#we can't just focus on the bad things

[karmaduck1]

How is amnesia lazy? I think it's interesting and fun to explore :(

Boy you're in for a ramble.

It's mostly because of the way it's used as an escape button when an issue doesn't have resolution. We saw it in the DSMP because, c'mon, we knew Dream wasn't going to die and neither was Tommy + they needed some sort of redemption arc for Dream so he can take part in season 2 of his own SMP, the thing is that felt pretty damn useless? Because that's no actual redemption, Dream never felt bad for torturing and killing Tommy, they just forgot and because they forgot it didn't happen ^^

And they're not the only ones that have pulled the amnesia plot for a dire situation like that. We know some characters can't die because Karmaland isn't over and if they eventually make Karmaland 6 and they want it to be a direct continuation to Karmaland 5 if someone dies it could be... Complicated... Right?

Except it's not! We had other ways for dealing with those issues. Want an example? REVIVAL, MAN!!!! Alexby did die once and came back to tell the tale. They could've given the war a violent resolution and have their characters revived later like Alexby did. Maybe even have the survivor party feel bad for what happened because it didn't have to end like this? Maybe, who knows.

But let's say that's off the table for x or y reason... At beginning of Karmaland there were many theories about the heroes coming from different universes, not from the same Karmaland, what does that mean? It means that they can kinda pull a GTA Roleplay move, aka killing a character and bringing in another one to replace them, example? Auron roleplayed Gustabo in GTA Roleplay, but he killed him in the beginning of London Eye Roleplay, and he continued roleplaying with Toni Gambino. An option there could've been having either Quackity or Luzu killed and replaced by another Quackity or Luzu from another universe, and considering the multiverse is canon in Karmaland it would've opened the doors for something pretty cool to explore.

Another way, and this one is pretty simple... Is to just stop the war. How so? Well we saw that Sapo Peta could make it so Quackity and Luzu couldn't harm each other, remember that Luzu tried to shoot Quackity and nothing happened? Well there you have it.

And yet another way was to leave the end of the war for Karmaland's finale so that they could really have one killed without affecting the season.

Now with all of this I don't want to say how ccs should do their stories, I just want to point out that there were many ways to work with what they had going.

Amnesia isn't necessary a bad plot, if it's worked with it can give us a lot of content, take for example Lolito! He pulled the amnesia card in Karmaland 4 and did pretty well, people were trying to take advantage of him, there was some comedic relief AND HE EVENTUALLY REMEMBERED! He worked with that one and it was good.

To finish this I just want to say that although I hate amnesia plots when they're used as an escape button, it's not necessarily bad, lots of people enjoy it and that's okay, but being overexposed to that sort of plots just turns you into some kind of Grinch for them and that's what I am right now, I've had to deal with at least 5 amnesia plots in this same year and it's getting awfully exhaustive.

[worstloki]

there is a difference between being born to a throne, maliciously vying for a throne, stealing a throne, and having a throne thrust upon you when you are already in the midst of an identity crisis. And I fear Loki's place in the line of succession has people unable to differentiate between any of these

[syn4k]

to be, or not to be (romanticization of the inevitable)

[psychopomping]

the tragedy of the rat grinders wanting to be heroes before this all started and the bad kids being forced yet again to save the world because no one else can or will. the tragedy of lack of choice.

[girlthativealwaysbeen]

i think growing up is just life repeatedly sucker punching you and saying bitch you thought things were gonna better lmao no you're so naive and stupid for having hope in 20 years the world will be flaming bag of garbage and no matter how hard you work you'll get eliminated at some point

[hunsa-jars]

Dread be dreading

[frommybookbook]

Heist Movies and the Hays Code

The other night, some friends and I watched the incredible Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Badda Bing, Badda Bang", which is a loving pastiche of the heist film. As we were watching, we all noticed how old the actor playing the character of Mr. Zeemo was and I knew there had to be an Easter egg reason for it. After looking him up, I realized he was Marc Lawrence, who appeared in The Asphalt Jungle (1950), largely considered to be the first true heist film (though there are a couple from the 40s, that I've also seen, that are sort of proto-heists).

I decided to watch Asphalt this weekend, since I'd never seen it and it'd been sitting in my queue for ages. It was fine, definitely a first pancake situation, but now I can't stop thinking about the evolution of the heist film and the way the Hays Code shaped its early days and how it was allowed to shift and evolved after the code was lifted.

