Mandalorian: The Toy That Influenced “The Marshal”

In the season two premiere of The Mandalorian, we are introduced to Timothy Olyphant’s character Cobb Vanth aka the Marshal. He’s sporting the half digested remains of Boba Fett’s armor from Return of the Jedi. Cobb’s costume comes equipped with a rocket he can fire from his jetpack. Boba Fett may have not fired a rocket from his back in the movies, but that didn't stop Kenner from designing a toy did.

It’s 1979 you see this ad on the back of your toy packaging “Get a free Boba Fett action figure, with purchase of any four Star Wars action figures! Boba Fett not available in any store!” The caption on the photo promises “Rocket firing back pack!" A childhood dream! You break your piggy bank, mow lawns, beg your parents, and finally have the four required figures to earn the big one. You mail in your proof of purchases, wait 6 to 8 weeks....Finally! The figure arrives in the mail, you tear open the package, you line up some tin cans and prepare to fire off the rocket--but something’s amiss. The rocket won’t fire. The advert lied. An attached note confirms, the rocket will not fire due to potential risk. Will you ever trust again.

What happened to the promised rocket? Did it ever exist in the first place? Prototypes were designed to be fired. The ads weren't trying to scam people; however, near end of 1978 a boy choked to death on a missile from a Battlestar Galactica toy. Kenner didn’t want death on their hands so they glued all of the rockets into Boba Fett’s backpack, never to be fired off again. That's how the legend goes, but they more likely redesigned the product before shipping. Either way, not rocket. Over time the coveted firing rocket Boba Fett became legendary, and original prototypes were discovered! They became the most coveted Star Wars collectable on the market. One even sold for $365K in 2019!

Clearly the creative team behind The Mandalorian were fans too. Boba’s rocket was changed, for the show, from the green of the movies to the red of the toy--and this time the rocket can finally fire! Here's to hoping The Marshal gets his own action figure.

For more on The Mandalorian here's a guide 9 essential Clone Wars episodes to watch; or you can read an explanation and history of the Darksaber.

@Chefcinefile on Twitter

“South Park Pandemic Special” and Quarantine Depression

South Park’s Pandemic Special is worth watching, if you can get past it's gross out humor. It’s pretty funny and really relatable. What makes it worth talking about, however, is it’s acknowledgment of mental strain caused by the ongoing pandemic and quarantine. We will be talking about the plot a little, but I won't spoil any gags. So if you watch South Park for the plot, spoilers...I guess.

After spending most of the year stuck in his house, Butters is placed on quarantine in his school. He finally starts losing his cool and freaking. All he's wanted to do for months is visit Build-a-Bear Workshop; but every time he’s supposed to go, the quarantine stops him. We thought the virus would be over by Summer and here we are at the tail end of October. Like many of us, Butters is tired of waiting for things to go back to 'normal'.

Stan, on the other hand, is pretty calm on the outside but secretly depressed. He denies his depression, at first, to himself, then to the people around him. “You know I'm strong. I'm just worried about how this is all affecting weaker kids.” Stan further deflects his depression by focusing his attention on Butter's problem, instead of his own.

I find myself acting like Stan sometimes, especially this week. I see people around me being affected pretty badly by quarantine, and I go, “Man, I feel really bad for them.” It's easy to ignore how quarantine has affected myself. Yeah, I’m a little depressed, and I feel better admitting it.

It's ok to spend some time focusing on your own issues, and it's not weak to struggle with something. What's weak, is denying you have a problem. It's, also important to help yourself, before you can try to help other people. Otherwise, you may end up like Stan, breaking into a Build-a-Bear in a desperate attempt to help a friend.

I like how the South Park Pandemic Special opens up discussion on an issue a lot of us are experiencing, right now. Humans aren’t built to be isolated creatures. By being over cautious of our physical health we risk losing ourselves in the process. If you are feeling depressed right now, it’s important to know you are not alone. Talk to someone about what’s going on, before it gets worse; and it’s important to get out of the house sometimes. Hanging out in small groups of friends and family is far healthier than being alone all day every day.

Or maybe you love "Social Distancing". To each their own.

