Tag: Woke War III

Pondering What Is Known About ‘Indiana Jones & The Dial Of Destiny’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

From the title alone, it seems as though there may be some time travel involved in the latest Indiana Jones movie. But for me, the really intriguing element to the movie is the status of Phoebe Waller-Bridge. It sure would make a lot of sense for her to take up the fedora for a continuation of the franchise in some way.

While from what I’ve read of these things, both Harrison Ford and the producers of the film say this is not the case — so goes Ford so goes Indy — I still have a suspicion that they’re at least going to dangle the idea of Waller-Bridge somehow being an Indy-like character going forward.

Of course, if she did, the usual culture warrior suspects would come out of the woodwork to scream at the top of their lungs that the “woke cancel culture mob” is destroying yet another beloved American institution. But I would be all for Waller-Bridge being our new Indy.

I think she’s got exactly what it takes to for the role. I just don’t know how they would manage to shoehorn her character into the “Indiana Jones and the…” nomenclature. I suppose they would just keep “x and the x” system of naming in the spirit of the Ford-helmed films.

It would be interesting to see a Waller-Bridge type character doing Indy-style gallivanting in the 1970s and 80s. But I suspect what MIGHT happen, is if there is any recasting that we would see a hard reboot of the franchise in the guise of someone playing a “young” Indy having adventures in, say WW1 or so. I know there were the “Young Indy” adventures, but I’m thinking something closer to whatever the character might have been up to in their 20s.

I don’t really know the chronology of the character, so, lulz.

Having said all that, I still think Waller-Bridge would be a great Dr. Susan Calvin. There are the short stories in that universe that could be adapted into movies, my favorite being “Liar!”

But, anyway, lulz. No one listens to me.

A ‘Woke Cancel Culture Mob’ Conundrum & The Six Novel Project I’m Working On

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I saw on Twitter today where someone was articulating an idea that is pretty much my worst fear at the moment — they essentially said “thanks, but no thanks” to people like me writing novels with non-white characters in them. Or, more specifically “love interests.”

The heroine of the first three novels in my six novel project looks like of like the above — that is, Nicole Scherzinger.

Well, jokes on you guys, my HEROINE is a POC — or, more specifically, Amerasian.

Now, there is a very specific reason for why I did this which gradually snowballed into something really cool. I needed an excuse for a character to abscond to South Korea later on in the series and what better way to do it than to make his mother — who is the protagonist of the first three novels — Amerasian?

I made this strategic move being only vaguely aware that there would be people in the POC community who would be annoyed that a CIS white male such as myself would do such a thing. I just did what I felt was best for the story, not really thinking about the broader creative and societal issues at play.

There are a lot of different ways this might play out. One is — no one will care and I’m over thinking things. Two is, if this series becomes as big as I want it to, EVERYONE will care and I’ll face something akin to an American Dirt situation.

…or Maggie Q?

Now, one issue that I find myself thinking a lot about these days is marketability. Is there a chance that the very thing I think is a positive — the organic “representation” in the novel, will be seen as too “woke” by some and that, by definition, will turn them off? I hope not.

I am dubious of the whole idea of a work of art being too “woke,” attributing most of people’s quibbles to what they’re watching or reading sacrificing good storytelling for banging a message over the audience’s head. I’m watching Andor right now and even though it’s obviously got some elements to it that might be thought of as “woke,” it’s good enough that I don’t even notice it.

…or maybe Olivia Munn?

It’s just a story. An interesting story that is, unfortunately, taking me some time to get into.

Anyway, I totally validate the criticism of CIS white men “telling the stories” of POC. Ok, I get it. But I’m ornery and, as such, I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing. The framework of the story is really, really strong and now all I have to do is buckle down and wrap up the first novel.

My Hot Take On David Sacks’ Critique Of American Support For Ukraine

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Let me be clear –I’m just a broke ass writer in the middle of nowhere and David Sacks rubs elbows with wealthiest people in the world. But I do have a hot take on his recent ranting about how the United States should essentially demand Ukraine give up because of the risk of WW3 or, as he puts it “Woke War III.”

There is a lot to unpack here.

As I keep saying, it’s very alarming that Silicon Valley Tech Bros seem determined to be Russian Fifth Columnists and Fellow Travelers. They give as their excuse the risk of WW3, but really they obviously have run the numbers and think it would be better if we just washed our hands of Ukraine and moved on to turning the United States into a MAGA-themed fascist autocracy.

I’ve said before that I understand the sentiment. But I have to say again that just because you’re the Smartest Guy In The Room, doesn’t mean you know jack shit about the best interests of the United States on a geopolitical basis. And, remember, we still don’t know if Putin is a rational actor or not. If we give into appeasing Putin, there’s every reason to believe he will see it as weakness and attack NATO directly.

Remember, the same argument that Sacks makes about not defending Ukraine could be made for not defending the smaller NATO states in the Baltic. If his primary concern is the risk of nuclear war, then, really, why is the United States a part of NATO to begin with? Why not bring the boys home, turn us into Fortress America and elect fucking Trump God King For Life.

The point of American foreign policy for the last 75 odd years has been to keep the global order together through might and preemptive engagement. And, what’s more, there comes a point when you have to think about the moral implications of what you’re doing — even if it means increasing the risk of nuclear war.

The current war in Ukraine is one of Russian aggression and the United States has a moral imperative to support a fellow democracy. The last thing we should be doing is just giving up and let a tyrant walk all over Ukraine because the Baltics or Poland or whomever could be next if we do.

The lesson of 1930s appeasement is it doesn’t work. The more you give a tyrant, the more they expect later down the road. So, it’s best to take a stand as soon as possible and try to manage the risks involved.

And let’s address Sparks’ complaint that he’s being “smeared.” What horseshit. He’s the one who interjected himself into a very divisive debate and he has to have known that what he proposes is extremely unpopular — especially on Twitter where he whines about being “smeared” all the time.

If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, as they say.

Red October: ‘Woke War III’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

What the fuck is going on with this sudden surge of Russian propaganda coming from Silicon Valley Tech Bros? It’s like they all agreed, all at once, to en masse become Fifth Columnists and Fellow Travelers of the Russians.

I get much of the sentiment that these Tech Bros espouse. They look at the cold hard metrics and say that Ukraine isn’t worth risking WW3 for. I find this dubious, however, because what do they expect to happen if we don’t support Ukraine? That Russia won’t see this as weakness and turn around and go after the Baltics? Estonia has a huge Russian population and it definitely would be the prime target for Russia if it was able to crush Ukraine because the West listened to the Russian Fellow Travelers of Silicon Valley.

In fact, they have begun to deride the war in Ukraine as “Woke War III.” Which doesn’t put them in a very good light because what are they trying to say — that WW1 and WW2 were “woke?”

All this has me thinking about how, even though it’s obviously astrology for dudes that the book The Fourth Turning definitely continues to have an eerie relevancy as we careen towards 2025. The very ideas that that book talks about — how in the Third Turning, people forget what war was like and why it was fought to begin with — definitely seems to have some meaning in today’s political world.

The alarming thing is, of course, that all of this is happening in the context of a very possible Counter-Revolution in the United States as Republicans take control of at least the House, if not the Senate too in November. With Republicans in control of Congress in 2023, there’s every reason to believe every moment they’re not impeaching Biden or trying to hold the social safety net hostage they’re going to be doing everything in their power to prevent the US from helping Ukraine.

So, it definitely seems as though we’re on the cusp of a very, very turbulent moment in our nation’s history. It’s going to happen no matter what, obviously, but if the fucking fascist Republicans take the House in November, that is only going to accelerate a very, very dark trend.