The world truly needs an “unwoke” guide to film and television right now. I am So. Freaking. Tired. of being lectured on “right think” by Hollywood. Checking off diversity boxes is now a substitute for good writing and plot development, and BOY, does it ever show!!! Comic book franchises, frenetic messes (Everything Everywhere All at Once, I’m looking at you), didactic boring scenes “raising awareness” for whatever crap the producers think we should all care about, etc...
We’re re-watching older stuff now, and enjoying the better quality Euro films still, but even the most non-woke Hollywood productions are not up to the average quality we were used to in the 1980s-2000s. The long march through the institutions seems to have been a rushing river in the film/TV industry.
I can relate: All we watch anymore are old Johnny Carson shows! We haven’t gone out to see a movie in over a decade now. Nobody is funny on television anymore. And like you, I’m tired of being lectured about what I am allowed to think.
You may have seen the cartoon about a mannequin of a comedian in a glass case in a museum with the caption, "This is something that died out around 2021 because too many people were getting offended by it":
I feel your pain! I have been rewatching sci fi movies from decades ago, rewatching Tom Selleck cop shows, and trying to focus on books instead. Evening time is pretty boring now, since I discontinued cable TV last year. I don't get why the current cohort of movie artists are so devoid of creativity. I would think that at least a few screenwriters would want to do a movie that isn't just a vehicle for a juvenile morality lecture. This reminds me of the art created by the Renaissance painters, who worked primarily for the Popes and were required to portray Catholic religious themes. To include original elements they had to slip them in among the traditional images. But as we all know, they created masterpieces within those constraints. What is really the matter with our younger generations??
Hey Sandy Pinches, please allow me to address your question about what is wrong with the younger generation. For the sake of brevity, I will bullet it; * deplorable public school systems that have abandoned primary task of education for children and replaced it with keeping the employees employed: * overwhelming cultural messaging of guilt for anyone born white and male children; * lawless cities where black male children live and die by guns; * cultural messaging that girl children should have the perfect female beauty and body, leaving all those not perfect feeling lesser; * steep decline in being raised in nuclear families.
I am interested in hearing your perspective on how much of the guilt trips are actually internalized by white guys. The ones I talk to are mostly angry, feeling cheated, which of course is a valid perception and complaint. The guilt-ridden (in my personal experience) include mostly young white women from privileged homes as well as their middle-aged mothers. The mothers are from a mix of socioeconomic backgrounds but have achieved very comfortable levels of wealth during their adult lives, often through their own work, but with the additional benefits of being married. What they express to me about their guilt circles around "I recognize that I am so privileged," and "Of course, we give substantial donations yearly to XYZ liberal causes," and "If they pass reparations, we will definitely pay them." (But they aren't paying them until a law is passed requiring everyone else to do so).
Please allow me to overhaul my reply. Yes, white guys are feeling much more resentment toward others than guilt because a) white guys alive today didn’t endorse or profit from slavery or discrimination toward any other identity group, but b) white guys alive today have experienced deep and pervasive racial and gender discrimination constantly by virtue of schools and jobs using Affirmative Action laws, policies and practices everywhere for over half a century now. Seems ironic that the discrimination policies were used to address discrimination issues and that the people who resented being discriminated against in the past would somehow not recognize that white guys would resent it also. Some kind of “you have to pay for thanks of your father’s” logic and forgetting that no human father is without sin.
Good point. While the guilt messaging about white male guilt is overwhelming, I agree many don’t accept it and become resentful to those pushing it. Maybe this and the other drivers lead to a persistent distrust and dislike between the various identity groups. Not sure. You ask tough questions.
How about global movies? We do live in a global civilization now due to the internet. This movie review of “All That Breathes” is about two brothers in Delhi trying to help the birds there survive in the poisonous air. Beautiful film. “We must listen before it’s too late.” I used to work with two Indian Muslims from Gujarat in Chicago. They hated Hindus. Our fallen world is full of evil but we also have many beautiful things so it’s not all bad.
