Nobody Wins
Is the art you're enjoying compromised? Yes, we live in hell.
Hello reader, I hope you have had an excellent week. Sorry I didn’t write my usual…whatever these are last week, but I hope you enjoyed my (very) long essay about why AI sucks ass.
This week I didn’t get much writing done, again, but I might add some words to my word doc after I finish writing this just so I don’t lose that muscle memory. But in my defense, I have been busy with RABBLE REVIEW stuff, and these essays, which sounds counterproductive to my novel writing goals. But trust me, it’s not! I know what I’m doing. Shut up! Stop worrying! The writing will get done. With that said, now you know why I don’t really get up in George RR Martin’s shit with regards to The Winds of Winter. Plus, I think this is all additive, even if I’m not adding. But honestly, I should be doing more adding for obvious reasons. The most obvious reason being that this fucking novel needs to get finished.
Not the First and Certainly not the Last of Us
I haven’t watched much. I saw Thunderbolts* and it was fine. I never did talk about Sinners on here, but I did see Sinners in IMAX and LOVED it. The thing I will say is that it is a messy film with some very obvious flaws, and a few misteps, but I still think it’s a 5 out of 5. For whatever reason I found the mess to be part of the quality. It’s so audacious and daring, even when it’s stumbling in the mud. I loved it. I might have more to say about it in a later blog, and I might go more in depth on what about it made me cry real tears in the movie theater. In TV land I started watching The Studio on AppleTV+, a show that I am liking a lot more than I anticipated. It follows a studio exec in Hollywood. The second episode is a single take and it had me howling laughing throughout. It’s nothing fancy but it’s very well made, and I actually like Seth Rogen. Okay, anyways, this week I wanted to actually talk at length about another show I’ve been watching: The Last of Us. It actually feeds into a broader discussion I want to have later on as well.
As of this writing I am an episode behind of The Last of Us season 2, and honestly I might just wait for the season to finish before going back. I think the show at its best has been perfectly fine, with some pretty cool set piece moments. At its worst, it is painfully boring melodrama. I have never played the games the show is based on. Naughty Dog, the studio behind such classics like, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and, Jak X: Combat Racing, has a house style that has never really jelled with me. They make games that are covered in a sheen that I can best describe as, “Prestige Television,” goop. They love high fidelity in their visuals. They have actors doing mo-cap, character models with a ton of wrinkles and photorealistic expressions—- that’s their thing. And I have just never cared about that, especially in games. But that’s their style, they make HBO original video games, they want to come across more elevated and serious and, ugh! Yawn! The irony is that I played Hideo Kojima’s, Death Stranding, a year and a half ago, and Kojima loves fidelity, and photorealism and movie like visuals and pacing. If you’re his friend he will scan your face and put it into a videogame. But he also still loves to make videogames, and there is plenty of shit in that game that is just there because it’s a fun game mechanic. He’s always reminding the player that they are playing a videogame, even as they’re sitting down to watch a 45 minute cutscene in that same game.
Anyways, Naughty Dog wants to be taken seriously with their storytelling. And it has made. The Last of Us, remarkably easy to adapt, since the games are all very linear, and they are basically just doing the HBO thing already. But whenever I have sat down to watch the show I am reminded of how the, pacing, and even characters, and plot beats are all pretty boring, or bad. Can I show my work? Can I explain my conclusions on this? Not really, I guess a lot of it comes down to personal preference, but it always feels like the show thinks its smarter than it is. And while I haven’t played the games, I feel like the games have that same aura with its storytelling. And if you know me, you know I hate that shit. Be dumb, embrace it. But don’t present a very dull worldview and pretend as though it’s innovative storytelling.
