But I completely disagree..the dictionary defines an innocent (as opposed to innocence) as somebody with little experience in the weays of the world. Spiderman was absolutely an innocent, Batman in a very different way -- was ambivalent about his power, saw himself as a freak..Tim Burton captured this in the very great lst Batman movie..Superman was a total innocent..The Kefauver committee hearings (I read the transcripts for that in another context) actually took testimony from psychiatrists arguing that the early superheroes were unwholesome, and in particular, that Spiderman and Batrman and Robin promoted homosexuality..no kidding, the head of the American Psychiatric Institute testified to that. But Stan Lee would never have argued that Spiderman was worldly or sophisticated..Like the Dunn character in Unbrekablew, few of the Superheroes, including Spiderman, were polished or confident..They were all awkward, unsophisticated, thus..innocent.
But somebody just e-mailed me the Entertainment Weekly review..they used the same phrase? Darkly fantastic sure applies to "The matrix," but I didn't think to use it in that review..
Can't find a single other use of the phrase ever, in any book review movie review or column..if anybody else has, let me know, not that it's a bad term..Somebody has been looking at screens too long..
Interesting question..But I thought the reasons for the Jackson character contacting Dunn were always made clear..he said he had been waiting his whole life for a newscast that had a particular set of words..and he heard that early on..
Theres no ad or trailer or story that doesn't mention the Superhero connection..anybody who hasn't heard about it lives in a tunnel..the whole promo campaign of the movie was based on it..that doesn't give away a thing..
Comics are bigger now that when I was a kid..you can see from the posts that age isn't the common denominator, but I do think loving comics might be connected to responses to the movie..
This is on slashdot because, as the discussion clearly shows, there's a huge comic following here as well as an enormous movie following. Comics are a form of sci-fi, specially in the superhero genre..
I also love the idea of people shrieking and screaming when their Katz blocking software doesn't work..nothing is more fun that watching them go nuts..maybe it means I'm perverse..
This movie definitely belongs on/. Many/ers started out on comics, and still are into them. Maybe the line between people who loved this movie and people who didn't are that people who loved comics really got the way it was put together..people who didn't wouldn't, of course.
Is it my imagination, or are people doing this more and more? It seems to me to be epidemic..I had a man translating the movie in Spanish to his girlfriend at the top of his voice..
An awful lot of people are liking and not liking the movie..makes it interesting..I think it's far from a terrible movie, though, for all that one can criticize it...
I think this is very smart. The movie is shockingly low tech, and definitely not silly, IMHO. Not even a cell fone..I though this was very creative and particularly effective...Very smart observation by Elwood, I thought..
But can you say more? Don't you think seriousness and comic books can mix? They sure did to me... Movies are subjective..everybody has a different reaction..
Actually I can't really not liking a movie I've reviewed for slashdot, cept for that John Travolta nightmare..I love most movies, I have to confess..hope to be writing a regular Sunday column about them.. Called Tech Culture..
Posts like this made me think today about Howard Rheingold's writing in "Virtual Community" about hostile articulate people who take up so much time and energy and space online..Odd..
I'm getting so much e-mail about this column that I feel it's necessary to keep on clarifying, as long as people want to talk about it.
l. There was no intent, directly or indirectly to misrepresent the source of this article. I linked directly to it.
2. My attribution was sloppy. The column was written at midnight, and I didn't think it was going to run, so I didn't go over it. I just didn't get how close the wording was, since I got so much e-mail from so many sources about the story. But since some people obviously weren't clear about the source, I was obviously wrong about the attribution. If it's dont right, there should be no confusion.
3. For that, I happily and fully apologize.
4. For me, this was a turning point. I got a health reminder of the importance of clear attribution, and many, many e-mails from people who had had enough of the brutish nastiness that passes for discussion and criticism among a vocal minority of Slashdot readers. I never got so much praise or support on anything I've written in my life, even from a significant number of people who felt my attribution should have been clearer. They are definitely right. It's the first time it's ever happened to me, to my knowledge, and believe me, it will be the last.
Ultimately criticism is helpful and useful, even when it goes over the line, as I believe this particular attack did.
I am very happy writing here, and plan to be there for as long as Rob, Jeff and Robin want me. I think I have the best job on the Net, and even though a lot of you are e-mailing me encouraging me not to get discouraged by it, the fact is it's left me feeling even better about the place than I did before. Hope this completely clarifies everything, and that we can move on.
This is why I love the Web. All questions are answered. Thanks for this.
I also want to thank the very many people who e-mailed me in support about the exchanges regarding this story. Assaults like this remind me why I love writing for/., they never make me want to leave. I have the best job on the Web,and more friends in this community than most of you could probably imagine.
I need to be very careful about issues like attribution, and that's a healthy reminder to get. At the same time, I will never give in to the stupidity and cruelty that constitues a small but very vocal segment of the/. community. It's difficult to deal with sometimes, though not usually, but it's part of the mix here, and the mix her works. I couldn't be happier than I am working for these people, writing for this place. I get truly wonderful feedback, pro and con, and very little of it is as thoughtless or cruel as some of the things you read here. So thanks for the messages, the supportive ones as well as the constructively critical.
I agree with alecto. I also think this underscores the point that kids have no due process, few constitutional rights in school. There was no hearing or trial, he was just punished summarily.
