io9 
Enter your username and password.
San Francisco, 2:23 PM
Tue Dec 8
28 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip your editors:
Editor-in-Chief:
Annalee Newitz |
News Editor:
Charlie Jane Anders |
Associate Editor:
Meredith Woerner |
Assistant Editor:
Lauren Davis |
Weekend Editor:
Graeme McMillan |
Contributors:
Joshua Glenn
Stephen Goldmeier |
Ed Grabianowski |
Austin Grossman
Paul Hogan |
Lauren Davis |
Chris Hsiang |
Lynn Peril |
Ann VanderMeer
Alasdair Wilkins |
Graphic Designer:
Stephanie Fox |
Interns:
Tim Barribeau |
Julia Carusillo |
Alex Eichler |
Cyriaque Lamar |
Caitlin Petrakovitz |
Mary Ratliff |
Josh Snyder |
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
11/13/09
The original story and the TZ episode were koans -- simple and self-contained. This ends up feeling more like Invasion of the Body-Snatchers-meets-Let's Make A Deal. Some particular notes, though:
(a) NSA wasn't publicly admitted to exist until the mid-80s or so. That felt really awkwardly grafted on. There's also no indication why NSA would have anything to do with this sort of thing, beyond "magic aliens told us to do it."
(b) Richmond to Langley would be a bitch of a commute.
(c) The only thing more tragic than the wallpaper in the room next to the kitchen was continuing that onto the couch. On the other hand, Gillian Jacobs rocked those '70s-cut pants. This raises one of my perennial complaints: why don't they cut pants like that anymore? IMHO way hotter than this low-cut bullshit. #thebox
11/09/09
What were the other good episodes? Ones soaked in irony, where the characters think one thing while the opposite is true. I believe that is where The Box lies, and what is truly scary about it. They thought they had a choice, but perhaps they did not. Marsden not getting his promotion and Diaz losing her discount (as well as her being humiliated by a student) were all engineered by the aliens to make them more likely to press the button. Would they have entertained pressing the button if they had everything they wanted (and what was apparently coming to them)? I doubt it. At the end, Marsden doesn't shoot until the other couple pushes the button. This again suggests that events are out of their control.
Much like in Donnie Darko, there is an element of fate that we cannot escape. Only this time, that fate is not controlled by god but by god-like aliens. Perhaps the movie is a statement on god, that he expects us to do the right thing yet he is the one who controls our fates. Seems very hypocritical of god, and very hypocritical of the aliens.
In short, the interesting discussions of the movie will more likely center around fate than morality.
11/09/09
11/08/09
[www.starwars.com] #thebox
11/07/09
11/07/09
Awesome goodness right there.
11/09/09
11/07/09
Fellahs, just because you don't "get" a genre film doesn't mean there's nothing there to be had. #thebox
11/07/09
11/09/09
11/07/09
Listen to the Kelly's commentary on Darko and then tell me about his "mythos"
He readily admits he was out to make some cheeseball sci-fi movie and not some masterpiece as some have suggested.
11/07/09
11/07/09
The original short story went further and ended with the death of the husband...his wife didn't truly know him. #thebox
11/13/09
11/06/09
11/06/09
11/06/09
Now, I haven't seen the movie yet but perhaps this is too simplistic of an explanation.
Perhaps what it's saying is that women are willing to do anything for the good of the family whilst the husband is too caught up in their own prideful findings. This statement reminds me of how women are more willing to sign up for welfare, food stamps, etc whilst men find it shameful and proclaim they won't accept charity. Like in Angela's Ashes when Frank McCourt talks about how his father would never do it but his mother was more than willing to go down and grab the scraps of bread being handed out to the poor.
More often women are willing to sacrifice their own personal morals, principles and particularly pride when it is their family at stake than men are.
Granted, this is a very generalized statement but one that I feel has some credence.
Granted, this might have come across better if the family was actually on hard times and not just trying to maintain some haughty lifestyle but, then, I haven't seen the movie yet so this is all conjecture. #thebox
11/06/09
11/06/09
11/07/09
Win.
Funfact - MST3K was filmed about 20 miles from where I live in Minnesota. I like that through out the years they continued to reference obscure local businesses and areas that no one outside of the twin cities would recognize. #thebox
11/06/09
1. Do I have to pay taxes on the million?
2. Is there a limit on the # of presses?
I could see it being a moral quandary if a random person you actually know is killed, but a complete stranger? Feh, most people (admittedly myself included) would press it when noone was looking. #thebox
11/06/09
11/06/09
11/06/09
Got it.
Yay, human race. #thebox
11/06/09
11/06/09
I "like" people and all, but think about how many complete and utter wastes of human existence you think you know, and then think about the possibility of ONE of them never getting to breed again.
I'd take a million for it.
11/07/09
11/07/09
I'm not sure how else to answer you otherwise. I know we're all not supposed to be judgmental of another's opinions and views, but yours here I would consider the great least common denominator of human existence. Just pathetic and gross. #thebox
11/07/09
Answer:
1. If it is income, then yes you do. I'm sure they give you the proper tax documentation when you receive the button.
2. Yes. When there are not enough people left to trade their services or goods for your money, you have pressed the button too many times.
Protip: If you are Kevin Bacon, you cannot press the button. #thebox