Game of Thrones and Rape Criticism

There are some people, both media critics and other bloggers who have an axe or two to grind over the Jaime/Cersei rape scene in particular and how  A Game of Thrones handles rape or violence against women in general. Some of them claim that the show and/or the books upon which the show is based takes a titillating (pun not intended) or dismissive view towards female sexuality and/or rape.
“The ‘no means yes’ thing is there in the books,” said Sady Doyle, an essayist who often writes about “Game of Thrones.” “The sexualized punishments are there. It’s in the text and it’s vital to the text. It’s something that comes up, over and over again.” But, she added, “At a certain point, you get the feeling that you can’t walk through a chapter without expecting something horrible — almost always to a female character — just to prove that this is indeed a very scary and dark piece of literature.”

“To have sexual violence treated so cavalierly, it’s very difficult to see that,” said Mariah Huehner, a writer and editor of comic books who has contributed repeatedly to the online debate. “It’s too upsetting to see, and I just don’t know that I can keep going with that.”

I thought the show creators poorly handled the Jaime/Cersei scene. They took a consensual book scene and turned into a rape. It did unnecessary violence to Jaime's character and continued the show's baffling trend of making Cersei far more sympathetic than she ever is in the books. But the idea that Martin or the show creators Benioff and Weiss are endorsing rape is pretty silly. The show has gotten a lot of things wrong. Neither Martin nor the HBO creators are beyond criticism. But Book!Jaime did not rape Book!Cersei. I usually don't quote from the books because most people here haven't read them. I definitely don't want bookreaders to start spoiling events yet to occur. And I mean that. There's a lot of stuff that's yet to occur or may not occur. Reading the books is no longer a guarantee that you know what's going to happen. But just this once, especially since the scene already happened, I want to use a relevant quote from the book.

She touched his face. “I was lost without you, Jaime. I was afraid the Starks would send me your head. I could not have borne that.” She kissed him. A light kiss, the merest brush of her lips on his, but he could feel her tremble as he slid his arms around her. “I am not whole without you.” There was no tenderness in the kiss he returned to her, only hunger. Her mouth opened for his tongue. “No,” she said weakly when his lips moved down her neck, “not here. The septons…”

“The Others can take the septons.” He kissed her again, kissed her silent, kissed her until she moaned. Then he knocked the candles aside and lifted her up onto the Mother’s altar, pushing up her skirts and the silken shift beneath. She pounded on his chest with feeble fists, murmuring about the risk, the danger, about their father, about the septons, about the wrath of gods. He never heard her. He undid his breeches and climbed up and pushed her bare white legs apart.

One hand slid up her thigh and underneath her smallclothes. When he tore them away, he saw that her moon’s blood was on her, but it made no difference.

“Hurry,” she was whispering now, “quickly, quickly, now, do it now, do me now. Jaime Jaime Jaime.” Her hands helped guide him. “Yes,” Cersei said as he thrust, “my brother, sweet brother, yes, like that, yes, I have you, you’re home now, you’re home now, you’re home.” She kissed his ear and stroked his short bristly hair. Jaime lost himself in her flesh. He could feel Cersei’s heart beating in time with his own, and the wetness of blood and seed where they were joined.

Does that sound anything at all like something that is unambiguously non-consensual? No it does not. It sounds at worst like this classic scene.

Even so I have heard some people whose opinions I generally respect claim that the show is too invested in violence against women. Hmm. I try to be fairminded and use evidence. I'm not saying I am but I do try. Maybe I'm missing something and women or girls are indeed singled out for harmful acts. So let's examine what other violent acts have been depicted or referenced in the television series so far:

• The initial protagonist, a good man, is murdered in front of his two daughters.
• A boy who is a companion to one of those daughters is murdered by being stabbed through the throat. Much later, the daughter finds the man who did it and returns the favor.
• The man's son who seeks justice and the rescue of his sisters is murdered along with his friends, wife, unborn child, mother and untold thousands during a wedding.
• A boy is defenestrated and crippled. He's later almost assassinated in his bed.
• Both the male protector and the male counselor/tutor to this boy are murdered.
• Two other boys are burned and have their corpses displayed.
• The man who committed or allowed the above two actions is beaten, flayed, has extremities cut off, psychologically tormented, threatened with homosexual rape, raped by women and finally castrated.
• The man who ordered/did all this also kills his own followers for fun.

• An unpleasant man uses magic to murder his own brother then pretends he doesn't know about it.
• This same man considers killing his own nephew and later burns his brother-in-law alive.
• The continent's leading warlord is best known for exterminating two houses that rebelled against him (including non-combatants and children)
• The above fellow also tells his son that he would have killed him at birth were it not for the pesky rule about kinslaying and the fact that he can't prove that he was cuckolded. He takes special delight in bullying his son every chance he gets.
• Several male peasants are tortured or robbed for fun by partisans of all sides.
• A female knight stabs a rapist through his groin.
• The man who threw the boy from the window murders his own cousin in an escape attempt. He later has a hand amputated because he annoyed a captor.
• A so-called "good guy" murders captive boys to express his discontent with his leader's decision making. He's later killed.
• The Queen Regent threatens a male cabinet member with death because she dislikes his tone.
• A male tyrant in the making is murdered in front of his own parents by a supposedly kindly old woman.

