K.J. Cartmell's Blog, page 7
August 20, 2016
The Sources of Anti-Establishment Anger
As we move towards November, it seems more and more likely that Hillary Clinton will become the next President of the United States. We may yet escape the catastrophe of a Trump presidency, but the country remains deeply hurt and distrustful of our current leadership. The American People are looking for change and real progress.
Trump has inflamed and exploited the fear and pain of his followers by hurling insults and targeting immigrants, Muslims and others as scapegoats. The behavior of Trump and his followers is disgraceful. However, the pain and anxiety that Americans are feeling is genuine and legitimate.
As Bernie Sanders has pointed out eloquently during the campaign, the Middle Class has been squeezed by rising costs and stagnant wages. This pressure is forcing people down and out of comfortable lifestyles into a more desperate, month to month or even day to day existence. I have seen friends and family who grew up, as I did, in affluent suburbs, who now find themselves living in apartments in poorer neighborhoods.
Things are even tougher on the bottom rungs of society. The collapse of the housing market in 2007-2008 have forced thousands of families out of houses and into apartments. This has caused rents, especially here in California, to skyrocket. A one bedroom apartment in my home town now rents for $2,400 per month. People are traveling 70 miles or more every day to get from their apartments in the far eastern valleys to jobs in San Francisco and Oakland.
The Alameda County Food Bank used to serve one in every six residents. It now serves one in five. This, in one of the most affluent and prosperous areas of the United States.
Meanwhile, our elected officials seem unable or unwilling to pass laws and enact changes that truly make a difference in people's lives. In turn, the public is becoming more disenchanted and cynical towards our system of government. This disillusionment has fueled the Neo-Socialist campaign of Sanders and the frightful demagoguery of Trump.
Though the anger may be channeled differently on the right versus the left, the root of the problem is the same. While stark divisions remain between the Republican and Democratic parties, there should be plenty of common ground with which to shape solutions. Regardless of who is president, and which party controls the U.S. Congress, eight more years of gridlock and partisan bickering is completely unacceptable.
In my next few blogs, I am going to examine some of the root causes of what is vexing our culture, and make some suggestions for paths forward.
Trump has inflamed and exploited the fear and pain of his followers by hurling insults and targeting immigrants, Muslims and others as scapegoats. The behavior of Trump and his followers is disgraceful. However, the pain and anxiety that Americans are feeling is genuine and legitimate.
As Bernie Sanders has pointed out eloquently during the campaign, the Middle Class has been squeezed by rising costs and stagnant wages. This pressure is forcing people down and out of comfortable lifestyles into a more desperate, month to month or even day to day existence. I have seen friends and family who grew up, as I did, in affluent suburbs, who now find themselves living in apartments in poorer neighborhoods.
Things are even tougher on the bottom rungs of society. The collapse of the housing market in 2007-2008 have forced thousands of families out of houses and into apartments. This has caused rents, especially here in California, to skyrocket. A one bedroom apartment in my home town now rents for $2,400 per month. People are traveling 70 miles or more every day to get from their apartments in the far eastern valleys to jobs in San Francisco and Oakland.
The Alameda County Food Bank used to serve one in every six residents. It now serves one in five. This, in one of the most affluent and prosperous areas of the United States.
Meanwhile, our elected officials seem unable or unwilling to pass laws and enact changes that truly make a difference in people's lives. In turn, the public is becoming more disenchanted and cynical towards our system of government. This disillusionment has fueled the Neo-Socialist campaign of Sanders and the frightful demagoguery of Trump.
Though the anger may be channeled differently on the right versus the left, the root of the problem is the same. While stark divisions remain between the Republican and Democratic parties, there should be plenty of common ground with which to shape solutions. Regardless of who is president, and which party controls the U.S. Congress, eight more years of gridlock and partisan bickering is completely unacceptable.
In my next few blogs, I am going to examine some of the root causes of what is vexing our culture, and make some suggestions for paths forward.
July 24, 2016
Dear Mr. Trump, A Pipe Dream
Dear Mr. Trump,
I watched your convention last week, and heard your friend and your children say what a swell guy you are, and how good you are at building stuff "on time and under budget." They say you just want to help the American people. I think that's fantastic!
However, I've been listening to your speeches and your debate performances, and I'm thinking that maybe President isn't the right gig for you. It's not just that you're a racist demagogue (though that's scary enough). It's not that you have a tortured relationship with the English language, either. I think I could overlook that, if it wasn't for, you know, the rest of it.
I mean, let's be honest, you're not good at any of things that a President needs to be good at. You don't know anything about domestic policy, or foreign affairs, or economics, or race relations, or education or health care. You're not even very good at making speeches! If you were running against yourself, you would call yourself "Dunce Cap Donald!"
Now, I don't mean to hurt your feelings. I know what a sensitive guy you are. But, that's another thing to be worried about, isn't it? I mean, when you're President of the United States, you get to take credit for some stuff that you didn't have a lot to do with. But, you also get blamed for a bunch of crap that really wasn't your fault. You can't complain about it, either. You just have to take it. And that, Mr. Trump, is something I think you're going to have trouble doing.
Given all of my concerns, I'm afraid that, if you became President of the United States, in four years, (or, God forbid, eight years) the country will be in a very bad place when your term is over.
But, your friend, and your kids, say how desperately you want to be helpful, to give back to the American people. I want to believe them, and you. If you want to help us, though, here's a little advice: Stick to your strengths!
You're good at building stuff! Let's put you in charge of a big infrastructure project!
