Movies of the week! finally

Hello boys and girls, how are you?
Good?... Good
Anyway, it's after 4:00 AM on a friday morning, I'm was mildly to moderately drunk about 3 hours ago, and I decided to watch August Rush.... Wow. I'm not sure if it was me, or Jim Beam that liked it as much as I think we did, but it was friggin awesome. Music is all around us, it's in us, it connects us. It's a harmonic that only some can here, because only some are listening. MMM, just gives me goosebumps. Robin Williams is the dude, end of story.
Here are my top Robin Williams Movies.


-Jakob The Liar
Williams plays a Jew behind German lines in WWII who instills hope in his people, this proves to be far more important than actuality.


-Good Morning Vietnam
Williams plays a military radio man who's humor brings morale to the soldiers of the Vietnam conflict, to the detest of his superiors.


-August Rush
As I said, I was a little drunky when I saw this, but it was frickin awesome. A Fairy tale that IS the story, not just one that tells the story. There is no narrative, nothing extra, just what you need to see. And such MUSIC! A journey for your ears and your heart.



-One Hour Photo
Williams's creepiest movie ever. He plays a photo hut manager who places himself into the lives of a seemingly happy family, then discovers they are no quite so happy as they seem. Absolute must watch. The story is told very very visually, and quite bluntly, if you know what to look for.

Media Influence, SiCKO

Oh boy, first, my apologies for the lateness of this blog entry, but it's taken me some serious time to decide just what it is I think about healthcare. Granted this is really about the influence of media on public opinion and the way in which movies, like all art can direct thought, make you believe something, make you question something..... I think my stance on healthcare in the U.S. is an important part of that. So let's begin with my reaction to SiCKO and the Kurt Loder article.

To begin with, I was born and raised republican, though taught to stand by my beliefs. I'm sure my dad's kickin himself for that one. Every time I bring up a topic like this, we spend hours fighting about it. This was a particularly heated one, I actually called my brother un-American. Here's my synopsis of what I believe is the basic idea of capitalist medicine is (mostly dictated by my dad's capitalist idealism):
Americans will pay for the healthcare they need because they know that if they're willing to pay for it, someone is willing to compete for that pay. Therefore, not only will competitors battle for price, but also for the best procedures, the best materials, the best service. Also, new research will flourish because of the promise of financial payoff for discovery. Cancer research will continue because a cure for cancer can be sold on the open market.
Here's the problem with that:(in my opinion)
When capitalism is applied to goods and services, cheeseburgers for example, the price is dictated by what the consumer will pay; those who simply cannot afford what most can afford must go without. This is fine for cheeseburgers, not so good for medical attention.
If your house is on fire you expect, in many communitites, that it will be responded to and put out by a tax-paid service implemented to protect the community. If your child is kidnapped, you expect to be assisted by trained and tax-paid professionals. But when your child has a broken leg or a brain annuerism you should have to shop around for the best price? Does that sound right to anyone?
I understand that a totally tax funded healthcare system would still be costly. MRI's still cost money, hip surgeries still cost money, blood transfusions, doctor salaries, administrative structures, etc etc, they all cost money. But why is this service, which I consider essential, so different? Because a profit can be made from it; enter health insurance, or "regulation on the wrong side" as I call it. You saw the movie, you know what they can do and can't NOT do. It's a collossal hose job. It's capitalism at work. The people making money realized they could all make more money if they all made a shit show of it. It's collusion. It attempts to regulate need, not cost of healthcare. This is why healthcare is such a different issue; everyone needs healthcare.
Enter my dad's "better idea": regulation.
Regulate healthcare like electricity. The government determines that one entity is a monopoly (i.e. capitalism has failed) and regulates the cost of services, and therefor the profits of the company. Regulating the cost of an MRI or a doctor's consultation, therefore regulating the salary of the doctor, and the profit of the hospital. That's all fine and dandy, or is it? It's no different than socialism for doctors and hospitals, but we've still gotta pay for it, and it doesn't regulate insurance companies, so john q. public is still gettin reemed for an "essential service"
Americans consider themselves a generous people, we give millions of dollars to struggling countries for food, hospitals, and healthcare education. But we do that of our own freewill right? Why should we be FORCED to pay for other people's healthcare? Bull. Everyone pays for my fire department and my house has never burned down. Everyone pays for my police department, but i've never been robbed. Everyone pays for my postal service, but I rarely enjoy the mail I get.
This discussion ultimately ends in the "oh my God, I really AM a democrat" epiphany on my part, and my dad walking out of the room pissed off at his heretical socialist son.

