Skip to content

Life and Interwebs

Menu
  • Blogs That Feed
  • Guilds & Clans
  • PRESENTS
  • About
  • Writers Resting in Paradise
Menu

Movies are NOT Real Life

Posted on November 15, 2019 by Isey

Either are video games.

I have noticed this has been a challenge for some progressive reviewers of movies recently. That is too broad of a statement. Let me rephrase.

This is the challenge with progressives as reviewers who can’t divorce make believe from reality. Society seems to already be struggling with facts vs feelings but this is a new interesting lens to view it as – movies as a gateway to behaviour.

I love progressive nature and culture, and believe we are moving in the right (erm, left?) direction when it comes to social issues and awareness. I have been a card carrying liberal most of my life (since University education, anyway, when you start learning about the world, critical thinking, and having your own adult experiences.). WHEN that liberal nature and culture is to unite and work together to build a better society, it’s great. Not when it is used as “cancel” culture because an opinion or mindset isn’t perfectly aligned “RIGHT NOW” with what is deemed the “right” way of thinking. (Which happens to change frequently.)

So many landmines in that sentence, isn’t there?

You weren’t going to change my Grandfather’s view on the world as he neared the end of his life (into his late 80s) But some of his innate beliefs which are as old as he was died along with him. My son’s awareness of social issues far surpasses where mine was at his age, and as a society we will move forward generationally. My take is we have to give time for society to adapt while protecting the vulnerable during that adaptation. We have come so far as a society and where are today is a direct result of the past – our history – as we have made mistakes, learned from them, and became better. That doesn’t happen overnight. It also doesn’t happen by being right all the time.

I have consumed dystopian future novels / movies / media for years. Warnings of the path we are going down as a society. Some of those things are coming true. The odd part about it is that it feels some days that it’s the liberal mobilization and militarization of ideas and “right and wrong”, not the corporations, secret societies or religious right (or aliens!) that are creating those fears. Funny times indeed. I was still hoping it would be the aliens that kickstarted it all, but no. I digress.

It’s movies.

Which leads to my point. This review.

More specifically, this headline.

“The Invisible Man is Already More Toxic Than Todd Phillips’ Joker”

Read the review. It points out toxic masculinity, the needless torture and control of a woman’s psyche, and all sorts of terrible things THAT ARE TERRIBLE. Those things aren’t good. And taken in the context of it really happening, in real life, that is bad.

But the thing is, it’s a horror movie. About someone who is Invisible. It isn’t a biography or a news report. And the Joker is about a fictional villain in a superhero universe.

Neither of those situations are based on truth or possibility. That’s right, you heard it here first – people cannot turn invisible. So the threat that is presented in the review about the movie can’t even happen. Batman is not real either, sorry to burst your bubble.

My favorite line, is the conclusion of the reviewer :

” This is a very dangerous example Hollywood is setting for men who harbor anti-female biases. “

It can be a bad movie. It can have bad acting, a bad plot, terrible cinematography. It can’t be a dangerous example of real world anything when it is not possible. It is not an instructional video for society. There is no danger of someone watching this movie, deciding to turn invisible, and to fake their death and emotionally torture their partner while, uh, invisible. This is a very dangerous example of a reviewer viewing fiction and considering it a warning for society when it has no real world implications. Even if that fiction made them feel uncomfortable.

I know this is ranty, I don’t even care about the movie. (Please, sense some humour in and among the rant. I do not wear tin foil hats, I am not a climate change denier. I am well aware of my privileges in life.) I am nervous of censorship in general and suggesting that Science Fiction works are dangerous – as many have been since the Joker release – is a slippery slope to what else could be considered “dangerous” (and what as a society we should do about those dangers. )

Let’s stop judging the actions and motivations of things that don’t exist.

Editor’s note : I am also acutely aware that this could be a sensitive topic and I did include some sweeping generalities in my text, but this is a short form style blog anyway. Happy to discuss further in comments and clarify, listen, and learn along the way. ALSO – the fact that I am somewhat afraid to publish this for having what maybe considered contrarian thoughts to the “the norm”, also scares me. As long as I don’t run for office, who would ever dig these non-perfect progressive ideals up and use it against me?