Allow me to recommend: The water system of Flint, Michigan. As you may of heard, it's a mess. Terrible. They need help, as you would say, Bigly. The politicians are standing around, scratching their heads, trying to figure out how to fix the problem.
But, you could fix it, I bet! On time and under budget, right? You could call it "The Trump Water System!" You could even stamp your name on every pipe.
And, when you're done, we'll give you something else to do. There are plenty of future Trump Bridges, Trump Roads and yes, Trump Pipes, that are in need of repair, all across the country. Enough to keep you busy for the rest of your life.
If you like my idea, just speak to Mitch and Paul, and your old buddy from New York, Hillary Clinton. I'm sure they would be happy to help you get started. The American People would really appreciate it.
I watched your convention last week, and heard your friend and your children say what a swell guy you are, and how good you are at building stuff "on time and under budget." They say you just want to help the American people. I think that's fantastic!
However, I've been listening to your speeches and your debate performances, and I'm thinking that maybe President isn't the right gig for you. It's not just that you're a racist demagogue (though that's scary enough). It's not that you have a tortured relationship with the English language, either. I think I could overlook that, if it wasn't for, you know, the rest of it.
I mean, let's be honest, you're not good at any of things that a President needs to be good at. You don't know anything about domestic policy, or foreign affairs, or economics, or race relations, or education or health care. You're not even very good at making speeches! If you were running against yourself, you would call yourself "Dunce Cap Donald!"
Now, I don't mean to hurt your feelings. I know what a sensitive guy you are. But, that's another thing to be worried about, isn't it? I mean, when you're President of the United States, you get to take credit for some stuff that you didn't have a lot to do with. But, you also get blamed for a bunch of crap that really wasn't your fault. You can't complain about it, either. You just have to take it. And that, Mr. Trump, is something I think you're going to have trouble doing.
Given all of my concerns, I'm afraid that, if you became President of the United States, in four years, (or, God forbid, eight years) the country will be in a very bad place when your term is over.
But, your friend, and your kids, say how desperately you want to be helpful, to give back to the American people. I want to believe them, and you. If you want to help us, though, here's a little advice: Stick to your strengths!
You're good at building stuff! Let's put you in charge of a big infrastructure project!
Allow me to recommend: The water system of Flint, Michigan. As you may of heard, it's a mess. Terrible. They need help, as you would say, Bigly. The politicians are standing around, scratching their heads, trying to figure out how to fix the problem.
But, you could fix it, I bet! On time and under budget, right? You could call it "The Trump Water System!" You could even stamp your name on every pipe.
And, when you're done, we'll give you something else to do. There are plenty of future Trump Bridges, Trump Roads and yes, Trump Pipes, that are in need of repair, all across the country. Enough to keep you busy for the rest of your life.
If you like my idea, just speak to Mitch and Paul, and your old buddy from New York, Hillary Clinton. I'm sure they would be happy to help you get started. The American People would really appreciate it.
July 3, 2016
Led Zeppelin vs Spirit
Recently a jury in Los Angeles rejected claims that Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page stole a riff of the song "Taurus" by Spirit for his rock classic "Stairway to Heaven." Reaction to this case varied widely, from "the rich guy with the better lawyer stuck it to the little guy once again," to "this was a frivolous lawsuit brought on by money hungry lawyers and talentless heirs hoping for a lottery ticket payday."
I have "Stairway to Heaven" on my top 100 songs of the 20th Century, so I was intrigued by the case enough to buy a copy of "Taurus" and research the story further. My own verdict is a split decision: I think Page was influenced and inspired in part by the riff in "Taurus." Yet, "Stairway to Heaven" is the superior song, with plenty that separates it from this one point of inspiration.
"Taurus" is a dreamy but forgettable little number. There are classical music touches, and parts that sound like a Hollywood film score. The section in question is a guitar line that sounds like a warm-up scale. In "Stairway to Heaven," Page takes a similar scale and creates variations that repeat and mutate as the song progresses. Whereas "Taurus" fades out after just two minutes, "Stairway to Heaven" keeps going, giving us a more intricate, layered and polished composition.
Lawyers want a concrete answer: this song/idea/story etc. belongs to this person and not to that person. But, art is rarely this cut and dry. Whether we're talking painting or music or writing, creative people are constantly inspired by one another. We read something, or hear it, and say, "Hey, I like that. But, I would do it this way . . . ."
I write for HarryPotterFanFiction.com, so I'm regularly treading in another's creative universe. I use my own characters as much as possible. I love the school, Hogwarts, and I wanted to go back and spend more time there.
I came to Rowling's universe with some strong opinions as to why I was there and what I wanted to do. I brought ideas, like the Dragon Wand, which sprung out of my reading of Deathly Hallows, but is an extrapolation and expansion on what Rowling wrote. My lead character, Liam Wren, is as different from Harry Potter as I could make him while still retaining a noble sense of heroism.
Part of creating a fantasy world is conjuring the illusion that the horizon goes on forever in all directions. In reality there are many blank areas of Rowling's canvas. I parked myself over some of those blank areas and began to embellish, matching her writing style and sense of humor as best I could while telling my own distinct brand of story.
Austin Kleon, in his book Steal Like an Artist, gives a checklist of does and don'ts when taking inspiration from other writers and artists. I feel Dragon Wand, Love and Arithmancy, and my other stories are all on the right side of that ledger.
