- Sep 22, 2013
- 4,956
- 250
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This is a capitalism-political diorama I've been working on for some time now, and it's inspired by Flash Gordon and Brewster's Millions, and I wrote it as a capitalism-elegy which is why I didn't feel it was appropriate (given its political slant) for the Writing section of USMB.
What do you think?
Cheers (signing off),
====
Artists and storytellers cared about the odd and intriguing metaphysics of modern globalization economics (e.g., Wall Street, European Union, OPEC, NATO, World Bank, etc.). People were talking about the adventure of negotiation and the threat of terrorism. That's why sci-fi storytellers were presenting beloved comic book heroes such as Flash Gordon through the lens of grand contract-betrayal sagas in outer-space involving calculating emperors and veiled women. What these folklore-specialists did not know was that a real alien humanoid species living on Venus was actually a 'model' of such storytelling and was 'observing' the behaviors of American society with a special crystal ball. On this planet, there was indeed a calculating emperor named Ming who governed a fascist dominion inhabited by legions and legionnaires, doctors of doom, prophets/scholars, minions, centurions, a great hero named Don, and of course, veiled women.
Ming took Don's wife, Princess Muti, as hostage in his castle. He demanded she travel to Earth in a shuttle and become an emissary and bring back 'notes' on the qualities of American capitalism. Ming was planning a great invasion of Earth and he wanted to evaluate American civilization and the contours of capitalism-negotiations before invading with his army. The hero Don opposed his schemes, but Don was too late to rescue Muti who was boarded on a shuttle that was heading to Earth. Muti remained faithful and confident that she could bring back notes about peace regarding American capitalism which would inspire Don and his allies to overthrow the villainous Ming. Muti arrived at the White House and greeted Donald and Melania Tump. Muti was worried that Ming was spying on them.
Muti met a young man in Connecticut while studying capitalism-theory at Yale University under the tourism-guidance of the U.S. government. This young man, a German-American named Alas, was drawing stick-figure doodles of comic book heroes paired with horror-film monsters/psychos. Muti especially liked Alas's rendering of the DC Comics masked urban vigilante/superhero Batman paired with the iconic American horror-film psycho Leatherface (a fictional chainsaw-wielding cannibal who wore an eerie skin-mask and wig). Muti asked Alas what this Batman-Leatherface doodle signified, and Alas explained it was a 'cartoon' about the contest between good and evil in America --- a land ruled by ambition and strange adversaries. Muti decided to make this doodle an Earth-symbolic caricature of capitalism-theology.
Muti then traveled to Hollywood, California where she was greeted by the movie-star Ed Norton who took her on a guide in the Los Angeles area, showing her towers of consumerism and glamour such as MGM Studios Theme Park and Rodeo Drive and Disneyland. Norton then took Muti to the premiere of his new film, a sequel, called Fight Club 2. This movie-sequel was about the same socially-estranged American nameless bureaucrat from the original Fight Club who was now being haunted by the same anarchy alter-ego oriented hellraiser named Tyler. Tyler was inducing the bureaucrat to create mayhem and confusion in online sports-gambling circles, to make 'capitalism-pranks' that the press would devour. Muti wondered how such a film would reflect modern-era capitalism-angst (and labyrinths) in America.
Muti decided to investigate further about the capitalism-intrigue on Earth surrounding sports-gambling. She discovered that the surprise-victory of the upstart Philadelphia Eagles (NFL) over the dominating New England Patriots (winner of a whopping 5 Super Bowl titles in the new millennium) in Super Bowl 52 [2018] generated quite a bit of sports-gambling chatter/folklore among sports-writers. The Eagles' darling-season in 2017-2018 signaled a potential 'curtain-call' for the Goliath-like Patriots, manned by the titan-like QB Tom Brady, but the Eagles would have to down the Patriots in the Super Bowl, and they'd have to do it without their star-QB who was out with an injury. This excitement generated a great deal of sports-gambling energy, and Muti discovered that Tom Brady was like a 'consumerism/media Golem' in America.