• A bard has his tongue ripped out on orders of that same tyrant.
• A friendly and shy male peasant is beaten and robbed by a series anti-hero.
• This same anti-hero kills a boy on orders of the Queen and reigning Prince.
• The Lord Commander of the Night's Watch is betrayed and murdered by his own men.
• Thousands of men are burned alive by wildfire.
• A self-righteous queen orders slave owners (evidently all male) to be crucified.
• She also has a growing habit of having her dragons sautee those she considers threats or insufficiently respectful.
• A spymaster is possibly gleeful to have the opportunity to torture and kill the man who mutilated him years ago.
• When a Queen thinks her army will lose she decides to kill her trusting middle son.
• A king's son narrowly escapes being tortured by having rats gnaw through his stomach and is later tortured by being cut so that leeches can have his blood.
• Several babies or children of the previous king are murdered.
• Two wolves have been killed unjustly. One was later mutilated and paraded around to jeers, along with his dead human male companion.
• A female wildling routinely coldly kills non-combatant male peasants.
• Another male wilding likes to eat those same non-combatant male peasants.
• A truly demented wilding leaves his incestuous boy babies outside in apparently sub zero temperatures. If they survive the exposure they get kidnapped by ice zombies.

That's what I can remember in five minutes. I know I forgot/overlooked a lot. And there's more to come in future episodes (PLEASE DON'T DISCUSS IF YOU KNOW)

In short, things are tough all over. Evidently the people complaining about violence directed at women or girls missed all of the above instances of violence directed at men or boys. Men and boys are just as likely if not more so to be targets. There's a war going on. In war men and women kill, die and do horrible things to each other. It is in my view utterly ridiculous for the folks wringing their hands about the Jaime/Cersei scene to have apparently missed all of the male on male or female on male violence. It's like looking at pictures of Nagasaki and talking about all the women who died. Obviously (sarcasm on) GRRM is a horrible misandrist. He hates men and just enjoys writing prose where they die.

The first problem is that most of us (with the possible exception of Sean Connery) are initially culturally conditioned to consider violence against women as worse than violence against men. This is regardless of our political or ideological stances or genders. A woman getting punched in the face is a taboo. A man getting punched in the face is pay per view entertainment. So that's why some people can zoom past all of the fictional examples of men being killed and complain of the fictional rape. In real life the atrocities of the Nigerian terrorist organization Boko Haram did not penetrate into some Western minds as long as Boko Haram was killing boys. It's when they started kidnapping large numbers of girls that suddenly everyone became outraged experts on their evil. The second problem is that some people have forgotten that the same Show!Jaime who had the sensitive come to Jesus moment with Brienne also tried to kill Bran Stark and did kill his cousin. He's not a "good" guy though I disagree with the show's choice to remind viewers of that via rape.

The books of A Song of Ice and Fire are longer than the Bible. So it's unsurprising that there will be different interpretations. I do think that the showrunners have taken every opportunity to show bare breasts and total nudity for both genders, even when I thought it unnecessary. If you're okay with fictional depictions of men being chopped up, stabbed, mutilated, castrated, beheaded and burned alive but suddenly have an issue with a fictional depiction of rape I would very much like to understand why.

Movie Reviews: You're Next, Danger Word

You're Next
directed by Adam Winguard

Much like Cabin in the Woods, You're Next is a horror movie which shows that you can still have intelligent premises and writing in horror films without sacrificing scare or gore. This film does have gore and plenty of it, let's be clear about that, but it's very rarely what I would call gratuitous. This movie also features legendary scream queen actress Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator) which is probably why I was willing to give it a look see. Time has been very kind to Crampton though her role here is of course nothing like her spot in the 80s classic Re-Animator. She's now the graceful older woman instead of the bouncy co-ed menaced by the dirty old professor. Speaking of Re-Animator, much like that film, You're Next is that uncommon find of a movie that was cheaply made but doesn't really look all that cheaply made. That's quite a talent. I think this will also be a cult film some day in the very near future.

Although I did not stop and pick through this movie frame by frame I don't recall any obvious errors like messed up sound levels, visible boom mikes, or actors looking at the camera inadvertently. Sometimes those things can plague relatively low budget movies but they're absent here. This is an inexpensive well-crafted film that did not immediately, automatically and unnecessarily insult the viewer's intelligence. Some filmmakers with larger budgets and bigger names would do well to check out this movie. Of course that said I LIKE the horror genre a wee bit more than the average person does. So if you're just not into horror at all then I suppose you will probably skip this film. To each their own and all that. But to my mind anyway you'd be making a mistake. Like many good horror movies this film features a wealthy family gathering at a large estate. I know there are some readers who would probably stop right there but bear with me just a little longer won't you.

It's the parents' anniversary. All of their children are coming to visit, along with their spouses and significant others. The four siblings (three brothers and a sister) and their family dynamics will be familiar to anyone with large or close families. It remains a fact that no one can love you like family or get under your skin like family. Whether it's grown people jockeying for their parents' favor, older siblings making fun of what they see as younger sibling's silly preoccupations, outright bullying, or younger siblings' long hidden resentments bubbling up to arguments these scenes ran true to life for me. Has your sibling or cousin ever gotten romantically involved with someone with whom you have immediate mutual dislike? Do you have a parent or other older relative who has yet to make peace with your career path or political beliefs and thinks you're throwing away your talents? Have you ever got tired of trying to prove to a parent or older sibling that you actually aren't incompetent? These scenes are hastily etched in this movie but I thought they worked.