Rowling was inspired by the fantasy of Tolkien and Lewis, and by boarding school stories and orphan stories that are so much a part of English literature. Lewis' Narnia was inspired in large part by Tolkien's stories of Middle Earth, much of which was unpublished when Lewis started work on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Shakespeare and Chaucer both had sources of inspiration that they drew from. Even stories in the Bible are drawn from other, even older stories. To claim that a piece of writing, music, or art is completely original and severed from all sources of inspiration and tradition, is foolish.
I have "Stairway to Heaven" on my top 100 songs of the 20th Century, so I was intrigued by the case enough to buy a copy of "Taurus" and research the story further. My own verdict is a split decision: I think Page was influenced and inspired in part by the riff in "Taurus." Yet, "Stairway to Heaven" is the superior song, with plenty that separates it from this one point of inspiration.
"Taurus" is a dreamy but forgettable little number. There are classical music touches, and parts that sound like a Hollywood film score. The section in question is a guitar line that sounds like a warm-up scale. In "Stairway to Heaven," Page takes a similar scale and creates variations that repeat and mutate as the song progresses. Whereas "Taurus" fades out after just two minutes, "Stairway to Heaven" keeps going, giving us a more intricate, layered and polished composition.
Lawyers want a concrete answer: this song/idea/story etc. belongs to this person and not to that person. But, art is rarely this cut and dry. Whether we're talking painting or music or writing, creative people are constantly inspired by one another. We read something, or hear it, and say, "Hey, I like that. But, I would do it this way . . . ."
I write for HarryPotterFanFiction.com, so I'm regularly treading in another's creative universe. I use my own characters as much as possible. I love the school, Hogwarts, and I wanted to go back and spend more time there.
I came to Rowling's universe with some strong opinions as to why I was there and what I wanted to do. I brought ideas, like the Dragon Wand, which sprung out of my reading of Deathly Hallows, but is an extrapolation and expansion on what Rowling wrote. My lead character, Liam Wren, is as different from Harry Potter as I could make him while still retaining a noble sense of heroism.
Part of creating a fantasy world is conjuring the illusion that the horizon goes on forever in all directions. In reality there are many blank areas of Rowling's canvas. I parked myself over some of those blank areas and began to embellish, matching her writing style and sense of humor as best I could while telling my own distinct brand of story.
Austin Kleon, in his book Steal Like an Artist, gives a checklist of does and don'ts when taking inspiration from other writers and artists. I feel Dragon Wand, Love and Arithmancy, and my other stories are all on the right side of that ledger.
Rowling was inspired by the fantasy of Tolkien and Lewis, and by boarding school stories and orphan stories that are so much a part of English literature. Lewis' Narnia was inspired in large part by Tolkien's stories of Middle Earth, much of which was unpublished when Lewis started work on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Shakespeare and Chaucer both had sources of inspiration that they drew from. Even stories in the Bible are drawn from other, even older stories. To claim that a piece of writing, music, or art is completely original and severed from all sources of inspiration and tradition, is foolish.
June 26, 2016
The Spark of Change
I watched Blackfish recently on Netflix. If you haven’t seen it, Blackfish details the capture and captivity of orcas in amusement parks, like the ones owned by SeaWorld. The scenes of a female orca crying for her young calf that was taken from her and brought to a new park was heartrending. Also touching was the tributes to the young trainers who had been killed by the orcas they trained for circus-like amusement park routines.
The film sparked a strong emotional reaction from the viewing public when it was released in 2013. SeaWorld was forced to change how they keep their orcas. They are phasing out their circus acts and ending the practice of keeping their orcas in little swimming pools. Nor are they acquiring or breeding any more orcas for their collection.
The power of this film to quickly change public opinion on this issue is inspiring. Other changes are coming hard and fast in our society. Things that were once unthinkable are coming to pass seemingly overnight.
Gay marriage was once inconceivable. It is now the law of the land, and among my daughter’s generation, this is no big deal. Their attitude is “Of course our gay friends should be able to marry.”
Our sympathies are changing towards the transgender community as well. This is an issue that I have had to educate myself on, to overcome my own prejudices and accept friends and family members who have transitioned. At a friend’s recommendation, I read the chapter on transgender people from the book, Far from the Tree. (I also checked out the chapters on autism and musical prodigies.) The book is heavy and dense with facts, but the case studies were fascinating.
I have also enjoyed watching the television show, I am Jazz, on TLC. It features a cute kid who seems very much like a normal teenage girl, but who was born a boy. Conservatives may squirm, but TV programmers are quick to sense changes in moods and fashions, and to jump on the latest trend. It was simply time for a show like this.
Another book on my list, one that I haven’t read yet, is Beyond Magenta, about transgender teens. I can always learn more; there is always room to become a better person. It is the power of art, in all its forms, to portray people and issues that the society as a whole might otherwise ignore, to put a human face to something once considered monstrous and shameful.
That’s why I write. Sure, I’d like this to be my day job and make some decent money. (I don’t need J.K. Rowling money, mind. I’d settle for a lot less.) But, my goal is to impact society in meaningful ways through my stories. That’s what pushes me back to the keyboard every night. Our society is in flux, and I want to be part of changing things for the better.
The film sparked a strong emotional reaction from the viewing public when it was released in 2013. SeaWorld was forced to change how they keep their orcas. They are phasing out their circus acts and ending the practice of keeping their orcas in little swimming pools. Nor are they acquiring or breeding any more orcas for their collection.
The power of this film to quickly change public opinion on this issue is inspiring. Other changes are coming hard and fast in our society. Things that were once unthinkable are coming to pass seemingly overnight.