Completely agree Seva. On Netflix, many (most) of the movies I watch these days are foreign films, specifically because they have less ‘agenda’ in them. And you are right that documentary ‘All That Breathes’ stands tall above many others as of late
Libertarian & Seva, another one I highly recommend is Peter Jackson’s 2017 documentary ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’. This is same director as Lord of the Rings, his grandfather served WW1 from New Zealand. I think it’s by far his best film ever. I saw this in theatre and not only was the film itself epic and remarkable, but there was a 30min ‘making of the movie’ at the end that was just as fascinating as the primary film. It’s actual WW1 footage that is ‘slowed down’ to look/feel normal motion. There are voice overs from specific dialects across Great Britain based on patch insignia, lined up to actual mouth movements, not to mention the black & white to coloration. Just to look into the eyes of these soldiers from so long ago is precious and moving.
Here’s another global movie you might want to talk about since this is something that affects people everywhere and you might want to share some of your views on religion. One of my favorite quotes is from the beautiful book "Life of Pi" where Pi says of his experience of finding himself alone on a boat with a Bengal tiger in the middle of the ocean, "Solitude began. I turned to God. I survived.“ The point of the book though is that it’s better to believe than not believe. That’s true but belief can’t be flipped on like a light switch. For many, there has to be proof that it’s true to be believed. This is an issue you could also explore.
“We know that if missionaries destroy the myth of a people, they destroy them. They degenerate. They are lost. And no civilization can live only from welfare. It needs a myth to live. Great civilizations, when they were flourishing had a living myth. And I think that the myth on which we have lived, has degenerated.” Marie-Louise Von Franz. Carl Jung’s closest collaborator.
“Logic is not all. One needs heart to follow an idea. If people are going back to religion what are they going back to? Is the modern church a place to give comfort to a man who disbelieves in God? How can we draw inspiration to support these two pillars, science and religion, of Western Civilization so that they may stand together in full vigor, mutually unafraid. Is this not the central problem of our time? Richard Feynman. Physicist
Best video review of the movie “Life of Pi.” Well worth watching. This is much more like the book.
“Life of Pi is Misunderstood. | Video Essay.” (20 min)
Seva, Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist ‘Flea’ on his ‘finding God’ .. interview w/LA Times a week ago. We are hard wired to our Creator. Takes time to peer through the fog of our culture to find Him.
Sounds great. I am totally fed up with these Hollywoke bolesheviks. Basicall the only movies I watch are the golden era with the film noirs. These jokers live in gated communities with armed security but the great unwashed are to do what they say not as they do. They all seem to have this guilt complex especially if they are white while. Many of these miscreants have the IQ of a dying house plant.
The Hollywood Production Code was instituted in 1932 and took over thirty years before it finally began to crumble. Films like King Kong were edited and censored until after that period had past. I can imagine many films will need to be tweaked if history does repeat itself.
Hollywood is a bellwether for the cultural winds, paying attention to it is a good indicator of how things are going in the larger culture. The recent rejection of all things Disney (Strange World, Lightyear, Elemental, Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones all flops) is interesting beyond just the movie industry.
"The recent rejection of all things Disney (Strange World, Lightyear, Elemental, Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones all flops) is interesting beyond just the movie industry."
If recent movies are indicative, the cultural winds are dying out altogether.
What do you make of the downturn in the Disney business?
Seems to be a growing rejection by parents of Disney’s overall direction since revenue appears to be dropping across all of their major product lines (movies, theme parks, merch, streaming -- dunno how things like their cruise line are doing though).
I hope you are right, that the Disney downturn is due to rejection by parents! The recent success of other boycotts indicate how effective they are. Money is still clearly the most powerful incentive and loss of it the most powerful deterrent to the adoption of woke ideology by businesses.
This is a great idea. I am completely fed up with the Hollywoke Bolsheviks and their progressive vitriol. The only movies I basically watch are the old film noirs and a few good old westerns. Today's movies are epic failures because they do not resonate with the folks. What a selfish narcissistic spoiled lot.
We certainly do lack a common reality. I read an article earlier I think from Salon that referred to Vivek as the “gadfly candidate.” How do we communicate without a common reality?
All I can say is everyone needs to try to understand the opposing views. In a discussion on views, each
side should begin by stating what they believe to be the opponents views. No demonization and don’t assume you are all knowing or that other side is evil. Discuss to understand rather than as a contest to win. Maybe everyone should be required to debate in school.
