Why do I long for the dystopian society’s portrayed in popular movies and literature? Could it be because of the inevitable revolution that they all experience? Could it be the common goals, and enemies, shared by everyone in a dystopian society?
There’s something beautifully harmonious about a cataclysmic revolution; the toppling of a corrupt government, the freeing of slaves, the liberty of a population.
Our world is just another dystopia – Instead of hunger games keeping people distracted and fearful, our media does the job of keeping us pleasantly distracted and substantially afraid. —Remember who the real enemy is
This article appears in Dec 26, 2013 – Jan 1, 2014.
I guess you haven’t seen my hair first thing in the morning, it’s dystopia at it’s best. A work of art in a sense, eerily and scarily.
Oh Fuck Off you little pissant, fuckwit of a Che wannabe.
Revolutions are only attractive when YOU are the one putting people up against the wall. Social Justice is only fair when YOU are determining the abilities and needs of others. Less fun when others are determining those things for you. Revolution is a just mind-fap for sullen , entitled little children which is why most revolutions eventually consume their own. Read some fucking history and you just may learn why the most zealous enforcers of most revolutions usually wind up occupying the 2nd tier in the mass grave.
Assclown.
Did MM just upchuck on his keyboard? Sounds like his throwing together big words as if he knows what he is talking about but really boring the shit out of everybody.
And yes, I do know the real fucking enemy is. Sophomoric little cuntfarts who try to tart up theft and vandalism in the cheap garment of politics.
No Tim, this isn’t MM’s M.O. This some little coffee shop anarchist who jerks off over putting a bullet in the head of Stephen Harper but fills his underoos at the sound of a gun.
Ian, you can understand my confusion. Gotta love anarchists who are brave behind a keyboard but would shit their pants if either put into a uniform or have a firearm pointed at them even if they had one themselves.
OP, imagine your post was a talk at the water cooler. I like to lets guys like you to spill your passion all over the place for several minutes, then I respond with: ” I’m sorry, I lost track of your point”
Then I would give you the stink eye looks where you know I think your are a fucking idiot….
Then I would go back to work without letting you explain yourself.
The OP isn’t calling for a revolution guys, he/she is fantasizing about fictional revolutions. They are saying that the common theme in these movies is that at least in a dystopian future people are unified and rally toward a common enemy. That’s how I read it, anyway.
“Our world is just another dystopia” – I agree with this sentiment. I’m sure if the men and women who were alive at the end of WWII saw what the world was like today they’d be a little appalled. Governments spying on their own citizens, the military industrial complex, corporatism, etc. A lot of the Bro Tim’s and Ivan [insert last name]’s of the late 40’s and early 50’s were actually very much in favour of ideals that we call ‘socialist’ these days. (The early days of/fight for medicare for example).
“Our media does the job of keeping us pleasantly distracted and substantially afraid.” You disagree? I suppose it depends on what media outlet you consume. There’s also the fact that people are more interested in bad news, generally.
I do think there are a lot of things that we can do to improve our country and I do think there are a lot of injustices that take place by people in power; a lot of abuses. No, that’s nothing new but we will live in the society that we are willing to tolerate. Without revolutions having taken place throughout our history and across the world, we would have never made it out of the caves. Perhaps we’d have been better off. Anarchism is also something that I find interesting to think about but impossible to practice. These freemen on the land people for instance…what a bunch of assholes.
“Gotta love anarchists who are brave behind a keyboard but would shit their pants if either put into a uniform or have a firearm pointed at them even if they had one themselves.” – I find this statement ironic coming from a keyboard warrior.
Note: No, I’m not the OP, just thought I would add another side to this one-sided comment discussion.
I don’t totally disagree, but I find the romanticization of “revolution” to be incredibly distasteful, sort of like basing your opinion of modern war on the Transformers movies. And this talk of “the real enemy”, well, how is the OP going to recognize the “real enemy” when he/she encounters them. What if the “real enemy” is with his wife and kid? What then? At a certain point abstract concepts become real, they move beyond the debating room, the coffee house or the squat. And who is more to be feared – the violent thug with a chip on his shoulder, or the ideologue, who can rationalize and justify the actions of the thug, right up to the point of eliminating him when he’s outlived his usefulness. However dystopian it may appear at the time, our society does possess, has always possessed, the ability to evolve, which is something that most true products of revolution lack. They become so fixated on defending the revolution that they fail to evolve, usually because they have murdered, incarcerated, or driven into exile those who have the most potential to change society for the better.
