"You don't think it'll happen to your child...until it does. Chris was a really great kid. Ask anyone who knew him. His death has left our family...lost and broken. Why did Chris die? Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA. They talk about gun rights. What about Chris' right to live? When will this insanity stop? When will enough people say...STOP THIS MADNESS. WE DON'T HAVE TO LIVE LIKE THIS. TOO MANY HAVE DIED. We should say to ourselves...NOT ONE MORE."
Those were the emotional, gut-wrenching and heartbreaking sentiments of a grieving Richard Martinez - the father of 20-year old
Christopher Ross Michaels-Martinez of Los Osos, California and a student at the University of California, Santa Barbara...who was shot and killed in a Goleta, California deli mart on Friday night, May 23rd, 2014 by
22-year old, Elliot Rodger, a student at Santa Barbara City College...who went on a rampage because - as he described in a YouTube video - it was his "Day of Retribution" and that he would have his "revenge against humanity" for his loneliness and sexual frustration. Rodger stated in the video and in a 141-page manifesto titled, My Twisted World: The Story Of Elliot Rodger, "I take great pleasure in slaughtering all of you. You will finally see that I am...in truth...the superior one - the true alpha male. Yes, after I have annihilated every single girl in the sorority house, I'll take to the streets of Isla Vista and slay every single person I see there. All those popular kids who live such lives of hedonistic pleasure...while I've had to rot in loneliness all these years. They all look down upon me every time I tried to join them. They've all treated me like a mouse. Being lonely in a beautiful place like Santa Barbara is truly a horrible experience. As I've said many times...a beautiful environment can be the darkest hell...if you have to experience it all alone - especially while having to watch other men walking around with their girlfriends. I wish girls were attracted to me. I don't know why they aren't. If only one pretty girl had shown some form of attraction to me, the Day of Retribution would never happen. You forced me to suffer all my life...and now I'll make you all suffer."
Rodger's manifesto outlined his plans for the chilling murders he committed last Friday night, and he had reportedly e-mailed his writings to his parents...minutes before the killings began. He stated, "If (the police) had demanded to search my room (on April 30th)...that would have ended everything. I had the striking and devastating fear that someone had somehow discovered what I was planning to do, and reported me for it. If that was the case, the police would have searched my room, found all of my guns and weapons, along with my writings about what I plan to do with them. I would have been thrown in jail, denied of the chance to exact revenge on my enemies. I can't imagine a hell darker than that. For a few horrible seconds, I thought it was all over. When they left, the biggest wave of relief swept over me."
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department says Rodger was "severely mentally disturbed" and that the mayhem was the work of a "madman." You think?
How many times do law enforcement officials...plus journalists and anyone else for that matter...need to use the words..."madman"...before our national, state and local officials...put their feet down HARD...to get rid of the guns - ALL GUNS...ALL FIREARMS...OF ALL KINDS - in the United States?
Chris Michaels-Martinez - an English major who had planned to attend law school after graduating from UCSB - was the last of 6 UCSB students who were murdered by Rodger...after Rodger repeatedly stabbed...3 male victims - his two roommates and another man - who were found dead in Rodger's apartment following a random shooting spree near the campus of UCSB and through the towns of Isla Vista and Goleta, California. Two female students were shot and killed outside the Alpha Phi sorority house when Rodger was denied entrance in to the house. He then went to the deli in Goleta...killed Chris Michaels-Martinez...and then drove throughout the area...shooting from his car window...thus injuring 13 others. Police report that as they were closing in on Rodger...a gun battle ensued...and Rodger finally came to a stop after his car collided with some parked vehicles. Police say they believe Rodger took his own life...as he was found dead with an apparent gun shot to his head.
Authorities in Santa Barbara County say Rodger had three semi-automatic hand guns; all of which were purchased legally and registered in his name...along with 400 rounds of ammunition.
Appearing on the CBS News broadcast, Face The Nation on Sunday, May 25th, 2014...Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown confirmed that deputies from the Sheriff's Department visited Elliot Rodger on Wednesday, April 30th, as a result of concerns by one of Rodger's relatives. But Sheriff Brown says his deputies found Rodger - at that time - to be "quiet and timid...polite and courteous" and that "(Rodger) was able to convince the deputies that this was all a misunderstanding" and that "he wasn't going to hurt himself or anyone else." Sheriff Brown says, "(Rodger) just didn't meet the criteria for any further intervention at that point."