Gay marriage was once inconceivable. It is now the law of the land, and among my daughter’s generation, this is no big deal. Their attitude is “Of course our gay friends should be able to marry.”
Our sympathies are changing towards the transgender community as well. This is an issue that I have had to educate myself on, to overcome my own prejudices and accept friends and family members who have transitioned. At a friend’s recommendation, I read the chapter on transgender people from the book, Far from the Tree. (I also checked out the chapters on autism and musical prodigies.) The book is heavy and dense with facts, but the case studies were fascinating.
I have also enjoyed watching the television show, I am Jazz, on TLC. It features a cute kid who seems very much like a normal teenage girl, but who was born a boy. Conservatives may squirm, but TV programmers are quick to sense changes in moods and fashions, and to jump on the latest trend. It was simply time for a show like this.
Another book on my list, one that I haven’t read yet, is Beyond Magenta, about transgender teens. I can always learn more; there is always room to become a better person. It is the power of art, in all its forms, to portray people and issues that the society as a whole might otherwise ignore, to put a human face to something once considered monstrous and shameful.
That’s why I write. Sure, I’d like this to be my day job and make some decent money. (I don’t need J.K. Rowling money, mind. I’d settle for a lot less.) But, my goal is to impact society in meaningful ways through my stories. That’s what pushes me back to the keyboard every night. Our society is in flux, and I want to be part of changing things for the better.
May 15, 2016
Male writers, female characters
I’ve always been impressed the way certain women captured the experiences of boyhood in their writing. I’m thinking of three prominent examples: J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, Pony Boy of S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, and Jesse of Katherine Patterson’s Bridge to Terebithia. Each boy is richly detailed, without one false note to distract us from the flow of the narration. Each emotion – anger, shame, fear, love - is genuine and deeply felt. The gender of the author becomes irrelevant.
Now, flip over the coin: how many men are good at depicting girls and women? I love Leisel from Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. My frustration with that book centered on Zusak’s narrator, Death, who constantly distracted the reader from the narrative flow. Marie Claire, of Anthony Doerr’s book All the Light We Cannot See, is also beautifully rendered and authentic. However, Marie Claire and Leisel remain chaste, idealized girls, smart, bookish and resourceful, creative descendants of Roald Dahl’s Matilda.
Many fictional women are similarly idealized. Tolkien’s Galadriel is wise, and beautiful beyond hope of courtship. She says her lines and then exits the stage so that the men can do the real fighting. Eowyn is more fully realized, but her love for Aragorn is chivalric, rather than an expression of genuine, realistic longing and sexual desire. In fact, none of the female characters I mentioned so far are overtly sexual.
The record is not much better when we move from genre to “literature.” Great writers like Hemingway, Doctorow, and Updike, beloved and respected for their contribution to language and culture, still have a tendency to short-change their female characters. John Steinbeck has two stellar women in Grapes of Wrath. Rose of Sharon is actually allowed to be sexual without being punished in the end, unlike her ill-fated sister from Of Mice and Men.
More commonly, men portray their female characters in simplistic terms: the angel, the mother figure, the whore.
I first made these observations while working on my BA in English, many years ago. I promised myself that, as a fiction writer, I would do better than the masters in this department. My goal, then and now, is to be as good with my female characters as Rowling, Hinton and Patterson are with their boys.
I glean insight from my female friends, and from my wife and daughters. Nothing I know, however, gets me into the head of a girl like a book written by a woman. I’ve read literary fiction writers like Toni Morrison, Barbara Kingsolver and Maureen Gibbon; juvenile fiction writers like Katherine Patterson, Judy Bloom and Sara Pennypacker; French authors Alina Reyes, Julie Maroh, and Janine Boissard; and fellow internet independents Robin Story, Hannie Blaise and HPFF’s Pixileanin.
I also looked for insights from singer songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Sarah McLachlan, Melissa Etheridge, Patti Griffen, Dar Williams, Joan Osborne, Aimee Mann, and Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emily Saliers.
The results of all this reading and listening are in my stories and novels. Few of you have met Adeline, the heroine of The Gospel of Thomas. That novel is not currently published, but I do have a few stories in print and accessible at this moment. About ten years ago I created a gaggle of adolescent girls to populate Missy Baker is a Band Geek, and The Trouble with Girls.
I’ve spent the last few years working with a new group of girls for my Liam Wren stories at HarryPotterFanFiction. I’m particularly proud of the beautiful and intimidating coven of witches in The Witches of Slytherin. I’ve explored these girls in depth, over many more pages than my earlier stories. Tess and her friends are intricately detailed and quite distinct from one another. I invite you to check out my work and let me know what you think.
Now, flip over the coin: how many men are good at depicting girls and women? I love Leisel from Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. My frustration with that book centered on Zusak’s narrator, Death, who constantly distracted the reader from the narrative flow. Marie Claire, of Anthony Doerr’s book All the Light We Cannot See, is also beautifully rendered and authentic. However, Marie Claire and Leisel remain chaste, idealized girls, smart, bookish and resourceful, creative descendants of Roald Dahl’s Matilda.
Many fictional women are similarly idealized. Tolkien’s Galadriel is wise, and beautiful beyond hope of courtship. She says her lines and then exits the stage so that the men can do the real fighting. Eowyn is more fully realized, but her love for Aragorn is chivalric, rather than an expression of genuine, realistic longing and sexual desire. In fact, none of the female characters I mentioned so far are overtly sexual.
