Published on
July 23, 2008 in
Film.
Here’s the first in a long series of short reviews. I don’t have much time to write these, but I do want to jot down some thoughts. (The way I work, don’t be surprised if some of them turn out a little longer after all.)
Saw Bender’s Big Score yesterday, and loved it. To a geek, I really can’t imagine anything more funny than Futurama. And yes, the Simpsons are funny, but Futurama is brilliant. I love its emphasis on story and character rather than just gag (though there are plenty of those). It makes Futurama more memorable and ultimately also more funny than a lot of other shows. That’s something I’ve always believed – humorous storytelling, whether it’s a panto or an animated movie, is about more than just the momentary joke. Structure and story are still just as important, and emphasising them achieves a lot more than just stringing together a bunch of one-liners. When jokes are repeated or build on each other, they can become considerably more funny than on their own; and good characters who are more than just one-joke setups give the comedy a basis on which it can work, and a reality in which the plot (funny or crazy as it may be) actually means something to us – and is thus a lot more hilarious.
Does that make sense? I think so. Now I have to go, I have a bus to catch. (And the bastards are really slippery.)
Berlusconi has been in power for just two months, and already he’s going for the full-on Hitler thing. It’s amazing to see fascism spread its wings over Europe again, and most people not even reacting. This why shit happened the last time, you’d think someone would get that this is why it’ll happen again… only with a different face. This time it’ll be Muslims and other immigrants instead of Jews… though the Roma and Sinti seem to be on the list yet again. Not that anyone remembers these days what was done to them back then.
It’s depressing, really.
[from Italy: Berlusconi government steps up its attacks on Roma and foreigners ]
Silvio Berlusconi has now governed Italy for two months. The multi-billionaire media magnate enjoys a clear parliamentary majority following the humiliating election defeat of all those organisations which emerged from the former Italian Communist Party-in particular Communist Refoundation (Rifondazione Comunista).
Berlusconi’s right-wing coalition [...] has introduced repressive anti-immigration measures, forcibly deported poor immigrants, opened the way for the use of the Italian army for domestic purposes and agreed on Italy’s return to nuclear energy. At the same time Berlusconi has introduced a new immunity law which exempts him from legal prosecution.
[...] the latest measure to be agreed by the government: a file is to be drawn up, particularly for Sinti and Roma, containing a DNA data base with digital fingerprints and photos of each individual. The file is to be extended to small children. In order to implement this data base, the government reactivated a fascist law from 1941.
It’s time for worldwide socialist movement. It’s time for these people to get kicked out and, in some cases, put into prison. There’s no more time or space for half-measures and foolish hopes in Social Democrat parties that do nothing but implement the same policies with different names. Either we learn from history or we’re going to repeat the extra-shitty version of it.
