Rise of Arsenal Wins Award for Its Accurate Depiction of Mental Illness and Drugs Abuse

[espanolbot]

Link here,
http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/05/02/rise-arsenal-drugs-wins-award/

For legality from Rise of Arsenal 3

Comments

[generalfreedom]

Haha... hahahahaah!!!

Oh wait. This is serious? Um... okay...

[icon_uk]

I like the fact that the DC Source blog has closed comments on this one already, presumably because reading "OMG WTF?" and "Ha ha, jokes over, what REALLY happened?" over and over and over again from hundreds of different people is just depressing, or else even THEY can't believe the news.

This just transcends being able to make a joke of it, so I'm not even going to try.

[keeva]

I think they've shut down comments in general after it got ugly a month or two ago.

[whitesycamore]

Yeah Jade, you really didn't need to include the ellipsis before "perform" there.

Funny how a well-timed pause can transform a gentle reassurance into a subtly gross put-down.

[icon_uk]

I get the sense she was about to say a much more non-Comic Code Authority approved term and caught herself so as not to hurt his feelings. Because, y'know, Cheshire is all about the moderated language. o_O

[auggie18]

...what.

[baxter2814]

Everything on this comments page, summed up in one word ;)

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

Well, that's one award that will never hope to mean anything ever again.

[blackruzsa]

Ugh.
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh *headdesk*
That is my reaction to anything related to the Rise of Arsenal.

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHFUK

[practicalcat]

...what. What is this why does this reality exist.

Excuse me I need to headdesk until I can shatter the timestream and undo this.

cats and dogs living together...

[twigcollins]

It's Sandra Lee's Kwanzaa Cake in comics form. A roaring blow against the narrow confines of taste, class and reality.

Re: cats and dogs living together...

[darkknightjrk]

...Do I want to know what Kwanzaa Cake is?

[speedingtortoise]

. . . . this is a prank, right?

[greenmask]

I only just realised that Cheshire isn't wearing a costume in those panels. Her breasts are so.. front and centre.

[grazzt]

Epic Facepalm

[turtlefu]

And, just like that, the Prism Awards have been discredited entirely.

Though, one would think maybe they're not actually looking for "accurate" more "most likely to scare kids aware from drugs" since that's what most drug programs are ACTUALLY looking to promote.

Portray a drug-addicted person as somebody just like you and me who has fallen into addiction, thus proving it can happen to anybody?
HELL NO, let's just show them as comically as possible and hope the laughing will keep the kids away from drugs!

[darkblade]

It worked so well for Reefer Madness.

[baxter2814]

I'm sudden craving something really badly.

Hang on...let me identify it...

Ah got it!

Hello, Linkara? Can you do me a favor....

[big_daddy_d]

Pleeeasse tell me he has a video about this already.

[screamsheet.wordpress.com]

I am unfamiliar with this story. A look through Scans Daily presents me with scenes of funeral shouting and angry fighty almost-sex. Ignoring the poor quality of the story and what they did to poor Roy, does this comic actually have scenes that could be considered realistic depictions of drug addiction?

In other words, are people angry that it won an award it didn't deserve, or are they just angry because a story they didn't like won an award of any sort?

On a completely different note, is Roy magically de-aging in the three panels above? From panel one to panel three he looks like he loses about ten years.

[tsunamiwombat]

"In other words, are people angry that it won an award it didn't deserve, or are they just angry because a story they didn't like won an award of any sort?
"

BOTH, good sir.

And maybe. Maybe sex with supervillains does that. It would explain why Batma- I mean, Harley Quinn looks so young.

[drexer]

After some googling around, it appears that bleeding cool asked PRISM regarding this evaluation. their answer:

There are three scoring criteria for the PRISM Awards, each rated on a 10 point scale. Our reviewers include PhDs and MDs in the field of the PRISM issues.

1. Accuracy related to the PRISM issues of substance use and mental health.

2. Accessibility of the message – the likelihood that the target audience will understand the aspects of the PRISM issues portrayed in the submission based on potential mixed messages, consistency of metaphorical representations, etc.

3. Entertainment value – the degree to which the submission maintains its entertainment despite the PRISM issues being addressed.

So there are 30 maximum points. Upon reviewing the submissions, reviewers discuss and debate them based on their individual points of view and perceptions. Then they each give their own numerical ratings for all three criteria. Based on these criteria and the subsequent scoring of the reviewers, the results are determined. Justice League: Rise of Arsenal and Greek Street scored very closely during the initial review. In a run-off debate and scoring of just these two the scores got even closer and literally became a numerical tie.

