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https://www.themarysue.com/ralph-northam-should-resign/
Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has come under fire after photos from his 1984 medical school yearbook were made public. In the photo spread, there is a shockingly offensive image of two men, one in blackface and the other dressed as a Ku Klux Klan member. It is unclear which of these men (if either) are Northam himself. On Friday evening, Northam released a statement saying, “I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now.”
Then, in a bizarre turn of events, Northam recanted his apology and claimed that neither man in the photo was him, saying that had never seen the photo before and that he did not recall taking the photo. Northam followed up by saying the photo was “offensive, racist and despicable” and “I believed then and now that I am not either of the people in that photo.”
But wait, it gets so much worse! Northam’s defense argument is that he would have remembered the incident because of his “clear memory of other mistakes I made in this same period of my life.” Those mistakes? Another incident of blackface, which occurred during the same year.
Gov. Northam says he once "used just a little bit of shoe polish" to darken his face and compete as Michael Jackson for a dance contest in 1984. https://t.co/Q2MQMaAq7K pic.twitter.com/zn0Q5m48nQ
— CNN (@CNN) February 2, 2019
Northam said, “That same year I did participate in a dance content in San Antonio in which I darkened my face as part of a Michael Jackson costume … I didn’t realize at the time that it was as offensive as I have since learned.” Ah yes, the time-honored “I’m guilty of blackface, but only this one time not the time I’m currently being busted for.” It’s an insane defense, like a man saying he’s innocent of robbing a house since he was busy with a bank heist across town. IT’S ALL CRIME, DUDE.
Northam decided to dig his own hole even deeper, saying he “actually won the contest because I had learned how to do the moonwalk.” Northam then ALMOST did the moonwalk, before his wife told him not to due to “inappropriate circumstances.”
Since then, several politicians and caucuses have called on Northam to resign, including the Virginia House and Senate Democrats, the Democratic Party of Virginia, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, NAACP, MoveOn, Kamala Harris, and many more.
The plain fact is, blackface is and always has been a heinous and racist act, end of story. No publicly elected official, democrat or republican, should be exempt. But it’s Northam’s mind-bogglingly tone deaf response and bizarre Michael Jackson story that cement the fact that this is not a man who should hold any position of power. He clearly has zero concept of the gravity of his offense, and that astounding lack of judgment he has displayed is further proof that he needs to step down immediately. The Commonwealth of Virginia deserve better.
(via Huffington Post, image: Alex Edelman/Getty Images)
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Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has come under fire after photos from his 1984 medical school yearbook were made public. In the photo spread, there is a shockingly offensive image of two men, one in blackface and the other dressed as a Ku Klux Klan member. It is unclear which of these men (if either) are Northam himself. On Friday evening, Northam released a statement saying, “I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now.”
Then, in a bizarre turn of events, Northam recanted his apology and claimed that neither man in the photo was him, saying that had never seen the photo before and that he did not recall taking the photo. Northam followed up by saying the photo was “offensive, racist and despicable” and “I believed then and now that I am not either of the people in that photo.”
But wait, it gets so much worse! Northam’s defense argument is that he would have remembered the incident because of his “clear memory of other mistakes I made in this same period of my life.” Those mistakes? Another incident of blackface, which occurred during the same year.
Gov. Northam says he once "used just a little bit of shoe polish" to darken his face and compete as Michael Jackson for a dance contest in 1984. https://t.co/Q2MQMaAq7K pic.twitter.com/zn0Q5m48nQ
— CNN (@CNN) February 2, 2019
Northam said, “That same year I did participate in a dance content in San Antonio in which I darkened my face as part of a Michael Jackson costume … I didn’t realize at the time that it was as offensive as I have since learned.” Ah yes, the time-honored “I’m guilty of blackface, but only this one time not the time I’m currently being busted for.” It’s an insane defense, like a man saying he’s innocent of robbing a house since he was busy with a bank heist across town. IT’S ALL CRIME, DUDE.
Northam decided to dig his own hole even deeper, saying he “actually won the contest because I had learned how to do the moonwalk.” Northam then ALMOST did the moonwalk, before his wife told him not to due to “inappropriate circumstances.”
Since then, several politicians and caucuses have called on Northam to resign, including the Virginia House and Senate Democrats, the Democratic Party of Virginia, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, NAACP, MoveOn, Kamala Harris, and many more.
The plain fact is, blackface is and always has been a heinous and racist act, end of story. No publicly elected official, democrat or republican, should be exempt. But it’s Northam’s mind-bogglingly tone deaf response and bizarre Michael Jackson story that cement the fact that this is not a man who should hold any position of power. He clearly has zero concept of the gravity of his offense, and that astounding lack of judgment he has displayed is further proof that he needs to step down immediately. The Commonwealth of Virginia deserve better.
(via Huffington Post, image: Alex Edelman/Getty Images)
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—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
Manga to live-action American productions have notoriously not been good. Yet the Robert Rodriguez directed and co-written and co-produced by James Cameron movie Alita: Battle Angel, based off of the 1990 cyberpunk manga series created by Yukito Kishiro, seems to be the first real exception to the rule.
