#watch the US empire burn due to it’s hubris

[ladyfatiquette]

I really don’t give a flying fuck about those 2 candidates fuck both dems and republicans. Both are liars. Both endorse war and weapons sale. Both stated how proud they are to ruin the climate whether denying climate change or more oil production and furthering fracking. 2 agents of Wall Street will never have claim to my freedom. Fuck them both. I personally draw the line at genocide everyone else who thinks that 2 people receiving money from lobbyists of a rogue state have in anyway, shape or form the tenacity to run this country to anywhere except the ground is dead wrong. I’m voting for Dr.jill.

[aman-acan-andacityplan]

Legend of the Galactic Heroes - A Review

Link

I guess I will start this review by saying that my history with the show is rather lengthy. I think I first stumbled onto the series around 9-10 years ago. I knew nothing of the series mild cult following and had no intention of finishing the series. I skipped through episodes and thought the concept of NOBLES.........IN.........SPACE was trite and silly. It wasn’t till several years later that I decided to revisit the show and I’m glad I did. This Japanese science fiction series, which ran in video subscription format from 1988 to 1997, depicts a future in which humanity is spread across several star systems and is divided into two forces: a democratic Free Planet Alliance and the monarchic Empire. These two factions are caught in a war that has spanned well over 100 years with no foreseeable end in sight. The rise of two military geniuses though will change the course of the war for both sides and the arc of human history to follow.  

Watching the series, there a few broad traits of the show that I would like to point out before getting into the meat of what I think makes the show really work. The amount of attention and care given to world building is impressive as the history behind the Alliance and Imperial military factions spans hundreds of years. Prior to the rise of the Alliance and Empire there are even several hundred more years of backstory, which recounts early human space exploration and galactic expansion. Its also nice to indulge in a sci-fi show that avoids a lot of the overused tropes that have come to permeate science fiction in film and television as of late. Overused plot elements such as time travel, superpowers and telepathy are not found in this show, leaving the focus on big space battles and the different character dynamics across the two groups.    

The series though is not without some faults. I think the show’s most glaring weakness is the production. There are 110 episodes of the Original OVA and several other movies, which means a lot of corners had to be cut in the animation. The character motions are a bit stiff and the animation can’t always adequately convey the sheer size of the fleets involved. Despite the lack of fluid animation, the show does more than compensate with beautiful ships, great character designs and excellent voice acting. I’d also like to single out the series superb soundtrack, which includes a wide variety of selections from great classical composers. A full range of music from composers such as Mahler, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky is used to great effect and really compliments the emotional journey the various characters go through. 

Screenshot from Hidive highlights the beautiful and intricate starship designs on display in the show.

One element I appreciate about the show is a quality that I think draws people to other cult TV hits such as Babylon 5 and Doctor Who and that is its earnestness. Despite considerable limitations imposed on the series due to its video subscription format and the daunting amount of material to be animated, there is a sense that the creators and animators took the idea of Space Opera seriously and had a strong desire to tell a story that was epic in scope and grandeur even if it lacked the resources to execute a seamless adaptation. The lead animation director, Noboru Ishiguro, had helmed many successful space operas in prior years and the original source material written by Yoshiki Tanaka combined a deep knowledge of military history with careful thought and analysis into what war in deep space would look like. 

Where the series excels though compared to other space opera movies and television produced is that the actions of individual characters have immense weight. The story threads numerous different character arcs together in a seamless manner and viewers are witness to many different moments where the actions of a character will reverberate and have significant implications for future episodes. A bit character early on may later become an instrumental leader in the Empire or Alliance while another character may make an egregious sin or error in judgement leading to their downfall. In short, a character may rise to the highest echelons of leadership and command the respect of many men while others may lose all their economic and social standing to greed and hubris. 

Also, throughout the story you have an omniscient narrator who serves as a kind of stand-in for the insights and analyses of future historians on the conflict. The narrator, in many respects, is one of the most important characters in the series as he provides future perspective on the conflicts transpiring before our eyes. We get valuable insight into how the main characters viewed their contributions in battle many years later and the judgements future generations render on key characters and their legacies. The narration also helps us understand that the characters are not simply cogs in a war machine, but true legends whose legacies point towards a brighter future for humanity. This makes Legends a unique example of sci-fi storytelling: a futuristic, space show that has historical weight and feels more like a period piece drama in its execution and storytelling.

In short, I feel like this is a series that is a must watch if you are a sci-fi fan. It is a very slow burn and the number of characters is staggering, even for a long-running series. However, the degree to which numerous characters get their own arcs and the care shown in producing a realistic sci-fi world makes for a wonderful watch. The 110 episode series, along with the other follow-up movies and spin-off shows, are available on the streaming service Hi-Dive.

[goodverbsonly]

The Last Jedi is a practice in nihilism, and I just...wish it wasn't.

