Let's face it, Denver's homeless issue has gotten out of control. They fill our streets. They plague our mall. Asking for handouts, while fine hard working folks like ourselves have to earn our credits. It's disgusting. This problem has left the realm of annoyance, and has become a spiritual burden. There's nothing left to do but to cleanse these poor souls from our streets.
We thank them for their sacrifice. God bless the new founding fathers on this Purge day.
Sounds kinda like ... I don't know, racist elitism. That's exactly the vibe of James DeMonaco's The Purge. Once a year, America's police look the other way for 12 hours so the populace can let their dark side lose by committing any crime they want. While the "holiday" is sold as a way to let our animalistic personalities be expressed, the movie viewers are slowly exposed to the truth of the holiday. It's an excuse to wipe out the poor and lower class. Hence the recovering economy and lack of crime.
While it's not the most original idea (Star Trek did it in "The Return of the Archons" episode, circa 1967), DeMonaco has given the idea a nice touch of modernity by relating it to the 1% versus the 99%. The have's get to remove the have not's.
The film does this through a nice reminder of the racism that used to (and arguably still does) exist in America. The poor are represented by the only African American of the film, performed by Edwin Hodge. While we initially spend the film questioning Hodge's honesty, by the end the characters find themselves questioning their own morality with what to do with this homeless man on the run. Do they sacrifice him to the elitist Purgers, or do they risk their family in helping to save a life?
My rantings above may make it appear as if this movie is a psychological thriller. Let me assure you, IT IS NOT. The Purge pretends it has layers of political commentary, but at it's core it's just a fun, suspenseful thriller. We spend half the film looking for the black guy in the dark, and the other half is just action-packed with elitists fighting each other. The last bit being one of the best nose breaking scenes in my cinema recollection.
Oh, I did I mention the bad guy's are hilarious. Rhys Wakefield really sells his character's demented appeal. I almost started rooting for him and his masked crew. They just want to have a fun night, like any good All-American group of college kids.
If you're in the mood for a fun thriller with a hint of political commentary, then you should Purge yourself.
Everyone has their geeky side. It doesn't have to be comic books or a science fiction series. Your personal outlet of escapism and enjoyment could be american football. Maybe your outlet is through romance novels, or prime time television drama's. Either way, we all have things we "geek" out over.
For the 48,000 attendees of Denver's second annual Comic Con convention, our outlet was comic books, science fiction and fantasy series, and board games. For 3 days we celebrated the awesomeness that is being a geek.
I attended a couple of panels where the topic was essentially the growing worldwide acceptance of our obsessions with these alternate medias. It was refreshing to feel that connection with people. I'm not alone, and we are not alone.
The highlight of these panels I attended was Wil Wheaton's. Wil Wheaton is widely known for his role in Star Trek: The Next Generation as Wesley Crusher. What's not as well known is Wheaton's lifestyle as a geek, especially in tabletop board gaming. He's a player of such games as Dungeons & Dragons, and Fiasco. Today, Wheaton hosts a YouTube show called "Tabletop" where he and guests play and review board games.
During the panel, Wheaton told a personal story of why tabletop gaming was important to him. It involved a dark emotional time for his family, when the only peace they ever had together as a family was during board game night. During that time, when they were throwing dice and moving board pieces around, all the troubles of the outside world were put aside for just a few hours. All the drama was left at the door, and despite all the problems they were a family again for the duration of the game.
This was significant for me. It reminded me of how much I loved these games and how much I missed playing them. To me, there's nothing better than the creation and escapism of a good tabletop game with friends. Especially tabletop roleplaying games like D&D, Heavy Gear, and Vampire: The Masquerade. I left this panel determined to go to the gaming arena of the convention that night, and join in on a game.
That night I played Dungeons & Dragons with group of people I've never met before. I was nervous at first, but as the game went on that universal feeling of acceptance swept through the room and we had a blast. There were many laughs, some interesting roleplaying, and in the end we had a challenging battle against a Warforged. I left the convention that night with a huge smile on my face, and a determination to experience that again on Sunday. So that night, I went ahead and signed up to play another game the next afternoon.
