22. THE CROWD IS NOT REAL
Added 2024-03-05 22:42:29 +0000 UTC0:00 Fame/A funny anecdote about Edgar Wright/Living in Europe and the US
13:44 Gun control & gun culture
25:48 Why anything virtual will take over/giving things up for lent/forcing people to be addicted
58:20 Agency in all aspects of life
1:08:00 Monopolising all aspects of sub-cultures to make them commercialised/the people you love were only after fame the whole time
Comments
Irresistible by Deafheaven was the song playing in our engagement. :) - Luiza
The Cinema Cartography
2024-03-11 12:44:22 +0000 UTCY’all know about Deafheaven?? Knew you guys were cool lol
Tyler Craig
2024-03-11 12:31:48 +0000 UTCHey, game developer here working in free to play games for 15 years. I can confirm what you said about those games and addictive is true, except it's not psychologists doing the optimization for addiction (none of the 4 studios where I've worked in Barcelona, anyway). But everything else is as bad as it sounds, as close to gambling as it gets and as unethical (or at least amoral) as you can expect - but there's money to be made and since no one will buy my comics (including the one about this toxic video game culture "I was a digital oompa loompa") I still need to make a living. There's a circle of hell waiting for me, I know.
M.A. Garcias
2024-03-09 11:34:37 +0000 UTCI didn't get their names, can someone write them in the comments?
Sophia Lambton
2024-03-07 01:05:59 +0000 UTCHey Brad, Congratulations on your four and a half months. It was lovely and surprising to see someone mention Julie Hesmondhalgh on this forum. I still remember watching as a kid the scene where Hayley told Roy she had been born a man. Brings back memories. I know I wrote this in my previous comment, but the Freedom programme really helps with internet resistance! I can block any sites for any number of hours (and no, I'm not product placement-ing them. I wish I were paid to do so, but I'm sadly not). It's so helpful for me to block the search engines. Take care, Brad.
Sophia Lambton
2024-03-07 00:57:53 +0000 UTCSoundbite of the Week: "Chop your own carrots!" Word.
hyperballadbrad
2024-03-06 09:52:09 +0000 UTCI was feeling so shocked that our Cartographers were seemingly so judgemental about films they have never seen..... but I do that myself all the time.... "check yourself before you wreck yourself, Bradley!" - I think we all need to practice looking at our judgements though, for risk of losing valuable open-mindedness. Awkwardness in those famous people interactions.... it's definitely not the responsibility of the 'approacher' to make the interaction work. It's a two way thing, with a number of factors involved. I saw Christopher Lee in the Virgin Megastore in about 2006. I really wish I had cheekily said hello - even if he told me to fuck off. Gratefully I shook Ian McKellan's hand after a Pride parade. and was just agog.... Generally, I would never feel I have a right to approach another human being in the street, even if I do idolise them. Maybe that's just a reflection of how I feel about myself in some way. I once had a conversation with Julie Hesmondhalgh in a Jeanette Winterson book signing queue and that was very cool. I don't idolise 'Hayley' though, but the only way I would speak to someone 'famous' was in a natural way like that... we were stood shoulder to shoulder, so it seemed a fair opportunity. I liked your comments about gun culture.... and how some of those killings in the US are from 'new' gun owners. There isn't some kind of psychological impact of the guns being for protection of, say, a farmer's land. It made me wonder what the difference is with Eastern European countries...... I can't say too much at the risk of making assumptions, but with Eastern Europe, I get the idea that violence 'over there' is more ingrained and on show , practiced and even revered in daily life. The US, although dripping in violence, is outwardly more repressed and contained by deep social expectations and 'values'. Maybe that is what adds to these boiling pots of hate, fear and violence. Messed up! Either way, guns are weapons of destruction. People, en masse, can be driven by hate and fear. Especially in times of deep disconnection due to our phones and the internet (I do still want to go to the firing range near Oldham though... sooooo....shrug) Agency...... I mention it all the time, lol, but I am a recovering drug addict. It's been quite enlightening to realise I am not shitbag worthless human but my using stemmed from something. I've not touched substances for 4.5 months now (yay) and have a network of people and daily practices to allow me to never have to pick up and use again (as long as I put every effort in) - what I am left with is myself and those feelings and the reasons I got to the place I did which, again, I am actively working on (my exploration of art going alongside that so very exciting times) - I have also suffered from disordered eating for over a decade, and like your example of phone use, I can't just stop eating. It's something I have to do every day. We are tied in to our phones for basic functions and life admin now, and it's HARD to pull away. Thankfully, I am still learning how ill my phone can make me and feels into my obsessive/compulsive nature. I have deleted the social apps from my phone. But there are still days where I go on via a browser and that cycle takes hold so quickly. I am still learning what I need, what I don't, and what my limits to healthy behaviours can be sustained. I'm glad of the chance to have that freedom though, but practice takes effort! It pays off though (least of all because I can stand proudly by my convictions that most people's phone/internet use is not just killing them... but our ability to interact, be kind, freedom of thought, empathy, our communities and society at large. [deletes Patreon] Just kidding.... this is healthy (mostly) ;-) Re Nicole Kidman.... it's really weird. I am a huge fan of her and her body of work, and I didn't know about this influencer version of her. I don't want to see it.... but I wonder what drives that - fame, making money for security, insecurity of your value, fear of not being seen, risk of less opportunities because of age/gender? I often see those people who seem to suddenly have changed. I don't underestimate the power of being 'famous' and living in these bubbles. Why do so many die of drug overdoses or suicide? Because they end up in these states of existence that do not exist in reality. It scares me. Ultimately, someone can have talents but not be the person I want or expect them to be. At least not at all times in their life. I just hope I can stay integral to who I want and choose to be. It takes effort and practice.
