UPDATES, PLUS DISABILITIES AND SUPERPOWERS

UPDATES, PLUS DISABILITIES AND SUPERPOWERS:

Hey everybody! Long time no see! Here are some updates! I had another paper published, enjoyed the Doctor Who 50th, and had my own birthday on 11/22. With conventions coming up (notably Ohayocon!) you can be sure I’ll have some anime reviews, and possibly a review of Ohayocon 2014! Stay tuned! For now, here’s  a copy of the article that was published in HireGround. ( From Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities.) It’s called  “Disabilities And Superpowers”.

Disabilities and Superpowers
By Chris Bowsman

Editor’s note: Chris Bowsman, age 28, has a B.A. in German, M.A. in Intercultural Communication

If you enjoy Chris’ writing, look him up on the VSA website at http://www.vsao.org/, or follow his personal blog “Through Alien Eyes” at http://www.christopherbowsman.blogspot.com/ (Chris’s Note: Hey, that’s here!)

  I’ve always loved superheroes. When I was a kid I wanted nothing more than to be like Professor X, leader of the X-men. I didn’t have his superpower of telepathy, but hey, I was in a wheelchair, like him, so that was a good start, right? Or at least, that was the reality I lived on the inside.

But on the outside, much of my daily existence was just an exercise in willpower forged from dealing with my dependencies. It still is. Nobody saw my mental Professor X; what they saw was a kid rolling around or occasionally being pushed, often demanding extra attention and struggling to articulate words that were often hard for them to understand, limbs sometimes jerking in unexpected directions.

This was the overlay I grew up with. It’s the titanic clash between the multitudes of disabilities people see on the outside, versus what those of us experiencing a whole different world within can create mentally. One of my favorite poets laid it out this way: (Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself")

Do I contradict myself?

Very well then I contradict myself,

(I am large, I contain multitudes.)

I am accustomed to people making assumptions about my intelligence and capabilities based on what it looks like I can do, so that really isn’t even a big deal anymore. What I want to say, however, is that my super strength is just determination. My telepathy is called listening. The strengths that I possess are really strengths that anyone can have if used correctly. It is our choices that make us who we are, far more than our abilities … listening and the power to keep fighting, are far better, far more real than telepathy or being able to punch someone into atoms!

If superhero stories tell us anything, it is that people have hidden talents beyond what others can see. Charles Xavier is not just a professor, but the world’s most powerful telepath. Mild-mannered Clark Kent is Superman. Of course, no one looking on from the outside could see these powers of the great superheroes, either. But the invisible (Much more human) lessons we can learn from them involve determination, empathy, and wisdom…just to name a few.

You see, everyone tries to make meaning out of their abilities; what they can and can’t do. I’m still trying to make meaning out of mine. I’ve come a long way from just wanting to be Professor X, to traveling abroad, obtaining my degrees in German and Intercultural Communication!

Two of the most dangerous things you can do, in my opinion, are assuming that physical differences are bad, or pretending that we’re the same as you if you don’t have a disability. Above all, a body must be lived in, and all of us embody a little different view of the truth. Remember the Walt Whitman quote above? And as Professor X said: “We’re not dangerous…we are different.” Don’t be afraid to learn from these differences. Embrace them! Understand them! You may be surprised.

   In sum, I don’t have telepathy; but I have empathy. I don’t have super strength; I have my spirit. To me, superheroes are just about simple human abilities that I have, and how to use them. Each one of us has some amazing abilities if we try to discover them. Who knows? That mild-mannered reporter could be Superman. Yes, even that guy in the wheelchair could be Professor X!

Short Story: The Pigmen

Intro: Well, I thought I'd celebrate my return by posting another original short story. This one is The Pigmen. It has many influences...among them George Orwell, (1984/Animal Farm) The Twilight Zone, and Pink Floyd. From my own alien experience, this story represents how medical professionals often see my body, according to me. Also, that the medical profession is run by piggy banks...unfortunately. I'd like to develop this story further actually...but until then, here's The Pigmen!

     

THE PIGMEN:

by Chris Bowsman

It was dark when I first saw the pigmen. I could make out only a hazy snout lit by torchlight. One of them drugged me when a green pill was forced down my throat, and bound my hands with force cuffs behind my back, while another boxed me around with heavy hands until my gut was visibly torn and I choked back bits of blood and vomit. The air around me smelled like dank piss. If the swine's wrecking ball sized fists didn't do me in, the stench would.

"Don't worry." sneered the pig behind me.

“We’ll improve you soon.” said the pig who was in front. Before I blacked out, I consciously shook my crooked fist in rage.

