifice of internal character development to over the top action sequences. I think Spencer Tracy could convey more violence with a slap than most modern stars with a minigun.<br /> I agree with the Hobbit assessment- they have lost the way- and can only hope the Chushingura tale is better than the preview-which was epically bad. The old tale has everything -except the obligatory warrior princess. Arrogance, entrapment, betrayal, sacrifice, revenge, more sacrifice, seppuku, I am not sure a modern American audience (or even a Modern Japanese audience, ask Yukio Mishima) can get their head around willingly surrendering to a ordained self inflicted death penalty. ravennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-4404209312425244172013-12-28T20:46:51.721-05:002013-12-28T20:46:51.721-05:00If that's the problem, why make a trilogy out ...If that's the problem, why make a trilogy out of <i>The Hobbit</i>? When I was a boy, one of my favorite things was the old cartoon version -- which leaves out some very neat elements in order to tell the story in a scant 90 minutes. That's only twice as long as it takes for Bilbo Baggins to get out the front door in the first installment of the new movie (43 minutes and change).<br /><br />If people are easily bored with that, it's hard to blame them!Grimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-48493353643001125412013-12-28T20:36:45.812-05:002013-12-28T20:36:45.812-05:00Are they wrong, though? Is a nation that lacks the...Are they wrong, though? Is a nation that lacks the patience to read great literature willing to sit through movies that don't administer a jolt to the sensibilities every 5 minutes or so?<br /><br />We're all so easily bored. Even fantasy (the Hobbit) isn't fantastical enough for us without considerable embellishment.<br /><br />*sigh*Cassnoreply@blogger.com