Should Transgender Community Be Concerned With Elon Musk Owning Twitter

Should Transgender Community Be Concerned With Elon Musk Owning Twitter?

Elon Musk is certainly getting a lot of attention with the tweets he's  been making since acquiring Twitter. He's raising allegations that Twitter played a part in the political cycle by censoring Republicans, and he's also citing evidence to support what he says. Furthermore, he's been attacking Dr Fauci on his stance during the pandemic.

I'm going to avoid those two topics and talk about the concern I'm hearing from the transgender community. There are those within this community who feel like Musk will give license to the people who attack the trans community to continue to do so. I was just reading one of his comments to his initial attack on Fauci, and I found this part very concerning .

Forcing your pronouns upon others when they didn't ask, and implicitly ostracizing those who don't, is neither good nor kind to anyone.  Original Tweet Link HERE

I'm not exactly sure why he used a tweet about Fucci to punch down on the trans community, but yet here we are. People who feel as if Elon is attacking this community have reason to be concerned. I must admit, I'm concerned.

I heard people talking about supposedly being attacked by the trans community for not putting their pronouns in their profiles. Nobody that I know, however, has told me of any such issues. What are pronouns doing in people's profiles? It's simple. This is a way to support the transgender community and accept them, nothing more. 

As a transgender woman, I've been on the receiving end of what I felt was negative attention from people. It manifested in the form of presenting as female and having people intently call me sir. This is because I'm not "passable" by their standards. I may be wearing a dress and makeup, and yet they're not seeing my female presentation. Some gleefully took delight in calling me sir. Others were more confused than doing it with negative intent.

I even had an occasion at a $0.99 Only Store to be attacked by an employee. We'd had a run in before, and this person expressly sought me out the next time to come after me. Among the hateful things he said, he misgendered me. I apologized for anything I may have offended him by saying, and I requested that he apologize to me for referring to me in what I felt was a transphobic term. Rather than apologize, he made excuses for why he said it.

Some people will just choose to hate. It's in their hearts to hate, and that's their choice. Nobody is being forced at gunpoint to put pronouns in their Twitter bios. Nobody is being forced to promote and love the transgender community. All they're being asked to do is be respectful and understand that there are certain things that are deemed hateful within the community. 

Some people refer to this as a "transgender agenda", and that may be because they're not so confident in their own gender identity. They are threatened by the existence of the transgender community. I don't know, and I choose not to analyze these people. When they throw hate my way, that's when it becomes an issue to me.

Most transgender people simply want to live their lives and just be. They want a fair chance like anybody else to have a job, and they want a fair opportunity to have a home. However, because of their gender identity, some of these things aren't as easy for them to come by. Even in 2022 going on 2023, they face hate.

Elon has been saying problematic things to the transgender community. He has a right to his opinion, but where it becomes a problem is he owns one of the biggest social media platform's on the internet. When he tweets things like the above, he's telling people who hate the transgender community that they should hate as freely as they want.

It's alarming because he initially tweeted about Dr Fauci and the pandemic. The tweet should have had nothing to do with the trans community, and yet he found a way to take a shot at them too. I'm alarmed by this, and I have to ask the question. Is Elon's behavior going to give license to people who hate the transgender community to just keep hating?

The problem is some people aren't comfortable going out in public or they're not even out yet due to their very real fears of being physically attacked. They get on sites like Twitter to feel comfortable and get the confidence to go out. When Elon gives license to hate on Twitter, the hate mongers seek these people out and do real damage to them. This negatively impacts the lives of the transgender community. I wish that Elon would think before he tweets on this topic, but the he probably won't.

Avatar: The Way Of The Water Is A Worthy Sequel

Avatar: The Way Of The Water Is A Worthy Sequel 

Avatar: The Way Of The Water is in theaters as I write this. I was hoping to go see it the day before it officially opened, but it didn't happen until Saturday. This was something I wanted to enjoy with a friend of mine. I liked the first movie, but I didn't see it in the theater. I think a movie like this is enhanced by the movie theater experience.

I'm not going to say too much about this story or give away secrets. I have seen people talking about this movie being woke and being nitpicky about the environmental and colonization themes. To them I say, it's just a movie. Enjoy it. 

