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Sturgeon's House

Over the Top Movies Getting the Other Side Wrong


Virdea

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I always cringe when I watch bad movie making, and a friend recently made me watch Rambo III because he was trying to get me to include it in a history of film class I teach (he considers it a classic).

 

About the time Marc de Jonge starts to torture Stallone I flip out and cannot watch any more.

 

A Turkish friend likewise shared his example of the finest movie ever made.  I sat through like twenty TV episodes and two movies of what amounts to a bunch of guys who travel around taking revenge on people who spit on the Koran, Jewish doctors who harvest baby organs, and American Red Cross workers who run secret de-virgination services and rape factories protected by "International immunity."  Gary Busey is particularly hilarious playing an over-the-top organ harvester.  

 

So what movies can you think of made in the last 20 years or so get the "enemy" wrong in a humorous way?

 

 

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I do remember an ostensibly educational video on the Reformation that was clearly made by Protestants.  Their reenactments of the life of John Wycliffe featured some hilariously villainous cardinals who all but rubbed their hands together whilst narrowing their eyes and hissing "I'll get you next time John Wycliffe.  Just you wait and see!  The Bible will remain in Latin!"

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Sturgeon. It goes like this.

 

In the 1969 movie Easy Rider, southern rednecks are portrayed as the film's bad guys, showing intolerance and bigotry to the film's protagonists, Wyatt "Captain America" (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper). For those of you not in the know, Easy Rider is probably the first mainstream "counter culture" movie which romanticizes hitch-hiking, drug use, hippy communes and features Jack Nicholson in his break-out role as George Hanson, an ACLU attorney.

 

As the story of the movie goes, Fonda and Hopper who wrote, produced and directed the film had no real set script and much of the movie is ad-libbed and filmed as opportunities arose. One of the more infamous scenes features the trio of Wyatt, Billy and George being harassed by locals in a Louisiana diner for their long hair and unorthodox dress. The extras in the scene were locales hired on the spot and as movie magic motivation, were told to act like the trio were rapists and murderers who just killed a little girl outside of town.

 

 

The scene is portrayed as a classic example of the intolerance of outsiders in the Deep South. 

 

As I always like to say, Easy Rider does have a happy ending.

 

 

The two rednecks driving the pickup truck were local amateurs also hired on the spot.

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Sturgeon. It goes like this.

 

In the 1969 movie Easy Rider, southern rednecks are portrayed as the film's bad guys, showing intolerance and bigotry to the film's protagonists, Wyatt "Captain America" (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper). For those of you not in the know, Easy Rider is probably the first mainstream "counter culture" movie which romanticizes hitch-hiking, drug use, hippy communes and features Jack Nicholson in his break-out role as George Hanson, an ACLU attorney.

 

...

 

Could not have been better said.  Easy Rider is a prime example of stereotyped evil taking over for the reality that is harder to show in screen.

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Captain Pronin has some very curious Americans, but that's an intentional parody. Same in Passion of Spies, although "They" have less characterization in this cartoon.  Adventures of Electronic has an American spy named "Uri"  who tries to steal a Soviet android. He's portrayed fairly favourably in the books, in the movies, not so much, he's just a petty crook. 

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Reefer Madness.  I have been involved in dozens of pot parties (well, as the guy who was busting it) and never have I seen anyone injury themselves by rapid piano playing.

 

You would probably enjoy Reefer Madness the Musical.  Among other things, I learned that smoking pot will endow your soul to Satan.  The theological implications are staggering.  

 

(and yes, it's a parody)

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I've got it, thanks.

I nominate The Terminator for this thread. Machines aren't anything like how they're portrayed in that movie!

 

Can I nominate every alien movie ever? Not Alien or Aliens because they strangely get it close to right, but just movies with aliens as an antagonist period.

 

If we accept that intelligent life is possible, or greater than likely, then there is nothing special about humans whatsoever. They have no reason to care or be interested in us, the realities of space travel makes connecting in fellowship with a strange alien species a wasted endeavor. Earth is not only a terrifing gravity well, but resource extraction cost is huge regardless of how you slice it (or pulverize it). Easier to simply plunder the Oort cloud and Kuiper belt effectively forever.

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I always cringe when I watch bad movie making, and a friend recently made me watch Rambo III because he was trying to get me to include it in a history of film class I teach (he considers it a classic).

 

About the time Marc de Jonge starts to torture Stallone I flip out and cannot watch any more.

 

A Turkish friend likewise shared his example of the finest movie ever made.  I sat through like twenty TV episodes and two movies of what amounts to a bunch of guys who travel around taking revenge on people who spit on the Koran, Jewish doctors who harvest baby organs, and American Red Cross workers who run secret de-virgination services and rape factories protected by "International immunity."  Gary Busey is particularly hilarious playing an over-the-top organ harvester.  

 

So what movies can you think of made in the last 20 years or so get the "enemy" wrong in a humorous way?

I remember seeing Rambo III at the second run theatre when I was a kid.  It was terrible on all sorts of levels.  Personally, my favorite part is when he magically is able to operate a tank all by himself and use the main gun to shoot down a helicopter.  

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Can I nominate every alien movie ever? Not Alien or Aliens because they strangely get it close to right, but just movies with aliens as an antagonist period.

 

If we accept that intelligent life is possible, or greater than likely, then there is nothing special about humans whatsoever. They have no reason to care or be interested in us, the realities of space travel makes connecting in fellowship with a strange alien species a wasted endeavor. Earth is not only a terrifing gravity well, but resource extraction cost is huge regardless of how you slice it (or pulverize it). Easier to simply plunder the Oort cloud and Kuiper belt effectively forever.

 

They want our water!!!!

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I remember seeing Rambo III at the second run theatre when I was a kid.  It was terrible on all sorts of levels.  Personally, my favorite part is when he magically is able to operate a tank all by himself and use the main gun to shoot down a helicopter.  

 

They tried a Rocky / Rambo crossover, but after reading the script Stallone was hospitalized for a week.  

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