20080527

Tuesday

FYB

(excerpt)

Today, there is nothing but Good News.

The world is Changing: for the Better.

In a magazine that came to the house—I read an article called, “Responsible Capitalism.”

It is an interview with Dr. Weil—who believes that sooner or later—society will change for the better—because the Waste and Consumption modality will fail—and businesses (with unethical business practices; purely consumption and waste based) will fail—because consumers will no longer support that.

When I came home tonight, I turned on PBS and saw a short documentary about some High Tech company in Silicon Valley that promotes Human Rights. It was a firm that devotes its technology to scanning and archiving millions of documents that humans alone cannot do by hand.

This project came about based on the Civil unrest and government corruption in Guatemala. The police had killed and kidnapped so many people—so many families lost loved ones but could not find them. Now that the war has passed a warehouse of 80 million police documents were found—all files of missing persons.

So this high tech company is using their services to archive and store this information to help families find peace and resolve—and to also bring about Justice.

After that segment, was a documentary about a musician who lives and performs in an impoverished African village. He writes songs to teach the community about good hygiene as part of HIV and waterborne disease prevention.

Although he has gained enough musical success to move out of this town and live the life of an established musician: he and his band chose to stay in his hometown to continue to complete their mission. By day, they run a non-for-profit task force and by night, they are music stars.

It is true that things are changing slowly but surely…in very small incremental ways.

It is by no accident that Whole Foods got rid of all the plastic bags in their grocery stores—and that so many places I shop at now offer bins to recycle these bags.

I remember in 1993, I wanted to recycle these plastic bags but there were no means to at that time. It has taken this long for this reality to happen—so I was shocked as well as pleased to see it.

Even the mainstream supermarkets are doing strange things. When I shopped at one and brought my own grocery tote—they refunded me a Nickel for each plastic bag that I didn’t use. For a mainstream market to understand their environmental responsibility: that was impressive…even if gestured in small ways.

By no means am I an environmentalist or take on any social causes. But as a consumer or citizen, I notice these changes—I make mental check marks of them—as signs of progressive changes and hope.

Hence, when I shop at a store and placed 20 loose oranges on the counter, the clerk had to concentrate to keep them from rolling all over the place: I am happy to see that unlike New York City or other places, my shopping habit is not seen as an “inconvenience” for others—but that living with less dependencies and waste of plastic—has become an acceptable Way of Life…at least here.

I enjoy the idea that all over the place: both in mainstream and health food markets, they have water purification machines—where rather than buying gallons of water—you bring your own container to refill your water…at only 25 to 45 cents per gallon!

This trend towards less waste while benefiting everybody economically is a very positive change in life.

For me, if I could see a new trend towards Truth and Art Cinema in the Film Industry—that would make me very pleased.

Not only would it mean that I would actually “make a living” as an Artist—but that Filmmaking as an art medium—would begin to progress and mature from a commercial entertainment medium—to that of really doing what it’s supposed to do: which is to Enlighten and Liberate others.

Today, the Film Industry is at its most Unethical highpoint. I hope that one day—it will just crash.

Like the Environmental Waste in society—it is highly unjustifiable that a Buffoon like Tom Cruise can make 70 million-plus PER picture: and for doing what?

That type of support for People who offer nothing whatsoever to the arts or culture (except looking “Pretty”– and even THAT is FAKE!) is MY version of societal Waste!

It is a cultural DISASTER.

So many more people have something much more profound to say and do; and so much more Talent and Gifts to put out than these Celebrities doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHNG but showing off their fake tans and shoes.

I would love to see Cinema in America transform into the heyday of Art Cinema in the early 60s…and the Creativity that comes out of France, Europe and Overseas in general.

I hope that Americans’ taste in Cinema will change to support a more Liberal art scene, to the point where Religious Right Wingers no longer control funding and censor the arts—so that artists—young and old–can be aggressively funded by Governmentally-dependent arts organizations (like the National Endowment for the Arts; which has become entirely dysfunctional due to cultural ignorance and religious and fear-based agendas/ limitations placed on “art”).

I would also love to see something change dramatically with the Political scene.

I want people so stop advertising the word “Liberal” as an ugly word. Liberal is a good thing: it means Liberation, Freedom…it is a positive word, to be used and understood positively.

