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The Leviathan [teaser]

ReverendTed says...

I'm really hoping this is a movie where you can't completely root for or against either side. That said, they had to make the hunters "involuntary labor" to make them sympathetic, so I'm sure there will be some "corporate overlords" to root against. Nuance just doesn't sell in film, it seems.

LiquidDrift said:

Yeah, exactly. I'm rooting for the Leviathan here, but I don't think we're supposed to? Leave them alone!

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ReverendTed says...

I'm inclined to fall in the middle here.
Smoked a pack a day for 20 years and got lung cancer? That's a victim that took a risk and lost. BUT...
It's impossible to eliminate cancer risk entirely. Cancer is semi-random with an off-on trigger. Risk is cumulative, and while incidence can be correlated with risk across populations, incidence is not directly correlated with risk for a given individual. Some people will tan for years and never experience the specific set of mutations and biologic failsafe failures that results in melanoma, while others will trigger that specific set of conditions rapidly, even when the starting biologic conditions\predispositions are the same.
So, yes, I believe some people "get credit" for their cancer (or other illnesses) because of their behaviors, but others are just unlucky.
Even setting aside the randomness of incidence, we're constantly bombarded with a significant cancer risk factor in the form of ionizing radiation, and not just from avoidable sources like deciding to live in a brick house or eating bananas.
I also disagree with the idea that more money wouldn't help eliminate (contrast with "cure") cancer, because many organizations funding cancer research are looking at identifying risk factors, which leads to opportunities for educating populations about avoiding those risk factors. Cervical cancer can be caused by HPV? Get your kids vaccinated, don't have unprotected sex, etc. Lung cancer can be caused by smoking? Stop smoking! It isn't just about finding a magic medication to reverse cellular mutations or target mutated cells, although that would be fantastic.

FlowersInHisHair said:

Victim-blaming for cancer? Really? I'm staggered. I've heard it all now.

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