The record is not much better when we move from genre to “literature.” Great writers like Hemingway, Doctorow, and Updike, beloved and respected for their contribution to language and culture, still have a tendency to short-change their female characters. John Steinbeck has two stellar women in Grapes of Wrath. Rose of Sharon is actually allowed to be sexual without being punished in the end, unlike her ill-fated sister from Of Mice and Men.
More commonly, men portray their female characters in simplistic terms: the angel, the mother figure, the whore.
I first made these observations while working on my BA in English, many years ago. I promised myself that, as a fiction writer, I would do better than the masters in this department. My goal, then and now, is to be as good with my female characters as Rowling, Hinton and Patterson are with their boys.
I glean insight from my female friends, and from my wife and daughters. Nothing I know, however, gets me into the head of a girl like a book written by a woman. I’ve read literary fiction writers like Toni Morrison, Barbara Kingsolver and Maureen Gibbon; juvenile fiction writers like Katherine Patterson, Judy Bloom and Sara Pennypacker; French authors Alina Reyes, Julie Maroh, and Janine Boissard; and fellow internet independents Robin Story, Hannie Blaise and HPFF’s Pixileanin.
I also looked for insights from singer songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Sarah McLachlan, Melissa Etheridge, Patti Griffen, Dar Williams, Joan Osborne, Aimee Mann, and Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emily Saliers.
The results of all this reading and listening are in my stories and novels. Few of you have met Adeline, the heroine of The Gospel of Thomas. That novel is not currently published, but I do have a few stories in print and accessible at this moment. About ten years ago I created a gaggle of adolescent girls to populate Missy Baker is a Band Geek, and The Trouble with Girls.
I’ve spent the last few years working with a new group of girls for my Liam Wren stories at HarryPotterFanFiction. I’m particularly proud of the beautiful and intimidating coven of witches in The Witches of Slytherin. I’ve explored these girls in depth, over many more pages than my earlier stories. Tess and her friends are intricately detailed and quite distinct from one another. I invite you to check out my work and let me know what you think.
April 10, 2016
Disney Needs Awakening
I went into my local Target store today, and was pleased to see the Star Wars marketing plastered on the glass store front, pushing the Blue Ray/DVD release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The prompt, "Use the Force to open the doors!" brings out the little boy in me.
(For more on my boyhood Star Wars fantasies, see my story at Tablo.io: https://tablo.io/kj-cartmell/episode-...)
I was perturbed, however, that there were pictures of stormtroopers on the doors. Like I was frequenting some Imperial base! Or, has the First Order conquered Target? Should I be calling in X-Wing squadrons to bomb the place down to the ground?
Where are the pictures of our heroes, Rei and Finn, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega? They are the ones who should be encouraging young Padawans to use the Force to open the store doors. Are we really that obsessed with the stormtrooper costume refresh?
I hope that this isn't Disney being shy about having a black guy as their leading man, or a woman as a kick ass Jedi Knight in training. Neither of these concepts are new. Mousekateers, have you heard of Denzel Washington? Wesley Snipes? Sidney Poitier?
Did you miss Sigourney Weaver, Linda Hamilton and Jennifer Lawrence? (Not to mention Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi, two awesome Jedi Knights without a doubt.)
It was stupid of Disney marketing not to have Rei action figures available for Christmas. But, we made a big fuss about this at the time. Now with the BR/DVD release, this would be the time to make amends. Maybe toys take a little while to get into production, I don't know.
I do know something, however, about adhesive signs like the ones plastered to the doors of my local Target. Those do not take long to print or distribute. Once you realized you got it wrong in December, there was plenty of time to get the right stuff up for the BR/DVD release.
So, what happened?
(For more on my boyhood Star Wars fantasies, see my story at Tablo.io: https://tablo.io/kj-cartmell/episode-...)
I was perturbed, however, that there were pictures of stormtroopers on the doors. Like I was frequenting some Imperial base! Or, has the First Order conquered Target? Should I be calling in X-Wing squadrons to bomb the place down to the ground?
Where are the pictures of our heroes, Rei and Finn, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega? They are the ones who should be encouraging young Padawans to use the Force to open the store doors. Are we really that obsessed with the stormtrooper costume refresh?
I hope that this isn't Disney being shy about having a black guy as their leading man, or a woman as a kick ass Jedi Knight in training. Neither of these concepts are new. Mousekateers, have you heard of Denzel Washington? Wesley Snipes? Sidney Poitier?
Did you miss Sigourney Weaver, Linda Hamilton and Jennifer Lawrence? (Not to mention Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi, two awesome Jedi Knights without a doubt.)
It was stupid of Disney marketing not to have Rei action figures available for Christmas. But, we made a big fuss about this at the time. Now with the BR/DVD release, this would be the time to make amends. Maybe toys take a little while to get into production, I don't know.
I do know something, however, about adhesive signs like the ones plastered to the doors of my local Target. Those do not take long to print or distribute. Once you realized you got it wrong in December, there was plenty of time to get the right stuff up for the BR/DVD release.
So, what happened?
March 15, 2016
YA Writers and Politics
I was looking over my daughter’s shoulder this morning as she watched a John Green video about refugees. I thought, This is going to have a huge impact on the political discourse in our nation, just not immediately. In about ten years, a generation of kids who have seen this video will be in positions to make different decisions than the ones we’re making now.
