Not enough Whisky for this Tango Foxtrot

[Túrin Turambar]

Note the flags at this Anti-Vaxxer freedom rally outside Victoria's Parliament House (via Twitter).

October 2022 Anti-Vax Protestors.jpg (113.9 KiB) Viewed 2338 times

[Sunsilver]

Had to look it up - that's the RUSSIAN flag! (white, red and blue stripes.) :o

What's the yellow flag?

[Túrin Turambar]

It looks like a Russian Imperial Eagle.

[RoseMorninStar]

I just do not understand what has gotten into people. If they think Russia is to be lauded, I hear Putin is looking for people to be cannon fodder back their 'cause'.

[Eldy]

But have you considered that Putin is a man's man who will never bow to wokeness, even when his army is humiliated in a proxy war with woke countries?

It looks like a Russian Imperial Eagle.

My first thought was that it looks like a stylized version of the HRE banner, but considering the Russian flag right behind it, I assume you're right that it's actually the similar-looking Russian eagle.

[RoseMorninStar]

WOW. Those two flags sure do look alike.

[Dave_LF]

Wonder if there's a connection given that each was trying to pass itself off as the heir of the Roman empire...

Edit: Indeed

In heraldry and vexillology, the double-headed eagle (or double-eagle) is a charge associated with the concept of Empire. Most modern uses of the symbol are directly or indirectly associated with its use by the late Byzantine Empire, originally a dynastic emblem of the Palaiologoi. It was adopted during the Late Medieval to Early Modern period in the Holy Roman Empire on the one hand, and in Orthodox principalities (Serbia and Russia) on the other, representing an augmentation of the (single-headed) eagle or Aquila associated with the Roman Empire. In a few places, among them the Holy Roman Empire and Russia, the motif was further augmented to create the less prominent triple-headed eagle.

[RoseMorninStar]

Lending authority/authenticity/clout to one another? Or over the other. Sounds about right.

[Túrin Turambar]

But have you considered that Putin is a man's man who will never bow to wokeness, even when his army is humiliated in a proxy war with woke countries?

It looks like a Russian Imperial Eagle.

My first thought was that it looks like a stylized version of the HRE banner, but considering the Russian flag right behind it, I assume you're right that it's actually the similar-looking Russian eagle.

That was my thought process as well. I love the whole "supporting Putin is for amateurs, Nicholas II is where it's at" vibe.

[N.E. Brigand]

ADL director Jonathan Greenblatt walks back his comparison of Elon Musk to Henry Ford.

Because Musk was mentioned here, this is where I'll quote this amusing essay on Musk's acquisition of Twitter, which was finalized overnight; it's titled, "Welcome to Hell, Elon":

The problems with Twitter are not engineering problems. They are political problems. Twitter, the company, makes very little interesting technology; the tech stack is not the valuable asset. The asset is the user base: hopelessly addicted politicians, reporters, celebrities, and other people who should know better but keep posting anyway. You! You, Elon Musk, are addicted to Twitter. You’re the asset. You just bought yourself for $44 billion dollars.

In conclusion, the writer notes that "The essential truth of every social network is that the product is content moderation, and everyone hates the people who decide how content moderation works."

While I read a lot of tweets, I don't actually have a Twitter account, so I won't be directly affected by this. But I have found Twitter to be a convenient news aggregator.

[Frelga]

That's it, I quit.

[RoseMorninStar]

Due to backlash it's been canceled. As it should be. Sheesh.

[Sunsilver]

If they thought this was going to work, they were dreaming!

[Frelga]

I am quite certain that not casting Jewish actors was not nearly as much of a problem as this being the dumbest fucking idea since Springtime for Hitler, which at least was fictional, and when people who tried to stage it die, they will get their ghostly asses kicked by every spirit who was involved with any Shakespeare-adjacent production since 1599.

[Sunsilver]

Well said, Frelga!

[Alatar]

I disagree with all of this. Art should shock and challenge the audience. I would go see that Romeo and Juliet.

[elengil]

I think art should certainly challenge conceptions and push boundaries and make people uncomfortable. But sometimes shock just for the sake of shock isn't overall a positive thing. That's not to say it shouldn't exist, just - not every shock is pushing toward a better result or a greater understanding of something.

[Sunsilver]

Well, Ian McKellen did play a Nazified Duke of Gloucester in this film: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0114279/?ref_=ttgf_gf_tt It is set in a period in England where even some of the British Royal Family was flirting with Hitler and the Nazis. The movie did well, even getting a couple of Oscar nominations.

William Shakespeare's classic play is brought into the present with the setting as Great Britain in the 1930s. Civil war has erupted with the House of Lancaster on one side, claiming the right to the British throne and hoping to bring freedom to the country. Opposing is the House of York, commanded by the infamous Richard III (Sir Ian McKellen), who rules over a fascist government and hopes to install himself as a dictator monarch.

However, the movie was produced several decades after Hitler's defeat. And it doesn't have a love story between a Nazi and a Jew as its core. We are currently living in a time when Jews are once again being attacked by increasingly right-wing groups in our society. If such a play were to work, this just isn't the right time for it. (If ever!)

One of the reviewers has this to say about Richard III : "As someone who loves Shakespeare, I grant a lot of latitude and respect to any person who can get these modern versions produced. The vogue now is to alter the time period, while still holding, generally speaking, to the original plot and language. As usual with the movies, its now done so often that traditional Shakespeare has become a custom more honored in the breach than in the observance. (forgive me!)"

He goes on to say the film and the actors do a good job with the subject matter.

I have to say, I'm not a fan of this trend. It smack of the writers doing something new just for the sake of doing something new in an effort to get attention. And in the case of the play we're discussing, forgive me if I think it was for the shock value such a production would attract. Um, yup, it certainly did that...

[RoseMorninStar]

Art is often social commentary and as such does/can/should shock the audience and get a viewer to think/re-think and that can be a good thing.

From an earlier article (bolding mine):

The description read: "In defiance of their entire society and in secrecy from their closest friends, hopeful young lives burn amidst a cataclysmic backdrop of impending war. Sun and moon shine down on star-crossed lovers as a Jewish girl falls for a member of Nazi Youth and the boy questions everything he was taught to believe.

"They hide their passion and sexuality from their warring families and their closest friends. Misadventure, family pride, and antisemitism abort and bury the most joyous of beginnings, the most hopeful of love stories as Romeo and Juliet, driven apart, find their world becoming a constricting mausoleum of fate and death."

Asked why he was staging a production set in the Nazi-era, which many on Twitter have objected to, given the sensitive nature of the period, Lewendel said: "It's the increasing fascism in the world today that has kind of become a trend in my work.

"I gained some comfort that the idea could be accepted when I saw things like 'Jojo Rabbit', and it shows this young boy - younger than Romeo - who's been indoctrinated but doesn't really understand what he's been indoctrinated against."

(...)

In 2018, Jewish director Shira Dubrovner staged a Nazi-era adaptation of Romeo and Juliet in California, USA, saying at the time, "The main purpose of doing this play is to remember what happened and not let history repeat itself.”

*It should be noted that the characters are also non-binary. Lots to chew on/social commentary.

If this was done well, it could have a very good/positive message. I have issues with romanticizing death/suicide.

[Frelga]

I disagree with all of this. Art should shock and challenge the audience. I would go see that Romeo and Juliet.

OK, now you are just trolling.