Thursday, February 24, 2011

Avery gets his answer

Around 2000, IBM began a series of commercials starring Avery Brooks. I was reminded of this one yesterday:


..because, 11 years later, XCDK gave Avery his answer:


Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Monday, February 14, 2011

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

MovieBob and Magneto

"Magneto was right"




I really liked the character of Magneto in X-Men 1 and 2. The character had a point and a purpose and an inner consistency. He wasn't "evil" any more than most of us are, he simply framed things differently than Xavier and acted based on his own values.

It's like this: The power goes out in my neighborhood and some people think "candle light block party" while others lock the doors in case there's looting and riots. Neither option is totally far out, it just depends on how you see the world.

Coming back to Bob. I got picked on in school. Most of the people I associated with got picked on too. Depending on the day and context, it was because I was a band geek, or a theater dweeb, or a fashion train wreck, or socially inept, or somehow being "an easy target".

At least, that's what I've always assumed. I since it was me getting picked on and not me picking on them, I assumed there was a flaw in me that invited the abuse.

But I think MovieBob is truly onto something, and not just because he's using comic book characters as his foil.

My favorite point:
Bullies pick on us NOT because "we're different" (MovieBob says "I can attest that they came in all shapes and sizes. A veritable rainbow coalition of torment.").

NO, the thing we all suspect deep down is that it's not that we're different, we're BETTER.

Bob uses images from Revenge of the Nerds in his discussion, and that might be the most accurate. The narrative of the geeks realizing their own self worth and playing to their strengths may be a fantasy, but it's definitely a satisfying one as well as one that is actually playing out in reality with more and more frequency.