Pop-culture of the Kaiserreich

Deleted member 82792

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Dudley Do-Right was a character that started out with a segment on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, and eventually grew in popularity to garner feature length film and an amusement park attraction. Dudley Do-Right is a dim-witted officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who tries and fails to foil the plans of his nemesis Snidely Whiplash while also trying to win the affections of Nell Fenwick who is daughter of his boss Inspector Fenwick. A running gag of the show was that Nell had affections for Dudley’s horse named Horse. The show’s style was in parody of early Northern genre style of films that were popular in Canada at the time.

Despite being beloved by Canadians today, it was not always the case. When it first aired the Canadian government banned Dudley Do-Right as being subversive propaganda that carried a 15-year prison sentence for anyone caught viewing the show. The show’s creators and their voice actors also received lifetime bans from entering Canada. The ban would eventually be lifted in 1986 thanks to a successful petition.


Do you think Brendan Fraser would feature in a live action movie?
 

Deleted member 82792

Okay, continuing on the "Kaiserreich Red Alert" idea:

Iron Empire (Reichspakt, aka: Imperial Gemany and Subject States)
The Iron Empire is the "Elite" faction. Most, if not all of their units are more expensive than their Syndicalist or Entente Counterparts, but in exchange much, much more effective. Controlling most of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as large swathes of Africa, they are a force to be reckoned with, and turn their vast industrial might against any foe that dares threaten the Kaiser.

Units

Imperial Pioneer
"It will be strong and sturdy, like a good German Oak!"
Role: Construction/Repair

Pioneers are the blood that flows through the veins of any war effort, that is the true for the Empire as it is for anyone else. Although the Imperial Pioneers are the fastest when it comes to the construction of buildings and fortifications, they are the slowest when it comes to repairing them, as they have to replace many finnicky, often non-standard parts used by the Imperial Army. They are armed with the same SMGs as the Stormtroopers, and can defend themselves quite competently in a fight.

Stormtroopers
"Their trenches will be rivers of blood once we're done!"
Role: Standard Infantry

The Imperial Stormtroopers are the backbone of the Imperial Army, and make up the majority of its fighting force. Clad in exquisite body armor and armed with rapid-fire Submachine Guns, they make quick work of any unprotected footsoldier. In addition, they carry potato masher grenades against entrenched and armored targets.
Furthermore, their weapons can be upgraded with Research, replacing their SMGs with heavy automatic rifles, and their grenades with handheld cluster bombs, a single of which can wipe out an entire Infantry Squad.

Panzerjäger
"One shot, one down!"
Role: Anti-Armor/Anti-Structure Sniper

Armed with long-range Anti-Tank Rifles longer than they are tall, the Panzerjägers are the primary anti-vehicle unit of the Empire. Their rate of fire is slow, and they need to get prone before firing, rendring them unable to shoot while moving, but their weapons pack a massive punch. Their Rifles, while effective, are designed to be used against singular entities, meaning that they are very easily overwhelmed by masses of Infantry if left alone.
Their Ability "K-Bullets" gives them a penetrating shot that, once it hits an enemy Unit, passes though for a distance and cause damage to any other Unit behind it, but renders them unable to fire until the cooldown has passed. The Research "AP Munitions" gives the standard shots of the Panzerjäger similar, if weaker properties as "K-Bullets", making every shot a penetrating one, giving them more chances at taking down infantry.

Winged Hussars
"We ride to victory!"
Role: Exploitation/Fast Recon Cavalry

The Winged Hussars are an oddity in the Imperial Army, as they were originally of Polish, not German origin. Replacing their steeds of flesh and blood with robotic Warhorses, and their wooden spears and steel swords with lances and sabers whose blades glow with heat that can cut through armor plating with ease, they remain a fearsome foe even on the modern battlefield, fearlessly charging enemy gunlines, and cutting down or trampling underfoot any enemy soldier that is foolish enough to stand in their path. Their ability "Cavalry Charge" only emphasizes that, knocking aside, or outright killing, any enemy Unit unfortunate enough to find itself between the Hussars and their destination.

Grenadiers
"They'll need more than that to kill me!!"
Role: Heavy Infantry/Shocktrooper

The pinnacle of Imperial infantry, the Grenadiers are encased in a heavy suit of Power Armor, and wield Heavy Machine Guns and Trench Hammers with devastating effect. All but impervious to small arms, most Standard Infantry weapons barely scratch them, and they are only threatened by heavier ordnance.
When armed with their signature Machine Guns, they can lay down a withering hail of fire, wiping out Infantry Squads within seconds, and seriously damaging Light vehicles that are within their line of fire. When they switch to their Trench Hammers, they can move faster and posess a devastating anti-armor melee attack, that most unprotected units cannot withstand for any length of time.
All this power comes at a cost, however, despite their Power Armor negating the weight of their equipment, Grenadiers are rather slow, being outrun by most Infantry. Even their speed with equipped Trench Hammers makes them barely as fast as Standard Infantry.
Their Ability "Hunker Down" makes the Grenadier kneel and brace their Machine Gun, greatly increasing rate of fire and precision, while also rendering them immune to stunning or knocking effects.

