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Post by Dandelion on Oct 24, 2020 19:24:48 GMT
You mean the Nilfgaardians, the soldiers in black? In the books they are the Holy Roman Empire if Hitler was the Emperor. Racial supremacists and Expansionist Imperialists who want to conquer the entire world. There is a bit of prophecy and moral ambiguity to them about how part of their motivation is to exploit a prophecy and save the world from an apocalyptic ice age, but for the most part they are monsters who go around massacring and raping anything they want as an intentional war strategy. The writer is polish, so he combined the antagonism between Poland and the Holy Roman Empire during the latter's expansion east, and world war 2. Yes. Nilfgard. I never understood their motivations from the show. I assumed it had to do with yennifer and the other wizard who was sent to to nilfgard because they didn't like each other. But it sounds like there is a much broader back story. They are after Ciri due to a prophecy; anything more would spoiler you, if you havent already figured out who she might be... 😜
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seth
Member
Just Peachy
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Post by seth on Oct 24, 2020 20:19:48 GMT
Yes. Nilfgard. I never understood their motivations from the show. I assumed it had to do with yennifer and the other wizard who was sent to to nilfgard because they didn't like each other. But it sounds like there is a much broader back story. They are after Ciri due to a prophecy; anything more would spoiler you, if you havent already figured out who she might be... 😜 I haven't other than she and geralt were connected by the law of surprise. I put the books on hold at the library so I will enlighten myself when they come in.
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Post by Dandelion on Oct 24, 2020 20:26:42 GMT
They are after Ciri due to a prophecy; anything more would spoiler you, if you havent already figured out who she might be... 😜 I haven't other than she and geralt were connected by the law of surprise. I put the books on hold at the library so I will enlighten myself when they come in. Never played the games, eh? Especially no.3...
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seth
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Just Peachy
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Post by seth on Oct 25, 2020 0:39:01 GMT
I haven't other than she and geralt were connected by the law of surprise. I put the books on hold at the library so I will enlighten myself when they come in. Never played the games, eh? Especially no.3... I haven't. My gaming has been ... lacking of late. Currently, our only game system is a Wii U--which is used almost exclusively for minecraft when Tyrant Dad allows it. The last game I played with any regularity was MTG Arena. Now that winter is coming here, I may play more of it.
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Post by zabazagobo on Oct 26, 2020 7:16:53 GMT
I disagree with a few points here. Regarding the casting, the core trio (Geralt, Yen & Ciri) are all very good/great. Triss' casting? No more off than her 'game casting' (Triss was NEVER a red haired 'go-get'em' heroine...she was a morally conflicted individual and a bit of an opportunist...I mean, fans of the books know she and Geralt...), so that one didn't bother me. Fringilla was a mess of casting and didn't match the character at all. A person with dark hair and 'skin as white as snow' should not be portrayed by the exact physical opposite, especially when that physical characteristic plays a role in that character's story and relationship with the main character. Hence, bad casting in terms of staying true to the source material.
Regarding the statement that "people of color are getting chances now to be knights and princess and wizards on the big screen"...so your point, in pointing out racial arguments, is to say that having certain ethnicities appropriate roles within a certain ethnic culture they historically had marginal participation in is inclusive? I counter and say that Egypt and India alone, let alone the cultures and histories existing within the boundaries of contemporary Libya, Algeria, Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, etc. have FAR more to offer contemporary cinema and literature than does retreading the "knights" and "damsels" and "court intrigue" motif for the umpteenth time. I'd much rather focus on diversity in such a way that pays homage to the rich multicultural world we live in...not continuously tossing misplaced efforts of inclusion in environments that are historically dubious. For truth, Indian culture and history alone could give the world a serious fantasy masterpiece if certain creative liberties were taken with intertwining ancient history and how the Deva influence the course of events...historical high fantasy of such an effort could be an absolute treat. Or maybe I'm far too interested in seeing a fantastical depiction of Durga in battle.
