i was training a young person at work, and she referred to sexual assault as "SA" out loud, and i immediately was like, "no, it's sexual assault, call it what it is," bc idgaf if the algorithm overlords have taught y'all that you should fear direct language, how tf do any of you expect to ever address real issues with any amount of seriousness if you can't even say the words? imagine an advocate looking a sexual assault survivor in the eyes and asking "did he grape you?" it's absolutely fucking absurd, but these young interns and new hires are coming into an environment where we deal with survivors of all different kinds of abuse, and they're coming with the mindset that the words are as bad as the actions, and that makes them shitty at the job and look juvenile af
i HATE self-censorship for a lot of reasons, but being in crisis work makes it even more frustrating. who are you censoring for? like i am being so fr, WHO are you censoring for? have you even thought it through? people who have been raped know that they have been raped. if someone attempts suicide or is grieving someone who did, saying "sewer slide" isn't going to protect them from any of the feelings. a murder victim's family isn't going to feel better bc you said "unalived" instead of murdered. if anything, it's just extremely invalidating and othering. it's saying "what happened to you is so bad that i won't even say the word," which is NOT trauma-informed care. you are not protecting survivors/victims when you self-censor. the ONLY things you protect when you self-censor are the puritanical ideologies that are being encouraged by rich fascists who want your money and obedience
say the fucking words, guys. just say the goddamn words before i go insane!!!
Andy Serkis using AI for his next LOTR movie is just spitting on Tolkien's tomb.
The new movie will use AI
Let me explain.
Tolkien wrote about the machines that are corrupting people (Saruman and his industry, Sauron in Mordor, but also the Ring itself as a machine to gain more power)
[Selected excerpts from Tolkien's Letter 131 to Milton Waldman, 1951]
That's exactly what AI is all about: the Machine "with destructive and evil effects" and which reduces "to a minimum (or vanishing point) of the gap between the idea or desire and the result or effect".
Of course, back then, Tolkien wasn't talking about gen AI, but about industrialisation at large... but I think that his argument can perfectly apply to gen AI. And if you can't see the similarities, then I can't do anything for you.
Using gen AI to adapt Tolkien's work is not just disrespectful, it's also offensive. It's like stepping on his legacy and the points he was trying to explore through his work.
Besides, we all know why Andy Serkis does this: because he wants the P. Jackson's cast to come back, toying with people's nostalgia to better sell his movie. It's pure marketing, manipulating the fanbase's sensible cord to better sell his movie. He isn't creating anything new, he rebrands PJ's work and uses AI to make it fit our times. (I'm not fond of the Rings of Power series, but at least it offers something new - even if it draws on PJ's work, it's a different, diverse cast, a kinda new proposition based on Tolkien's work).
Tolkien's work focuses on creativity, on the power of imagination and creation. He praises it as a highest type of magic.
Using AI is all but creation.
And don't let me start on Serkis's whitewashing discourse. He made it clear that he didn't want any actor of colour in his movie... which is basic racism.
Not only because there are mentions on brown skins in Tolkien's work, but also (mostly) because this man disregards the importance of inclusivity and representation. Middle-earth is a world in which dragons exist... How dare you say the presence of black or brown people would be "unrealistic" in that world??
So I'm going to say it once and for all: Andy Serkis is a racist, an opportunist, and someone who doesn't give a shit about Tolkien's legacy or about inclusivity at large. I don't need more to know where this man stands on the political umbrella.
And here is the resulting image. There is at least Someone in the U.K. government who is actually doing their job, and it is Chief Mouser to the Cabinet, Larry the Cat.
theartofmadeline
blakekathryn
amandla
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