Short answer – Revolution is just a highfalutin’ term for a civil war. And civil war is the ugliest of things.
As far as those men who went through WW2 and built the foundations for our current society in which individuals have more rights and less responsibilities than at any time in history, I wonder how they might feel. They may wonder what exactly has happened to the archaic concept of privacy, now that everybody has the handheld technology to be the equivalent of the CIA or the NSA (minus the government oversight, of course).
, or even TMZ .
And, I’m just spitballing here, but something tells me that a Canadian soldier captured at Hong Kong, or Dieppe, or who had to face the 1st SS Panzerkorps in Normandy in a model of tank known colloquially as the Ronson – because it lit up first time, every time), might just have wished that our military-industrial complex had been a little more on the ball, before war was declared?
Always interesting perspectives, Hoist. Spassibo.
“Short answer – Revolution is just a highfalutin’ term for a civil war. And civil war is the ugliest of things.” I couldn’t agree with this statement more. However, there must come a time when revolution is necessary to avoid tyrany and that time has arrived for many countries around the world today. At least here in Canada we don’t have groups like the Golden Dawn party that actually have gathered political clout.
Comparing WW2 to the Military Industrial Complex is like comparing apples and oranges, though, IMO. WW2 was fought by brave men and women to defeat a very real threat of global fascism. Had the allies not won that war…well…we wouldn’t be living in the free country that we live in today, I can guarantee you that. The M.I.C. views war as a mechanism for profit and wants to ensure that conflicts are continued throughout the world so that they can profit from destruction and death and the devices that make them possible – as well as the means to contract the reconstruction of obliterated cities. Companies like lockheed martin and haliburton are no better than the nazi’s IMO – and as long as they are considered too big to fail and receive taxpayer money, I will not disregard the possible need for a revolution. You’re a smart man Ivan and we do stand on different sides of the spectrum but I enjoy these discussions. And I totally agree that civil war should never be something that is spoken of in a light tone. It is something that should be avoided at all costs.
You know what annoys me about shit like this? When someone like you makes a point they don’t get. There have been a lot of you like that around here lately.
I had a dystopia in my pants this morning… er… I mean I had a shit in my pants this morning.
RWS, please tell us who you are talking to and support your dialogue with some kind of substance. As usual you are running off at the mouth without any semblance of awareness. The OP has made no “points” other than their admiration for post apocalyptic pop culture. The commenters, however, have arrived at several hair-trigger conclusions. Read the bitch again and then slap yourself in the face. If it is my remarks you agree/disagree with, then please feel free to let me know what I “don’t get”. Otherwise shut your trap until you have something relevant to add to the discussion.
THE YEARNING OF THE ROMANTIC
“Why do I long for the dystopian society’s (sic) portrayed in popular movies and literature?” (Remember who the real enemy is)
The short answer to the OP’s question is obvious: He longs for the dystopian societies portrayed in popular movies and literature because of his romanticism, a yearning for the creation of that “New Jerusalem” where all good people, presently fearful and distracted, will obey the collective promptings of their hearts and rise up to create, in joyful harmony, that “Shining City on the Hill” which will embody truth, goodness and justice for all. In history, this is called “Millinarianism, an apocalyptic vision of “The End Of Days.” In philosophy it is called “Romanticism.” But what are the origins of such Romanticism?
As with so much else one must look to philosophy to provide a coherent response. It has nothing to do with the media, the poster’s so-called “real enemy,” which is only the handmaiden of unbridled capitalism in its never-ending quest for individual gain. No, the causes go deeper, into the nature of man himself.
What is that nature of man? It is a continuing battleground between the forces of a calculating rationalism and a utopian Romanticism. On the one hand, there are the powerful forces embodied in the empirical materialism which, for the Romantic, seek to reduce man to a mindless cipher or automaton, a creature of the economic and social environment over which he has no control. Such is the nature of the present poster’s dystopia.