Also keep in mind the five rules of propaganda and be suspicious whenever you see evidence of it's use, such as the Vivek thing you referenced.
The Five Rules of Propaganda
1. The rule of simplification - reducing all data to a simple confrontation between 'Good and Bad', 'Friend and Foe'.
2. The rule of disfiguration - discrediting the opposition by crude smears and parodies.
3. The rule of transfusion - manipulating the consensus values of the target audience for one's own ends.
4. The rule of unanimity - presenting one's viewpoint as if it were unanimous opinion of all right-thinking people: draining the doubting individual into agreement by the appeal of star-performers, by social pressure , and by 'psychological contagion'.
5. The rule of orchestration - endlessly repeating the same messages in different variations and combinations.
It’s not possible to reason with the irrational. The Woke cannot be reasoned with anymore than could Hitler’s Nazis (Race obsessed fanatics) or Mao’s Red Guard (Equal Outcomes obsessed fanatics). Can’t be done.
Would you please say more about what you mean by "consensus values." Is that the same as "presenting one's viewpoint as if it were the unanimous opinion of all right-thinking people"?
This is an excellent post!
I have had a couple of disturbing encounters with Democratic friends recently that set me to thinking about the difficulties communicating with them. That persistent push of the dichotomous All Good/All Bad cognitive processing defeats any attempt to talk about much of anything of significance. It's like having an argument with someone who has intellectual impairments.
I agree that debate is essential but it begins with the idea that there can be one "right" position on the proposition. I find that there are generally many positions on any interesting proposition. As you said, "Discuss to understand rather than as a contest to win," whereas debates are a competitive collegiate sport with winners and losers.
Here’s a beautiful film from a few years ago called “A Hidden Life” about an Austrian farmer who gave up everything he loved, wife, children, friends, neighbors, home for the sake of his faith by refusing to join Hitler’s German Army because he knew it would just be a killing machine. Beauty brings us closer to Goodness and Truth and makes us better people and our fallen world a better place. That’s why we should have beautiful things in our lives. That’s very important for being human and sane and having a functional and civilized society which cities like Chicago, San Francisco and so many others are rapidly losing.
“Bat-wielding kids attack attack San Francisco moms, Nannie’s outside school in wealthy neighborhood.”
“It is because it can be loved by us, it is because it is beautiful, that the universe is a country. It is our only country here below. Let us love the country of here below. It is real; it offers resistance to love. It is this country that God has given us to love. He has willed that it should be difficult yet possible to love it.” Simone Weil. (1909-1943)
“A Hidden Life | “We Lived Above The Clouds” Clip.” (2 min)
Thanks for this .. I’m going to watch A Hidden Life, looks like a great film.
Here’s another one from Seatchlight in 2019 that I really enjoyed. ‘JoJo Rabbit’ goes from comedy to drama and back again (Hitler youth). Sam Rockwell is great in this. Trailer :
A superb video analysis below of the film “Downfall” about the last days of Hitler in Berlin. Why did so many believe in Hitler? Because Hitler had such absolute certainly that he was right and knew what was best for Germany. Hitler believed in himself, absolutely plus he had many in the media and important positions who supported him. Well worth watching to understand the Woke mind and why so many support them. The film “A Hidden Life” is also highly recommended at the end of this review.
“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.” Bertrand Russell
“Humanizing Hitler: What Downfall is Really About. (Film Analysis)” (12 min)
Completely impossible. Even in most industries now the straight white male has to be unequivocally the most educated, experienced, cleanest record to get any job over the other categories of candidates. Been that way for 40 years. Makes some stronger and others weaker. For example, it made blacks weaker by demanding less of them than Asians and whites.
The “migrants” aren’t faring well on the south side of Chicago. Such a surprise. Who could have foreseen this? Actually, even anyone casually familiar with Chicago could have. If the loss of a civilized society is the price we pay for “diversity” then that price is too high for our society to survive. If we cannot coexist and we cannot separate then implosion aka “civilizational collapse” will occur which will take on a life of its own and be beyond control like a raging forest fire that can’t be stopped. This then will force the break up of this society.
