two things …
Go see V for Vendetta. There are some ideological problems with the film, but I think it’s important for pop culture cinema to articulate a sense of outrage at the creeping facism of our times. (Cue outraged pajamas media types.) Also, N. Portman is a very smart actress and, let’s face it, not too hard to look at.
Read Daniel Dennett’s Breaking the Spell. It’s about how religiosity may in fact be a “naturally” occurring phenomenon in human beings and part of an evolutionary process. (Cue outraged biblical literalists.) Even if you don’t agree with him, it’s very interesting food for thought.
March 22nd, 2006 at 7:21 pm
i agree-the movie is flawed, but thought-provoking. made me think of 2 other movies i wrote about before-those pharmaceutical companies again. . . and what’s with the British and gardening?
here’s a third thing to add to the agenda:
hear Jose Gonzalez. he’s Argentinian by way of Sweden. i saw him last night in echo park (l.a.) in this cool space that’s like someone’s loft-in-progress. he’s all about “quiet is the new loud” and very Nick Drake-esque. he said about a dozen tenative words the whole set. the hush in the audience he commanded, without actually requesting it (unlike at the jeff tweedy concert), was amazing.
happy spring! (cue the anti-pagans)
March 22nd, 2006 at 7:56 pm
Hmmm, you ask for NOISE…look what he comes up with ***thumbs up***
***cue the interesting and varied discussions***
I cannot wait… ; )
Evening Cheers!
Leveriza
March 22nd, 2006 at 8:42 pm
I decided to see “Find Me Guilty” instead (before your posting), and it was worth going. It’s not going to make any money which means it’s going out of the theater soon, but it’s a good story, good acting, and an interesting peice of our history that most people don’t know about.
Next I want to see “Thank You For Smoking”, “The Inside Man”, and “X-Men 3″
~David
March 22nd, 2006 at 10:43 pm
D,
Hmmmm. Food for thought as always.
Thank you,
M
XO
* I’ll be sure to check this out!!
March 23rd, 2006 at 2:03 am
I loved V. I went in thinking action movie/kinda lame but enjoyable guilty pleasure and i walked out thoroughly suprised and pleased. I found it a good thinking movie and might be one of the best movies of this year. We shall see.
I think Hugo Weaving is such an incredible actor. His articulation of words is amazing. Natalie Portman is slowly becoming my favorite actress, especially after Garden State.
March 23rd, 2006 at 7:41 am
While Dennett sees an urgent need to analyze religion as a natural phenomenon, he sees little point in pursuing the question of whether it is a supernatural one as well.This is a major flaw in his book.His greatest false assumption, however, is that atheistic ideologies would be any more benign than God-centered ones. It is plainly true that religionists have contributed to conflict and violence down the centuries (witness the Crusades, the Inquisition, the St Bartholomews Day Massacre, the conflicts in Northern Ireland, the Iran-Iraq war). It is also abundantly true that the two great atheistic ideologies of the 20th century ?h Nazism and Stalinism ?h prompted more violence and cruelty than any faith in history. And yet neither merits a mention in 480 pages.“Breaking the Spell” is an insidious book; not because it breaks taboos by asking uncomfortable questions of religion, nor because its author is an ardent atheist, but because it is written by a brilliant philosopher who betrays his academic standards by proceeding from emotive, ill-informed prejudice.Maybe
religion persists not because it is a meme, but because it is human to believe in something beyond what one can perceive, just as it is human to dance, to make music, paint pictures, and tell stories.The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious,Einsteinonce wrote. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which are only accessible to our reason in the most elementary forms ?g it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude.Thank God for the irrational genes or memes behind music, love, and beauty.
March 23rd, 2006 at 9:02 am
Interesting Factoid I thought I’d share:
Natalie Portman went to High School with one of my college buds, and he showed me his year-book, and her real name is Natalie Hershlag. I’m totally not kidding.
The cool thing is that in her recent Saturday Night Live episode there’s a skit where they call her by her real name, Hershlag.
Yeah, I don’t really have anything important to contribute, just thought it’d be neat to know.
Lata!
Sad Steven
March 23rd, 2006 at 10:14 am
Thanks for the recommendation on the book - def. sounds like some good reading - as I am getting further into my twenties, I am starting to look at the whole realm of religion in a totally different light than when I was younger. I’ll let you know what I thought of it…off to amazon.com!
