(no subject)
Jul. 19th, 2020 08:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatThe weekend flew by again. I'm kind of looking forward to doing ComicCon via Zoom next weekend though.
The Last Airbender is insanely good in S2, although S1 was good as well, but S2 jumps to a whole new level - making it possibly the BEST animated series I've ever seen.
They do one episode Zuko alone - which reminded me a lot the movie Shane, but with a twist, and a kind of subversive take on that classic Western trope
And there's a heavy theme of balance of elements, and how if you rely too much on one - you throw everything off. The Fire Element is set up as the villains, but as we move across the story arcs, it becomes apparent that each group has its issues. Water - where it insists on genders following traditional roles, and is too rigid in those roles, trying to separate moon (which is feminine and ruler of the tides or ying) from ocean (the tides, the force, the male, or yang) who circle each other. Then there is Earth, who is rigid in how it wishes to bury things, and its own head in the sand. Unable to appreciate the other elements, yet is powerless without them. Blind to wind and water and fire. And inhospitable.
Also the characters...Zuko, Soko, Katara, Ange, Tuff, the acrobat, the arrow fighter, and Zuko's sister, plus Zuko's uncle who is among my favorites.
I learn so much from this little series - it's so comforting. It's teaching me not to give in to hate. Or judgement. To see beyond my own prejudices.
That wiping out those who disagree is not the answer. That all things and people have a purpose and are part of the story, we can't erase them.
In short, I am loving it. And look forward to seeing it during the weekends.
I'll miss it when it is over. Hopefully I can find the sequel/spin-off Legend of Korra. According to Comic-Con Last Airbender panel there is more to come and they do have a comic spun off of it. Although I'm uncertain about a comic. Also, I'm only about ten episodes into S2. I have a ways to go, thankfully.
Culture Wars - I'm irritated with the racism and homophobia, sexism/gender politics and transphobia in our culture. But I've always been angry at it. I don't see it going away over night. There's a human tendency to be "Tribal" - to only surround oneself with people like oneself. What I like about Last Airbender - is the mag-tag group of people are not like one another at all. One is blind and an earthbender, from a wealthy family, two are from poor water tribe in the south, another is an ancient air bender, who is 12 and had been lost...and there's a monkey and a flying bison with six legs...
Diversity has always made me feel safer. My apartment complex couldn't be more diverse. My neighborhood and workplace are insanely diversified. No one is like me, no one looks like me. I'm surrounded by people who aren't - it's isolating perhaps...but also safe.
The Last Airbender is insanely good in S2, although S1 was good as well, but S2 jumps to a whole new level - making it possibly the BEST animated series I've ever seen.
They do one episode Zuko alone - which reminded me a lot the movie Shane, but with a twist, and a kind of subversive take on that classic Western trope
And there's a heavy theme of balance of elements, and how if you rely too much on one - you throw everything off. The Fire Element is set up as the villains, but as we move across the story arcs, it becomes apparent that each group has its issues. Water - where it insists on genders following traditional roles, and is too rigid in those roles, trying to separate moon (which is feminine and ruler of the tides or ying) from ocean (the tides, the force, the male, or yang) who circle each other. Then there is Earth, who is rigid in how it wishes to bury things, and its own head in the sand. Unable to appreciate the other elements, yet is powerless without them. Blind to wind and water and fire. And inhospitable.
Also the characters...Zuko, Soko, Katara, Ange, Tuff, the acrobat, the arrow fighter, and Zuko's sister, plus Zuko's uncle who is among my favorites.
I learn so much from this little series - it's so comforting. It's teaching me not to give in to hate. Or judgement. To see beyond my own prejudices.
That wiping out those who disagree is not the answer. That all things and people have a purpose and are part of the story, we can't erase them.
In short, I am loving it. And look forward to seeing it during the weekends.
I'll miss it when it is over. Hopefully I can find the sequel/spin-off Legend of Korra. According to Comic-Con Last Airbender panel there is more to come and they do have a comic spun off of it. Although I'm uncertain about a comic. Also, I'm only about ten episodes into S2. I have a ways to go, thankfully.
Culture Wars - I'm irritated with the racism and homophobia, sexism/gender politics and transphobia in our culture. But I've always been angry at it. I don't see it going away over night. There's a human tendency to be "Tribal" - to only surround oneself with people like oneself. What I like about Last Airbender - is the mag-tag group of people are not like one another at all. One is blind and an earthbender, from a wealthy family, two are from poor water tribe in the south, another is an ancient air bender, who is 12 and had been lost...and there's a monkey and a flying bison with six legs...
Diversity has always made me feel safer. My apartment complex couldn't be more diverse. My neighborhood and workplace are insanely diversified. No one is like me, no one looks like me. I'm surrounded by people who aren't - it's isolating perhaps...but also safe.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-20 07:34 am (UTC)Another puzzle is that Amazon says the disc series is in the old 4x3 aspect ratio, but Barnes & Noble says it's in widescreen. How does the image appear on your TV? Black bars on the sides, or fills the entire screen without looking squeezed or stretched?
Thanks!
no subject
Date: 2020-07-20 12:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-21 04:12 am (UTC)I don't have a problem tuning out the black bars, but one thing I wish some company would do is make a modern, decently sized (32-40") flat-panel in the old ratio for the benefit of people who own or collect older TV or even very old movies. I have an old 27" CRT (picture tube) set, and it's a very good one, but sooner or later that's going to go, and a larger screen would be nice in any event. My regular 50" widescreen set works for all the newer media that was designed for it, so it's good to have the choice.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-21 01:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-22 04:31 am (UTC)The technical term is "burn-in", and it was very true for CRT sets and plasma displays, which was the first flat-screen tech out there that boasted a picture as good as a CRT set. LCD ("liquid crystal display") followed after, and was vastly more resistant to burn-in, although it was possible, such as with those channel ID's the stations put in the corners, which sometimes were very bright, and could stay on for hours if the person kept the set on the same channel all day, day after day.
Modern OLED sets, as far as I know are immune, but they've been out after I was out of the retail end of the trade, so can't guarantee it without asking one of my A/V friends still actively selling them. (Hint-- just because a manufacturer says something...)
However, when I was in the trade, I regularly got complaints from a number of customers about the horizontal black bars on their older 4x3 sets ("letterboxing", which started with laserdiscs and the desire to put a movie on a TV screen exactly formatted like it was in the movie theater. Nowadays, it's the reverse with 4x3 material on 16x9 sets, with bars on the sides, or "pillarboxing".
Fortunately, not in the retail trade anymore, so-- no longer my problem! ;-)