Up until recently I have never been that political in my thinking nor did I pay much attention to things like conventions, speeches, or basically anything involving politics. Sure I voted the last two times it has come up but I hate to admit I was not really an informed or "smart" voter. I just went with my guy. That is until this election year. But I am sure I am not the only one who can say that.
We are being bombarded from the left wing and the right wing about the candidates running for office and it is overwhelming at times.
I would like to say that I am not referring to the Candidates themselves as Clowns and Jokers. I have respect for both groups fighting for what has to be the toughest and shittiest job in the world. I am talking about the left and right wing media. Not just video, which is my favorite being a movie fanatic and all, but all forms of media. CNN, ABC, MSNBC, CBS, etc, etc. The list goes on and on. I really feel like they and not the candidates are controlling this election.
The ones most influential of the forms is of course TV. Why? Simple. Its Visual. Its flashy and it is more fitting for the ADHD society which I have to admit I am at times apart of. We are attacked visually with graphics runnin across the screen, catchy titles for segments of programs, and over course very animate people speaking. We also take what the people are speaking for granted mostly because they are "news people" and there fore must a) know what they are talking about and b) Are telling us the truth. The fact of the matter is that MOST of them are more careless than ever in presenting fact-checked stories.
Its not all their fault though. We are the ones that flock to the source that will give us the news the quickest and also the juiciest. To stay competitive these agencies try to increase the turn around time of information which causes details to fall through the cracks. This can cause the viewers to believe items that either are misinterrpreted or inncorrect all together. Depending on the subject it can deeply influence someones opinion about the matter.
We are only human and do not like to think of ourselves as wrong, especially when its something we have determined is right. So If we are fed the wrong information and develop a personal belief based off of this information. It will be hard if not impossible for us to accept anything else to be true. Even if we are way off base in our belief it is hard to change that belief.
This is what is so scary about this election. The news agencies we have always trusted to bring us unbiased, equal opportunity information so that we can make our own minds have now brought us fair and balanced information. The two are not the same. Yet most us believe it to be so. Folks we have got to be smarter than ever before on our decision on who will be in the next president.
Now I am not here to pursuade you one way or the other like the media does either directly or indirectly. What I am asking for people to do is be a Smart voter not just a voter. We have to look at the very large picture of things in our decision, not just one piece. I have heard many people say...well I am voting for this person cause they are Republican or Democrat or cause shes a woman or cause his skin is the same color as mine or well his farts don't smell and neither do mine so I am voting for him. Ok the last one I made up but you get the point.
It would be like interviewing for a job you absolutely know you are qualified for and the person hiring you knows your qualified for plus you got along great in the interview but as you left they saw you were wearing striped socks. The person hiring is a solid socks person so they decided not to hire you.
We cannot afford to be petty in our decision folks. Our lives for the next four years -- hell the next decade -- depend on how we vote this year. The world is also watching and the sharks in the water circling. They smell Blood in the water and cannot wait to take abite our of the Once great Super Power.
I guess my main point on this is PLEASE ARM YOURSELF WITH KNOWLEDGE. Get all the facts you can. The internet can be a good source for information but you have to tread lightly and makes sure you are getting your information about the candidates from a credible source and not just some Jo Blo who decides to post his opinion on a Blog...oh wait.
Anyway with that said on to the movie review .. The Devils Backbone.
Guillermo del Torro does not disappoint in making entertaining, thought provoking, films. He wrote and directed this little piece of cinema about a boy left at an orphanage who comes across a ghost of a boy looking for revenge.
The premise may not be exactly original but it is set against the backdrop of the last days of the Spanish Civil war which helps give the movie is own identity. While there is a great special effect with the Ghost Child Santi the movies strength are its characters. They make you care for them or dispise them as you are supposed to. The script is well written and has you wondering through a good part of it, "who dunnit" and why is the boys spirit not at piece. The main character is a child and , like in Pans Labyrinth , helps move the events along. del Torro reall does well in making you care about the characters and at times makes the threat of the war reaching the orphange more supsensful and scary than Santi. He has not done a large number of movies but the ones I have seen I have liked. The first Hellboy was the weakest for me but he made up with the second one.
He also is unflinching in using children as characters in the films and also in having bad things happen to the kids. The first movie of his I saw was Mimic. He caught me off guard when he showed on film a child dying. This is does not happen often in horror movies at the time. Child characters have died but usually its off camera or mentioned in passing.
There is child deaths , obviously, in Devils Backbone so if that type of graphic visual is not to your liking I would not suggest you watch the film. If you are a fan of Pans Labrynth or just looking for a good piece of cinema to watch, I recommend this movie. I know subtitles are not to everyone's liking but I also suggest watching it in its native language with english subtitles. The dubbing is not the best and distracts you from some brilliant performances
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