Humanity’s Lens: “Being There” - Prologue

by **streeb** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:23 pm

Me, Thursday July 12, 2007:

Hugh, can you name one film from the past 60 years that wasn't diabolically conceived by the CIA?

How about Shakes the Clown?

Hugh, five minutes later:

Hey, leave Bobcat outta this. A fave of mine.
I love the bar the free-lance agency clowns hang out in called 'The Twisted Balloon.'

The Boston Globe called it "The Citizen Kane of alcoholic clown movies."
But only because Jerry's film hasn't been released.
Confused

I win!!!

by **Hugh Manatee Wins** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 3:12 pm

Thanks for the insightful comments on the thread's op topic 'Being There,' Pan.
Oh. Wait a minute...you didn't make any. sigh.

professorpan wrote:Another promising thread derailed into the predictable "It's a psyop!" discussion killer. Gee, I didn't expect that.

I sometimes imagine how nice it would be like to discuss a film's artistic, sociocultural, and aesthetic merits on this board .....

Psy-ops is sociocultural, Pan. Extremely so.

Just what is there to discuss about a movie or any other narrative entity?

What are sociocultural elements of a movie to discern art and propaganda and psy-ops?
>Context
>source
>timing
>competing narratives
>similiar narratives
>primary and secondary themes
>keywords
>heroes/anti-heroes
>conflicts/confluences
>certainty and ambivalence
>emphasis and minimization
> etc.

I put up the links that tell what the covert political agenda of 'Being There' is without spelling it out so that others could perhaps find it themselves. Or not. So be it.

by **professorpan** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 4:00 pm

Chew tobacco, rookie.

by **FourthBase** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 4:07 pm

MEMES!

by **Hugh Manatee Wins** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 4:10 pm

'Being There,' Pan. What about that one?

professorpan wrote:Chew tobacco, rookie.

Don't forget "Tattooine" and many many other sociocultural keywords linked to risk, masculinity, social roles, and morality in 'Star Wars' recruiting militainment.

Those are called "subliminal auxilary themes" supporting a "primary theme" in propaganda lingo. But then you knew that having read 70 years worth of research on that topic as I have, right, Pan?

But back to 'Being There.'
What are the primary and auxilary themes and keywords?

Context? When was the book written? Why then?
Any similiar narratives that might be worth covering up?

by **professorpan** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 4:32 pm

Hugh, why don't you just tell us that Jerzy Kosinski, the novelist who wrote Being There, was a CIA propagandist. You wouldn't be the first.

by **theeKultleeder** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 4:45 pm

Geesh...

tattoine... fuck man, have you ever heard of the desert region of Tunisia?????

Tataouine (Arabic: تطاوين‎; also transliterated as Tatooine, Tatahouine, Tatahouïne, Taţāwīn or Tatawin, as well as Fum Taţāwīn, Fumm Tattauin, Foum Tatahouine, Fum Tatawin, or Foum Tataouine) is a city located in southern Tunisia at [show location on an interactive map] 32°55′60″N, 10°26′60″E. It is the capital of the Tataouine Governorate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tataouine

Tattooine Notable geological features include the Dune Sea, an enormous desert, and the Jundland Wastes, a rocky region. Despite the planet's extreme aridity,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoine

Oh and as far as memes: a person has to be pretty darn robotic to be controlled by memes.

How about this one:

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE

FIGHT THE FUTURE

"Fight the Future" is the film's subtitle and/or tagline. It was used to distinguish the motion picture from the television series. In many places, the phrase appears to be part of the film's title — for example, in promotional materials and on the cover and spine of the DVD packaging. However, the opening title and closing credit sequences within the motion picture, and the studio boilerplate on the DVD packaging and promotional posters, state the title of the film as simply The X-Files.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_X-Files_%28film%29

by **FourthBase** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 4:48 pm

(What happened last time "The Truth is Out There" was brought up?
Did people actually refuse to acknowledge the double-edged meaning?)

by **theeKultleeder** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 4:56 pm

FourthBase wrote:(What happened last time "The Truth is Out There" was brought up?
Did people actually refuse to acknowledge the double-edged meaning?)

I think I rolled my eyes...

But you kinda prove my point - the meaning of the words depends on who is reading them. It never occurred to me that the truth is "out there." I always thought it meant if you look for the truth you'll find it; seek and ye shall find...

by **Hugh Manatee Wins** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 5:04 pm

theeKultleeder wrote:Geesh...

tattoine... fuck man, have you ever heard of the desert region of Tunisia?????

The American kids Lucas made 'Star Wars' for don't know regions of Tunisia.
They hardly can find the USA on a map.

Oh and as far as memes: a person has to be pretty darn robotic to be controlled by memes.

No, memes are more common and deeply embedded in childhood conditioning than you seem to think.

Right now lots of Americans are supporing bombing and torturing for God and Freedom.
25% of Dems and 40% of Repubs think Saddam done 9/11!
Memes...work.

How about this one:

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE

Now you're citing 'X-Files' psy-ops which was kicked up when Oliver Stone and others ripped the bandaid off the JFK wound in 1991.
Excellent example of the poisonous meme "I'm no kooky paranoid CONSPIRACY THEORIST."

"Out there" implies 'kooky' and 'X-Files' played up the 'alien' thang so-
Truth = UFOs.

FIGHT THE FUTURE
.....
"Fight the Future" is the film's subtitle and/or tagline. It was used to distinguish the motion picture from the television series.

Besides the keyword "FIGHT," there is the implication that those 'kooky paranoid conspiracy theorists' are unrealisitically concerned with the PAST and just can't "move forward," a magical political phrase implying progress and ,therefore, the best thing for the group.

Meme - 'The best thing for us is to forget the past and move forward.'

by **philipacentaur** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 5:06 pm

Dude, I fucking learned where Tunisia is through Star Wars -- "making of" docs and articles. Lord knows elementary school wasn't telling me unless I asked.

by **theeKultleeder** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 5:09 pm

No, I will tell you what the x-memes mean:

When you discover the TRUTH you will see "their" plan for our FUTURE and and you will FIGHT it.

Like we discuss on this board everyday.

by **FourthBase** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 5:11 pm

theeKultleeder wrote:
FourthBase wrote:(What happened last time "The Truth is Out There" was brought up?
Did people actually refuse to acknowledge the double-edged meaning?)

I think I rolled my eyes...

But you kinda prove my point - the meaning of the words depends on who is reading them. It never occurred to me that the truth is "out there." I always thought it meant if you look for the truth you'll find it; seek and ye shall find...

That seriously never occurred to you? Anyone else?
It's a pretty goddamned obvious double meaning.

by **philipacentaur** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 5:11 pm

Oh, and speaking of Fight the Future:

"The film ends with a really nice shot of an isolated cornfield in the Tunisian desert."

You'd know that if you watched the movie.

by **philipacentaur** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 5:12 pm

FourthBase wrote:
theeKultleeder wrote:
FourthBase wrote:(What happened last time "The Truth is Out There" was brought up?
Did people actually refuse to acknowledge the double-edged meaning?)

I think I rolled my eyes...

But you kinda prove my point - the meaning of the words depends on who is reading them. It never occurred to me that the truth is "out there." I always thought it meant if you look for the truth you'll find it; seek and ye shall find...

That seriously never occurred to you? Anyone else?
It's a pretty goddamned obvious double meaning.

Totally occurred to me, and I'd bet it was intentional -- and yes, sort of clever.

Humanity’s Lens: “Being There” - Prologue

Psy-ops = sociocultural discussion.

'Being There.' There is a there...there.

Place names.

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