pop culture

New at Live Action – Buffy the Unborn Slayer?

Calvin Freiburger abortion, blogosphere, comics, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Live Action, pop culture, pregnancy, pro-life, TV

My latest Live Action post:

Popular action-drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer may have left the airwaves in 2003, but the adventure continues in a comic book series produced by original series creator Joss Whedon. This week, the comic caught the attention of USA Today for an upcoming story in which protagonist Buffy Summers finds herself single, jobless, and pregnant after a drunken party she barely remembers. Unwilling to simultaneously deal with both parenthood and monster fighting, she plans to have an abortion.
Whedon explains:

“Buffy was always about the arc of a life, and it wasn’t ever going to be one of those shows where they were perpetually in high school and never asked why,” Whedon says. “It was about change. So there’s never a time when Buffy’s life isn’t relevant.” […]
“It offends me that people who purport to be discussing a decision that is as crucial and painful as any a young woman has to make won’t even say something that they think is going to make some people angry.”

Right off the bat, the story’s premise seems highly suspect: after seven seasons’ worth of fighting evil and having the weight of the world on her shoulders, Buffy still lets her guard down so fully that she can get unknowingly impregnated by strangers?

Read the rest at Live Action.

Advertisement

New on NewsReal – Obama Puts Post-Racial America on Hold, Brings Racist, Anti-Cop Rapper to the White House

Calvin Freiburger bigotry, culture, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, NewsReal, Obama, police, politics, pop culture, race, racism, society

My latest NewsRealBlog post:

Barack Obama is a man of many talents. Some presidents might be content to wreck the nation’s finances and display confused impotence to our enemies, but Obama also takes the time to needlessly poison America’s cultural well. Last night, Sean Hannity took the president to task for including Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr., AKA rapper/poet “Common,” on the docket of a White House celebration of American prose.

Common’s prose covers all the bases of lefty thug culture, including railing against supposed warmongers:

Burn a Bush cos’ for peace he no push
No button
Killing over oil and grease
No weapons of destruction
How can we follow a leader when this a corrupt one

And resentment of the law as the mortal enemy of blacks, who might want to consider packing heat, just in case:

Tell the law my Uzi weighs a ton
I walk like a warrior, from them I won’t run
On the streets they try to beat us like a drum
In Cincinnati another brother hung

Common is also a friend and defender of Obama’s old pal Jeremiah Wright—in 2008 he claimed what he “picked up from the pews…was messages of love.” Why, even love for the “US of KKK-A,” and those in the CIA who cooked up AIDS to decimate the black population! I don’t know about you, but I can certainly feel the love!

Read the rest on NewsRealBlog.

New on NewsReal – PC Comics: Superman Renounces His US Citizenship

Calvin Freiburger comics, DC Comics, entertainment, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Left, liberalism, nerdy, NewsReal, Obama, patriotism, political correctness, pop culture, Superman
My latest NewsRealBlog post:
Once upon a time, superheroes were a source of comfort and escape from the difficulties and ugliness of real life. While real-life recession and terrorism aren’t likely to meet any tidy resolutions soon, we can always count on Batman to solve the Riddler’s latest puzzle just in time, or Spider-Man to save the damsel in distress (well, usually).
Somewhere along the line, though, it was decided that our heroes had to grapple with real-world issues. When done sparingly and handled well, this can elevate the genre, such as Harry Osborn’s battle with drugs or 2008’s brilliant The Dark Knight. But more often than not, such efforts these days instead result in train wrecks of heavy-handed political proselytizing and moral confusion.
Such is the case with the latest development in DC Comics’ Action Comics #900, in which Superman decides he has to renounce his U.S. citizenship:

In it, Superman consults with the President’s national security advisor, who is incensed that Superman appeared in Tehran to non-violently support the protesters demonstrating against the Iranian regime, no doubt an analogue for the recent real-life protests in the Middle East. However, since Superman is viewed as an American icon in the DC Universe as well as our own, the Iranian government has construed his actions as the will of the American President, and indeed, an act of war.

Superman replies that it was foolish to think that his actions would not reflect politically on the American government, and that he therefore plans to renounce his American citizenship at the United Nations the next day — and to continue working as a superhero from a more global than national perspective. From a “realistic” standpoint it makes sense; it would indeed be impossible for a nigh-omnipotent being ideologically aligned with America to intercede against injustice beyond American borders without creating enormous political fallout for the U.S. government.