The parents are very well off. The family patriarch, Paul Davison (Rob Moran) is owner/CEO of a successful defense contracting company. As he moves into retirement age (neither he nor Crampton look quite old enough to have the kids they do) he and his loving wife Aubrey Davison (Crampton) have purchased a large isolated mansion. They intend to refurbish it. They want to make it the future center for family celebrations and a fun place for grandchildren yet to come to remember fondly. They love all their kids though as mentioned , there are some tensions between and among the family members. I won't mention all of the siblings as some of them are not that important but a younger son Crispian Davison (A.J. Bowen), a stereotypical bumbling beta professor, is the first to arrive along with his perky and head over heels in love girlfriend (and former student) Erin (Sharni Vinson), an Australian with a broad accent. Shortly after that irritating and argumentative big brother/alpha male Drake Davison (Joe Swanberg) and his snooty wife Kelly (Margaret Laney) show up. Another brother and his goth girlfriend appear. And finally cute little sis and her wannabe filmmaker beau come to join the fun. But during dinner someone from the outside shoots the filmmaker right in the head with a crossbow bolt. That will ruin your evening.

And that's where I'll stop because just about everything else I could write would full of spoilers. That would be unfair to the film though I think roughly halfway thru the viewer will have figured some things out. The twist is more horrific than the actual violence displayed. This film is violent. More importantly it's scary. Right up until the very end all of the deaths and violence are emotionally involving. You care about what happens to all, well most, of these people. Nobody, (well only a few people, this is a horror movie after all), does remarkably stupid things just to keep the story moving. This is a witty film but its occasional forays into black humor once the bodies pile up don't work. There is some toplessness. Like The Purge, Funny Games, The Strangers and other home invasion films this movie will make you think about the exits and entrances to your home, who you really trust and the number of readily available self-defense implements you have laying around. This is a great movie to watch late at night, just after dark. It both confirms and upends horror movie tropes.
TRAILER






Danger Word
directed by Luchina Fisher
I can't really disinterestedly review this horror short as I contributed to its crowdfunding. It was written by the authors Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due. It is based on one of their young adult novels. I am very happy to finally see it. The novel it's based on, Devil's Wake, has been optioned for adaptation by the filmmaker and producer Tonya Lewis Lee, who among other things happens to be Spike Lee's wife. I've always liked the actor Frankie Faison, in part because he reminds me a bit of my own father. So it was fun to see him here. I wonder why zombies have become so important in the American mindset. Some people think it's about consumerist fears; others might point to immigration or sublimated class conflict but I doubt anyone really knows. Sometimes things just catch people's interest. I'm waiting for werewolves to come back into horror fashion.

Anyway self-financed independent movies like this are a reminder that no matter what you do or who you are it's often more productive to light a candle instead of cursing the darkness. If you don't think that Hollywood or the literary world or even the humble blog-o-sphere has a perspective that you can respect or relate to then by all means get off your rump-o-potamus and start shaking your tailfeathers so that everyone can see what you have to offer. After all you wouldn't have the talent that you have if you weren't meant to share it with someone. Check out the short film (20 minutes) below.

HBO Game of Thrones Recap: Oathkeeper

Well. That was different. Benioff and Weiss have consistently said that they are adapting the entirety of A Song of Ice and Fire, not just a one to one book to season ratio. They are the creators of a television adaptation, not slavish recreators of a series of novels. Last week, with the alteration of the Jaime-Cersei encounter that became quite obvious. This week there were even more dramatic changes from the book narrative with scenes that were very different from or simply did not exist in the literary version. I have mixed feelings about this but I'll discuss that more after the season. The creators know some of Martin's intended ending so I must hope that they had good reasons for changes. I will say that this episode kept me on my toes more than usual because I honestly had no idea what was going to happen next. And if a show can do that then it's a good show. Anyway enough about the books. I suggest reading them. Let's not discuss them here.* 

When we last left everyone's favorite platinum blonde princess she was shooting barrels of broken shackles over the walls of Meereen. Daenerys interrupts Missandei and Grey Worm, who are bonding over shared stories of loss, to tell Grey Worm that it's time. Grey Worm doesn't look too happy at having his "me" time with Missandei interrupted but hey, it's not like he can do anything with Missandei anyway. Jorah, lame as he is, has a better chance with Daenerys because he has his original equipment. You can't drive a manual without a stick.

Grey Worm leads a group of Unsullied into Meereen via the sewers to a slave meeting. The slaves are considering their chances of uprising, which don't look good. However after an inspiring Grey Worm speech the slaves' fortunes look better when Grey Worm unveils a wonderful assortment of machetes, falchions, short swords and daggers. In an evident stand in for the unseen uprising a particularly stupid slave owner is caught out in the open and stabbed to death by a thousand slaves from the casts of Gladiator, 12 Years a Slave, Django Unchained, Glory and Spartacus. Shortly afterwards Daenerys enters Meereen to adoring cheers. Barristan counsels her to show mercy to some of the surviving slave owners but possibly getting high on her own supply a self-righteous Daenerys has 163 of them crucified in a deliberate payback for the dead children. She also has her family sigil flying from the highest point in Meereen. The Targaryens are back.

Jaime is getting better sparring with his left but still can't beat Bronn, who "cheats". Of course Bronn doesn't recognize the concept of cheating in fighting. Bronn doubts Tyrion killed Joffrey. Poison is not Tyrion's way nor does Bronn think Tyrion a murderer. Jaime visits Tyrion, who as you might suspect is a bit down. We know that Tyrion didn't do it of course. We also know that Peter Dinklage can emote more with his eyes than many actors can do with 10 minutes of dialogue. Tyrion repeats to Jaime that neither he nor Sansa killed Joffrey, his brother's son.