I want people to understand that the word “Conservative” in American politics is often based on morally oppressive and regressive agendas. Unless that word offers Freedom and Universal rights to others rather than debasing human equalities, intelligence, democracy and truth—I see no reason how the word Conservative in this country—can be used in a positive light.

Overall, I think as much suffering that is going on in the world today—things are heading the right way.

Consciousness is on the rise—and that is part of why the world looks as Dark as it does.

The Darker the world becomes—the greater the intensity for Truth. This is a sign that Change is happening.

Because the collective unconsciousness of people is resisting change: that’s why things look dark.

The only way to see that resistance—is when things get really bad and ugly.

That’s when you know that Truth is trying to emerge; purely based on the fact that the Unconscious (Ego) fights harder.

From an artistic point of view: Art and Films have a responsibility to reflect this; rather than being a Toilet for it.

The violent cinema you have today: with people taking great pleasure in destructive exploitation of human horrors and graphic violence—is indicatively a Toiletry way of dealing with the darkness of our times.

It is a social disease.

Yet, if one were to make a Film that shows violence honestly and with Truth to it: nobody wants to see it. They would morally condemn you for showing say: a sympathetic film with graphic violence of a preacher molesting children (or even confessing his fetishism honestly)…or the torture of so-called terrorist Muslims and government corruption–or a film exploring or sympathizing with the parents of so-called evil-doers.

How do we open our minds to humanity without judgment if we don’t see the Truth?

Society would parade down the streets morally condemning true depictions and Mirrors of their own subconscious violence.

If you show Society the Truth of violence in Films: they reject it.

Yet Society is more than pleased to watch Quentin Tarantino’s KILL BILL films or Rodriguez’s SIN CITY that portray graphic sensational (not to mention psychotic and misogynistic) violence in great detail with ABSOLUTELY no purpose other than to vent Bully-Complexes, Schoolyard Male Insecurities Erections…and Aggressions.

So if one wants to speak of Waste…look at the Values that we support in our world in terms of the “entertainment” which feeds our Culture?

Is pointing the finger at Pornography—for instance, really going to distract people from seeing where the Obscenity really is?

At least Pornography gives you Sex…the Truth of how people Fuck: that’s what people do in bed anyway.

No one today really “makes love”—they Fuck because they don’t know HOW to Love!

They didn’t learn that from Pornography, they learn that anyway by the way Cinema and Television depict the Toiletry of infantile fantasies about relationships; through vanilla-sadomasochistic imagery based on a warped fetishism Americans’ have towards Unrequited Love.

How ironic therefore is that European countries see tits and ass everywhere yet have such a more healthy relationship to Sex and are not ashamed of it?

How also ironic that Americans pay the most for healthcare yet have the lowest life expectancy rate than the Czech Republic?

What Truth are we hiding from ourselves—and how much longer can this go on?

Clearly if this continues, the Paradigm of “super power” nations are going to change: because People are going to gravitate towards places of Wellness—and Wealth is going to be understood for all its Values: spiritual, emotional, physical and monetary…and not just based on the Fake, the Temporary, the Dull, Unintelligent and Excessive.

When people talk about the “Future”—they are referring to something Long Term.

In referring to “Future”—you are saying the Instant, Fast stuff doesn’t work anymore; the Excess doesn’t work anymore…

When people start feeling that way: they might not find films that gratifying anymore…because those unconscious messages movies send: they don’t last…they don’t mean anything.

People SHOULD feel incredibly ripped off: that their time, money and energy have been absolutely wasted in Cinema; because it’s garbage and does not offer anything substantial.

Commercial Cinema is MY version of waste: it wastes Intelligence.

It wastes the opportunity to promote or provide culture, truth, freedom, and spiritual awakening.

It is bound by rules, regulations, ratings, reviews, censorship, advertising, and investment dollars…it is bound by so many things: how could it deliver you anything Substantial?

It can’t. It’s a completely broken Industry. It thrives on Wealth and nothing more.

That’s why when people say American Cinema influences the rest of the world—it means the same thing as Westernization and American Capitalism influencing the world. It’s all essentially the same thing.

My hope is that it doesn’t influence the rest of the world.