On the other hand, there are those forces which yearn to follow the profound promptings of the heart, promptings which, like those of unbridled capitalism, might in their turn result in excesses such as rabid nationalism, warfare and slaughter in the name of “the greater good.” In its milder manifestations however, such is the nature of the present poster’s utopia.
So what is the answer? As Aristotle said, one must practice moderation in all things. The Aristotelian mean – “Nothing to Excess!” – is philosophy’s unambiguous response.
Next!
A pleasure as always.
Cheerio!
oh yes OP. the collapse of civilization is always fun & games until you realize there is no internet, no TV, no toilet paper, coffee, soap or pizza. and because you have probably spent your young life as a consumer rather than a producer, you will have no idea how to feed or clothe yourself once the scavenging comes up empty.
and people united in a common goal? pardon me while i pee my pants laughing. it will be brutality, not liberty.
your initial statement op, was correct. the dystopia of movies and fiction. Romance in the capital R sense.
Lets all assign roles/jobs for the bitchers in an imagined post apocalyptic Halifax! THAT WOULD BE FUN
I have dibs on latrine cleaner!
Latrine cleaner requires a Ph.D., minimum. Sorry. I volunteer to categorize all salvaged books according to A) Immediate Needs,( eg. the S.A.S. Survival Guide, the Poor Man’s James Bond, Miss Kay’s Guide to Swamp Cuisine) B) Preserved for Future Generations – (the classics, anything written by a Dead White Male) and C) Fuel, Insulation & Construction Material – (all new age, self help, Oprah recommended, celeb diet, celeb cooking, celeb tell-all and the accumulated works of Dan Brown)
ivan, save the ash from all those celeb books (make sure deepak chopit goes in first with all the chicken soup shit) because i’ll be making soap. i will selflessly donate my own fat for the pot.
(currently has pot of soap on the stove, so quite in the mood)
hoist, stay the frig away from my dogs or i will put extra lye in your bar of soap.
I never comment on posts like this, as I’m too fucking stupid to understand what they’re about.
Sorry GDM but when the revolutions comes your dogs are the first against the wall. 😛
nah, hoist. your job can be to sell tickets and take bets on how long and loud someone can scream in their death throes when they try.
i may look like a kindly apple cheeked gramma with dustings of flour on her apron but i am certifiably nuts.
true story
GDM, I didn’t understand at first why you were saying for me to stay away from your dogs, I thought it was about the ‘latrine cleaner’ comment and was a little confused. But I understand what you were getting at now. Look, just make sure there are no marble ashtrays in any of the mud-hutts and there shouldn’t be a problem.
Seriously though, in a post-apocalyptic society I would like one of these three jobs:
1. Bee Keeper – honey would be valuable and could be traded for other things as well as eaten
2. Candle-maker -could tie in nicely with the bee keeping, maybe a second job. Electricity might be hard to come by.
3. Beer brewer/wine taster.
Orgasmatron and I:
http://users.jam21.net/sandrab/Gallery%20M…
shall be acolytes of Ultimate Humongous Society, the Warrior of the Wasteland, the Ayatollah of Rock & Rollah:
http://i661.photobucket.com/albums/uu337/s…
Disclaimer” Pretty much exactly as illustrated
Put me down as the local blacksmith, (could have seen myself as one at Louisburg long ago) churning out weapons of mass destruction.. hammers.. spears.. knives, etc., providing I don’t set myself on fire (not like that hasn’t happened before) We’ll need lots of them as weapons of today and ammo will run out quickly to keep us safe against post apocalyptic zombies and wild beasts. We’ll have the all seeing and knowing eye of Ivan to gaze into his crystal ball to know of impending dangers approaching….MM will be there scribing for the new history books to be written, and act as teacher when times are slow to learn philosophy. Saint Meaty will be emblazoned on our flag flying o’er our castle, our new motto.. In Saint Meaty we trust. Molly will have lots of lye to keep our rags clean from close bodily accidents for those moments when you thought you saw the grim reaper look your way. Hoist, Bro Tim, UWS, I and the rest of the gang will man the ramparts and when weapons are gone, yell obscenities at the intruders or bad jokes until replacement weapons arrive. Sorties will be sent out every day looking for food, water and arms, and a labia for MM’s pleasure as always.