First of all...that criteria needs to be revised. As the title of this commentary clearly spells out...POLICE NEED TO INVESTIGATE MORE CAREFULLY AND WITH MORE DETAIL WHEN SUSPECTING A PERSON WHO MAY BE A THREAT TO OTHER PEOPLE. Secondly...when the relatives contacted a social worker on April 30th...which led to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department to Rodger's apartment...where were those relatives? Where were Elliot Rodger's parents? They don't live across the country. They weren't three-thousand miles away. They were less than 100 miles away in Los Angeles. Why didn't someone in Rodger's family go to see this kid...with the police...with a social worker...with a mental health professional...and with a medical doctor? Deputies are not educated and trained to recognize or understand when a person is mentally in danger of hurting himself or others. Why didn't the police and a number of other people...including psychiatric experts...go in to Rodger's apartment to talk with him? Sure...law enforcement agencies need a warrant...but parents don't. After all...a spokesman for Elliot Rodger's family has stated that the 22-year old had been in therapy since childhood. Rodger had been diagnosed with a form of autism and he refused to take the prescription medication that doctors recommended for him. The YouTube videos, which relatives had seen, were filled with anger. THESE KILLINGS COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED!
In all...reports document that law enforcement officers made three contacts with Rodger over the past ten months. But he was never considered a threat. How was that possible? How could that be?
I'm finally saying something today that I have avoided writing or talking about my entire life. BUT NO MORE. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution needs to be changed. Oh I know that a good many of you are going to bash me...crush me...and chop me up in to little pieces with your opposition...but guns of all shapes...sizes... calibers...and designs...need to be removed from the streets of America...from the houses of our communities...and from the hands of all people who live in or visit our nation. Guns are bad. Plain and simple. It's 2014 and there is no place for guns in the United States of America.
Of course I realize...that the mere suggestion that revising - or perhaps even trashing - the Second Amendment...is unrealistic and not at all possible. But something has to be done in this country...to prevent the lunacy that has been too frequent...with the senseless death of so many innocent people... because guns have been in the hands of sick, troubled, mentally disturbed and certifiable individuals.
I've always supported our nation's Constitution...but now...as I once again see the carnage...where 6 sinless souls were killed and 13 others were wounded by a deranged and psychotic psychopath...then I must come to the conclusion that we must somehow...some way...free our nation...and cleanse our country... from the arsenal of guns...that poison those who in no way deserve to be slaughtered.
It is truly a shame...that those Americans...who clearly have every right - according to the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution...as it is written - to own a gun...should - as far as I'm concerned - forfeit that right...and totally give up that right...to bear arms. But I believe it's the only way to stop the killings...the mass murders...and the horrific slayings...of innocent people. And if by taking away the guns...from all people - both good and bad - will end the bloodshed and massacres...by the bad people...then it must be done.
When our forefathers penned the Bill of Rights and the entire Constitution more than two centuries ago...it was a different world...a different time. People needed to protect themselves, their loved ones and their homes...and guns were perhaps a necessity. One hundred years later... cowboys of the so-called "wild west"...wore guns on their person...and lived in an era that was directly out of an episode of Gunsmoke...or Bonanza...or The Rifleman. We don't live that way today. Instead of everybody carrying a revolver, pistol, rifle, shotgun or sidearm of any kind...only "some" do. Unfortunately, many of the "some" - who own guns - are sickies. Others in that "some" group...are law abiding citizens...who for one reason or another...have the desire...and feel the need...to own...and/or to carry a gun. And although I respect the fact that most of those individuals are decent human beings...who obey the laws of our land...and who own their guns for personal protection...for the hunting of animals during seasons where such a sporting event is permitted...and for other legal purposes...it's time for me to finally say...that it would be best... for all guns in our country...to be illegal. After all...as I stated in an earlier commentary...if our forefathers had a crystal ball in 1787...so they could look in to the future...and be fully aware of what guns would do in the 20th and 21st centuries...a Second Amendment - as it is - would never have been written.
