Controversial Entertainment Opinions/Discussion Thread - Part II

[aleshemsky83]

From this thread, I'm feeling like intellectual public figures are being held to an unreasonable standard. These are just people, not infallible machines. When they speak within their area of expertise, they have some authority on what they're saying, and when they speak outside of it, it should be held to no different standard than any other idiot shooting their mouth about things. The fact that there are idiots out there who will mistake everything that comes out of their mouth as gospel just because they're scientists isn't really their responsibility/concern. As long as there's some basis/sanity involved in their thoughts about random ****, they're holding up their end of the bargain as far as I can see.

It's not holding them to an unreasonable standard at all. These are guys that make a lot of money doing public speaking, in fact it's probably the main source of revenue for both guys even before television. Theyre paid to speak on scientific subjects. To my understanding NDT makes 10 grand per speech minimum and a lot of his speeches are just him talking absolute nonsense. I remember seeing a reddit post where some student politicians at a university were pissed that they paid him 10 grand to make fart jokes for 45 minutes.

Also, it is possible to intelligently talk about something you don't know a lot about.

Edit: 85 grand is the number, can't post a link since servers are down

 

[aleshemsky83]

Not that either guy is stupid, again it's the ego that makes me dislike them. I actually enjoy seeing them be wrong because of it. They make me want global warming to be a hoax.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Well technically, shouldn't we all want global warning to be a hoax? It'd be good for our planet.

 

[aleshemsky83]

I can't prove it, but I'm convinced every single one of David Blaines stunts are faked. Not tricks, I'm talking those weird stunt specials he does where he lays in a box for 8 weeks without food or some crap.

This may sound not controversial at all, but at least one of his attempts are verified by Guinness and he has them opened to the public with pretty extensive viewing angles.

I have absolutely zero evidence, but just the way he tries to sell his tricks as real magic make me skeptical when he claims his stunts are real. He's also been caught using actors and editing for his famous levitation trick, which is something on the level of criss angel that mindfreaker. Also he makes these ridiculous claims that he can control his metabolism or something, which sets off alarm bells.

 

[Shareefruck]

It's not holding them to an unreasonable standard at all. These are guys that make a lot of money doing public speaking, in fact it's probably the main source of revenue for both guys even before television. Theyre paid to speak on scientific subjects. To my understanding NDT makes 10 grand per speech minimum and a lot of his speeches are just him talking absolute nonsense. I remember seeing a reddit post where some student politicians at a university were pissed that they paid him 10 grand to make fart jokes for 45 minutes.

Also, it is possible to intelligently talk about something you don't know a lot about.

Edit: 85 grand is the number, can't post a link since servers are down

Uhhh... If you're talking about his actual speeches and lectures, I have no comment. I was just talking about his public persona and tweeting, which I have no problem with.

 

[Ralph Spoilsport]

Flying cars?!? That's priceless.

Forget about ending world hunger or developing clean and sustainable energy sources...he wants flying cars. Was he tweeting to a kindergarten class?

 

[Shareefruck]

I'm so baffled by this.

 

[aleshemsky83]

Neil Degrasse Tyson is a cocky nerd.

But I do need to check out his cosmos series. If he lives up to the great carl sagan my respect for him will incerase.

 

[Mrb1p]

Neil Degrasse Tyson is a cocky nerd.

But I do need to check out his cosmos series. If he lives up to the great carl sagan my respect for him will incerase.

God forbid that someone makes science accessible to the masses.

 

[Shareefruck]

Here's a random one.

Does it slightly niggle anyone else that people on these boards (I assume mostly guys) will readily trash things like Justin Bieber/Taylor Swift/One Direction/Coldplay/chick flicks/reality TV, but will turn around and embrace/be really forgiving of something equally dumb/childish/absent of quality like Dragonball Super, The Expendables, Power Rangers, or pro wrestling? There's this weird gender-based double standard that guys here seem to be either unaware or uncaring of. These are all basically the same thing, just on opposite ends of the spectrum, so it's always seemed to me like it only really makes sense for people here to either be dismissive of both types or forgiving of both types rather than one but not the other.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Here's a random one.

Does it slightly niggle anyone else that people on these boards (I assume mostly guys) will readily trash things like Justin Bieber/Taylor Swift/One Direction/Coldplay/chick flicks/reality TV, but will turn around and embrace/be really forgiving of something equally dumb/childish/absent of quality like Dragonball Super, The Expendables, Power Rangers, or pro wrestling? There's this weird gender-based double standard that guys here seem to be either unaware or uncaring of. These are all basically the same thing, just on opposite ends of the spectrum, so it's always seemed to me like it only really makes sense for people here to either be dismissive of both types or forgiving of both types rather than one but not the other.

