pavlovscat on 18/3/2007 at 18:26
Quote Posted by Vigil
I get the feeling you were meant to sympathise and then shut up rather than rebut her points one by one.
No, I wasn't looking for sympathy or a pity party. I was stating factual reasons why I feel as I do.
Quote Posted by Swiss Mercenary
Of course there are better and worse places to live. Of course violence hasn't went away. But I'd be hard-pressed to argue that we have
more of it on a national scale, then we did ten, fifty, a hundred, or a thousand years ago.
Perhaps you are correct. It's the same old violence just packaged for mass media distribution. I'm just more aware of it because media emphasis is usually on the bad. Growing up with violence, I assumed that everyone else did too. I happened to be born in a very violent city. You happen to live in a more peaceful place. Maybe if we averaged the two, we might have a closer estimation of the true state of violence.
21st Century Schizoid Man on 18/3/2007 at 19:45
I'll wait for video. Even though Sin City might have been cool, this looks like ass and I'm seeing Last King of Scotland today anyway.
The fact that all of my friends are raving about it and that everyone around my school from dickhead to intellectual are seeing it turns me off. I don't need excessive violence thrown in my face to be entertained, thanks. That's why bullshit like Saw and Hostel profits so much...
Zygoptera on 18/3/2007 at 20:55
Quote Posted by Strontium Dog
You think he sounds like he's excited by the prospect of Iran being liberated from tyranny? No, me either.
You are Donald Rumsfeld and I claim my $5.
Ajare on 18/3/2007 at 22:10
Well, it was better than I expected. Sure, there's loads of stupid bits - most of which seemed to find their way into the trailer, unsurprisingly - but it was decent enough, I guess.
The two main (non) issues with it seem to be historical accuracy and the whole "Iranians are all disgusting monsters lol" thing. Personally, I thought these were the best bits about it - as Troy showed, ancient military history can be awfully dry, and throwing in a guy with a goat's head and some gigeresque lesbians really does wonders when it comes to sustaining interest. I'll take a guy with bloody sabres for arms over a blonde Brad Pitt any day.
I had to laugh at the suggestion somewhere that lots of women were going to see it because Queen Gorgo was a "strong female character". She argues a bit, then gets raped, then kills the guy later, irony of incredible ironies. All in the space of 15 minutes of screen time, or whatever. Speaking of arguing, there wasn't nearly enough of it. Greek democracy is one of the cornerstones of western civilisation. I want to see politics, people. You simply can't beat a good Arcadian filibuster. The film lacked in backstory here, and the real events are actually more interesting than the ones they portrayed onscreen. The battles were pretty rad, though.
In summary: would watch again, if forced.
Gingerbread Man on 18/3/2007 at 22:49
I'm still wondering where everyone's getting this ZOMG ANTI-IRANIAN talking-point from. Not only are we dealing specifically with the ancient Persian army under Xerxes, it's explicitly said more than once that the Persian army was made up of troops from all corners of the vast Persian empire.
Ajare on 18/3/2007 at 23:25
Quote Posted by Gingerbread Man
I'm still wondering where everyone's getting this ZOMG ANTI-IRANIAN talking-point from
Well, you could ask the Iranian culture minister, or whoever it was. Although they're clearly using it as reverse propaganda. There's a couple of film critics who brought it up too, but they were probably just bored.
Vigil on 18/3/2007 at 23:49
Quote Posted by Ajare
Personally, I thought these were the best bits about it - as Troy showed, ancient military history can be awfully dry, and throwing in a guy with a goat's head and some gigeresque lesbians really does wonders when it comes to sustaining interest.
Quote Posted by Ajare
Speaking of arguing, there wasn't nearly enough of it. Greek democracy is one of the cornerstones of western civilisation. I want to see politics, people.
<b></b>
Aerothorn on 19/3/2007 at 01:47
Quote Posted by Strontium Dog
\
Well, for one thing, try reading the article :rolleyes:
You think he sounds like he's excited by the prospect of Iran being liberated from tyranny? No, me either.
I sure as hell can't speak for the masses, but Koroush sure as hell isn't a radical Iran-lover. As you no doubt noticed, he said that he thought banning it/censoring it was not okay.
And I don't even get your last sentence. Are you saying that he SHOULD be excited about the prospect of Iran being "liberated from tyranny"? Have you learned NOTHING from the Iraq war? I know it's asking too much of you to think in a rational fashion but you could at least TRY.
SD on 19/3/2007 at 01:55
This isn't really the right place for a debate on the merits of attacking Iran, but that country is an entirely different situation to Iraq, the threat it poses is real and its administration is infinitely more obnoxious than Saddam's.
Shug on 19/3/2007 at 02:12
Quote Posted by Strontium Dog
What a shame people of Persian descent aren't even half as vocal about the horrendous human rights situation in modern-day Persia as they are about a goddamn popcorn flick.
Hahaha, are you fucking kidding me?
How would you even know what this guy's views are on that situation? It seems that, unlike you, he knows how to discuss one subject at a time without violently chasing completely unrelated social debate
