Monday at the Movies: Volume 5

This series of films is one of the most exciting documentaries that I have seen in a long time. Its called A Century of Self, and connects the rise of psychoanalytic theory with marketing and advertising, and also how psychoanalysis and Freudian theory have profoundly affected the democratic process. It's fascinating!

Have you ever wondered why you have to add to eggs to cake mix? No? Well, there is a very particular reason. Its to help you feel better about serving an instant cake.
Know how smoking became interlinked with women's lib? Better yet, how it became socially acceptable, when being a liberated woman was not at that point in time, a socially acceptable thing.

And were you aware that the evolution of marketing, advertising and public relations began with Freud's nephew?

Be sure to check out all four episodes, and yes there are four. I am only posting the first. They are all equally fascinating. Anyway, now that I have seen them all, I somewhat feel regretful that I paid no attention to psychology when I was in University. I found the intro level stuff so DULL, and plus, psych always attracted the pretty blonde good girls, and I hung out with the goth types in religious studies and anthropology. Now, I wished I had paid a bit of attention.

So, tell me about your mother, was she shaped like a phallus?

Monday at the Movies: Volume 4

So today, I've decided to go a bit lighter. Well, kinda sorta. Enough of the heavy questions about capitalism and the convoluted meanderings of a paranoid conspiracy theorist...for now...

So, tonight, marks the first official video about Buddhism. It's about time. I've chosen this one in particular because it is relevant to issues I have been thinking about - in regards to Harry, in particular. I watched it through yesterday, and I felt very clean after, it was like lemongrass. I think Buddhists make a wrong impression. They are often thought of as the quiet bald ones in the corner who don't say much, or have very enigmatic responses. "So how are you doing?", you ask and the stereotypical bald Buddhist chortles in response "Colourless green ideas sleep furiously!"

This evening's showing is stereotypical in some ways. Yes, the speaker is bald, and a Buddhist and yes, wearing robes. I have all my hair and I am wearing jeans...point?
However, she's a spitfire. I love her. She calls you darling, and says "Finding the delight in eating your own vomit". Now that is something I can sink my teeth into!
So, get beyond her lack of hair and just listen to her for a bit.

And how cool would it be to work for Google? They have solar panels and Buddhists over for tea.

Monday at the Movies: Volume 3

Okay, so I am going to throw a real whack job your way. Evidence of Revision is an interesting series. Its like a decoupage of video that is already out there, wrapped within one bigger idea. This one, really strokes my conspiracy g-spot. In this documentary, the film-makers (or editors) start with the Robert Kennedy Assassination, and link Sirhan Sirhan to a covert CIA program called MKUltra. This was a program, apparently, aimed at achieving mind control. (I think the CIA just needs to speak with FoxNews, because I think they have cornered the market on Mind Control.) And THEN, the documentary swerves to Bill Kurtis of Investigative Reports. Apparently, Jonestown was a CIA MKUltra mindcontrol experiment that went horribly wrong. Or did it succeed? I'll have to watch this again to get the gist...was the mass murder supposed to happen?

I love to use the term "drink the Kool-aid". For example, my husband, the fundamentalist atheist claims that anyone who believes in organized religion is someone willing to drink the kool-aid. I am not saying this as a point for debate, but rather as a grammatical example. (See The Urban Dictionary). I use the term frequently in many contexts (outside of religion). So, now that I have seen this segment of Evidence of Revision, I have to wonder about this little pop culture saying. I mean, I think the situation was far different than the collective suicide by the Heavens Gate folk. I mean, probably a majority of the folk were forced to drink the kool-aid. Which is so not cool.

Evidence of Revision: RFK, MKUltra and Jonestown

Monday at the Movies: Volume 2

This train of thought started with an innocent conversation a few months ago. One of my coworkers has a degree in philosophy, so I asked her "I wonder what big idea is being challenged at the moment?" All the big ones seem to have been queried ad infinitum. What is truth? What is knowledge? What is meaning? What is this all about?

And then as the stock market suddenly turned south, I turned to her and said, "You know, no one seems to really question free market capitalism, I think its about time". And I do. I mean, think about it, in the "west" we have sufficiently attacked and attempted to change communism, marxism, tyranny, dictatorships...I mean most of these systems (both political and economic...they tend to be sides of a coin) are thought of as abominations, or at the very least, a system that needs to make way for progress. Well if we are such fans of progress, what's beyond capitalism (free-market or tightly regulated)? So we're on this roller coaster - been on it for a while - the market goes uuuupppp and dooown. People suffer, regardless. Right now, the pain is just more acute, and of course we are helped along by our friends the media. But is there a system of exchange that is more fair? Of course, this could be a massive discussion. One I plan to pick up from time to time. No one wants to talk about the economy, because its boring, right?

I am thinking that there is a choice here. If enough people got together to choose, then the people holding all the cookies would no longer be the school yard bullies. We blame the rich and greedy investment traders and billionaires. But who gave them all the power? Their money? No, our quiet, docile and complacent acceptance that money=power. Its just an idea. A great BIG idea, but the nice thing about ideas, is that we can get new ones. Slavery was once an idea.

So, Monday at the movies has proven to be the least popular sort of posting here on Big Picture. Well, that's just not going to phase me, in the least. I know, who has time to watch the computer? Well, this is worth watching. Its long, I'll warn you. But it begins a very good conversation.

I don't know very much about the maker of this documentary. I am choosing to show Zeitgeist Addendum, instead of Zeitgeist. (Part 2 and Part 1 respectively.) I'll show part 1 eventually, save that one tucked in my pocket for a rainy day. Please don't think I accept everything I see at face value. I like to watch things that make me think MORE. And this one did just that.

Zeitgeist Addendum

Monday at the Movies: Volume 1

I've decided to initiate a weekly feature on The Big Picture. I've noticed over the past 6 or so months my media viewing experience has dramatically changed. I'm so picky when it comes to television programming and movies. I only watch a couple of television shows - none of which, I am happy to report, are remotely related to reality TV. I've been watching the internet more and more. This summer, I watched the entire series of the X-Files online. I made pickles while following the Mulder and Scully's mission through conspiracy, enigma and mystery. But what I love more are documentaries. (Isn't that what reality TV is anyway?) Google Videos are far by the best in regards to streaming - no waiting, long pauses or drop outs.


Fermat's Last Theorem.

This is one of my all time favorites. It's probably the only place you will find a mathematician get teary eyed and almost compare his calculation to an orgasm...or religious experience (pick your bliss.) He spent seven years in utter solitude calculating. And it involves geometry in the shape of donuts and something called the Taniyama Shimura Conjecture (now called the Taniyama Shimura Theorem). When I was in school, math was my worst subject. For whatever reason, I could never seem to wrap my head around things very quickly, or easily. (Maybe it was the teaching). I don't use calculations beyond addition, subtraction and multiplication. I rarely need division. Algebra? Have you used it recently? So I rather like that someone can attempt to explain this highly sophisticated mathematics, in plain language to me. I like this idea that behind the donut there is extremely complicated calculus and equations - that I would not make head or tail of otherwise. There is something about this enigma behind the simplistic explanation that is overwhelmingly attractive to me. I think as we work with Monday at the movies, you'll begin to see why. There is something about my mind that is very gnostic. On the other hand, there is something about math that seems so gratifying at the same time. I mean, one equals one, its so logical and plain. Its a language that can become ever more abstract and equally mystical, but in the end, it must behave by defined rules. In this world of relativism and interpretation, being able to find the answer, seems rather appealing.

I am always open to video recommendations, and more than happy to know your thoughts on my very odd choice of film...