Throughout this Memorial Day week...when we honor the brave men and women of our Armed Forces - those in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, National Guard and Navy - those who proudly serve today...plus veterans of yesteryear who we salute...and those military heroes who we pay tribute to... who have fallen as a result of the numerous wars fought throughout America's history...we must also recognize those individuals whose lives have been taken senselessly...because of the insanity of - yes, I will use that word again - a "madman." Throughout this Memorial Day week...we need to acknowledge, celebrate, revere and praise those lives that have been lost...in wars...by the irrational behavior of a gunman...as well as those people who have died as a result of terrorism and other atrocious acts... including the courageous police officers and firefighters who help to keep us safe 365 days of every year...in every city, town and village...all across the U.S.A.
Thousands of harmless adults...teenagers...and even little children...have had their lives terminated - way too soon - not because they were fighting for our country's freedom...or not because they were helping to save the lives of people in a faraway land...but because they were merely hanging out in their homes...or learning how to read, write, spell, add and subtract in their school classrooms...or they were being entertained in a movie theatre...or eating a meal in a restaurant...or standing on a street corner...or because they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
As Richard Martinez said..."When will this insanity stop?" For 15 years...beginning with Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999...to Virginia Tech in 2007...to Fort Hood Army Base in Texas in 2009...to the Aurora, Colorado movie theatre in 2012...to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012...and dozens more in between...there have been mass shootings, which have killed hundreds of innocent people.
After Sandy Hook...the United States Congress seemed to be on a fast-track to pass a law that would ban certain weapons and that would include universal background checks before firearms are purchased. But despite the fact that - according to a Washington Post survey - 90 percent of Americans support universal background checks...Congress failed us...so the guns remain...and dangerous people are still buying them. Even when one of their own - former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords - was shot in the head outside a grocery store in a Tucson suburb...the House of Representatives and the Senate still did nothing. On that January day in 2011...a gunman killed 6 people and a total of 19 were injured.
Guns are evil. They do nothing but harm, hurt and define violence. There are those of you who are going to chastise me and possibly even despise me for many of my comments today...but I don't care. Oh I know you'll defend your right to own guns...so you can use them for sport...or so you can protect yourself or your family if your home is invaded by an uninvited, unwanted individual. And you have that right. And I used to agree with that right. But now...it's gotten to the point where too many people have died...when they shouldn't have.
I recently observed a young man in his twenties...clean shaven...with relatively short hair...dressed like any other twenty-something person - in jeans and a t-shirt - who was shopping in a supermarket...but who holstered a pistol on his belt. Curious, as I am, I asked him why he felt it was necessary for him to have an open-carry permit. The man replied that he owns and carries a gun because it makes him..."look cool." I was amazed by his response...but that is exactly what he said.
Guns are not cool. And if all the guns were gone...there would be no reason for anyone - even law abiding citizens - to have them.
The question now is...could what happened near Santa Barbara last Friday night happen again by another "mentally disturbed" individual...by another... "madman?" The answer, of course...is unfortunately...yes. The next question is...how do we stop it...before it does?
America...and Americans...need to be safer. So all guns need to go away...before the lives of more and more innocent people...are taken away.
And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
The Controversy is a publication
of GBD Productions. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B.
Duglin.
The
Controversy will make an effort to publish a new commentary every Sunday.
Unscheduled essays may appear, from time to time, on other days as
well.
Please post
The Controversy site on your own Facebook pages and on your Twitter accounts;
and please pass a link to everyone in your e-mail directories.
Now, please express your opinions in
the comment box below. You do not have to register your name and you can remain
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the editorial above and on any other commentary or essay written on this blog.
Just click on the word "Comments" below and write your thoughts in the box that
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Copyright 2014 Gary B. Duglin and
TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
Zip it. Zip it. Zip it.
Someone needs to tell Los Angeles Clippers owner, Donald Sterling to keep his big, fat mouth shut...and to keep it zipped up.