If you're interested in reading more about mental health, I wrote about the hallucination striking similar to Invasion of the Body Snatchers. If you love animation I've made a list of some must watch Clone Wars episodes.

You can find me @ChefCinephile on twitter.

The Philosophy of "The Dark Knight Returns"

“A few years back, I was reading a news magazine--a lot of people with a lot of evidence said that Roosevelt knew Pearl [Harbor] was going to be attacked--and that he let it happen. Wasn’t proven. Things like that never are. I couldn’t stop thinking how horrible that would be...and how Pearl was what got us off our duffs in time to stop the Axis...but a lot of innocent men died...but we won the war. 

It bounced back and forth in my head until I realized I couldn’t judge it. It was too big. He was too big...”

--Commissioner Gordon, The Dark Knight Returns

If you are unfamiliar with Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns (TDKR), you’re still probably familiar with its iconography. Chris Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy took a lot of inspiration from it as well as Batman v. Superman. Zack Snyder even announced the film by having an actor read a quote from TDKR. Unfortunately Zack Snyder’s vision lacked the depth of the comic that inspired it. 

**Full Spoilers Ahead**

 

Commissioner Gordon’s quote (at the top of the page) is an explanation on why Gordon has allowed Batman to exist for so long. “It was too big. He was too big.” It’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately, how people in power have to make impossible decisions, and sometimes people get hurt either way. Did President Truman do the right thing when he bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki? It’s too big to judge. Is it right allowing Batman to take the law into his own hands. He’s too big.

 

Batman, breaking laws is nothing new, but is The Dark Knight Rises saying such behavior excusable?Sort of. Batman’s actions in TDKR allow him to recruit gang members, using them as a force for good during a nationwide blackout. This and other actions draw the attention of the US government. Who’s president sends Superman to intervene. The rhetoric used here isn't about the morality of Batman's actions. It is strictly about the public nature of them. Batman is helping Gotham, but it's an embarrassment to the rest of the United States.

“You’ve always had it wrong Bruce...giving them such a big target. Sure you play it mysterious--but it’s a loud kind of mysterious, man. Especially lately. . . . They’ve been covering for me, just like they covered up my escape. Sure, they’d love to frost me...long as they can do it without admitting I exist.”

--Green Arrow, Dark Knight Returns

Green Arrow’s beliefs are consistent with the behavior of the US government, in this comic. Superheroes are outlawed, yet they secretly keep Superman around for their dirty work. Green Arrow is allowed to operate as long as he keeps a low profile. Batman takes Green Arrow's advice and publicly fakes his death to continue fighting crime underground, and Superman allows this to happen. Superman didn't need to stop Batman. He only needed Batman to stop pissing off the President.

The Dark Knight Rises is an acknowledgement that people in power will bend and break moral principles when they deem necessary. More often than not they will hide those actions from the public eye. Maybe it's to avoid judgement. Maybe it’s too big to judge. 

If you enjoyed reading this, please consider sharing with a friend, reading about the philosophy of The Walking Dead, or following me on twitter @ChefCinephile. Comments and feedback are always appreciated.

Samurai Jack: Season One Review

After falling in love with Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal I became interested in watching his previous work Samurai Jack. If you are unfamiliar with Genndy’s name, you’ve still probably enjoyed his shows. His other shows include Powerpuff Girls, Dexters Lab, and Clone Wars (2003). 

In Samurai Jack the titular samurai is forced to flee his village after the return of the evil Aku. He spends years traveling around the world learning all the skills needed to end Aku’s reign before finally being able to defeat Aku in combat. However, before he can strike the final blow, Aku traps the samurai in a portal to the far flung future where Aku has reigned for centuries. It is here where the samurai adopts the name of Jack and sets out on his quest to return to the past. AND THAT’S JUST THE FIRST EPISODE!

Jack vs. Aku

The rest of the season Jack quests after various legendary items in an attempt to go back home. Jack being in the future makes the show a genre blend of both samurai and sci-fi films, not unlike the recent Mandalorian. Jack armed only with his traditional garbs and katana is often forced to face off against laser wielding robots. By the way, the shows action is terrific. It's energetic, frantic and intense. Jack often finds himself up against nearly unstoppable odds.