I would much have it the other way around: that America begins to learn from others—mainly in terms of culture, values, and intellectual freedom.

But I can see that the Film industry is getting desperate.

With movies like INTO THE WILD and SURF WISE—it’s trying to appeal to the burnt-out older MTV generation with films about “giving up life,” “Nomadic Quests” and personal freedom; so called “Individuality” (Individuation) when really they are just depictions of Selfish Self-Obsessed victims of capitalism.

Further the whole concept is Fear-Based—because the people who run away from Society achieve happiness through finding a Loophole (in society systems) to happiness—but really offer nothing to themselves or to life.

They figure as long as their Ass is satisfied—who cares about the rest of the world? It is fundamentally selfishness based on capitalism—in the reversed extreme; of fake and desperate Renunciation.

But if you look at these two movies, all you see is the same garbage: Commercialism and Romanticism of Escaping from Life.

This Escape-thing doesn’t work anymore…at least not for me.

People want to see the Truth: they want to see a real transformation and transcendence take place in Cinema…

People don’t need to see a self-hating rich kid Burn Money, behave recklessly and self-destructive in order to be free.

People don’t need to see a entire family so bored out of their wits that they spent years fucking and breast feeding in an RV and surfing their life away.

All those themes do not explore deeper human issues and the spiritual longing for Depth and Meaning in people’s lives. They don’t reveal anything about ourselves. They are in essence Victimization films glorified and glamorized as Hero flicks and “taking charge of your own Destiny.”

If you want to see a meaningful film, there was Doc on PBS recently about a family that lived on a boat with very little income and cultivated a very rich spiritual and meaningful life on their journey. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of the film.

That’s a real film; that gives something back. That’s food.

In these desperate times where people are feeling increasingly sick of a vacuous industrial life (of adversarial advertising bombardment), all these films do is package and repackage our deepest unconscious lusts for instantaneous gratifications to say, “Fuck You” to humanity.

I came from the “Fuck You Back” culture. And now big movie companies are making “Fuck You” films—just as I predicted.

What is the “Fuck You Back” culture you might ask?

It’s the culture that grew up in the Ronald Reagan conservative “family values” era; the era of MTV “easy culture”, post-modern: David Lynch craze (acceptable unconscious violent and misogynistic entertainment masked by eerie modern “Twilight Zone” appeal), shopping mall, shopaholism retail-world reality devoid of total purpose and meaning….

The FYB culture is the time when kids like me got trapped into debt after we paid WAY too much for Higher Education—and ended up becoming a slave to the system.

Those who wanted to get out of it had to sacrifice all their personal principles in order to climb the ladder, shit on everyone, play dirty, make it big—get a big house afford nice things.

What happens in the end?

Because culture did not support the Individuation process of each individual and afforded them an ethical, sound, health supportive, and sustainable lifestyle: after all these kids got rich and rich and escaped further and further into materialistic dependency (bondage); they said “Fuck You” people—fuck you back…I’m rich, I have everything now: so kiss my ass.

They could not give back.

They couldn’t give back to society because society robbed them of anything meaningful or trustworthy; did not allow them to be themselves or excel based on their own inner potential or self-worth.

Instead, these kids grew up to become puppets to corporations and to sacrifice their identity in order to sustain themselves.

And it was this personal sacrifice that hurt them (and everyone else) in the end; that turned them into Selfish Idiotic Frankensteins.

So if you want to see how children, youth and the “new generation” affect society, the elderly and their own future: this is the portrait here. Also see Onimania (shopaholism disease)

And so these “Fuck You” films the so-called “Indie” (or what I call “Special Interest”) film industry is putting out just doesn’t pass my Bullshit Radar.

They think that with all the pent-up frustration our society has today—that they’d want to fuck society back: and that’s NOT the right message. It’s just not Good Medicine.

That shit just doesn’t fly…at least not with me.

But what you see here is the Commercial Film industry trying to “Mould” itself around the “consumer trend” or spending.

They are such fucking idiots. It’s pathetic.

They think the entire world is reflected around a bunch of businessmen in a boardroom deciding what Entertainment, Art or Culture is. As if their Investment dollars can really change the world.

THEY—as human beings, would have to change first. Big time.