tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3889388775673754833.post6165504575259993845..comments2024-02-24T03:34:18.060-05:00Comments on Stealing Commas: Watching "Them!" (1954), and the ideas that pour forth as a result.chris the cynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06872875475212333027noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3889388775673754833.post-69837874374814932332016-04-07T21:52:44.791-04:002016-04-07T21:52:44.791-04:00'1. Dystopia
2. Collapse
3. Utopia, or at leas...'1. Dystopia<br />2. Collapse<br />3. Utopia, or at least proto-utopia being established'<br /><br />That's pretty much the structure of Menzies' 'Things To Come.' WWII starts, civilisation collapses, technocratic utopia is created. The collapsed-civilisation bit has a lovely sort of Mad-Max-in-1940 feel to it.Blank Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15979418686713358058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3889388775673754833.post-11631015932300767652016-04-07T20:29:13.302-04:002016-04-07T20:29:13.302-04:00Thanks.Thanks.chris the cynichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06872875475212333027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3889388775673754833.post-26720154192445268532016-04-07T18:57:50.433-04:002016-04-07T18:57:50.433-04:00Ooh. I can actually think of a historical event th...Ooh. I can actually think of a historical event that would make a pretty good basis for a movie about a guy who saves the day by continuing to transmit messages right up until he dies: base it on the Halifax Explosion of 1917 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion ) and have Vince Coleman ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Coleman_%28train_dispatcher%29 ) as a major character and/or protagonist.<br /><br />Seriously, great post.<br /><br />- IulianaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3889388775673754833.post-53030957265276269562016-04-05T13:31:54.113-04:002016-04-05T13:31:54.113-04:00"A chicken in every garage, a car in every po..."A chicken in every garage, a car in every pot."<br /><br />Oooh, excellent! You made me laugh, and I needed.Lonesparkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16278753827545905559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3889388775673754833.post-66710316768949416012016-04-05T05:14:34.356-04:002016-04-05T05:14:34.356-04:00Budget cuts, man. We said a flamethrower and a baz...Budget cuts, man. We said a flamethrower <i>and</i> a bazooka on <i>every</i> entrance, but we just don't have the hardware.<br /><br />Bringing a flamethrower to a bazooka fight also seems unlikely to end well.<br /><br />There's historical precedent for calling in the mob. During WWII, the New York docks became hugely efficient, and all it cost was a bunch of staged trials of the mobsters' rivals, and a promise that Sicily would be handed over to them after the invasion.<br /><br />I'm very interested in transitional moments like the ones you're talking about. To be fair, quite a few zombie films do take this approach: things are coming apart, let's get to safety.<br /><br />How to solve a Randian empire: ① wait until they need a skill they don't have, like unblocking the toilets; ② laugh.<br /><br />Post-gold? Is that mercury?<br /><br />Lovecraftian protagonists also make good comms officers; they keep writing as the Thing comes in at the window.<br /><br />There were no homeless people in 1954. A chicken in every garage, a car in every pot.Firedrakenoreply@blogger.com