"Her soul, tortured by pride, at length found refuge in Christian humility, and, tasting the joy of weakness, she saw within herself the destruction of her will, that must have left a wide entrance for the inroads of heavenly grace."
"Madame Bovary" is a story of infidelity. Emma, the young wife of a country doctor, seeks romance and excitement in the arms of other men. In so doing she plunges her family into ruin, and also burdens herself with a great many secrets.
I enjoyed this book, though in certain chapters the setting of scenes grows tiresome. It's also very depressing in parts, and the ending, while masterfully executed, isn't exactly cheerful. "Madame Bovary" touches upon issues of morality in way that is at once very French, very Victorian, and yet very modern. It is a book that had me thinking, and that's a good thing.
This book has been dismissed as "misogynistic" in some quarters, and critics go on to cite Flaubert's personal issues with sexuality as the reason for this perceived misogyny. Whatever Flaubert's issues with women (and with himself), I found no misogyny in this book, and I think that bringing Flaubert's personal failings into the argument does the novel a disservice. It's a good book, and it deserves to be read.
"Dark and gritty."
This seems to be how Warner Bros. is conceptualizing its DC properties. But is dark and gritty really necessary? I realize that dark and gritty is a way of setting DC films apart from Marvel films, and Nolan's Batman trilogy was undoubtedly darker and grittier than anything Marvel, Sony, or Fox have yet done, but Marvel has also done dark and gritty.
The part in the first Iron Man where he's held prisoner in the cave? Dark and gritty. The part in Winter Soldier where Nick Fury almost gets killed? Also dark and gritty. Marvel is just as capable of getting dark and gritty, but they realize that dark and gritty gets old after a while. It's an easy fit for Batman, but not such an easy fit for Kryptonians, or guys running around in red and yellow tights.
We'll see if Warner Bros. can get past dark and gritty. I certainly hope so, because if all that sets DC films apart from Marvel films is dark and gritty, then we're going to see those DC films fail. Setting the right tone for a film (or a cinematic universe) is important, but it's not everything. Dynamics are also important. A bit of humor is important. Superheroes that don't always take themselves seriously is important. Batman does dark and gritty well. But Shazam? Green Lantern? Not so well at all.
With this in mind I offer my thoughts on the proposed additions to DC's cinematic universe. Here's hoping that they don't suck.
March 2016: Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
Marks Against It: I never had a big problem with Ben Affleck as Batman, though I would have preferred Josh Brolin. Josh Brolin could have easily played the kind of Batman they're striving for, and he's a great actor besides. One persistent criticism of this movie (which we have yet to see!) is that it might be overkill to introduce Batman, Wonder Woman, and Cyborg in one movie. I tend to agree with this point of view, though maybe they can overcome this obstacle.
How to Make it Not Lame: My feeling is that this movie will be good, but not great. It will probably get bogged down in its own subplots, especially since they're trying to introduce Lex Luthor and Metallo at the same time. If it's great it will set the stage for the DC Cinematic Universe in the same way those Marvel post-credits set up the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but if it's only good it will probably burden the entire enterprise with unanswered questions and unsatisfied desires.
I'm hoping they focus at least 90% of the movie on the relationship between Batman and Superman. This is the plot point that really needs to be "sold," and this is also a crucial relationship within the DC Universe. I'm hoping they limit the involvement of Lex Luthor, Wonder Woman, and the other characters. Man of Steel should have been a much simpler, more focused film, and hopefully Zack Snyder has learned a thing or two since then.
August 2016: Suicide Squad
Marks Against It: I can't think of any so far. I actually think this is a fantastic idea for a movie, and far different from anything Marvel has attempted. If you're not familiar with the Suicide Squad, they are a group of supervillains coerced into serving the government.
David Ayer has been linked to the project, and in my opinion he is the perfect choice for a movie like this. In the case of Suicide Squad, dark and gritty is necessary, and movies such as End of Watch, Training Day, and the underrated Dark Blue are all movies that capitalize on dark and gritty.
How to Make it Not Lame: Bring out the big guns. I'm not talking about Deadshot here, but about the real star supervillains of the DC universe. Put Joker on the team. Put the Reverse-Flash on the team! Anticipating villains from future DC films would be an even bigger draw. DC has always had more interesting villains than Marvel, and there is a lot of material to draw from.
July 2017: Wonder Woman
Marks Against It: Gal Gadot. She looks nothing like Wonder Woman. Call me sexist if you will, but really. She looks nothing like Wonder Woman. We need a woman who really looks like an Amazon. We need a woman with curves. Wonder Woman has always been about sex and gender, and that part of the character needs to be embraced.
To further confuse the issue, Warner Bros. is apparently going with the New 52 backstory, which largely eliminates Paradise Island and the Amazons. This seems like such a shame to me. The contrasts between Wonder Woman, "Man's World," and the Amazons could have made a very compelling movie.
