“The ends do not justify the means. The means are what separate good from evil…”

In short, the above premise tells us that our choices and actions are at least as important as our achievements. It is not often that I have found any opposition to this premise, however, I recently encountered a statement that directly challenged this idea: “Evil acts do not make the person evil. The motivation behind those acts is what makes the Person evil.” To me, this is nothing more than an excuse that we can use whatever means necessary, so long as our goals are legitimate. Such a sentiment is entirely unacceptable when considering acts of true evil. Since I encountered this statement in the context of a discussion of Star Wars, I can think of no better way to refute this faulty premise than through a similar discussion.

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Topics: Essay, Literature
Filed under: Modern Myth | No Comments »

Luke meditated in the center of a large chamber. His eyes were closed as he listened to the urban sounds of Coruscant seeping through the walls of the darkened room. In his mind he felt the pain and anguish, joy and ecstasy of nearly a trillion beings. And yet, he was alone. Completely and utterly.

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Topics: Fan Fiction, Literature
Filed under: Short Stories, Star Wars | No Comments »

The amount of reverence for Firefly has become so pitched that its biggest supporters hardly see any flaw in the series at all. Indeed, they loudly proclaim that there was absolutely no reason whatsoever to cancel the series.

Unfortunately, they are wrong.

Don’t misunderstand me. I happen to think that Firefly was very good for a series in its first season, operating under a great deal of pressure. Given the circumstances, Firefly was a bona fide success. But it is far from deserving of the near deity status granted to it by its most ardent fans. In the following critique, I will analyze the show’s successes as well as its missteps and failures …

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Topics: Sci-Fi, TV Reviews
Filed under: Firefly | No Comments »

If you are a returning guest, you have probably noticed that the main DauntlessMedia.net page has received a bit of a facelift. This is a process that will be completed over the coming week.

Additionally, the main site is now going to be used as more than just a portal to other DauntlessMedia sites. Reviews, op-ed pieces and creative writing pieces will now be a part of this main site. So keep checking back for updates.

Filed under: Site News | No Comments »

Batman Begins is a contradiction. It is movie that has both promise and disappointment. It does some things better than the original 1989 installment, but it fails to be a better overall movie than the original.

It is important to state that Batman Begins comes on the heels of two absolutely dreadful installments: 1995’s glitzy-but-hollow Batman Forever and 1997’s utter travesty Batman & Robin. By comparison, the Begins is leaps and bounds better than its predecessors, and so it is very easy to overstate the quality of the film. Therefore, we will be judging Begins against 1989’s Batman, a movie that was very well-crafted and far more successful.

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Topics: Comics, Film Review
Filed under: Batman | No Comments »

In the grand scheme of things, does it really, truly matter that Dumbledore is gay? Of course not. At least, it doesn’t matter any more than the fact that Cho Chang was Asian, that Ron Weasley had red hair, or that Filch was a Squib. So why is it a mistake for Rowling to out Dumbledore? Because unlike Ron, Filch, and Cho, this part of Dumbledore’s character was never mentioned in any of the seven books.

And actually, this new revelation merely underscores a bigger problem with Rowling’s saga: With Book 7, she dropped the ball, big time. Remember the debacle that was the Epilogue? Those Deathly Hallows that came out of nowhere? The buildup, and perfunctory dismissal of the importance of the Horcruxes? Rowling rushed Book 7 into publication and has been, ever since, trying to fix her mistakes — after the fact.
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Topics: Books, Essay, Fantasy, Literature
Filed under: Harry Potter | No Comments »