The first season has a bit of a tonal whiplash, however. Sometimes things can get pretty silly, with the likes of talking dogs; but the same episode has Jack facing off against hordes of robots in a guerrilla warfare style. Samurai Jack is at its best when it’s drawing from the likes of Kurosawa, and Sergio Leone films. Many lingering close ups on a character's eyes really help to build tension in a scene. While slow panoramic shots allow you to soak in all of the scenery. If you enjoyed The Mandalorian or any of Genndy’s previous works and still haven’t seen Samurai Jack, you owe it to yourself to give it a watch. 

A Young Jack Travels the World

If you enjoyed reading this please give it a share. I'm trying really hard to build of my viewership. Also you might like reading what I wrote about Cartoon Network's Infinity Train.

You can find me @ChefCinephile on twitter.

The Truth Behind Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Imagine waking up one day, your child, spose, mother, and father--everyone you know replaced by identical copies. Only you know they are different, and no one will believe you. This is the plot of Jack Finley's 1954 novel The Body Snatchers. It’s also a real world psychological condition.

Body Snatchers (and the film Invasion of the body Snatchers) is about a town whose citizens systemically disappear before being replaced by identical pod people. These replicas have the same physical characteristics, personalities, and memories as their original recipe counterparts. Eventually the remaining humans find some significant differences and send those aliens packing in true post war fashion. In the beginning, however, the aliens mostly fit in. Only their loved ones could tell something was off.

In chapter one of the book, Doctor Miles is told Wilma believes her Uncle Ira has been replaced by an impostor. After confirming “Every little move, everything about him is exactly like Ira’s”, Doctor Miles decides to talk to Wilma herself. On page 19 Wilma explains:

“Miles, he looks, sounds, acts, and remembers exactly like Ira. On the outside. But inside he’s different. His responses aren’t emotionally right. ....there’s something missing, and the same thing is true of Aunt Aleda, lately.”

Wilma's story is a textbook example of the psychological disorder known as Capgras Syndrome. According to Healthline:

“Capgras syndrome is a psychological condition. It’s also known as “imposter syndrome” or “Capgras delusion.” People who experience this syndrome will have an irrational belief that someone they know or recognize has been replaced by an imposter. They may, for example, accuse a spouse of being an imposter of their actual spouse. This can be upsetting for both the person experiencing the delusion and the person who is accused of being an imposter.”

Unfortunately for Wilma, none of the doctors had heard about Capgras. One of them even suggested a good old fashioned bleeding might help her out.

 

Body Snatchers is a pretty terrible book, yet the description of what Wilma was going through is so spot on, one can only assume Jack Finley knew somebody afflicted with Capgras Syndrome. He probably had no idea what the cause of the delusion was, but was inspired to write a story where people really got replaced by impostors. Mental health awareness has come a long way since the 1950's, but we still aren't where we need to be. If you’re interested in learning more about Capgras Syndrome, please check out this TED talk. It's how I was originally able to learn about Capgras.

Thank you for reading. This is a new website so please consider sharing or telling a friend. If you enjoyed post this please check out my post on The Walking Dead. 

You can find me @ChefCinephile on twitter.

The Philosophy of "The Walking Dead" Comics

Having never gotten into The Walking Dead franchise previously, I decided to give the comics a read. Two weeks and 48 issues later, I really enjoy the series thus far. Surprisingly, to me, I found the comic isn’t actually about zombies. Sure, the zombies are there (in all their horrific glory), but the comic is about people reacting to a crisis situation. The zombies represent an ongoing threat. The continual pressure on the human characters forces them into a position where society can never be normal again. 

***FULL SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ISSUES 1-48 of A 20 YEAR OLD COMIC***

(But please give the comics a read, if you haven’t already)

Protagonist, Sheriff Rick Grimes begins the series as a very morally upright citizen of the law. He upholds human values as much as possible, and seems to believe people are basically good. He steals abandoned goods for survival, but would never do anything to harm a living person. Rick’s good nature almost cost him his life when his best friend Shane decided he needed Rick out of the way. Rick, never expecting his best friend to act that way, would have died if not for the intervention of his son. 