Muti compiled her notes and spoke one more time with U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump before reboarding her shuttle and heading back to Venus to present her findings/report to the calculating Emperor Ming. Muti did just that, but she also took photos of her notes with her new iPhone (presented to her by President Trump) and hid them in her shoe. Ming was pleased with Muti's report/notes, but when the heroic revolutionary Don broke into Ming's palace and rescued Princess Muti, she showed Don the photocopies of her notes about American capitalism. Don knew Ming would try to invade Earth/America on principles of capitalism-vulnerabilities, perhaps exploiting post-9/11 pedestrian paranoia. Don planned his subversion of Ming's covenant.
Ming's mistress, the dangerous and beautiful Miss Darcy, sent Don a holographic-portrait of herself for Don to admire to cajole him to rescue him from Ming's dominion which she became increasingly dissatisfied with, and Don knew Darcy was a potential ally. Don kidnapped Darcy and brought her to his fortress where Princes Muti took good care of her. Don knew Ming's reign was near its end, but he also wanted to make sure that all of Muti's revelations regarding American capitalism-consciousness on Earth were coordinated/considered for a careful anticipation of Ming's future schemes and intentions towards humanity and towards the myriad sentient beings on Venus. Don kept Darcy's holographic-portrait in his chambers as a sign of the potential for fantastic aspirations in an otherwise confounding sea of darkness.
Muti showed Don a doodle-drawing Alas made of the female comic book anti-heroine Livewire (a woman who could manipulate electrical energy) and Carnage (a demonic comic book super-villain who shape-shifts and is a symbol of anarchy and mayhem and therefore terrorism). Muti explained that American capitalism was 'bifurcated' in terms of feminism (e.g. Victoria's Secret lingerie-shops) and chauvinism (e.g., NFL-marketing obsession). Don knew Ming would exploit this contradiction and accurately predicted that Ming would carry some bomb on an invasion-shuttle to Earth on the anniversary of 9/11, meant to be detonated at the capitalism-symbolic Library of Congress (a place where both American men and women studied and daydreamed).
Don boarded Ming's invasion shuttle and turned on the bomb before hang-gliding off the shuttle and back towards Venus before the shuttle escaped Venus's atmosphere/orbit. Ming was killed and his invasion army was destroyed. Don returned to his fortress and celebrated the triumph with Princess Muti and Miss Darcy, whom he took both as wives. Don was a polygamist by religion, after all. He then had one of his artist friends generate a fanfare-themed art-poster of a fictional capitalism-obsessive dominion headed by an evil emperor and challenged by a heroic galactic knight named Flash Gordon. Don sent this fan-poster to Earth, on a satellite-shuttle with a message intended to be sent to the White House. When President Trump opened the sent parcel and saw the Flash Gordon fan-poster, he knew there were 'forces' around the universe complementing America's quest for capitalism-harmony.
TRUMP: I love this Flash Gordon fan-poster, Carter!
CARTER: Capitalism is endorsed by great minds, Mr. President.
TRUMP: How will America embrace capitalism-rhetoric in the 21st Century?
CARTER: Everything depends on Wall Street and the World Bank, sir.
TRUMP: I think Planet Hollywood consciousness 'guides' consumerism.
CARTER: Are you a fan of the American films Casino and Celebrity?
TRUMP: Those are both consumerism-iconic movies...
CARTER: I wonder if capitalism is confounded by the 'leviathan' of terrorism.
TRUMP: What does 'leviathan' mean?
CARTER: 'Leviathan' refers to a metaphysical sea-beast of chaos!
TRUMP: I suppose 9/11 was an 'American Leviathan.'
CARTER: Do you think capitalism can generate a World War III?
TRUMP: If it does and China and North Korea are involved, America is prepared!
CARTER: Is America the guardian that protects capitalism from darkness?
TRUMP: Our voters should believe that, Carter.