Anya Sobieski von Krakau
"Upon my wings! For the Kaiser!"
Role: Hero Unit/Cavalry

Anya Sobieski von Krakau (Krakow) comes from a long line of German nobility, and is the current Commander of the Empire's Cavalry Corps. When her family was granted lands in Poland by the Kaiser, her Grandfather wanted to connect their House to their new sobjects, and claimed the name of Sobieski, after a long-extinct Polish Royal Line. While initially their Polish subjects were less than pleased, the deeds of Anya's Father, who granted the Poles equal rights, and her own illustrious career in the Imperial Army firmly put their concerns to rest, and they were accepted and celebrated in Poland. In fact, the Winged Hussars, now an inseperable image of Imperial Might, were founded by Anya's father.
Now she seeks to follow in his footsteps, and prove herself, equally in the eyes of the Kaiser, as well as the people that she rules.

Anya is a fearsome melee combatant, upon her robotic horse "Janek", cutting through Infantry and Light Vehicles like a hot knife through snow with her heat-bladed Saber. Her ability "Rally to me!" increases the damage output and resistance of all friendly units within a sizable radius, which is doubled if she is in conbat while it is activated, while her Ability "Black Wings" summons a cadre of black-winged Hussars to her side.
Anya, in case you can't tell, is basically a Tanya or Yuriko Omega-esque type of deal. Though I imagine there'd be more than one Hero per faction, like, maybe three or four, one for each branch (Land/Sea/Air) or troop type (Infantry/Vehicles/Aircraft/Ships).

I'll add other Units later, and probably tackle the other factions as well. Got any ideas for the Syndicalists and Entente? Let me know.

Any ideas for the other factions?
 
This is a stub intended as flavour for a KR AAR that never came to be, just found it, little 'bitty' but some ideas about Red French film that I thought were interesting.

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From: "Kinema Rouge: Early Film in Communard France" by Melanie Brown, Picador 1993

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(1889-1974) Abel Gance, leading director and kinematic innovator. Abandoned by his doctor father on birth, Gance lived with his working-class Parisian mother and later her parents in a rural mining town. He became an aspiring actor in the bourgoise fin de siecle, hiding his humble, uneducated origins. Struggling to get work, he penned screenplays for several early short films, primarily melodramas. Gance ironically dismissed kinema at this stage, consirdered his early work in film “infantile and stupid”, done entirely to pay his rent.

Rejected for military service in 1915 on health grounds, Gance continued his work in French kinema, becoming a known writer-director. The increasingly avante garde productions (both technically and thematically) were heavily censored. In 1917, Gance was drafted to the military’s Service Cinématographique. Tasked with creating propaganda films, Gance grew increasingly radical as he witnessed the cost of war. As part of his cooption by the Third Republic, Gance’s Film d’Art company, previously struggling, was subsidised by the government.

Directed to create a film capturing the true sacrifice of the poilus in the bitter winter of 1918, Gance and his cameramen were allowed open access to the frontlines. The privations suffered by French soldiers deeply affected the filmmaker. Censors were horrified on viewing Gance’s initial footage, which portrayed the Western Front and wider war in unvarnished terms. Before he could be relieved, Gance bore witness to the Second Mutiny of 1919. His cameras captured images of revolution in the trenches and beyond that would soon be seen around the world.

1633972253549.png

In the chaos of the Revolution, the small Film d’Art was officially collectivised, with Gance elected chair. Owing to the company’s prior connection to the government and military, the director was able to film his early masterpiece J’Accuse in 1921 with state funds and thousands of army extras. The film used real footage and massive re-enactments to tell the story of a single poilu, François. Excited by war in his rural village, he soon learns the horrors of industrialised warfare. The film is most famous for its (for the time) brutal battle sequences. Meanwhile back home a bourgoise racketeer Jean attempts to seduce Francois’ love, Maria, with rationed goods. Eventually Francois embraces revolution, joining the Second Mutiny. As the Revolution and Civil War commence, the now enlightened Francois returns to his village to claim Maria and overthrow the parochial regime of Jean.

1633972517535.png

Experimenting with various styles including comedy and horror, Gance finally creates his magnum opus in the Napoleon Trilogy. Created 1927-1930, the films are traditional epics but with many of the director’s flares. They are ultimately a rejection of radical mob rule and elitist Sorelian ideas, portrating an anti-hero Napoleon, who wishes to build a better world but forgets the people who get him there. A tale of ego and downfall inspired by Richard III, it has several poilu-esque characters as comic relief and to clarify the dangers of putting person before cause.