Now you may be wondering, what does all this geek squabble have to do with William Shatner?
William Shatner was the guest of honor of the convention. Which meant that his panel, scheduled Sunday afternoon at the same time as my D&D game, was one of the few limited engagements of the convention. Only VIP badges were guaranteed admentince. For the rest of us, we had to be part of the first 500 or so to enter the convention floor that Sunday morning to receive a special wristband to gain entry.
To my surprise Sunday morning, I was one of those lucky few who received a wristband to Shatner's panel. Which meant I had to make a choice. Do I go to Shatner's panel, or do I go to the D&D game I had already signed up for?
It may not sound like a very tough decision, but for me it was like choosing between parents. Do I spend time with Dad, or with Mom? In the end, my conscience made the decision for me. I had already committed to play this game. The other emotion tied to this decision is one I struggle to explain. Simply put, I knew I would have more fun sitting around a table of strangers pretending to be warriors and priests searching to solve the mystery of disappearing villagers. I love shared storytelling. To me there's nothing as creative and exciting as that. This was a once in a lifetime experience, where as the Shatner Panel I can probably watch on YouTube later someday.
So as the line for William Shatner's panel started to form, I went out looking for someone to give my wristband away to. I found off to the side of the main line a smaller line of maybe twenty people. I asked the man at the lead of that smaller line what they were lining up for.
"Oh, we're just lining up hoping to fill any empty seats after they let all the wristbands in."
I pulled out my wristband, "Well, I have a wristband and it turns out I can't go. Would you like to have it?"
I'll never forget the look of glee in that man's face. At first it was a questioning look to see if I was serious, but once I handed him the wristband he thanked me excessively and practically skipped his way over to the other line. My heart swelled as I realized I had just made this man's day, if not his Con.
No offense to the awesomeness that is William Shatner, but I'm glad I sacrificed that wristband to give that fan a day he'll probably talk about for months. Plus, I'll always remember the fun I had playing Dungeons & Dragons that afternoon.
So thanks for reading, and as gift to you here's a video of Shatner at Denver Comic Con reading "Where The Wild Things Are" to the kids in the Comic Book Classroom.
When the convention ended at six o'clock today, I felt immediate remorse. My last walk out the main hallway was slowed by the weight of it's significance. This was the end of a most, excellent journey. While the convention did have it's problems (cough, morning entrance lines, cough, cough), the sheer awesomeness of the attendees and guests overshadowed those issues.
Again, it's the end of a long day and I must be brief in my telling of it. From an outsiders perspective, my last day is kinda boring due to 60% of it being a game of Dungeons & Dragons. There's more story to this, but put simply I gave away my William Shatner ticket so I could play in a game I already committed to. That may sound lame, but I made someone's day when I surprised them with a ticket. The look of gratitude on his face made it worthwhile.
So BatFans, WILL he take the time to write a summary blog of Comic Con?
CAN he tell you the important details without creating a blog too long to read?
Does he have the charisma, the passion, and THE EGO to presume there's even enough viewership to support such a feat?
We'll find out soon friends ... same Bat Network, same Bat Domain!
I've somehow conveniently found internet in the Denver Comic Con as I wait here in line for Will Wheaton's panel. The random "line" picture seen here is what the line looks like ahead of me. I'm actually in a good spot all things considered. Plus, I now have internet to entertain me as I wait so I thought I'd share a few photos.
Yesterday must have just been a Cos Play warm up, because today there's some seriously impressive costumes.
The film does this through a nice reminder of the racism that used to (and arguably still does) exist in America. The poor are represented by the only African American of the film, performed by Edwin Hodge. While we initially spend the film questioning Hodge's honesty, by the end the characters find themselves questioning their own morality with what to do with this homeless man on the run. Do they sacrifice him to the elitist Purgers, or do they risk their family in helping to save a life?
