Then and now

Right now I'm sitting here watching one of the worst movies I've ever seen, Wanted, starring Angelina Jolie. I should have known it would be bad when the previews on the DVD were for video games, not movies.

 

This is an awful, sick, sadistic, mindless, twisted movie that mainly involves bullets flying through people's brains in spatters of CGI blood.

 

Last night I watched Ben-Hur, from 1959. It's long and sometimes boring, but the contrast between popular entertainment of that era and movies today is profoundly depressing. Back then movies had heart and attempted to speak to our better natures. Now they seem determined to turn us all into sociopathic killers.

 

No amount of happytalk can convince me that our culture is fundamentally healthy. We live in the last days of Rome.

 

I just can't figure out whether it's the last days of the Republic or the Empire ...

Comments

[Kris]

I suspect we are living in the days of the Republic Mike so the world is stuck with us for at least a few more centuries. But in all seriousness for all it's flaws Rome was not a terrible empire.

[someone]

Last days of Rome?
Then we have to move in the East...

[Brian Joseph]

I think that we are in the last 'days' of the Empire or garbage culture and have been for a long time, but also that something else is rising up and has been for quite some time -- the rising culture.

[Kris]

I think every culture in general has it measure of saints and sinners. I do not think the Romans were more just or wicked then anyone else, just profoundly more powerful and could do much more good or bad. We are the same way.

[pmprescott]

I see it more in the Mandate of Heaven philosophy of China. Whichever political party is in power during a time of peace and tranquility wins elections. When the economy tanks they lose the mandate of the electorate and the other party comes into power. In good economic times tastes turn to excess, in bad economic times things turn to frugality. Look for more comedies, fantasies, and romance movies in the coming years. Dramas and splatter movies hit too close to reality which people are trying to escape from right now.

[Tony M]

Michael:

Sweeping statements about pop culture showing signs of the apocalypse are easy to make – and have been made every year since there has been a pop culture. But consider that this week the TOP EIGHT movies at the box office this week were:

Marley and Me – a heartwarming story about a family and a dog
Bedtime Stories – a heartwarming story about an Uncle connecting with his niece and nephew
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – a magical story based on a story by one of America’s greatest writer
Valkryie – an action story about the attempt to kill the worst man in history
Yes Man – a heartwarming story about a man learning to say “yes” to life
Seven Pounds – a touching story about a sad man trying to make amends
Tale of Despereaux - a heart warming story about a brave mouse.

Sorry, buddy, I’m just not seeing much that Caligula would enjoy in that list.

[Brian Joseph]

Beautiful and positive things are happening in the midst of collective insanity.

Michael said:
"No amount of happytalk can convince me that our culture is fundamentally healthy"

I agree except I would use the term 'consensus culture' rather than 'our culture'. I also don't take the 'days' in
"We live in the last days of Rome" as literally meaning days or even years -- it does seem (to me)that consensus culture is in its death throes -- this could have been said 50 years ago and could probably still be said in 50 years from now. In historical and cosmological time even a 1000 years is a brief period of time.

[dmduncan]

Given that Romans went to the Coliseum to see real people being killed for entertainment, "Wanted" doesn't seem that bad. Even the worst moments of the NFL are tame by comparison.

And "Benjamin Button" was a really good movie.

[Zetetic_chick]

This is an awful, sick, sadistic, mindless, twisted movie that mainly involves bullets flying through people's brains in spatters of CGI blood.

Lol.

Very true. In that movie acted Morgan Freeman too. He's one of my favorite actors.

Are you seen Taken, with Liam Neeson? If you like action movies, I recommend this one!

Check the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_0R4l0ISNs

Five stars. I'm waiting for the sequel!

[Zetetic_chick]

Are you seen Taken, with Liam Neeson?

It isn't "are you seen", but "have you seen"... sorry :-)

The official trailer without the french subtitles may be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvUxdQ4q-Lg

[Brian Joseph]

Maybe the Romans went to the coliseum to see real people killed but we can see it on the evening news. And yes some people do cheer the killing - that is what happens in wars. The observers can cheer from the sidelines. Its just a larger coliseum with greater and more efficient ways of killing.

"Normal men have killed perhaps 100,000,000 of their fellow normal men in the last fifty years."
R.D Laing, The Politics of Experience
1967

[dmduncan]

One of the reasons Obama won is because Americans are sick of war and perceive Obama as a way out of that mess in Iraq. So the analogy, war as entertainment, is not quite there.

In fact, I don't see much coverage on the war in Iraq or Afghanistan at all, and when I do, it doesn't revolve around seeing people shot to pieces on TV.