Oh, one of these days
At about twelve o’clock
This ol’ world’s
Gonna reel and rock
There won’t be sorrow
And there won’t be any pain,
Cuz the Lord’s gonna come
In his heavenly airplane
(lead-in to a Joan Osbourne song)
Ikea monkey knows well the transitory nature of our existence’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QILiHiTD3uc
We would all do well to heed his message.
damn klyde, you know you’d set your own locks ablaze! (not that i’m jealous or anything)
Too true Molly, more times than I care to say, even lighting a cigarette could be classed as a hazardous job description for my hair, lol.
WELL, I’M MENTIONING IT NOW
RSVP
: Klyde (12/28, 7:16PM)
“Put me down as the local blacksmith, (could have seen myself as one at Louisburg long ago)…”
Have I ever mentioned that I led a team of students down to Louisbourg (as we spell it in Quebec) to participate in archaeological excavations preparatory to the re-construction of the Fortress? No? Well I’m mentioning it now. Of course, I had an ulterior motive. In addition to life-long interest in history generally and archaeology itself in particular, I used the expedition as the theoretical basis for an M.Ed. in the Teaching of History at McGill. Have I ever mentioned that? No? Well, I’m mentioning it now.
The resulting monograph, as it is called, was entitled, “Louisbourg: An Experiment in Confluent Learning.” Have I ever mentioned that? No? Well, I’m mentioning it now. The concept of “Confluent Learning” is John Dewey’s, the American philosopher, who maintained that learning is strongly fortified by practice in addition to theory. A commonsense concept to be sure and one ideally suited to the practice of archaeology. Dewey, of course, was right. In addition to reading about the history of Louisbourg, the students were swept away by actually retrieving artifacts from the ground. They held history in their hands.
We even had our own particular site, the surgeon’s trash pit. Have I ever mentioned that? No? Well I’m mentioning it now. Trash pits, as all students of archaeology know, are particularly fruitful in the number of artifacts they contain. While they may be damaged, provision is made on-site for their repair. Pottery, coins, buttons and so on were retrieved in considerable number. And I was in there like all the others.
Have I ever mentioned that I excavated a clay pipe from the dig? No? Well, I’m mentioning it now. As all students of archaeology know, 18th. century white clay pipes were for common use in the taverns of the time. There was no fear of infection since the tip of the pipe was broken off before being replaced. The one I excavated had a wonderful fleur-de-lis on its spur, a clear chronological marker if one is familiar with the history of Louisbourg which switched hands between France, the American colonies and, finally, Britain in 1748. In any case, all the artifacts were cleaned, labelled and repaired if necessary, before being deposited in the artifact shelves to provide evidence for further research.
I was also swept away by my interest in archaeology and thought of pursuing it as a career. Have I ever mentioned that? No? Well, I’m mentioning it now. I took Classical Archaeology (i.e., of Greece and Rome) at McGill but there was no university in North America giving post-graduate degrees in Historical North American archaeology north of William and Mary in Virginia. So that was that. So it was philosophy for me and, as the expression goes, “The rest is history.” Have I ever mentioned that? No? Well, I’m not mentioning it now.
A pleasure as always.
Cheerio!
Runtrealran’s rarcheolorogical ri-jinks rat Rouisrourg:
http://brianleblancart.files.wordpress.com…
Rooby Rooby Roo!
Nukka has quite the imagination, too. I’d like there to be Ewoks in this dystopian society.
PS- MM, you gotta stop copy and pasting from Wikipedia, I’m on to you!
So how many times, in say the last 5,000 years, has civilization supposed to have been destroyed? Sure empires and countries have risen and fallen, but civilization keeps chugging along.
“Lets all assign roles/jobs for the bitchers in an imagined post apocalyptic Halifax! THAT WOULD BE FUN” – Captain!
Oh and can I be the keeper of the grog and associated drinks?
Do you have a good family recipe for spruce beer?
(Buckleys cut with Sprite is not acceptable)
I looked up dystopian in the dictionary, it’s nestled between diahorreah and dickhead, seems appropriate?
RSVPS
: Col/ Ivan Sonofabitch (12/29, 10″37AM)
I found your attachment arousing but, as was to be expected, anti-intellectual, incoherent and ultimately incomprehensible.