I appreciate the staying true to source materiel but I feel like I shouldn't have to keep saying this is a fantasy show. Just because the author and legends are Polish should not mean that this is a Polish heritage show the is being appropriated. It is about Monsters and Magic. Hell yes, it's an inclusive show. I also happen to agree with you that paying actual cultural homage would be better but that is way to slow an avenue. I am also looking at this from an American point of view- where John Wayne played Genghis Khan and thy also made a movie about the Egyptian pantheon with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Gerard Butler in leading roles. I could be off on the world scale. Glad to find common ground, and I agree with the critiques of the "Hollywood" angle and there is ample room for expansion there.
That being said, isn't discounting a "Fantasy" piece of "Slavic" culture, of "Polish" writing and dismissing this underrepresented global culture defeat the entire idea of inclusive, multicultural literature, film and media? As Mel Brooks so adequately said in his satirical film To Be or Not to Be, "Poland....the doormat of Europe!". Let's respect Polish culture, Slavic culture, and encourage the representation of these cultures as being played by those who are of that culture. This SHOULD be a Polish and or Slavic artistic expression and pay homage to that background as that is exactly the thematic basis behind the Witcher, as penned by Sapkowski. There is no reason to inject a "diversity quota" other than a toxic mantra being repeated by those who advocate 'diversity' while failing to understand what 'diversity' means.
I don't have my war-goddess Durga with a thousand untold blades decimating the forces of the opposer, so I say 'diversity' in film is not met. It is just frustrating that the attempts at 'multi-cultural inclusionism' are subject to Hollywood's trite and obvious (perhaps preferably stated, oblivious) attempts at appropriating an unsustainable pseudo-academic culture at American universities?
So yes, this post does somewhat open a box belonging to Pandora regarding depictions of certain cultures on film, and I stand firm that there are far too many cultures that are unsatisfactorily given opportunity to shine on screen due to myopic concerns. Myopia brought about by money, and should the trend reverse course, all for the better. In the meanwhile, here's to hoping season 2 of the Witcher is NOT a nearly a mess of writing like the first season was...otherwise the show is done for. Love the books and games, but the show...fun, but really hit or miss, episode to episode.
Cheers!
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Post by Dandelion on Oct 28, 2020 18:15:32 GMT
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Post by strigoil on Oct 28, 2020 23:12:37 GMT
Really happy that they decided to change it, it looks miles better..I find the masks odd but eh, can't get everything. Glad they took the critique to heart and didn't double down on the scrotal look!
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stormmaster
Member
I like viking/migration era swords
Posts: 7,647
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Post by stormmaster on Oct 28, 2020 23:43:18 GMT
it is a great change, rip scrotum armor i will miss how stupid it looks alittle bit
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Post by Dandelion on Oct 29, 2020 5:49:44 GMT
Aaand the absolute DOWNER following right behind: Francesca Findabair, Enid an Gleanna, the daisy of the valleys, the oldes surviving female elf, hundreds of years old, FAR FAR AWAY from her fertile years is PREGNANT? Besides, she is a sorceress, so most likely she is infertile anyway! Sorry, i am out; that is HEAVY sh*tting on lore, Disney-SW-level. This Hissrich b*tch has to be completely gaga by now. Ridiculous, dumb, unapropriate changes.
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Post by treeslicer on Oct 29, 2020 6:05:18 GMT
Aaand the absolute DOWNER following right behind: Francesca Findabair, Enid an Gleanna, the daisy of the valleys, the oldes surviving female elf, hundreds of years old, FAR FAR AWAY from her fertile years is PREGNANT? Sorry, i am out; that is HEAVY sh*tting on lore, Disney-SW-level. This Hissrich b*tch has to be completely gaga by now. Ridiculous, dumb, unapropriate changes. I am sooooo tempted to photoshop Galadriel's face on her, with the caption, "Damn Gimli anyway......".
