Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings
Tax the Rich
Movie Monday - Red Riding Hood and more
I've been thinking a lot of thoughts lately and that's probably why I was AWOL all last week. That and the fact that movies in my Verizon movie package have been pretty horrible lately. So I started the week staring at nothing for Movie Monday and the rest of the week just tagged along.
Of course, last week in the US, saw the drama of Susan G. Komen breast cancer charity vs. the very, very evil Planned Parenthood (whose evilness apparently SGK just discovered) play out.
I've never gotten on the SGK bandwagon because experience has taught me to be leery of mega-"charities" with mega commercial tie-ins. In the end, I don't believe the "left" took Komen down (although we surely could use some victories) but rather big business capitalism did them in. Capitalism will give loonies just enough rope to play with and make pretty knots but no way will they hand them the rope so they all can swing in the wind together.
SGK is a billion dollar money machine and it's perfectly all right for their new leaders to twist to the far right as long they do nothing to disrupt this cash flow. That was Handel's (SGK new anti-abortion VP) big mistake. That and the fact that apparently 23 cents of each dollar donated to SGK goes to research; the rest to salaries, overhead and generating more dollars. Sounds like a scenario ripe for demands for one of Congress' time wasting public investigations. I'm sure the charity backers didn't want that.
Unfortunately, the SGK brouhaha brought back into focus the billion dollar generating health care industry which is allowed to exist in this country. This industry is backed firmly by SGK's pink ribbon charity which went ape-shit crazy when the recommendations for starting mammograms was pushed up from 40 to 50 years old a few years ago. Of course, medical science blinked and women were allowed to return to the radiation giving, breast torturing mammograms starting at age 40 again. For, after all, to paraphrase Calvin Coolidge: what's good for business is good for the country.
I did get to see Red Riding Hood last week. This movie was royally trounced by the critics (5.1% out of 10 in IMDb and 11% in Rotten Tomatoes.) It was directed by Catherine Hardwicke who directed the first Twilight and the only Twilight I can ever watch. As I've said before about Twilight-1, I think Hardwicke did a more than serviceable job introducing this modern day Gothic tale and moving it and the audience along to a romantically plausible (I did say "romantically" plausible) conclusion. It's just a pity they didn't end the series then.
Regarding Red Riding Hood: As some people on IMDb have said, I was surprised at the almost universal rejection of this movie. Hardwicke is a good storyteller of implausible plots and I think she and the cast more than just "come through" in this mythical/metaphorical tale of the young girl living in a medieval god-fearing village which is plagued by the unknown, this time in the shape of a werewolf.
I liked the atmosphere and tone of this movie and I didn't feel as though I was in a Hollywood set medieval village. The myth/metaphor of the virginal young girl facing the dangers of her community and the "dark" outside with all its unique dangers is one of those "down through the ages" tales. I think Hardwicke and her cast do admirable work with their take on this myth. Watch it and see if you agree.
Of course, last week in the US, saw the drama of Susan G. Komen breast cancer charity vs. the very, very evil Planned Parenthood (whose evilness apparently SGK just discovered) play out.
I've never gotten on the SGK bandwagon because experience has taught me to be leery of mega-"charities" with mega commercial tie-ins. In the end, I don't believe the "left" took Komen down (although we surely could use some victories) but rather big business capitalism did them in. Capitalism will give loonies just enough rope to play with and make pretty knots but no way will they hand them the rope so they all can swing in the wind together.
SGK is a billion dollar money machine and it's perfectly all right for their new leaders to twist to the far right as long they do nothing to disrupt this cash flow. That was Handel's (SGK new anti-abortion VP) big mistake. That and the fact that apparently 23 cents of each dollar donated to SGK goes to research; the rest to salaries, overhead and generating more dollars. Sounds like a scenario ripe for demands for one of Congress' time wasting public investigations. I'm sure the charity backers didn't want that.
Unfortunately, the SGK brouhaha brought back into focus the billion dollar generating health care industry which is allowed to exist in this country. This industry is backed firmly by SGK's pink ribbon charity which went ape-shit crazy when the recommendations for starting mammograms was pushed up from 40 to 50 years old a few years ago. Of course, medical science blinked and women were allowed to return to the radiation giving, breast torturing mammograms starting at age 40 again. For, after all, to paraphrase Calvin Coolidge: what's good for business is good for the country.
I did get to see Red Riding Hood last week. This movie was royally trounced by the critics (5.1% out of 10 in IMDb and 11% in Rotten Tomatoes.) It was directed by Catherine Hardwicke who directed the first Twilight and the only Twilight I can ever watch. As I've said before about Twilight-1, I think Hardwicke did a more than serviceable job introducing this modern day Gothic tale and moving it and the audience along to a romantically plausible (I did say "romantically" plausible) conclusion. It's just a pity they didn't end the series then.
Regarding Red Riding Hood: As some people on IMDb have said, I was surprised at the almost universal rejection of this movie. Hardwicke is a good storyteller of implausible plots and I think she and the cast more than just "come through" in this mythical/metaphorical tale of the young girl living in a medieval god-fearing village which is plagued by the unknown, this time in the shape of a werewolf.
I liked the atmosphere and tone of this movie and I didn't feel as though I was in a Hollywood set medieval village. The myth/metaphor of the virginal young girl facing the dangers of her community and the "dark" outside with all its unique dangers is one of those "down through the ages" tales. I think Hardwicke and her cast do admirable work with their take on this myth. Watch it and see if you agree.
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