I continued this thought further: What impact has J.K. Rowling had on young people’s opinions, on issues of equality, the widening income gap, and the corrupting influence of money in politics? Probably more than you think. A time honored way of conveying values is to tell a story. Millions of young people read the Harry Potter novels and absorbed their moral lessons. We are just starting to see the political and moral impacts of those stories in contemporary politics.
Bernie Sanders campaign for president has been fueled by young college age students. They turn out in large numbers, all across the country, in support of Sanders, while their parents typically have supported Hillary Clinton. His message of income equality and a responsive, inclusive government has resonated strongly. Their energy, and their small but numerous campaign contributions (less than $30 on average) have kept Senator Sanders campaign going far longer than most pundits predicted.
I bet if you took a survey, you would find that most every one of these young supporters of Bernie Sanders has read the Harry Potter novels. When you hear Bernie Sanders denouncing the corrupting influence of Wall Street money in American politics, and see the positive reception among young voters, think of the Malfoys. Draco Malfoy, after all, was a rich kid, while Harry Potter and the Weasleys were middle class. Much of the tension between those families had to do with wealth and class. The clear message was that the Malfoys were not better people because they had more money.
The corrupting influence of the Malfoys money was seen in Lucius’ ability to temporarily oust Dumbledore in Azkaban. Because of his wealth, Lucius was seen as a noble and respected figure within the Ministry, even though our heroes knew better. This is the same corruption that Senator Sanders is denouncing in his speeches.
By the way, how many Harry Potter fans can Trump lay claim to? Not many, I bet. Trump’s totalitarian visions seem utterly Voldemort-like to me.
Imagine another scenario: Twenty years from now, a President of the United States is discussing a military strike with the National Security Staff. One of the generals makes a callous, off-hand remark about the potential for civilian casualties. The President thinks back to Prim at the end of Mockingjay, and decides on a different course of action, lessening the impact on civilians in the area.
The direct lessons of John and Hank Green, and the imbedded lessons in the books of J.K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins and others, are already starting to impact the world in positive ways. That positive influence will only grow in the coming years as my daughters’ generation grows into adulthood.
I continued this thought further: What impact has J.K. Rowling had on young people’s opinions, on issues of equality, the widening income gap, and the corrupting influence of money in politics? Probably more than you think. A time honored way of conveying values is to tell a story. Millions of young people read the Harry Potter novels and absorbed their moral lessons. We are just starting to see the political and moral impacts of those stories in contemporary politics.
Bernie Sanders campaign for president has been fueled by young college age students. They turn out in large numbers, all across the country, in support of Sanders, while their parents typically have supported Hillary Clinton. His message of income equality and a responsive, inclusive government has resonated strongly. Their energy, and their small but numerous campaign contributions (less than $30 on average) have kept Senator Sanders campaign going far longer than most pundits predicted.
I bet if you took a survey, you would find that most every one of these young supporters of Bernie Sanders has read the Harry Potter novels. When you hear Bernie Sanders denouncing the corrupting influence of Wall Street money in American politics, and see the positive reception among young voters, think of the Malfoys. Draco Malfoy, after all, was a rich kid, while Harry Potter and the Weasleys were middle class. Much of the tension between those families had to do with wealth and class. The clear message was that the Malfoys were not better people because they had more money.
The corrupting influence of the Malfoys money was seen in Lucius’ ability to temporarily oust Dumbledore in Azkaban. Because of his wealth, Lucius was seen as a noble and respected figure within the Ministry, even though our heroes knew better. This is the same corruption that Senator Sanders is denouncing in his speeches.
By the way, how many Harry Potter fans can Trump lay claim to? Not many, I bet. Trump’s totalitarian visions seem utterly Voldemort-like to me.
Imagine another scenario: Twenty years from now, a President of the United States is discussing a military strike with the National Security Staff. One of the generals makes a callous, off-hand remark about the potential for civilian casualties. The President thinks back to Prim at the end of Mockingjay, and decides on a different course of action, lessening the impact on civilians in the area.
The direct lessons of John and Hank Green, and the imbedded lessons in the books of J.K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins and others, are already starting to impact the world in positive ways. That positive influence will only grow in the coming years as my daughters’ generation grows into adulthood.
February 28, 2016
The People vs Oscar
I'm not planning to watch the Academy Awards tonight. I could try and be hip and cool by saying I boycotted the broadcast to protest the Oscar White-Out. But, honestly, I didn't watch because I hadn't seen any of the films up for major awards. (The exception: in the animation category. I've seen Inside Out and When Marnie Was There. )
I do believe that the Academy has a problem with race. Straight Outta Compton should have been up for more than just "Best Screenplay." I didn't see Concussion, but what I saw of Will Smith's performance in previews looked worthy of at least a nomination for Best Actor.
This problem is not confined to the African-American community. People of Asian and Latino descent are also woefully underrepresented on the silver screen, and at award shows.
Women of all races are routinely slighted by Oscar. Best Actor award winners are typically older guys with long acting resumes. Best Actresses are usually young and pretty, up for their first major role.
I don't mind their being two categories, one for men and one for women, but the criteria for a great performance should be the same.
How many times has Oscar got "Best Picture" wrong? I bet, if you made a list of your most favorite films, few if any would be Best Picture winners. I consider myself a movie enthusiast rather than an expert, but I can think of several Best Picture mis-steps in recent years. (Birdman over Boyhood? Argo over Lincoln? Crash over Brokeback Mountain?)
At this point, I want to say, "Here's a book about this! You should read it!" But, I couldn't find one. There are books put out by the Academy to show us all what a swell job they do picking winners. There are plenty of blogs, like this one, listing Top 10 Oscar Screw-ups. But, I couldn't find a comprehensive book.