Speaking of Sansa she's on a ship to the Eyrie, where Littlefinger is to marry her aunt Lysa. Proving that despite what some say about her being the slowest Stark, she actually has some brains, Sansa works out that Littlefinger killed or helped kill Joffrey. What she doesn't know is why. She knows Dontos didn't do it on his own. Littlefinger, looking every bit the proud teacher, asks Sansa if she noticed a stone missing from her necklace. Littlefinger points out that it's always best to be the man no one suspects. He found Joffrey unreliable; his new friends were adamant that Joffrey had to go. And who might those new friends be? Well who did Littlefinger meet with to arrange a marriage with Joffrey? Why that would be the Tyrells. And by Tyrells I mean Lady Olenna. While telling her granddaughter that she'll need to move fast to cut Tommen off from Cersei's influence, the Queen of Thorns also flatly states that Tyrion didn't murder Joffrey. Lady Olenna says there was no way she was going to leave Margaery to Joffrey's tender mercies. So there you have it. Littlefinger and Lady Olenna murdered Joffrey.  

Did you notice at the time that Lady Olenna came over to talk to Sansa and fussed with her necklace? Did you see her palm a stone? Did you catch her laughing up her sleeve about how murdering someone at a wedding was horrid? Of course you did because you're smarter than the average bear. Taking her grandmother's advice about men (boys) Margaery sneaks into Tommen's room to talk to him. The new plan is that they will get married to cement the Lannister-Tyrell partnership. Tommen is nothing like Joffrey. He's more malleable. And Margaery won't have to worry about being beaten or used for target practice. Cersei, who's constantly drinking and practicing her screwface, blames Jaime for Joffrey's death. She wants him to increase Tommen's guard. Cersei is suspicious of Jaime's release and wants to know if he would find and kill Sansa. When he demurs and says that Tyrion is innocent, Cersei has her answer and coldly dismisses him. Possibly feeling a bit chagrined, Jaime gives Brienne a new suit of armor as well as one of the swords melted down from Ice. He's charging her (and himself) to honor her oath to Catelyn Stark and find and protect Sansa Stark (Arya is thought dead). You can see that Brienne cares very much about oaths and hopes that Jaime does too. Brienne names the sword Oathkeeper. At Jaime's request she takes Podrick as her new squire.

At the Wall a newly confident Jon Snow is sharing fighting techniques and his knowledge of the Wildlings with an attentive audience. One audience member is Bolton's man Locke, who we know is charged to find and kill Bran, Rickon and Jon. When a jealous Alliser Thorne breaks up the tutoring session, Locke tries to bond with Jon by sharing his bogus story of exile to the Wall. A worried and observant Janos Slynt warns Thorne that Jon Snow is getting too popular. They should let Jon lead the attack on Craster's Keep in the hopes that he'll be killed and be unable to contest the election for Lord Commander. Thorne agrees and allows Jon to go, but with only volunteers. In a speech that is reminiscent of too many other cinematic wartime speeches to list, Snow convinces a handful of his brothers to follow him. He gets more than Thorne or Slynt thought would go. Locke volunteers as well even though he's technically only a recruit.

At Craster's Keep we see that instead of one demented rapist killer we now have several. Their leader is Karl, who after Rast balks at an order to "go feed the beast", gives a soliloquy on why he's so evil and dangerous. The whole thing was very reminiscent of Apocalypse Now. When a boy is born the women moan that the proper thing to do is to give it to the gods (leave it exposed for the White Walkers). Karl agrees. The suitably frightened Rast hurries to obey as he is unwilling to fight Karl. It's probably that Karl is drinking wine from Lord Commander Mormont's skull that does the trick. Rast leaves the baby in the woods and goes to feed the "beast" or rather Ghost, Jon Snow's direwolf. Of course he torments/teases the animal. Bran, Hodor and the Reeds are nearby and hear the baby crying. Against advice Bran wargs into Summer to go see what's going on. Bran/Summer sees Ghost locked up but the bond is broken when Summer is caught in a trap. Getting close the next morning, Bran and his party are captured by the rogue Night Watch members. Hodor is beaten and stabbed. But it's not until Meera and Jojen are threatened with rape and murder that Bran reveals his identity. We also learn that White Walkers apparently reproduce by placing human babies inside a small version of Stonehenge and touching their flesh/cutting them.

What I liked

• The reveal of the Littlefinger-Olenna plot was very nicely done. I also liked or rather was impressed with how Littlefinger switches back and forth between a tutor/protector of Sansa Stark and something considerably more sexual/sinister.
• Ned Stark and Robb Stark were surrounded by traitors and murdered by those they thought they could trust. Jon Snow is also surrounded by people who would like to see him dead and/or people with no honor at all. The difference is that he knows it. He's not aware of Locke (yet???) but he's certainly picked up on Thorne's hostility and knows that Slynt was involved in Ned's death. I am interested to see how the show handles this going forward.
• I liked the Tyrion:Jaime initial discomfort and acceptance of the sibling incest. Tyrion's attitude is non-judgmental, at least as far as Jaime goes, because he loves his big brother.
• I liked Bran revealing his identity to protect his bannermen. Again, House Stark may be down but when you have mutual loyalty like that are you out?
• The constant interplay of the class tension, whether implicit in Bronn taking Jaime's golden hand and beating him with it or Karl slapping Bran and saying that elsewhere he would have lost a hand for that crime was really well done. As has been repeated throughout the series, regardless of who sits upon the Iron Throne, the feudal system is not really one that is fair or decent for peasants. When the best someone can hope for is to have a "good" lord like a Stark or Tully, there might need to be some social changes.