I awoke face down in a sea of filth with barely enough light to see the sewage spilling over me in this tunnel. Miraculously, I stood and dodged the oncoming torrent of mud and scum. Someone had cut me free…but who? A man in a dark cloak let out a strangled whisper. “The pigmen above ground don’t want us to reach the light.” He said. He took me by the force cuff and led me down the darkness.

A door whooshed open from behind. Through my blurred vision I could still see the giant chrome chamber,  full of sticky sacks hanging from the ceiling: The mutation chambers. I cut through them with the force cuffs, and we moved onto the roof, shaped like a trough and adorned with the high-flung banner of the Pig Empire: red with a black pig head.

A dozen soldiers greeted us and came out squealing, “Come out with your hands up!” Laser rifles pointed at us. We jumped down into the trough, and since the pigs liked that filth, they couldn’t spot us. We jumped a guard in one of the escape pods from before the pig takeover. As we flew out of sight, and cheered ourselves, we saw the Empire disappear.

Then, I knew what would finally do us in. It wasn’t greed that would destroy us. It was our willingness to stay in filth. To let ourselves be “improved” by drugs. To let them make us think we are ugly and stupid. As my vision blurred over, my comrade grew a snout and tail. So, the mutation had begun.
Thinking quickly, I threw the pod into a nosedive and crash-landed in the desert to throw him off. He bit me in the leg, and squealed, and I kicked him in the snout. That would be the end of him, I thought, and cleaned myself in the oasis, until I squealed in horror…  that I had now become a pig!

“If you didn't care what happened to me, 

And I didn't care for you, 

We would zigzag our way through the boredom and pain. 

Occasionally glancing up through the rain. 

Wondering which of the buggars to blame. 

And watching for pigs on the wing.”

- Pink Floyd, Animals, Pigs on the Wing Pt. 1 

Halo: Fall of Reach: Covenant Review (2011)

Halo: Fall of Reach: Covenant Review (2011)

Kelly: If we miss…

Sam: “We’re Spartans, Kelly. We don‘t miss.” 

So, I was sitting in Barnes & Noble a couple days ago, and decided to grab a random graphic novel to keep me occupied. That graphic novel was "Covenant"…which is a Halo comic. I’ll be lenient on this one since I’ve only ever played Halo about twice, and that was when it was new. But hey, I even reviewed Super Metroid, so how hard could this be?  Today’s review is the long-winded  Halo: Fall of Reach: Covenant, graphic novel from Marvel Comics!

     The graphic novel seems to follow the UNSC around, first the fleet, then the Spartans (Which are like Super Marines I guess.) and then the grunts, as they all battle the Covenant, which are weird looking aliens crossed between a Muppet and a bug from Starship Troopers. One of the things I find hilarious about Halo is how outmatched the Covenant seems to be, and yet the UNSC constantly acts like they’re a threat.

    In the first chapter, there’s a lot of techno babble about some secret weapon they have but: “They will counterattack, and we will be destroyed.” So, maybe not such a good plan then? After the fleet gets destroyed, then they call in the Spartans, and unveil…sigh…the Mjonir battle suits at a base called Damascus. They really grabbed for mythology there. I have no problem with mythology, but it’s not a madlib, okay? They should have reasons behind the names.

Anyway, in the second chapter it’s all about the Spartans: Three Spartans Jeff, Sam, and Kelly have to land on this Covenant ship and blow it up. At least, in this part we actually get to see the Covenant, and it’s hilarious. One of the Spartans gets trapped as he sets the explosive, and sacrifices himself so that the others survive. One of the things I liked about this sections was, for all its madlib mythology, they explain that the armor triples their strength, and in normal test subjects the suit reacted so quickly it broke their bones. Spartans, however, are not normal test subjects.

   Really? And I thought I was just playing a first-person-shooter! Now, I know that I actually was simulating a hilariously ineffectual military organization that relies on secret plans and test subjects! At least Captain America was one superhero fighting Supernazis, so he has a reason to exist! Here, it’s just Dr. Hadsley takes three random guys to a secret base after their fleet was destroyed and gives them super armor. Can anyone explain this to me other than as a bad parody of Starship Troopers? I’m not kidding…the whole organization seems to be built on secret plans, instead of actual plans.

    The final chapter is the battle of Cote de Azur. I just thought this was badly written. There are scenes where people are saying: “We’re losing men here!” and “This is more than I’ve ever seen in one place!” But, we never actually see much of the battle except for one ship that takes out a jeep. Show, don’t tell! Anyway, I was willing to give Halo a chance. It does describe the mythology for me, but I feel like at the end of the day, it’s just a bland first-person-shooter about a terribly ineffective military organization battling Muppets.