: Nukka (12:20PM)
I never copy and paste. In addition to not knowing (or caring) how to, I always am the sole author of my own thoughts which, I hope you will agree, are meaningful, profound and possessed of great philosophical depth.
: Dim Bro Tim (2:30PM)
Your question is incoherent. To be “dystopic” does not refer to a civilization which has been destroyed as you seem to suppose but rather one which is viewed as oppressive and unjust and, with luck, might be destroyed at some future time. It is simply the flip side of a “utopian” civilization (named after Tomas More’s “Utopia”), one in which peace and harmony will reign but which has never, nor probably ever will, be realized on earth.
: The Captain (6:34PM)
In your reference to a “post-apocalyptic world” you have misconceived my reference (12/28, 10:08AM) to “Millanarianism” which refers to an “apocalyptic vision of “The End of Days.” What does this mean? Where history is understood as the gradual working out of the conflicts and tensions existing in all societies at all times, it means the end of history. For example, Hitler’s 1000 Reich was the most recent European example of the Millanarian view when, after it was “Judenfrei,” all the countries would assume their proper role as servants of the Master Race and history would come to an end.
Your misconception Millanarianism has rendered the comments of both Dim Bro Tim (5:43PM) and Col. Ivan Sonofabitch (7:30PM) moot. “Moot” means irrelevant.
: Basil Fawlty (12/30, 7:29AM)
You must get a new dictionary. Since the second letter of “dystopian” is “y” it cannot possibly come between “diahorreah” and “dickhead.” The poor quality of your dictionary might account, at least in part, for the usual fatuity of your comments.
A pleasure as always.
Cheerio!
MM – I checked and Montrealman is nestled between motherfucker and moron, it further said that as the Quebecistan are pussies no men live in Montreal.
I thought you were above looking at attachments, ya fuckin wanker!!!
RSVPS
: Basil Fawlty (12/30, 2:28PM)
You must get another new dictionary. Since the third letter of “Montrealman” is “N” it cannot possibly come between “Motherfucker” and “Moron.” The poor quality of your dictionary might account, at least in part, for the usual fatuity of your comments such as the claim that those who live in Quebecestan are pussies and that no men live in Montreal. Fatuous, completely fatuous and utterly without merit.
: Rogers is the Devil (2:36PM)
You are correct in supposing that I am above looking at attachments but in the case of Col. Ivan Sonofabitch’s (12/29, 10:37AM), his meaning was so opaque and incomprehensible that I thought a glance at his attachment might help. Sadly, I was mistaken.
A pleasure as always.
Cheerio!
i wasn’t going to touch basil’s comment with a ten foot lech walesa because i couldn’t figure out if he was trying to say diarrhea or gonorrhea, and i kept coming up with ‘ew’
and hoist, since honey is also antibiotic and good for burns, healing and never goes bad, you will be sitting (not literally one hopes) on a gold mine.
good books to read in this mood.
lucifer’s hammer
earth abides
the stand (of course)
the last canadian
apocalypse joe (halifax scenes)
on the beach ( measure rope around neck before reading – its that grim)
Did MM just spew up more garbage? Scrolling took longer this time.
*checks thread 2 days later*
Well that escalated quickly. I really like this new devil-may-care MM. Looking at attachements? Next he will be reading fiction! Wild man.
MM- You really don’t know how to copy and paste? That’s really surprising coming from a former educator. I pity all students that suffer from having an inept teacher.
RSVPS
: Good dog Molly (12/30, 3:52PM)
Good dog, being English Basil was using the English spelling of “diarrhoea” but, being Basil, he mis-spelled it “diahorrea.” You, on the other hand, being North American, give the correct but in the present context inapplicable American spelling “diarrhea.” But, as Shakespeare once said, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” The same applies to diarrhoea!
: Dim Bro Tim (4:52PM)
What a load of diarrhoea or, if you prefer, diarrhea! But, as Montrealman once said, “By any other name, Dim Bro’s posts still smell the same.”
: SpuriousGiles (5:40PM)
Well no, even though I glanced at Col. Ivan Sonofabitch’s attachment I shall never, no never, read fiction. The reason for this is because fiction, similar to most of the comments on Bitch, have no point. As George Orwell once said in another context, both attachments and fiction are like “false limbs, rotating idly.”