THE ALIENS WILL.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

8 thoughts on “Movies are NOT Real Life”

  1. bhagpuss says:
    November 15, 2019 at 3:50 pm

    Judging by the runaway success of The Joker I don’t think you have much to worry about…

    Also, since I have a) not seen the Movie b) not read/seen/heard any reviews or plot synopses and c) don’t want any spoilers… The Joker can turn invisible now???

    Loading...
    Reply
    1. Isey says:
      November 15, 2019 at 3:57 pm

      HA! No, the review is about the new Invisible Man movie, and how it relates to being even worse than the Joker for society in general. BUT there were many Joker reviews like that too. This one was even more special because it takes two impossible situations and blames them for the future of mankind. (More or less, paraphrasing?) 🙂

      Loading...
      Reply
  2. Marathal says:
    November 15, 2019 at 3:51 pm

    I have no issue with movies or tv introducing more progressive ideas. In many cases it helps people accept things, where years before they would have been morally offended. But I do take exception to where that is the entire reasoning for the show. That probably didn’t come out right.

    Let’s look at The Bat Woman. All I read concerning the series were talking points that she was a Lesbian Superhero. And that turned me off even watching because to me it seemed that would be the basis for the whole story arc. I wouldn’t have had an issue if it was Bat Woman, and she was involved with another woman in the show. How they pushed the narrative turned me away before I even watched.

    Loading...
    Reply
    1. Isey says:
      November 15, 2019 at 4:00 pm

      Representation is important, and I get that. I also feel like representation should be in line with actual representation. But I get what you are saying – Making Batwoman lesbian for the sake of ratings or just being lesbian is cheap and unfair to lesbians.

      Making her an AWESOME character / human, who just also happens to be lesbian, is a nicer way to do it. (Haven’t seen the show, so can’t tell you which it is).

      Loading...
      Reply
  3. Asmiroth says:
    November 15, 2019 at 3:53 pm

    Everytime I hear something like this I think of Ms Lovejoy. Wont somebody think of the children.

    Frankly the hysterics of “woke culture” are self defeating. If all you see are problems, then odds are you’re part of it. Much rather focus on the awesome stories and leave the fringes for thos who give 2cents.

    Loading...
    Reply
  4. bhagpuss says:
    November 15, 2019 at 3:55 pm

    Also, The Joker has been deeply problematic for a long time. I haven’t been comfortable with reading or watching him since The Killing Joke. I would generally avoid anything that used him as a major character. I wouldn’t underestimate the attritional effect caused by the degredation of expectations in fiction, particularly genre fiction.

    Loading...
    Reply
    1. Isey says:
      November 18, 2019 at 10:31 am

      The killing joke was the first graphic novel I bought. Hard to go too far up from there…

      Loading...
      Reply
  5. Saltycleric says:
    November 17, 2019 at 5:08 pm

    I hear Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit is getting the same treatment. Thank you for pointing this out though. Keep hoping people will get tired of this over judgemental self righteous mentality that big media is pushing.

    Loading...
    Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Asmiroth on NHL PlayoffsMay 6, 2025

    Can't believe I missed this post for a week! While not a fan of this particular bracket system, there's so…

  2. Isey on Exploring HOH2: A Fun Roguelike ExperienceApril 29, 2025

    I am with you on meta progression. It's what makes it fun for me, at least. Even failing miserably typically…

  3. Naithin on Exploring HOH2: A Fun Roguelike ExperienceFebruary 16, 2025

    I've played some of the earlier titles in this series so HoH2 has definitely been on my radar, just haven't…

  4. Naithin on The Beginning Of the End : A Look BackFebruary 16, 2025

    Belated response, but yay! And as I think the comment section here has already demonstrated, pluralising 'reader' would not have…

  5. QUEST August, 2008 on I Has BlogFebruary 6, 2025

    […] In my introductory post I explained why I was going to blog (same reasons as everyone else) why I…