On to the actual point:
OF COURSE movies are supposed to make us think, feel, belive something.
In most drama, and fiction that's usually something more universal: love, hope, friendship whatever. Non-fiction (especially documentaries (especially political documentaries)) often carry a more creator-specific tone. In this case, socialized healthcare. Now I think Michael Moore is just as much of a giant douche (both in size and attitude) as anyone else, but lets face it, the healthcare system we operate under is a turd sandwich. Why has nobody done a documentary on the word "socialism" every time I said it at my house, someone else's ears perked up and ran for a flaming torch. Just because it didn't work for everything at once doesn't mean it can't work for essential services. And just because the Russian's tried it doesn't mean American's have to hate the word just because....... well just because. This reeks of the lack of universal good and evil, and the human inability to determine it if there was.
As long as there are cheap people, republicans will oppose universal healthcare, but as long as there are sick people, democrats will support it. Take a number and have a seat folks, your in for a ride, either way.

"Movies" of the week

Lets do something a little different this week. Instead of movies, I'm going to highlight some dreams I've had, that really should be movies. Let me first remind you, that I realize I'm crazy as a rat in a tin shit house.

Raptor Hunters - Not long after watching Jurrasic Park, I had a dream-turned-nightmare that my brothers and father started a raptor extermination business. We'd ride around the jungle in a white jeep hunting and killing velociraptors. This was all fine and dandy till one of my brothers and I fell out of the jeep and had to run throug the jungle for our lives. When we finally did get back on the jeep, for some reason my dad thought it would be awesome to start spinning cookies in a clearing. he spun too fast, I flew out of the jeep and landed broken legged and helpless in the jungle, said "oh shit" and woke up.

Pink is My Kinda Lover - So I'm riding down a dirt road in an all black and white world in a pink Ford Model T driven by Inspector gadget in a pink trenchcoat and hat, and the pink panther riding shotgun. I'm in the back seat. We drive out onto a frozen lake, and get out to go ice skating when I notice the pink power ranger trapped in the ice beneath. Cut to scene 2, the lake has melted, it's now summer and colorful outside, and there's a mario coin floating in the water above me. I swim up to grab it, but as soon as I touch it I begin to sink. I release it, and I float again..... then I wake up.
The Search For the Crown Jewels of Crazy - Imagine the movie the Goonies right up until they find the pirate ships, except instead of a band of misfits, it's only my brother and I. Also we find a room full of arcade games and the floor is covered in quarters. I warn against him playing one, but he does anyway and falls down a trap door. Eventually I escape the cave, and find a secret passageway under my bed, turns out the Crown Jewels were there the whole time. I walk into my closet (which apparently is where the reigning heads of England meet for nightly meetings.) And offer to sell the newly rediscovered crown jewels to the Queen (who incidentally is my grandmother) She offers only 5 dollars, which I scoff at, and return to my room with the jewels in a burlap sack. I throw them to the ground and stomp on them, only to discover that they were in fact only bean shaped billiard balls.

And finally, the most revealing of my childhood dreams.

About once a week, I dreamt about a family vacation to my aunt and uncle's house. On the way there in our station wagon (we didn't actually own a station wagon) we'd pass by a cheeto's factory that was spitting cheetos out of a spout on top. There were piles and piles of cheetos stacked around the factory. When one went inside, you could order cheetos like you'd order lunch at hardees, but it was all cheetos. You could order one cheeto, two cheetos, one thousand cheetos.... however many you desired. Anyway, after we left the cheeto factory we'd arrive at my aunt and uncle's house. I was, for some reason, left alone quite often at my aunt and uncle's house (which by the way was far larger than their real house, and wayyyy more deco;...maybe that's why I like art deco....) and if I moved the antennas on the tv just right, the mountain behind their house would open up, and reveal a marvelous land of woodland creatures and flowers and such. I could then go and frolick with the birds and rabbits etc. etc. etc.

This dream began when I was about 10 and recurred quite frequently. Then one night it changed, and I never had it again.

The trip there was the same, except that the cheeto factory had shut down. It no longer shot cheetos out of the spout on top, and we couldn't go in and order cheetos. We got to my aunt and uncle's house, I moved the antennas, and the mountain parted once more, but all I found there was a GIANT ROBOT STOMPING ON EVERYTHING!!!!!! I woke up crying and never wanted to fall asleep again.