First, it’s interesting to note that the story’s starting dispute comes dangerously close to a damning indictment of Barack Obama for not taking a stronger stand on the Iranian protests of summer 2009, which is surprising coming from an iconic cultural mainstay and a major entertainment company. And while John Hawkins is right to note that there are certain practical difficulties with throwing someone as powerful as Superman into geopolitical situations, I can see definite story potential in exploring the tension between Superman’s no-nonsense moral clarity and the empty suits on Capitol Hill.
But renouncing his citizenship?

New on NewsReal – "View" Lefties Can’t See Why Child Porn for Teens on MTV Might Be a Problem

Calvin Freiburger culture, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Joy Behar, Left, morality, MTV, NewsReal, pop culture, porn, responsibility, secularism, sex, The View, TV

My latest NewsRealBlog Post:

The smug certainty with which leftists insist that they’re better people than conservatives has always been an interesting phenomenon. We’re asked to believe that our opponents are more moral, more responsible, more enlightened, and more sensitive than we are one minute…and one of our betters turns around and asks what the big deal is about some outrageous case of moral degeneracy the next.

Such is the case of the latest pontifications from The View co-host Joy Behar. In a discussion of Skins, the new MTV show which might have broken child pornography laws by filming actors as young as 15 performing explicit simulated sexual acts, Behar suggested that the only reason people are getting worked up is because of the channel it’s on:

“I think it’s because it’s MTV, because on HBO as you pointed out, I believe ‘Oz’ was on there and they’re all doing some crazy stuff … and ‘Sex in the City’ was on HBO,” Behar said. “What’s the difference if you’re watching all these grown-ups talking about all of these — anal sex, etc., or young people? What’s the difference?”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure laws against producing child pornography don’t say, “nobody can do this except for HBO.”
Whoopi Goldberg dismissed concern as a mere construct of America’s more Puritan sensibilities:

[T]he English have a whole different relationship to how young people are dealt with. I mean, that’s just the way it is. It is a different thing and sex does not have the same bizarre-ness that it carries in the U.S.

America must be weird for having a problem with this; English standards couldn’t possibly be wrong! Gotta love cultural relativism.

Barbara Walters, however, managed to explain the difference to her colleague:

“There’s two differences,” Walters said. “One – it’s targeting kids. It’s a huge difference. And the other is that they’re also saying is it is underage kids that are doing this.”

Walters is right as far as she goes, but she doesn’t go nearly far enough. The main answer is that the controversy isn’t merely about minors “talking about” sex. It’s about minors performing suggested sex acts on screen. Does Behar have any conception of why child pornography is illegal? (I’d do more research into whether or not she’s opined on the issue in the past, but the prospect of Googling a combination of the terms “joy behar” and “porn” is too terrifying to contemplate.)

Read the rest on NewsRealBlog.

New on NewsReal – Abortion Apologists Worried About Artists Who Rock to a Pro-Life Beat

Calvin Freiburger abortion, adoption, crisis pregnancy centers, dishonesty, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, NewsReal, pop culture, pro-life, propaganda

My latest NewsRealBlog post:

With all the slimy morals and leftist propagandizing in our popular culture, it’s easy to overlook entertainment’s more positive influences. On January 10, pro-abortion activist Eleanor Bader wrote a blog post for RH Reality Check that shouldn’t go unnoticed, both for bringing several examples to our attention and for illustrating the radical response.

Bader highlights the following Christian and pro-life celebrity activists: Bella star Eduardo Verastegui, Christian band Barlow Girl, Skillet lead singer John Cooper, and Josh Wilson of Christian band Silverline. None of these names are as big as, say, Bono or Miley Cyrus, but they’re all successful and influential, and they do everything from participate in Washington, DC’s annual March for Life to writing songs about remorse for making the wrong “choice.”

Many Christian and conservative parents would take comfort in the presence of any counterbalance to the secular, permissive ethos and exploits of America’s most prominent stars, but according to Bader, they’re preying upon impressionable children’s inability to grasp complexity:

[P]sychologists remind us that there’s another reason the music gets rave reviews from teenagers: Adolescents are typically drawn to simplified, black-and-white ideas. Gestalt psychotherapist Shelley Orren-King explains that it is only when people reach their twenties that “they can begin to see shades of gray.”

“The nuances come with life experience.  With time and emotional development human reasoning usually shifts,” she wrote in an email.


No matter the question, the answer is always the same to leftists: people take conservative positions because they’re simple-minded. That life has complexities and nuances doesn’t mean there are no black and white answers to serious issues; it simply means more effort and care is required to find them. For our part, pro-lifers don’t obscure or shy away from the circumstances that tempt women to abortion.