  • The Heavy Standard: The Daggerdowns
    Source: Joseph Skyrim Published on 2 hours ago By Joseph Skyrim
  • MMO Week in Review: Dune’s late beta, Equinox’s early access
    Source: Massively Overpowered Published on 6 hours ago By Bree Royce
  • TAGN Fantasy Critic League 2025 – Week Eighteen Sees Bids and Trades and Score Updates
    Source: The Ancient Gaming Noob Published on 15 hours ago By Wilhelm Arcturus
  • AggroChat #522 – What Makes a Crossover?
    Source: Tales of the Aggronaut Published on 16 hours ago By Belghast
  • Bio Break Mix Tape: Perfume Tree, Our Lady Peace, and more!
    Source: Bio Break Published on 17 hours ago By Syp
  • Will Pope Leo XIV Hear from the Creatives? A Catholic Game Developer Speaks Out on AI and the Future of the Church
    Source: Wolfshead Online Published on 21 hours ago By Wolfshead
  • Turns Out More Is More After All
    Source: Inventory Full Published on 1 day ago By Bhagpuss
  • Inside is a Trip
    Source: Dragonchasers Published on 2 days ago By Nimgimli
  • Dyson Sphere Program – Stack Logistics
    Source: Leo's Life Published on 6 days ago By Asmiroth
  • Lost Records: Bloom and Rage Review
    Source: Superior Realities Published on 6 days ago By Tyler F.M. Edwards
  • Time to Loot Journal: April 2025
    Source: Time to Loot Published on 8 days ago By Naithin
  • Guns…lots of guns! And add a flamethrower while you’re at it!
    Source: MailValtar Published on 10 days ago By Mailvaltar
  • Thoughts on Blogging Part 22
    Source: Contains Moderate Peril Published on 22 days ago By Roger Edwards
  • The Great WelpSquadTV Twitch Highlight Migration
    Source: I'm Not Squishy Published on 26 days ago By Kluwes
  • Book Review: A Song of Legends Lost by M.H. Ayinde
    Source: Dragons and Whimsy Published on 1 month ago By Jaedia
  • My Pathfinder 2E Beginner Box improvements
    Source: Gaming SF Published on 1 month ago By Telwyn
  • Daily Ramble for March 10 2025
    Source: Beyond Tannhauser Gate Published on 2 months ago By Rambling Redshirt
  • Placeholders Placed
    Source: The Last Chapter Published on 2 months ago By atherne
  • One week of Stars Reach Kickstarter
    Source: Dr Raph Koster Published on 2 months ago By Raph Koster
  • Subscribe without clicking that Bell
    Source: Welshtroll Published on 3 months ago
  • A Tale of Three Dusts
    Source: Tish Tosh Tesh Published on 3 months ago By Tesh
  • A List of Many of the Things Wrong With "Star Trek: Section 31"
    Source: Broken Toys Published on 3 months ago By Scott Jennings
  • Videogame Radio and Soundtrack Spotlight
    Source: MMO Gypsy Published on 4 months ago By Syl
  • Superior self-hosted music streaming without Spotify
    Source: Psy-Q's Brain Dump Published on 4 months ago
  • Real People
    Source: Kill Ten Rats Published on 5 months ago By Ethic
  • GW2: World Restructuring – The More Things Change
    Source: Why I Game Published on 6 months ago By Jeromai
  • Modern SWTOR Part II: the game in 2024
    Source: Yeebo Fernbottom Published on 7 months ago By Yeebo
  • Jackpot
    Source: A**holes Watching Movies Published on 8 months ago By Jay
  • Blaugust 2024: The End of a Journey and the Start of Something More
    Source: A Hobbits Journey Published on 8 months ago By Detached
  • Repetition is the Key
    Source: I Have Touched the Sky Published on 11 months ago By rowanblaze
  • Big List Of 100 Fantasy Side Quests
    Source: Kitty Kitty Boom Boom Published on 1 year ago By Silverangel
  • Why It’s Been Quiet Around Here
    Source: Aywren Published on 2 years ago By Aywren Sojourner
  • CMON's Rising Sun
    Source: Null Signifier Published on 3 years ago By Duke of O
  • And yet another minute…
    Source: Nomadic Gamers Published on 3 years ago By pkudude99
  • The 7th Hour
    Source: Me Vs. Myself and I Published on 3 years ago By Izlain
1
2
Next

