I haven’t seen her video, but I think that returning Star Wars to being about the fight against Space Nazis/Fascists was at least partly about the bottom line. When SW is about the Skywalker family destiny, like the prequels, you’re tied to a few characters & can only make so many properties. When it’s about the…

Realistically, blowing up the Death Star & killing the Emporer would’ve fragmented the Empire, not ended it. And that’s what TFA/TLJ gave us. A weakened fragment of the Empire trying to reclaim power, a small new Republic trying to exist, and lots of anarchy. The old EU set up this idea that the Empire would collapse…

Without Canto Blite, Finn would’ve had no character development. He would’ve just been running away the whole time.

The Canto Blite part wasn’t reallya subplot. It was how the movie taught Finn what they were actually fighting for (and against). It gave him necessary character development, to get him to were he needs to be for the next movie.

What. You crazy, dude. She was great. She was a reminder that you don’t have to be a famous Jedi or whatever to make a difference - that in the fight against injustice, even the most regular person can step up & make a difference. She encapsulates the return of Star Wars to what it was originally all about: not the…

That’s entirely fair. The stuff in Acts about how the church members lived communally and the one guy who selfishly hid some of his money for himself got struck dead by God would point in that direction as well. ;)

Check out the #Exvangelical hashtag on Twitter. It’s a lot of formerly evangelical/fundie folks talking and writing about their experiences. I think there’s some FB presence as well.

Have you come across the... I don’t know if *movement* is the right word, it’s a social media hashtag kind of thing, called “Exvangelical”, of people that are former fundie/evangelical Christians? I’d put that stuff behind me years ago, but I came across it on Twitter by accident, and it really threw me back. That’s…

Capitalism hadn’t been invented yet when he was around, but.... basically, this, yeah.

I think you may be confusing game developer Zoe Quinn with video blogger Anita Sarkiseesian. Both were subjected to nasty death threats and violent harassment by GGers, and I think they ended up doing some work together, so it’s understandable to mix them up.

I was deep in Star Wars fandom when the prequels came out. They were far more controversial & disliked at the time than the new movies are now. Lots of fans, myself included, left the fandom over it.

Would you consider Pat Buchanan, Bush Sr and their contemporaries ”old conservatism” or “neo-conservatism”? Because they (I’m using “they” to include a few other ppl who’s names I forget) are the ones who came up with “political correctness” and “cultural Marxism” to attack & smear the left back in the 90s. This toxic…

I’ve been in many old fandoms over the years, and that’s an extremely common reaction when a new movie/TV series/comic/whatever comes out. Some of the old, longtime fans would have a very specific idea of what the new thing should be like, and when it wasn’t, when it was something new & different that didn’t meet…

You mean, how does the Empire normally get the raw fuel to the refinery without it exploding? That’s a good question that I don’t think the movie answered. I figure they probably just have special cargo ships that are designed to safely transport the fuel.

Right, witches in western folklore mostly live in forests or castles.

Gun ownership hasn’t increased continuously. The proportion of gun owners in the US population has remained roughly the same for decades.

To be fair, lots of cults/authoritarian leaders/etc taught some good self-help things in with the crazy. I think that’s how they become successful - they start with the reasonable stuff, their followers see that following the leader’s advice improved their life, and that leaves them willing to listen to the real crazy…

Actually, colleges have already done so, and many have switched to male preference in admission.

Actually, colleges have already done so, and many have switched to male preference in admission.

Isn’t his subject clinical psychology? That’s not the same as sociology, criminology, etc.