Hello
2023 is well under way. How's it going so far?
If you have ~2 minutes to spare and haven't yet completed our 3-question survey, I welcome your input [no longer active].
Alternatively, if you're feeling I don't have time for this! The world's a mess right now. Nothing matters.
Umm... well, maybe a little discussion of dystopia will cheer you up?
Something to Consider
Dystopia is everywhere. Imagining futures somehow worse than now, we seem stuck as a society dreaming up these scary scenarios. Originally the intent was to critique certain trends and encourage us to reconsider our technologies, our politics, our self-organizing, our beliefs about economy. We have become so fascinated with pessimistic futures. It's almost as if we feel doom's inevitable, that there is no other way. We are entertained by the creators of these dystopian worlds, and we forget our agency.
The reality is, we can do something about this. Imagining the future is meant to be a creative act we take together. The future is not determined.
First, though, it can help if we mourn a little the direction our society seems to be headed. If the cup feels half-empty, if we feel resigned to disaster, let's not fear the sadness. Let's own our collective errors & then...
Recognize some truths are going to make us uncomfortable. That doesn't make them bad. Some stories are going to unsettle or scare us, and that's OK. Sometimes we'll think other people are "crazy," but actually they kinda have a point. Learn to stay. If we practice facing what's weird, scary or different, then over time we will get better at the game.
For imagining the future, it is a game. It's an activity that can be fun and everyone can participate. It helps though if we do not dismiss the ridiculous or absurd. Accept the dark, and laugh at the crazy ideas we ourselves can sometimes have. Imagine that in some strange sense all of this is true. It doesn't need to make sense. If we begin to imagine differently, we will begin to imagine more than dystopia.
Something of Interest
La Casa de Papel / Money Heist (Álex Pina, Jesús Colmenar & team)
This Spanish-language TV series expanded to a global audience after being picked up by Netflix in late 2017. It's the first time that a heist story (fancy robbery) has been adapted to Spanish cultural tastes, and it creates a rather fascinating dynamic between strategic planning and impulsive passion. Every single character (police or robber) is revealed to have more complex motivations and behaviors than we would expect at first. Sometimes a person's a villain, sometimes a human we can empathize with, sometimes a hero/heroine, and sometimes a person we feel like yelling at or crying with. It's almost like therapy, the way the show helps change the viewer's mind about what is good and what is bad.
& though we all know that any good heist story ends with the robbers successfully pulling off the robbery (in this case, stealing money by printing billion$ from the Royal Mint of Spain and later in series 2 stealing gold from the Bank of Spain) -- the many ways these heists go wrong help us see the big picture:
Who's stealing from whom?
Is it of any use in life to plan?
Which is worse: facing the corrupt collusion of banks and governments OR the risks of love and betrayal?
Something Fun
This song, used in the ending credits of both the first and fourth Matrix films, has a powerful political message - that becomes increasingly relevant in an era of distracting disinformation.
We err toward what's entertaining or seems true or what those in power want for us to believe is true. We overlook uncomfortable truths that might spark revolution, or at least unlock new outlooks in our mind.
You don't have to watch Matrix Resurrections to realize a deep commitment to honest love is powerful enough to make worlds and destroy them. Sometimes though, when all seems lost, it can get confusing. Wake up. 😉
Something Friendly
Thanks to Amy giving me a vote of confidence the other day. I write and share via a variety of media. I don't always know what resonates. It's a pleasant surprise to hear new opinions.
Power to the People:
Come on /
...
Networks at work, keeping people calm /
You know they went after King /
When he spoke out on Vietnam /
He turned the power to the Have-Nots /
And then came...
the flower pot.
JPC 😎🪴