How to Make it Not Lame: Recast. I really don't care what kind of actress she is. You wouldn't cast Robert Downey Jr. as Thor, would you? Bringing the battle of the sexes into a Wonder Woman movie would also be important. Wonder Woman works best when she is challenging male ideas of what women can do. Her sex appeal is also part of the character.
November 2017: Justice League Part 1
Marks against it: Zack Snyder is directing. I liked Watchmen, but this guy is starting to irritate me. Also, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. No. Just no.
How to Make it Not Lame: This one's a tall order. By the time this film gets released, we will have seen TWO Avengers films, not to mention a boatload of X-men films, one of which features Apocalypse. Finding an original threat for DC's superfriends to face is going to be difficult, especially since Marvel has largely co-opted Darkseid in the form of Thanos (a Darkseid clone).
Recent rumors suggest that Braniac will be the villain. If so, this is unfortunate, because Braniac is going to come off as an Ultron clone, even though Braniac predates Ultron by over a decade.
One idea worth exploring is the multiverse-type storyline that DC has always done better than Marvel. Give us a window into different universes, and even different versions of established characters. This is something Marvel hasn't attempted yet, and moreover something that might lead to a lot of interesting contrasts between universes.
March 2018: The Flash
Marks Against It: This movie is still far away from production, but one drawback might be the Flash TV show, which features one of the worst Flash costumes ever. If that show continues until 2018, then a Flash film might have trouble forging its own identity.
Super speed has also been done before. We've already seen Quicksilver in X-men: Days of Future Past, and we'll see him again in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Yes, Quicksilver started out as a Flash clone, but it's going to be hard to erase those two characters from the public consciousness.
How to Make it Not Lame: Make Flash more godlike than either version of Quicksilver. Make him equal (or even superior) to Superman. There is really no way to explain the Flash's powers in the absence of super strength, so throw physics out the window. His powers CAN'T be explained, so don't bother. His only really interesting foe is Professor Zoom/The Reverse-Flash, so use him from the start.
Also, get the costume right. That costume in the TV show is just BAD.
July 2018: Aquaman
Marks Against It: I've heard people groan about this one, but I think Aquaman could be a winner for DC. Marvel Studios has yet to do anything with Namor, and Aquaman has a somewhat volatile personality as well. Volatile personalities always make for more interesting movies.
Jason Momoa has also been cast as Aquaman, and I think he's a great choice.
How to Make it Not Lame: Push the ecological angle. And no talking to fish. Make him an environmental crusader, opposed to the damage mankind has inflicted upon the oceans. Pitting him against an industrial magnate like Bruce Wayne would also provide a compelling conflict within the ranks of the Justice League.
April 2019: Shazam
Marks Against It: "Dark and gritty" and Shazam don't go well together. Making this movie more kid friendly would be the easiest route to take, and is in line with roles that Dwayne Johnson (already cast as Black Adam) has done before. Billy Batson and the element of wish fulfillment make Shazam a potentially more interesting character, but people are probably going to expect something more "adult" from DC.
How to Make it Not Lame: Make it a period film. Yes, this has already been done for Captain America, but I think Shazam was only really interesting when he was fighting Nazis, alongside the rest of the Marvel Family.
June 2019: Justice League Part 2
Marks Against It: None. I'm sure I'll have some reservations after I've seen Justice League Part 1.
How to Make it Not Lame: 2019 is a long way away from now, and by the time this hits theaters we might have already seen Avengers 3, which might even get released alongside Avengers 4. By then the idea of a super team will be old hat, and a new set of tropes will either have to be acknowledged or overcome.
April 2020: Cyborg
Marks Against It: Deathlok has been done in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Not that it matters all that much.
How to Make it Not Lame: The "is-it-a-machine-that-thinks-it's-a-man-or-a-man-who-thinks-he's-a-machine" angle from the Robocop remake could be explored, especially since it was wasted on that movie. Cyborg has always been a bit player in the DC universe, and this lack of visibility could either be the movie's downfall or its salvation. Hopefully it won't bring to mind the movie version of Steel.
June 2020: Green Lantern
Marks Against It: I'm sorry but Green Lantern is just a lame superhero. He has a ring that can basically do anything. Where do you go with that?
How to Make it Not Lame: A more compelling adversary for a start. It would also be good to see the existing cinematic version of Green Lantern, and then do everything opposite.
I'm assuming this will be a reboot of the character. If so, perhaps they'll give his ring some kind of convincing limitation. The Hal Jordan seen in DC's New Frontier might be a good place to start.