I'll be honest - there are words I would like to use to describe Sterling, as I think anyone who is a racist...is scum. But it's not worth my time to "name-call"...and to articulate the language that I feel inside myself...when I
listen to the audio conversation with Sterling's former mistress, V. Stiviano - made known to the world, in part, by TMZ on Friday, April 25th, 2014....and in its entirety on Sunday, April 27th, by Deadspin...and when I watch Sterling verbalize the
disgusting remarks he made to Anderson Cooper on his CNN program, Anderson Cooper 360.
Sterling needs to not say another word about "not (being) a racist." If Donald Sterling is not a racist...then pigs can fly.
This man nauseates me. Sterling is one of the most despicable creatures to walk the face of the Earth...and he needs to go back to wherever he came from; that is, from some far away planet in some other galaxy. He is a disgrace - pure and simple.
Unless you've been living in a cave this past week...you know that in an interview that aired Monday, May 12th on CNN...Anderson Cooper brilliantly let Donald Sterling tie the rope around his neck - tighter and tighter - as Sterling continued to prove without any question - without the shadow of a doubt - that he is indeed a racist.
"I'm not a racist. And I've never been a racist...and I'll never be a racist," Sterling insisted, as he continued to make racist remarks - especially about former Los Angeles Lakers superstar, Magic Johnson. "What has he done? Can you tell me? Big Magic Johnson. What has he done? He's got AIDS."
Again...it's taking every ounce of my intellectual strength to keep from calling Sterling every name under the sun...but instead, I will merely say that Sterling needs to know the facts about someone before he makes any insulting and incorrect comments about them. The truth is...Magic Johnson doesn't have AIDS and never has. Johnson was diagnosed in 1991 with HIV...the disease that can cause AIDS.
Anderson Cooper was superb as he let Sterling cook his own goose over and over and over again - by blaming the media...by telling Anderson that he has "more of a plantation mentality" than Sterling does...and by accusing Anderson of being "more of a racist" than Sterling is. If Sterling truly believes that...then he also must believe in leprechauns and elves.
Anderson calmly replied to Sterling's comment noted above by asking... "How so?" Sterling remarked that "The players don't hate me. The sponsors don't hate me."
Donald Sterling is delusional to think - as he definitively told Anderson Cooper - that the Los Angeles Clippers players..."love him."
Anderson let Sterling bury himself in to a deeper and deeper hole. I'm sure it was difficult for AC to hold his tongue, but his professionalism - as one of America's leading journalists - ruled, so kudos to Anderson, as he listened to the NBA team owner go on to criticize and bash Magic Johnson after AC corrected Sterling about Johnson not having AIDS. "Did he help anybody in South L.A.? What kind of a guy goes to every city...has sex with every girl... then he catches HIV? Is that someone we want to respect and tell our kids about? I think he should be ashamed of himself. I think he should go in to the background. But what does he do for the black people? He doesn't do anything. He does nothing. It's all talk."
The legend that is Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Jr. is a philanthropist whose generosity is beyond spectacular. Johnson is one of the NBA's most beloved figures who has reportedly donated millions...if not tens of millions of dollars to charities. Johnson has also been involved in the fundraising and investment of hundreds of millions of dollars to help the poor. His charitable contributions - with his money and his time - are beyond "magical." Johnson's magnanimous achievements - especially with low-income, minority communities across America are extraordinary and outstanding. He's provided an impressively, prodigious amount of money to minority education programs...and Johnson's efforts have created an overwhelming number of jobs for people living in inner-city neighborhoods.
If Sterling's conversation with Anderson Cooper was supposed to be his damage control interview - to prove that he is "not a racist"...then I have to wonder how the 80-year old lawyer and business magnate made billions of dollars throughout his life. He cannot be that smart. And someone who is worth the amount of money that Sterling reportedly is...needs to have some intelligence. That being said...nobody in his right mind could say the things Sterling said about Magic Johnson...and still consider himself to not be a racist.
What was intended to be an apology...for the extremely hurtful words Sterling expressed in the conversation with Stiviano...backfired. As Sterling continued to slam Magic Johnson in the interview with Anderson Cooper... where were the advisers who reportedly work for Sterling? Why didn't anyone interrupt the interview and suggest to Sterling that he was getting himself in to bigger and bigger trouble with his comments about Johnson? Who knows? Maybe Sterling's own entourage realizes that he's a racist and they wanted to see him destruct even more on an international television program.
