The Naton State

Brandon Straka has become something of a living meme since the US election of 2016. Like many Democrat voters and avid Clinton supporters, Straka was not only disappointed at the election result; he was also bewildered, angry and afraid. As an openly gay man, Straka was convinced that the US had taken a sharp turn towards state sponsored oppression and bigotry. Like hundreds of thousands of others, he believed that he was in great danger following the 2016 electoral upset.

Prior to the election, Straka was pretty much a run-of the mill, box ticking American liberal, and it was those professed values of inclusivity and compassion that led to his now famous #WalkAway journey. Although he was doing the usual crying and condemning on social media following the Trumpocalypse, Straka possessed enough self-awareness to realise he must’ve missed something really big to be so badly blind-sided by Clinton’s defeat.

So began his quest to understand why millions of ordinary Americans had voted for a man the mainstream media had declared officially off limits due to his racism, bigotry, misogyny and stupidity. What was happening? Were all these voters just dumb, easily fooled, or were they all just secret racists?

Movies

Woody and Buzz Show us the Way

17 July 201930 April 2020 - by Charles Naton - Leave a Comment

In an age of franchise fatigue and cash-grabbing reboots, it was something of an anomaly to witness multiple screenings and a crowded cinema a full fortnight after Toy Story 4’s initial release date. That was my overall impression as I settled down to watch the next instalment of this hugely popular series.

The movie was everything it should have been. It was a funny, poignant and witty joyride of madcap chases, endless peril and lovable characters.

At a time when once indestructible franchises are alienating huge numbers of their own fans, seemingly on purpose, I got to wondering how Toy Story 4 had managed to buck this frustrating trend. It didn’t take me long to figure it out because the answer was right in front of me, in Dolby of course.

To put it in a nutshell, Toy Story 4 is just, well…a heart warming Toy Story film. It’s an entertaining, charming and expertly executed movie about the adventures of a bunch of toys who we know and love already. All our old favourites are back in action, with some new creations to mix things up just a little. This effortless balance of old and new enables Toy Story 4 to tap into the reservoirs of affection the audience feels before they’ve even sat down. After all, what is Toy Story without Woody, Buzz and all the others?

Modern Heretics

Dave Rubin – Modern Heretic

11 July 201930 April 2020 - by Charles Naton - Leave a Comment

Kicking off this series honouring modern-day dissidents, heretics and dangerous thinkers is the always thoughtful, always affable and genuinely curious Dave Rubin. Condemned by louder sections of the chattering classes as some sort of gateway drug to political extremism, Rubin is one of the most popular and laid-back linchpins of a cultural phenomenon which has become known as the intellectual dark web.

Describing himself as a classical liberal, Rubin’s philosophical and political journey has been followed and replicated by thousands of men and women throughout Western society over the last two decades. The numbers are climbing by the day.

As a one-time panellist and contributor for the extremely progressive Young Turks Network, Rubin has spoken at length about his personal development from progressive firebrand to fierce critic of identity politics and passionate defender of individual rights. Always thoughtful, kind and intellectually curious, his long form interviews on the Rubin Report are some of the most watched, commented on and beloved political content on YouTube, although he’s also branching out onto other platforms such as Bitchute because not even an openly gay married man is safe from the ideological outrage mob that stalks our society in search of victims to lynch and lives to ruin.

Brexit

Boris Can’t Miss

21 June 201930 April 2020 - by Charles Naton - Leave a Comment

Barring some unforeseen calamity, it seems pretty much certain that Boris Johnson will soon be the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He owes much of his popularity with the Tory party and the wider public to his easily understood and uncompromising stance on Brexit. He’s made it clear on numerous occasions that Theresa May’s disastrous withdrawal deal is dead and that the United Kingdom will be leaving the EU on October 31st, with or without any kind of trade deal in place.

The pundit classes have been at pains to point out how the problems of Parliamentary arithmetic persist regardless of who occupies Downing Street. There have already been dark threats from the likes of Dominic Grieve to vote with the opposition and bring down the government if Prime Minister Johnson attempts to take Britain out of the EU on WTO terms. We may yet see if such people have the courage of their convictions because that scenario is entirely possible.

However, in common with Donald Trump across the pond, Johnson is not nearly as dumb as the chattering classes like to think he is, and he’s had more than two years to plan his strategy. His uncompromising stance on the biggest issue in a generation shows that he is not the slightest bit scared of Parliament or the mainstream media class.

In other words, he knows he can’t miss.

Media

Is Jo Brand Worse than Danny Baker?

16 June 201930 April 2020 - by Charles Naton - Leave a Comment

By now, even the microscopic life outside of our solar system has heard about the Jo Brand acid joke controversy.

Claims and counter-claims surrounding freedom of expression, incitement to violence, political correctness and media hypocrisy have been churning around editorial pages for several days now.

The BBC have defended Brand’s statement, although she herself has since issued a public apology. It seems that BBC editors have no problem with what she said, even though she herself wishes that she hadn’t said it. How much of that public contrition is genuine is anybody’s guess and irrelevant anyhow.

The fact that the BBC saw fit to broadcast Brand’s words on a pre-recorded show has been highlighted as proof positive of the Corporation’s double standards when it comes to policing the speech of its staff and presenters. Piers Morgan, among among many others, has been loudly pointing out that the beeb didn’t hesitate to axe Danny Baker for sending a crass tweet about the Duke & Duchess of Sussex’s newly born son, yet actively defended a presenter who, at the very least, finds some comedic value in the idea of those she disagrees with suffering life changing injuries.