Also, what's wrong with caring about the environment or acknowledging that in the colonization of this country, the indigenous people weren't always treated so well? These are facts, whether they hurt your delicate feelings or not. It's also a fact that we're lucky to live in a country that still gives us so many freedoms.

When you go to a James Cameron movie, you know you're going to get some amazing cinematography. The visuals are breathtaking, and the world of Pandora that he has created is beautiful. 

I know some people are going to talk about the more than 3-hour run time. Did they need to make it this long? Probably not. I'm sure the director's cut will be even longer. On the other hand, did the fact that it was this long mean that it dragged on? Nope. The movie was fine to me.

The movie continues with Jake Sully raising his family with his wife Neytiri. The people of Earth are basically running their planet into the ground. I know people might be upset about that being part of the story, but get over it. Just look at it as a story and not commentary on environmental opinions of this day and age. 

They're coming to Pandora to colonize it, but that also means that they're going to have to get the natives to cooperate or extinguish them, whatever is necessary for the people of Earth. They come up with better techniques, but the natives have better defense techniques, thanks In part to the leadership skills of Sully. Therefore, they mean to eliminate Sully.

Sully isn't just defending the planet. He's trying to defend his family. In fact, he relocates them to a water village. His family has to learn new ways as their skill set in the forest isn't going to serve them so well in their new environment. 

Sully's family has their struggles trying to be accepted by the natives, and things escalate as the movie goes on. There's also a death in the family, but I won't go any deeper than that. Watch the movie. I don't want to put a bunch of spoilers in here.

I liked the character Lo'ak, the second son of Sully. He lives in his brother's shadow as his brother is seen as a warrior. We see that he develops some skills of his own that serve him very well.

He ends up bonding with one of the gargantuan Tulkan sea creatures. I won't explain the way in which this occurs or what it means to the story. I'm not trying to give away spoilers, but I liked the character progression of the second son.

I think the family of Sully was well cast. I liked the older daughter Kiri. There's something special going on with her that we learn throughout the movie. 

The character of Spider, the human who was basically like a son to Sully, was also played well. People have said that he had a weak character arc, but I disagree. We see him conflicted as he meets a clone of his father who was designed to blend in with the natives.

Spider never gives up on his loyalty to his adopted family, but will he ultimately betray the closest thing to a biological father he has? I won't give away spoilers, but Cameron had to have some plot threads to set up for the sequel, right?

As I understand it, the intent is to make five Avatar movies. The third movie has already been green lit according to what I've heard. However, the two after that might need to see strong ticket sales now in order to justify their existence. 

I won't be surprised to see this movie be a billion dollar money maker around the globe. I don't think there's anything in there that's going to greatly offend other countries. You get amazing visuals, lots of action and a good storyline. You get what you would expect from a movie that is hoped to be a major blockbuster. 

What Cameron is aiming for with Avatar is a franchise such as we've seen with Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. This is something for this generation. What is accomplished with the movie making techniques underwater is amazing. Of course, this being Cameron, we're going to get a sea disaster, but it's truly spectacular to behold. 

I went into this movie knowing what to expect, and it didn't disappoint me. I got everything I wanted out of it. My friend and I enjoyed every minute of the movie going experience. We were entertained from start to finish. I would recommend this movie to anybody who likes action, fantasy, good visuals and good storytelling. You're going to get that from this movie.

No Chance Of A Back To The Future Sequel Or Reboot?

It was in December of 2018 when Robert Zemeckis came out against the possibility of a reboot or sequel to the popular Back To The Future trilogy. The reason for his statement this time was a fan poll. In it, they voted that the franchise they would like to see brought back is Back To The Future.

It's no surprise that he or Bob Gale would come out against a return to the franchise. Both have been saying for years now that there is nothing in the works, despite many fans hoping to see a return. Aside from the fact that they have said that the story has already been told, there are other problems.

For one thing, one of the biggest stars of the movies, Michael J Fox, is simply not healthy enough to come back to star in a movie or series of movies. Some have suggested that he wouldn't have to take a major role to hand things off to a Marty McFly Jr character, but Fox has basically said he's not interested. However, he added that he wouldn't stand in the way of the franchise being brought back.

