I think this Amazon production is blasphemy in the true sense of the word--using the outer of appearance of a body of work--to promote a totally different entity.
Like a Trojan Horse--ride the the thing in--pretending to be a horse while you hide your real identity. These corporate types lack wisdom--the beginning of which comes with fear of the Lord--something they will never get. Woke is soooo boring. And forgettable because, in the end, it's just pastiche.
Fascinating video. I never had the “pleasure” of seeing this turd but I think the key lies in that comment about the chasm between the gargantuan sums of dosh invested and the final result. The suspicion arises: did that comedy team entrusted with the funds pocket 90% of it for a round-the-world cruise whilst leaving a few corporate woke nerds in charge of actually directing it? Or maybe the dosh was invested in multiple covid/climate/trans scams?
I recall picking up on one of the Pullman Dark Materials film outings and noting how his Gyptians – who were obviously based on “Gyspies” i.e. a Romani people – had somehow been transformed into the usual nondescript multi-cultural soup. And I wonder if at some point down the line, someone will object to the Orcs being ugly and therefore prejudice against Orcs and then we will be subjected to Orcs of all shapes and sizes with a few beauties thrown in?
Is there not also shades of J J Abrams and Star Trek? Abrams knew nothing of ST and didn’t give a fuck. So he had his original outing conveniently slide into a parallel universe where he could basically make up shit of his own.
The point is the same for the Rings and Trek: that all the investors want is to use the names of a fictional juggernaut to rope in the punters who, once roped in, can be dumped with any old bollocks. And even the screams of rage from the punters when they have realised they’ve been duped can be used to generate more dosh.
Thank you for your astute observations and kind words!
It is indeed a peculiar age we live in when substantial investments yield mediocrity rather than masterpieces. As you say, the chasm between artistic integrity and financial ambition grows ever wider, with more and more messaging, propaganda and politics and less and less substance, spirit and story.
Mmm, it does make you think. My musing is that any work of value takes an ensemble to go well, to work. After watching the making of series of the Peter Jackson films, I couldn't help but be impressed by every single member of the crew being caught up in striving for excellence and love for the books, from costumiers, to artefact makers, set designers and carpenters, all the way up to the actors, writers and director. Here, back in audio-visual factory hell, the complete absence of any of those factors was also evident.
It also makes me wonder whether this was a money laundering exercise, where even the script seems to have been produced by Chat GPT. What could have cost so much for such a poor result? It is a plausible explanation for this horror.
I think there are a few reasons behind this butchery:
Money laundering, as you say: Quite frankly, this show didn’t cost a billion dollars. So where did that money go?
Subversion of good and evil: Everything is now painted in shades of grey, and the powers that be want us to believe that the clear, fanciful notions of good and evil are just fairytales.
Lowering expectations for quality: Slowly but surely, they grind down people's standards until we forget what true, objective quality looks and sounds like.
It's not just a creative misstep—there's something much deeper going on here.
New subscriber here.
I think this Amazon production is blasphemy in the true sense of the word--using the outer of appearance of a body of work--to promote a totally different entity.
Like a Trojan Horse--ride the the thing in--pretending to be a horse while you hide your real identity. These corporate types lack wisdom--the beginning of which comes with fear of the Lord--something they will never get. Woke is soooo boring. And forgettable because, in the end, it's just pastiche.
Your essay nails it.
Fascinating video. I never had the “pleasure” of seeing this turd but I think the key lies in that comment about the chasm between the gargantuan sums of dosh invested and the final result. The suspicion arises: did that comedy team entrusted with the funds pocket 90% of it for a round-the-world cruise whilst leaving a few corporate woke nerds in charge of actually directing it? Or maybe the dosh was invested in multiple covid/climate/trans scams?
I recall picking up on one of the Pullman Dark Materials film outings and noting how his Gyptians – who were obviously based on “Gyspies” i.e. a Romani people – had somehow been transformed into the usual nondescript multi-cultural soup. And I wonder if at some point down the line, someone will object to the Orcs being ugly and therefore prejudice against Orcs and then we will be subjected to Orcs of all shapes and sizes with a few beauties thrown in?
Is there not also shades of J J Abrams and Star Trek? Abrams knew nothing of ST and didn’t give a fuck. So he had his original outing conveniently slide into a parallel universe where he could basically make up shit of his own.
The point is the same for the Rings and Trek: that all the investors want is to use the names of a fictional juggernaut to rope in the punters who, once roped in, can be dumped with any old bollocks. And even the screams of rage from the punters when they have realised they’ve been duped can be used to generate more dosh.
Thank you for your astute observations and kind words!
It is indeed a peculiar age we live in when substantial investments yield mediocrity rather than masterpieces. As you say, the chasm between artistic integrity and financial ambition grows ever wider, with more and more messaging, propaganda and politics and less and less substance, spirit and story.
Cheers for the thoughtful discourse!
J R
Mmm, it does make you think. My musing is that any work of value takes an ensemble to go well, to work. After watching the making of series of the Peter Jackson films, I couldn't help but be impressed by every single member of the crew being caught up in striving for excellence and love for the books, from costumiers, to artefact makers, set designers and carpenters, all the way up to the actors, writers and director. Here, back in audio-visual factory hell, the complete absence of any of those factors was also evident.
It also makes me wonder whether this was a money laundering exercise, where even the script seems to have been produced by Chat GPT. What could have cost so much for such a poor result? It is a plausible explanation for this horror.
I had a similar thought.
I think there are a few reasons behind this butchery:
Money laundering, as you say: Quite frankly, this show didn’t cost a billion dollars. So where did that money go?
Subversion of good and evil: Everything is now painted in shades of grey, and the powers that be want us to believe that the clear, fanciful notions of good and evil are just fairytales.
Lowering expectations for quality: Slowly but surely, they grind down people's standards until we forget what true, objective quality looks and sounds like.
It's not just a creative misstep—there's something much deeper going on here.