My biggest example comes from a plot beat that was actually called out by Susana Polo over at Polygon in her excellent essay, The Last of Us’ post-apocalyptic homophobia reveals its shallow setting. She lays it out better than I could, but I’ll just reiterate in my own words. Minor spoilers for a minor plot point in the first three episodes of season 2, but the first episode ends with Ellie, kissing a girl, Dina. And it’s cute and all until a guy expresses his disgust and then hurls a slur at them. What?! This is the first outward bigotry we have seen in the show set in the post apocalypse. Which, fine. Okay, bad, but whatever, you want to have that moment in your story, do it. But, just to reiterate, up until that moment there is no other expressions of bigotry in the show. Not that I need racists in my show, but Joel is not white in the show (like his is in the game), If you want to press on some real world tensions you can definitely sprinkle it into other places, but they never do. Joel has a mixed race daughter in the show too. No real comment there either. The very mature, adult, show just side steps a lot of these uncomfortable conversations. Until now.
Which, again, fine, that moment was in the games, okay. But most of the subplot that follows was not in the game. They give the homophobe a little redemption arc. This fucking dude gets to be redeemed. He supports Ellie’s quest for revenge (which within the narrative is presented as wrong???) and even shows up later to give them a cool gun, a moment that feels ripped straight from a videogame, but wasn’t present in the actual game this is based on. Why did we need to double back and give this guy a legit learning moment? This guy used a slur, he was that repulsed at the sight of two young girls kissing that he hurled a slur at them.
I guess the point I’m building to is that the show doesn’t really understand the mechanics of bigotry. If you’re going to have it on your show then you need to be more smart about it. But here it’s operating on weird, Disney Channel original movie-ass logic. A grown man does not arrive at that level of homophobia and then realize the error of their ways that quickly. I’d have been more satisfied if you just had that be an unresolved world view that he has. Not everyone can learn a lesson, some people don’t want to. A show that loves to play in prestige television land doesn’t want to engage with messy storytelling. Sure, they’ll utilize violent imagery for shock value, but actually engaging with what it means to have a bigot living within your close knit community? No, too much! Don’t worry, he’s cured! No more homophobia, he’s all better, he was just drunk and heterosexual. It’s a powerful cocktail as you all know. But I found it so telling, that a show that wants to be mature and dark and gritty decided to resolve a plotline like this in the most Degrassi way possible. It’s feckless and it undermines whatever deeper, and darker, explorations the show wants to explore going forward.
Anyways, that’s just one example. I think the shows polish tricks people into thinking they’re viewing something truly profound and well written. But it’s doing the same thing as The Walking Dead, i.e, what if humans are the monsters? Boring! There’s nothing new there, it’s well walked (heh) territory and The Last of Us is perfectly happy just existing in that same space. Never innovating. In show form it’s doing all that minus any potential interesting gameplay mechanics, at that point, what are you doing that’s worth viewing at all?
Hogfarts-Witchcraft and Bigotry
Believe it or not, after all that, I actually have more to say this week about other stuff. I’m a yapper, shut up. This week I wanted to talk about problematic and creators. Not quite, death of the author, stuff, mostly because I don’t know what that is, but rather when do we pull the cord and stop engaging with works from problematic creators? Obviously this is about JK Rowling to some degree, but also we have other writers like HP Lovecraft, and…others, sorry I’m blanking, and this is all off the dome. But for music we have Kanye West, R.Kelly, and Marilyn Manson. I would say, Diddy, but who listens to Diddy? I don’t know anyone who has intentionally listened to a Diddy track, even in prime, Puffy-P-Diddy-Puff Daddy, times. I don’t know, maybe I’m misremembering. Anyways, with film we have…so fucking man, Roman Polansky, Woody Allen, and depending on who you ask, Johnny Depp, just to name a few. And in the world of games, maybe Neil Druckmann?