Battle Angel Alita, also known as Gunnm in Japan, is set in a futuristic dystopia in which Alita, a cyborg who has lost all memories, is found in a garbage heap by a cybernetics doctor named Daisuke Ido who rebuilds and takes care of her. She slowly remembers some part of herself, most importantly that she used to be a badass.
Cameron has said that this movie is more based on “the spine story” of Yukito Kishiro’s original manga and that there is a focus on the first four books and the fictional sport “Motorball” from the third and fourth volumes. Regardless, it is fair to say that many audiences will not be familiar with the source material and will mostly be seeing Alita for the first time through this movie. So far reviews in are uneven, with many positive and some … very much less so. While I will be seeing the movie later in the week, I think that if Alita does well it does change the economic landscape of whether manga/anime can be successfully adapted into a mainstream blockbuster film.
The reviews, while not all glowing, to indicate that Cameron/Rodriguez have at least made a fun and beautiful film.
So I just got back from #AlitaBattleAngel and the curse is broken! Someone in Hollywood actually made a great film based on a Manga/Anime IP! I’m shocked and surprised! 8/ 10. pic.twitter.com/tRxo0WCa8V
— Genshifox (@JonthanFox) February 1, 2019
ALITA: Liked it enough to want to have liked it more. Soars when asked to *tell story,* stumbles when asked to *communicate plot,* at it’s absolute best when speaking directly via the melodramatic id of it’s Very Extra teen-girl protagonist
So, y’know – Anime. #AlitaBattleAngel
— Bob Chipman #RehireJamesGunn (@the_moviebob) February 1, 2019
#AlitaBattleAngel is much better than I anticipated. James Cameron’s fingerprints are all over it, from the fantastic world building to the on-the-nose dialogue/symbolism. Rodriguez brings some bad ass looking action. Worth seeing in 3D. It doesn’t all work, but it’s fun.
— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) January 31, 2019
Alita: Battle Angel…
James Cameron, you did it. You crazy son of a bitch, you did it.
This movie is both accurate to the anime/manga AND was entertaining. I can’t believe I lived to see the day.#Alita #AlitaBattleAngel #BattleAngelAlita
— Kaylyn Saucedo – (@MarzGurl) February 1, 2019
Alita: Battle Angel ★★★★ – the first must-see @IMAX movie of the year & a stunning visual adventure. CGI & Mo-Cap is out of this world! Kudos to @Rodriguez @JimCameron #RosaSalazar #ChristophWaltz – @AlitaMovie is game-changing cinema https://t.co/v5tGCHwCNj #AlitaBattleAngel pic.twitter.com/KFUGAWGUnI
— JASON PALMER (@Jason_EntFocus) January 31, 2019
Okay, I have a specific gripe with #AlitaBattleAngel, and it has to do with world-building. Buckle up, folks, we’re going spelunking. 1/?
— Beth the Elder One (@BethElderkin) January 31, 2019
Film review: Robert Rodriguez’s #AlitaBattleAngel https://t.co/h16vRG0fJq pic.twitter.com/RQVJ5v5djh
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 1, 2019
#AlitaBattleAngel Review: Robert Rodriguez’s Sci-Fi Epic Is His Best Film Since ‘Sin City’ https://t.co/iXXd2QKi6D pic.twitter.com/bb86I4PZyP
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) January 31, 2019
Will you be checking out Alita: Battle Angel?
(via, image: 20th Century Fox)
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Writer: Daniel Kibblesmith // Artist: Ricardo Lopez Ortiz // MARVEL
The Royal Annoyance
Alright, I’m breaking Kibblesmith managed to make the most annoying Deadpool I’ve seen in the last couple of years. This whole first part of this comic feels like a pair of two dads going on a dad-cation to Fiji. Where one of them brings the corny jokes, and the other brings the grill master shoes. The spontaneity of each Deadpool and the methodical nature of Black Panther combating each other, I can’t take it. Wade learned plenty from T’Challa, understanding the limits of his powers and understanding the expansion of T’Challa and Wakandan intelligence. T’Challa has learned to think more on his feet and understand how to deal with situations that breathes chaotic neutrality.
But even then, problems arise from the dust.
The Black Panther vs Deadpool team taught me how to appreciate losses. Because honestly, throughout this whole comic I kept shouting “No!”, “You should’ve known better” and the classic “DAAAAAAAAMN”. Granted you can be with someone for a whole month and learn absolutely nothing. Having tunnel vision distracts folks from the real dangers on the outside corners. What does that teach us about recognizing the faults our enemies to an advantage of while we were distracted?
Mission Oriented
One thing I genuinely wish to see more of is Black Panther’s self-reflection and what he has to lose. The consistent idea of Deadpool has nothing to lose because he has nothing comes up frequently within the comic. T’Challa won’t die if Deadpool gets a hint of Vibranium. Granted it goes against his morals because Deadpool is not the perfect “hero” we imagined.
We see T’Challa in “NO” mode from the jump. It doesn’t seem as if he has assessed all the issues before him and the line of hero vs villain is not as blurred as it should. It feels like depending on character bias you could lean on either side. In an experience like this, I should be cringing for rooting for either side.
9.2 Beheaded Dad Jokes out of 10
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