Fans who have seen other reboots, such as Total Recall, Footloose and Ghostbusters 2016, will cite the failures of many reboots as a reason to leave Back To The Future alone. Others will say that it's inevitable that this is going to happen. It seems that a clause in the contract with the studio states that Gale and Zemeckis have the final say on bringing the franchise back, and it won't happen as long as they are alive. Basically, when either pass on, it's likely that the studio could return to the franchise again.

I've been one who has asked a legitimate question. Is Hollywood out of ideas? With all of the reboots and endless cycle of copying successful movies, it seems like there's not much originality anymore. If somebody happens to come up with a successful idea, other studios fall all over themselves trying to copy the idea. You would think with all of the technology and money at their disposal, they could do better.

 

Time travel is one of the more popular concepts. One of the reasons for that is many people wonder what would happen if they went back and redid something in their lives. Perhaps they'd like to go back to a happier time for themselves or witness a moment in history. Another time travel franchise, Bill And Ted, returned for a third movie. 

Personally, I'm one of the people who would be in favor of a return to Back To The Future. I believe if you worked around Michael J Fox's schedule, you could put him in a position to hand things off to a younger McFly character. Christopher Lloyd could do a similar role where he hands it off to the sons of Doc Brown, Jules and Verne. Then, you go from there. 

 

If this happened, I believe it could work. I am definitely not in favor of a reboot that casts new actors in these iconic roles. It just doesn't work for the fans who made these franchises famous with their support of the originals. They end up failing. 

In absence of that, there's no saying you couldn't return to a fun, light-hearted nostalgia trip through time. Hot Tub Time Machine hit on some good notes in the first movie, though some will say it was a little bit crude and crass at times. I enjoyed those two movies, but in Back To The Future, you're striving for something more wholesome. 

 

If you were to make something in the vein of Back To The Future, you'd want the wholesomeness and nostalgia. One of the problems with reboots is the tendency to try to make them hip with a new edge. It would certainly hurt Back To The Future.

If you were to follow the original intent of the first movie, going back 30 years, that means the character takes a trip to the 1990s. There's lots of things to do in the 1990s. You would be going back to the early 1990s. Obviously, you'd have to come up with a time travel vehicle that has some appeal to it. You couldn't simply use the DeLorean. Do you use a car?

The point is, all you have to really do is have a binge-watching session of Back To The Future and other movies and take notes of the style. You're not trying to make Back To The Future. You're simply trying to grab elements that made it popular and put them into a new franchise. If somebody were willing to sit down and write it, they could come up with something catchy.

As much of a fan of Back To The Future as I am, I think it's noble that the writers don't want to go back and taint what was already created. I'm not one of those people who believes that anything new ruins the old. People had a fit when the second trilogy came out for Star Wars, but it still didn't taint what was in the first trilogy. Those movies stand on their own merits, just as Back To The Future does. However, there's also something to be said for not going back for any amount of money.

Hollywood really doesn't care about quality. I'm not saying there aren't some people who create, who aren't insistent upon quality. What I am saying is Hollywood is ruled by the almighty dollar. If they can get money out of it, they do. Some would say that the purchase of Lucas Films by Disney was all about the money. I have further seen it said that they don't even care about quality. Just give us good special effects and flash and the people will pay for it anyway.

The other problem is the attempt to get woke, as some people would say. They recast characters, making it about gender or sexual orientation or race, not story. What ends up happening is fans rebel against the idea on the grounds that this wasn't what they liked about that franchise. 

 

Fans of the changes start calling them racist or misogynistic simply because they reject the new, but that's not what's happening. People are just insistent upon a franchise remaining true to what made it special to them in the first place.

In the end, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale simply want to stay true to what made Back To The Future special. They don't want to risk that in the quest for money. I think if they have a story that they feel really good about telling, it might be different. However, I don't think they are interested in writing it. 

 

Perhaps we don't need to go back to this franchise. Leave it where it is. Even if eventually Hollywood is going to grab this franchise and go with it, it's not going to happen now. What might have happened might have ended up being good, but based on the track record of other franchise reboots lately, it may have been dreadful too.