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What do you think about this?
[YOUTUBE]https://youtu.be/UgInmHHO0m4[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE]https://youtu.be/UgInmHHO0m4[/YOUTUBE]
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For you comic book and super hero movie people...
- Thread starter ZiprHead
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prideandfall
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i think that a person with a long and consistent history of being a smug self-centered douchecock who utterly lacks any capacity to even conceive of anyone thinking in a way differently from him is now over 60 and so has "old man yells at cloud" syndrome added to the malaise of his personality, and that it's hilarious he chides comic book readers for "liking the same things you liked when you were 10" when he's been a self avowed pot head since his early teens.
marc
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This was a great reason for me to never listen to Bill ever again. I can understand someone not being into comics, superhero stuff, or anything else I like, but he was downright dismissive and insulting. Oh, and this is from a guy who is part owner of a baseball team (grown men going to a field to play with a ball? how grown up is that? 
)
He repeatedly dismisses them as not being 'literature'. Well what is the definition of literature, who decides what is and isn't literature, and how many of his favorite works would fail to meet the standard he would like to use? Some great comics, like great sci-fi, manage to make interesting social commentary in an approachable way for people who might not get it. Comics are only for kids? Well I know an excellent comic about a lesbian B&D love story that I don't think is quite for the kiddies. And in Japan they do not have the stigma of thinking comics are only about superheroes. You can find manga of just about any genre, including recreations of classic literature. Heck, you can find a lot of anime and manga that draw from the 16th century novel 'Journey to the West',
Is he saying the stuff I liked at 10 I'm required to no longer like now? That is utter bullshit. Some things have not aged well, others are still as enjoyable as they were way back then. And I started collecting comics at 18, not 10.
) He repeatedly dismisses them as not being 'literature'. Well what is the definition of literature, who decides what is and isn't literature, and how many of his favorite works would fail to meet the standard he would like to use? Some great comics, like great sci-fi, manage to make interesting social commentary in an approachable way for people who might not get it. Comics are only for kids? Well I know an excellent comic about a lesbian B&D love story that I don't think is quite for the kiddies. And in Japan they do not have the stigma of thinking comics are only about superheroes. You can find manga of just about any genre, including recreations of classic literature. Heck, you can find a lot of anime and manga that draw from the 16th century novel 'Journey to the West',
Is he saying the stuff I liked at 10 I'm required to no longer like now? That is utter bullshit. Some things have not aged well, others are still as enjoyable as they were way back then. And I started collecting comics at 18, not 10.
I agree and disagree with him.
On the one hand, he’s a pretentious douchebag for his bullshit rant about how there are “acceptable” forms of entertainment for adults and people are wrong to still be into comics when they’ve grown up. For someone so virulently anti-religion it’s odd to see him trying to mandate proper behaviour.
On the other hand, he’s right that he has no need to give the first shit about Stan Lee or feel some sort of obligation to honour him. Just like he’s a douche for talking other people what they should like, others are douches for telling him whom he should respect. If he thinks that Stan Lee was worthless and that society is worse off by having his creations be popular, that’s a fine position for someone to have saying he should respect the man is as bad as his saying grown up comic book fans are all big children.
On the one hand, he’s a pretentious douchebag for his bullshit rant about how there are “acceptable” forms of entertainment for adults and people are wrong to still be into comics when they’ve grown up. For someone so virulently anti-religion it’s odd to see him trying to mandate proper behaviour.
On the other hand, he’s right that he has no need to give the first shit about Stan Lee or feel some sort of obligation to honour him. Just like he’s a douche for talking other people what they should like, others are douches for telling him whom he should respect. If he thinks that Stan Lee was worthless and that society is worse off by having his creations be popular, that’s a fine position for someone to have saying he should respect the man is as bad as his saying grown up comic book fans are all big children.
prideandfall
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i totally agree with this, but i also am completely sick of the current attitude of those in the media that they should be above and beyond scrutiny or reproach for the things they say.
can bill maher shit all over stan lee and comic book fans? absolutely!
he can also face public backlash for doing so, because he's a celebrity and that means it's literally part of the description of your existence to be beholden to public opinion.
KeepTalking
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I tuned in late Friday night, so was just in time to see this as it aired. It did not surprise me at all, as Maher has frequently talked about not liking comic books, or super hero movies.
One problem I have with his take is that he seems to conflate the two (comics, and super hero movies). They are not the same. There are many super hero movies that are not based on comics, and a wealth of comics that have nothing to do with super heroes. Prior to the '80s, his might have been a more valid critique, but since that time comics have really broken out of that mold. Comics have moved on, and embrace a variety of genres, some with more literary value than others. Anyone who thinks there is no literary value to comics, including Bill Maher, should go read Maus. After they have done that, if they still think that comics cannot be literature, then we can have a discussion on what is actually meant by the term 'literature'.
One problem I have with his take is that he seems to conflate the two (comics, and super hero movies). They are not the same. There are many super hero movies that are not based on comics, and a wealth of comics that have nothing to do with super heroes. Prior to the '80s, his might have been a more valid critique, but since that time comics have really broken out of that mold. Comics have moved on, and embrace a variety of genres, some with more literary value than others. Anyone who thinks there is no literary value to comics, including Bill Maher, should go read Maus. After they have done that, if they still think that comics cannot be literature, then we can have a discussion on what is actually meant by the term 'literature'.