Video Essays + Every Frame a Painting

[Dukefrukem]

Now I'm nostalgic.

Sorry. Not buying any of this.

[StuSmallz]

I'm not sure who's more guilty of that, the writers or Michael Chiklis himself (his Vic is charismatic as hell and he makes him very hard to root against).
My guess is this was because the Strike Team members, for all their faults, were way smarter than the average cop, at least when it came to dispatching violence. While they were brutal, they were at least smart enough to not get caught (I mean, do you think Vic would've let anyone film him while choking a suspect or be stupid enough to have his knee on a suspect's neck for 9 minutes?). However, if you squint, Farmington isn't completely off the hook; as the video pointed out, most of the gangs Vic and co chased were ran by POC which, in theory could mean the team itself was racially profiling the district; also, the show wasn't exactly devoid of idiot, racist cops, I mean, it's not a stretch to think that, for example, the dumb fratbro cops from the first two seasons that bullied Julien for being gay, wouldn't have attacked a POC or LGBT suspect with the same viciousness at the smallest provocation; and lastly, even higher ups were not above adopting draconian measures that would eventually target mostly POC people, such as Rawlings' seizing policy.

I'd say the writers, since Chiklis was just portraying Mackey the best he could, as he was written. At any rate, regarding the show's portrayal of Vic/the Strike Team as a whole...

[

Show Spoiler

...obviously, the one exception to the rule of the Strike Team only killing "bad guys" would be Terry, who they obviously get out of the way immediately, and whose experience of being an honest cop who's targeted by dirty ones, while not unheard of (like what happened with Frank Serpico), still isn't as common when it comes to cop killings; what's much more likely would be a scenario like in "Throwaway", where Lem accidentally shoots the guy when he thinks he's reaching for a gun (when he wasn't), and even then, he and the rest of the team go to extradinary lengths to clear the guy's name, lengths that I doubt any of the Baltimore cops who carried around BB guns to plant on people if needed would've come anywhere near, had they framed the "wrong" person. The rest of the time, Vic and the others were mostly killing random crooks in self-defense, or psychos like Armadillo or Margos who were already murderers anyway, and if the Strike Team was a real police unit, I think they would've killed a lot more random, innocent people, especially since we're aware of how common blatantly unjustified police killings are now in a post-smartphone era.

]

None of this is to say that The Shield isn't still one of my favorite shows, it just goes to show you that you never know how things will age as society changes, y'know?

[StuSmallz]

Hey, just as I am 4 episodes away from finishing The Shield!

And here's part 2!:

[Philip J. Fry]

I'd say the writers, since Chiklis was just portraying Mackey the best he could, as he was written. At any rate, regarding the show's portrayal of Vic/the Strike Team as a whole...

[

Show Spoiler

...obviously, the one exception to the rule of the Strike Team only killing "bad guys" would be Terry, who they obviously get out of the way immediately, and whose experience of being an honest cop who's targeted by dirty ones, while not unheard of (like what happened with Frank Serpico), still isn't as common when it comes to cop killings; what's much more likely would be a scenario like in "Throwaway", where Lem accidentally shoots the guy when he thinks he's reaching for a gun (when he wasn't), and even then, he and the rest of the team go to extradinary lengths to clear the guy's name, lengths that I doubt any of the Baltimore cops who carried around BB guns to plant on people if needed would've come anywhere near, had they framed the "wrong" person. The rest of the time, Vic and the others were mostly killing random crooks in self-defense, or psychos like Armadillo or Margos who were already murderers anyway, and if the Strike Team was a real police unit, I think they would've killed a lot more random, innocent people, especially since we're aware of how common blatantly unjustified police killings are now in a post-smartphone era.

]

Yup.

None of this is to say that The Shield isn't still one of my favorite shows, it just goes to show you that you never know how things will age as society changes, y'know?

Yup.

[StuSmallz]

All of that being said though, The Shield still holds up far better as it is than if Kurt Sutter had been the showrunner (instead of just one of the writers), if Sons Of Anarchy is anything to go by, since that show was basically just all the (minor) flaws of The Shield multiplied by 10, with a cast of a bunch of irredeemable scumbags we're expected to root for just because they're the main characters, and "bro, they're so badass!". Ugh.

[Philip J. Fry]

I've not seen that one.

[Philip J. Fry]

"I'm glad it's you"

[Philip J. Fry]

[Philip J. Fry]

