“A Collection of My Thoughts on Different Movies & TV Shows: Volume II”:
“My Obsessive-Compulsive Commitment to Completionism in Art - My Thoughts on Sherlock Hound”
(These thoughts were originally posted elsewhere on 12/13/2024.)
Summary
Of the fifteen of Sherlock Hound’s twenty-six total episodes that I’ve watched, almost all of them, outside of an origin story, revolve around the titular protagonist and Watson, his companion, thwarting Professor Moriarty’s schemes to get rich quick. The additions of steampunk-based mechanisms and sometimes-funny slapstick shenanigans are nowhere near enough to make up for repetitive personalities in equally-so scenarios that fail to meaningfully express characteristics beyond the expected inquisitiveness of Sherlock, supportiveness of Watson, and deviousness of Moriarty.
Writing about this anime while admitting to not having seen all of what it has to show leaves me feeling as though I’ve confessed to performing a misdeed. It’s as if pressuring myself into viewing further episodes, ones likely to play out as intended, while forcing myself to not space out, rewinding them if I did, would have been the “moral” action to perform, toxically implying that a conversation of morals has any place in this context. Engaging with a disliked piece of art certainly carries the potential to gain worthwhile insights. Though, there can and should be limits set in place when doing that, ideally ones which act as a combined reminder of how such engagement is not an obligation.
“The Death of the [Author Ratings System] - My Thoughts on Piece by Piece”
Warning(s) for: infrequent strong language.
(These thoughts were originally posted elsewhere on 01/06/2025.)
Summary
Perhaps it was the MPA fucking up with how it classifies the differences between “PG” and “PG-13” because it judges art based on appearance, or maybe it was the LEGO Group paying off the MPA to get a project associated with it assigned a lower rating to maintain its family-friendly image. Whatever the reason, Piece by Piece, an animated biopic with the style of other LEGO-branded movies that features multiple instances of moderate language being used and obviously suggestive lyrics getting played as suggestive imagery is shown, has the rating that states, “Yes, this is still appropriate for kids.”
It is apparent that the institutions that are supposed to accurately warn audiences of which art has what content so sensitivities and triggers can be safely navigated has failed in their purpose due to their unrecognition of nuance. Audiences must instead hold themselves and others accountable and fulfill that purpose on individual and group levels – we need to be able to trust ourselves to judge the true natures of titles, as institutions and companies, especially, clearly cannot and will not.
“Emotional Spiraling - My Thoughts on Longlegs”
Warning(s) for: references to fictional intense violence, mature topics pertaining to real-world violence, the morality of it, and ethics in art; and spoilers.
(These thoughts were originally posted elsewhere on 01/11/2025.)
Summary
Is it right for an actor who is a minor to be allowed to play a character in a scene where strong language is used by an adult-played character who, in addition to another character of that sort, are bloodily shot in the head, even after an earlier scene where said minor’s character expresses that the film industry “messes up kids” has played?
Did those adult-played characters deserve to die as a consequence of individually sparing one life at the violent cost of many others while being subjected to a higher power’s whims and upholding selective yet existent aggressive apathy? Do people in real life who must make impossible choices that nevertheless come at the expense of others or choose to not care about the former persons’ decisions and their need to engage with them deserve to die as a consequence of their actions?
Am I a bad person for crediting the subliminal cuts and nonlinear narrative of the film in question that both mirror the distressed mental state of its special-agent protagonist who’s working a troubling case of a serial killer with bringing this stream of consciousness out of me when considering my first question?
I don’t know, so I’m gonna stop writing about this film now that this post has run its cathartic course before I attempt to answer these queries and who knows what else all at once.