Annie
March 23rd, 2006 at 10:54 am
I haven’t read the Dennett book, though I may since while I don’t universally agree with Duncan’s conclusions about everything, his selection of source material is pretty spot-on.
Incidentally, the issue of source material is the reason for this comment. I’ve amended Watermark’s comment, above, because the ideas expressed therein, while lucid and well thought-out, were, almost exclusively, not his.
The first graf is lifted, sans credit, from a review in The Independent (UK) by Marek Kohn (Published: 10 March 2006).
Grafs two, three and four are plagiarized from a fine review by John Cornwell in The Sunday Times (UK) (Published: February 19, 2006).
Graf five was almost a freebie, since Watermark attributes it, correctly, to Albert Einstein, but I felt it deserved inclusion here since Einstein’s words are lifted from and not attributed to Stephen Phelan’s Sunday Herald review (Published: March 12, 2006).
Just for the record, it’s stuff like this, along with spyware, pop-up porn banners and Nigerian credit card scams, that gives the internet a bad reputation. Watermark: you obviously took the time to read these reviews, which is laudable in and of itself, so why not attribute the hard work to its rightful author?
March 23rd, 2006 at 1:13 pm
duncan - thanks… i think i’ve actually heard of “breaking the spell” before… i’ll have to read it to give a more ‘educated’ opinion… while i do, in fact, have sincere thoughts that run deep about religion (i feel more comfortable with “spirituality”… don’t laugh), i try to avoid typing it all out because for some reason, my honest ideas and such are better left to actual conversation… if you know what i mean?
i prefer to have open discussion as opposed to writing essays (if you will-i mean no offense to anyone when i say that) when it comes to these types of topics… i think i’m better at expressing those thoughts in that way… because much of what i feel/think doesn’t always… “adhere”, in text the way it does in open discussion. or perhaps i’m just a terrible essayist? (at least in this regard… LOL)
which reminds me… we STILL haven’t had “that” conversation! haha… someday grasshopper, someday…
peter - brilliant… good call. you’re an intellectual ‘fiend’! ;)
anyway… hope i made sense. you’ll have to forgive me, i have a terrible cold and my head feels water logged… so i’m a little jumbled up… lol.
peace,
. : c : .
March 23rd, 2006 at 4:23 pm
Duncan -
You’re so right about Natalie. That girl’s just all kinds of beautiful. And the movie was pretty good. But if anyone’s missed this, check it out.
http://www.nbc.com/Video/videos/snl_1439_natalieraps.shtml
March 24th, 2006 at 3:40 am
Even though it seems Watermark plagiarized his/her post, I suppose I’ll say this anyway. I must say that I look at Nazism and Stalinism quite differently than does John Cornwell. Traditionally, both are considered atheistic ideologies, but such a label only works on the surface, at least as far as the effects these ideologies had. What Nazism and Stalinism did was replace traditional, established faiths (mostly Christianity) and replace them with a new faith based on the party and the ruling power. In that way, Nazism and Stalinism were not so much atheistic as they were simply a different form of religion. An examination of Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia shows that in place of traditional religion, the ruling party established a political religion based on faith in the leader and the ideology he symbolized. In the Russian Empire, the official religion was Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and it was commonly believed that the tsar derived his authority to rule from God Himself. After the revolution(s), the Russian Empire was reconstructed in the form of the Soviet Union, this time with communism as its religion. From that point on, the ruler derived his power from the Party. The only major difference was that leadership was not determined by blood relations, but the major point is that the leader was legitimized by the “higher power” in both cases. The Nazi and Soviet myths, rituals, initiations, scriptures, punishments for disbelievers, and ability to suspend disbelief are much in the tradition of faiths we define as “real religions,” and the feelings of faith and devotion these ideologies evoked in true believers is remarkably similar. Obviously neither Nazism nor Stalinism ever pretended to eschew violence, but arguably, the repudiation of violence on the part of many religions at one point or another has been merely a pretense. (And here’s the seemingly required caveat: it is not my intention to apologize or excuse any of the actions taken by proponents of Nazism, Stalinism, or any religion.)
I’m quite sure other more intelligent, more educated people have thought and written about “political religion” as it applies to Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, but I cannot for the life of me think of any major books to suggest at the moment.