At some point in the bizarre interview on AC360...Sterling did apologize emotionally and tearfully. "I can't explain some of the stupid, foolish, uneducated words that I uttered. I'm the guilty one for uttering those terrible, ugly words that I don't mean. I made such a mistake. I made a terrible, terrible mistake. And I'm here with you today to apologize and to ask for forgiveness...for all the people that I've hurt."
As a result of that "mistake"...in a press conference on Tuesday, April 29th...the Commissioner of the National Basketball Association, Adam Silver stated that "Effective immediately...I am banning Mr. Sterling...for life...from any association with the Clippers organization or the NBA. As for Mr. Sterling's ownership interest in the Clippers...I will urge the Board of Governors to exercise its authority... to force a sale of the team. And I will do everything in my power...to ensure that that happens." Silver reportedly is trying to persuade the 29 other NBA owners to vote that Sterling sell the Clippers. According to NBA rules, if three-quarters agree with Silver then Sterling will have to sell the team. Silver also announced that Sterling was fined 2.5 million dollars - money that...if received...will be given to charity.
Applause, applause, applause to Commissioner Silver. You did what was right. Bra-vo!
Back to the interview with Anderson Cooper...Donald Sterling's comments about Magic Johnson are totally inexcusable. But then...everything Sterling has stated when it comes to his views about Johnson and the entire African-American race is inexcusable.
On Tuesday, May 13th...a day after Donald Sterling appeared on CNN's AC360...Anderson Cooper sat down with Magic Johnson...who noted that "It's a shame that (Sterling) doesn't know what he's talking about." Johnson defended himself and was disturbed that Sterling "disrespect(ed)" him and "the work that I've done in the minority community." Johnson said, "That really makes me upset"...and stated that Sterling is "living in the Stone Ages."
Sterling blasted Magic Johnson in that now infamous audio recording... when Sterling was irate...after he had seen a photograph of Johnson with V. Stiviano. Sterling had told Stiviano not to bring Johnson or any "black people" to Clippers games.
The deadline passed last week for Sterling to pay his fine of 2.5 million dollars, which the Clippers owner says he will not pay. According to Sports Illustrated on Thursday, May 15th...Sterling hired a high-profile attorney who sent a letter to NBA officials stating, "We reject your demand for payment." Sports Illustrated says Sterling's lawyer is claiming anti-trust violations and that his client's "due process rights" were violated. Sports Illustrated also reports that Sterling will file a lawsuit against the NBA if his lifetime ban is not lifted and if the NBA refuses to stop calling for the fine to be paid.
Anybody who thought Donald Sterling would not dispute the NBA commissioner's ruling was not being realistic. After all...Sterling's a billionaire...and I doubt that he's going to give up without a fight. How can anyone think that he would sit back and do diddly-squat?
We've seen what money can do. There are many people who believe that O.J. Simpson got away with murder by having famed attorney, the late Johnnie Cochran - and arguably the best legal team ever to defend in a trial - as Simpson's lawyers. Donald Sterling may end up winning his case...or a compromise of some form may be reached. But if so...in the long run...Sterling's going to lose. Oh I don't think the Clippers players will stop coming to the basketball courts. They want to be paid their gigantic salaries. As for the fans...most of them will continue to come see their favorite athletes play. But it's the sponsors who will end their advertising of the Clippers if Sterling remains connected in any way to the team. Those companies don't want to be harmed nationally...and there are a lot of other areas where major advertisers can spend their money.
As we all know...the United States Constitution gives all Americans "freedom of speech." And as sickening and as repulsive were the comments made by Donald Sterling...and whether he is sorry for his detestable words... and remorseful for speaking such vulgarities...he expressed - at least at the time - his personal opinions. And it just may be up to a court of law - perhaps the U.S. Supreme Court - to decide whether what Sterling said was against the NBA Constitution.