Guilds and Clans

  • Ascension (GRIP) My WoW guild website… website is gone, guild is still there! (www.aguild.net) 0
  • Forward Line of Own Troops My FPS online clan 0
  • Mongbat (GRIP) WAR Guild 0
  • The Grove Message Boards – First EQ guild on Testserver cue nostalgia! 0

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
  • 2K Games
  • Activision
  • ALpha
  • Amazon
  • Anthem
  • Apple
  • Arenanet
  • Art
  • ArtCraft Entertainment
  • Battlefield
  • Beta
  • Bethesda
  • Bioware
  • Black Sand Studios
  • Blaugust
  • Blizzard
  • BlogNation
  • Broadsword (DAOC)
  • Bteam
  • Bungie
  • Carbine
  • Casual
  • CCP
  • CD Projekt
  • City State Entertainment
  • clash royale
  • Cloud Imperium Games
  • Codename Entertainment
  • Combat Testing
  • Comics
  • Commodore
  • Community
  • Creaky Corpse LTD
  • Critical Role
  • Cruising
  • Cyanide
  • Cyberpunk 2077
  • D&D
  • Dauntless
  • Daybreak (SOE)
  • DDO
  • Destiny
  • Developers
  • DICE
  • Digital Extremes
  • Disney
  • Draft Necromancy
  • Dungeons and Dragons
  • EA
  • Economist
  • Epic Games
  • EQ2
  • Everquest
  • Fallout
  • Fashionably Late
  • Firaxis
  • Fortnite
  • FPS
  • Freaky Friday
  • Funcom
  • Gazillion
  • General
  • Gong Show
  • Google
  • Hardware
  • Harebrained Schemes
  • Hearthstone
  • Heroes of Hammerwatch II
  • Hi-Rez Studios
  • Idle COTFR
  • iHasConsole
  • iHAShealth
  • IHASPC
  • Indy
  • Keen Games
  • Kickstarter
  • Life (and Interwebs)
  • Lore
  • LOTRO
  • Ludeon
  • Ludia
  • Magic The Gathering
  • Marvel
  • Microsoft
  • Minecraft
  • MMO
  • Mobile Games
  • Monte Crisco
  • Movies
  • MSDOS
  • Mythic
  • Naughty Dog
  • ncsoft
  • NetEase
  • NetherRealm
  • news
  • Nexon
  • Nintendo
  • Nodding Wistfully
  • Obsidian
  • P1999
  • pages
  • Paladins
  • Pantheon MMO
  • Personal
  • Politics (sorry!)
  • Project 1999
  • PS4
  • PVP
  • random thoughts
  • REading
  • Red Hook Studios
  • Respawn
  • Riot
  • Rocksteady
  • RogueLike
  • RPG
  • RTS
  • Sandbox
  • Sid Meier
  • Slay The Spire
  • Sony
  • Sports
  • Square Enix
  • Star Wars
  • Steam
  • Strategy
  • Super Heroes
  • SUPERCELL
  • SuperGiant
  • SWKOTORMMORPG
  • TellTale Games
  • The Indie Stone
  • Third Person Shooter
  • THQ
  • Tom CLancy
  • Torchlight
  • Turbine
  • TV
  • Twitter
  • Ubisoft
  • Uncategorized
  • Valve
  • Videos
  • Vindictus
  • Visionary Realms
  • Warriors of Waterdeep
  • WildStar
  • Wizards of the Coast
  • World of Warcraft
  • Year in Review
  • Zombie
©2025 | Built using WordPress and Responsive Blogily theme by Superb
%d