Why do I include Neil Druckmann, game director for The Last of Us Part 2 in this list filled with absolute sickos and abusers? Well, he’s a huge Zionist and…well that might be it, but being a pro-Israeli, Zionist, is not nothing, especially these days. Couple that with the fact that some of those Zionist viewpoints are made explicit within the text of the game itself, it starts to become harder to avoid. Or ignore. So what do you do in the case of a work made, or associated with a creator expressing a worldview you find hateful? Or in the case of Druckmann’s own Zionism, a worldview that is expressly hateful and even, genocidal? What do I do, as someone who is watching a show adapting work he has done as the games creative director? Because he does subscribe to a hateful worldview and I am still watching a show he had a part in creating. So…what now?
Well, for me, honestly…I take it on a case by case basis. I disagree with Neil Druckmann, and do not actually like him, or much of his work, but I have still been watching The Last of Us. How do I justify it? Well, I don’t, not consciously. It just doesn’t feel like I’m sticking it to him by watching or not watching, even if his paw prints are all over the show to an extent. But, in my mind it just doesn’t register in that way, even if I am aware of his involvement. If I wanted to be really annoying I could also point to the fact that plenty of shows I watch probably include the involvement of some pro-Israeli, Zionists, so…I don’t know. Luckily I don’t want to be really annoying, so lets stick with this discomfort for a bit longer. There is a line, and I have a line on where and when I start avoiding creators, sure. It’s an inconsistent line that makes no sense, but it’s there. If Druckmann were the sole writer and creator of a work, I’d probably avoid it at this stage. When The Last of Us 2 originally came out, (pre-October 7th), his Zionism was something I was aware of, but I don’t think it would have been the sole reason I’d avoid his work. If he were the sole director, maybe I would. Sole writer? Maybe. I don’t know. But what I do know, is that for whatever reason, sitting down to engage with the show just doesn’t feel particularly attached to him in the same way as it does sitting down to watch Harry Potter and thinking about JK Rowling.
That’s all to say that in my mind, JK Rowling is in the trash. I can’t in good conscious engage with the works she has made on any level. Not the books, not the games, not the movies, none of it, it’s all spoiled. Did she personally make the films, or the videogame based on her work, Hogwarts Legacy? No. But she is insanely wealthy, and gets wealthier the longer we engage with her work. Maybe it’s a wealth thing? Okay it’s not, but she’s just so much more front of mind with that stuff. If Druckmann were always talking about how great ethnic cleansing was, maybe sitting down to watch The Last of Us, would feel indefensible. But he’s not. Actually, maybe he is, I don’t follow him on his socials. But I also don’t follow JK Rowling, but I manage to see her moldy visage more than I’d care to, so…yeah. Also, on a more literal level, she decided to make herself the face of transphobia in a very real and tangible way. She’s a huge terf and she goes out of her way to be as vile and horrible to the trans community at every possible time. She doesn’t hide it, she doesn’t obfuscate it, she puts actual effort into upholding this worldview, and spreading it. Couple that with just how tied Harry Potter and Harry Potter related media is to her name, it just feels dishonest to pretend that it’s at all possible to divorce her from the work. She handcuffed herself to it, and everything from future Harry Potter projects, to the upcoming TV show reboot has her stinky, moldy, stench all over it. She has tainted it forever.
The same goes for Kanye West, a man who at one point made what I considered to be one of the greatest records of all time. I mean, I guess that fact hasn’t changed, but we’re now at a point where we literally, actually, do not have to hand it to Kanye West. He’s an actual nazi at this point and it’s impossible for me to listen to his music without being reminded of that fact. Coincidentally, he is a huge fan of The Last of Us games...I genuinely don’t know what to make of that information. He also knows that Neil Druckmann is Jewish, so…again, I don’t know what to make of that. He’s a nazi though, so please stop listening to, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Sorry, that was me telling myself that, because goddammit, it sucked to vault all that good music…aww shit, remember G.O.O.D Music? Goddamn you, Kanye!!!
