Throughout its history, one of the most durable Hollywood movie genres has been that of the heroic journalist working alone, always at great risk to life and limb, to expose some great truth that is being suppressed by the powers that be.
“There’s just one problem with that… here at the beginning of 2025, journalists occupy a space on the popularity spectrum somewhere between pond scum and crotch rot.”
If I remember correctly, the Kings of Spain wanted to keep the treasue of the New World flowing to them, and were worried about someone separating up a competing government in any of their colonies. So they sent two families that were competitors in Spain to "rule in the King's name" and to serve as checks on each other.
After independence the same two families typically continued to rule. The Sandinistas and the Somozaists were (at the leadership level) descendents of those two families in Nicaragua. No different than have two brutal gangs taking turns running the crime territory.
Ironically, Spottiswoode did later make a movie that was more honest about the news media. Even more ironically, it was a Bond movie. Eliot Carver from *Tomorrow Never Dies* is an unholy (but massively entertaining) mix between Robert Maxwell, Rupert Murdoch, and Ted Turner - a venal media mogul who manufactures current events to boost his circulation.
Original ideas are definitely hard to come by. I’ve written a lot about all the various reasons why that is while also reserving some blame for audiences, who have routinely rejected movies based on original concepts. The whole system is a mess right now
Want a realistic vision of dystopia? Go back and watch 1979's Mad Max. This is how I see our society when the US dollar collapses under the weight of the debt. People hanging on, trying to preserve law and order. Institutions present but crumbling.
Make friends in a very rural area. I'm moving "home." In the event of a societal breakdown, the folks there will survive. And I pity any urban "bad guys" who try to intrude and/or take advantage.
It's all friends and relatives and an enormous amounts of useful knowledge and skills. And weapons. And ammunition. And the knowledge and willingness to do whatever it takes.
New friends are always welcome, as long as they work to fit in and not to change the locals.
I've also got an off-grid setup with 2 cabins, and by next year you could be self-sufficient there. At least for a few years. 80A of woods inside about 4000A of even more woods.
“There’s just one problem with that… here at the beginning of 2025, journalists occupy a space on the popularity spectrum somewhere between pond scum and crotch rot.”
And deservedly so.
If I remember correctly, the Kings of Spain wanted to keep the treasue of the New World flowing to them, and were worried about someone separating up a competing government in any of their colonies. So they sent two families that were competitors in Spain to "rule in the King's name" and to serve as checks on each other.
After independence the same two families typically continued to rule. The Sandinistas and the Somozaists were (at the leadership level) descendents of those two families in Nicaragua. No different than have two brutal gangs taking turns running the crime territory.
Didn’t know that!
Wow. Someone needs to make a map of those two families and Latin American conflicts
Ironically, Spottiswoode did later make a movie that was more honest about the news media. Even more ironically, it was a Bond movie. Eliot Carver from *Tomorrow Never Dies* is an unholy (but massively entertaining) mix between Robert Maxwell, Rupert Murdoch, and Ted Turner - a venal media mogul who manufactures current events to boost his circulation.
Indeed!
"They'll print anything these days."
Wai Lin: “And what do you get?” [for engineering a war between China and the UK]
Carver: “Me? Oh, nothing. Just exclusive broadcasting rights in China for the next 100 years.”
One of the few movies about reporters (other than “Kolchak: The Night Stalker”) was Mel Gibson in “The Year of Living Dangerously.”
I love that one. Just rewatched it
Hollywoods fascination with Dystopia and Hit Men make most new movies the same. They’re now boring and depressing as hell to watch.
Original ideas are definitely hard to come by. I’ve written a lot about all the various reasons why that is while also reserving some blame for audiences, who have routinely rejected movies based on original concepts. The whole system is a mess right now
Want a realistic vision of dystopia? Go back and watch 1979's Mad Max. This is how I see our society when the US dollar collapses under the weight of the debt. People hanging on, trying to preserve law and order. Institutions present but crumbling.
I know it well, and I often lose sleep thinking about that very scenario,
Make friends in a very rural area. I'm moving "home." In the event of a societal breakdown, the folks there will survive. And I pity any urban "bad guys" who try to intrude and/or take advantage.
It's all friends and relatives and an enormous amounts of useful knowledge and skills. And weapons. And ammunition. And the knowledge and willingness to do whatever it takes.
New friends are always welcome, as long as they work to fit in and not to change the locals.
Yeah we have a rural bug out location just in case
I've also got an off-grid setup with 2 cabins, and by next year you could be self-sufficient there. At least for a few years. 80A of woods inside about 4000A of even more woods.
You gotta have a plan.
👍