I hadn’t thought of this before, and it just came to mind right now. Here goes!: A while back, I read a memoir called Behind the Urals, written by John Scott, an American who at twenty years old decided to go to the Soviet Union to find work as a welder. He left in the early 1930s and ended up in Magnitogorsk, a city that was being built from the ground up as part of Stalin’s first Five Year Plan. There, Scott met all sorts of people: some had come from villages in search of a better life, others were kulaks who had been forced off their property during the collectivization raids, and a few were foreigners whose companies had been hired to do consulting work. He described the terrible conditions the workers faced in the construction of the steel mill. There was little food. The weather was incredibly harsh, causing a few men to freeze to death on the job. People routinely fell off the shabby scaffolding, and there were no supplies to secure anything. Then came the arrests. Scott himself explained how people would be arrested by the secret police for merely being remotely connected to someone else who was being arrested, despite not having committed any crimes. While the picture he painted seemed grim, Scott described the workers’ attitudes throughout the memoir. They were glad to be there and were more than willing to endure suffering and terrible conditions in order to help the nation move toward socialism and ultimately communism. Most of the workers truly believed in what the Bolshevik party was doing, even though they themselves were living under poor conditions and witnessed terrible events. These people simply thought they were contributing to a greater good. Despite every awful event they lived through, they did not lose their faith in the Soviet system. Does this sound familiar yet? No? How about the Book of Job? ;)
I hope that wasn’t completely incoherent and apologize if it was.
Cheers,
Maria
March 25th, 2006 at 1:50 am
I will check it out! I think Natalie Portman is great, I love her in Beautiful Girls.
Lisa
March 25th, 2006 at 9:00 am
Duncan, I hope there’s a chance to see you performing here in Italy soon.
Or is it just a dream?
paolo
March 28th, 2006 at 10:43 am
Speaking of Females & Actresses, I’ll be seeing Susan Sarandon in person at an Honaorary Acheivements Award gig in Philly. This will be happening at “The Philadelphia Film Festival” this year. (as in a couple of weeks) It should be pretty cool and she is a cool Lady who has played many an interesting part. :)
BW
March 29th, 2006 at 1:45 am
Cheers Peter for pointing out plagiarism. Reminded me of the scene in Good Will Hunting when Will showed up the nerdy Michael Bolton guy in the Harvard pub who was trying to impress Minne Driver.
Anyone interested in the psychology authoritarian governments, check out Escape from Freedom by Erich Fromm. An excerpt from www.infed.org/thinkers/fromm.htm;
“In 1941, the first of Erich Fromm?s deeply influential books appeared: Escape From Freedom (published 1942 as The Fear of Freedom in the UK). It argued that freedom from the traditional bonds of medieval society, though giving the individual a new feeling of independence, at the same time made him feel alone and isolated, filled him with doubt and anxiety, and drove him into new submission and into a compulsive and irrational activity? (Fromm 1942: 89). This alienation from place and community, and the insecurities and fears entailed, helps to explain how people seek the security and rewards of authoritarian social orders such as fascism.”
Fromm is one of my favorite writers. If you never heard of him before, treat yourself and please check here; http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/fromm.html
March 29th, 2006 at 1:48 am
Another great line about Fromm:
“Automaton conformity. Authoritarians escape by hiding within an authoritarian hierarchy. But our society emphasizes equality! There is less hierarchy to hide in (though plenty remains for anyone who wants it, and some who don’t). When we need to hide, we hide in our mass culture instead. When I get dressed in the morning, there are so many decisions! But I only need to look at what you are wearing, and my frustrations disappear. Or I can look at the television, which, like a horoscope, will tell me quickly and effectively what to do. If I look like, talk like, think like, feel like… everyone else in my society, then I disappear into the crowd, and I don’t need to acknowledge my freedom or take responsibility. It is the horizontal counterpart to authoritarianism.”
March 29th, 2006 at 5:52 pm
Oh, I agree!!!!
Jose Gonzales is great! I discovered him through British radio and I really like his music! Highly recommended!! “Deadweight on Velveteen”, “Lovestain”, “Crosses”, “Slow Moves” and the beautiful “Heartbeats” are some of my favorite songs from him! He’s playing on Connan O’Brian tonite 3/29
About the movie…. I plan on seeing it soon (although it already recalls images of other movies like “Brazil” … and has anyone seen “Alphaville”? Old french film… maybe off-topic but stil check it out).