Many people believe that America is simply too big and too powerful to collapse but many people also believed that about the Soviet Union. No one in 1985 would have believed that the USSR, the mighty "Evil Empire,” would be a disintegrating mess in 5 years. I told that to someone last year who said "But the Soviet Union was a collection of separate countries.” What we have here though is a collection of separate realities which is a much deadlier situation.
“Violent weekend prompts alderman to demand crackdown on gangs.” (3 min)
Your first paragraph is what I see happening, the collapse of Western Civ. I was a Buddhist for some years, so I remind myself that the Buddha taught: all things come into being, flourish, then pass away. What is happening to our country looks more like mass mental illness and civilizational suicide, but descriptions of Roman culture at the end of the Empire sound similar.
very poor pensioner cannot afford to join but enjoy all I can see. with the movie stuff, please if you can review or talk about the Chinese movie from I think last year "MOON MAN". I thought it brilliant and best movie I have seen in awhile and refreshing
The world truly needs an “unwoke” guide to film and television right now. I am So. Freaking. Tired. of being lectured on “right think” by Hollywood. Checking off diversity boxes is now a substitute for good writing and plot development, and BOY, does it ever show!!! Comic book franchises, frenetic messes (Everything Everywhere All at Once, I’m looking at you), didactic boring scenes “raising awareness” for whatever crap the producers think we should all care about, etc...
We’re re-watching older stuff now, and enjoying the better quality Euro films still, but even the most non-woke Hollywood productions are not up to the average quality we were used to in the 1980s-2000s. The long march through the institutions seems to have been a rushing river in the film/TV industry.
I can relate: All we watch anymore are old Johnny Carson shows! We haven’t gone out to see a movie in over a decade now. Nobody is funny on television anymore. And like you, I’m tired of being lectured about what I am allowed to think.
You may have seen the cartoon about a mannequin of a comedian in a glass case in a museum with the caption, "This is something that died out around 2021 because too many people were getting offended by it":
https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/036/179/cover1.jpg
LOL! Excellent cartoon!
I feel your pain! I have been rewatching sci fi movies from decades ago, rewatching Tom Selleck cop shows, and trying to focus on books instead. Evening time is pretty boring now, since I discontinued cable TV last year. I don't get why the current cohort of movie artists are so devoid of creativity. I would think that at least a few screenwriters would want to do a movie that isn't just a vehicle for a juvenile morality lecture. This reminds me of the art created by the Renaissance painters, who worked primarily for the Popes and were required to portray Catholic religious themes. To include original elements they had to slip them in among the traditional images. But as we all know, they created masterpieces within those constraints. What is really the matter with our younger generations??
Hey Sandy Pinches, please allow me to address your question about what is wrong with the younger generation. For the sake of brevity, I will bullet it; * deplorable public school systems that have abandoned primary task of education for children and replaced it with keeping the employees employed: * overwhelming cultural messaging of guilt for anyone born white and male children; * lawless cities where black male children live and die by guns; * cultural messaging that girl children should have the perfect female beauty and body, leaving all those not perfect feeling lesser; * steep decline in being raised in nuclear families.
Nice list, Libertarian.
I am interested in hearing your perspective on how much of the guilt trips are actually internalized by white guys. The ones I talk to are mostly angry, feeling cheated, which of course is a valid perception and complaint. The guilt-ridden (in my personal experience) include mostly young white women from privileged homes as well as their middle-aged mothers. The mothers are from a mix of socioeconomic backgrounds but have achieved very comfortable levels of wealth during their adult lives, often through their own work, but with the additional benefits of being married. What they express to me about their guilt circles around "I recognize that I am so privileged," and "Of course, we give substantial donations yearly to XYZ liberal causes," and "If they pass reparations, we will definitely pay them." (But they aren't paying them until a law is passed requiring everyone else to do so).
Please allow me to overhaul my reply. Yes, white guys are feeling much more resentment toward others than guilt because a) white guys alive today didn’t endorse or profit from slavery or discrimination toward any other identity group, but b) white guys alive today have experienced deep and pervasive racial and gender discrimination constantly by virtue of schools and jobs using Affirmative Action laws, policies and practices everywhere for over half a century now. Seems ironic that the discrimination policies were used to address discrimination issues and that the people who resented being discriminated against in the past would somehow not recognize that white guys would resent it also. Some kind of “you have to pay for thanks of your father’s” logic and forgetting that no human father is without sin.
