Stuff n' Stuff

[kriadydragon]

First of all - yay, I have fish! Five neons and an orange guppy. The neons I had always planned to get but the guppy I ended up smitten with at first sight. I also wanted an algae sucker but the ones the store had were a bit too big for my widdle tank :/ But it's an awesome tank, with an LED light that changes color and that makes the fish really stand out. It'll give me something to look at in between those moments when I have to pause in my writing and quickly hash out the details to the next bit.

Second - I think it's time I officially admit that I have a mass-destruction squick. I just saw the third Transformers movie (longest movie ever - oi) and found myself rather bothered by all the killing of innocent by-standards (at least they portrayed the devastation and shock, which I personally find to be rather rare in most movies these days. At least to me). I think it isn't so much the mass deaths alone that bug me as how some movies seem more interested in wracking up as huge a body count as possible, yet don't seem as equally interested in saving as many lives as possible. But that's me, because I find the saving of people waaaay more engaging than the constant killing. The only exception is the idiot who stands there gaping dumbly as the big killing thing heads straight for them but with plenty of time for them to move out of the friggin' way - they deserve it, and yet they're the one the heroes always rescue.

Comments

[sholio]

Yay fish! How cool! :D

I feel the same way about the mass destruction and random killing in action movies (and shows). I love action stuff -- it's one of my very favorite things to read, to watch, and, obviously, to write -- but I want my shows to recognize the value of human life. Even if some of the characters don't, I'd like to get an impression that the writers acknowledge that there's something a little messed up about it ...

Actually, that's one thing I absolutely love about White Collar -- that the characters don't do that. They always try to disarm or arrest the bad guys rather than killing them, and Neal of course hates violence in general. (Jeff Eastin talks about that in the commentaries on one of the episodes, actually -- that they usually have Neal look a little freaked out in the presence of dead bodies, and that they don't have the characters crack jokes about killing people.)

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I've missed having fish:D

but I want my shows to recognize the value of human life. Even if some of the characters don't, I'd like to get an impression that the writers acknowledge that there's something a little messed up about it ...

Yes! Exactly! There are very few things that when glossed over bug me but death being glossed over does bug me, especially when it involves so many people dying. I kind of can't help thinking "what if this were real and some of those killed were my loved ones?" and how horrible it would be. I understand why it's sometimes glossed over but other times it really grates on my nerves.

Now that you mention it, WC is really rather good about how it handles death and killing. Thinking about it, any death or killing in WC seems to be used as a catalyst. Kate's death leads Neal to nearly kill someone in return. Mozzie almost dying makes Neal more honest and open. Threats of death and danger to friends and loved ones gets the characters to do things they normally wouldn't do. Death is very much a big deal in this show.

And I think Dr. Who is the same way, at least to me it is because one of the things I like about the show is that it treats death and dying seriously. That even episodes later we'll be reminded of who died and why (like that scene in Journey's End when the Doctor thinks back on everyone who died, including characters from season one). And Trigun, which I've been currently watching, is all about the pain of death, dying and having to kill.

[sholio]

Oh hey, Trigun! That was my first big fandom, actually ... my gateway fandom. :D If you end up craving fic once you finish the anime, my old Trigun fic (ca. 2000/2001) is all on my AO3 account. Well, mostly it's a few one-shots and one gigantic post-anime epic. But, yeah, part of the show's big appeal for me, even then, was how it dealt with killing, or not killing, and choosing to try to live peacefully in a violent world.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Awesome :D I'll have to check those out once I've seen all the episodes (I'm up to ep. 21, now). I'm really loving Trigun. Vash is hilarious but so kick butt, and I love how the cat always manages to pop in.

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

I agree - I'm so over those procedure shows which analyse a death body in every detail, it's so morbid. Those used to be living people! I'm also over shows which show killing and violence as some sort of comedic act (the main reason I don't watch Burn Notice - I see the appeal of the show, but I can't get over the casual violence displayed in it).

White Collar is refreshingly violence free. Only three bodies so far (and four killings off-screen). And one killing on screen.

[sholio]

I'm also over shows which show killing and violence as some sort of comedic act

Yeah; since I haven't really been watching a lot of action shows lately, that's something that completely weirded me out about the episode of Hawaii 5-0 that I tried this season. I know that a lot of my flist really loves the show, and I'm fine with that, but I got stuck on this one scene at the climax where they're shooting people right and left, and cracking jokes about it. I know it's not really fair to judge a show on the basis of one episode, let alone one scene, but it really made me uncomfortable. I had a similar reaction to re-watching the Lethal Weapon movies, which I really loved when I was a teenager, but found myself making horrified faces at the screen in a lot of places when I watched them as an adult.

Having said that, it does depend on the show for me, and the way it's handled - using my "Saiyuki" icon because Saiyuki is FULL of random violence and (frequently quite funny) snarking in the face of death, the outlaw characters are all a little bit violent and twisted, and, I don't know, it works because I think the writer actually realizes how messed up it is, and some of the plotlines deal with the ethical implications of the characters' actions (even if the characters themselves are mostly unaware of it). Or Firefly, where they're all criminals existing in this very violent world. I guess it's not violence per se, it's how it's handled within the framework of the show, and how close to our real world it's supposed to be. Government-sanctioned violence within a real-world framework seems to be the one that I have the most trouble with.

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

I agree - with Firefly it works because it's more a "the world is so shitty, we have to laugh about it" attitude. It's more a humor which you need to bring your through the day, if you get my drift. I like the movie "Con Air" for the same reason - it's so wacky, but in every situation it's clear that the characters are in a very difficult situation and only snark because they have to mantain some sort of control over at least something. In Lethal Weapon on the other hand (never been a fan of those), it's more a "we are better than anyone else and don't care for rules" attitute. Doesn't work for me at all.

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

I think it isn't so much the mass deaths alone that bug me as how some movies seem more interested in wracking up as huge a body count as possible, yet don't seem as equally interested in saving as many lives as possible.

**NODS**
:-/
There seems to be more and more of that in film......
I too have noticed it......
In a rush for more and more action.....mayhem ensues and
part of that is the wanton destruction of innocent life

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I sometimes think it's all about the body count. Some show - mostly SyFy movies, are ridiculous about mass killing. I mean, no way could some slow moving monster wipe out an entire town that has plenty of places to run and hide. People are better survivors than that :P

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

Some show - mostly SyFy movies, are ridiculous about mass killing.

Say no more
With SyFy 'films' and I use the term loosely, that is a given

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

You know, the use of Violence in fanfic would be a good topic for another writing debate.