Decay of Society 2 & 3

And the hope therein which has not yet perished

Decay 2: Video Games & JFK

On the 41st anniversary of President Kennedy's death, a new Internet game was released on JFKreloaded.com, in which the player pretends to be Lee Harvey Oswald and assassinate the president. As if that wasn't enough, it costs money to play and they're offering $100,000 for whoever can shoot JFK at the exact time and angle that Oswald did. The creators say it's educational, that this "new form of interactive entertainment brings history to life and will stimulate a younger generation of players to take an interest in this fascinating episode of American history."

This is getting a lot of response and criticism. A spokesmen for a family member of Kennedy's said it's "despicable." It's evoking outrage from many other sources too. Video games have been getting more graphic and violent for years, but at least you're usually a good guy. This is not more grisly graphics; this is a repulsive twist of morals and ethics.

The creators have a lot of nice arguments to "prove" that what they have done is all good and OK. But come on, here! What's next? A game where you have to blow up a building in Oklahoma City? A game where you have to fly in jets to bomb Pearl Harbor? A game where you have to fly a plane into the World Trade Center? I'm sorry, but JFK Reloaded goes too far. If you truly want to mix games and history, don't glorify the ruthless. I hope it gets taken off the 'net, but I don't expect that to happen.

(Sources: www.washingtonpost.com, news.independent.co.uk)

Decay 3: Alexander the Gay

I saw a preview for the movie Alexander, which is about Alexander the Great. It was filled with a combination of intense cool-looking medieval fight scenes and, uh, love scenes. Looked similar to Troy, an ancient war movie that might be great to watch without the unnecessary immoral content. But, wait, it gets worse.

In the movie, not only does Alexander sleep with women, he sleeps with... men. It's so disgusting I can barely bring myself to write it. It has the Greeks in an outrage at this destruction of history. Some are threatening to sue (which won't work---the movie isn't being presented as a documentary. It's a Hollywood movie---they have no obligations to be accurate to anything). Although it is ironic that Yannis Varnakos, the leading threatener, used JFK in an analogy: "We cannot come out and say that President John F. Kennedy was a shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team and so Warner cannot come out and say Alexander was gay."

The movie director insists that Alexander was in fact bisexual, or homosexual, or whatever you want to call it, and this is not a new idea. But, whether it was true or not, you don't have to make a movie about it! At least Alexander is getting terrible reviews. Washington Post didn't even like the special effects or the storyline or practically anything about the movie. I hope it's a box office failure, but I don't expect that to happen, either.

(Sources: courttv.com, www.washingtonpost.com)

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So, what do these events have in common? Two things. One, they're both taking history and twisting it and using it in ways it shouldn't be used. Two, it's evoking outrage and criticism from lots of people. Which means our society, as bad and immoral as it has become and is becoming, is not totally hopeless. People are still getting upset about things. But will it make any difference in how many people play the game or see the movie? Probably not.

Edmond the Hun