Games People Play
I was sent a link this morning about a fundamentalist video game where you can either convert or kill Jews and atheists. This game is apparently over five years old and somehow I completely missed the fact that it existed. It’s kind of like Grand Theft Auto for fundamentalists.
The game divided the Christian community into the “yes I’m totally OK with this” and the “what the fuck is wrong with you” camps. Not for long, of course, because how can you really take a game like that seriously?
It would appear the initial report, to which I linked above, that had the player killing “Jews and atheists” was based on early reports because the final version of the game allowed you to kill or convert “secularists” but not Jews.
The army of the antichrist also consisted mostly of UN peacekeeping forces and Rock and Roll guitar players. The only thing missing is rainbow clad drag queens carrying around pamphlets pushing the gay agenda.
I’m not going to go into some righteous rant about how some fundamentalists think that it is completely OK to design a video game in which you kill “secularists” if you can’t convert them. I mean, yes, that bugs me. But it doesn’t really work me into a froth because I find myself completely baffled by the level of delusion one needs to believe in this sort of craziness.
Yes, I know it is a video game. It is a game, however, made to be marketed to the armies of crazed fundamentalists who genuinely believe the rapture is going to happen any day. These are the same folks who genuinely believe that the UN is an evil entity that is doing the work of satan.
It isn’t that they don’t like the UN. It is that they are of the opinion that the UN is a tool of the Devil.
It completely escapes them that if the Devil was going to pick a tool, he’d probably pick something that is – you know – more effective.
When one begins to look into things like insane Fundamentalist Christian video games, it turns out there are quite a few of them.
There are lots of insane games out there, though. There were Nazi board games so parents could help their Hitler youth practice rounding up the Jews.
The thing about these games is that they are all being marketed to people who think this stuff could really take place. When I play Legend of Zelda, I’m well aware that there is no boomerang in existence that can pick up a bomb and deliver it into the mouth of my enemy with deadly accuracy. I’m not so sure that the folks capping “secularists” for Jesus view their game as a fantasy.
I think they look at it more as practice.
I mean, the game may not be all that unrealistic. I mean, if the rapture actually did take place in my lifetime, you could probably convert me at that point. At the very least, I’d “convert” so I could have some words with god about how much of an asshole I believe him to be. At which point I would, undoubtedly, be cast into the lake of fire. It’d give me something to be smug about as I received the same punishment as Hitler and John Wayne Gacy.
I could also complain about the fact that “Afterlife,” a Sim City like game where you punished or rewarded souls based on their sins or virtues, was a complete failure when it came to preparing me for the actual afterlife.
Alphabetical Movie – Hairspray
Easily the worst thing in the first two X-Men films was James Marsden’s Cyclops.
Yes, Halle Berry’s Storm was horrible but come on – Marsden was pretty much given the unenviable task of standing around and looking serious all the time. Occasionally, he would fawn over Jean Gray by looking slightly less serious and slightly more constipated. The Jean Gray/Wolverine/Cyclops love triangle made no sense because why the hell would need time to choose between Wolverine and a statue.
I think that the one thing Hairspray shows conclusively is that we can’t blame Cyclops on Marsden. He’s energetic and funny and a damn good singer. He’s the kind of guy that Cyclops wouldn’t be able to talk to if they were at a party together.
Alphabetical Movie – Gunga Din
I think it is harder to dislike a movie that is considered a “classic” than it is to criticize a popular modern film. I mean, if the movie is seventy years old and people still love it, who am I to say that I don’t really enjoy the film?
Take The Dark Knight. A great many geeks (and movie fans) thought the movie was exceptional. There is, however, a small but vocal group that will say the movie is a complete piece of crap.
You can start a similar debate over such modern “classics” as Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, Star Wars, and so on. These films have their devoted fans but also a vocal group of people willing to argue that the fans are complete idiots who fail to recognize that Fight Club is the greatest film ever made.
Alphabetical Movie – Gun Crazy
Gun Crazy is a 40’s film that was part of a film noir package I picked up a few years back. I pick up a lot of film noir packages because I enjoy the genre even though the classic film noir is hamstrung a little bit by the fact we know the Hayes code will require any guilty party to be punished for their deeds. Doesn’t matter if they are the least bit sympathetic – they are still going to get nailed.
The concept of evil under the Hayes code is most interesting when you consider how the subject of sex was treated. I’m not sure that we’ve ever escaped from the idea that sex is taboo in film. Read More…
Alphabetical Movie – Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
I would imagine it is obvious by now that my movie blogs are frequently not at all about the movies in question but rather my thoughts that are triggered by the film. That is especially true with films like Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner that have been written about endlessly for many good reasons.
You know what I think about when I watch the movie? The fact that it was Spencer Tracy’s last movie. I watch Tracy in this film and actually find myself observing his performance and seeing if I can tell that this was a dying man. Seventeen days after they finished shooting the film, he was dead. Does it show?
Alphabetical Movie – Groundhog Day
What is it about Andie MacDowell?
You see, I really don’t like her and in spite of that, she appears in a large number of films I really enjoy.
Let’s be fair and say that I don’t like her as an actress. I think she has a limited range and comes off as very stiff and unconvincing. I’m sure she is a fine person and if I ever met her socially I’d feel awful I was saying nasty things about her acting ability.
Why not save a step?
Today is Carl Sagan’s Birthday.
I remember watching “Cosmos” with my dad when it first aired on Public Television many years ago. Sagan’s lyrical way of explaining complex scientific concepts were as memorable as that accent that has resulted in “billyuns” of imitators.
I remember also that it was the first time I saw anyone openly suggest that it might be OK to think of a world without god.
I really wish there was a “shut up before you make more of an ass of yourself” button on the internet
About a month ago, I blogged about mysogony on the internet. In a dialogue that has been growing over the last couple of months, female bloggers have started to point out that they are subjected to the kind of verbal abuse guys will never experience.
As an example, they created a hashtag on Twitter. If you want to see what female bloggers have to deal with, check it out. You may have to scroll back a bit to actually see the horrible stuff these women get thrown at them. A long way, actually, because even on this hashtag, the idiots on the internet have reared their ugly heads.
Alphabetical Movie – Gremlins
Watching Gremlins inspired some talk about rules and our inability to follow them. Let us start with a consideration of the rules that we are given at the beginning of the film when Gizmo is sold to the foolish father of our protagonist.
Rule #1 – Don’t expose them to bright light. It hurts. Sunlight will kill them.
Rule #2 – Don’t get them wet (we can hope that they are self cleaning)
Rule #3 – Don’t feed them after midnight.
Should it stay or should it go now?
A few days ago, there was a rather heated exchange on a Facebook fan page I follow. As is the case with the internet, the exchange became less than civil in approximately the amount of time it takes for forcefully hammer a few keys and hit send with a smug smirk on your face.
After a time, someone stated that they felt the entire negative thread should be deleted as it reflected badly on the organization in question.
I couldn’t disagree more. To me, that was the worst of all possible responses.
I’m going to use some examples to illustrate my point and one of them is going to use offensive language. I’m bringing it up now so it doesn’t come as a surprise later.
Grail Diary 