Good point. While the guilt messaging about white male guilt is overwhelming, I agree many don’t accept it and become resentful to those pushing it. Maybe this and the other drivers lead to a persistent distrust and dislike between the various identity groups. Not sure. You ask tough questions.
This will be fun! Can't wait.
Maybe address the difference between Rotten Tomatoes professional critic ratings and actual humans living normal lives.
how fun! let's do it!
How about global movies? We do live in a global civilization now due to the internet. This movie review of “All That Breathes” is about two brothers in Delhi trying to help the birds there survive in the poisonous air. Beautiful film. “We must listen before it’s too late.” I used to work with two Indian Muslims from Gujarat in Chicago. They hated Hindus. Our fallen world is full of evil but we also have many beautiful things so it’s not all bad.
All That Breathes | Movie Review. (4 min)
Anupama Chopra. May 23, 2022
https://youtu.be/Rf5N1qRHQwY
Completely agree Seva. On Netflix, many (most) of the movies I watch these days are foreign films, specifically because they have less ‘agenda’ in them. And you are right that documentary ‘All That Breathes’ stands tall above many others as of late
Good idea, Seva. Especially since so many Americans have connections to other countries and cultures.
Libertarian & Seva, another one I highly recommend is Peter Jackson’s 2017 documentary ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’. This is same director as Lord of the Rings, his grandfather served WW1 from New Zealand. I think it’s by far his best film ever. I saw this in theatre and not only was the film itself epic and remarkable, but there was a 30min ‘making of the movie’ at the end that was just as fascinating as the primary film. It’s actual WW1 footage that is ‘slowed down’ to look/feel normal motion. There are voice overs from specific dialects across Great Britain based on patch insignia, lined up to actual mouth movements, not to mention the black & white to coloration. Just to look into the eyes of these soldiers from so long ago is precious and moving.
https://youtu.be/IrabKK9Bhds
Wonderful movie . The moment where it transitions from black and white to frame stabilized color is unbelievable.
RRR was probably my favorite movie of 2022. Very entertaining, over the top at times, and with outstanding cinematography.
Here’s another global movie you might want to talk about since this is something that affects people everywhere and you might want to share some of your views on religion. One of my favorite quotes is from the beautiful book "Life of Pi" where Pi says of his experience of finding himself alone on a boat with a Bengal tiger in the middle of the ocean, "Solitude began. I turned to God. I survived.“ The point of the book though is that it’s better to believe than not believe. That’s true but belief can’t be flipped on like a light switch. For many, there has to be proof that it’s true to be believed. This is an issue you could also explore.
“We know that if missionaries destroy the myth of a people, they destroy them. They degenerate. They are lost. And no civilization can live only from welfare. It needs a myth to live. Great civilizations, when they were flourishing had a living myth. And I think that the myth on which we have lived, has degenerated.” Marie-Louise Von Franz. Carl Jung’s closest collaborator.
“Logic is not all. One needs heart to follow an idea. If people are going back to religion what are they going back to? Is the modern church a place to give comfort to a man who disbelieves in God? How can we draw inspiration to support these two pillars, science and religion, of Western Civilization so that they may stand together in full vigor, mutually unafraid. Is this not the central problem of our time? Richard Feynman. Physicist
Best video review of the movie “Life of Pi.” Well worth watching. This is much more like the book.
“Life of Pi is Misunderstood. | Video Essay.” (20 min)
Quality Culture. Feb 24, 2022
https://youtu.be/_CJwu3Z4lYk
Seva, Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist ‘Flea’ on his ‘finding God’ .. interview w/LA Times a week ago. We are hard wired to our Creator. Takes time to peer through the fog of our culture to find Him.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2023-06-26/red-hot-chili-peppers-flea-podcast-this-little-light-silverlake-conservatory-of-music
Sounds great. I am totally fed up with these Hollywoke bolesheviks. Basicall the only movies I watch are the golden era with the film noirs. These jokers live in gated communities with armed security but the great unwashed are to do what they say not as they do. They all seem to have this guilt complex especially if they are white while. Many of these miscreants have the IQ of a dying house plant.