This is all to say that I’m an inconsistent bitch. Why is JK Rowling a line I won’t cross, but Druckmann’s Zionist worldview is not? Especially when the Zionism of a Gal Gadot is, to me? Honestly, I don’t know, but the internal logic feels sound in my mind. I’ll be honest, I started writing this thinking I’d arrive at an answer, but I think I might be writing it just to drag you into the muck with me. You do it too, dickhead, stop judging me! I had some friends wonder aloud on social media as to why anyone was watching, The Last of Us. I actually had one other friend wonder why anyone was going to see, Sinners, because Michael B. Jordan defended Jonathan Majors. It’s so interesting where some people draw the line. Because, I’ll be real with you, I actually did know Michael B. Jordan made those comments, and they did annoy me, and that knowledge did not play a single role in my decision to see that movie. Was what Jonathan Majors did horrible? Yes, and I likely won’t see anything else he’s starring in ever again. Is Michael B. Jordan a fucking moron for defending his friend in light of that? Yes. But…yeah, but no, sorry, I was there opening weekend for Sinners, and yes, I will be purchasing the 4K Bluray. I think we’ve all avoided actors and performers for less, but I think it’s a bit ridiculous to pretend as though any person has a consistent approach to these matters.
And not to be a total asshole, but everyone…EVERYONE, enjoys content from problematic individuals. Sometimes it might be because we’re ignorant and don’t know. But if you’re going to be that strict in your approach then I don’t think it’s unfair to say that you need to be fucking spotless. You better do your research to make sure everyone involved in that thing you like is on the up and up. Because I think there is something dishonest about pretending to have a whole cloth solution to engaging with works that include individuals who are compromised in some way shape or form. With that said, I do think we can be honest with ourselves about how inconsistent we can sometimes be. Is that a judgement call on you as a human? Maybe. But it’s also an acknowledgement that we are human and so are the people who make the art we enjoy. Which is why I say, for me, it’s a judgement call without a strict rules system. I can’t excuse a creator who is just an unapologetic nazi, or a huge transphobe. But I guess there are some forms of bigotry that I’m less consistent with? Or maybe it’s the degrees of separation? Like I said earlier, I’m not actually proposing a consistent approach to this topic. Maybe I’m just throwing my hands up, nobody wins! My internal guidelines are inconsistent and change depending on a variety of factors.
Truthfully, I stopped thinking too hard about being consistent when I saw people I respected listening to Kanye West (this was after he became a huge Candace Owens fan, but before he became an actual nazi), but they were talking about the record like he was the same old Kanye. I just remember being like, “wait, we’re cool with him again?” And what about a figure like, Azaelia Banks? I have so many friends who love her, but she has said some heinous shit, about people within her own community, about Palestinians, even as they were experiencing a genocide, like, she in all likelihood has a repugnant world view. But my friends excuse her, and they all probably have different reasons as to why she gets a pass, or maybe she doesn’t, maybe they know she’s a piece of shit, but they’re just gonna accept that because she makes good music. I don’t know, I feel like I tend to avoid creators who are that obviously heinous, but I’m sure to someone else, my watching The Last of Us is tantamount to cosigning the genocide unfolding in Gaza at the hands of Israel. And to further drag myself, I’ll avoid a Gal Gadot flick, but The Last of Us show doesn’t feel on that same level. Maybe it is though. But I’m not trying to make a convincing argument, I’m just wondering aloud, wallowing in the futility of it all. Nobody wins.