We like to say that within the framework of a potentially subjective process (each reviewer brings their own baggage and expertise), this process leads to the most objective possible result.

Among the things I can recall from observing the discussions was the way in which the series dealt with not just the drug issue but the way it intertwined it in the post traumatic stress of the loss of his arm and the slaying of his daughter, the link to his past addiction and how that might trigger a relapse, the tie to past continuity, and so on. Although clearly this could not match up to the original storyline from the 1970s from which it stemmed, that’s a classic – in part because it broke such ground at a time when these subjects were not commonplace in the medium (or even allowed, technically). We knew much less about drugs than we know now from the research, so there are ways in which it’s naïve in its handling of the subject compared to today, but at the same time, in the time capsule of when it was written and appeared, it was sophisticated stuff and brilliantly representative of the best ‘70s writing (and art) regardless of the subject. It’s hard to measure today’s comics against the Silver Age milestones and foolish to do so. The audience and its expectations have changed. [But] the story has held up marvelously in ways that not all comics do. it succeeded in its own mission of utilizing the PRISM issues as an organic story element that realistically (within the suspension of disbelief required of the medium) portrayed those issues.

Despite their comments I still don't buy it. The awful way with which substance abuse is portrayed turns it into a joke more than anything and lacks accuracy in any step of the way; 1/10.

The message is in no way accessible. It is disguised in a weird and roundabout way, forever skimming the issue with crazy and non-nonsensical events that just make it look silly and worthless; 3/10.

It is not entertaining. In any way whatsoever. Unless you count parody, but even so it hurts to read; 2/10

So, a total of 6/30 or 2/10. Can someone explain to me how this was tied with Greek Street when they tallied up the votes?

Also; another commentary regarding awareness of the controversy(heh...) around this comic:

Absolutely. I had noticed some of the controversy just at the nominee announcement stage with some things that were being flagged for us by Google Alerts. Obviously our criteria is a bit different from that of reviewers.

[greenmask]

"Entertainment value" is a VERY strange way to talk about realistic drug addiction stories.

I mean, I get that they probably mean "if it is really boring and just a PSA, no-one will care so no award for you", but.. re-write, re-write! It reads like, oh, sorry, your tragic addiction story just wasn't entertaining enough for us. Dance, junkie, dance!

:/ :/ :|

As for the rest of your comment.. yeah. What you said.

[sinisterlink]

When I went to the link and saw the scan where Roy is holding a dead cat and an Oscar I laughed so very, very hard. Now I feel bad.

It's taking me a lot to not flip the fuck out..

[big_daddy_d]

Seriously....this close to going into all caps mode and ranting because just the idea....who the fuck thought that this was something worthy to even qualify for an award? That series was an abomination and the worst thing about it? Now DC will fucking see this as not only a good thing, but it will allow them to use it as a fuckin excuse to keep it in continuity even longer. Hell worst case scenario, it's here to stay. All thanks to this, so thanks alot to whoever thought it was a good idea to even nominate this shit.

[insectposse]

Are they high?

[deepspaceartist]

What I want to know is how awful the competition could possibly have been for Rise of Arsenal to be the best? I mean seriously, if that shitstain of a story is the best of the bunch, what about the runner-ups? Do they try to get through to addicted people by coming with free samples of whatever substance they're dealing with? Do they encourage substance abuse? Wait, RoA already does that, what with all the people wanting to drink away their memory of it...

[pepperspray101]

eh...wha??

[jarodrussell]

Kingrockwell may want to award me my final strike here at SD for making uncouth comments, but I can't pass up an opportunity for a bit of recursive, meta-textual humor.

Am I the only one who saw "Rise of Arsenal Wins Award for Its Accurate Depiction of Mental Illness and Drugs Abuse" and immediately though the more proper title should be "Awarding Rise of Arsenal Award for Its Accurate Depiction of Mental Illness and Drugs Abuse Wins Judging Panel Award for Its Accurate Depiction of Mental Illness and Drugs Abuse?"

[grazzt]

Can't...stop...laughing.

I can almost see that as an Onion article.

[feyandstrange]

At what point does that travesty of a plotline directly address mental illness? I skimmed the early parts, saw the awful, and fled.

[kamino_neko]

You have to have lost your mind to think the dead cat scene is anything but ridiculous.

[darkknightjrk]

Okay, I am NOT going to say that there were bribes involved with this award...BUT, it's not all that uncommon with other awards and no other rational solution's coming to mind presently.

[star_of_airdrie]

I know I'm pulling in late to this rodeo but man I couldn't image how awful the other nominees must have been. But honestly, I've known plenty in the addictions field, not always in touch with it's reality...