There have been many people - celebrities and others - who have lost their jobs for making racist remarks...and they've not received a penny when being terminated by their employers. Donald Sterling should pay his fine - a drop in the bucket - then sell the Los Angeles Clippers...take his money...and fade in to the darkness. Otherwise...he risks a court battle...and a decision by a judge or justices. And Sterling may end up losing even more - including the millions of dollars he would be paying to his lawyers.
Donald Sterling is completely, totally and clearly out of his mind...and he needs to stay away from the cameras...away from the microphones...away from the NBA...and away from the public...so nobody else has to hear the raunch of his repugnant rant.
After part of Donald Sterling's conversation with V. Stiviano was broadcast around the world by TMZ...the distinguished NBA forward, LeBron James of the Miami Heat declared..."There's no place for Donald Sterling in our league." LeBron...more than that...there's no place for racism...anywhere...in the United States of America.
And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
The Controversy is a publication
of GBD Productions. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B.
Duglin.
The
Controversy will make an effort to publish a new commentary every Sunday.
Unscheduled essays may appear, from time to time, on other days as
well.
Please post
The Controversy site on your own Facebook pages and on your Twitter accounts;
and please pass a link to everyone in your e-mail directories.
Now, please express your opinions in
the comment box below. You do not have to register your name and you can remain
totally anonymous if you prefer. The Controversy wants to know your views on
the editorial above and on any other commentary or essay written on this blog.
Just click on the word "Comments" below and write your thoughts in the box that
appears. Make sure please that when you finish your statement that you click on
the word "Publish." Thank you for your thoughts and thank you for reading The
Controversy.
Copyright 2014 Gary B. Duglin and
TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
This is my 100th commentary since I began publishing The Controversy on November 22nd, 2012. It's a special milestone for my blog...and so, instead of writing about a political or social issue...I decided to concentrate on something less heavy - pop culture and entertainment. That being said...in my column today...I will still talk about a topic that promises to be very controversial.
Hate is a strong word. And I don't use it about people. But I have to quote the late, great motion picture critic, Roger Ebert who wrote the following..."I hated this movie. Hated, hated, hated, hated, hated this movie. Hated it." Ebert used those words when he commented about the 1994 film, North...starring Bruce Willis and Elijah Wood.
I am not reviewing North, but Man Of Steel - the Zack Snyder flick from last year - which was billed to be the "new" Superman. I recently saw Man Of Steel on a rented DVD...and it is by far the worst movie of 2013. I hated this movie. Hated, hated, hated, hated, hated this movie. Hated it."
As a child - and in to my early teenage years - television's Adventures Of Superman...starring the incomparable George Reeves...was my favorite show. It was in syndication during the sixties...when I glued myself in front of the television set...to focus my attention on the "Man Of Steel" and his friends from Metropolis...every afternoon at 5 o'clock. To this day...I can still watch episodes of the classic Superman series - which I have recorded on VHS video tapes - and I continue to love, love, love, love, love these shows. Love them.
If asked...40 to 50 years ago...I could practically recite dialogue from those old programs. And surprisingly...I probably could do much of the same
today.
George Reeves as Superman/Clark Kent...Noel Neill (not Phyllis Coates) as Lois Lane...Jack Larson as Jimmy Olsen...John Hamilton as Daily Planet editor-in-chief, Perry White...and Robert Shayne as Metropolis Police Inspector Bill Henderson...made the best Superman cast ever.
I wish that MeTV - the cable network that presents "Memorable Entertainment Television" - would add the 104 episodes from the 1952 to 1958 Superman series...to their already superb line-up of classic TV shows. There isn't a day that goes by... that I don't watch one of the masterpieces from television's past...that MeTV has brought back for "me" and many millions of others to enjoy. I encourage you to check out the MeTV programming schedule at www.metvnetwork.com. And if you grew up during my generation - or you are older - and you lived throughout the fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties...I guarantee you that MeTV will quickly become a daily staple in your television watching diet that will satisfy your hunger for great law enforcement dramas, westerns, sitcoms and overall family viewing. And if you're a young adult, teen or kid of today... you should change the channel to MeTV...and like "me"...you'll love, love, love, love, love it.
Now...back to Superman and the film fiasco...Man Of Steel.
