Big Hollywood's
Lauren Veneziani:How about one of the biggest conservative values of all: Pro-life! Bella is completely selfless when it comes to her pregnancy in [The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part I]. She is willing to give up her human life, vampire life and even Edward for the life of her baby. Despite the fact that the baby is literally killing her, Bella wants to stick it out as much as she can in hopes that she will deliver a healthy baby. Bella says the baby is “a little miracle,” and she is ready to lose her life for her child’s. If that’s not pro-life, I don’t know what is.
It might be a good idea for parents to accompany their daughters to the film. The gruesome birthing scene may leave some teenagers a little queasy.
Moving on, we have Big Hollywood's
Blake Seitz:It all started subtly enough — so subtly that I imagine viewers of the non-political stripe missed it completely.
Not long into the episode, the Gang’s thoughtful proxy-liberal geriatric, Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn), confronts Hershel (Scott Wilson), a Colonel Sanders-type and the thoughtful proxy-conservative geriatric of the Gang’s charmingly Southern host family. As it turns out, the host family was—in true Faulknerian fashion—covering up a secret, keeping undead relatives (Attack of the In-laws!) locked in their barn. Dale wanted to know why, and the conversation that unfolded was strangely analogous to the fetal personhood debate…with zombies! It went something like this:
BUCKET HAT: With all due respect…I’ve seen people that I cared about die and come back, and they’re not people.
COLONEL SANDERS: My wife and stepson are in that barn. They’re people.
Although this exchange set off klaxon sirens in my well-conditioned, hair-trigger political mind, it wouldn’t have been particularly noteworthy had the balance of the episode not been devoted to Lori’s pained decision about whether or not to abort her pregnancy.
Since the lion’s share of the episode was about Lori’s dilemma, I feel my inference is well grounded. I find it illuminating that the writers chose zombies as a parallel to human fetuses (and not only because many proponents of abortion see the fetus primarily as a parasite, although that certainly adds another layer of interesting to the equation). Dale is, after all, the rational arguer in this case. In the zombie survival genre, zombies are distinctly the Other, not human persons. Hershel, then, is the ill-informed, emotional arguer. I think it’s clear that the writers view the abortion debate as divided along similar lines.
Conservatives:
MONSTERS?
22 comments:
well, not GOOD monsters, like zombies.
More like a monster from one of those 50s B-movies that MST3K always lampooned, like the Venusian Pickle that involuntarily impregnated a dude with shrimp.
As long as we are agreed that people talking about stuff means they are that stuff then we have the kind of airtight political argument that I should be paid big bucks for.
Show of hands, please. I'd just like to get a sense of how many of you liberal fucks think the fetus is a parasite.
Wow! I didn't expect it to be THAT many of you. No wonder this dood didn't feel the need to provide an example or a quote.
Christ. You people are every bit as bad as they say...
Bonus Walking Dear somewhat related predictions.
Neither the undead friends and family moaning through the extended hoedown in the barn nor the crazed old southern gentleman dood who put 'em there are going to survive Season 2.
The big problem is going to be coming up with an efficient methodology for ending the hoedown. Some kind of industrial Final Solution is in order. It'd be a pretty serious waste of ammunition to shoot 'em, and if you burn down the barn they'll just escape and be all burned up n shit which would be every bit as funky as the zombie in the well (which, as we all know, is sung to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell) (Although how the HELL they think a farmer got in a laptop I'll NEVER understand)
High Ho the Derio!
I will amend the post as Blake includes a link. Blame Canada.
Hee hee. "Walking Dear".
My Zombie ex-wife...
I think once you marry into a zombie family you're exempt from brain-eating. Mind you the holiday dinners are not fun.
I think once you marry into a zombie family you're exempt from brain-eating.
It's purely on a case-by-case basis.
Now most of MY in-laws, they have trouble scraping up a decent serving of branes between 'em, and what there are seem to have gone bad, so they're pretty safe.
stupid tagfail.
Used to be "pro-life" meant a the life of the mother had worth and was a valid consideration, now her main value is as a snack.
Every birth in every monster movie ever made is a validation of the radical right's anti-choice position. This includes all the facehuggers and chestbursters in the Alien films as well as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man birthed by Dan Aykroyd's mind in the first Ghostbusters film.
I rate for greatbooksformen. Made me laugh.
Where is the poop cannon? NEED MOAR POOP CANNON!
~
I thought that the Vampyre programme was, you know, not real.
the writers chose zombies as a parallel to human fetuses -- though they did so "so subtly that I imagine viewers of the non-political stripe missed it completely."
SCRIPT-WRITERS ARE TRICKSY.
Apparently any story where there is a recognisable Other is really an attempt to rationalise abortion.
If Seitz's physical tool-kit is as limited as his literary one, I suspect that any exercises in home maintenance or car repair degenerate quickly into an orgy of hammering.
Of course, when he says "pro-life" he doesn't mean the woman's life--- don't be silly. She's worth more dead, and Edward is due for a younger model anyway, so who gives a fuck--- I mean isn't it saintly that Bella is ready to die for her unborn, soon to be motherless baby who will be raised by vampires?
Weeeeeeell, I wanted to weigh in here, especially on how the life of the MOTHER seems to be forgotten in this orgy of pro-lifeiness...but ereebodee said it better than I could.
So I will just say this: w/v is "subbing." Sentience achieved!
I rate for greatbooksformen. Made me laugh.
Now I get it. That link didn't work for me the first time. I rate for greatbooksformen also.
the zombie in the well (which, as we all know, is sung to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell)
I thought it was the Boer or the Jew that you throw down the well. Can't keep my eliminationist anthems straight.
What Wiley and VS said. And back to Mikey's question, it strikes me the the ones who see fetuses as "parasites" are the one who laud VAMPIRES AND ZOMBIES, which literally consume humans for sustenance while giving nothing in return, as fitting symbols for the "unborn."
ZOMBIES, which literally consume humans for sustenance while giving nothing in return,
Hey now. I'm 'between projects'.
Correct me if I am wrong, but is not the "zombie family in the barn" subplot a component of the original 'The Walking Dead' graphic novel?
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