A few months later, the convicts decided Rick and his people needed to leave their prison, leaving the relative safety of the prison could mean death. When nearby undead cause a distraction, Rick sees his opportunity and kills the lead prisoner. A few months after that, Rick sneaks away from his tribe, runs over a man, and leaves him to be eaten. Again he acts with the intention of protecting his people, but this time, Rick doesn’t feel bad about it. This time the person he killed isn’t an ex con, but somebody trying to look after his own people. Both time’s Rick kills he lies about it, knowing the others wouldn’t be so quick to give up their morals. 

Rick Grimes, at the beginning of the story, represents the best humanity has to offer. His rapid corruption is a commentary on the dangers of power. Every time Rick makes a compromise, every time he does something morally questionable--he does it in the name of protecting his people, the greater good. Rick fully believes his behavior is necessary, but knows his friends wouldn’t be so convinced. He makes those hard decisions, often acting alone. All in the name of his people. 

The Governor, in The Walking Dead, exists as a dark reflection of Rick. The governor does many obviously evil things, and the Governor justifies his own actions. This is where Rick’s behavior ultimately leads. Being forced to make amoral decisions, wears a person down. Eventually anybody would lose sight over basic moral principles. 

If you believe the rapid fall of Rick is improbable, look no further than the Stanford Prison Experiment. This social experiment saw students randomly assigned to play the part of prisoner or guard in a mock prison. After only a few days the guards were horribly abusing the prisoners. Keep in mind, they weren’t real  prisoners or guards. They were all students from the same school. Afterwards, in an interview, the students who played the guard insisted they weren’t bad people. I believe they weren’t. Anybody who finds themself with unchecked power will too soon lose sight of morals. The prison experiment was abandoned after only 6 days. 

Nobody questions the Governor. His followers have a cult like belief in him and follow his every whim. Rick, on the other hand, has friends who keep him in check. When his friends find out that he murdered a prisoner, they quickly decide the weight of leadership is too much for one man, and they establish a committee. The committee seems to help him regain some of his humanity, but he still manages to run another man over. Perhaps, Rick Grimes is already too far gone. 

If you enjoyed reading this, please check out my article on Dead Space or Invasion of the Body Snatchers 

You can find me @ChefCinephile on twitter.

Dead Space: A Dead Franchise

With Halloween right around the corner I decided it was high time to revisit the Dead Space franchise. I loved the first game; but, for some reason I neglected to play any of the other ones. I dusted off my PS3, popped in a copy of Dead Space 2, turned off all the lights, and prepared to be scared. I never expected to be so damn frustrated. 

It wouldn’t be so frustrating if the game's highs weren’t so high. The beautiful environments, the ambient storytelling, the ominous sound design, the palpable sense of dread. I loved the space walks. I loved sections where I had to slowly make my way down a dark corridor.  Unfortunately, these creepy elements only seem to exist as a bridge to more action heavy set pieces. Often the scary sections were rarely challenging, and the hard sections were rarely fun. 

Most of the times I died, it felt cheap or unavoidable: I missed a QTE,  got sucked out an airlock, or was one shotted by a boss. As the game went on, encountering waves of enemies in a single room became commonplace. Imagine trying to manage your limited ammo and life only for an enemy to spawn from behind and kill you. Eventually, I lowered the difficulty just to see the rest of the story, and beautiful environments, but I still lost interest as the frequency of action set pieces increased. 

I was looking back at the first game with rose tinted glasses. The first game still had a lot of the same issues, but I remembered all of the good things instead. The Dead Space games suffer from an identity crisis. A foot in both horror and action. The games kept leaning more towards action as they went on, and they suffered for it. One game that found a better balance was the more recent Alien Isolation which still had action heavy sections, but they rarely felt as unfair. The Dead Space franchise could rise again, but it would need to dismember its action heavy arm, and commit to being more of a horror game. 

Pleas check out my article on the rise of free to play games or the Walking Dead

Also you can find me @ChefCinephile on twitter.