That means, we need to write one. I think we can do this. Critiquing a film is an aesthetic judgment, but like other such judgments (evaluating cars, or figure skating), we should be able to come up with a criterea and give scores 1-10 across multiple categories.
Pick a year (the films of 2005), an actor (Clint Eastwood or Juliette Binoche), or a genre (Science Fiction). Watch several films in your chosen bucket, and rate them. Give scores for Acting, Cinematography, Story/Script, Music, and technical stuff like special effects, editing, and costumes. Add up the numbers and see who wins. Then, post results someplace.
We can't change the Academy, but we can replace them, and Oscar, with ourselves.
I do believe that the Academy has a problem with race. Straight Outta Compton should have been up for more than just "Best Screenplay." I didn't see Concussion, but what I saw of Will Smith's performance in previews looked worthy of at least a nomination for Best Actor.
This problem is not confined to the African-American community. People of Asian and Latino descent are also woefully underrepresented on the silver screen, and at award shows.
Women of all races are routinely slighted by Oscar. Best Actor award winners are typically older guys with long acting resumes. Best Actresses are usually young and pretty, up for their first major role.
I don't mind their being two categories, one for men and one for women, but the criteria for a great performance should be the same.
How many times has Oscar got "Best Picture" wrong? I bet, if you made a list of your most favorite films, few if any would be Best Picture winners. I consider myself a movie enthusiast rather than an expert, but I can think of several Best Picture mis-steps in recent years. (Birdman over Boyhood? Argo over Lincoln? Crash over Brokeback Mountain?)
At this point, I want to say, "Here's a book about this! You should read it!" But, I couldn't find one. There are books put out by the Academy to show us all what a swell job they do picking winners. There are plenty of blogs, like this one, listing Top 10 Oscar Screw-ups. But, I couldn't find a comprehensive book.
That means, we need to write one. I think we can do this. Critiquing a film is an aesthetic judgment, but like other such judgments (evaluating cars, or figure skating), we should be able to come up with a criterea and give scores 1-10 across multiple categories.
Pick a year (the films of 2005), an actor (Clint Eastwood or Juliette Binoche), or a genre (Science Fiction). Watch several films in your chosen bucket, and rate them. Give scores for Acting, Cinematography, Story/Script, Music, and technical stuff like special effects, editing, and costumes. Add up the numbers and see who wins. Then, post results someplace.
We can't change the Academy, but we can replace them, and Oscar, with ourselves.
February 26, 2016
Insurgents and Politics
The news media in the United States used to reserve the term “insurgent” for Enemies of the Republic, people in Iraq and Afghanistan who were shooting back at our soldiers. During this year’s political primaries, it has been regularly applied to certain candidates. The Insurgent candidates, Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, are winning early races and threatening the pre-ordained coronations of the Establishment candidates, Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush (who has now dropped out of the race).
The leadership of the Democratic and Republican parties has been taken aback by the strength and resilience of this rebellion. Each of these Insurgent candidates has crowds of angry, disaffected people behind him, demanding change. Those crowds have yet to be won over by the more moderate candidates.
This anger has many sources, but key among them is the awareness that the economy has been rigged to favor the very wealthy. (Why, if you are angry about this, you would support billionaire Donald Trump, is beyond me. Someone who has benefited so thoroughly from the status quo is not going to be an agent of change.)
The government sets the rules of the marketplace. Those rules usually favor the billionaires and shareholder class over the rest of society. While this has always been the case, our society runs much more smoothly when the middle class is given a fair cut of the prosperity.
Since the beginning of the George W. Bush administration, this has not been the case. Many families with middle class upbringings, that is, they grew up living in houses in prosperous suburbs, now find themselves in apartments in poorer neighborhoods. They are systematically being pushed down and out of the middle class.
Those below them on the societal strata are even worse off. In Alameda County, California, where I live, the food banks now serve one in five families. That’s 20% of the population without enough money for food, in one of the most affluent, well-educated areas of the United States. What it’s like in poorer regions (Alabama, Mississippi, West Virginia) I can only imagine.
The Great Recession was supposed to have ended around 2009. Yet, for most of us, prosperity has not returned. One indicator, as an example – education funding in California has yet to return to 2006 levels. (Education funds, like all government spending, come from tax revenues. Lower incomes lead to lower tax revenue and decreased services.)
How did we get here, and how do we get out of it?
To answer that first question, I recommend reading The Big Short by Michael Lewis. (There’s a movie, yes, but this is Good Reads, so I’m talking up the book.) It’s a short book and an easy read, despite the arcane financial shenanigans it describes. Keep in mind when you read this that, in the eight years since the crisis, nobody went to jail, and nobody, even those who drove their companies to the edge of bankruptcy, had to give any money back.
No substantial political changes were enacted to prevent a future collapse. In fact, the banks that in 2008 were “too big to fail” are now even bigger. Partisan bickering in Congress blocks even common sense ideas from becoming law.
Another book I recommend is Greg Palast’s The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. It came out in 2002 (with a revise in 2004), so it’s a bit dated. Just know that, in the intervening years, things have gotten even worse.
If you are angry about all this, and you are old enough to vote, I encourage you to do so. But, find a candidate who is truly representing your interest. Any politician funded by billionaires, like the infamous Koch brothers, is going to listen first to his financial backers. The concerns of the voter will come second, if at all. (Donald Trump, being a billionaire himself, needs no such backing. But, is this really what we need, a foul-mouthed, bullying, narcissistic demagogue?)