It's not so much that it annoys me as much as what do you expect? People tend to not have much taste in general (and this isn't me trying to knock them, life makes one busy and not everyone will have the time nor the will to push through and find rewarding art) While both annoy me to no end - and I certainly don't enjoy the bad art I enjoyed as a kid - I'll always have more affinity to the dumb stuff I liked as a male kid - and the art I liked then was certainly male-oriented - because of the nostalgia and the probably false memories of a happier time I associate with childhood. While the quality of the art is no better, the memories they evoke will always make me biased towards them on a purely emotional level because of the times I associate with the product. I assume this goes for a lot of people. While I don't indulge nor still watch the products you mentioned (and besides Dragonball, I've never been keen on any of them, even as a child) I'll certainly always have a sly smile on my face if I watch a Pokemon episode as opposed to a Britney Spears album if only because of what I indulged in as a child. I will say though, if you thoroughly enjoy the products you mentioned as being of quality value while disparaging the the products geared more towards women, you should reflect on art and entertainment and how you judge the payoffs of what you consume. You'll probably find yourself with the same answers an individual of the opposite gender would arrive to if they asked themselves the same questions.

 

[aleshemsky83]

The comparison doesn't make sense honestly.

I actually like some or Bieber stuff and I'll admit it's horribly shallow, and most people who like dbz will admit it's horribly shallow. But theyre different artforms that offer different things. Akira toriyama himself admits he has forgotten countless things including the existence of a main character, that saiyans have tails, that ss3 exists, that ss2 is different from ss1, and many others. The attraction with dbz is the art, animation and interesting fights. It's usually fantastic. There's a reason the man's art is in some of the biggest video game franchises of all time and has inspired countless other artists.

I don't see it as different as the attraction American adults have with Disney movies, except in that case people try to fool themselves into thinking these incredibly repetitive and simplistic themes are adult and they aren't just enjoying a cartoon.

As for the others, I was not a huge power Rangers guy but wasn't that always strictly a kids thing? Expendables is basically a comedy, and a good one. I recall you saying that there is such a thing as "so bad it's good", I agree. Expendables and fast and furious fall into the same category for me.

I'm not a huge pro wrestling guy but again I still enjoy it for the comedic aspects. Google professor Scott steiner math lesson.

 

[aleshemsky83]

Also, big time controversy incoming

if there's one thing that annoys me it's people that go to a kids movie and complain about it being a kids movie

This all started with star wars. The prequels are not more childish or corny then the original trilogy, and in a few cases the OT is as poorly written. You just either saw it when you were a kid or are caught up in the zeitgeist. I'm impervious to the zeitgeist, the OT is alright. The prequels are hit and miss, and the fight between Vader and obiwan in a new hope is HORRIBLE.

 

[Shareefruck]

My point isn't that people need to dismiss all things shallow (although I like to myself, and have never been much for nostalgia). My point is that if you're the type that can acknowledge that sometimes you like shallow things due to silly guilty pleasure/nostalgia-related reasons, then you should probably be more empathetic to the fact that people feel similar on the other side of the spectrum rather than ridiculing or rolling your eyes at people who do (which I do see alot of on these boards by the same people who like this other type of thing). And I'm alright with people who go the other way and trash both, but it doesn't seem to be consistent. There's alot of roll-your-eyes-at-people liking feminine crap while simultaneously patting yourself on the back for liking masculine-crap going on, I find. That's what I'm getting at.

Also, there's a reason I said Dragonball Super rather than the series as a whole. The animation/direction/care put in that thing is so half-*ssed/awful, even by the series standards. I took a look at it, and I thought every aspect of it was pretty irredeemably bad. The first Dragonball had alot of charm, and the Z series is something I can understand feeling nostalgic about and has reasonable production values.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Also, big time controversy incoming

if there's one thing that annoys me it's people that go to a kids movie and complain about it being a kids movie

This all started with star wars. The prequels are not more childish or corny then the original trilogy, and in a few cases the OT is as poorly written. You just either saw it when you were a kid or are caught up in the zeitgeist. I'm impervious to the zeitgeist, the OT is alright. The prequels are hit and miss, and the fight between Vader and obiwan in a new hope is HORRIBLE.