List of films mentioned:
[

Show Spoiler

Tale of Tales, dir: Yuri Norstein
Hedgehog in The Fog, dir: Yuri Norstein
Frank Kafka's A Country's Doctor, dir: Yamamura Koji
Atama Yama, dir: Yamamura Koji
The Red Turtle, dir: Michaël Dudok de Wit
Tale of Princess Kaguya, dir: Takahata Isao
Song of The Sea, dir: Tomm Moore
The Wind Rises, dir: Miyazaki Hayao
Perfect Blue, dir: Kon Satoshi
The Iron Giant, dir: Brad Bird
Fantastic Planet, dir: Rene Laloux
Grave of The Fireflies, dir: Takahata, Isao
When the Wind Blows. dir: Murakami, Jimmy T.
Watership Down, dir: Martin Rosen & John Hubley
Ja teeb trikke, dir: Priit Parn
Dimensions of Dialogue, dir: Jan Å*vankmajer
Alice, dir: Jan Å*vankmajer
The Mascot, dir: Irene Starewicz, Ladislas Starevich
The Diary of Tortov Roddle, dir: Kato Kunio
Yukidoke, dir: Oyama Kei
Renaissance, dir: Walerian Borowcyzk
Streets of Crocodile, dir: Brothers Quay
Krysar - The Pied Piper, dir: JiřÃ* Barta
Waltz with Bashir, dir: Ari Foldman
Persepolis, dir: Marjane Satrapi
It's Such a Beautiful Day Trilogy, dir: Don Hertzfeldt
Beladonna of Sadness, dir: Yamamoto Eiichii
Angel's Egg, dir: Oshii Mamoru
Les Jeaux des Anges, dir: Walerian Borowcyzk
A Ship of Oranges, dir: Ofuji Noboru
Spirited Away, dir: Miyazaki Hayao
Akira, dir: Otomo Katsuhiro
The Adventures of Prince Achmed, dir: Lotte Reiniger
Howl's Moving Castle, dir: Miyazaki Hayao
Robot Carnival, dir: Hidetoshi Oomori, Hiroyuki Kitakubo, Hiroyuki Kitazume, Katsuhiro Otomo, Koji Morimoto, Mao Lamdo, Takashi Nakamura and Yasuomi Umetsu
Fantastic Mr. Fox/ Isle of Dogs, dir: Wes Anderson
Fantasia, Walt Disney Studio
Pas des Deux, dir: Norman McLaren
The Nightmare Before Christmas, dir: Henry Selick/Tim Burton
Wall-E, dir: Andrew Stanton

]

[Idioteque Stalker]

List of films mentioned:
[

Show Spoiler

Tale of Tales, dir: Yuri Norstein
Hedgehog in The Fog, dir: Yuri Norstein
Frank Kafka's A Country's Doctor, dir: Yamamura Koji
Atama Yama, dir: Yamamura Koji
The Red Turtle, dir: Michaël Dudok de Wit
Tale of Princess Kaguya, dir: Takahata Isao
Song of The Sea, dir: Tomm Moore
The Wind Rises, dir: Miyazaki Hayao
Perfect Blue, dir: Kon Satoshi
The Iron Giant, dir: Brad Bird
Fantastic Planet, dir: Rene Laloux
Grave of The Fireflies, dir: Takahata, Isao
When the Wind Blows. dir: Murakami, Jimmy T.
Watership Down, dir: Martin Rosen & John Hubley
Ja teeb trikke, dir: Priit Parn
Dimensions of Dialogue, dir: Jan Å*vankmajer
Alice, dir: Jan Å*vankmajer
The Mascot, dir: Irene Starewicz, Ladislas Starevich
The Diary of Tortov Roddle, dir: Kato Kunio
Yukidoke, dir: Oyama Kei
Renaissance, dir: Walerian Borowcyzk
Streets of Crocodile, dir: Brothers Quay
Krysar - The Pied Piper, dir: JiřÃ* Barta
Waltz with Bashir, dir: Ari Foldman
Persepolis, dir: Marjane Satrapi
It's Such a Beautiful Day Trilogy, dir: Don Hertzfeldt
Beladonna of Sadness, dir: Yamamoto Eiichii
Angel's Egg, dir: Oshii Mamoru
Les Jeaux des Anges, dir: Walerian Borowcyzk
A Ship of Oranges, dir: Ofuji Noboru
Spirited Away, dir: Miyazaki Hayao
Akira, dir: Otomo Katsuhiro
The Adventures of Prince Achmed, dir: Lotte Reiniger
Howl's Moving Castle, dir: Miyazaki Hayao
Robot Carnival, dir: Hidetoshi Oomori, Hiroyuki Kitakubo, Hiroyuki Kitazume, Katsuhiro Otomo, Koji Morimoto, Mao Lamdo, Takashi Nakamura and Yasuomi Umetsu
Fantastic Mr. Fox/ Isle of Dogs, dir: Wes Anderson
Fantasia, Walt Disney Studio
Pas des Deux, dir: Norman McLaren
The Nightmare Before Christmas, dir: Henry Selick/Tim Burton
Wall-E, dir: Andrew Stanton

]

The first or maybe second Cinema Cartography video I've seen all the way through. Loved the selection of films. Plenty of intriguing stuff I haven't seen. I enjoyed the video. But I don't exactly love the writing. It's too... I dunno... It's too something. A weird mixture of academic remove and breathless appreciation. I guess I'd prefer one or the other? It's good work either way. I'll probably watch more.

[Philip J. Fry]

Never thought filmmakers could find a way to make London Calling and Sympathy for the Devil feel lame.

[Philip J. Fry]

[StuSmallz]

[StuSmallz]

[Ezee E]

Synecdoche, NY might be the movie I want to like, but simply can't get into it. Have tried multiple times.

[Philip J. Fry]

And here's part 2!:

[Philip J. Fry]

[Philip J. Fry]

[StuSmallz]

[Philip J. Fry]

[Philip J. Fry]

[Philip J. Fry]

[Philip J. Fry]

"As the fourth and final(?) season draws near, I took a look at the third season and how it, and other media children-teens are drawn to, approach the topic of violence and death. Fun times ahead."

One of the better essays about the subject I've seen lately. Also, heavy Infinity Train spoilers (naturally).

[StuSmallz]

[Philip J. Fry]

"When Zack Snyder developed the DCEU he should have used the DCAU as a blueprint for the entire universe. All the things the DCEU seems to get wrong, the DCAU has gotten extremely right, especially the Justice League. But how exactly did the Animated Universe succeed where the Cinematic Universe failed? Could a proper blueprint have saved the Justice League movie? Would we even need a Snydercut? "