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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   3608 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 2, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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COVID-19 and streaming services training people to stay home and wait for a streaming release instead of going to the theater. Folks tightening their belts due to the economy and inflation and spending less on entertainment in general. Competition with Youtube, Twitch, TikTok, Steam, Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo, Spotify, etc. Crowded release schedule. Particular IPs and/or franchises overstaying their welcome (DCEU, Indiana Jones, Disney Remakes). Certain diversity castings not going over well (The Little Mermaid possibly). People tired of mediocre films.

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A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


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