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Post by Dandelion on Oct 29, 2020 6:08:40 GMT
Aaand the absolute DOWNER following right behind: Francesca Findabair, Enid an Gleanna, the daisy of the valleys, the oldes surviving female elf, hundreds of years old, FAR FAR AWAY from her fertile years is PREGNANT? Sorry, i am out; that is HEAVY sh*tting on lore, Disney-SW-level. This Hissrich b*tch has to be completely gaga by now. Ridiculous, dumb, unapropriate changes. I am sooooo tempted to photoshop Galadriel's face on her, with the caption, "Damn Gimli anyway......". Gallows humor...
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Post by Cos on Oct 29, 2020 11:26:10 GMT
Aaand the absolute DOWNER following right behind: Francesca Findabair, Enid an Gleanna, the daisy of the valleys, the oldes surviving female elf, hundreds of years old, FAR FAR AWAY from her fertile years is PREGNANT? Besides, she is a sorceress, so most likely she is infertile anyway! Sorry, i am out; that is HEAVY sh*tting on lore, Disney-SW-level. This Hissrich b*tch has to be completely gaga by now. Ridiculous, dumb, unapropriate changes. You didn't have too much of a problem when D&D took this kindo of "creative license" with GoT, very interesting.
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Post by Dandelion on Oct 29, 2020 12:36:11 GMT
Aaand the absolute DOWNER following right behind: Francesca Findabair, Enid an Gleanna, the daisy of the valleys, the oldes surviving female elf, hundreds of years old, FAR FAR AWAY from her fertile years is PREGNANT? Besides, she is a sorceress, so most likely she is infertile anyway! Sorry, i am out; that is HEAVY sh*tting on lore, Disney-SW-level. This Hissrich b*tch has to be completely gaga by now. Ridiculous, dumb, unapropriate changes. You didn't have too much of a problem when D&D took this kindo of "creative license" with GoT, very interesting. 1.) GOT/ASOIAF is almost NOTHING for me compared to the Witcher world. Anyway i am quite sure that you "talked" to Holger last year... 2.) D&D had no literature/books to work with for... two seasons? Three? 3.) Why the malicious tone and smirky "attacking"? See point number one...
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Post by Cos on Oct 29, 2020 12:57:17 GMT
You didn't have too much of a problem when D&D took this kindo of "creative license" with GoT, very interesting. 1.) GOT/ASOIAF is almost NOTHING for me compared to the Witcher world. Anyway i am quite sure that you "talked" to Holger last year... 2.) D&D had no literature/books to work with for... two seasons? Three? 3.) Why the malicious tone and smirky "attacking"? See point number one... It is interesting to me that because you preferred the show it was fine for you to be rude about the books, and now that we are discussing a book series you enjoy you have no problem being complaining about changes. It is also interesting, and a little sad, that you have repeatedly referred to the showrunner as "that Hissrich semprini," because you disagree with some of the shows direction. I'm not going to discuss GoT here since it is a Witcher thread but I feel that your argument is seriously flawed and your attitude entirely hypocritical. Feel free to pm me if you like but we shouldn't derail the thread anymore.
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Post by Dandelion on Oct 29, 2020 13:14:02 GMT
Right, i agree. No derail nor discussion!
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seth
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Just Peachy
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Post by seth on Nov 2, 2020 3:56:01 GMT
So almost done with The Last Wish. Very fun read so far. I love the connection to fairy tales (reminds a bit of Fables). Stregebor is about as loathsome in both the book and show--I rooted for Renfri in both. oh well.
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Post by Dandelion on Nov 3, 2020 23:21:43 GMT
So almost done with The Last Wish. Very fun read so far. I love the connection to fairy tales (reminds a bit of Fables). Stregebor is about as loathsome in both the book and show--I rooted for Renfri in both. oh well. Thormund Giantsbane is casted as Nivellen... 😜
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