In Superman - the first of the four Superman movies, which starred the extraordinary Christopher Reeve...Superman saves Lois Lane - played by Margot Kidder - from falling from a crashed helicopter. Lois asks..."Who are you?" And Superman replies..."A friend."
But for some reason...Man Of Steel's screenwriter, David S. Goyer...and director, Zack Snyder...wants audiences to ask if Superman is a good guy or a bad guy. Is Superman our friend...or is he our foe? Those are questions that should never, never, never be asked when thinking of Superman. Superman is to always be our friend.
In Superman II - where Christopher Reeve wore the cape and tights for a second time...the film ends with Superman defeating General Zod and his two Kryptonian criminal sidekicks. But Superman does not physically kill the trio. Superman movies and television shows should not promote endless violence... but Man Of Steel does just that. It's a cinematic super slugfest. In Man Of Steel...Superman and Zod pummel each other until Superman finally crushes Zod to death with his bare hands. What were Man Of Steel screenwriter, Goyer and director Snyder trying to prove? Don't they know that Superman isn't supposed to kill anybody - not even someone as horribly evil as Zod. In no other Superman movie or TV show has that happened...and it shouldn't have happened in Man Of Steel. It was disturbing to see. Superman is not ever to be a killer.
Director Snyder seems to be completely consumed with special effects. Oh I understand that dazzling the viewers' eyes with computer-generated visual imagery is important to do for a filmmaker...but a motion picture production... with a budget that exceeds millions and millions of dollars to showcase the glitz and flashy action...but that lacks a story that touches the moviegoers' minds and hearts...makes for a very bad movie. Man Of Steel is a very bad movie.
And where is Clark Kent in Man Of Steel? In the main title of the George Reeves...fifties television series, Adventures Of Superman...the announcer - as part of that opening sequence - says..."And who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper"...yet Clark Kent hardly appears in Man Of Steel. Superman's secret identity is virtually absent throughout most of Man Of Steel.
As for the actors in Man Of Steel...I won't even comment about them... because the entire film is miscast. Bring back Brandon Routh. When Routh starred in the 2006 blockbuster, Superman Returns...the movie earned about 400 million dollars...making it one of the highest grossing films of all time. But Warner Bros. shockingly scrubbed a sequel with Routh; someone who was as near perfect in the roles of Superman and Clark Kent as were George Reeves and Christopher Reeve. Yet the studio decided to make a change - not only with the actor playing the part - but with the entire concept of Superman.
The images to remember from a Superman motion picture should include the vivid colors...along with the trademark theme music by legendary, Oscar-winning composer, John Williams. Williams' music is terribly missed in Man Of Steel...as are the lively, red and blue colors of Superman's costume. Henry Cavill's Superman outfit is way too dark. But then...Man Of Steel is way too dark...way too ugly. The sets are dark...the lighting is dark... the story itself is dark. Superman - as a character...and as a movie - needs to be light and bright.
When I think of Superman movies and TV episodes...there are, of course, dramatic
and action-packed storylines with tense, nerve-racking moments for
Superman himself...for Lois, Jimmy, Perry and others. But Superman on
the big screen...or on the little screen - at numerous points throughout the productions - gives smiles to the audience. In Man Of Steel...there are no smiles. There are no big grins...no laughs...no chuckles. Man Of Steel
provides no fun...no happiness...no joy...and no good humor
whatsoever. Plus...where's the romance? Whether it's merely a hint of
flirting or downright true love between Superman and Lois...or whether
there's enchantment and passion among other characters...Superman
movies...television shows...and the comic books that started it all when the character was created in 1933 by then high school students Jerry Siegel - the writer - and Joe Shuster - the artist... always brought us a relationship of the heart. In Man Of Steel, however... there are no warm and fuzzy moments. In fact...there is no warmth at all in this film. Man Of Steel lacks the charm of Superman...and I can guarantee you that Siegel and Shuster are turning over in their graves with anger about the way Man Of Steel was written, directed and produced.
Man Of Steel is enormously disappointing and utterly awful. In Man Of Steel...the "S" worn on Superman's chest...stands for one word that describes this movie. STINKS. Man Of Steel is not only the worst movie of 2013...but the worst movie of all time.
And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
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