Then it hit me, I've already done it plenty of times before, so why not dedicate an entire post to it? From salads to Marie Calender's pies; from holiday shopping to the week staring on Sunday; from baseball to Romo-mania; from college life to our societies view of love, I've filled this blog with my riffs on pop culture. I've already ripped the BCS. Let's keep this thing going. Who knows, maybe this could become a regular end of the year tradition. (Oh yeah, traditions and the year ending in December... I hate those too)
A Few Things I Just Don't Get:
-World of Warcraft (WOW)
I believe I've already dogged on the multitude of "fantasy" fanatics out there. Ahh yes, shall I revisit my words verbatim?
"I've never been a big fan of the whole mythology craze and I've had a hard time understanding why some people can get so infatuated with it. None of it is real; it is all completely made up and based on nothing of actuality. Where the heck did "elves" come from and why do some people seem to act as if they are real? I've come to theorize that the reason why so many love the supernatural is that it gives them a world in which they can at least fantasize about extra-ordinary power. In some extreme cases, it can be down right silly, but all of us are attracted to it to some extent. I see that the concept comes from God and his incredible power, but as always, the fascination can lead to the desire for self-empowerment."
A little preachy I know; I get that way sometimes. Regardless of the deeper spiritual correlations, I simply don't get the infatuation with the fundamentally fictional. Sure I'm like most everyone else, I like some good fiction in movies and books, but it still has to be believable for me. I can respect Tolkien as classic and genuinely good literature but as far as that whole genre, it really doesn't appeal to me at all. I guess I just despise supernatural storytelling because it can often negatively affect the writing, especially in terms of creativity. Oh no, our heroes are in a seemingly impossible situation, lets just overlook all those commonly held physical laws of nature and make up some quick fix out of nowhere and call it magic.I don't get it and I don't particularly like it. It's probably the biggest reason why reacted so differently to the first two installments of Pirates of the Caribbean. I understand the allure of the unbelievable in entertainment; I call it the "Die Hard syndrome." However, I guess I find most of them to be believable to a point and the rest just appeals to the adrenalin factor. The ever increasing fantasy genre takes it too far for me all to often. It's probably why I simply don't enjoy the SciFi channel... at all.
Anyway, back to the game at hand. I don't even like the game classification; the whole role playing thing seems pretty stupid to me. Why would I want to spend hours "upgrading" some online character while engaging in less than enthralling combat? (Oh yeah, and they're all characters of fantasy; we all know how I feel about that) Am I the only one (and I know I'm not) who remembers the original Warcraft (or my favorite and slightly more believable Starcraft)? Those games were alright; I didn't mind playing them. I'm sorry, I enjoy real time strategy and first person shooters but I draw the line at role playing; it's down right boring.
And am I the only one who thinks that the game just looks absolutely retarded? I'm sorry, but for a game that involves itself in "epic" battles of fantasy with brutish and monsterish races it looks ridiculously bad and down right childish and comical. I swear, the first time I saw it being played I thought it was one of those late 90's educational games that teaches children basic math and grammar. If I have 3 elves and you give me 4 more elves...
What really bothers me is the prevalence of addiction right now. I'll admit it, on some weeks in the summer months I've spent 6 hours straight playing some ridiculously trivial game like Civ or Sim City, but after I pry loose my fingers from the sweaty mouse and let my eyes readjust to reality's light, I kick myself for wasting countless hours and promise myself to never play the game again. Admitting is the first step people. Honestly, I can understand the whole addiction to upgrading in gaming. By far my most favorite gaming activity would be Madden's franchise mode or NCAA's dynasty mode. I absolutely love turning the worst team in the league into a juggernaut in just 3-5 years and then moving on to the next cream puff. Now that is fun; but enough of that, I'm supposed to be on a tirade.
-The Religious Hullabaloo Over The Golden Compass
Keeping on the subject of fantasy, I'm getting pretty sick of "my" contingent's constant boycotting and whining over "anti-Christian" content. I can see where the movement is coming from and I don't have a problem with warning parents about the Golden Compass series' apparent anti-God undertones, but as always, people take it too far. Younger children are highly impressionable and I strongly support parents who screen what their kids see and hear. However, all the conspiracy theories on how Hollywood is plotting to jam atheism down our collective throats are getting kind of old. There are no grand conspiracies and even if there were, it shouldn't be that big of a surprise. Christ himself warned us that his own name would be persecuted.
I'm not challenging the fact that this series doesn't contain an agenda, I just don't understand the frenzy over an all-out boycott. Do you really expect to go through your entire life without ever facing a differing opinion than your own? This Christian isolationism really pisses me off. Apparently they don't really want to reach the world with the gospel that much. As I've said, I understand parental discretion, but if I'm not mistaken, this movie targets tweens and teens who, in my opinion are old enough to not be swayed by every little dissenting world view. The teenage years are an important time for an individual to begin to witness differing opinions while still under guidance of parental figures. In other words, by the time their children are teenagers, parents should move beyond simply telling their offspring what to believe, but instead tell them why they believe what they do and answer questions about everything else out there. Some believers attempt to construct a complete "Christian culture" to dwell in, the Ned Flanders bubble as I call it. That's a bubble I'd like to pop.
-Trial News Coverage
Micheal Vick is the latest in a long string of celebrity and non-celebrity trial frenzies that frustrate the hell out of me. I don't mind so much the occasional story on an IMPORTANT happening, but all to often the media flock to the courthouses and fill the waves with nonstop headlines about nothing. It doesn't matter if there's ever actually any progress in the trial, the coverage never stops. Every aspect of the proceedings is talked to death and I really don't care about the entire thing. I didn't care about OJ, I didn't care about Robert Blake, I didn't care about Paris Hilton, I didn't care about the yogurt shop murderers (that may just be an Austin thing) and I don't care about Micheal Vick. Maybe I'm in the extreme minority cause it seems as if everyone cares, but who knows, that may just be more media hype. Give me something of meaning, give me something not so continually morbid.Disclaimer: There, I'm done for know. For those who do enjoy WOW and trial proceedings or really don't want to see Golden Compass, hey that's your thing. I don't understand it but to each his own. I'm sure most people would lift an eye at many of my habits. Please don't take it personally, I just don't understand you!
2 comments:
Hey Brian, good post. I especially agree with the part on the Golden Compass. There comes a point in life where parents are no longer going to be able to filter the content and ideas going into their kids' minds. This is why it's important to discuss the truths, fallacies, and logic behind various entertainment devices in our culture with older kids so they may be prepared to stand against the schemes of the enemy, not being deceived because they know why they believe what they believe. Their faith is their own. Bubble's don't provide this opportunity. The Bible says we are to be in the world but not of the world. We have to learn to let the Holy Spirit be our moral guide in a fallen world.
All that to say, keep blogging! :)
You write very well.
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