Ode to Halloween

[Abishai100]

Halloween is a celebration observed in a number of countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.

It is widely believed that many Halloween traditions originated from Celtic harvest festivals that may have pagan roots, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain, and that this festival was Christianized as Halloween. Some academics, however, support the view that Halloween began independently as a solely Christian holiday (source of information: Wikipedia).

Halloween marks autumn and the harvest and the beginning of the American holiday season (Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas). Many many people in the USA think of college football and professional football during this season.

I'm a big fan of the iconic 1978 John Carpenter horror-film Halloween, which presents the story of an eerie masked psycho named Michael Myers who brings nothing but murder to Samhain.

Michael Myers is the evil Easter Bunny of autumn, so why not toast such a Goliath on this month of Easter?


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LOOMIS: I see you've drawn this little doodle of Batman (DC Comics) and Leatherface (horror-film avatar).
MYERS: Mmm-hmm.
LOOMIS: Do you think Leatherface (the fictional chainsaw-wielding cannibal) is Batman's rival?
MYERS: Mmm-hmm.
LOOMIS: What is Batman to you, Michael?
MYERS: My Father.
LOOMIS: Your priest of sorts?
MYERS: Mmm-hmm.
LOOMIS: Do you appreciate trick-or-treating?
MYERS: As a child.
LOOMIS: I don't want to see you become the evil Easter Bunny, Michael.
MYERS: Hmmm.
LOOMIS: Consider the therapeutic value of Halloween and Easter arts-and-crafts (ornaments!).
MYERS: Reign over me.

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BATMAN and LEATHERFACE (Michael Myers' childhood doodle):

 

[Abishai100]

Avatar


In the old world, folklore and storytelling revolved around sentiment-based imagination (e.g., Tristan and Isolde), but in the new world (the modern age), folk chatter seems to revolve around a consciousness about labor-based teamwork (e.g., Bad News Bears, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man), tech-intel (e.g., Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla), and virtual reality 'avatars' (e.g., Super Mario Brothers).

Masquerade revelry has changed from fancy-ornate/ballroom to street-wise/pedestrian. This gives Halloween a special 'populism edge' in the new age.

We literally want to see engaged citizenry teamwork as it applies to pedestrian imagination, which is why we see so many comic book adaptations of teamwork-bravado (e.g., Justice League, Batman & Robin, Green Lantern & Green Arrow).

This is indeed the 'age of the avatar.' Any Halloween fan/aficionado must account for this!

What do you think?



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Tom Cruise, the world's most popular movie star, was bored with celebrity life and began surfing the Web looking for perspectives on pedestrian politics using an identity-masking Internet alias/avatar ('Spider-Man'). On World Discussion Forum, Cruise/Spider-Man found an idealistic blogger named Ajay Satan who was using the Internet alias/avatar 'Iceman' (who is actually an ally of Marvel Comics' Spider-Man). Ajay/Iceman was blogging about the value of religious pluralism dialogue in the modern world (e.g., Scientology, Satanism, Kwanzaa, etc.). Cruise/Spider-Man began conversing with Ajay/Iceman online about working together across various media platforms (e.g., TV, radio, Internet, chat-rooms, etc.).

Cruise and Ajay decided to meet one summer and discussed ways to work together as 'American crusaders.' They decided to dress up as Spider-Man and Iceman (respectively) for Halloween and protest on the White House lawn to urge the capitalism-subjective Trump Administration to seek more progressive routes to social and political change and profiteerism temperance. When President Trump issued the statement in the press, "I am thrilled that Marvel Comics' Spider-Man and Iceman are interested in populism-related issues in this modern world, so I will be working with artists and writers regarding free-speech issues and culture-representation in the arts as it pertains to Hollywood movies!"

Cruise/Spider-Man and Ajay/Iceman were thrilled about the impact they were making and decided to continue blogging on World Discussion Forum. When other members/readers on the forum noted how much the two were like a 'Dynamic Duo,' Cruise and Ajay decided to go on a media-campaign, trying to convince the public that they were like the video-game franchise 'hero-duo' the Mario Brothers, affable do-gooders in a 'wonderland' who use their smarts and might to challenge an evil tyrant in a 'virtual reality world.' Mario Brothers stories were adapted into films and comic books and even educational video games for kids/schools.