1633972088881.png

Max Linder (1883-1944) Comedic silent film star. The first comedy movie star in France before the war as “Max”, a bumbling, melodramatic hero. He jumped between Hollywood and Europe during the war but found himself unappreciated in America. His former writer Gance convinced him to return to Red France. He found unexpected success in early horror before returning to comedy. By the mid-1920s he had renovated his clueless Max character for syndicalism as an outdated, deluded dandy, forced into proletarian work but expecting deference from his new colleagues.

1633982820693.png

A close friend of Charlie Chaplin, the two co-starred in several comedies after Chaplin’s return to Britain in 1926. Most successful was Two Good Neighbours, a gentle satire of Anglo-French relations released in 1928. The film proved popular on both sides of the Channel but would end up on Britain’s infamous Black List a decade later, its “subversive tone” deemed unacceptable by the Mosleyite regime.

1633983140651.png

Erik Satie - respected composer and supporter of avant garde music, including an early Dada patron. In the 1900s he created divertissements, short music numbers designed to accompany art. As part of Film d’Art, Satie composes for proto-music videos, short surrealist films intended to illicit a mood captured in the music. This style continues past his death and as kinema entered the age of sound, Studio Satie would become synonymous with ‘diverts’. Music was initially produced in-house before increasingly diverts were created for popular musicians. Considered symbolic of Paris’ Red Bohemia was Starfish (1932), the pseudo-psychedelic divert directed by Man Ray and starring Josephine Baker.

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Depending on how Disney goes after the 2ACW, the Lion King might mostly be a German/Mittleafrika animated movie. Any ideas for the plot?
Remember Walt's daddy was a socialist

It all depends on his relationship with his father in this timeline

If the snydies win

Disney has a company could look a lot more different
 

Deleted member 82792

This is a stub intended as flavour for a KR AAR that never came to be, just found it, little 'bitty' but some ideas about Red French film that I thought were interesting.

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From: "Kinema Rouge: Early Film in Communard France" by Melanie Brown, Picador 1993

View attachment 686578
(1889-1974) Abel Gance, leading director and kinematic innovator. Abandoned by his doctor father on birth, Gance lived with his working-class Parisian mother and later her parents in a rural mining town. He became an aspiring actor in the bourgoise fin de siecle, hiding his humble, uneducated origins. Struggling to get work, he penned screenplays for several early short films, primarily melodramas. Gance ironically dismissed kinema at this stage, consirdered his early work in film “infantile and stupid”, done entirely to pay his rent.

Rejected for military service in 1915 on health grounds, Gance continued his work in French kinema, becoming a known writer-director. The increasingly avante garde productions (both technically and thematically) were heavily censored. In 1917, Gance was drafted to the military’s Service Cinématographique. Tasked with creating propaganda films, Gance grew increasingly radical as he witnessed the cost of war. As part of his cooption by the Third Republic, Gance’s Film d’Art company, previously struggling, was subsidised by the government.

Directed to create a film capturing the true sacrifice of the poilus in the bitter winter of 1918, Gance and his cameramen were allowed open access to the frontlines. The privations suffered by French soldiers deeply affected the filmmaker. Censors were horrified on viewing Gance’s initial footage, which portrayed the Western Front and wider war in unvarnished terms. Before he could be relieved, Gance bore witness to the Second Mutiny of 1919. His cameras captured images of revolution in the trenches and beyond that would soon be seen around the world.

View attachment 686579
In the chaos of the Revolution, the small Film d’Art was officially collectivised, with Gance elected chair. Owing to the company’s prior connection to the government and military, the director was able to film his early masterpiece J’Accuse in 1921 with state funds and thousands of army extras. The film used real footage and massive re-enactments to tell the story of a single poilu, François. Excited by war in his rural village, he soon learns the horrors of industrialised warfare. The film is most famous for its (for the time) brutal battle sequences. Meanwhile back home a bourgoise racketeer Jean attempts to seduce Francois’ love, Maria, with rationed goods. Eventually Francois embraces revolution, joining the Second Mutiny. As the Revolution and Civil War commence, the now enlightened Francois returns to his village to claim Maria and overthrow the parochial regime of Jean.

View attachment 686580
Experimenting with various styles including comedy and horror, Gance finally creates his magnum opus in the Napoleon Trilogy. Created 1927-1930, the films are traditional epics but with many of the director’s flares. They are ultimately a rejection of radical mob rule and elitist Sorelian ideas, portrating an anti-hero Napoleon, who wishes to build a better world but forgets the people who get him there. A tale of ego and downfall inspired by Richard III, it has several poilu-esque characters as comic relief and to clarify the dangers of putting person before cause.

