This would probably be the best path. Maybe a series of vignettes building out. I’m nervous that this might be like the “Smile” treatment, i.e. a fantastic short film (SO good) gets expanded into a wider “universe” to franchise. I’m glad the filmmakers are getting their shot. Just , you know 🤞🏽

I will never be able to unsee this truth. Because every agent who comes afoul the gang needs to be rotated out lest they become TOO insane. Case in point, the progressive decline of the mental state of one Agent Mara, Codename: Cricket.

Yeah, Jason Pargin’s interesting in that he frequently has pretty good takes on the “conservative” (authoritarian) mindset, but undercuts it in the same post, usually as a result of speaking from a comfortably white perspective. I.e. calling it “human nature,” instead of political socialization.

“Halt evildoer! You now face Laserhead!” <throws an axe>

You know, it is super topical and quite emotional. But I’d also describe it as very cathartic, like it’s saying what you’ve been thinking. Like, with regard to the real-world parallels, the prevailing emotion it made me feel throughout was “<snaps> yo, that’s exactly what I’ve been saying!”

How it ended up:

(youtube.com/clip/UgkxrfX...)

Ooh, yeah those decals can be murder. Many a childhood tear was spent because I couldn’t get the vents right 😅

But I guess that’s the history of America in a nutshell, isn’t it? Still, it brings to mind one of my favorite quotes from the gals at My Favorite Murder: “Fuck Politeness” (… and don’t get murdered)

The oppressor’s cognitive dissonance about how fucked their society is on a structural level is an oppression in of itself, because that concept of “poor taste” is then used to exclude people who would otherwise be in the “in” group, thereby discouraging people in said group from speaking out

In another life I studied criminal justice with the intent of becoming a police officer. Statistics about things like the high incidence of domestic violence committed by police are all known and taught in police education. The typical takeaway? “Don’t make bad choices.” That’ll learn em.