Spider-Man and Iceman went on a campaign telling people (on TV/Internet) they were the real Mario Brothers! They provided evidence that culturally-symbolic Hollywood films such as Born on the 4th of July and Edge of Tomorrow (Cruise's 'domain') were symbols of a citizenry-engaged 'culture-dialogue' not seen even in the incendiary Ancient Greek critical-thinking world of Socrates and that understanding how such symbols fitted into an engaged forum dialogue regarding populism-politics (Ajay's 'domain') gauged new age intelligence. That Halloween, costume-sales of Mario Brothers characters went way up, as kids and teens across America wanted to embrace the populism spirit of 'political masquerade' Cruise ('Spider-Man') and Ajay ('Iceman') were cheering. It was a terrific 'Mob Psychology Halloween.'

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Mario Bros. (Wikipedia)

 

[Abishai100]

The Street-Mask Jihad


Here's a story of two masked vigilantes (wearing Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton masks) stumbling into a Transylvania beset by an urban Occult gang war between a ninja named Storm-Shadow and a group of animal-mask wearing ghouls called The Dead-Rabbits.

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Reagan and Clinton travelled to Transylvania after their last successful US bank robbery and first successful crime-fighting deed (apprehending and arresting the chemically pumped-up maniac-brute 'Bane'). They asked each other finally to remove their masks and reveal their identities to each other but both declined and decided to remain a 'secret brotherhood.' Reagan and Clinton followed street-gossip in Transylvania to an intriguing Occult gang war between a wily ninja named Storm-Shadow and a group of animal-mask wearing 'syndicate-warriors' called The Dead-Rabbits.

Reagan and Clinton decided to rob a Transylvania bank on Halloween eve, and when the press reported on it, it took attention away from the Dead-Rabbits who were not associated with pedestrian wildness tales about daring bank robbers. The leader of the Dead-Rabbits, Ian (and his beautiful girlfriend Ivy) ordered for the execution of Reagan and Clinton and sent an anonymous op-ed to the Transylvania Gazette with the message, "These two bank robbers will be hunted down by the now-vigilant Dead-Rabbits, and we hope our lawyer (Ivy) will be able to convince you of the legal profitability of our enterprise and its potential contributions to the community!" Storm-Shadow realized that Reagan and Clinton were destined to defeat the Dead-Rabbits and decided to retire to the Himalayas where he planned to meditate for the remainder of his battle-weary life.

Reagan and Clinton realized that Ian and Ivy intended to use the full brutish muscle of the Dead-Rabbits to create a killer-mentality in this new age urban street governance contention. Fearing for their lives, Reagan and Clinton decided to dress up as archers and stormed into the Municipal Office demanding to know the legal employment of all suspected associates of the Dead-Rabbits (minus Ivy). They sent a compiled list to the Transylvania Gazette and then headed back to America. From the safe harbors of America, Reagan and Clinton sent a barrage of emails about public mistrust of the 'black hand' of the Dead-Rabbits in Transylvania, and the online chatter generated so much social gossip that motivated investigations created by ripples led to the eventual dissolution of the Dead-Rabbits. This was all thanks to a Halloween stunt.

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[Abishai100]

Berlin

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A terrible Halloween crime syndicate in Berlin, Germany formed, and three rogue 'vigilantes' assembled to tackle the syndicate. The crime syndicate was known as The Bandit Pretenders (TBP) and they created mayhem and havoc on Halloween in the city dressed in costumes of criminals and prisoners and convicts. They always evaded detection even in cases of arson. The three vigilantes assembled to tackle the syndicate were Scarecrow (a masked-man who rode a bicycle and carried a megaphone which he used to say things about TBP such as, "Policemen are dishonored!"), Green-Witch (a spinster-woman of beautiful appearance who dressed as a witch, played Ouija, and carried green apples filled with an aphrodisiac potion which she handed to trick-or-treaters to improve mood), and Good Knight (a jovial and bizarrely-optimistic fellow who always recited Chaucer when talking about TBP to thoroughfare on Halloween Eve).

TBP caught wind of Scarecrow, Green-Witch, and Good Knight and ordered for their executions. However, they intended to kill all three on the same night --- the following Halloween Eve! The stunt would downplay the careful urban vigilance-work the three 'vigilantes' were conducting. TBP referred to the trio as The Three Fireflies (since all fireflies, no matter how brilliant, die and cease to produce their inspiring light). The Three Fireflies suspected that TBP would coordinate a counter-strike on Halloween Eve, so they decided to work together on a shrewd plan. They would all dress as Michael Myers (the fictional serial killer from American horror films) so TBP could not discriminate them. The plan worked, and they evaded detection. TBP leaders were furious, but the Fireflies sent a notice to the Berlin Gazette with the message, "No organized criminal initiative can subdue the basic human yearning for optimism on Halloween in Berlin!"

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