I'm so HAPPY! It looks like my dream of a WWII themed park is finally coming to be!
Soon Sherman tanks in San'Murica
Soon Sherman tanks in San'Murica
Howl-O-Scream 2014
- Thread starter Zachary
- Start date
I have quite a few feelings on this, the strongest of which being that THIS IS GOING TO UPSET SO MANY MILITARY LOCALS. Zombie Cannibal Soldiers has so much potential to go wrong I am utterly shocked that the park would consider this. Miner's Revenge, if you don't recall, was a maze last year that upset people hundreds of miles away simply by it's name and blurb on the site. These people never actually saw the maze, but were upset because it was insensitive to their culture. Now, take what happened there, and apply it to the US Military in a town next to one of the largest concentration of bases in the country in addition to the fact that the company that owns the park is already going through a massive PR crisis because they hurt cute animals. I get that the park wants to cater to the local Military population and they have a certain history of supporting the troops, and that's great. This, though, seems like it has a huge potential to insult them.
The best thing really for the park to do is just scrap the whole Military thing. If they were to keep it, there might be a way for the park to do this correctly though, and the park is going to have to put some real effort into this to work. First of all, these soldiers are going to clearly be part of a fictional organization to be non-offensive, something clearly fake like C.B.C.U. (Cryptid Biologic Containment Unit), should be plastered on whatever bases are set up, uniforms, ect. The uniforms should also be completely different from real uniforms. Ideally, all black special ops gear would be the best with no markings to indicate branch or nationality. If you see a picture of them, you should not be able to say, "Well, this is clearly the Navy". The soldiers should also not be out to attack/scare guests, the second word gets out that the park has soldiers terrorizing civilians, it would be very bad. Have whatever scare actors are set up in civilian outfits and have the soldiers trying to protect the guests, kind of like the Constabulary in Ripper Row. I heard mention of security checkpoints, that's good, it makes it seem like the soldiers are there to protect the guests.
As far as the Wendigo idea, I actually really like it. It's original, fits the theme, and even has some roots in local legends (more up north, but still). For those who don't know, the cliffsnotes version of the lore is that a Wendigo is something of a cross between a Werewolf and a Sasquatch. A human is transformed into one if they eat human flesh. It's actually a smart move on the park's part because you can have evil people with minimal makeup and effects. They're going to have to do a bit of work to make it seem like the area is a Military Base, but they kind of pulled it off with Ripper Row last year.
I can not stress just how bad this could potentially be for the park and I urge all the creative heads reading this to consider the potential ramifications of this. If you guys think the Nurse or Blackfish backlash was bad, imagine what would happen if Bill O'Reily or Sean Hannity gets on the air and talks about BGW is mocking the Military.
(Oh hey, no Sasquach DJ jokes)
The best thing really for the park to do is just scrap the whole Military thing. If they were to keep it, there might be a way for the park to do this correctly though, and the park is going to have to put some real effort into this to work. First of all, these soldiers are going to clearly be part of a fictional organization to be non-offensive, something clearly fake like C.B.C.U. (Cryptid Biologic Containment Unit), should be plastered on whatever bases are set up, uniforms, ect. The uniforms should also be completely different from real uniforms. Ideally, all black special ops gear would be the best with no markings to indicate branch or nationality. If you see a picture of them, you should not be able to say, "Well, this is clearly the Navy". The soldiers should also not be out to attack/scare guests, the second word gets out that the park has soldiers terrorizing civilians, it would be very bad. Have whatever scare actors are set up in civilian outfits and have the soldiers trying to protect the guests, kind of like the Constabulary in Ripper Row. I heard mention of security checkpoints, that's good, it makes it seem like the soldiers are there to protect the guests.
As far as the Wendigo idea, I actually really like it. It's original, fits the theme, and even has some roots in local legends (more up north, but still). For those who don't know, the cliffsnotes version of the lore is that a Wendigo is something of a cross between a Werewolf and a Sasquatch. A human is transformed into one if they eat human flesh. It's actually a smart move on the park's part because you can have evil people with minimal makeup and effects. They're going to have to do a bit of work to make it seem like the area is a Military Base, but they kind of pulled it off with Ripper Row last year.
I can not stress just how bad this could potentially be for the park and I urge all the creative heads reading this to consider the potential ramifications of this. If you guys think the Nurse or Blackfish backlash was bad, imagine what would happen if Bill O'Reily or Sean Hannity gets on the air and talks about BGW is mocking the Military.
(Oh hey, no Sasquach DJ jokes)
So is this to be a contemporary or a period piece? I'm not sure it would be offensive if set on the French-American frontier.
The current plan is 100% contemporary. Think military jeeps, heavy artillery, high security military labs, etc.
now if we can get them to re-theme festa to North Africa and Canadia to the Eastern Front, we will be getting somewhere!
I just wanna know how many people actually know what a Wendigo is. And how many people know what a Wendigo is because one was in an episode of Supernatural, that came out almost 10 years ago. Like, I would not have picked a Wendigo for this area at all.
Not to mention the military stuff. I get the feeling this really won't go over well. Not with the amount of people here who are in the military.
Why couldn't they just do a MiB thing, secret agents and aliens, it's a similar concept and it doesn't bother anyone. Hell you could age it back to the turn of the century. And during the day they could put a little hay maze in the old Eagle's Nest, and have it be like a crop circle. And when I saw aliens I'm not talking like the alien in Dig it Up. I think that could work best in New France.