    The Covenant still don’t seem like much of a threat to me. They are bug-Muppets vs. super soldiers with guns! Most of the destruction, as I understand it, was caused by the UNSC’s poor decision-making, and not the alien threat. They sacrificed men, they sacrificed the fleet, and they sacrifice test subjects.

    Just because I’m relatively new to the Halo universe, I’ll rate this one 2.5 out of 5 stars. It does explain the universe (Though it’s poorly shown.) and it seems to be at least a good parody of Starship Troopers. But the illustrator didn’t have much to work with, because scenes were dedicated to people talking about death rather than showing it.

 I feel like Captain Kirk would be really disappointed in the UNSC. And even he would take along some red shirts, but he always had a plan! Oh, well…I suspect within the videogame Halo the secret plan plot exists to make the player feel special. But, as a comic, it just left me in the dark about how this organization can even operate!   Master Chief has nothing on Captain Kirk!
   

Gravity (2013)

Gravity (2013):

“I hate space!”

- Dr. Ryan Stone

I can’t say I blame Sandra Bullock’s character for hating space. In this movie, everything bad happens to her. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the movie, it’s just non-stop disaster movie action. This movie doesn’t give you time to breathe! And when it does, something else goes wrong. I don’t know, I just wish Hollywood could make space cool again without overdoing the explosions.

   George Clooney is in the film for about 20 mins. Then, there’s not enough oxygen between the two astronauts, and well, one has to go. First, the space junk hits Hubble, then the International Space Station, then a Russian rocket. Everywhere she (Dr. Stone) goes space tries to kill her. One of the things I thought the movie did well was use 3D. I certainly got dizzy!

    One disaster after another sort of stretches credibility. I’m no physicist, but I highly doubt that the fire in the I.S.S. lab would’ve followed Dr. Stone’s exact path. But, you have to love that everything just turns into a giant fireball conveniently shaped for fitting through doors. Pretty much every second of the movie after the debris hits is Sandra Bullock freaking out and screaming: “What do I do? What do I do?” Even the quiet moments are chock-full of ham-fisted symbolism, such as when she sheds her space suit and goes into the fetal position abroad the I.S.S.

    In one scene, it’s made to seem like George Clooney (Matt Kowalsky) returns. (Mild spoilers.) The movie continually raises your hopes, and then lets you down. Initially, these twists were cool, but by the 3rd time they get tiresome. I can’t stress enough that I did like the movie. It’s a Hollywood disaster movie. And it should be treated as such.
   
Nonetheless, it used 3D effectively, which is rare. On the other hand, it is a heavy-handed mess. I’ve always been a big fan of sci-fi and space movies, and while many of the dangers here seem plausible, it’s so exaggerated as to be almost laughable. Take your breaths while you can. This movie just might make you hate space.
 
   Perhaps the most sci-fi aspect of this film is that America still seems to be invested in NASA. I hope one day it returns to manned space missions, but I certainly don’t hope for anything that happens here! Thrilling as it was, Gravity just leaves you floating around in emptiness and despair. Kind of like in space! I give it a solid 4/5. But, I needed more oxygen afterwards! Ha!

Planet of Snail (2012)

PLANET OF SNAIL (2012)

 Young-Chan Cho: “All the deaf and blind people have the heart of an astronaut.”

Planet of Snail is a documentary from South Korea. It is very slow-paced and plays with minimal sound to simulate Young-Chan reliance on tactile communication and finger taps as opposed to always using voice. His voice, one might say is the lack of sound. The story follows him along with his wife Soon-Ho. Soon-Ho has a disability caused by degeneration of the spine.

Together the film explores their mutual dependency and quiet, slow lives. The reference to Young-Chan Cho as an astronaut in the Planet of Snail is interesting because I too consider myself an alien. Some things that an able-bodied person can do very easily, I can’t. But, I think from that I gained a desire to explain my worldview. For Young-Chan Cho, it’s the same. On one hand, he talks about his disability as no different than fading memory for a sighted person. When you remember something with sight, it’s never as clear as it was when you saw it the first time. A very insightful critique of sightedness!

    On the other hand, Young-Chan’s poetry reveals a deep understanding of how his life is alien. “What I see in front of me is my reality.” He says. “I am deaf-blind even in my dreams.” In spite of this determination, he encounters obstacles very early on in the film. While taking a Hebrew exam, Young-Chan’s professor says that he had the words in the right order, but his assistant transcribed it wrong. That is, his wife, not his assistant. But, he gets an A+!