Warner Bros. has finally announced their slate of DC films up until 2020. These films are:
March 2016: Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
August 2016: Suicide Squad
July 2017: Wonder Woman
November 2017: Justice League Part 1
March 2018: The Flash
July 2018: Aquaman
April 2019: Shazam
June 2019: Justice League Part 2
April 2020: Cyborg
June 2020: Green Lantern
In addition, the studio has also announced plans for stand-alone Batman and Superman films, which will (presumably) be released within this time frame. This would mean the release of at least two DC films a year.
Now I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited about this development. None of this is set in stone of course. Release dates can be changed. Projects can be shelved. But in announcing these films, Warner Bros. is also announcing its commitment to the characters, and to building a cinematic universe around them.
The first of these films, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is still filming now. Despite intimations of other characters in Man of Steel, this will be the movie to introduce the idea of an interconnected cinematic universe. As nearly everyone on the planet knows, Ben Affleck will star as Batman, and Henry Cavill will reprise his role as Superman. Gal Gadot will also appear as Wonder Woman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, and other actors may also appear as other well known superheroes.
Much less is known about Suicide Squad, the following film. David Ayer is attached to direct, and this alone is cause for excitement. I'm sure we'll see Deadshot in this movie, though the rest of the roster is anybody's guess. This movie could be a huge success for Warner Bros., especially if they choose more recognizable villains.
As for the rest of these films, we'll just have to wait and see. Justice League Part 1 is reportedly filming back to back with Batman v. Superman, so details of that film will certainly surface soon. Production on the other films hasn't even started yet. If nothing else, I'll be overjoyed to finally see a Flash movie. A movie centered around this character has been long overdue, and I'm glad that Warner Bros. is finally taking a step in that direction.
It is October 2014, sometime between Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Age of Ultron. It is something of a pause between superhero movies, with a nine month gap between Guardians and the second Avengers film. Seems like a good time to take a breath, and to summarize what's on the horizon.
2015: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Fantastic Four
In the second Avengers we will see all of the characters from the first film, with the addition of Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, and the Vision. This time around they'll be facing Ultron, one of their most popular villains from the comic books. There is talk of other characters being introduced at the end of this movie, with a possible new lineup set up for a third Avengers film.
Ant-Man is going to be a heist movie, with Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas starring as two different iterations of the minuscule hero. Back when Edgar Wright was directing, this was going to be relatively isolated from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but with a change of directors it will likely be more in line with Marvel's overall plans for Avengers 3.
Josh Trank is directing the Fantastic Four reboot, with a cast of relative unknowns. Yes, I've seen Chronicle and it is cause for hope. This film promises to be more "scientific" than previous film incarnations of the team.
2016: Captain America 3, Doctor Strange, Deadpool, X-men: Age of Apocalypse, The Sinister Six, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad
The hype surrounding Captain America 3 is going to be intense. The Winter Soldier was such a success, and this is the Marvel tentpole going head-to-head with Batman v. Superman. There are no details on this movie as yet, but most of the creative team from Winter Soldier is returning.
Scott Derrickson has been assigned as director for Doctor Strange. No one has been cast as the Doctor just yet, though Ethan Hawke is often mentioned in the context of this project. I imagine that they'll announce the lead very soon. I love the character, but I'm not a huge fan of Scott Derrickson's derivative brand of horror.
Deadpool has been in development for something like forever. Fox has finally given this project the go ahead, and a "test reel" has been making the rounds online. If they don't water it down too much it should be a good movie. I'm hoping Ryan Reynolds returns at everyone's favorite mercenary.
X-men: Age of Apocalypse ought to be good. Everyone who made X-men: Days of Future Past is on board, and the film introduces one of the X-men's greatest villains. This movie will be set in the 1980s, and features the cast from X-men: First Class.
The Sinister Six? Man, what a dark horse this movie is. There has been a lot of speculation surrounding the future of Sony's Spider-man franchise, and it's possible that this one might get shelved altogether. I guess it could work, but the idea sounds kind of dumb to me.
Speaking of dumb ideas, whoever thought up the title "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" should be fired. This movie serves as a sequel to Man of Steel, and also as an attempt to introduce the Justice League. I'm not a huge fan of Zack Snyder, though the guy who wrote the script also wrote Argo. Here's hoping the actual movie is better than the title.
The Suicide Squad movie has just been announced. It looks like David Ayer will be directing. If it's more like End of Watch and less like Sabotage it will be good.
2017: Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Wolverine sequel, Fantastic Four sequel, Justice League, Wonder Woman
There will probably be other superhero films in 2017 (see below), but these are the ones that seem most probable.
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 will get made for certain. It's too early to say much about it, but I'm hoping it introduces Adam Warlock. It might even set up Avengers 3, with Thanos attempting to assemble his oft-mentioned Infinity Gauntlet.
James Mangold is set to direct the third Wolverine outing, with Hugh Jackman returning to the role that he is now both too old and too tall to play. I thought The Wolverine was an OK movie, but nothing to write home about.
