You Don’t Have to Watch Anything You Don’t Want to Watch
There is a lot of censorious shit going down in America these days.
In certain states, books that even refer to a lifestyle different from the heterosexual male/female binary are being pulled from schools and libraries. Given the state of education, one would think that kids reading anything would be a step up.
Activists comb Netflix comedy specials to pressure the corporation to erase comedians who threaten their orthodoxy. My limited experience with transgender folks is that they have great senses of humor so I'm not sure who these activists are...
A tiny segment of trolls seem to be infuriated over the inclusion a black elf and a black mermaid in fantasy programming. I mostly object to the fact that the actor playing the elf isn't British but adopts the accent.
Despite the fact that trigger warnings are most often counterproductive, Disney has added them to everything from Dumbo to Gone With the Wind. I'm mostly offended that Netflix has trigger warnings for smoking but not shit writing...
Close to my cultural interest is the outspoken bitching about the downfall of the MCU. The arguments that Woke Culture has infected the superhero movie juggernaut is practically a cottage industry these days with YouTubers and Tik Tok channels making real dollars by whining about feminism and multiculturalism invading their comic book movies.
I, too, have some issues with the MCU Phase 4 but it has little to do with Woke Culture and more to do with a lack of characters with a code, mushy attempts to broaden the cultural footprint of the characters by flattening them into archetypes of ideology rather than fully fleshed out heroes. The characters in Phase 4 don't seem to have a code.
Carol Danvers is a humorless, emotionless void. Her code seems to be showing those who doubted me that I'm more powerful than they are. The Eternals are all so undeveloped and sad that they save the world because, well, who the fuck knows why? Because they don't like following the orders of a Celestial? Kamala Khan's desire to become a super powered being is rooted in fame and notoriety. Thor is leveled from an Asgardian searching for meaning as his parents, his brother, and his planet are destroyed to a fucking moron played strictly for laughs in order to prop up his former girlfriend whose only code is staving off a cancerous death and coming up with a cool catchphrase. Jennifer Walters gains the power of a Hulk and instead of using that power to help others, tries her damnedest to ignore the annoyance of it all and her Big Bad is a woman who is selling beauty products using her name.
All a pretty far cry from with great power comes great responsibility. Miles from fighting the Red Skull and actual Nazis. None will be the clutch player who sacrifices live and limb to save another. This isn't, for me, a man/woman thing or a white/everyone else thing. This is a badly written character thing. I still watch in hopes that they'll course correct sooner rather than later. I'm still holding out for a decent Fantastic Fourmovie, after all.
On the other hand, if you pay any attention to former MCU fans with a political axe to grind, you'd think that it was because these characters are women and minorities and that the only possible correction would be to go back to the white guy club. What a silly bunch of nonsense.
Hey, everyone has every right to bitch about things they don't like. You don't like JK Rowling's stance on transgender activism's overreach, piss and moan all you want. If you're highly offended by the possibility that Critical Race Theory is being taught to your six-year old, make some freaking noise. If you think each and every case of inequity between black and white Americans is due to white supremacy, rock yourself on the Tweet machine. Hell, even if you believe that Biden stole the 2020 election, paint your face like a Viking and dance in the streets.
"The boss of the US media company Paramount has said he does not want to remove historic programmes from his new subscription streaming service because they no longer meet current expectations.
"Bob Bakish, Paramount’s CEO, said his company had thousands of shows in its back catalogue. “By definition, you have some things that were made in a different time and reflect different sensibilities,” he said. “I don’t believe in censoring art that was made historically, that’s probably a mistake. It’s all on demand – you don’t have to watch anything you don’t want to.”"
What? Bob! Are you nuts? We don't have to watch?
You mean, I am not physically required to watch something I may not like or find disagreement with? If I am transgender, I don't have to watch Dave Chapelle or read JK Rowling? If I believe that white people are genetically superior to everyone else, I am not duty-bound to view the show with the black elf and female dwarf (who is also black, god forbid)? This makes no sense, Bob. If I'm not forced to see the things I do not choose to see, what am I going to bitch about? How will my incredibly important opinion on CRT be heard?
Years and years ago, my mother notice a trend in my life. "Why do you go out of your way to surround yourself with people who make you feel bad about yourself?" I didn't have answer then and, given my choices in ex-wives, apparently I haven't really found an answer to this day. The question can be rephrased for our culture warriors out there, though.
Why do you watch things you know will make you miserable and why is it so crucial you force your worldview on everyone else?
We all have the freedom to express ourselves exactly as we prefer. We do not possess the freedom fromthe expression of others because if I have the freedom to say what I want to say but I exert pressure to prevent you from doing the same and then you do as I do, we're fucked. Nothing works. No one gets to say what they want and no one is listening anyway so it's all just noise uttered for those whose dopamine thumbs up we crave.
I have issues with my precious MCU. My opinion. My business. I can't fathom the arrogance and narcissism involved in my deciding that because I don't like Phase 4 that no one should be allowed to watch She-Hulk: Attorney at Law or enjoy Thor: Love and Thunder. I mean, if you really loved The EternalsI can believe you're a moron but, hey, even morons need some entertainment, right?
Bob Bakish seems to have a code. Freedom to choose rather freedom from offense. Funny that—I find that when someone really loves or really hates something, I gravitate toward it rather than away. When someone barks at me about how dangerous or offensive a book is, I want to read it. That's the beauty of ideas and art. Will I hate it? If I don't, what does that say about the people who do and how do I perceive things in contrast?
I'd probably be a dismal MCU character because apparently my code is suck it up, whiners and get over your belief that your offense is more important than my freedom to choose.