hyperballadbrad
2024-03-06 09:11:15 +0000 UTCTim Dillon will be in Manchester performing at the 02 Apollo, and the promo code is FAKEBIZ if you guys want to go! I unfortunately can't make the London one but if you do attend I would so love to hear your thoughts! In case you might prefer to stay at home whilst writing, there's a pretty good programme called Freedom (freedom.to) that you can use to block the whole internet or just select sites (including search engines) on devices for any period of time. You can even block all websites and apply exceptions. I've used it for over a year (sorry that this sounds like an ad). I think it's around £35 a year or a £99 lifetime membership. Sounds like your feline had a terrible ordeal! I hope all his belly and leg fur has grown back! In defence of all actors, many of whom have my empathy, these people are being badgered by their agents/publicists/managers/studios to jive with the infantile TikTokers, and constantly warned they will be out of work if they don't have a certain amount of followers and/or social media engagement, which is easily measurable. Younger actors can't get representation without acting like this. This is a travesty, but I feel sorry for the stars who feel they must "perform" on Instagram. I don't think Nicole Kidman or most of the actors of her generation or older enjoy it, and I've read and watched interviews with many who confess it's not their thing at all. If they're involved in a major movie or tv project there will be clause in their contract compelling them to be extremely active on social media in service of the venture. But in terms of people pretending to like art, Luiza's comment "You'd probably already be doing it" is fully true. I've met so-called artists who really treat it as a hobby. I think a lot of them have penetrated the hyper-commercialised industry where previously it wouldn't have been cool enough to try.
Sophia Lambton
2024-03-06 02:38:05 +0000 UTCThis made me remeber that theres an actual Dogville sequel titled Manderlay that I always forget to see. Maybe I'll never see it haha.
Esteban Rodriguez
2024-03-06 01:48:30 +0000 UTCAnd the Nicole Kidman-as-influencer thing is preparation for her role in Lars von Trier's comeback movie, "Dogville 2: It's a Doggy Dog World."
J George
2024-03-06 00:48:52 +0000 UTCAnd this may be connected to the "underground to mainstream" conversation: the less artist are in touch with their true goals and just going with the flow of mass media, they become less capable of achieving true greatness; and even why they are truly great, they let their light be diminished by metrics.
J George
2024-03-06 00:44:33 +0000 UTCAs someone with autism, there was constantly this feeling I had that I was always alone only feeling comfortable at certain moments with family. I absolutely have friends that I still contact with and despite many of them being very different from me in terms of interests, their kindness has been something I appreciate. But I still find myself being very happy when I am alone. Again maybe because that’s a feeling I always have even when I with dozens of people that like me. And I think overall I am happy with myself that the biggest change I see as an adult is me being more social. However still those moments of solitude I will always say are as important as being with those you care about. Man, as much as I have my extreme criticisms with it, I really enjoy living in the Bay Area in California. Especially as an artist, it’s such a nice experience to meet many good friends in the arts or just people that enjoy watching films. It’s a place with beautiful areas of nature and ugly homeless old men filled streets, but warts and all it has been a very good experience for me especially as it is where I have been truly on my own for the first time. My favorite memories right now from this time are when I got a job on my campus as a video editor and camera operator for a small organization for Poetry readings. It’s always great speaking with my boss as he himself is very cultured in this regard. He actually inspired me to marathon all of Pasolini’s films because of how much he loves his work as a poet and filmmaker. Unfortunately he is retiring this year but it was great while it lasted. I am being completely honest when I say you two are some of the most open minded when it comes to art. Anyone that says how us that actually explores art as much as we can in all areas of expression are elitist "pretentious" people are the true pretentious nothings in my mind. Even with some individuals that I respect, I can see how they have a bit of close mindedness and "elitism" to them. Your view and knowledge on what is considered art is something I can only dream of having now. I started with loving cinema and committing to being a filmmaker on my own by watching what I love. Now your words and passion have made me believe in how true creative art as a whole no matter where it comes from is a big epicenter of magic. PS: "Farting is a Currency" would’ve been a great title for the episode to be honest.
Esteban Rodriguez
2024-03-06 00:41:24 +0000 UTCBTW, I love the fact that your cats are named after Berzerk characters.
J George
2024-03-06 00:29:22 +0000 UTCI don't care that I may sound like a conspiracy theorist, but here I go: this immense amount of addictive distractions put onto us by modernity (social media, porn, drugs, alcohol, etc.) aren't mere byproducts of technological development, but are all set up as traps by the elites to make the everyman and everywoman less capable of achieving his or hers full potential as a human being; with less self-realized, truly individuated people, any sort of true revolution becomes harder and harder. I wouldn't describe myself exactly as a communist, but for me that's half of the explanation why there hasn't been a 21st century Lenin, even though we're amidst the worst woes of late-stage capitalism.
J George
2024-03-06 00:01:52 +0000 UTC