The insurgents are gathering strength and pushing back. The two Parties are worried, but the billionaires are not. Our anger is unfocused, and we are still a civil people. We are not to the point of pitchforks, torches and guillotines. The better course is to put the right people in power and use our existing governing tools to set things right.
The leadership of the Democratic and Republican parties has been taken aback by the strength and resilience of this rebellion. Each of these Insurgent candidates has crowds of angry, disaffected people behind him, demanding change. Those crowds have yet to be won over by the more moderate candidates.
This anger has many sources, but key among them is the awareness that the economy has been rigged to favor the very wealthy. (Why, if you are angry about this, you would support billionaire Donald Trump, is beyond me. Someone who has benefited so thoroughly from the status quo is not going to be an agent of change.)
The government sets the rules of the marketplace. Those rules usually favor the billionaires and shareholder class over the rest of society. While this has always been the case, our society runs much more smoothly when the middle class is given a fair cut of the prosperity.
Since the beginning of the George W. Bush administration, this has not been the case. Many families with middle class upbringings, that is, they grew up living in houses in prosperous suburbs, now find themselves in apartments in poorer neighborhoods. They are systematically being pushed down and out of the middle class.
Those below them on the societal strata are even worse off. In Alameda County, California, where I live, the food banks now serve one in five families. That’s 20% of the population without enough money for food, in one of the most affluent, well-educated areas of the United States. What it’s like in poorer regions (Alabama, Mississippi, West Virginia) I can only imagine.
The Great Recession was supposed to have ended around 2009. Yet, for most of us, prosperity has not returned. One indicator, as an example – education funding in California has yet to return to 2006 levels. (Education funds, like all government spending, come from tax revenues. Lower incomes lead to lower tax revenue and decreased services.)
How did we get here, and how do we get out of it?
To answer that first question, I recommend reading The Big Short by Michael Lewis. (There’s a movie, yes, but this is Good Reads, so I’m talking up the book.) It’s a short book and an easy read, despite the arcane financial shenanigans it describes. Keep in mind when you read this that, in the eight years since the crisis, nobody went to jail, and nobody, even those who drove their companies to the edge of bankruptcy, had to give any money back.
No substantial political changes were enacted to prevent a future collapse. In fact, the banks that in 2008 were “too big to fail” are now even bigger. Partisan bickering in Congress blocks even common sense ideas from becoming law.
Another book I recommend is Greg Palast’s The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. It came out in 2002 (with a revise in 2004), so it’s a bit dated. Just know that, in the intervening years, things have gotten even worse.
If you are angry about all this, and you are old enough to vote, I encourage you to do so. But, find a candidate who is truly representing your interest. Any politician funded by billionaires, like the infamous Koch brothers, is going to listen first to his financial backers. The concerns of the voter will come second, if at all. (Donald Trump, being a billionaire himself, needs no such backing. But, is this really what we need, a foul-mouthed, bullying, narcissistic demagogue?)
The insurgents are gathering strength and pushing back. The two Parties are worried, but the billionaires are not. Our anger is unfocused, and we are still a civil people. We are not to the point of pitchforks, torches and guillotines. The better course is to put the right people in power and use our existing governing tools to set things right.
February 15, 2016
Freedom of Expression
As a writer, there is nothing more crucial than Freedom of Expression. Here in the United States, it is easy to take the safe, political correct route, and do whatever you can not to offend. Why alienate potential readers with polarizing statements? Or, if you are to make polarizing statements, make sure your sermon is pre-approved by your chosen choir.
Who here in the US is risking life and limb to speak truth to power? It's not like we don't have corruption in our government and our religious institutions. Our insular worlds of Right and Left, Blue and Red, allow for no real debate, no hard choices, and no true change.
A few months ago, I watched a documentary on a European activist group named FEMEN. The women of FEMEN risk arrest and beatings to protest political corruption in Eastern Europe. They single out the Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches for their cozy relationships with repressive dictatorships in Eastern Europe. Their bold statements about women's rights earned them some bullets from a terrorist last year in Copenhagen.
I'm inspired by their courage and their determination to upset the established order in favor of positive transformations.
Below is a link to a video statement of Inna Shevchenko of FEMEN, speaking on the importance of freedom of expression, and differentiating between causing physical and psychological harm vs merely offending. I invite you to check out the link and here what Shevchenko has to say. (It's in English.)
If you have the opportunity, check out the FEMEN documentary on Netflix.
https://vimeo.com/122271777
Who here in the US is risking life and limb to speak truth to power? It's not like we don't have corruption in our government and our religious institutions. Our insular worlds of Right and Left, Blue and Red, allow for no real debate, no hard choices, and no true change.
A few months ago, I watched a documentary on a European activist group named FEMEN. The women of FEMEN risk arrest and beatings to protest political corruption in Eastern Europe. They single out the Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches for their cozy relationships with repressive dictatorships in Eastern Europe. Their bold statements about women's rights earned them some bullets from a terrorist last year in Copenhagen.
I'm inspired by their courage and their determination to upset the established order in favor of positive transformations.
Below is a link to a video statement of Inna Shevchenko of FEMEN, speaking on the importance of freedom of expression, and differentiating between causing physical and psychological harm vs merely offending. I invite you to check out the link and here what Shevchenko has to say. (It's in English.)
If you have the opportunity, check out the FEMEN documentary on Netflix.
https://vimeo.com/122271777