About the book….. sounds like an interesting read, although… it made me think… hasn’t religion always been considered part of the evolutionary process? (no wait…)….. I’m actually kind of oustanded by this…. I mean…. isn’t silly not to think of religion as a phenomenon and as part of evolution? No matter how righteous and holy each religion is? Come on! I could dwell on this, but is there really a need? I mean, I’m not an atheist or really agnostic, but religion (in its different denominations and incarnations), isn’t mostly a civilized wait of practicing faith in society? Plus…. one has to admit that some religions have survived and been spread far and wide thanks to their polotical connections… so what does that tell you?
NOW, to turn some heads-off and kind of off-topic (but for me totally in the topic), I would recommend people to read a book written by Edgar Cayce, called “Edgar Cayce on Atlantis”… and well, yes….while it is a book that talks about the previous existance of Atlantis through the “sleep readings” of Mr. Cayce, the core of the book is about religion, the spirit, and pieces together a new “genesis” that I cannot even begin to explain… or, I could only put it as a genesis that integrates the Genesis from the bible with Greek and Roman mythology mixed in and end-of-the-civilization prophesies…. well, ….. you have to read it. It is very interesting, trust me! It will also be highly offensive to some people -specially if you’re right-winged and all that- but if you have an open mind, you will enjoy this ;)
And plagiarism…. yeah, credit should be given when other sources are cited, but in this age of internet, it is so easy and seemingly innocent to just “copy and paste”…… plus, I think that sometimes, the blog responses posted in here are abit inhibiting, and even I myself feel out or words or not really sure how to continue the dialog for fear of appearing uneducated or illiterate, so going online and finding big reviews with big words makes sense to me….. but, I do not plagiarize, I mean… I do not even spell check! haha!
Cheerio! :)
March 31st, 2006 at 2:21 pm
Went to see the movie on Wednesday night and liked it a lot. It made me think…. let’s all put on our masks and take a stand! Rah! :D
The book sounds interesting as well Duncan. I’ll have to check it out. I myself, have not found a religion that speaks to me….fully. Some, such as Native American beliefs(LOVED their outlook on respecting nature and every living being), or Buddhism, come close…but still, nah…never fully.
It’s like bits and pieces from this and that make sense to me. But not any ONE religion in it’s entirety does. I do enjoy reading about all of the different religions out there though. But, I have to say that I’m not overly thrilled with organized religions in general. And I CANNOT stand when someone tells me what to say, how many times to say it, how to act….blah blah blah. And then if I don’t do EXACTLY as I’m “supposed” to, I’m a bad person. Bleh. Bullshit!
Honestly, my opinion has always been that we humans seek some sort of religious belief out of our fear of dying….or to keep people in line…lol. :D
It’s comforting to think we’ll go somewhere nice. It’s comforting to tell our children that so and so is happy now in Heaven…. And I think it’s difficult for a lot of us to consider complete blackness when we die, therefore we create a “heaven” or whatever else sounds like a pleasant afterlife. And if we’re good little followers, we’ll go there.
I don’t believe there’s a Heaven. Or a hell. Or that we’re floating around looking down on our loved ones after we die. I DO know that energy doesn’t die. That’s a fact. So that’s gotta go somewhere. Where though…or how….or when…. I have no idea.
So, with all that being said….by the way, sorry to blather on like that….I hope I haven’t offended anyone. The above is MY opinion only. And I totally respect everyone else’s opinions and beliefs. And I love hearing about everyone else’s as well.
Laura
P.s. I thought Natalie Portman looked amazing with a shaved head. Have you EVER seen such a nice shaped head?? She’s absolutely beautiful.
April 6th, 2006 at 1:58 pm
…………..*crickets chirping*
*tumbleweed rolls past*……………………
April 8th, 2006 at 10:26 pm
I finally saw this movie, and I thought it was provocative and eye opening for those who believe the government would not go to extremes like in the movie to control its people. It’s already apparent that our government in the U.S. have gone to extreme levels to control things (ex: the public relations scheme to promotion the war which was feed to us thru news casting..which is a attempt to control what we think and feel about the so-called opposing force)..so whose to say if hasn’t gone any further.
-Rena
August 28th, 2006 at 6:23 am
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