Details regarding the Fantastic Four sequel are equally vague. If I was the director of that movie, I'd be trying to bring Galactus into it. He was wasted on the first Fantastic Four sequel (?), and I'd like to see something truly cosmic in scale.
Justice League and Wonder Woman have just been announced. It's too early to say much about them, other than to reiterate the persistent fact that Gal Godot looks nothing like Wonder Woman.
Other Stuff...
In addition to the above, Warner Bros. has announced six more DC films to be released after 2017. They are The Flash (finally!), Aquaman, Shazam, Justice League 2, Cyborg, and Green Lantern (reboot?). I'm hesitant to go into any detail about these films, because we haven't even seen the first Justice League. If Batman v. Superman tanks at the box office, odds are that the above films won't get made.
Sony has also announced plans for other Spider-man films, not all of which feature Spider-man as the main character. But with the poor performance of the Amazing Spider-man 2, the future of these films has been cast into doubt. There is even talk of Sony sharing the character with Marvel Studios, or selling him back to Marvel outright. I find such rumors more exciting that whatever Sony has planned for Spider-man, especially since having Spider-man in Avengers 3 would be EPIC.
And of course there will be other Marvel and X-men films that aren't listed above. An Avengers 3 is a certainty, and X-men: Age of Apocalypse will have to be really terrible to end the series.
"The impression the pig industry wishes to give is that fields can absorb the toxins in the hog feces, but we know this isn't true. Runoff creeps into waterways, and poisonous gases like ammonia and hydrogen sulfide evaporate into the air. When the football field-sized cesspools are approaching overflowing, Smithfield, like others in the industry, spray the liquefied manure onto fields. Or sometimes they simply spray it straight up into the air, a geyser of shit wafting fine fecal mists that create swirling gases capable of causing severe neurological damage. Communities living near these factory farms complain about problems with persistent nosebleeds, earaches, chronic diarrhea, and burning lungs. Even when citizens have managed to pass laws that would restrict these practices, the industry's immense influence in government means the regulations are often nullified or go unenforced."
"Eating Animals" is a book that examines the links between cultural norms, meat consumption, and industrialized animal husbandry. It's not an easy book to read, and some of the sections describing day-to-day life on a factory farm are downright horrific. It's a well written book, even if it's sometimes hard to discern whether the author is advocating veganism for all, or just wants to highlight the extreme cruelty involved in the factory farming industry.
To be sure, factory farming has become a problem of near-apocalyptic proportions. I say this not only from the perspective of animal cruelty, but also from a concern about public health, and a genuine worry over the state of our environment. Forget whatever SUV your neighbor is driving. Forget your worries about what petrochemical companies are doing. Factory farms are far more toxic, far more harmful to the environment, and far less regulated. Factory farming is an industry that affects everyone within the developed world, and it is moreover an industry that requires much closer scrutiny.
This aside, the author's arguments against meat consumption are more general, and generally less effective. His arguments from history bring to mind a host of counterarguments. His nutrition-based discussions are never fully realized. And his environmental arguments don't often provide the fullest picture of how land is used, how vegetable farming often works in tandem with factory farming, and how sustainability can be achieved. I'm not saying that there aren't strong arguments for vegetarianism (or veganism) out there, but I think the ethical, nutritional, and environmental ramifications of meat consumption could have been argued in a much more comprehensive fashion.
With all this in mind, I would still recommend "Eating Animals." It is a book full of revealing details. It is also a book that makes you think. People often say "you are what you eat," but "you are where you eat" might be equally true.
"I suppose it is the way with all men and women who reach middle age without the clear perception that life never can be thoroughly joyous: under the vague dullness of the gray hours, dissatisfaction seeks a definite object, and finds it in the privation of an untried good."
George Eliot was a pseudonym used by Mary Ann Evans, the woman who wrote "Adam Bede," "The Mill on the Floss," "Middlemarch," "Daniel Deronda," and this book, "Silas Marner." She wrote as a man in the hope of being taken more seriously. Her book "Middlemarch," which I haven't read, has been described as the greatest novel in the English language.
"Silas Marner" is set in England in the early 19th century. Silas, a weaver by trade, is shunned by the community in which he was born, and he afterward takes up residence in Raveloe, a town some distance away. He is held as an object of suspicion by the people of Raveloe, until the discovery of an orphaned child brings him into closer contact with his fellow townspeople.
As Victorian novels go, this one is very short. It is also very well written, though at times the author tries too hard to make grand, sweeping observations about life in a small town. Just the same, this novel is largely free of the improbable coincidences that mark other novels of the era, and the narrative flows quite smoothly. I enjoyed "Silas Marner," and never grew bored of either the characters or the story.
If you are the kind of reader who still has the patience for Dickens or the Brontes, I would recommend this novel. It never becomes taxing, and the plot advances briskly toward a satisfying conclusion.
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