    Later in the film, we see Young-Chan eating with friends, who look as though they may be deaf-blind as well. They get into an argument about why he married, and the other friend believes he may never marry. Much of this argument is done through tactile communication and finger tapping. I don’t know Korean sign language, and only understand little bits of American Sign Language, but the finger tapping to me seemed vital to understanding the language. Young-Chan’s friend believes he married Soon-Ho to be a live-in caretaker, which Young-Chan Cho denies, but seems shaken by.

   Through his friend, we see his clay crafts, including a mug shaped like a naked man. Young-Chan explains that he didn’t like that one very much. Soon-Ho says that sometimes he takes care of her, because sometimes her pain is so bad that she can’t even pick up the phone. “I couldn’t even say hello. I could only make screeching sounds.” She says. Nonetheless, we see Soon-Ho helping Young-Chan around the house more often than vice versa: Fixing a light, helping with food, walking on the beach, even helping to organize Cho’s play with his friends.

     The film ends with a solo trip to a doctor's appointment, where he admits he was scared to be without his companion. “I felt colder.” He says.  Then, Young-Chan Cho goes swimming, where he says he can open his eyes and see a different world. (As opposed to The Planet of Snail.) In closing, he says he's only waiting to see the most precious things. He and I have much in common. We are both astronauts; we both use words to paint our lived experiences with disability; we have many of the same fears. What will happen to me when my friends and caretakers are gone? The film explores these fears, which at times seem to contradict his coping mechanisms…art and poetry which transcends his body.

    The film is very slow-paced, but there was enough going on that intrigued me that I never lost interest. I love movies about disability experiences, other planets, and other cultures and ways of life. I identified with the main character; but only insofar as he uses art to overcome his disability, such as I try to do. The rest was new to me: The finger tapping, Young-Chan Cho’s beautiful descriptions of his disability in poetry, having a partner vs. having friends, and negotiating each other’s disability. These were all wonderfully new to me. The slow pace also helped me drink in Young-Chan's world.

     I found Planet of Snail to be a fun, dramatic and captivating experience… it is not  just internationally appealing to me, being a Korean film, but it is interculturally appealing too. I mean, I related my experiences with disability with Young-Chan They didn’t always match up. For example, in my dreams, I'm able-bodied, though it by no means is a reflection of de-valuing my life with a disability...I can simply do more in my dreams. Also, Young-Chan says sometimes he knows he’s being stared at. I would tend not to focus on it…nonetheless, I do know it probably is happening.

Anyway, this is a great film that explores many themes about disability and relationships, and the role of art as a tool for life. Highly recommended…I’d say 4/5 stars: the slow pace might be off-putting to some, but in my case, it helped me catch details like the finger tapping as communication. A wonderful film! Go see it!

Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader? (2009) Review

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CAPED CRUSADER? (2009) REVIEW:

“You don't get heaven or hell. Do you know the only reward you get for being Batman? 

You get to be Batman.” 

- Disembodied voice

Whatever Happened to The Caped Crusader? is a story by Neil Gaiman in which Batman dies. Many times. Each villain/person in the story tells a story of when Batman dies. It’s essentially a reboot story. Batman is able to deduce that the disembodied voice is a result of a near death experience (NDE) that takes the form of his mother. As Batman notes, each story is different, but remains the same. Catwoman, Alfred, Joker, Robin, and Riddler all tell stories of how Batman died; honestly, I found it kinda cheesy for a reboot comic.
   
Catwoman’s story takes place in the ‘40s, back when she wore a cat’s head mask and no one knew she was a woman. She tells of their first encounter and when he discovered she was a woman. Batman ends up wounded by her some years later after he rejects her advances. She ties him up and allows him to die near her, which is creepy. Then, she quits crime and opens a pet store for high society “ladies.” (But, she uses a different word.)

Alfred’s story was my favorite, and by far the most creative interpretation.  This story reveals that Alfred belonged to a troupe of actors. After Batman’s parents died and he swore vengeance, ALFRED dressed up as all Batman’s villains, and hired helped from his acting to troupe to employ people like Penguin and Riddler. Riddler then shoots Batman after Batman discovers the truth.

Speaking of other villains, the art here is very good, even if some of the stories are a little lackluster. Joker in particular looks like straight out of The Animated Series, and has some great bits….(For maximum effect, read in Mark Hamill’s Joker voice.) “I don’t just randomly kill people. I kill people when it’s FUNNY!” But, then again I always imagine Mark Hamill’s voice paired with The Joker, including his laugh. Joker’s story is that after he kills Batman with his Joker venom, he didn’t even smile…and then he realized killing Batman wasn’t very funny after all.