What I didn't like

• I don't think that Jon Snow would have been uncurious about where his direwolf is. So I didn't like that at all. I'd have to go back and rewatch the show to see exactly when Jon and Ghost parted company but it seems to me that capturing a fullgrown direwolf is not an easy task.
• Sam realizing that maybe taking a woman away from being surrounded by rapists and thieves and putting her in a whorehouse might not be the best move. Dude, that was like obvious at the time. But you do the best you can. Stop whining.
• The scenes at Craster's Keep were a bit much, not just on their own but in combination with other unnecessary nudity. We know that the men there are rapists. This menace and the fact that the women's lives have worsened could be shown in a understated way. In the movie Winter's Bone when a wife doesn't obey her husband the man tells her in a cold quiet tone "I told you once already with my mouth". Sometimes less is more.

*This post is written for discussion of this episode and previous episodes.  If you have book based knowledge of future events please be kind enough not to discuss that here.  NO SPOILERS. NO BOOK DERIVED HINTS ABOUT FUTURE EVENTS. Most of my blog partners have not read the books and would take spoilers most unkindly. Heads, spikes, well you get the idea..

Book Reviews: The 47th Samurai, The Unscratchables

The 47th Samurai
by Stephen Hunter

I like Hunter's Bob Lee Swagger novels. This novel came out a few years ago but I just got around to reading it a few months back. I've read books in the series both before and after this one but generally Hunter's writing style is such that most of the books can be read on their own. Bob Lee Swagger aka Bob The Nailer is a fair minded, prickly, stubborn, direct and unfailingly polite old coot Vietnam War veteran Marine gunny sergeant who has a knack for getting himself wrapped up in trouble. He remains among the world's deadliest snipers, even at his advanced age. Swagger comes from a long line of tough guys, some morally good, some otherwise, all of whom have uncanny speed, scary aptitude with firearms, and an often underestimated intelligence. Although Swagger looks, sounds like and frankly is an Arkansas hick, he's also something more than that. So I was predisposed to like this book and I mostly did. The problem however was that suspension of disbelief was stretched. In his books, Hunter has provided well researched explanations of military and gun culture, gun mechanics and the various traits that allow some men to react immediately in deadly situations while other people are standing around. Hunter has explained that although the Swaggers do have that extra something special in terms of speed, cunning and aggression, NONE of that would mean anything without years of dull repetitive practice and real life experience. This includes weapons practice and the use and internalization of applied physics, chemistry and biology.

A sniper must account for gravity's effects on the bullet. He must know exactly where to place the bullet to achieve a single shot, single kill outcome. He must account for wind, bullet weight, humidity and even the rotation of the earth. He needs an instinctive working knowledge of trigonometry and calculus. He must be able to remain still for long periods of time while waiting for the target. Regardless of a man's natural talent, it takes time to achieve the professional skill level that someone like Bob Lee Swagger possesses. When Bob Lee Swagger picks up a gun, it's just an extension of his will. 


The gun is hardly the only such tool which requires dedication and practice. It requires an investment of time and resources to master any tool or art. In this book, however, Swagger is, in a relatively short period of time, able to become deadly with the quintessential Japanese sword, the katana. This is like The Matrix's Trinity or Neo downloading the information they need to fly helicopters or perform martial arts. It didn't really work for me. In fact it was ridiculous. You might like the guitar and have natural musical ability. But no matter how intense your desire or how skilled your teacher, two weeks of training won't turn you into Jimi Hendrix.

As the title hints, this book references the classic story of the 47 Ronin, recently adapted into a motion picture starring Keanu Reeves. Bob's father Earl Swagger, was a WW2 war hero, who received medals and honors for his actions on Iwo Jima. At Iwo Jima he may have killed an equally honorable Japanese officer, Captain Hideki Yano. Captain Yano's son Phillip has sought out Bob Lee Swagger. He bears no malice. Both he and Bob Lee are ex-military. They commiserate over war's foolishness and their much missed fathers. Phillip Yano is looking for his father's sword. Well, Bob Lee Swagger doesn't remember any sword but then again his father rarely talked about the war. But out of respect as well as interest in having something to do Bob Lee finds the missing Yano sword via his aging network of family and old Marine buddies. Bob Lee insists upon visiting Japan to return the sword personally to Yano and his family. This he does, even though Bob Lee's wife worries that he's getting into something again. Yano is something of a sword expert. He determines that his father's sword is not actually a regular Japanese Army sword but something that is much older and much more valuable. Shortly after Bob Lee has returned the sword however, Yano and his family are slaughtered. The sword is stolen. Inconceivably, the Japanese authorities are dragging their feet. The embassy tells Swagger to go home.

Well sir, nobody does that to Bob Lee Swagger's friends. This kicks off a detective/action/crime/revenge adventure that involves high conspiracies, dangerous Yakuza who are contemptuous of the hairy gaijin, and the aforementioned gaijin trying his best to learn how to kill with the sword as efficiently as he does with the gun. And oh yes in training ,Swagger has to avoid getting badly beaten by a ten yr old girl. You might think that guns would make swords completely superfluous. In close quarters though, especially with the advantage of skill or surprise, a bladed weapon might win more often than one would think. Swagger is occasionally assisted by a Japanese-American woman with her own interests that don't always align with those of Swagger. It's not that kind of relationship though as Swagger is happily married and doesn't cheat. This was a fun read if you enjoy these types of books.






