Metaphysical Monthly July

Troubled arisings.

In my travels in this time and space I have encountered numerous things that contradict my idea of "common sense". The latest addition to this list of "File Under WTF", and the phenomenon I have sometimes serious issues with, is the behavioral patterns of human beings. And to be even more precise; it is the the adapted behavior models and patterns that keep troubling me time after time. Well, all behavior models are adapted, that can be said without any doubt, but when human beings adapt behavioral models from the contemporary mainstream entertainment, that's where things start to go south faster than anyone can say "errare humanum est".

It is completely beyond my reasoning why someone would, even if subconsciously and against better judgement, imitate a soap-opera when reacting to an impulse brought forth to their attention.

What about fantasy literature and fiction in general? Can anyone spell "Stephenie Mayer"?

I have witnessed a chain of events, from the abysmal beginning to the awful end, that was a real life adaptation of the Twilight-saga, both as an analogy and as an actual manifestation. Oh well, of course, without the vegetarian vampires and warewolves. Everything else, even the sad, adolescent and needy mindset was straight from that complete wreck of a novel (or a shitty movie), not to mention the complete lack of any understanding of causality, responsibility and real-life consequences of choices made. In the Twilight-saga books and movies, because they are fantasy books and movies for teenagers, all the choices the characters make therein do not have plausible effects and repercussions as they would in the real-life environment. The characters' motives written in the books, or seen on the silver screen, are even more removed from the ordinary world. I see it as a terrible flaw and mistake from the authors behalf, or as the author's complete inability to understand how the world actually operates. Others might see it as a part of how books of the given genre should be written and some might see it as a sort of half-assed dramatic effect which is an integral part of the fairy tale. Whatever the case, I do not think Stephenie Mayer ever intended her books to be an operations manual to real-life events for adults.

In my view, when life starts to imitate art (and I mean this in the loosest possible sense of the word), repercussions that are punishing and harsh start to emerge. I have failed to explain this phenomenon to myself so far. Why would anyone think that fantasy literature and garbage from TV produce plausible and benevolent solutions? Given the matter some consideration, I discovered that I have actually answered the question in my essay "Remembrance".

If we imagine a situation where the all the players of the game live in the same fantasy-marinated world, one can actually get away with it to a degree. If the "rules" of the game are agreed by everyone, and accepted without criticism, the situation becomes a never-ending story where lies and half-truths become a standard way of operating, and life becomes a strange border world of liminalized realms where different rules of engagement, and different "truths", are applied to different arisings. It only takes one sane individual to bring the whole fortress of metaphysical nonsense crumbling down. If that sane individual has been played; the repercussions are punishing and harsh.

But then, "we may do whatever we like, providing we can pay the bill."

Bring it on.

July (Delphian Redux)

All this has happened before, and all of it will happen again. Although this time, a month earlier it was prophesied to happen.

Preposterous, vain and utterly unnecessary.

Rhetoricus

The Mars Volta: "With Twilight As My Guide"

How appropriate...