This is a genuinely good novelization, even if personally, I want to see more than entirely possible into Kylo Ren's mind. I think if The Last Jedi wasn't the exactly opposite of what I was looking for in a Star Wars story, then I would have even really enjoyed this novelization. Alas, here we are, two and a half years later, and I am angrier about tlj than ever. To be honest, sort of as a disclaimer before I begin: I was completely ambivalent about tlj in 2018. There were things I liked (Yoda, Kylo Ren's hissy fit on Crait, The Nuns), and things I didn't like (Rey, Poe's attitude, the way the Resistance went from being an entire fleet on the heels of a "major victory" to 6 transport ships who had no contact from whatever remained of the Republic, seemingly abandoned); I even defended the plot - I thought it was perfectly precedented and in some ways, when executed well, I think a story about running out fuel and being saved at the last second is very good. Unfortunately, in this novelization, it sort of dragged - especially knowing that Finn + Rose would ultimately be unsuccessful. That, coupled with inisight into the characters, bring this book from a 4 to a three star read. (Also, and I'm going to talk about this moment in a second - towards the end, Finn reflects that DJ will have to learn the hard way eventually that not choosing a side in the face of evil will only hurt him in the long run, and this would be fine, if it was: Finn reflects, and realizes that was what he was doing, and he cannot do it anymore, INSTEAD OF Finn reflects, and pats himself on the back for not doing this anymore - anymore being, he must have had this realization in the lat 30 minutes). So the good of this novelization stands out to me in a couple of key sections: the beginning and the end. The novel opens with (view spoiler). This section is beautifully written, references characters from ANH who have been written out of the movie, and is thematically relevant to Luke's journey in tlj. I had high hopes that the rest of the novel would move me in the same way that the prologue did. The end covered both the boy from the end of tlj who uses the Force (the moment that tricked me into thinking I enjoyed the movie), and also the NUNS!!! I was so excited about the NUNS???? I love them! Wish this whole book was about these alien space nuns!!! and their relationship to the Jedi!!! and the Force!!! I know that's ridiculous, but wow. And also, it is well written, I think Jason Fry might be trying to refute some of the nihlism that occurs in tlj, and it's engaging for the most part. Wish I liked the story so I could give this book it's due. Okay, to be fair, this isn't my idea: my phil professor last spring was like: Yo, was it just me or was tlj wack? Like...nihilism (this is NOT a direct quote! and only half an idea, he almost immediately moved on with the lesson, realizing we did not have the time to start dissecting this movie, and so idk how he really comes down on it, but I've been thinking about it for the last year, and FINALLY, I've got it! I know what he was saying). There's one section that could have been really really cool if it didn't absolutely stand against everything that I believe Star Wars is about and it turned out to irk me, ticked off every single star wars nerve I have: In the Throne Room Scene, Snoke reflects on the beginning of the First Order and the Fall of the Empire: 1. Palpatine was planning a Contingency and this eventually turned into the First Order. 2. Oh we're doing: Palpatine was An All Knowing God again (if we recall this was my problem with tLords of the Sith) and it was Luck that Vader was able to stop him and not Palpatine's hubris. Boy does this SPIT in the face of the Original Trilogy (not to mention the prequels, which is really what I care about) - Luke didn't really save Vader and the Galaxy - Palpatine knew that the Empire would have to end so he started the First Order (known to him as the Contingency) to not only replace the Empire but to weaken it. Oh this makes me SO angry! Palpatine doesn't have any flaws (except that he's evil, I guess, but this isn't really a flaw as much as like, A Character). He is undone simply by the Will of the Force, not because he is, at the end of the day Human. Really minimizes Luke's impact, and I'm beginning to see why people were Big Mad at tlj now. Although, I don't think it was about this. 2b. is like...I guess they knew they were going to work Sheev back into the mix somehow, unforunate that Snoke is like...a Sheev clone or something. Still unclear about ros tbh. Glad the st is continually retconning itself in an attempt to show off. 3. In addition to it being just...an illconcieved mess, this is just...the villain believes in Nihilism, he believes in Will to Power, and there is just no solid refutation of this philosophy. I'm not saying that there needs to be for other people to find value in this story; I think tlj and the sq as a whole come down pretty heavy on the side of Neitzsche - the only refutation being that they are going to make themselves into powerful people through the power of love, but a) I do need a more solid refutation to find value in it, and b) I just don't think that's star wars. I do think there is a struggle between the light and the dark, but I don't thinks star wars had historically taken a stance of: the dark will always triumph. I don't think star wars works with that philosophical assumption, so tlj, which really wants to take that sort of position, has to shift and say: the darkside is always out there trying to squash out the light, and if we don't meet it on it's own terms (vie in the Power struggle of the universe), then it will overpower. This is seen in Palpatine manufacturing the Empire's own undoing in the Contingency, NOT JUST the rise of the First Order. This is The Resistance Fleet (a military organization) being specified to be a Weirdo But Brave Group of New Republic Defectors (or something) because the New Republic wouldn't take the First Order seriously (but if Palpatine built it, of course there was no chance) becoming nothing more than six transport ships with no one else in the galaxy at their side - no one except themselves, and they have to Fight, as Finn says. This is seen in Luke INSISTING that he can't save Ben. >:| Sir, you saved Darth Vader, I think you can save Ben Solo! The ending of the ot was the exact OPPOSITE of this stance: Luke does not fight Vader, he does not give in to his hatred. In fact, the rotj novelization specifies that Luke doesn't save Vader because he loves his Father but because he is a Jedi and it's the right thing to do. If Vader saving Luke "undoes" his mistake from rots, then uhhh...Luke wanting to burn down the tree with the Jedi Order undoes THAT sacrifice. Luke sacrifices himself to give the Resistance more time, but I've decided that you were all right: Luke should have had a better end, no matter how much it moves me when I see it. I think it's a trick. I think so much of this movie is a trick!!! . Also: I think Rey is overpowered and her connection to Ben and her connection to the Force is contrived. I don't like how little time she spends with the rest of the Resistance, I think there are too many characters. And that little boy gets too much credit for what Rian Johson was trying to say about Star Wars or the Force, especially since if it was about "democratizing the Force" as I read one reviewer describe it, uhhh, sir, the Force already is like that, please watch a Prequel I BEG of you! The above isn't really Jason Fry's fault, but I've never felt so clear and confident about why the st doesn't engage me until I finished reading this book. All in all: If you like tlj this is Good and I think You'll Really Enjoy this, but this review details why I didn't