After every villain says their bit, Batman deduces that he’s dying, and the disembodied voice is his mother. She tells him that there’s nothing he can do but say good night. Then, the book turns into a strange Batman version of Goodnight, Moon. The story ends with Batman being born in a hospital. A symbol of his rebirth in The New 52. Touching, if not chronologically and contextually confusing.

This is a reboot comic, so I will say they did a pretty good job. It had some nice tributes…in particular the art on The Joker and placing Catwoman in the ‘40s. But, the story doesn’t feel that heroic to me. All the stories are of Batman dying. (In creative ways, I must say!) It seems to me you could find other ways to show off a reboot then multiple deaths.

Death worked for Superman because he was split into about five different people and then put back together. Batman could’ve done absolutely nothing to deduce his death, and the comic still would’ve been the same. There was no action. Apart from some nice conspiracy theories, this essentially does nothing but show Batman as weak. Yes, I know, Batman never gives up, etc. But, he could’ve given up here, and nothing would’ve changed…I still give it a solid 3/5.

THE END OF EVANGELION: THE NEON GENESIS EVANGELION MOVIE (1997)

THE END OF EVANGELION: THE NEON GENESIS EVANGELION MOVIE (1997)

“Reality can be painful. But, it’s something you have to accept.”

- Kitsuragi

    Right off the bat, this “movie” is a little weird. I don’t remember that Asuka ended up wounded from the battle with the last Angel…but the movie starts with her in a hospital bed. Fair enough. Maybe something happened in-between. But, that doesn’t matter anyway, because NERV gets attacked by hijacked EVAs. Not the Angels, because theoretically they‘re defeated! Meanwhile, Asuka’s death puts Shinji in doubt again, and right when they need him to connect to his giant robot to kick butt, he “can’t do it.”

In general, I find that anime movies made from series tend to be weak, because they reset most of the character development, However, in this case, at least it progresses the story, and gets rid of the final villains…it takes the form of 4 episodes, effectively becoming extensions to a series that could’ve ended 10 years earlier, no muss no fuss. But, the villains are using EVAs to back Angels to restart mankind. Plus, at least Shinji has Asuka’s death to push him back into doubt. It makes sense, but is no less annoying. Kitsuragi and the rest of NERV fend off the terrorists, but still Shinji won’t pilot the EVA, and needs a pep talk.

I wouldn’t think that Shinji would have a choice. But, here’s where things get a little crazy. Kitsuragi gets shot and dies in front of Pen-Pen, the lovable cyber penguin, just after she gives her talk. And it turns out Asuka wasn’t dead, and that she was being visited by the spirit of her dead (German, remember!) mother which activates her EVA. She fights the rest of the EVAs alone while Bach plays in the background. It is glorious, and the best scene in the movie…not only because it’s the only straightforward action scene, but because it’s Asuka!

 Shinji’s father reveals that he was working with the Angels, and Rei (The 3rd pilot, remember!) tells him she won’t participate, but nonetheless she ascends a staircase to this weird looking giant Robojesus on a cross and becomes a giant spirit, an angel herself. Here’s where it gets weird. Rei approaches Shinji and asks if he wants to restart the Earth, and becomes blended physically to Shinji. The rest of the movie is Shinji reasserting his individuality.

So, it turns out that Shinji/Rei did destroy the Earth, but by choosing to be an individual…he saved it. Or re-created it? Is it recreated just how he remembers it? Does everyone continue on like before? What just happened? Doesn’t that invalidate the entire movie? So many plotholes to restarting timelines…wouldn’t Asuka still be dying in a hospital?

Overall, I liked this movie, but only because I get to see those characters from Neon Genesis Evangelion again. Though two out of three characters are in their worst philosophical forms. A siege is no time for philosophy. I mean,  Evangelion had comedic moments, but is mostly action. But, you wouldn’t know it from this movie. I gotta give them credit though. One of the show’s main supporters, Sega, was on the brink of oblivion at the time. By 2001, they’d cease to develop hardware.

Hey, I’m always up for some philosophy…it just happens in awkward places throughout the episodes. The siege of NERV; Rei becoming an Angel; right before Shinji needs to defeat the last Angel, Asuka! Some of the manipulation of Christian imagery is nice, as well as German classical music during Asuka’s battle scenes. And yet, the message is slightly contradictory and detracts from the mind-blowing revelations of the series. Face reality…from a giant robot! On second thought…never change, Evangelion! 3 out of 5 stars for this one, despite a rocky start and tragic ending. Oh, and feel free to discuss the ending in the comments!