The Unscratchables
by Cornelius Kane

I like old noir detective stories, whether they be told in radio, print or television. The bad guys are bad, the dames are playing both sides against the middle and the good guys can handle anything with their trusty .45. This book is both a homage to all those old time detective stories and a parody of them. It can be enjoyed straight but of course the hook is that the characters in the story are dogs or cats. Yes you see the primary character in the story is Crusher McNash, a bull terrier detective who likes nothing more than doing things the old school way and putting fear into criminals or suspects. If you give him any barkback, well that's when you learn why they call him Crusher. When two dead Rottweiler gangsters are pulled out of the river, Crusher wonders if a new syndicate is making a move in The Kennel or if other rival hoodlums (Shepherds? Dobermans?) got the jump on the Rotties.
One thing he's not sniffing for is the involvement of a cat. But when forensics, headed by an old Hound who does not like Crusher tells him that it was a cat who did the killing, Crusher can't believe it. This doesn't fit with the other evidence. Crusher's beagle squad can't find traces of any cat on the scene. But when other dogs start to die including the Doggywood actor Jack Russell Crowe, the police chief has had enough. He and Crusher go way back. But the Chief has no desire to lose his job and wind up sniffing luggage on the airport beat again. It's an election year. President GoodBoy can't afford any heat. The Chief brings in the FBI, over Crusher's vehement objections. The FBI (that is the Feline Bureau of Investigation) sends the prissy, highly intelligent, cultured and much more dangerous than he looks Cassius Lap, a Siamese cat agent, to work with the blue collar and anti-cat bigot Crusher.

Of course the not so dynamic duo will have to get over their mutual dislike for each other to shake the pillars of heaven. They make the fur fly from Kathattan to the Kennels and all places in between in their search for the cat serial killer. This book is packed full of satire, puns and parody. It's an easy read and even pulls in some current personalities that you will recognize. One thing that stood out is that just as our primary sense is sight and many of our metaphors and sayings have to do with eyes or vision, a dog's primary sense is smell so most of the quips or metaphors in the Unscratchables have to do with nose or odors.

The Ballad of Cliven Bundy

Stephen Colbert doing what he does. I enjoyed this.

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Double Standard: Cliven Bundy Standoff and Race

We live in a world in which black men are "accidentally" shot multiple times because police thought that a wallet looked like a gun. We live in a world where black teens climbing trees have guns drawn on them by police who feel threatened or more likely just wanted to put the fear of God into someone they viewed in a negative light, despite their tender age. We live in a world where black people stopped, not arrested but just stopped, by police are more likely to have force used against them. So if some black people who were members of what some people considered to be a fringe religious or political group decided that they weren't going to pay taxes or fees on commercial activity and ignored court orders to do so while continuing to engage in illegal activity and threatening law enforcement officials, well the response would likely be swift and bloody, probably something like this. Most Americans, regardless of where their sympathies lay, would point out that disobeying court orders and drawing down on police officers really isn't very smart unless you're ready to go all out. 

And if you are ready to shed blood well you've either got guts and are quite dedicated or are quite reckless and dumb. If you tell local law enforcement, state police and the United States government to bring it, well don't be surprised or offended when they do indeed bring it. This is obvious to most people, at least when it's black people stirring up a fuss.

But recently in Nevada we saw the spectacle of Cliven Bundy, a rancher, refusing to pay the proper government fees for letting his cattle graze on government land and also refusing to stop his cattle from grazing on government land. He claimed that he and his had been doing it for decades and that he didn't recognize the authority of the Federal government. The proverbial stuff hit the fan after the federal government impounded some of Bundy's cattle.

Flat on his belly in a sniper position, wearing a baseball cap and a flak jacket, a protester aimed his semi-automatic rifle from the edge of an overpass and waited as a crowd below stood its ground against U.S. federal agents in the Nevada desert.

He was part of a 1,000-strong coalition of armed militia-men, cowboys on horseback, gun rights activists and others who rallied to Cliven Bundy's Bunkerville ranch, about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas, in a stand-off with about a dozen agents from the federal Bureau of Land Management.

The rangers had rounded up hundreds of Bundy's cattle, which had been grazing illegally on federal lands for two decades. Bundy had refused to pay grazing fees, saying he did not recognize the government's authority over the land, a view that attracted vocal support from some right-wing groups.

Citing public safety, the BLM retreated, suspending its operation and even handing back cattle it had already seized. No shots were fired during the stand-off, which Bundy's triumphant supporters swiftly dubbed the "Battle of Bunkerville," but the government's decision to withdraw in the face of armed resistance has alarmed some who worry that it has set a dangerous precedent and emboldened militia groups.

LINK

I can often sympathize in theory with people who think that the federal government and law enforcement in general has become too large and too powerful. Whether it's CPS mandarins seizing children because they disagree with the parents' medical or naming decisions, or alphabet agencies descending on a landowner's property to prevent him making some routine changes there is definitely room to fine tune and/or reduce the authority of the federal and local polity over the individual. Unfortunately many of the people on the right who claim to feel that way virtually never show any sympathy for black people who run afoul of federal or state government law enforcement. Then we usually hear a predictable rant about "law and order", "family breakdown", "the need to support the thin blue line" or any other number of oft racialized tropes. Funny. Remember that Fox news and other right wing outlets had the vapors over members of the New Black Panther Party standing near polling stations. This was spun as voter intimidation and black thugs and threats and AG Holder conspiracy and so on. Yet these same media outlets celebrate white men pointing guns at federal agents. Let that sink in a little won't you? If I am stopped by the police and do not have both hands in sight at all times there's a good chance I might be tased, beaten or worse. Yet a white man and his buddies who were ready to shoot at law enforcement walk away clean.

It's also very important to remember that Bundy is not in fact fighting for the right to do something on his land. No. He doesn't own the land in question. It's federal land. So Bundy is no different than someone who enters a federal park, throws a lot of trash all over the place, refuses to clean up after himself and when told to do so has his friends pull guns on the park rangers. This is not political protest. It's thuggery. How can we tell the difference? Well one of the easiest ways is to look to Kant's categorical imperative. Are Bundy and his right wing supporters willing to: Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law. 

