OLD MAN YELLS AT CLOUD: where we complain about popular things in media we don't like to feel better about ourselves

[Booyakasha]

You know, Obi-Wan and Yoda put a brave face on it, but I bet they were absolutely fuming at the end of 'Jedi'. "Ugh. Just look at that smug little butt-nugget. After all the effort we expended, tricking and misleading Luke into trying to kill his father, instead he redeems the sumbitch. Gets to have a complete character arc and everything. And now he gets to hang out with Ewoks, too?!? What a jerk. Absolute dickwad. I hope he gets the clap." "Hmmph. Wearing pants, he is. No damn kind of Jedi he is, if a muu-muu he won't put on. 'Absolute dickwad' the exact right term for him is."

[Sim Kid]

Here's one that bugs me.

The pervasive belief that the audience has to share superficial traits with a character to relate to them.

I think this is expressed very well with Norman Boutin's sentiment on why his Mary Sue Theresa OC is the way she is:

Theresa is not a prima donna ballerina, real estate mogul, billionaire's daughter, Secretary of State, Olympic gold medelists [sic], or any other of those walks of life that litter romance novels in order to give the book glamour. Theresa has no job at all. She's a student. People can relate to that.

The reason I bring this guy up is because the only worth that can be taken from Empress Theresa is the same as those Private Snafu shorts from the 40s - what NOT to do. In the book, Theresa is shown actually being a student for one, maybe one and a half chapters in the entire novel.

Social status, position, etc alone are not enough. Neither is what a character is or what they look like. If that were the case, almost nobody could relate to James Bond because most of its audience are not members of the British Secret Service. Nobody could relate to 99% of pixar protagonists because none of the audience are toys, bugs, fish, automobiles, superheroes, monsters, etc. Nobody can relate to Bilbo Baggins or his nephew Frodo as we are not hobbits. Nobody can relate to any of Shakespeare's characters today as we are not residents of 16th century Europe, and most definitely not royalty.

One of the things that disappointed me about reading 'adult' speculative fiction was how everything would just default to the same phenotype. Or maybe a human... but with a different skin colour. Or maybe a human with pointy ears or a rubber forehead. Or a short human (Because we gotta rip off Tolkein... I get it he was an influence to y'all but maybe since his works are nearing their centennial, it's time to move on!) It's like "The audience can't relate to something that's not-human, so they have to look human".

[I REALLY HATE POKEMON!]

Two things I find odd are people who have a fixation on relating to characters, and others with an obsession with ones unlike themselves for diversity's sake. As much as I loathe the latter, the former is almost as bad. Either a character is good and interesting or not, that's what's important to me at least, not if they share my traits or meet a checklist.

[Booyakasha]

I don't really care whether a character is like me or not, because I've kind of got lots of stuff going on. I can admire George Bailey for being good, and still also admire Bangladesh Dupree for just going ahead and being evil. Like...own it, if it's your steez. Bangladesh Dupree is more interesting to me than Sauron will ever be. Bang is an actual character. Sauron is not. Sauron's an eyeball that goes 'boogedy-boo'. Wow.

[I am nobody]

I don't find it hard to relate to characters who aren't like me, and I generally don't create ones that resemble me at all when given the option, but I do find it really hard to put myself into characters that don't *act* like me. It's usually not a problem because most RPGs provide options that are close enough, even if the established character wasn't like me, but every now and then I put a game down because the decisions are just too alien.

[I REALLY HATE POKEMON!]

I generally play neutrally, not allowing that route actually is something that bothers me because I feel bad being evil (aside from rampages I reset) and get bored playing a saint.

[smol Kat]

I'm actually kind of the opposite. I enjoy playing characters who aren't like me when written well, because I find different insights interesting. Even if I can't relate.

[Sim Kid]

[smol Kat]

should I clarify now I meant personality-wise lmao

[Sim Kid]

Nah, it's still relevant to this. :P

[Booyakasha]

So I'm watching 'Last Crusade' again. It's such a damn good movie that every time I watch it I notice something new.

In the opening sequence, Indy is an Eagle scout. (I've got the LucasFilm Archives book---------one of the artifacts is Indy's Eagle medal, not that it appears onscreen.) And yet, on Indy's uniform tunic, he's still got his Life badge sewn on. It's a very, very subtle clue, something probably that only a scouter would notice.

Like of course I can't speak for everyone, but, when I Eagled, I couldn't wait to ditch the doofy heart for the sick-ass eagle patch. Every scout wants to Eagle, and to show off the Eagle. There is much to be inferred. Indy possibly over the scouts, getting more and more into his archaeology biz. His dad distracted, his mom dead. Him just kind of looking after himself. 'I taught you self-reliance.' It's a smart, smart movie.

Maybe his mom sewed the Life badge on his uniform, and so he can't bear to part with it? Who knows.

(EDIT: John Williams did the score. Because of course he did.

There's this motif that pops off whenever the ratzis appear onscreen------------pretty much the Force Theme times the Imperial March. Real good musical storytelling. Like, you could show a four-year-old this flick, and he would infer that the Nazis were no dang good, just from the music.)

(EDIT2: You know, I like to think if the Nazis had captured the Grail, God would have just killed them. He did in 'Raiders', He could have done it again. Or at least...you know, turn the Grail off. I mean, if the magic is from God, God can just say "ahahahaa no." This isn't 'Dogma', for cliff's sake.)

(EDIT3: Henry uses directed birdstrike to take down an ME-109, and then walks off quoting Charlemagne. Absolute baller. No wonder Elsa was cool with shtupping him.)

(EDIT4: 'I thought I'd lost you, boy!' I'm a soft touch, and that gets me every time.)

[Booyakasha]

God damn, but Chun-Li knuckles up during her fight with Vega. Clearly he's out for blood, and she goes absolute ham. Hucks everything at him but the kitchen sink, messes up his dumb pretty-boy face, and then, beaten and bloodied to a fare-thee-well, she still does her million-billion-kicks move on him and then blasts him headfirst through a brick wall. So goldang cool. Total Ultra savage, man.

So was Daigo playing as Chun-Li or Vega? I mean, not that I care much either way, but I kind of hope Woolie was playing as Chun-Li. Gotta root for the underdog, right.

[I REALLY HATE POKEMON!]

Now I want to play Steer Fighter...

[Booyakasha]

Is that the one where you beat up cows?

[DarkZero]

pretty sure Steer Fighter is at EVO this year

[I REALLY HATE POKEMON!]

Souper Steer Fighter Moo: Filet Mignon Edition

[CaptHayfever]

Speaking of Chun-Li, AoS season 7 premiere is Wednesday.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[Booyakasha]

Souper Steer Fighter Moo: Filet Mignon Edition

Ooh, that's the one with the mid-boss fight with Moo Nieu, the cow from 'Kung Pow: Enter the Fist', right?

(EDIT: Hahaa, the end boss can still be called M. Bison. It's perfect.)

[I REALLY HATE POKEMON!]

No, you're thinking of the older version Boo; the final boss is actually Akmooma with his Raging Demoon attack.

[Booyakasha]

...down down-forward forward strong punch is how you make IRHP use Dad Joke, one of the most useful attacks in all of 'Super VGF Fighter II: Hyper Extend Ultra Omicron'. Boo also has this attack. Watching IRHP and Boo fire Dad Jokes at each other for an entire ninety-second match has often been described as 'the worst experience of all of our lives' by onlookers.