Just a few weeks in, passengers on this nine-month cruise have already endured a COVID outbreak, racial microaggressions, and an emergent class system

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Originally published at: Just a few weeks in, passengers on this nine-month cruise have already endured a COVID outbreak, racial microaggressions, and an emergent class system - Boing Boing

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Are we sure that JG Ballard didn’t write this?

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Humans gonna human.

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All aboard the Seapiercer!

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No, I reject that this is our fundamental nature, that’s we’re only capable of great evil. Fuck that.

We are certainly capable of awful things, but we are also capable of wonderful, kind, and loving things. This is more a byproduct of the capitalist system, which tries to naturalize our darker instincts rather than our bright ones.

We really are shaped by the systems in which we live, and I find it heartening, despite the fact that we live in a system that brings out this kind of thing in us, many of us still manage to strive for our better nature.

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$760,000 to go on a 274 Night Cruise? They’ll have to pay me more than that. :grimacing:

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I feel that this particular environment might amplify the assholes’ assholiness. :persevere: I hope that there are people having fun there, and not allowing the moaning wankers to ruin their trip.

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I’m reminded of this…

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agreed! Hence my Ballard reference… this is kind of turning into High Rise at sea!

@Mercenary_Garage - I’ve never seen that? Any good?

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I watched the first season during lockdown and enjoyed it.

Have you seen High-Rise (the movie version)? It’s astoundingly beautiful to look at!

Edit for spelling!

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It is! Adapting Ballard is tough, and I thought that Wheatley did a fantastic job doing so… he really got the tone right…

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Agreed!

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I pretty much love all of Wheatley’s stuff… so dark, weird, and off-kilter…

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I have’t seen any of his other movies. Imma check him out!

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You couldn’t pay me to go on a nine-hour cruise. Confined spaces for extended periods of time, with no mask requirement? No, thank you. Not to mention that you almost certainly are forced to sign an arbitration clause to go on these things, so good luck getting satisfaction if something goes sideways.

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Well duh. Isn’t a literal class-based system the whole idea of having different tiers of tickets/cabins on cruises? Otherwise, why would someone pay for the $760k “Royal Suite”?

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Sutton Foster Were On The Same Page GIF by YoungerTV

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I can only think of two other adaptions of Ballard that were any good:

Empire of the Sun
Crash

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That is very good content.

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