The General Thread

  • Want to keep track of this thread?
    Accounts can bookmark posts, watch threads for updates, and jump back to where you stopped reading.
    Create account
Fialovy said:
If we are talking about instruments ummmmmm... I play the flute

So does my girlfriend. :tomgirl:

Speaking of playing flutes... my girlfriend may be pregnant. That's my news for today. There may be a little devil in the works. :heart-full:
 
But no... not skin (and not a piccolo)... just a... silver flute... oh my, what did I start?
 
Fialovy said:
But no... not skin (and not a piccolo)... just a... silver flute... oh my, what did I start?

Beware.
 
Fialovy said:
I'd take it as a compliment
It's completely out of left field though, considering he's called her "A Mexican border-jumper with big Joker lips."
...
I think you can see why I don't like my brother.
 
my boo Jon Lovitz did a reddit ask me anything tonight, and he replied to two of my posts <3

tumblr_mw8dwfUkdK1qzeoeoo1_500.png


tumblr_mw8bacvYRw1qzeoeoo1_1280.png
 
Remember when I went on about posting on a Power Rangers forum about Megaforce being unintentionally sexist? Turns out that made the forums facebook page and got on Tumblr... whoops. Think I identified the asshole who protects this season by ignoring all criticism and there were a few people who understood what I was trying to say about chivalry and chauvinism. Never have been called a Marxist Feminist before and looking at the definitions I can find, I'm not sure whoever it is knows what it means.
 
Kamen Rider Black said:
Remember when I went on about posting on a Power Rangers forum about Megaforce being unintentionally sexist? Turns out that made the forums facebook page and got on Tumblr... whoops. Think I identified the asshole who protects this season by ignoring all criticism and there were a few people who understood what I was trying to say about chivalry and chauvinism. Never have been called a Marxist Feminist before.
Power rangers is sexist? O.o
 
Dr. Cuddlebug said:
Kamen Rider Black said:
Remember when I went on about posting on a Power Rangers forum about Megaforce being unintentionally sexist? Turns out that made the forums facebook page and got on Tumblr... whoops. Think I identified the asshole who protects this season by ignoring all criticism and there were a few people who understood what I was trying to say about chivalry and chauvinism. Never have been called a Marxist Feminist before.
Power rangers is sexist? O.o
I was arguing more that this season is promoting traditional gender roles and trying to champion the girlier pink ranger.
*The yellow ranger's "development" has been limited to allowing herself to be seen as girly, stop leading the team into fights and begin accepting the advances of the black ranger whereas the more feminine pink ranger is viewed as perfect and never called out on her shit (baking a pie instead of pursuing a monster with the rest of the team, for example). Pinkie is a preachy Mary Sue.
*I've also noticed the unmorphed scenes seem to split the team into boys and girls constantly (boys play soccer, girls talk about nature and talk about how the team has come together like a family) lately where it reached a climax where the boys talked about the new threat at their table...while the girls went "this ice cream is so yummy" at the counter.
*Then there was this one comment about chivalry that came off as somewhat chauvinistic because of the circumstances.
*The big "Girl Power" moment of the season only happened because the girls were affected differently by a monsters venom than the boys were. Removing the males from the narrative undermines the message.
*Then there was a monster who made a sexist comment. I think it sends enough of a message that the girls are fighting the monsters without calling atittention to their genders like that. No writer would dare commit the suicide that is calling attention to a ranger's race comparatively, like a monster who making a racist comment.

The reason I got concerned about this is because someday a parent is going to see this crap. Gender roles are changing in North American society and what was fair for it's day is offensive in a modern setting. Imagine the TV dad from the 50's. He would have been considered a positive role model back in those day but in modern society he would be seen as a sexist pig.

And when the "this show is sexist" shitstorm does happen, given Nickelodeon's (the main station that it airs on) current lack of support (one showing a week, 20 episode season mandate, not doing hardly any promos), how the franchise might be seen as toxic because Disney dropped it, and how ratings drop every time Nick puts it on hiatus, Power Rangers will finally die. The sad part is any dignity it had as a series will be long gone, kinda like the Simpsons.

The franchise has been around for 20 years now and since Saban got the rights back from Disney, it's like they are attempting to recreate the cultural phenomenon that was season 1. We have had remixes for Go Go Power Rangers as the main theme since Saban's return, Bulk was back along side Skull's son, the Megaforce rangers are supposed to be a modern day version of the Mighty Morphin' Rangers (without any of the charisma), the made a modern Ernie and a mentor that was Zordon's student.

Samurai came under scrutiny amongst the fans because the female rangers were walking feminine stereotypes and the female red ranger handed leadership back to her brother. Samurai was, in the words of fans, a dumbed-down copy of it's sentai source material. The writers acted more like translators. The problem lies with how the Japanese view women. They are a more class-based, patriarchal society while America is a more post-feminist society. Americans expect to be treated like equals and are encouraged to embrace individuality, which is somewhat opposite to how the Japanese are brought up.

Megaforce becomes a problem because of how the writers had to make shitty original content. When the show tries to shoehorn in how boys and girls are "supposed" to act, it helps further stereotypes. Boys are expected to like A,B,C and act like D and E. Girls are expected to be X,Y,Z and act V and W. It's a more systematic sexism and can potentially lead to bullying children who act different.