Star Wars is a complete joke and is the perfect example of something that it's overwhelming popularity/marketing has borderlined bullied people into liking it, at least as of this decade.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

My point isn't that people need to dismiss all things shallow (although I like to myself, and have never been much for nostalgia). My point is that if you're the type that can acknowledge that sometimes you like shallow things due to silly guilty pleasure/nostalgia-related reasons, then you should probably be more empathetic to the fact that people feel similar on the other side of the spectrum rather than ridiculing or rolling your eyes at people who do (which I do see alot of on these boards by the same people who like this other type of thing). And I'm alright with people who go the other way and trash both, but it doesn't seem to be consistent. There's alot of roll-your-eyes-at-people liking feminine crap while simultaneously patting yourself on the back for liking masculine-crap going on, I find. That's what I'm getting at.

Also, there's a reason I said Dragonball Super rather than the series as a whole. The animation/direction/care put in that thing is so half-*ssed/awful, even by the series standards. I took a look at it, and I thought every aspect of it was pretty irredeemably bad. The first Dragonball had alot of charm, and the Z series is something I can understand feeling nostalgic about and has reasonable production values.

I agree, but I don't see how this is controversial unless one is completely dishonest with themselves. Seems like you're disappointed with people not hating on their own guilty pleasures as much as they hate on other people's guilty pleasures. It's a fine argument on purely moral reasons but is to be completely expected when it comes down to it.

 

[Roo Returns]

Kevin Costner gets a bad rep. He had like a two year period of bad movies (Waterworld and The Postman) and people still bring that up. He's had a lot of success before and after and is a very good actor.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I don't know that it's so much as controversial as much as there's no other legitimate thread for this opinion to be in, but **** it: The Sopranos is the 2nd greatest show I've invested time in (Horace and Pete is 1st but I'm not much of a reference for television shows) but it has the greatest use of music - especially pop - I've ever seen. Some people make the argument that good use of music in a scene should not be heard. I disagree. The use of notable music can often accentuate the emotion of a scene and I can find no better example than The Sopranos.

 

[Shareefruck]

I agree, but I don't see how this is controversial unless one is completely dishonest with themselves. Seems like you're disappointed with people not hating on their own guilty pleasures as much as they hate on other people's guilty pleasures. It's a fine argument on purely moral reasons but is to be completely expected when it comes down to it.

I get the feeling that there is a bit of dishonesty there, though, personally-- the impression I get is that some people instinctively act like their own sh** doesn't stink as bad as other people's do.

Could be wrong.

 

[Shareefruck]

I actually completely disagree with the Star Wars thing, and I've always been annoyed by any kind of blanket sentiment along the lines of "people are clouded by their nostalgia and don't realize that this thing that's hailed as a classic is no better than the average thing."

No Star Wars is mature or intelligent, but the firs two Star Wars movies were very tastefully executed and aesthetically inspired in a way that none of the sequels have been, IMO.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I get the feeling that there is a bit of dishonesty there, though, personally-- the impression I get is that some people instinctively act like their own sh** doesn't stink as bad as other people's do.

Could be wrong.

Well, I guess so. But is that a controversial opinion? I mean, the crux of your point is '' People are harder on things they don't like as compared to stuff they like ''. I don't think you'll find much disagreement on this point. One vital point you did allude to (I think) - and which I agree with 100% - is that people like to act as if their own tastes are more refined (especially when it comes to low quality art) than others.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I actually completely disagree with the Star Wars thing, and I've always been annoyed by any kind of blanket sentiment along the lines of "people are clouded by their nostalgia and don't realize that this thing that's hailed as a classic is no better than the average thing."

No Star Wars is mature or intelligent, but the firs two Star Wars movies were very tastefully executed and aesthetically inspired in a way that none of the sequels have been, IMO.

You may be annoyed by my opinion, but I've been annoyed by the fact that any opinion that goes against the current Star Wars wave is deemed as foul. A campy film I find is never charming and I think all of the episodes are guilty of that. And I can still appreciate a campy film with other extraordinary qualities (Moonlight) but Star Wars, I find, certainly does not achieve that, at least for me.

 

[BonMorrison]

Whoa now, those pro wrestling shot are unnecessary.

 

[aleshemsky83]

Also people that think Hayden Christiansen is horrible (he is), give Mark Hamill a pass. Like the fact that he never got work again until he caught lightning in a bottle with the joker is just completely ignored. The guys performance was bad.

edit: No, I take that back. Mark Hamill is a legend. I'm getting too caught up in controversy.

 

[silkyjohnson50]

The Beasty Boys were garbage.