Robocop 2

If Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop is a Jesus story – with Robocop being an industrialized, American Jesus – then Robocop 2 is about Christ’s perversion. This second installment in the Robocop series, directed  by Irvin Kershner (The Empire Strikes Back), does contain some of Verhoeven’s intentions but is a different beast altogether. Comic book creator Frank Miller (Sin City, Batman: Year One, Hard Boiled, 300) penned this sequel and his brand of humor and writing is apparent – Robocop 2 is enjoyable and clever at times – but it’s missing the outsider’s perspective (Verhoeven is Dutch) making Robocop such a clever and insightful film.

Foreign Commercials

Product endorsement and celebrities go together like shit and a toilet. However, there are myriad moments when companies approach these personalities with gobs of money to do advertisements in foreign lands – moments which could potentially ruin a career stateside. Everybody’s heard the rumors about Woody Allen doing some tacky commercial in Japan for millions of dollars (I couldn’t find this on Youtube) and he’s not the only one our Asian buddies have enlisted to hock products. Below is a list of my favorite commercials from foreign countries featuring either celebrities or characters from popular visual media. Thanks to Rick for pointing out the great Robocop commercials from Korea.

Also, my character study on Nomi from Showgirls should be done by the end of the week. Thanks.

Robocop Statue

I know this is a lazy post but I just celebrated my 100^th post with an exploration of The Devil’s Rejects (which few people have read so far) and I’m really busy writing a thesis. However, in celebration of my paltry contribution to academia I am posting an article from Slate about the topic of my thesis: Paul Verhoeven. Apparently a giant statue of Robocop is going up in Detroit, much to my amusement, and some are happy about it; others aren’t. Enjoy the article and expect another post later this week. Thanks.

Detroit Needs Robocop

Now more than ever. Why a proposed statue of the tragic hero is a good idea for the Motor City.

By Patrick Cassels
http://www.slate.com/id/2287641/

Robocop

I was listening to Talk of the Nation this afternoon and the topic was the privatization of prisons. I didn’t hear the whole program, but what fascinated me was how corporations entering this venture pull profits. For example, if an inmate requires medical assistance (dispensing medication, etc.), they’re charged a fee – around $12 a day. If they can’t pay it, they’re billed for it and expected to recompense the prison after their release. In a state operated prison this doesn’t happen; the burden falls on the taxpayer. I’m sure an argument for a private prison system is thought out and coming from a sincere place (at least in regards to the general population and not corporations), but it seems dangerous. Corporations are insane. The documentary The Corporations is a prime example: by implementing psychoanalytic techniques, the documentary finds a corporation embodies all the traits inherent in a psychopathic personality – at least those found in the DSM-IV.