Controversial Opinions (For Everything Other Than DC Comics)

[Starter Set]

I always find weird that some people pick the martial art they want to practice mainly on the basis of how effective in a real street fight it is supposed to be.

I mean, come on, how many times in your life did you actually engage in a fight that would have required the use of a martial art in order to save yourself from a cruel trashing? Or just a simple, 1on1 fight? If the answer if often, then maybe your attitude is the problem here or then, you living in a real shitty neighborhood and you can just as well pack a gun. (for dissuasion, don't use it)

Plus, know what? If you actually find yourself the target of some aggressive dude, odds are you are going to freeze, forget you ever did any Karate or whatever and just fight whatever way you can or run.

Wanna do Aikido? Judo? Go for it. No, it's most likely never going to be of any use in a brawl or during a riot but it's fun, good for your health and it comes with a nice piece of healthy philosophy for your daily life.

[Kirby101]

I studied Akido for a time, the good thing about it was avoiding fights was part of thew training, and also learning how to roll when you fall, which is good training beyond any fight.

[Kirby101]

"Allowing for more story opportunities" is a bullshit argument. There is no such thing as a choice that allows for infinite story opportunities and more often than not, people are using this argument to defend ideas that limited the storytelling potential rather than expand it.

Escapism is not the only goal if fiction and this includes superheroes. If you're whining about a lack of escapism in everything, you are either not looking hard enough or just being entitled and obnoxious.

Context? Where was this used that upset you so you posted it in two separate threads?

[godisawesome]

"Allowing for more story opportunities" is a bullshit argument. There is no such thing as a choice that allows for infinite story opportunities and more often than not, people are using this argument to defend ideas that limited the storytelling potential rather than expand it.

Escapism is not the only goal if fiction and this includes superheroes. If you're whining about a lack of escapism in everything, you are either not looking hard enough or just being entitled and obnoxious.

I’m there with you on most of this.

Every story decision is going to encourage to discourage other potential plot developments: a character getting married both encourages story opportunities in one direction (the struggles of married life, new levels of confidence between major characters, a greater chance for “spin-offspring“, newer twists to conflicts and struggles) and discourages and limits opportunities in another direction (fewer love interest possibilities, little purpose in a “will they or won’t they” story because they have, etc.)

If anything, comics have demonstrated just how flexible and changing the differences between serialized and episodic fiction are; for every time someone has tried to enforce a more “free” marital status for a character, they’ve also instituted a status quo that can become just as stagnant as the one they fear marriage would bring.

I would also agree that escapism is not a necessary element of fiction and art... but I would also argue that if you handle certain properties, you can’t whine that people seems to want escapism in it. If escapism isn’t the main reason you right fiction, maybe avoid Superman and Star Wars.

...Also, escapism isn’t just about happiness and joy; there’s plenty of morose “angst escapism.” Some people enjoy watching other character suffer in a manner they can vicariously lose themselves in.

[Agent Z]

Context? Where was this used that upset you so you posted it in two separate threads?

Tbh, I just wasn't sure which thread to post it in so I did both. Looking back, it wasn't necessary.

[Kirby101]

Tbh, I just wasn't sure which thread to post it in so I did both. Looking back, it wasn't necessary.

Okay, but still not sure what you mean. Who said "more story opportunities" that got you pissed?
Was this in comics? Movies? Gaming?

[Agent Z]

Okay, but still not sure what you mean. Who said "more story opportunities" that got you pissed?
Was this in comics? Movies? Gaming?

It's something I primarily see brought up in comics discussions to justify stuff like ending/erasing marriages, not killing off villains, etc. I've also seen it used to justify "will they, won't they" writing in t.v.

[Kirby101]

It's something I primarily see brought up in comics discussions to justify stuff like ending/erasing marriages, not killing off villains, etc. I've also seen it used to justify "will they, won't they" writing in t.v.

You are right, that is BS.

[Gaius]

Zombie fiction whether it be in movies, tv, novels, comics, video games, etc is boring.

[Agent Z]

Zombie fiction whether it be in movies, tv, novels, comics, video games, etc is boring.

If I may ask, why do you feel it is boring?

[Kirby101]

Zombie fiction whether it be in movies, tv, novels, comics, video games, etc is boring.

Netflix's The Kingdom disagrees. As does Sean of the Dead, 28 Days, World War Z and Zombieland,

[Jack Dracula]

Netflix's The Kingdom disagrees. As does Sean of the Dead, 28 Days, World War Z and Zombieland,

Add Netflix’s Black Summer to that list.

[Jim Kelly]

I haven't watched a lot of zombie movies or T.V. shows, but I think the zombie concept is boring. I watched 28 DAYS--that's interesting, but not for the zombies--it's what the filmmaker does with the situation that makes it interesting. Zombies are just brain-dead, slow-moving threats--most of the time having no character, not even able to put together sentences. So it's really more of an exercise for the writer and the director to build a story around some basic threat. Sort of like how A QUIET PLACE isn't about the monsters, it's about the family. It's people we relate to in a horrifying, undefined situation.

Contrast that with vampires, werewolves and ghosts--they are the interesting characters. The stories about them might also involve relatable human beings--but you can build a whole story around Dracula himself. And there's a lot of mythology that informs these stories. I know there's some zombie mythology--but really it's just brain-dead people.

What I wonder is why the zombie concept took off in the 2010s. We had a big fascination with vampires and then we moved to zombies. I think it's something about the times we live in. We live in a world where a lot of people behave like zombies. People are so distracted on their devices that they don't pay attention to the world around them--they run into people with their cars, they bump into people when they're walking on the street. And they never respond. They have blank stares. People have become so numb and trapped within their own existence--they seem brain-dead. So I think that zombies became a perfect metaphor for our age.

[Kirby101]

Zombie movies are always about the humans, zombies are the existential threat that the story is framed on. To say Zombie movies are boring because the zombies themselves aren't interesting characters misses what the genre is about.
Except for iZombie and Warm Bodies.

It's like saying Godzilla is bad because the Godzilla has no character development.

[Jim Kelly]

But the nature of the existential threat is different. Zombies are boring, Godzilla isn't boring. Zombies express a threat that creeps up on us slowly--something like a pandemic--we don't register the threat until it's too late to stop it. Godzilla expresses a big and obvious threat, something that attacks with swiftness (and maybe has super-powers) and that we can concentrate our efforts on defeating. And once it's defeated it's over. The boring quality of the zombie is the threat--because we don't pay attention to it, so then it creeps up on us. If we just paid attention and stopped the threat before it started, we'd be safe--but we're lulled into a false sense of security. Our own boredom is what leaves us defenseless. Godzilla is visually exciting--it stirs us up into action. Zombies put us to sleep and then we're dead.