View attachment 686577
Max Linder (1883-1944) Comedic silent film star. The first comedy movie star in France before the war as “Max”, a bumbling, melodramatic hero. He jumped between Hollywood and Europe during the war but found himself unappreciated in America. His former writer Gance convinced him to return to Red France. He found unexpected success in early horror before returning to comedy. By the mid-1920s he had renovated his clueless Max character for syndicalism as an outdated, deluded dandy, forced into proletarian work but expecting deference from his new colleagues.

View attachment 686631
A close friend of Charlie Chaplin, the two co-starred in several comedies after Chaplin’s return to Britain in 1926. Most successful was Two Good Neighbours, a gentle satire of Anglo-French relations released in 1928. The film proved popular on both sides of the Channel but would end up on Britain’s infamous Black List a decade later, its “subversive tone” deemed unacceptable by the Mosleyite regime.

View attachment 686633
Erik Satie - respected composer and supporter of avant garde music, including an early Dada patron. In the 1900s he created divertissements, short music numbers designed to accompany art. As part of Film d’Art, Satie composes for proto-music videos, short surrealist films intended to illicit a mood captured in the music. This style continues past his death and as kinema entered the age of sound, Studio Satie would become synonymous with ‘diverts’. Music was initially produced in-house before increasingly diverts were created for popular musicians. Considered symbolic of Paris’ Red Bohemia was Starfish (1932), the pseudo-psychedelic divert directed by Man Ray and starring Josephine Baker.

View attachment 686632

What’s cinema like in National France?
 
If the syndicalists win

the most popular depiction of fascism won’t be hitler

it would be MacArthur

which would have profound effects on fascism’s depiction in popular culture

when people think of fascism they tend to associate such ideas with a foreign but authoritarian entity

but in the world of kaiserreich…it is a home grown general

which has a lot of butterflies in pop culture
Why would MacArthur be the representation of fascism when he ain't a Fascist? Especially if the syndicalists are the winners, it would make much more sense for MacArthur to be depicted as not only an opportunistic, ambitious snake who hoardes power for power's sake, but also to be depicted how the media and entertainment today often portray military dictators. Firing Squads, ridiculous titles, chest full of unearned medals, brutal oppression, ineffective governmental management, and more. Essentially, like an African dictator. I think this makes far more sense, not only because it would be more true to life within the context of Kaiserreich, but also because if the Syndies win, it's the perfect propaganda against Authoritarianism/centralization of power, especially because MacArthur's government is non-ideological.
 
Fascism isn’t nazism

him using non-whites and not having a ideology perfectly captures fascism as an ideology

in that there is no ideology outside of the exaltation of the few over the many
 
Fascism isn’t nazism

him using non-whites and not having a ideology perfectly captures fascism as an ideology

in that there is no ideology outside of the exaltation of the few over the many
Isn't fascism defined by being a mass movement based on a cult of violence and rejection of liberal democracy, usually bolstered by prejudice of some sort as a means of mobilizing the people? By the logic you cite, the average moderately sized business is fascist because the CEO gets lots of praise for being a CEO and most workers don't get praise for being workers.

Yes, you could easily say that that structure is a bad structure, and there's a whole host of socialist critique of how necessary a boss really is, but I don't think I would call, say, Wawa fascist. Fascism is an extremely ideological belief system in many ways.
 

Deleted member 82792

MacArthur was not fascist, even if he was bigoted, he would use non whites

Fascism isn’t nazism

him using non-whites and not having a ideology perfectly captures fascism as an ideology

in that there is no ideology outside of the exaltation of the few over the many

Isn't fascism defined by being a mass movement based on a cult of violence and rejection of liberal democracy, usually bolstered by prejudice of some sort as a means of mobilizing the people? By the logic you cite, the average moderately sized business is fascist because the CEO gets lots of praise for being a CEO and most workers don't get praise for being workers.

Yes, you could easily say that that structure is a bad structure, and there's a whole host of socialist critique of how necessary a boss really is, but I don't think I would call, say, Wawa fascist. Fascism is an extremely ideological belief system in many ways.
There is no facisim in KR, just National Populism.

But please let’s get back to subject of KR pop culture
 

Deleted member 82792

So, any ideas what Babylon 5 could be like if made in a KRTL?
 
 

Deleted member 82792

Any ideas what a Halloween movies in America would be like depending on the outcome of the Civil War?
 

Deleted member 82792

Oh yeah, the Brendan Fraser movie would still happen. Including George of the Jungle. I watched those two all the time as a kid.
Same here. I wonder if he would do a KR version of the Mummy?
 
Same here. I wonder if he would do a KR version of the Mummy?
 

Deleted member 82792

What does it have to do with the Mummy?
 
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