Power Rangers is targeted towards children, that is true, but there are plenty of kid's shows with adult fanbases. I'm not just talking about bronies, but Transformers, Robotech, Powerpuff Girls, Kim Possible, The Tick, the DC animated universe, Scooby Doo. Those shows knew how to write at a level that would entertain children while also entertaining adults. While there is a nostalgic element in the PR fandom, we also saw seasons that could entertain us as adults. If you think all Power Rangers is kiddy, I would recommend watching the first episode of RPM where they establish a computer virus took over humanities machines, wiped out most of the population with the survivors living solely in a domed city surrounded by a desert. There is also a hint of radioactive fallout. Basically, Rangers (including a cyborg that is slowly being taken over by the virus) vs. Skynet.

One thing actually bother me. In all the promotional stuff for selling Megaforce to TV stations, they mention it's the most popular show amongst boys aged 2-11.
normal_brandsheet-back.jpg

That fucking lie aside, the producers didn't want to make the Gokaiger adaptation close to the source material. Gokaiger is pirate-based and they appearently were afraid the franchise would come across as too much of a boy's show. I repeat, they had the golden fucking ticket of Space Pirate Rangers fighting a space empire with access to the powers of every past team and they dropped it because they were afraid it wouldn't appeal to girls.
You may be wondering why Power Rangers Megaforce used Goseiger rather than Gokaiger, which was an ideal season based on the successful execution of the anniversary concepts. I wasn’t able to get a solid answer for this question. They believed that Gokaiger’s pirate theme was more focused for boys (rather than boys and girls) and the concepts of stealing and plundering were too hardcore for a young audience.
http://blog.samuraicast.com/rangercrew-interview-with-saban-brands-about-power-rangers-megaforce/

Now, I know they are contractually obligated not to skip a Super Sentai series, but this is dumb beyond all belief. The Megazord is made out of a pirate ship. The pirate powers are being treated as a power-up to the boring current team instead. And you know they will never comment on the skull and crossbones. It will just be there...but they're not pirates.
Sentai2350.jpg
 
Yeah, I dunno, I mean, isn't there a show for kids on called Neverland Pirates where the main character is a pirate? I have a hard time believeing that was the case because it seems like a lot of kids go through a pirate phase.
 
are you guys forgetting this?

[youtube]SLMJpHihykI[/youtube]
 
Patchy_The_Pirate3.jpg


Think it had to do with what pirates actually arrrrg. PR has used Space Pirates as bad guys before, so a team based around them might send the wrong message. Pirates steal, pirates attack innocents IRL and Saban doesn't want to romanticize such people. Since they reacquired the license Saban has strove to make Power Rangers a beacon of good morals for young children. People who watch the sentai note that all conflicts within the team are removed (in the case of Shinkenger to Samurai) in addition to being more preaching and patronizing to children. Think Captain Planet...only less arguments amongst the team and more blunt with it's morals. FFS, they turned the death of an enemy general into an anti-bullying message. They called him a bully without any sense of irony and think it's good writing.

Yes, it is fucking preachier than ever before. Like a brick to the face.

Anyone else think that it sounds wrong they won't do a pirate theme partially because they think it's more a boys thing? Like girls wouldn't be interested because it's supposed too boyish? Too quote that interview summary again "They believed that Gokaiger’s pirate theme was more focused for boys (rather than boys and girls)." Think this can help count as proof of it supporting gender roles?
 
Just got back from a wedding.
 
Oh yeah, right, I forgot about Divatox and the gang in Turbo (even though it was one of the series I orginally watched as a kid) being space pirates, I didn't think they'd care much about continuity in that sense as it was already established Space Pirates are bad. Though, it seems like there seems to be good pirates and bad pirates in children's media, usually the good ones are like freedom fighters and stuff. Heh, wait, I see what you mean now... They don't want kids growing up to be hacktivists or anything. There are always privateers though, of course, Saban probably thinks kids are too stupid to know or want to look it up and learn about them (which any boy on his pirate phase would love to hear about). That's Post-Disney Saban for you.

FYI, based on what I have seen from my little cousins Neverland pirates constantly has Captain Hook and his gang always up to no good against them and the main characters are pirates.

but yeah, it's definitely supporting gender roles... You see that a lot in children's merchandise and it seems like nowadays Power Rangers is just a 30 minute commercial.

Another good example of pirates in children's media:

[youtube]XaWU1CmrJNc[/youtube]
 
I wonder if we will EVER see another PR like Time force where the Pink Ranger was the toughest one, and basically the leader of the team? If anyone thinks that all the Power Rangers shows are as mind numbing as the last couple series, they should really check out Spd, or Time Force, or RPM, Lost Galaxy, etc. I think with the new series they are trying to do like a throw back to MMPR, but when the franchise was owned by Disney there was already a good throw back to MMPR, Dinothunder, and that one was loads better then Samurai and Megaforce.
 
Picklepower said:
I wonder if we will EVER see another PR like Time force where the Pink Ranger was the toughest one, and basically the leader of the team? If anyone thinks that all the Power Rangers shows are as mind numbing as the last couple series, they should really check out Spd, or Time Force, or RPM, Lost Galaxy, etc. I think with the new series they are trying to do like a throw back to MMPR, but when the franchise was owned by Disney there was already a good throw back to MMPR, Dinothunder, and that one was loads better then Samurai and Megaforce.
As a kid. Dinothunder was the absolute shit in my neighborhood. Everyone around me hated Ninja storm and loved Dinothunder.
 
Back
Top Bottom