[Michael Prescott]

consider that this week the TOP EIGHT movies at the box office this week were ...

Yes, but none of those movies, with the possible exception of Valkyrie, is aimed at the demographic of 13-year-old boys, and that's where I think the problem lies. Entertainment designed to appeal to adolescent males - whether rap music, violent video games, or sadistic action/horror movies - seems relentlessly nihilistic in its tone and content. It's not violence per se that I object to, but the pornographic quality of the violence, presented in dreamy slow-motion, in a total absence of any moral context, and with no consideration of consequences or alternatives.

It's a very disturbing message: Young men, the way to be cool is to inflict a world of hurt on anyone and everyone who gets in your way. Rape women (gangsta rap). Mow down pedestrians (video games). Assassinate people for profit or fun (the plethora of movies featuring hit men as heroes). Self-control is for losers. Human decency? Don't make me laugh.

It's basically a "vulgar Nietzschean" message - morality is passé, we are beyond good and evil, only personal strength matters, so indulge your will to power, exterminate life's weaklings, and become the Ubermensch of your fantasies.

Maybe it's not the last days of Rome. Maybe it's the last days of Weimar.

[Daniel]

I was commenting to my children recently that when I was a teen-ager there was NO INTERNET (that is a staggering thought). There were no cell phones. Video games were just coming out and they were indescribably lame compared to today's. And our (single) TV received exactly 4 channels, all over the air. So I read a lot and did outdoor activities with my friends a lot.

And I honestly believe that people in the past as a whole were much more reflective, more literate (with what was available), more social, and just spent a lot more time thinking deeply about things because they really had NO OTHER CHOICE. Not that there wasn't the bell curve (had their share of slackers or whatever), just that the shape was different than today's.

Nowadays in most of affluent American society, you have to be extremely disciplined or have unusual wiring to avoid all the time-wasters that are offered that can save you from ever having to think deeply or self-comtemplatively. The available varied distrations have multiplied exponentially in number and power of appeal. And so I think the society median has been shifting fundamentally because of it. The median of what? I can't put my finger on it. I don't think we are getting less intelligent. I don't know if it is only morality precisely, although I think the lack of general, regular deep thinking and/or inspirational reading has certainly impacted it. (It has always seemed to me that the writings of the great thinkers of the past were better, clearer, loftier, nobler. And assumed a common high morality in society, even if that was really a mutually-agreed upon hypocrisy.) And, at the least, it seems like indulgences of the baser instincts had a significant barrier for access in the past. Now they are piped into every home in myriad powerful channels 24/7. Perhaps this accessibility is bringing us down to the lowest common denominator as a society.

Every generation seems to see the current generation as going wrong compared to theirs, but I really think this is different, that the relentless accessiblity of the worst of popular culture, empowered/enabled by technology, is fundamentally altering American society's character and in most ways not for the better. Just to be clear, much of the accessible trash appeals to me too (I like many violent movies), it is something to be resisted, or at least monitored closely.

Anyway, like Michael, I see it as disturbing and wonder how far it will go.

[Michael Tymn]

I fully agree with MP and Daniel, but since I'm in the eighth decade of life, I'm obviously behind the times. As someone wrote recently, the seven deadly sins are now the seven seductive virtues. Just as bad, if not worse than movies like "Wanted," are seemingly-innocent TV programs like "Friends" and "Two-and-half Men." They send messages that "sleeping around" is the norm and that life is all about "having fun." They promote hedonism and influence teenagers to believe that type of behavior is the "norm." Can there be any other explanation for the fact that 13 and 14-year-old kids are engaging in oral sex at an alarming rate? I don't recall the statistics I saw recently, but I believe it is something like one in three. But, again, I'm probably too old to understand the positive effects of all this liberalism.

[sonic]

It is darkest before the dawn.
(I'm trying to stay positive)

[The Major]

It's easy to blame films and television shows for the lack of society morals. However, do they reflect or lead a society?

With 'Friends' and 'Two and a Half Men', they reflect a part of our society. Plus the values that 'Friends' promote far outweigh the 'hedonistic' messages (I've yet to see any oral sex in it). How about caring for your friends and being there when times are tough? How about spending your nights socialising instead of logged into a computer?

Also, with 'Two and a Half Men', isn't the point of the programme overall that Charlie Sheen's character is changed by having his young nephew live with him. His promiscuity is held up as a character flaw, not a virtue.

I haven't seen 'Wanted' so I can't really defend it, but isn't it about people who try to stop 'evil'? Some people say 'The Dark Knight' may encourage violence, but it says so much about our society.