---

You can't make this crap up

Movies and Religion... or The Matrix V. Your Mind

---

Lets jump right into the ARTICLE, shall we?
First of all, the "obvious" and "well documented" references to christianity, and Neo as a Christ figure. DUH. But not because it's obvious, or well documented. Every hero story is a Jesus story. Anyone who "saves" anything is a "savior" anyone who "redeems" anything is a "redeemer." Get over it. Though I will put some weight on the "resurrection" of Neo, because it's un-explainable, I think the Jesus reference is not as intentional, as unavoidable for the Wachowski brothers. Also, I object to the comparison of Trinity to Mary Magdelene, and Cypher to Judas. Mary Magdalene was a prostitute..... but redeemable, trinity was already "redeemed" when we met her. Plus she wasn't that good lookin in the matrix, would Maria Menounos have broken the budget? Though it's possible no tight leather pants could aspire to contain her amazing assets. But I digress. Back to Cypher not being Judas, or at leas my objection to the comparison. Judas did what he did out of shame of association, embarrasment to be connected to the guy everyone wanted dead...i.e. shame. Cypher did what he did out of a yearning to "be" rich, surrounded by women, and without worry... i.e. greed. The real issue here is to point out that these were both temptations of the devil: lucifer in Judas' case, Smith in Cypher's. Point out that Smith is analogous for Satan raises my final unanswered question about their comparision to Christianity, who/where/what is God? I propose that God, in the yet limited view of this episode of the trilogy, is the Matrix itsself. In later sequels, I believe this is further specified to the "Architect" of the matrix, but essentially the same point.
Here's where it gets interesting.
If the architect is God, and Agent Smith is the Devil, then what exactly does the matrix represent? And how does it compare to "actuality" for humans? Would you rather live underground, terrorized by machines, fighting for basic survival; or enjoying life with a house and a yard and a dog in Bismarck? If we are in a matrix.... do we really want to leave?
Is the matrix the garden of Eden?
Is the Oracle Eve? Or whomever was set free first?
Maybe they weren't set free, maybe they ran code from the databank of knowledge of good and evil.
Ultimately my point here is that in my opinion, the "obvious" connections to Christianity are somewhat naive.

ON TO Buddhism, and Yogacara.... sweet.
This I liked.
What tools do we have to make decisions?
Senses and memory, right?
If you remember that the last time you touched a glowing red stove, it hurt:

1. you won't do it again because it hurt
2. you'll think it hurt because it was hot
3. you'll recognize that glowing red stove=hot=don't touch

But what if the stove wasn't actually hot? What if it was actually painted red, and really really cold, and your brain just interpreted it as hot instead of cold? You'd still avoid touching it, you'd still think it was because it was hot, and you'd still associate red stove=hot=don't touch. EVEN THOUGH that's not ACTUALLY the case. A little bit of lateral thinking, and the phrase "your brain interpreted it wrong" can refute the actuality of any experience you've ever had. In essence, our senses and memory are fallible, but because we have no other way to experience our world, we must depend on them to guide our decisions. The Yogacara discipline proports a higher metacognitive process, an existentialized way to experience the world around us, an absolute understanding of truth, an "awakening" from the matrix.

However there are disconnects here too. In Yogacara, an enlightenment brings you to full understanding of actuality and places you in a type of Nirvana, or one-ness with everything. Waking up from the matrix just means you have to survive on gruel, smell you'r neighbor's BO day in and day out, and never ever ever ever ever ever ever see the sun... at least for a couple thousand years.

Maybe I'm being overly pessimistic, but it seems to me like The Matrix isn't a "pro-wake up and smell the roses" statement, but a "ignorance really is bliss" statement.

If I really am in a matrix.... I think I'd rather just continue on enjoying it. Why do you think so many kids play video games?

Finally, I'd like to explore the "pedagogical questions" in paragraph 16:

How are WE "programmed?" - We are "programmed," as the article infers, by our parents, our societies, our experiences, our senses, etc. But none of it is really.... reality?

What aspect of OUR reality is artificially constructed and enslaving us within a conceptual prison? - I think this is a bit loaded, "conceptual prison?" more like best possible compass. Our construction of reality is the way it is so that we can make decisions and survive. It's all we've got.

Is technology liberating or imprisoning us? - This is less about religion and more about politics, but I believe that implementation of technology, like anything else, is guided by the experiential constructs of those who implement it. If they think it's a good idea, and beneficial to society, it's going to happen, wether your "reality" agrees with it or not.

Is materialistic capitalism leading to true happiness or unrequited addiction? - See "fight club"

Do our cherished religious views bring us together or divide us? - They bring together those who share them, and divide those who don't. If everyone saw a universal reality as it actually was, there would be no right or wrong, and therefor no need for, nor concept of religion.

That's my take on it anyway.