CARTER: What if Flash Gordon is the 'modernism-avatar' of capitalism-idealism?
TRUMP: That would be a good thing; kids love Flash Gordon.
CARTER: Hail to art!
====
What do you think?
Cheers (signing off),
====
Artists and storytellers cared about the odd and intriguing metaphysics of modern globalization economics (e.g., Wall Street, European Union, OPEC, NATO, World Bank, etc.). People were talking about the adventure of negotiation and the threat of terrorism. That's why sci-fi storytellers were presenting beloved comic book heroes such as Flash Gordon through the lens of grand contract-betrayal sagas in outer-space involving calculating emperors and veiled women. What these folklore-specialists did not know was that a real alien humanoid species living on Venus was actually a 'model' of such storytelling and was 'observing' the behaviors of American society with a special crystal ball. On this planet, there was indeed a calculating emperor named Ming who governed a fascist dominion inhabited by legions and legionnaires, doctors of doom, prophets/scholars, minions, centurions, a great hero named Don, and of course, veiled women.
Ming took Don's wife, Princess Muti, as hostage in his castle. He demanded she travel to Earth in a shuttle and become an emissary and bring back 'notes' on the qualities of American capitalism. Ming was planning a great invasion of Earth and he wanted to evaluate American civilization and the contours of capitalism-negotiations before invading with his army. The hero Don opposed his schemes, but Don was too late to rescue Muti who was boarded on a shuttle that was heading to Earth. Muti remained faithful and confident that she could bring back notes about peace regarding American capitalism which would inspire Don and his allies to overthrow the villainous Ming. Muti arrived at the White House and greeted Donald and Melania Tump. Muti was worried that Ming was spying on them.
Muti met a young man in Connecticut while studying capitalism-theory at Yale University under the tourism-guidance of the U.S. government. This young man, a German-American named Alas, was drawing stick-figure doodles of comic book heroes paired with horror-film monsters/psychos. Muti especially liked Alas's rendering of the DC Comics masked urban vigilante/superhero Batman paired with the iconic American horror-film psycho Leatherface (a fictional chainsaw-wielding cannibal who wore an eerie skin-mask and wig). Muti asked Alas what this Batman-Leatherface doodle signified, and Alas explained it was a 'cartoon' about the contest between good and evil in America --- a land ruled by ambition and strange adversaries. Muti decided to make this doodle an Earth-symbolic caricature of capitalism-theology.
Muti then traveled to Hollywood, California where she was greeted by the movie-star Ed Norton who took her on a guide in the Los Angeles area, showing her towers of consumerism and glamour such as MGM Studios Theme Park and Rodeo Drive and Disneyland. Norton then took Muti to the premiere of his new film, a sequel, called Fight Club 2. This movie-sequel was about the same socially-estranged American nameless bureaucrat from the original Fight Club who was now being haunted by the same anarchy alter-ego oriented hellraiser named Tyler. Tyler was inducing the bureaucrat to create mayhem and confusion in online sports-gambling circles, to make 'capitalism-pranks' that the press would devour. Muti wondered how such a film would reflect modern-era capitalism-angst (and labyrinths) in America.
Muti decided to investigate further about the capitalism-intrigue on Earth surrounding sports-gambling. She discovered that the surprise-victory of the upstart Philadelphia Eagles (NFL) over the dominating New England Patriots (winner of a whopping 5 Super Bowl titles in the new millennium) in Super Bowl 52 [2018] generated quite a bit of sports-gambling chatter/folklore among sports-writers. The Eagles' darling-season in 2017-2018 signaled a potential 'curtain-call' for the Goliath-like Patriots, manned by the titan-like QB Tom Brady, but the Eagles would have to down the Patriots in the Super Bowl, and they'd have to do it without their star-QB who was out with an injury. This excitement generated a great deal of sports-gambling energy, and Muti discovered that Tom Brady was like a 'consumerism/media Golem' in America.
