Marc Fennell: Star Wars, Twitter Wars And Thumb Wars

This article is brought to you by the Junkee/St.George Thumb Wars. 

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Marc Fennell; radio and TV presenter, film critic, award-winning technology journalist, author, host of SBS’s live nightly news show The Feed and above all, incredibly involved MC at our inaugural Thumb Wars championship last week.

With a weekly audience of 1.9 million young people, Marc is Australia’s most listened-to film critic. He’s also the face of movies for the SBS channel, introducing movies throughout the week and hosting the largest short film festival in the world, the precariously positioned but much loved Tropfest.

Never one to shy from voicing opinions, here’s Fennell giving that famed opposable digit a workout as he walks us through his biggest thumbs-ups (and thumbs-downs) of 2015.

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THUMBS UP

1: Interviewing People

I’ve been unfairly #blessed with a nightly TV show, The Feed, where I get to interview some of the most fascinating people in popular culture, technology and media from Julian Assange to Amy Poehler. The place I feel most alive is chatting to people about their lives in front of a camera. I like finding out what makes them tick, I like open-ended questions and following them where they go. William Shatner opened up about losing his wife, Jeffrey Tambor spoke about his alcoholism, the girls from Orange is the New Black just mocked me, bearded Eurovision icon Conchita Wurst spoke powerfully about coming out, and electronic artist Porter Robinson taught me how to make music with Japanese robots.

We challenged the director of The West Wing to a walk-and talk-interview, and Hugh Jackman was uncommonly political about the proposed shut-down of remote indigenous communities. Chris Pratt just straight-up flirted. Yes, that’s how I am choosing to interpret it. The best of all was internet legend, gay icon and Star Trek star George Takei.

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2: Calamari Wrestlers, Executive Koalas And Crab Goalkeepers

When you watch movies for a living you get slightly jaded about the same-iness of what makes it into general release. Some weeks are a roulette of  Marvel/Oscarbait/Other Franchise Please Specify. This last year I spent a lot of time writing a book about crazy/awesome movie genres from around the world called Planet According to the Movies.

That’s when I discovered a filmmaker called Minoru Kawasaki, who has invented an absurdist genre where humans interact in relatively serious dramas with giant styrofoam plush animals. Calamari Wrestler is Rocky with Apollo Creed reincarnated into a hilariously not-to-scale crustacean complete with bulbous, judgey eyes.

There’s also Crab Goalkeeper, a heart-warming kids’ soccer flick, and the dark brooding murder mystery Executive Koala, about a salaryman marsupial who is embroiled in corporate espionage at a kimchi factory. Beneath all of these films is some searing political criticism of Japanese culture, but they’re mostly worth watching because of scenes like this:

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3. Salivating Over Every New Frame Of Star Wars Advertising

Until last year I never in my life prayed so hard to be endowed with the power to bend space and time to bring forward December 17 and negate the days that intervened. I fan-zoned hard on this. I lost my ability to be cynical about even the most appalling merch tie-ins for The Force Awakens. So yes, Maybelline, your limited edition Dark Side lippy with retina pro midichlorians that reverse the seven signs of being Jar Jar Binks was totally fine by me. Do you do same-day delivery?

I spent way too much time scrolling through the latest comprehensively bonkers fan theory subreddit about why Mark Hamill is actually a member of the Gungan illuminati. I fixated on every new teaser, trailer, clip and TV spot languages I don’t speak in an effort to catch a split second frame with some new information. I know, I know the prequels were terrible, but in a way that somehow enhanced my excitement. We know how bad Star Wars can be.

I’ve interviewed JJ Abrams a few times over the years and I know how besotted with Star Wars he is. The prospect of the two combining was … I’m sorry, I can’t talk. I’ve lost all critical faculties. Must. hug. limited. edition. BB-8 droid.

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THUMBS DOWN

1: Anyone That Thinks That Twitter Is An Optimum Medium To Have A Nuanced Disagreement

Twitter is great for many things. Delightful snark that lands yo’ sweet self onscreen during Q&A? Tick! Artlessly dropped grenades in the endless bitter culture wars of right and left that are slowly grinding Australian public discourse into a hazy pile of rubbish floating into the southern seas? Tick!

But if you actually want to be heard, if you actually want to change minds, then Twitter is truly dreadful. I’ve seen so many people fall into an ever-tightening spiral of explaining and re-explaining what they ‘meant’ to say in 140 characters. Eventually you spin so hard, so furiously down a hole that the space-time continuum will open up, swallow you whole and leave your loved ones with only your Vaguebook posts to remember you by.

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2: People Who Only Think About The World In Terms Of “Left” And “Right”/Boring Culture Wars

Ugh. It’s so predictable. Right-wing press takes a swipe at public broadcasters, left-wing tweeps organise a hashtag or other totally concrete strategy that has no hope in shifting any conversation. Contrary to what people like to think about public broadcasters (and I’m a doozy ‘cos I work at both SBS and the ABC) I think there are brilliant minds, policies and ideas to be mined across the political gamut.

If the rise of the social web has taught me anything, it’s that the far right and the far left of this country are equally as bad as each other. If you’re a person who easily views yourself as ‘left’ or ‘right’ that could be your exact problem: in most instances everyone already knows what you’re about to say before you say it. They know where you’re coming from and can guess your opinion before you’ve formed it. You want to make an impact? Surprise people. Ignore ideology for a few hours each day and meet someone at the middle of this imagined fence we’ve constructed around the world.

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3: Crossfit people

I want your bodies. I don’t want your cult. Unless your cult has fancy hoods and communion wine? Okay look, I’m negotiable, that’s all I’m saying. Call me.

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Marc Fennell is the host of SBS’s The Feed. His second book, Planet According To The Movies, is out now.

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Check out Marc in action and feast your eyes on the night of glory that was Thumb Wars here, which includes Alex Gardiner winning the $5,000 prize with just the power of his thumb.

Views expressed in the article are those of the writer.