Yes! What is with the pathological guilt!? It seemed to come out of the blue!
Two of my all time favorites, “Airplane” and “Blazing Saddles” could never be made today.
In fact I should probably hit some flea markets to get copies on VHS or DVD before The Ministry Of Truth scrubs them from the internet.
The Hollywood Production Code was instituted in 1932 and took over thirty years before it finally began to crumble. Films like King Kong were edited and censored until after that period had past. I can imagine many films will need to be tweaked if history does repeat itself.
Surely, you can’t be serious? (I am serious...and don’t call me Shirley.)
Hollywood is a bellwether for the cultural winds, paying attention to it is a good indicator of how things are going in the larger culture. The recent rejection of all things Disney (Strange World, Lightyear, Elemental, Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones all flops) is interesting beyond just the movie industry.
"The recent rejection of all things Disney (Strange World, Lightyear, Elemental, Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones all flops) is interesting beyond just the movie industry."
If recent movies are indicative, the cultural winds are dying out altogether.
What do you make of the downturn in the Disney business?
Seems to be a growing rejection by parents of Disney’s overall direction since revenue appears to be dropping across all of their major product lines (movies, theme parks, merch, streaming -- dunno how things like their cruise line are doing though).
I hope you are right, that the Disney downturn is due to rejection by parents! The recent success of other boycotts indicate how effective they are. Money is still clearly the most powerful incentive and loss of it the most powerful deterrent to the adoption of woke ideology by businesses.
This is a great idea. I am completely fed up with the Hollywoke Bolsheviks and their progressive vitriol. The only movies I basically watch are the old film noirs and a few good old westerns. Today's movies are epic failures because they do not resonate with the folks. What a selfish narcissistic spoiled lot.
Pictures are for entertainment, messages should be delivered by Western Union. Samuel Goldwyn
Why not both?
You can lose half your audience.
We certainly do lack a common reality. I read an article earlier I think from Salon that referred to Vivek as the “gadfly candidate.” How do we communicate without a common reality?
All I can say is everyone needs to try to understand the opposing views. In a discussion on views, each
side should begin by stating what they believe to be the opponents views. No demonization and don’t assume you are all knowing or that other side is evil. Discuss to understand rather than as a contest to win. Maybe everyone should be required to debate in school.
Also keep in mind the five rules of propaganda and be suspicious whenever you see evidence of it's use, such as the Vivek thing you referenced.
The Five Rules of Propaganda
1. The rule of simplification - reducing all data to a simple confrontation between 'Good and Bad', 'Friend and Foe'.
2. The rule of disfiguration - discrediting the opposition by crude smears and parodies.
3. The rule of transfusion - manipulating the consensus values of the target audience for one's own ends.
4. The rule of unanimity - presenting one's viewpoint as if it were unanimous opinion of all right-thinking people: draining the doubting individual into agreement by the appeal of star-performers, by social pressure , and by 'psychological contagion'.
5. The rule of orchestration - endlessly repeating the same messages in different variations and combinations.
It’s not possible to reason with the irrational. The Woke cannot be reasoned with anymore than could Hitler’s Nazis (Race obsessed fanatics) or Mao’s Red Guard (Equal Outcomes obsessed fanatics). Can’t be done.
Would you please say more about what you mean by "consensus values." Is that the same as "presenting one's viewpoint as if it were the unanimous opinion of all right-thinking people"?
This is an excellent post!
I have had a couple of disturbing encounters with Democratic friends recently that set me to thinking about the difficulties communicating with them. That persistent push of the dichotomous All Good/All Bad cognitive processing defeats any attempt to talk about much of anything of significance. It's like having an argument with someone who has intellectual impairments.
I agree with you, David. As hard as it is, listening is a lost skill. Thanks for your reminder
I agree that debate is essential but it begins with the idea that there can be one "right" position on the proposition. I find that there are generally many positions on any interesting proposition. As you said, "Discuss to understand rather than as a contest to win," whereas debates are a competitive collegiate sport with winners and losers.
“We lived above the clouds.”
