General

Re: Entertainment for Libertarians

Jon Irenicus — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 14:39:30 GMT

Larry David's concern with social conventions is really interesting to me. Both Seinfeld and Curb are great at making people think about undesigned and voluntarily practiced customs.

But some obvious shows for libertarians:

Homeland (helmed by the creators of 24, but much, much more ambiguous than that show)

Firefly, and its feature film Serenity (Whedon's next show, Dollhouse, was also big on individualism, contracts, corporatism, etc.; can't speak for his previous shows, Buffy and Angel)

Deadwood (order emerging from the bottom up)

The Wire (unintentional dramatization of public choice critique)

Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister (intentional dramatization of public choice; the co-creator said "public choice economics... was at the root of almost every episode")

The Thick of It and Veep

Curb your Enthusiasm is hillarious. Larry comes across as an asshole due to all his faux-pas, and I like how it's executed. Like you said, it incorporates many aspects of social etiquette and while the producer may or may not have liberarian inclinations, I think it does a good job of showcasing voluntary arrangements in practice, particularly wrt the consequences of Larry's acting like a dick. I've not seen the majority of those shows. Some of them I might pick up. I like sci fi/fantasy offerings, so Firefly is an obvious pick.

I think Game of Thrones is pretty good from a libertarian perspective too, because it touches upon some of the downfalls of the state and its lust for power, even under monarchies. I haven't gotten too far into it yet, but I like how it shows that under monarchies there is more of a personal element involved, with each noble house risking its own resources in its vie for power. I intend to pick up Spartacus soon as well.

Mostly I tend to watch TV or play games purely for entertainment/escapism rather than didactic purposes, so as per the above I opt for shows with a supernatural theme to them, e.g. Supernatural (hur dur), Grimm, The Secret Circle, Charmed, Vampire Diaries, True Blood, GoT etc., as well as series with a decent plot like Revenge (although their inept attempt at incorporating the whole 99%/1% myth pissed me off) or Desperate Housewives. Homeland might come under this rubric.

The Elder Scrolls Online will probably consume a good deal of my free time upon its release. :p

Re: Entertainment for Libertarians

SkepticalMetal — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 03:21:55 GMT

Perhaps.

Also, Rescue Me actually seems...like it could be libertarian...well...I don't know. It's about post-9/11 firefighters, and one of them is a truther. Plus, there's none of that flag-waving nationalistic bullshit. It's all about the trauma, and it's gritty.

BUT WATCH THAT FIRST EPISODE, PLEASE.

Re: Entertainment for Libertarians

Neodoxy — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 03:17:52 GMT

I completely agree, but this requires the logic of drug legalization to already be in mind. This is to say that if you know the arguments for drug legalization then you will see their truth reflected in Breaking Bad. If you have never heard those arguments then you may well become more pro-drug war. I can't see anyone who doesn't know the arguments for drug legalization who is brought to "our side" by Breaking Bad.

Re: Entertainment for Libertarians

GoldenRetriever — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 03:15:51 GMT

Penn & Teller are both openly libertarians, I believe. Their show Bullshit has some interesting episodes.

Re: Entertainment for Libertarians

SkepticalMetal — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 03:06:23 GMT

AGH:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

The first kick-ass episode.

But doesn't portraying people in the drug trade as bad further our argument? The fact that these goons wouldn't have any business whatsoever if drugs weren't considered a crime?

Re: Entertainment for Libertarians

Fephisto — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 03:03:11 GMT

Is literature allowed? Read all the Garet Garrett novels. Especially The Driver.

Also, look at your avatar. Watch every movie staring that man (although you probably already have).

Then take out Clint Eastwood for a spin and watch the Dollar trilogy.

Then watch Desert Punk, yet another underrated anime.

Basically, if it's noir, it's golden. If it's neo-noir, it's golden. If it's anything punk, it's o.k.. If it's anything cyberpunk, it's better. And if it's cypherpunk, then it's hands-down 5-stars.

(tl;dr, look out for the movies in the intersection of good punk/cult and what the mainstream hate)

Re: Entertainment for Libertarians

Neodoxy — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 03:01:44 GMT

Meh, but at the same time I don't really see that as one of the central focuses of the show. the negativity of drug prohibition can be inferred, but then again it also shows the kind of people who both buy and sell this stuff, and the picture painted is not pretty. Also I partially agree that the police are shown in a negative light, mainly through hank (the living embodiment of everything that I hate in the human race) but at the same time they are never given an extremely harsh examination. When Walter gets maced he's being an ass to a cop who's kind of just trying to do his job and do it fairly. Gale also looks like a fool who gets way in over his head (which, in a way, he certainly does).

And it's time, not being able to find the show!

Re: Entertainment for Libertarians

SkepticalMetal — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 02:39:40 GMT

I see it as being extremely anti-drug prohibition, and every time there's an encounter with the law, the law is almost always portrayed in a negative way (Walter getting maced, boisterous old Hank, etc.)

And it's on the fucking internet! How damn hard can it be to watch!?

EDIT

Plus there's Gale, who is portrayed as a very intelligent man, who is a staunch libertarian. (We see a Ron Paul sticker in his notes later on.)

Re: Entertainment for Libertarians

Neodoxy — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 01:42:53 GMT

"And I keep on telling Neodoxy to see Samurai Champloo, but he never listens"

Look, it's on my to do list okay? I'm a very busy little militant! I've got a lot of shows that I need to watch, and that's not even including the various anime people have recommended to me :P

Also, what pro-libertarian themes do you see in breaking bad? I see that it has some themes which could be interpreted as individualistic, if not libertarian, but all and all I would see it as being neutral in regards to statism.

Re: Entertainment for Libertarians

FascistSoup — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 00:57:49 GMT

http://vimeo.com/24554205

I'll just leave this here......

Re: Entertainment for Libertarians

SkepticalMetal — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 22:50:03 GMT

Right now I'm slowly attempting to put together a machinima series about an Austrian economist. I've shelved all of my film projects for the time being though, being that I've just sent off a short story to the New Yorker and I'm working on another one while I wait for a response that I plan on sending to Zoetrope: All-Story.

Re: Entertainment for Libertarians

Anenome — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 22:43:17 GMT

Michelangelo:

Vash may respect NAP when it comes to human lives, but he certainly has no problem destroying property.

There really is something great about an insurance company being the one trying to stop his hijinks though.

Lol, so true, forgot about that ^_^

Re: Entertainment for Libertarians

Michelangelo — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 22:38:06 GMT

Vash may respect NAP when it comes to human lives, but he certainly has no problem destroying property.

There really is something great about an insurance company being the one trying to stop his hijinks though.

Re: Entertainment for Libertarians

Anenome — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 22:03:30 GMT

How about Trigun, talk about an NAP-respecting character :P

Re: Entertainment for Libertarians

SkepticalMetal — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 20:42:18 GMT

Well I also watch Samurai Champloo (an anime) and Curb Your Enthusiasm. I really, really, really want to see more of The Sopranos, but alas, I have only seen the pilot episode, and HBO makes all of their DVDs too damn expensive. And I keep on telling Neodoxy to see Samurai Champloo, but he never listens like the dumb Peace and Freedom Party militant that he is.