Toxic Masculinity and Sequels

I just saw this tweet from my friend, the Rush of Madison on WIBA, Vicki McKenna:

A smarter radio commentatrix is not to be found.

So, I admit. I look forward to the new Top Gun, even though I am deeply suspicious of these sorts of things.

How many sequels live up to the originals?

UPDATE:

I read that some people think that the movie caves into the ChiComs because the original patches on Maverick’s jacket were changed: no more Taiwan.  Fluctus in simpulo?

UPDATE:

Full Dress Blue with large medals.  One wonders about what sort of ceremony this is.  Official visit?  Change of command?

BTW.. “Maverick”, great call sign, no?

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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9 Comments

  1. Bob B. says:

    The Daily Caller has a comparison photo of the back of both jackets – the Taiwan and the Japan flag are both missing on the new jacket. It was a great PR movie for the Navy and they sure could use another boost today.

  2. Atra Dicenda, Rubra Agenda says:

    It is amazing to me how an aging Tom Cruise has made a career out of being an Aging Tom Cruise.

    Just amazing.

  3. Semper Gumby says:

    I’m with Vicki McKenna on this, the more toxic Top Gun 2 is the better.

    Every screening of this movie should be attended by a HazMat team, there should be wailing and gnashing of teeth in feminist bookstores, and Libs should flee the country in terror.

    This movie better have sweating, bald, cigar-smoking grizzled men shouting at Maverick for breaking the training rules; high-speed fly-bys of control towers with the controllers spitting out Navy coffee -not soy lattes; tense standoffs in locker rooms without a female reporter in sight; maneuvering sneakily at high-speed under the Hard Deck even if it offends the pigeons; and whether it’s against a MiG or an alQaeda drone there better be a 4G inverted dive at two meters distance.

    Top Gun 2 should also have: Maverick racing his motorcycle on the street with a Marian procession in the background; the lads wearing scapulars along with their dog tags for the beach volleyball scene; a priest in biretta incensing the flight line; and painted on the side of their F-35s how about a grinning St. Michael dropping a cluster bomb on the Devil along with the words:

    Make the Skies Catholic Again.

    Fr. Z's Gold Star Award

  4. AndyMo says:

    I know it’s a distinction without a difference, but I wouldn’t call it pandering to the ChiComs so much as toadying. International box office numbers are everything to large film makers, and the Chinese market is EVERYTHING to those looking to make money. Even the American box office is nothing compared to that.

  5. hwriggles4 says:

    Looking at this I had a flashback to my frat house days of the mid 1980s. Seven weeks of pledging was like boot camp.

    As I got older, into my mid twenties, I realized that pledging a fraternity was a positive part of growth for real life. Like boot camp, it helps a man develop a thicker skin. Teaches how to follow, humility, and even self confidence and time management. It’s sad that many men today don’t develop these skills.

  6. hwriggles4 says:

    Yes this is a movie- in most cases, if an officer holds the rank of O-6 (CAPT in USN, COL in USAF) after 29 years, he or she is pretty much automatically retired. Likewise, if a military officer in most cases is still an O-5 after 26 years (CDR in USN, LTC in USAF) most likely he or she is automatically retired. It’s not a big deal, both cases the officer had a good career, got a decent retirement, and in most cases, was young enough to find another job and be eligible for an additional retirement at some point in time.

  7. Markus says:

    “Maverick” is a great call sign. It is also the name of our rescue/shelter ferret, already named when we got him. He is the smartest, funniest little guy we have ever had, and we have had quite a few of them over the years.
    A pack of coyotes broke into our fenced yard, tore through the 4” tubing running to the shed, and Maverick was missing for a couple of days. His mate, Chloe, showed up scratching at the front door that night. Thought that we lost him. After prayers to St. Francis for intersession, I found one of his toys, left at the back door, a couple of days later. Went to the ferret shed and there he was, unharmed and started dancing when he saw me. Not sure if he was named for the movie character or the old TV series. Either way, the name fits.

  8. SKAY says:

    “I read that some people think that the movie caves into the ChiComs because the original patches on Maverick’s jacket were changed: no more Taiwan. Fluctus in simpulo?”

    This is why.
    China’s Tencent Pictures is one of the main producers of Top Gun Maverick.

    Follow the money. I think the Chinese will be doing much more of this as they are allowed
    to get more involved with Hollywood.

  9. AA Cunningham says:

    The real question is whether or not the diminutive Cruise will have to sit on phone books while being filmed in the Super Hornet cockpit as he did in the Tomcat cockpit.

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