I doubt it. 

If environmentalists showed up with guns to stop fracking, if Native Americans showed up with guns to stop mining, if Black people showed up with guns to stop police brutality, if Latinos showed up with guns to stop deportations, if feminists showed up with guns to ensure that a defendant accused of rape was convicted regardless of the evidence, the right wing would go ballistic. And police would no doubt call that bet of violence and raise it quite a bit. Nobody considers those sorts of "marginalized" groups to be the proper descendants of American revolutionaries. Believe that. We can't have a system where political decisions are made based on who can put more button men in the street at any given point in time. In the same way I'm critical of people trying to physically prevent deportations, I'm just as critical of Bundy and his supporters. If you don't like the law, work to change it. Convince people that it's wrong. Blanket the media with your arguments. But when you reach for your gun and start claiming you don't recognize the federal government, that my friend is a different conversation. 

The BLM made a big mistake backing down to Bundy and his supporters. It may have been done for political reasons in an election year. It may have been done because some government agent somewhere lacks the normal amount of testosterone. I don't know. But I do know that when you submit to a bully, all you're going to get is more bullying. This is going to give certain people more swagger and recklessness, guaranteed.

Thoughts?

HBO Game of Thrones Recap: Breaker of Chains

One of the sad ugly things about life is that some day it will end. Everyone you love is going to leave this world. You yourself will one day be gone. I hope it doesn't happen for decades but of course it might happen tomorrow. Most people don't spend a lot of time thinking about this. When it happens to someone they love they can be momentarily or even in some cases permanently crippled by grief. But Tywin Lannister is evidently a person who has spent some time thinking about such things. If he is touched by anything so pedestrian as grief he does an excellent job hiding it. Someone has to do the hard things. In Westeros in general and the Lannister clan in particular that someone is Tywin Lannister. This episode was transitional after last week's bombshell but there were important clues dropped about past and future events. I loved Charles Dance this week. He showed yet again why the show is so fortunate to have him in the Tywin Lannister role. As Tywin, Cersei and Tommen perform the Westerosi equivalent of sitting shiva over Joffrey's corpse we see that Tommen is confused, Cersei is heartbroken but Tywin is coolly pragmatic. Tywin informs Tommen that he is the new king. 

Using the Socratic method, Tywin starts teaching Tommen what characteristics a man needs to be a good king. Some of this dialogue is taken from GRRM's comments that morality doesn't necessarily make an effective leader. Tywin is a bit Machiavellian as he gives Tommen real life examples that holiness, strength and justice aren't as important as other things like wisdom. Tywin intends to see to it that Tommen is wise enough to listen to him as assuredly Joffrey was not. Tywin thought Joffrey was a bad king. Cersei is not thrilled by her father starting his tutoring lessons before Joffrey is even buried but of course Tywin ignores her.

One Lannister who doesn't ignore Cersei is her brother Jaime. Jaime is entering as Tywin and Tommen are leaving. Jaimes orders out everyone else so he can be alone with his sister. Cersei is convinced that Tyrion murdered Joffrey and wants Jaime to kill him. She doesn't want Tyrion to make it to trial. Jaime is outraged by this and in a shout back to his first season line "The things I do for love" uttered just before he shoved Bran out of a window calls Cersei hateful while bemoaning he loves her so. Of course his love is hardly platonic. In what could be seen as a rape by some lights, Jaime decides to have his sister right there next to their dead son's body. I was reminded of the scene in the original Straw Dogs. Cersei initially fights and says no but gives in. Is she enjoying herself? It's up to the viewer to make that call. The concept of spousal rape doesn't exist in Westeros of course but brother-rape probably does. Or does it? Cersei can hardly go to the authorities. It would be useful to know what, in particular, women thought of this scene.

Of course the big question is who killed Joffrey? That may or may not become evident. Sansa has escaped the city with Dontos who helpfully had a boat stashed nearby. He rows her out to an anchored ship where Sansa discovers that her rescuer is none other than that pimp of pimps, Littlefinger. When Dontos asks for his reward, Littlefinger has him killed and informs the angered Sansa that 1) Dontos could not be trusted and 2) the "family heirloom" which Dontos gave to Sansa to wear was a cheap fake recently procured by Littlefinger. Ominously Littlefinger also reminds Sansa that people probably think she killed Joffrey. In a brief tete-a-tete between Margaery and her grandmother, Lady Olenna reminds the not all that disconsolate Margaery that she's better off not staying married to the abusive Joffrey and though technically she's not the Queen, the Lannisters still need the Tyrell money, food and other resources.

We see that the Hound is not actually above some robbery, much to Arya's dismay. The Hound has contempt for weakness. At Castle Black, Sam is worried about Gilly being raped or molested by the Night's Watch men and makes arrangements to get her to Mole's Town. Gilly takes this the wrong way. She thinks he's trying to get rid of her. It's an echo of the Shae:Tyrion relationship. At Dragonstone Stannis is excited to learn of Joffrey's death but upset that he doesn't have the resources to do anything about. Well s*** always runs downhill and in typical boss fashion Stannis blames Davos for this. Harried, Davos comes up with the bright idea to write something in Stannis' name (well have Shireen write something in Stannis' name) to the Iron Bank, infamous for lending to great lords and kings and for always getting their money back.