Here’s a beautiful film from a few years ago called “A Hidden Life” about an Austrian farmer who gave up everything he loved, wife, children, friends, neighbors, home for the sake of his faith by refusing to join Hitler’s German Army because he knew it would just be a killing machine. Beauty brings us closer to Goodness and Truth and makes us better people and our fallen world a better place. That’s why we should have beautiful things in our lives. That’s very important for being human and sane and having a functional and civilized society which cities like Chicago, San Francisco and so many others are rapidly losing.
“Bat-wielding kids attack attack San Francisco moms, Nannie’s outside school in wealthy neighborhood.”
Yahoo News. Fox News. July 5, 2023
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/bat-wielding-kids-attack-san-160833090.html
“It is because it can be loved by us, it is because it is beautiful, that the universe is a country. It is our only country here below. Let us love the country of here below. It is real; it offers resistance to love. It is this country that God has given us to love. He has willed that it should be difficult yet possible to love it.” Simone Weil. (1909-1943)
“A Hidden Life | “We Lived Above The Clouds” Clip.” (2 min)
Search Light Pictures. Dec 9, 2019
https://youtu.be/ZMorHlM43Gk
Thanks for this .. I’m going to watch A Hidden Life, looks like a great film.
Here’s another one from Seatchlight in 2019 that I really enjoyed. ‘JoJo Rabbit’ goes from comedy to drama and back again (Hitler youth). Sam Rockwell is great in this. Trailer :
https://youtu.be/tL4McUzXfFI
A superb video analysis below of the film “Downfall” about the last days of Hitler in Berlin. Why did so many believe in Hitler? Because Hitler had such absolute certainly that he was right and knew what was best for Germany. Hitler believed in himself, absolutely plus he had many in the media and important positions who supported him. Well worth watching to understand the Woke mind and why so many support them. The film “A Hidden Life” is also highly recommended at the end of this review.
“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.” Bertrand Russell
“Humanizing Hitler: What Downfall is Really About. (Film Analysis)” (12 min)
Life Is A Story. Sept. 2021
https://youtu.be/uI5ZsEy8ASg
I think "Downfall" is an amazing film! I was riveted by it.
Matt, Seva, if I were Sasha, I’d be having you both start drafting the next 10 essays. Lol.
Beautiful quote from Simone Weil. Thank you for the positive thoughts!
Great idea. Imagine being a young straight white male trying to break into the business nowadays.
Completely impossible. Even in most industries now the straight white male has to be unequivocally the most educated, experienced, cleanest record to get any job over the other categories of candidates. Been that way for 40 years. Makes some stronger and others weaker. For example, it made blacks weaker by demanding less of them than Asians and whites.
The “migrants” aren’t faring well on the south side of Chicago. Such a surprise. Who could have foreseen this? Actually, even anyone casually familiar with Chicago could have. If the loss of a civilized society is the price we pay for “diversity” then that price is too high for our society to survive. If we cannot coexist and we cannot separate then implosion aka “civilizational collapse” will occur which will take on a life of its own and be beyond control like a raging forest fire that can’t be stopped. This then will force the break up of this society.
Many people believe that America is simply too big and too powerful to collapse but many people also believed that about the Soviet Union. No one in 1985 would have believed that the USSR, the mighty "Evil Empire,” would be a disintegrating mess in 5 years. I told that to someone last year who said "But the Soviet Union was a collection of separate countries.” What we have here though is a collection of separate realities which is a much deadlier situation.
“Violent weekend prompts alderman to demand crackdown on gangs.” (3 min)
CBS Chicago. July 5, 2023
https://youtu.be/EdHXSsFflNA
Your first paragraph is what I see happening, the collapse of Western Civ. I was a Buddhist for some years, so I remind myself that the Buddha taught: all things come into being, flourish, then pass away. What is happening to our country looks more like mass mental illness and civilizational suicide, but descriptions of Roman culture at the end of the Empire sound similar.
very poor pensioner cannot afford to join but enjoy all I can see. with the movie stuff, please if you can review or talk about the Chinese movie from I think last year "MOON MAN". I thought it brilliant and best movie I have seen in awhile and refreshing
Thrilled to see this announcement. Thanks for doing this. 🙂
Sasha,
Save me from seeing any more Woketopia films. I have seen my fill. Tell me If anything you like comes out.
Can we have a discussion about the greatness that was, “Goonies”?