Muti compiled her notes and spoke one more time with U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump before reboarding her shuttle and heading back to Venus to present her findings/report to the calculating Emperor Ming. Muti did just that, but she also took photos of her notes with her new iPhone (presented to her by President Trump) and hid them in her shoe. Ming was pleased with Muti's report/notes, but when the heroic revolutionary Don broke into Ming's palace and rescued Princess Muti, she showed Don the photocopies of her notes about American capitalism. Don knew Ming would try to invade Earth/America on principles of capitalism-vulnerabilities, perhaps exploiting post-9/11 pedestrian paranoia. Don planned his subversion of Ming's covenant.
Ming's mistress, the dangerous and beautiful Miss Darcy, sent Don a holographic-portrait of herself for Don to admire to cajole him to rescue him from Ming's dominion which she became increasingly dissatisfied with, and Don knew Darcy was a potential ally. Don kidnapped Darcy and brought her to his fortress where Princes Muti took good care of her. Don knew Ming's reign was near its end, but he also wanted to make sure that all of Muti's revelations regarding American capitalism-consciousness on Earth were coordinated/considered for a careful anticipation of Ming's future schemes and intentions towards humanity and towards the myriad sentient beings on Venus. Don kept Darcy's holographic-portrait in his chambers as a sign of the potential for fantastic aspirations in an otherwise confounding sea of darkness.
Muti showed Don a doodle-drawing Alas made of the female comic book anti-heroine Livewire (a woman who could manipulate electrical energy) and Carnage (a demonic comic book super-villain who shape-shifts and is a symbol of anarchy and mayhem and therefore terrorism). Muti explained that American capitalism was 'bifurcated' in terms of feminism (e.g. Victoria's Secret lingerie-shops) and chauvinism (e.g., NFL-marketing obsession). Don knew Ming would exploit this contradiction and accurately predicted that Ming would carry some bomb on an invasion-shuttle to Earth on the anniversary of 9/11, meant to be detonated at the capitalism-symbolic Library of Congress (a place where both American men and women studied and daydreamed).
Don boarded Ming's invasion shuttle and turned on the bomb before hang-gliding off the shuttle and back towards Venus before the shuttle escaped Venus's atmosphere/orbit. Ming was killed and his invasion army was destroyed. Don returned to his fortress and celebrated the triumph with Princess Muti and Miss Darcy, whom he took both as wives. Don was a polygamist by religion, after all. He then had one of his artist friends generate a fanfare-themed art-poster of a fictional capitalism-obsessive dominion headed by an evil emperor and challenged by a heroic galactic knight named Flash Gordon. Don sent this fan-poster to Earth, on a satellite-shuttle with a message intended to be sent to the White House. When President Trump opened the sent parcel and saw the Flash Gordon fan-poster, he knew there were 'forces' around the universe complementing America's quest for capitalism-harmony.
TRUMP: I love this Flash Gordon fan-poster, Carter!
CARTER: Capitalism is endorsed by great minds, Mr. President.
TRUMP: How will America embrace capitalism-rhetoric in the 21st Century?
CARTER: Everything depends on Wall Street and the World Bank, sir.
TRUMP: I think Planet Hollywood consciousness 'guides' consumerism.
CARTER: Are you a fan of the American films Casino and Celebrity?
TRUMP: Those are both consumerism-iconic movies...
CARTER: I wonder if capitalism is confounded by the 'leviathan' of terrorism.
TRUMP: What does 'leviathan' mean?
CARTER: 'Leviathan' refers to a metaphysical sea-beast of chaos!
TRUMP: I suppose 9/11 was an 'American Leviathan.'
CARTER: Do you think capitalism can generate a World War III?
TRUMP: If it does and China and North Korea are involved, America is prepared!
CARTER: Is America the guardian that protects capitalism from darkness?
TRUMP: Our voters should believe that, Carter.
CARTER: What if Flash Gordon is the 'modernism-avatar' of capitalism-idealism?
TRUMP: That would be a good thing; kids love Flash Gordon.
CARTER: Hail to art!
====