It wouldn't be Game of Thrones without some entirely unnecessary sexposition. Like the infamous scene with Littlefinger laying out his nature in front of Ros and another prostitute, I thought the set piece with Prince Oberyn and Ellaria Sand engaged in an orgy with both sexes to be unnecessary and too graphic. We already know that Oberyn is a sybarite. Do we need to see this spelled out yet again with full frontal nudity? I didn't think so. If you want porn there are tons of it available elsewhere. Thankfully this is cut short when a business minded Tywin enters and asks to talk to Oberyn in private. Twyin is suspicious that the famously vengeful Oberyn, known to use poison, may have murdered Joffrey. Oberyn confirms that it was poison but claims he had nothing to do with Joffrey's death as unlike Tywin he doesn't hold children responsible for the actions of adults. Showing something close to amusement, Tywin asks Oberyn why doesn't Oberyn just attack the unarmed Tywin right then and there. Oberyn responds that he wouldn't be able to escape but would be drawn and quartered the next day. Oberyn also says that he and Tyrion talked of Elia Martell's rape and murder, not of poisons. 
Seemingly satisfied, Tywin comes out of left field with a pragmatic offer for Oberyn. He wants Oberyn to be the third judge at Tyrion's trial. He also wants to give Oberyn a seat on the Small Council. Tywin, perhaps through Varys, perhaps via other networks, is aware of Daenerys' dragons and her intentions towards Westeros. He knows that only Dorne resisted a dragon armed invader. And if the price to fully bring Dorne back into the fold is a "meeting" between Oberyn and the Mountain, well Tywin might be willing to arrange that. Tywin denies ordering the Mountain to rape and murder Oberyn's sister. Left unstated is the expectation that Oberyn will vote to convict Tyrion.

Tyrion, as you might expect, is a bit depressed in jail. He's cheered when his former squire Podrick brings him food but upset when he learns his trial judges will be his father, Mace Tyrell, and Oberyn Martell. Tyrion has always been one of the smarter players. He points out to Podrick that if he were going to murder the king, deservedly or not, he'd make sure he was far far away from the scene. Tyrion muses that the murder might have been Tywin's work to get a more pliant relative in charge but most definitely wasn't Cersei. He knows that Sansa, despite her flight, is no killer. Someone has gone to great lengths to set Tyrion up. Tyrion also learns that his would be witnesses are already being pressured not to testify for him or worse yet, lie and testify for the other side. This includes Podrick. Worried, Tyrion dismisses Podrick, urging him to leave town, as the people asking him to lie are not likely to take no for an answer.

Previously Tormund told Ygritte that given her skill with the bow, that if Jon Snow is alive, it's because she wanted him to be. We see the truth of that statement when Ygritte leads a wildling attack on a settlement south of the Wall, putting an arrow through a father's head as he talks with his son. It's critical here to step back and show that despite what we might think of any of the primary characters and their relations with one another, war is not a good thing. It's questionable as to whether the wildling attack here is even war and not a war crime. The people they attack and kill are not warriors and include plenty of women and children. It's no different than what the Mountain and his men did in the Riverlands. Well maybe it's a little different. I don't think the Mountain is a cannibal. At Castle Black the Night's Watch argues over next steps. Everyone is spread out. There are little more than a hundred men at Castle Black. 

The surviving rangers return bringing more news of the mutiny and Karl's murder of the Lord Commander and Craster. Captain Obvious Jon Snow says that come hell or high water they must remove Karl as he knows of their true numbers and can't be allowed to give that information to Mance Rayder. Daenerys marches on Meereen. Here, both the slaves and the masters are of various races. A Meereenese horsed champion comes out to meet Daenerys and her army. He urinates on the ground in contempt of Danerys' status as a woman who leads an army of ex-slaves and eunuchs. Grey Worm, Jorah, and Ser Barristan, all ask to meet this man in single combat but Daenerys gives that honor to Daario. With style and intelligence, similar to that of Bronn, Daario does the unexpected and kills the Meereenese rider. Daenerys has a great speech reminding the slaves within the city of the freedom that she brings. She bombards the city with barrels of broken shackles. Her confidence and authority is near a zenith.

What I liked

• Charles Dance really is a boss. As I've said before his Tywin Lannister is not someone I'd want as a father or a supervisor, but he is someone I'd want on my side. He's one of the more competent and intelligent administrators around. And if he has fear he certainly doesn't show it. He works at what is best for his family. He's not losing himself in grief or lust. He either has a plan or will work one out pretty quickly. The man exudes authority. He's a monster of course but he's an intelligent, rational, cultured one.
• Being reminded that the Hound, despite his protectiveness towards the Stark girls, is a bully, thief, thug and not a man with any real moral rules. He has contempt for weakness, probably as a result of his long ago abuse at the hands of his brother, Gregor aka The Mountain.
• Davos' sense of humor with Shireen.
• With the examples of both the gentle man and his daughter who are robbed and assaulted by the Hound and the son who sees his mother and father killed by wildlings we learn again that there is little honor to be found in war. Unarmed people just trying to get by are the ones who suffer the most.

What I didn't like

• Not really into seeing more nudity, especially male nudity. I think that's just the lazy way out. The scene with Jaime and Cersei getting busy had no nudity but was far more emotionally involving that that with Ellaria, Oberyn and their whores.
• Gilly not understanding that being the only woman around a bunch of desperately horny men, many of whom are rapists, is not a safe or stable environment for her. I know your sister is your mother girl but can you really be that stupid?

*This post is written for discussion of this episode and previous episodes.  If you have book based knowledge of future events please be kind enough not to discuss that here.  NO SPOILERS. NO BOOK DERIVED HINTS ABOUT FUTURE EVENTS. Most of my blog partners have not read the books and would take spoilers most unkindly. Heads, spikes, well you get the idea..