Slashdot Mirror
but don't invoke the Simpsons, my heroes, to come after me..I just named my new dog Homer in his honor..
..to have read them all.
But I completely disagree..the dictionary defines an innocent (as opposed to innocence) as somebody with little experience in the weays of the world. Spiderman was absolutely an innocent, Batman in a very different way -- was ambivalent about his power, saw himself as a freak..Tim Burton captured this in the very great lst Batman movie..Superman was a total innocent..The Kefauver committee hearings (I read the transcripts for that in another context) actually took testimony from psychiatrists arguing that the early superheroes were unwholesome, and in particular, that Spiderman and Batrman and Robin promoted homosexuality..no kidding, the head of the American Psychiatric Institute testified to that. But Stan Lee would never have argued that Spiderman was worldly or sophisticated..Like the Dunn character in Unbrekablew, few of the Superheroes, including Spiderman, were polished or confident..They were all awkward, unsophisticated, thus ..innocent.
"I liked this movie a lot, but I came out thinking it stunk.." at least you're consistent..
But somebody just e-mailed me the Entertainment Weekly review
Can't find a single other use of the phrase ever, in any book review movie review or column..if anybody else has, let me know, not that it's a bad term..Somebody has been looking at screens too long..
I paid $9 ..i want to live where you live..
Interesting question..But I thought the reasons for the Jackson character contacting Dunn were always made clear..he said he had been waiting his whole life for a newscast that had a particular set of words..and he heard that early on..
Theres no ad or trailer or story that doesn't mention the Superhero connection..anybody who hasn't heard about it lives in a tunnel..the whole promo campaign of the movie was based on it..that doesn't give away a thing..
Comics are bigger now that when I was a kid..you can see from the posts that age isn't the common denominator, but I do think loving comics might be connected to responses to the movie..
This is on slashdot because, as the discussion clearly shows, there's a huge comic following here as well as an enormous movie following. Comics are a form of sci-fi, specially in the superhero genre..
I also love the idea of people shrieking and screaming when their Katz blocking software doesn't work..nothing is more fun that watching them go nuts..maybe it means I'm perverse..
This movie definitely belongs on /. Many /ers started out on comics, and still are into them. Maybe the line between people who loved this movie and people who didn't are that people who loved comics really got the way it was put together..people who didn't wouldn't, of course.
Is it my imagination, or are people doing this more and more? It seems to me to be epidemic..I had a man translating the movie in Spanish to his girlfriend at the top of his voice..
An awful lot of people are liking and not liking the movie..makes it interesting..I think it's far from a terrible movie, though, for all that one can criticize it...
Never been able to do it..there are times when I would have love to figure out how...
I think this is very smart. The movie is shockingly low tech, and definitely not silly, IMHO. Not even a cell fone..I though this was very creative and particularly effective...Very smart observation by Elwood, I thought..
But can you say more? Don't you think seriousness and comic books can mix? They sure did to me... Movies are subjective..everybody has a different reaction..
Actually I can't really not liking a movie I've reviewed for slashdot, cept for that John Travolta nightmare..I love most movies, I have to confess..hope to be writing a regular Sunday column about them.. Called Tech Culture..
..and always will. But what about the movie?
Posts like this made me think today about Howard Rheingold's writing in "Virtual Community" about hostile articulate people who take up so much time and energy and space online..Odd
Did you think this was a lousy ending? I thought it was pretty true to comic book style..weird tho..
I'm getting so much e-mail about this column that I feel it's necessary to keep on clarifying, as long as people want to talk about it.
l. There was no intent, directly or indirectly to misrepresent the source of this article. I linked directly to it.
2. My attribution was sloppy. The column was written at midnight, and I didn't think it was going to run, so I didn't go over it. I just didn't get how close the wording was, since I got so much e-mail from so many sources about the story. But since some people obviously weren't clear about the source, I was obviously wrong about the attribution. If it's dont right, there should be no confusion.
3. For that, I happily and fully apologize.
4. For me, this was a turning point. I got a health reminder of the importance of clear attribution, and many, many e-mails from people who had had enough of the brutish nastiness that passes for discussion and criticism among a vocal minority of Slashdot readers. I never got so much praise or support on anything I've written in my life, even from a significant number of people who felt my attribution should have been clearer. They are definitely right. It's the first time it's ever happened to me, to my knowledge, and believe me, it will be the last.
Ultimately criticism is helpful and useful, even when it goes over the line, as I believe this particular attack did.
I am very happy writing here, and plan to be there for as long as Rob, Jeff and Robin want me. I think I have the best job on the Net, and even though a lot of you are e-mailing me encouraging me not to get discouraged by it, the fact is it's left me feeling even better about the place than I did before. Hope this completely clarifies everything, and that we can move on.
This is why I love the Web. All questions are answered. Thanks for this.
I also want to thank the very many people who e-mailed me in support about the exchanges regarding this story. Assaults like this remind me why I love writing for
I need to be very careful about issues like attribution, and that's a healthy reminder to get. At the same time, I will never give in to the stupidity and cruelty that constitues a small but very vocal segment of the
I agree with alecto. I also think this underscores the point that kids have no due process, few constitutional rights in school. There was no hearing or trial, he was just punished summarily.