I wanted to share this with you all

[Tyburn]

but dont know which section it belongs in. Nor the wider implications of my theory

It occured to me whilst I was in the cinema that actually there really is a human collective consciousness. We are familiar with this whenever we look at the stock exchange, at its basis, it is nothing more then a mass poll that reacts to events concerning trade. It is a world opinion poll, which has the power to declaire its lost confidence in a poduct and subsequently distroy the value. That is a hive mind if ever I have seen one, and its alert and reactive to daily stimulas...so its, in effect, conscious.



I would like to say that I believe the term Zeitgiest, is another reference to this prevelent force, displayed in an artistic way. Zeitgiest is a german word which means time-ghost, in short, The Spirit of The Age. We often see this portrayed in cultural movements. A philosophical norm becomes aparent, and then a counter culture emerges (like the Gothic Movement and its reaction to Modernity) Or we see a great calamity, and then a period of over compensated relaxation, (as was the case with the hippies and punks following on from the Second World War)



I believe that Cinema, at this present moment, is displaying an existential angst, one that we all suffer from. Society is worried greatly about its future. It has been since the middle of the 1990s. For thats when the non gothic, apokalyptic Movies began to appear. They range from the Abstract (like Skyline) to the disastor movie (like 2012) which is no doubt exacerbated through speak of Global Warming.



Society is dreaming about its own demise, as people come to terms with mass terrorism, the scarceness of resources, and the wobbling western financial system. But there is one thing I would like to point out about these Movies. All of them that I have encountered, without exception, end on a positive note, OR provide hope of a positive outcome. All of them also see a triumph of faith in true love over extreme odds.



At the basis of this hive mind, this collective consciousness that at present is worried greatly about our future, lie three fundemental basics that point towards the positive way the dream (or nightmare) always seems to end.



These are Faith (the belief that despite the odds and no proof what is believed is true) Hope (the willingness when push comes to shove to actually put that truth to the test) and Love (which in the opinion of the collective consciousness, is what shall undoubtly save us in the end.



Its funny, because I sware I have heard of those three words, in that order, somewhere else recently.

[Neezar]

Alrighty then.

The way we think as a people is always reflected in the art we produce. Tyburn if you get a chance, check out a book/film called, How Should We Then Live by Francis Schaeffer. It goes through art and philosophy from the roman era to present day and talks about how the way man's way of thinking is reflected in his art. Francis Schaeffer was a Presbyterian pastor and philosopher. Some of it is on youtube. Check it out :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5fHEmGWU2o

Originally Posted by cheachea

The way we think as a people is always reflected in the art we produce. Tyburn if you get a chance, check out a book/film called, How Should We Then Live by Francis Schaeffer. It goes through art and philosophy from the roman era to present day and talks about how the way man's way of thinking is reflected in his art. Francis Schaeffer was a Presbyterian pastor and philosopher. Some of it is on youtube. Check it out :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5fHEmGWU2o

I second this suggestion.

[Tyburn]

Originally Posted by cubsfan47

I second this suggestion.

I wonder if that funny Senator from New York would benefit from a listen to, in order to understand that the Romans were HIS predecessor, and to be in THEIR political system and dare to call them uncivilized...is quite paradoxical

It looks quite good But I dont like his views on the fall of Rome...Romes fall in reality didnt have anything to do with culture...it had to do with having bitten off, ultimately, more then it could chew.

Understand that I came to the religious conclusion above, from a purely secular examination. I did not go looking for meaning, I did not set out to proove anything...I just noted a common trait to a lot of films on the same subject...thats not quite the same...I am not really talking, I dont think about the "Grand Narrative" of History, which is more what this chap I think is going to say, a sort of world wide consensus on the way things should be, a moment where all the past knowledge of something suddenly makes sense..although I think they are parts of the same thing...I am also not talking about Human Beings, or Societies tackling the existential question of "who am I" or "what is my purpose" and trying to fill it with things not of GOD.

No, I am talking more about the kind of opinions, mass opinions, that people have, which you can measure and see on a day to day basis on the stock market...I am talking about the force which makes share prices rise, and share prices fall. I am talking really about the planet, and western society being controlled by mass opinion...almost to the extent of a hive mind...let me use an example

When Northern Rock, and English bank collapsed during the wall street wobble, it collapsed because all of its customers, turned up on the same day, and withdrew all their money.

Here is the important fact.

They didnt discuss with one another, or aggree a date on which to arrive enmass at the bank...they simply, one day, all turned up. They turned up because the day before, public confidence had been lost in the bank. Nothing factual, simply a worry, that the bank might not be trustworthy. That worry CREATES the following problems...for if NOONE had closed their account, the bank would never have collapsed...so WHO is responsible...the answer is, noone individual...and yet, an awful lot of people, on the stock market all showing concern at the same time....its VERY close to being a hive mind...and it reacts...So if there is a budgit speech one day, the market, depending on the results of the budgit, suddenly reacts, and wipes out...or confirms its support for different products...its absolutely fascinating.

I am saying this same thing is happening in cinema...its why lots of different people are having roughly the same idea, at roughly the same time, and why their movies are well received

This is not quite metanarrative, its more collective consciousness.

Although I think their are universal truthes, I am not saying that any of those examples, the stock exchange, or cinema, leads to them or are expressions of them. Whereas I feel that this guy, although I have only watched the link, will probably go on to chart some Moral absolute, which has been reached by thousands of years of progression, and building on past faliures until society finally arrives at the truth. Thats Grand Narrative. Thats NOT where I am. I believe in Moral Absolutes, but do not think that they are reached in that way, or uncovered in that way, or made true through the path.

I hear ya Tyburn, but seriously you should check out the whole film. I think you will really enjoy it.