So here we are, the last episode of the last season of Netflix original animated series “BoJack Horseman” is behind us. I am not a fan of binge watching and health problems related to it, so this post is written with some delay.
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I decided to refresh my Anime department on my blog, and this is why today I am going to write about an undisputed classic anime, that is merited with opening the door for Japanese animation to the West and is probably the most important animation feature film of the last 30 years in terms of production values and spectacle.
Doing reviews of the the masterpieces is pointless, because by definition masterpieces are above the average works. What makes sense is attempt to to show the context and influence of it on its genre and art.
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New Year, and a new documentary to watch: a sequel to “Triumph of the Nerds” by Robert X. Cringely, that is telling us the brief history of the Internet, from highly experimental university’s and government’s labs networks to the global telecommunication revolution. It also points out the interesting fact, that original inventors of the computer networks, like guys behind the invention of PC’s, didn’t earned much money and fame (and that fact puts the term “innovative economy” in totally different light).
Like before, this mini-series is an excellent time capsule of the 1990’s; frivolous times just before Internet bubble crash and other crises of the 21’st century…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMvASPzXE-M
This text was published in Polish some time ago, but because of the recent release of the “Star Wars: The Force Awakes” teaser, I dusted it off and translated to English – ed.
I must confess, that for a long time in my life, I have never watched the original trilogy of “Star Wars”. And something interesting happened when I finally did it few years ago: despite the fact that it was my first screening of George Lucas’s masterpiece in my life, I had a uneasy feeling that I had already did it before, and everything related to these movies was very familiar to me. After short deliberation, I realised that I have this peculiar feeling because popular culture of today is oversaturated with shout-outs, homages and blatant ripoffs of the “Star Wars”.
It doesn’t matter, if we are talking about “South park”, “Asterix and Obelix” feature film, “Family Guy” (the worst offender, when it comes to references) and many other films and TV-series, “Robot Chicken”, some obscure C-grade kid’s movies from my country (that were tormenting whole generation of kids in the 1980’s), parodies (like Mel Brooks’s “Spaceballs”) or advertisements, what really matter is than in these cases we always see some part of original “Star Wars” to the point that we are familiar with them without actually watching them…
I am not safe even in the supermarket: the “Star Was”-related toys, lunch boxes, rucksacks, notepads and so on are assaulting me with familiar images of Master Yoda or Darth Vader. Personally I am fed up with this all, It feels like being in companion with a buddy, who keeps telling all the time the same jokes that are no longer funny.
For sure, over the time that hype is fading away over the decades since the original release, but hell no, even serious journalists are making references to “Star Wars” when writing about civil war in Syria. God, have mercy! 😮
As I mentioned in an earlier review of “RoboCop” from 1987, the main selling point of that film was social satire on American corporations, the economic reforms of President Reagan and the culture of yuppies. Unfortunately, the 2014 remake is watered down and lacks the black humour, over-the-top characters, grotesque advertisements and tragic news interrupted with jolly music and comedies from the bottom of the barrel ( “I buy this for a dollar!” ) on in-movie television programme.
In the nutshell, the adventures of officer Alex Murphy in “RoboCop” 1987 were a populist and satirical allegory of life of the average citizen, who is exploited by the guys in suits, and the plot has been consistently built around this, in particular the motif of revenge and regained identity.