The earliest heist films were made under the Code. And not only under the Code, but at the Code's peak in the late '40s/early '50s. You watch these movies and you know from the very beginning that no one in our gang of misfits is going to succeed. The rules of the Code and its insistence that crime and depravity and bad morals can't pay means all of them will either be dead or in jail by the time the closing credits role. It doesn't matter how much we love our protagonists, it doesn't matter what their motivations are for participating in the heist, they are criminals and they must pay. They'll never see a dime of their money and all their efforts will be in vain.

Contrast this with the modern heist movie: the lovable rogues always beat the house. George Clooney and Brad Pitt and their buddies walk away with their millions. Sisko and his crew trick Frankie Eyes and save Vic's. Jason Statham in every Jason Statham movie gets his cash and lives to steal another day.

A lot of what I've read about the evolution of the heist movie and the role the Code plays in it focuses on the fact that once the code was lifted, these movies became more violent and graphic and leaned hard into that. And I'm sure that's true, but that was true of all movies. The 70s and the 80s in particular really exemplify the shock value of violence and sex in a post-Code Hollywood. But nothing I've seen talks about how the dissolution of the Code changed how audiences are allowed to see the thieves in a heist movie. Without the draconian constraints of the Code, we're allowed to root for the thieves, to be on their side, and to see them "win" in the end and make off with their bounty.

Even in the rare modern heist where the hero protagonist doesn't win—he (because it's almost always a he) doesn't get the money or he does get caught and goes to jail—it's always inferred that this is just a temporary setback. Next time, he'll be smarter and better and he'll win. He's alive and prison is just a small blip on the timeline, he'll be back (probably in 17 sequels) and the next time he'll do the job to beat all jobs. Heist movies of the Code era rarely see the thieves end the movie alive and when they do, they're behind bars with no hope of release or escape. The message that crime doesn't pay is never in question.

Yes, violence and sex have become more prevalent in heist movies in the post-Code era, but I think the greatest change the freedom of production without the Code brought to heist movies is that now, the house can lose.

[medicinemane]

I don't know... horrible things happen all around the world and it's not a competition

Atrocities are committed against multiple groups in multiple parts of the world at the exact same moment, and none of them erase each other. They all matter, all the people in this world who are being brutalized matter. There shouldn't be any line you draw where one group doesn't actually matter as much as another

You're welcome to prioritize your energy towards helping one group or another, but what's not ok is invalidating or dismissing people who are actively being harmed

Same goes for trying to figure out which social group has things worst (and lets be honest, always using a US lens)

Like... maybe the important thing is to prop each other up and help everyone get on their own feet rather than trying to... pick fights about if physical disabilities or mental illness are less respected (I'm trying to pick a more absurd example but sadly I've seen exactly that argument happen before). Maybe it doesn't really matter and what matters is helping who we can when we can

I'm tired of it, I'm just fucking tired of it. Support people, champion them when the world is just brutalizing them, but you don't need to throw a single other person under the bus to do that

Which seems to be an absolutely impossible lesson for people to learn

[keeps-ache]

need to be exploding something but i Can't for some reason. just Can Not. my ability to do is just. Nay

[miek-unofficial]

my favorite ally isn't the one who carefully curates their sentences to include and respect everyone, real or imaginary, but the one who uses insensitive language while defending lgbtq+ rights without batting an eye. like they didn't study to become an ally, they've got support running through their veins so naturally it's like they've never been put in a position where they had to question it or consciously take a stance about it. so what if i'm a fag to them, i'm also their brother and they slur me with love in their heart

[theriverdalereviewer]

everyone jumping to team kamala we will never experience true freedom in this country

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[sojourner-between-worlds]

Things currently rotating in my brain like a metal fork in the microwave:

two of the three houses we looked at yesterday (ruled one out already at least)

Alex Rider season 3

Lockwood & Co

two out of three WIPS

I will be mid-thought and suddenly I am thinking of something else. Brain is too full. Send help. /lh

[icewindandboringhorror]

feeling sick constantly in the background all the time is like.. usually negligible-ish.. until multiple various chronic background issues all happen to overlap at once and then it’s like 

[clumsycapitolunicorn]

.

[fungi-maestro]

The Question #6 (1987)