Doomsday Machine and the Fightenist Monkey Army You Ever Saw

Well some one else actually read this, anonymously. I should say that the blog really lacks direction, so I have posts where I might discuss things, and then I follow up with a mismash of quotes, ideas, and IM conversations. Mainly because I don't always feel like discussing things, and am unsure how qualified I am to debate, but it is only an online blog, one among millions.

However, tonight I watched half of a 20/20 special, and figured I'd say a few words.

I came in halfway through the program, but it basically boiled down to the multiple ways in which human beings will cease to exist on earth. Many were problems out of our control like volcanoes, meteors, and gigantic monkey armies. It kind of smacks of the typical media (not liberal, not convservative, just MEDIA) doomsday threats. All exploring when and how we'll die, and how we're basically all f**ked.

The three more interesting issues were the final three. First was nuclear war, most likely caused by accident. The Cold War may have "ended" in some sense, but there's still tension everywhere, and how does one know who to trust, including America, with such a deadly force? The accident being we misinterpret a threat, and decide to launch a few nukes, and then it all goes up. Fantastic. Over fifty years everyone watches eachother, then signs treaties but will never let go of nukes, so I don't see it changing much.

The "number 2" on the countdown 0' death was plagues. We get treated to the avian flu and soundbites on it. I never got scared of this, its hard to put a face on threats that you're not even sure are really threats to begin with. They mention the Flu pandemic during 1917-1918, right after WWI(difference from epidemic I believe is that a pandemic effects large portions of the world).Then the real fun begins as we're treated to the possibility of designer plagues by a mad scientist or a scientist who somehow is convinced creating a super plague is the way to go. 20/20 tells us how fast it could spread, "with a single sneeze" dun dun dun! Once again, the threat is hard to personalize, and the amount of control we have depends on each country, which is impossible to police.

The number one death to the world is climate changes, focused on the causes we bring ourselves. This one seems most controllable and yet carries the same problems of the other two, the fact that massive action by the people seems far off. I, like the average person, care about the earth, but will be hard pressed to go about changing my routine to accomodate this. It has to be easy and cheap on a personal level. And even if I do change my lifestyle (I do have a few things that I help contribute, but not tons), what about everyone else, and what about conveniences that are available to me that I don't think about, but contain environmental impact. Like eating fast food, or buying supermarket groceries.

Thus, I say this necessitates government action. A tall order indeed, to try and convince congress and the president that environmental and business changes are important steps. I have no idea how to go about that, but there has to be something.

I've always liked what I would call "elegant" solutions to problems. My example would be Wal-mart. The amount of impact the walmart system has on America (hey its where I live, its where my focus will first be), means that changes it makes could really go towards changes everywhere. The elegant solution would be some sort of technologies and plans that are earthfriendly/human friendly, and yet thats not the benefit to walmart. These solutions somehow have to save walmart money and time, and they'll also contribute to postive corporate image.

I don't remember exactly, but it's something like the third way. Defined as "Third way (centrism), or "radical centre", an economic and political idea that positions itself between democratic socialism and laissez-faire capitalism" I believe it's applied to many different aspects, and even to welfare during the Clinton administration (hey I was 10 and uninterested, and I'm not a student of politics). Basically one politcal idea that promotes an "elegant" solution. In contrast to the idea that "polar opposites" will never be able to compromise. (Man if anyone ever reads this paragraph and knows what they're talking about, I'm probably effed.)

What are these solutions? I don't know, I like to film things, but there are a hell of alot of smart people out there, so something has to come about.

People of my generation are a cynical bunch, myself included, but I don't think we'll just sit back and watch it all die. Some of us are already fighting to change the world, many of us will take time before action. But we're all curious, and I think we can move past the polarization (at least as presented by politicians and the media) that exists today.

Snakes on a Plane

No, I haven't seen it yet. I hear that it's campy fun, a movie thats enjoyable when you just let go and don't take things seriously. Which I can appreciate.

My problem is the buzz around it, I wasn't near the beginning, so I'm not some elitist going "oh i knew about it months ago, blah blah blah." I first read a few things about it and laughed, and then saw as the buzz built, with interviews and an article in TIME magazine, and then everyone I know telling me about it.

Everyone seemed to kind of jump on after a certain point, when the buzz reached its peak. I don't know if its a naive or at least not very nuanced way to look at things, but when a lot of people start slobbering (for lack of a larger vocabulary) over something to the point where the mob expresses that the movie can do no wrong, I get skeptical. I'm suspicious.

I think the type of mentality scares me. I'm not giving much credit to the people involved, because on a more important issue they might not be so easily swayed, or at least they seemed to be easily swayed and caught up in the moment with this movie.

The amount of people that actually saw the movie didn't really live up to the hype surrounding it, or at least thats what the headlines say. But I have to wonder how much hype there really was in the rest of America, not just the people who use the internet daily, like myself. The buzz was huge within the group of people who jump between blogs, movie sites, and online comics, enough so that 1.7 million people saw it that weekend (estimation). But my parents who don't browse the internet that often, and I take them as an average american baby boomer, they had no clue until I told them or they read something, and that wasn't enought to peak their interest.

So what lesson is there to be learned from Snakes on a Plane? Well number one the internet and its buzz'worthy items are probably still not mainstream enough to move people en' masse, at least not for a movie about snakes on a plane.

"Paul Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations:

I think people were more excited about the marketing than the actual movie. New Line did not set out to create this Internet buzz. That's actually a marketer's dream, but when marketing translates into awareness but does not inspire people to get out from behind their computers and into the theater, that's a problem. " (quoted from Flickfilosopher.com's own take on snakes on a plane, she's a critic who I read alot, check her out)

A second and more interesting point to me is the power that the internet can have for feedback for films. It's been touched on, recently I saw a video clip with Zach Braff and Kevin Smith discussing this together. And thats what's interesting about Snakes on a Plane. The movie most likely improved with the audience feedback. Instead of kind of a lazy PG 13 to violence and sexuality, for a movie like snakes, it was wise to just push to the R-rating and give people what they want. (yah yah, "lazy violence and sexuality", but if you're going to do it anyway, might as well have people getting naked and bit in the junk, classy.)

So all in all, I'll have to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, that on something important they might be a little more discerning about topics.

And yes, I will see the movie eventually, and no, this discussion is by no means a complete one.

Oi

Nothing is easier than to denounce the evil-doer, nothing is more difficult than to understand him.
- Dostoyevsky


Honestly though, number one rule history should teach us is to pay attention, observe and talk to others before we react. As hard as it may be to do so, its something to strive for, because nothing changes when you aren't paying attention or asking questions.

r-over.