As someone who is an artist, I know how deeply personal it is to create art. So I’m definitely not of the mind that you can separate the art from the artist. I have never believed that. And I think that has always been a weird way to handwave away stuff that makes you uncomfortable. There was an article that came out when Hogwarts Legacy did, where the writer spent their time justifying why they wanted to play the game. And I would honestly rather someone just say, “I want to play it, suck my dick,” instead of their long apology where they tried to logic puzzle their way out of a tough conversation, trying to transfer ownership of this game away from JK Rowling back into the hands of the developers making the game. They, in my mind, were unsuccessful at that. While I don’t think we always need to have these conversations every time we engage with art from problematic artists, I do think we shouldn’t shy away from them either. Contextualizing these works can have value. But sometimes we’re just going to be inconsistent, I’m not sure what the lesson is there though. There isn’t a perfect answer to these questions by the way. We’re all human and flawed and stupid. Sometimes we just want to watch or play the problematic thing. Sometimes it doesn’t even register as problematic. For me personally, if I am cognizant of it, I try to maintain that perspective. And it can make for an interesting viewing experience. For instance, watching Wonder Woman 1984, knowing about Gal Gadot’s raging Zionism certainly made me raise a few eyebrows at a lot of the plot beats present in that truly terrible film. Maybe if we’re more honest about the totality of the work we can really capture the role it plays in whatever moment of time we are existing in. But also, don’t kid yourself, sometimes it isn’t that deep. I can’t stop you from playing Hogwarts Legacy or listening to, Donda 2, or watching, The Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (a real movie for real Kang heads), sometimes you want the bad thing for dumb reasons. I don’t know how to end this, we’re all messy and dumb, and I promise I didn’t write all this as a way to excuse my continued viewing of, The Last of Us on HBO, new episodes every Sunday.
End of the Episode Feeling:
So I forgot to mention that I saw Baths perform like two weeks ago. He was amazing, as was his opener, Fashion Club. I was going to suggest one of their songs for this weeks End of the Episode Feeling, but you should probably just listen to both of their most recent releases, and their entire backlog as well. I’m sure one of their songs will be a future choice for this, but this weeks choice was made thanks in part to…AI. Okay, not literally, but last week I wrote about why AI sucks and I referenced this dogshit short film made in AI that I came across on Vimeo. No, I will not share it. Anyways, after my friends and I watched the AI film, we had a palette cleanser, and that cleanser is this weeks End of the Episode Feeling:
Acid Rain-Lorn
I first came across Lorn while playing Sleeping Dogs. He has a few tracks that can be found on Ninja Tune Radio in game, and I fell in love with his sound. The track, Soft Room, was on repeat for me for...the longest. It’s so sick. While searching for more videos of his one day I came across this one for Acid Rain. I had heard the song, but I didn’t know it had a music video. Turns out the music video wasn’t an official video, but Lorn liked it so much that it sort of just became the official video. Actually, someone fact check that, I’m pretty sure I read that in a YouTube comment at the time, so I could be wrong. Anyways, the song is so fucking good, it’s probably in my top ten songs. The visuals for the music video are astounding as is the choreography, timed perfectly to the haunting soundscape present in the song.
Obviously if we’re placing this into an episode of TV, you know that it’s following a particularly devastating series of events. Or maybe it’s just ending on a moment of melancholy. A lot of Lorn’s songs (that actually have lyrics) play in a space of depression and mental illness. It’s sad, you’re sad, the situation is sad. But this one feels internal. It’s not explosive, it’s a miasma swirling in your gut. We’re watching someone struggle, and maybe not everyone can see that struggle. A lot of the conflict with my novels protagonist is internal in that way, and I’m debating if that miasma does become explosive at all. Maybe, I’m still writing the damn thing. I can see this song being featured at a few key moments I have planned. To be honest I kind of see it as the opening credits to the entire story as well, but that might be too depressing of a note to begin an episode on:
Daylight
In bad dreams
In a cool world
Full of cruel things
Hang tight
All you
Nothing like a big bad bridge
To go burnin’ through
Maybe there’s a little hope there? The visual is admittedly pretty violent, but I feel like songs like this sometimes manage to sneak in a little hope. For the sake of my protagonist, lets hope that’s true.
Thanks for reading. Please be sure to check out my literary journal, RABBLE REVIEW, you can also check out my linktr.ee for links if you want to follow me elsewhere. I’ll be back next week with more observations and reflections on my writing journey. Have a wonderful rest of your week!
I have so many contradicting opinions on consuming art by terrible people, so what? I am large, I contain multitudes!