: Nukka (7:56PM)
An inept teacher? Hardly. In my view, which is of course authoritative in these matters, the reverse is true. It is not the genuine teacher teacher but rather it is his counterfeit counterpart who copies and pastes! The genuine teacher – it is indeed definitive of the concept itself – is the one who is always original, never derivative. Read my comment silently over to yourself. As Montrealman once said, “Try not to move your lips.”
A pleasure as always.
Cheerio!
P.S. Check out my new avatar!
Great avatar, MM. It really delves deep into the life of our very own “rooming house poet/pseudo intellectual”. I can just see it now, MM shuffling around his single bed with camera in hand, trying desperately to get a pic where his piles of porn novels and mountains of used kleenex are not in the shot.
RITD, don’t forget his mother yelling to him down in the basement telling him his s’mores are ready.
And a very Happy New Year to Lily and Winnie.
RSVPS
: ROGERS IS THE DEVIL (12/31, 11:01AM)
Well, actually it’s a queen-sized bed. We bought it in very rough shape somewhere north on Montreal years ago, strapped to the back of our Spitfire (red, wire wheels) and brought it back to restore to its original glory. It has, of course, been the scene of unspeakable acts of perversion and degradation.
: Dim Bro Tim (11:22AM)
His “s’mores” are ready? Are they edible?
: Col. Ivan Sonofabitch (1:02PM)
Thank you Ivan. I will pass the message along.
A pleasure as always.
Cheerio!
But what is philosophy, if not fiction? More than one philosophical subject would never be properly covered if not for fiction. Using Dystopia as an example, if you’ve never read/seen, 1984, Brave New World, Bladerunner or Brazil, your education is sorely lacking.
———————————–
Put me down for “maker of electricity, brownies, and beer”.
Oh, as for eating dogs, anybody who tried that with Blue would find small holes suddenly appearing in their bodies.
http://joshuawinning.files.wordpress.com/2…
————————————
Hope everybody had a Merry Christmas.
I’ve only put on 5lbs so far 🙂
Fire’s warm, whiskey’s cold, chowder’s finishing on the stove, a fresh spiff and a soak in the hot tub.
Happy New Year to one and all.
Nom Nom Nom.
RSVP
: Ho!s + That Leg (12/31, 10:30PM)
Just a note to say how much I appreciated your comment. It’s certainly one of your better efforts of the year.
NEW AVATAR ALERT!
A pleasure as always.
Cheerio!
Thanks MM, it’s important to me that I impress you. Say, would you mind if I called you Dad?
Happy New Year everyone.
RSVP
: Ho!s + That Leg (01/01/ 10:38AM)
But why would you want to do that? I appreciate the sentiment but in order for me to give you permission you must try to improve the quality of your posts which, I must say, I find tedious, repetitive and without any identifiable philosophical content.
Even you must be aware that I was being sarcastic in my last communication but, being sensitive to the aspirations of beginners, I don’t want to discourage any future attempts which you might undertake.
A pleasure as always.
Cheerio!
Well maybe my posts wouldn’t be so lame if you took the time to teach me how to ride a bike or play catch, instead of just furiously masturbating to pictures of what you have been told are labia. You’re not my real father!!
RSVP
: Hoist That Leg (01/01, 4:22PM)
You must show greater respect to your elders and betters.
A pleasure as always.
Cheerio!
Is there a bigger fool than one who believes just because someone is older , they are deserving of respect, & even if you meet/know anyone who are deserving of respect. How does that make them better ?
Not even a little bit IMO, that whole “better than you attitude” exhibited by so many people is one of the main things keeping the human race in its cycle of conflict , leading to the wars that profit the few (do we dare call them betters) while causing so much death & suffering for the rest.
Does higher education ,somehow make you better ?
How does constantly/loudly proclaiming your superiority ,because you say you are better educated than the rest of those around you, even if those higher education claims are true. Can it somehow make one better ??
I believe better is the wrong word, lamer is a more apt descriptive word for those , who feel they must constantly point it out at every opportunity . Snobbery seems to be a common trait amongst many of those who like to proclaim themselves as being a member of the so called educated
RSVP
: More (01/02, 2:11PM)
Are you talking to me?
A pleasure as always.
Cheerio!