Read the rest on NewsRealBlog.

New on NewsReal – "Archie" Brings Obama and Palin Together, Does More Uniting Than the Real Uniter We Elected

Calvin Freiburger Barack Obama, comics, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, NewsReal, pop culture, Sarah Palin

My latest NewsRealBlog post:

Considering how often left-wing propaganda infiltrates our popular culture, it’s only fair that we acknowledge entertainment media that opts to remain above the fray. You may have heard about one such example: the current Archie story arc in which the comic-book world’s most beloved teenagers cross paths with Barack Obama and Sarah Palin. ComicsAlliance has a new preview of the latest issue’s first five pages, which cast the political powerhouses in some of the least partisan light they’ve ever been under.

The story so far: Archie and Reggie are competing for student council, and their respective supporters decide some star power is in order to boost their chances. Veronica arranges for Archie to be photographed with the visiting President of the United States, while Trula gets a snapshot of Reggie with the former Governor of Alaska. Unfortunately, neither politician knows he/she’s being used as an endorsement…

It’s possible that the final issue might contain subtle jabs at their guest stars, but the previewed pages suggest we’re in for a lighthearted tale that genuinely portrays Obama and Palin as spirited, good-natured patriots. Indeed, this playful imagery seems to be about as confrontational as things get:

Read the rest on NewsRealBlog.

New on NewsReal – The Top 8 Most Conservative Episodes of "The Twilight Zone"

Calvin Freiburger conservatism, NewsReal, pop culture, Rod Serling, sci-fi, TV, Twilight Zone

My latest NewsRealBlog post:

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.


The Twilight Zone, Rod Serling’s classic series of strange and supernatural tales, is fondly remembered for living dolls, ghostly stalkers, and memorable aliens, but much of its success and staying power is owed to the profound messages at the heart of many of its episodes. Some stories—like the classic “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?”—are pure escapist fun, but in keeping with a long-running tradition in science fiction, many use fantastical elements and premises to grapple with fundamental questions of morality, justice, and human nature.

And unlike the genre’s more contemporary offerings, the seriousness and care with which The Twilight Zone’s writers approached the subject matter leads, more often than not, to valuable lessons that all Americans can embrace. While not all of the following examples are strictly political in nature, they all complement or reinforce bedrock conservative philosophy, while undermining the psychological underpinnings of the Left.

(Spoiler Alert: the following pages will include discussion of the episode’s twist endings. Consider yourself warned.)

There’s a signpost up ahead. Next stop…

8.) “The Masks”
A wealthy, dying old man (Robert Keith) invites his money-grubbing children and grandchildren to celebrate one last Mardi Gras in an odd way: by wearing ghoulish masks until midnight, each a reflection of the wearer’s character flaws: cowardice, greed, vanity, and cruelty. They reluctantly agree, since Grandfather has made cooperation a prerequisite of his will. But even for a fortune, his self-absorbed family can’t resist complaining about the indignity of it all, and with his dying words, he bluntly explains the purpose:

Because you’re cruel and miserable people! Because none of you RESPOND to love! Emily responds only to what her petty hungers dictate, a prime example of this being her marriage to Wilfred… a marriage which broke her dear late mother’s heart, in every sense! Wilfred responds only to things that have weight and mass and gaugeable value! He MEASURES novels, he doesn’t experience them! He JUDGES artwork, he doesn’t seek out its beauty or its meaning! And Paula lives in a mirror; the world is nothing more to her than a reflection of herself. And her brother… Humanity to him is a small animal, caught in a trap, waiting to be tormented! His pleasure is the giving of pain, and from this he receives the same sense of fulfillment most people get from a kiss or an embrace! You’re CARICATURES, ALL of you! Even without your masks, you’re CARICATURES!

Once the clock strikes midnight and Grandfather’s drawn his last breath, the children can barely contain their excitement at the thought of their new riches. But to their horror, they discover their masks have twisted their real faces to reflect the ugliness of their souls.

Bad apples are one thing. Every movement has them. But when one surveys the Democrat Party, the mainstream media, and the academic world, it’s striking to note the viciousness, dishonesty, and opportunism that is not only tolerated, but rewarded by the Left. It makes you wonder what Michael Moore, William Ayers, or Keith Olbermann’s masks would look like…and it cautions conservatives to keep their own hearts pure.

Read the rest on NewsRealBlog.