I agree with Tony M. There may be nihilistic films out there, but there are also heart warming, uplifting films and others that lift a lid on our society. For every 'Wanted', there's a 'Wall*E'.

[Teri]

I agree with Michael. I put it down to millions of people of "egocentric consciousness" being born, and like sonic, I'm hoping the dawn will soon break. Either that, or please may I not have to reincarnate...

[Tony M]

Michael: You know I'm just busting your chops with my comments, right?

But, as the father of a ten year old and a thirteen year old I am concerned about many of the same things you are, particularly about the tendency of media to desensitize the young. But my more serious point is that you can pick and choose from any cultural moment and draw conclusions. Why generalize about an not terribly successful film and decide our culture is doomed? Why not, say, the far more successful Iron Man which is ultimately about taking responsibility for the consequences of what we do (in a comic book fashion, of course). To idealize 1959, on the other hand, requires ignoring a lot - like racial segregation, restricted choice for women, a pressure to conform, etc.

We can pick horrors or joys out of any era. Including our own.

[Brian Joseph]

Not everyone is sick of war. Large numbers of people voted for someone who said it was okay to stay at war for 100 years. A lot of people are sick of all war. Some are just tired of wars that can't be won. The coverage of the war in Iraq doesn't show people being blown to pieces but everyone knows that is what happens -- actually seeing it might reduce some of the numbness around it. It is easier to not think about innocent people being killed when they can just be called 'collateral damage'. I'm not sure if the slaughter in the Roman coliseum was strictly entertainment - there was likely a political element.
There are many wars raging in the world right now. The recent escalation in Gaza is one example. When enough people are really sick of war there won't be anymore. People create war. There is a global culture wherein it is acceptable.

[Michael Tymn]

I forgot to comment yesterday about the fact that the Romans were much more into blood and killing than we are. That may be so, but it seems like we are headed back in that direction. Twenty or thirty years ago, they were trying to ban boxing as too brutal. Now, however, we have all this cage boxing or whatever it is called where they use gloves with hardly any padding and pound the guy when he is senseless on the deck. What amazes me is that the media is giving big-time coverage to such "sports."

As for The Major's comment about the positive effects of programs like Friends and Two and a Half Men, I admit that I haven't watched them enough to notice, but if "friendship" involves sitting around at night talking about your sexual conquests and all the fun you are having, why is that necessarily better than being at home alone and pondering the meaning of life?

I caught part of the "Bones" program last night, just enough to switch channels. Bones saw nothing wrong with having a physical relationship with some guy off the street she didn't care for while maintaining a chaste relationship with the guy she really liked, after all she had needs to be satisfied. I realize that some people see nothing wrong with that -- it's part of the liberation of women. I'm just thankful I'm no longer young.

[The Major]

Well, again, they don't sit around all night talking about their sexual conquests, but I won't argue the point anymore.

Sitting around thinking about the meaning of life is fine, obviously, but a lot of the time you have to just take life for what it is and actually appreciate it. Art'll back that up I'm sure.

[Patrick]

Michael, have you seen The Island? If so, did you like it?

[Hrvoje Butkovic]

A quote from Duane Elgin’s book Promise Ahead seems pertinent:

A major survey of American college freshmen over a period of thirty years gives us striking evidence of the powerful impact of television on values. This study, by the American Council of Education and UCLA, found that there has been a dramatic shift in the values of college freshmen since the 1960s. In 1966, “developing a meaningful philosophy of life” was the top value. Being endorsed as a “very important” or “essential” goal by more than 80 percent of the entering freshmen. “Being well-off financially” lagged far behind, ranking fifth on the list, with less than 45 percent of freshmen endorsing it as a very important or essential goal in life. Since then, these two very different values have essentially traded rankings… In 1996, being well-off financially was the top value (74 percent of freshmen identified it as very important or essential) and developing a meaningful philosophy of life fell to sixth place (only 42 percent named it as very important or essential).

According to the researchers who conducted this study, a major reason for this profound shift is the impact of television viewing on values. They found that “the more television watched, the stronger the endorsement of the goal of being very well off financially, and the weaker the endorsement of the goal of developing a meaningful philosophy of life.”

”Michael, have you seen The Island? If so, did you like it?” - Patrick

I thought that the movie had a lot of potential. I was hoping that Scarlett Johansson’s character would willingly donate her organs to save the original who was dying in the hospital, and was disappointed to see the movie degenerate into a high-paced shootout without a worthwhile message.

[Michael Prescott]

I haven't seen The Island. Didn't hear anything good about it, and Michael Bay is one of my least favorite directors, so I don't have high hopes. Did you like t?

[Tony M]

Italics off?

[Tony M]

How about [/I] Nnow