GÆLEN MIBECK'S BLOG
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I had forgotten how fun microscale building is. It forces you to look at pieces in a different way. It also (usually) involves more building and troubleshooting, and less digging around looking for pieces.
While my siblings and I were playing in my room the other day (with LEGO, what else?), I chanced to pick up piece 50860. The more I looked at this piece, the more I realized what it looked like. It was almost the exact shape of the Prawn robot-suit’s torsoe in the movie District 9. I quickly set about building this vehicle.
What I thought of District 9
District 9 is a story about two races (Humans and Aliens) that are at odds with each other. The hero is forced to see things from the aliens’ point of view. There are robots in it. District 9 is like what Avatar could have been.
In Avatar, all of the humans are evil corrupt bad guys (with the exeption of a few), and all of the aliens are perfect both morally and phisically. This is totally unrealistic. Sure Avatar is set on another planet with glowing plants and hexapedal animals, but peoples is peoples. Peoples should feel like peoples.
In Avatar, the top badguy man was like “Let’s steal from the Na’vi!”, and all of the mercenary dudes were like “…Okay!”.
In District 9, neither the Prawn nor the Humans are perfect. The Prawn are shown killing humans for their wallets, and the humans are shown opening up fire on the Prawn at the slightest provocation.
This makes more sense and seems closer to real life.
The the objective of the humans in District 9 is to relocate all of these bugs so that they won’t be a menace to society. The humans have a reason for being mean to the Prawn, and the Prawn have a reason to fight back.
In Avatar, I had no idea what half of what they were saying meant.
Another thing that struck me about this move was the visual effects. They were amazing, but very subtle. After a while you forget that one of the main character is a puppet in a computer.
The special effects in Avatar were awesome, but they were at times more convincing than the characters and the story they were supposed to tell.
I also liked how the Prawn technology was similar, and at times compatible with human technology.
District 9 is a film about humans and aliens, but in the end it’s about neither. It’s about people.
Wikus, the main charecter, learns that “just following orders” and “looking out for number one” are what make the world such a messed up place. He gives up what he hoped for most when he returns the kindness shown him by Christofer the Prawn.
All in all, District 9 is a wonderful film, and I highly recommend it. Be aware, however, that there is a great deal of profanity, dismemberment, blood, gore, and exploding body parts.
I don’t want to give anything away, but the story did remind me of this quote by G.K. Chesterton:
“Over-civilization and barbarism are within an inch of each other. And a mark of both is the power of medicine-men.”
Photograph by Ben Hatke
My copy of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke arrived yesterday! The book is just as awesome as it's author, who drew me a MooseBot on the title page:
Here's What I thought of it:
The Story
As I sat down to read Zita the Spacegirl, I was prepared for a whimsical allegory like so many of my favorite tales from Christian Authors (Gear and Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel, the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, and the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien to name a few).
I was expecting a tale full of symbols, sly nods, and shades of meaning. The thing is, some stories can't be disected in this way. If you attempt this, the story passes you by while you're busy trying to see what's not really there. Zita the Spacegirl is not a deep story like the Lord of the Rings, or a social commentary like Earthboy Jacobus, nor is it a direct allegory like the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Zita the Spacegirl is a good story. We need more good stories. Stories that don't necesarrily hold any political or moral commentary, that aren't pushy or preachy (although these can be important too). We need stories that, as Tolkien would put it, are not allegorical, but applicable, meaning anyone can relate to them.
I think we can all relate to Zita, who through her childishness, ends up putting her best friend in harm's way. She must rescue him by growing up, but also by preserving her good, childlike qualities.
The Backstory
One of my heroes is Hayo Miazaki. One of the things I like about his stories like Castle in the Sky, or Kiki's Delivery Service, is that they are set in a vauge time and place. This, in my opinion, makes them not less, but more realistic. Untouchable if you wish.
No matter where you're from, you can imagine yourself on the unnamed planet in Hatke's story, as we've all probably found ourselves in unusual surroundings. Like my favorite backstories, the alien world Zita finds herself in doesn't need much expaining.
It harnesses your imagination.
The Artwork
Ben Hatke is an amazing artist, the sort of artist I hope to be eventually. He presents the reader with an ideal blend of detail and simplicity, of action and tranquility. Unlike many other graphic novels, Zita the Spacegirl does not attempt to keep the reader's attention through constant explosions and flashes, wierd formatting changes and glaring colors; but through earthy colors, delightful charecter design, and most importantly, a good story.
You can watch an awesome preview for this book here, see Ben Hatke's website here and his blog here, and order a copy of the book on Amazon.com here.
(But let's face it though, you're going to want to order at least 10)
(“Always Toad”)
I was able to visit Toad Hall Toys while I was in Winnipeg today.
Awesome toy store, I would definitely recommend it!
I saw James Cameron”s Avatar, and this is what I thought:
What I liked:
The cinematics were very exiting, the CGI was superb, and the animals and machinery were very believable in their design and movement. There was a very exiting climactic battle sequence amongst some floating rocks (Upsidaisium?). To top all that off, it was in 3D!
What I disliked:
One of the main Ideas behind the movie was that the soul is not attached to the body…which is…well…wrong.
There was also this almost racist idea that only people of certain ethnicities could be proud of their race. Jake Sully becomes a 12” blue sparkly alien, and the humans return defeated to their ”dying world” (I think this might be what depressed all those people in Norway).
The Nav”i could have been a little more covered up, but as C.S. Lewis says in Mere Christianity:
“A girl in the Pacific Islands wearing hardly any clothes and a Victorian lady completely covered in clothes might both be equally `modest,” proper, or decent, according to the standards of their own societies: and both, for all we could tell by their dress, might be equally chaste (or equally unchaste).”
The real problem was the sex scene about halfway through the movie. :|
One thing that suprised me, however, was the good vs evil theme. In movies nowadays there”s usually this wishy-washy postmodern moral relativism junk. Avatar was about good and evil, just with messed up ideas of what good and evil are.
Bottom line:
This is the kind of movie that I”d go see once, maybe twice, just for the special effects. The story has some problems, but if you”re mostly paying attention to the ”bots, V.T.O.L.s and space marines (as I was), you should be fine.
And, as always, with popularity comes parody! Here are some of my favorite Avatar spoofs:
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