/8lounge/ - The "8" Lounge

>>704
I don't think it's a poor taste topic at all. I read books and watch movies for the same reason.

I'm doing a James Bond marathon - all the old ones up to Skyfall - with my friends this summer.

As for hidden / subversive meanings, I remember watching LOTR before it became a fandom circlejerk and enjoying thinking about how it had strong ties back to the Second World War.
>inb4 Tolkien hated imagery and wanted his books / offshoots to be taken at face-value

In previous generations, film makers were acutely aware of the limitations of special effects.
This required them to compensate through better writing, humor, or both.
Some time around the turn of the millennium, studio personnel became so self-absorbed they forgot they were dealing in fantasy. They ignored a writer's strike and began using the special effects budget as compensation.
From 1970 until computers became powerful enough in the mid-90's, we had an excellent balance of believable effects to go with excellent writing, and it's no surprise films from this period are still loved today.
There's a reason re-makes of films from this period are always worse than the originals.

Not really a comfy film, but Moon is good: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/

What old world view do you see in Star Wars? Anti-fascism? You might have a point but I fail to see how Star Wars applies to it.

Speaking of _old_ movies, tonight I am thinking of watching The Roaring Twenties from 1939
If I were to watch this movie, it'd be the oldest movie I have seen, beating The Great Dictator by a year

I like really old movies, from the black and white and silent eras. My all-time favorite silents are probably M (Fritz Lang GOAT) and The Passion of Joan of Arc. True gentlemen would appreciate both of these films.

>>730
I think the growing disbelief in democracy is a good point, but more noticeable in the second trilogy.
But I think Apollo Landing is the real influence behind Star Wars. I mean, it was a really big deal, and for sci-fi it was unbelievable

>>704
I just got done watching Commando actually. I really enjoyed it.

>>704
Just finished watching two of my favorite movies, actually. First one being "Donnie Darko". I recommend the Theatrical Version for the first viewing, as it leaves more room for theories, but the Directors Cut is absolutely superb, and explains things very well.

The second being the Ghibli film "Princess Mononoke", which is indisputably my favorite Ghibli film. Both are heavy on the feels.

>>834
Personally, I couldn't stand the Director's Cut of Donnie Darko. The flashy special effects really took away from the sense of ambiguity that the theatrical release so elegantly constructed; and the changes to the soundtrack de-emphasize important themes of isolation and fate - best expressed in the opening track of the theatrical cut, "Killing Moon".

If you liked DD, you should seriously consider checking out "The Butterfly Effect". If you do, I reccomend the Director's cut over the theatrical release, as the alternative ending serves to increase the emotional impact of the story.

Also, just in case anyone was interested, my top five favourite films are:

1) Children of Men
2) The Cement Garden
3) Titus
4) Equus
5) Ken Park

>>708

Tolken *did* hate interpretation, though, and *did* prefer it when his work was taken at face value. Personally, I don't agree with the doctrine of "the death of the author" and hold that original intent - so far as it is possible that to discern it – has primacy over personal interpretation.

This is not to say that I don't enjoy interpreting films and literature; but I am fully aware of the fact that I am imposing my own conjecture on somebody else's vision. It is solely an excercise of intellectual amusement, holding literally no academic merit or value. At all, whatsoever.

To me, the sight of somebody expounding their interpretation of a work of art and declaring their opinion "equal" to anyone elses, the sight of a teacher of literature reassuring her students that there are "no wrong answers, only bad arguments", brings to mind a screaming autistic toddler; unable to comprehend why the world does not necessarily conform to his misguided expectations, and demanding that reality changes to suit his whim. That is a charitable view. The uncharitable view is of a cringing imtellectual coward, desperate to bask in the reflected creative glory of a far superior mind.

Perhaps I am just literalistic in my general temperament, but I have always admired the LOTR films more as a technical, visual and theatrical triumph than anything else. Even when it comes to the books, my favourite is The Silmarillion; and my principle enjoyment of the work derives from its linguistic and anthropological genius.

>>2471

I refer to this attitude of interpretive relativism as being "gyno-Semitic" in nature, as it derives primarily from two baleful and degenerative congnitive influences: Judaism and feminininity.

Exposure to a cultural climate saturated with Gyno-Semitic attitudes will eventually manifest itself in the form of a serious mental illness.

The symptoms of this illness include an overinflated but fragile ego, an extreme sensitivity to criticism characterized by a rejection of all contrary arguments as being inherently evil, a preening and vain personal attitude, and the deluded conviction that one's opinions and morals are somehow "equal" to those of everyone else; despite any evidence to the contrary.

The gyno-semitic personality fears the possibility of "right" and "wrong" answers, because it fears above all else the possibility that it might be wrong. It will display a marked tendency to tear down the good in favour of the bad, to denigrate the beautiful and exalt the ugly.

>>2472
>>2760

I don't know why but I feel as if a lot of us are drawn to 8chan by a growing sense of something being seriously wrong. And this mindset gaining prevalence may be it.
Opposition to it seems like the one unifying force I keep seeing across the boards.

>>2760
>>2835

When I wrote the "gyno-semitism" thing I was pretty angry and frustrated. I don't actually believe that bankers are responsible for the downfall of society; but 2835 got it on the money…

There *is* something seriously wrong. I don't think *chan culture is deliberately set up in Opposition to it; I just think that the opposition grows out of the fact that *chan culture and "AFK" culture are effectively seperate entities.

There was a loli thread on /b/ a while back, and someone asked "why do we think this is okay?". Someone answered him: "We think it's okay because we've basically joined a different culture". I tend to agree.

Any overarching theme of opposition that one might be tempted to identify is probably nothing more than the natural tendency of different cultures to compete with one another. We deride the "normalfags", wider culture condemns us a basement dwellers and no-lifers.

In a way it's a shame. But it's seriously interesting to think about.

>>2879

Damn wordfilter… "Bankers" indeed.

bankers. Heebs. Men with names like "Shylock" and "Fagin". Adherents to Mosaic Law.

That's what I meant…

>>2879
Don't handwave 2760 away.

It makes several valid points about marketing strategy.

>>2882

Of course he did, and I wasn't so much handwaving it away as explaining why it's probably not down to the "learned elders" as my original post implied.

Whatever it is that is causing the problem, it does seem to fit a social need of some description. It enables the vapid, consumer-driven corporate-led culture; while simultaneously ensuring the rise of the political and academic left. Furthermore, people seem *contented* with it, which is the scariest thing of all…