Not to mention the military stuff. I get the feeling this really won't go over well. Not with the amount of people here who are in the military.
Why couldn't they just do a MiB thing, secret agents and aliens, it's a similar concept and it doesn't bother anyone. Hell you could age it back to the turn of the century. And during the day they could put a little hay maze in the old Eagle's Nest, and have it be like a crop circle. And when I saw aliens I'm not talking like the alien in Dig it Up. I think that could work best in New France.
This is not good. This is really not good.
Do you want people thinking you're disrespectful of the military? Because thats how you get people thinking you're disrespecting the military.
If this is done the wrong way it's like BGW creating their own Blackfish.
Do you want people thinking you're disrespectful of the military? Because thats how you get people thinking you're disrespecting the military.
If this is done the wrong way it's like BGW creating their own Blackfish.
Why not theme it to zombies? It could be done so easily and zombies are so popular nowadays. Just pump the hamlet full of fog and have a bunch of scare actors limping around. It would work great especially in New France.
How about Scarecrows! Nobody likes them anymore. They used to blend in just as good as the shrubbery people. And it worked once for HOS so how come it wouldn't work twice?
I mean as long as the military is kicking the Wendigo's ass and protecting the park-goers, why would that upset military folks? The Nightingales house from HHN (21 i think) didn't seem to cause a stir and a military guy (WWII era) got ripped in half in that house.
So we're gonna have a bunch of these running around?
OK. So, I am going to play the deployed to a war zone card. As a DoD civilian, I spent six months in Baghdad during the Surge. Yes, I had a weapon and a uniform; no, I am not in the military. Yes, I came under fire; no I was never injured.
I find this entire idea completely offensive.
First, the idea that scare actors will be dressed as U.S. Troops, is insulting, especially while we are still actively at war. Essentially, the park in lumping our soldiers in with criminals and monsters.
Second, the basic premise relies on a huge failure at a DoD lab, coupled with appaling site security. Once again, I find this idea highly insulting.
Finally, just like Porno Nights, I think the use of a military theme is exploitative. It is a tone deaf, ham fisted attempt to appeal to the local men in uniform and their families.
I guess the need to reuse props from Porno Nights must have outweighed good taste.
I find this entire idea completely offensive.
First, the idea that scare actors will be dressed as U.S. Troops, is insulting, especially while we are still actively at war. Essentially, the park in lumping our soldiers in with criminals and monsters.
Second, the basic premise relies on a huge failure at a DoD lab, coupled with appaling site security. Once again, I find this idea highly insulting.
Finally, just like Porno Nights, I think the use of a military theme is exploitative. It is a tone deaf, ham fisted attempt to appeal to the local men in uniform and their families.
I guess the need to reuse props from Porno Nights must have outweighed good taste.
Forgive me, but could someone explain this whole "Blackfish" thing, or give me a link?
I for one am frustrated by the contemporary part. One of my favorite things about the park is its intentional old-timey atmosphere. Taking frontier-style New France and 'modernizing' it just doesn't sit well with me; however,I think a wendigo is a great idea.
Yes, Applesauce, the only reason I've ever heard of a wendigo is because of Supernatural. I think they could easily dress someone up in ragged clothes with long, blade-like faux nails, and pale/blueish makeup (kind of like a witch in Left 4 Dead, if anyone knows what I'm talking about). Maybe fake blood around the mouth and on the body.
To the idea of zombies, that's technically what Deadline is, and I doubt they'll use the same theme in two parts of the park. Heck, if they totally scrapped the idea of a wendigo, they could easily pull off a Deliverance-type theme where some river adventurers have crashed and are being terrorized by demented locals. Chainsaws, maybe some axes, banjo music (which I actually enjoy, to be perfectly honest),"turn back", "no trespassing", and "beware of dawg" signs with bloody handprints. It could work.
I for one am frustrated by the contemporary part. One of my favorite things about the park is its intentional old-timey atmosphere. Taking frontier-style New France and 'modernizing' it just doesn't sit well with me; however,I think a wendigo is a great idea.
Yes, Applesauce, the only reason I've ever heard of a wendigo is because of Supernatural. I think they could easily dress someone up in ragged clothes with long, blade-like faux nails, and pale/blueish makeup (kind of like a witch in Left 4 Dead, if anyone knows what I'm talking about). Maybe fake blood around the mouth and on the body.
To the idea of zombies, that's technically what Deadline is, and I doubt they'll use the same theme in two parts of the park. Heck, if they totally scrapped the idea of a wendigo, they could easily pull off a Deliverance-type theme where some river adventurers have crashed and are being terrorized by demented locals. Chainsaws, maybe some axes, banjo music (which I actually enjoy, to be perfectly honest),"turn back", "no trespassing", and "beware of dawg" signs with bloody handprints. It could work.
I think it's way too early to jump to conclusions. True, I don't think the park is below doing this the wrong way. However, I think it depends how close it ties in with reality. Maybe if it looks like "futuristic sci-fi" with indistinct soldiers on a mission to get an alien force under control, I can't see how that would be offensive. The concept could very likely change. BGW has a habit of changing concepts late in the Halloween season. Just to be sure, everyone that's mad could ready their pitchforks just in case.
The Tomato said:
A thread about the original CNN special is here.
This thread talks about the repercussions.