Nihilism is often times used in context with Friedrich Nietzsche a philosopher that was considered to be a nihilist and a man that spent a good deal of his later life writing about nihilism. Nihilism according to Merriam Websters Online Dictionary is defined as "a belief that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless." Rob Reimen in a podcast titled What is the Best Society? states that "we are living in a very nihilistic society." Many people would claim to be nihilists today though not many could truly be as Nietzsche would explain because it would drive a man crazy to fully apprehend the entire concept of nihilism and believe in it as truth.
Rob Reimen states that "Nihilism means that nothing has any intrinsic value. Everything is related to is it useful to me? Whats in it for me? It is good for me, yes or no? And if the answer is no, things at that moment become meaningless. That's what nihilism is, the cultivation of meaninglessness." Reimen first states that Americans are living in a nihilistic society and then goes on to define nihilism as such. Here Reimen is wrong. America is not a nihilistic society.
There is a difference between being materialistic and shallow and being a nihilist. Many Americans today are caught up in the material society and the latest trends and may not care about their world and culture as much as they should and they may not always place as much value on the human life as is necessary but as a whole the society is certainly not nihilistic.
If the average person within the society were a nihilist the suicide rates would be much higher and the value of human life would be much less than it currently is. People would not stop at a crosswalk because it may be inconvenient for them to bother stopping and they hold no value for the humans life who is currently crossing the street. A society could not be held together by a bunch of people with nihilistic values. It would be impossible to Americans to thrive in such a society and the average life expectancy would be much lower. The entire idea of nihilism itself is rather laughable.
The good citizen certainly could never be a nihilist. The good citizen would care about others rights and feelings and would value all human life and would believe that it is not only their duty to do so but it was what they were born to do. They were born to care and to help and born for a purpose. The good citizen would not ask "what's in it for me" or "is this good for me". We do have good citizens within America and therefore are not an entirely nihilistic society. We are not a nihilistic society at all. Were we to be a nihilistic society our institutions for the mentally ill would be beyond there full capacities. The good citizen exists within America and within each individual American and nihilism shares no part in it.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Baraka
The video Baraka was created in 1993. There is no speaking within the movie at all. It is comprised entirely of expertly photographed and videoed scenes with background music added in to fit with each culture that it explores. It attempts to compare different cultures with one another and display some of the worlds cruelty and its beauty in a rather morose manner. It shows that through modern technology we lose sight of the simple beauty of nature.
It juxtaposes different cultures with one another to compare and contrast. Some cultures were cleaner than others but some of the dirtiest also seemed to be some of the ones that enjoyed and revelled in life the most. Baraka had different video clips within it of the religious practices of several cultures. It seemed to show that the United States was lacking the most in proper religious culture while many of these other places around the world gather together in big groups for their rituals.
It juxtaposed cultures and different aspects within cultures from scene to scene. For example in one scene it would show a chicken factory and the chickens being cruelly vaccinated and their little beaks burned and then they were shoved in to cages in close quarters to be raised. The next scene it would show would be of Americans all confined together in a subway or going up and down escalators while in very close quarters. The video used such simple things in nature as being at the top of a mountain and viewing the clouds around you to awe the viewer. Perhaps the saddest part of the entire movie was written all over the face of a monkey in the very beginning just soaking and reflecting in the water. So many messages were conveyed without so much as a single word being spoken.
The movie was filmed in 152 locations throughout 24 countries. It uses purely truth and fact to evoke emotion from its viewers. For example just viewing the cruelty that takes place in a chicken factory is enough to make ones stomach twist into knots. In many ways this simple footage is much more effective by just presenting the facts, than 100 people standing outside of a chicken factory with signs protesting cruelty to chickens could ever be.
The movie Baraka is an incredible piece of cinema. It shows just how lovely and beautiful nature truly is and how very little people in general stop to view it. The poor chickens raised in a factory, the young children sent into prostitution to help their families get the money needed to survive, the lonely monkey reflecting in his own little pond, the clouds below the top of a huge and beautiful mountain, and and the human beings amazingly oblivious to it all. Baraka is truly a wonderful work of art that leaves a huge impression with images that will forever be imprinted in its viewers brain.
It juxtaposes different cultures with one another to compare and contrast. Some cultures were cleaner than others but some of the dirtiest also seemed to be some of the ones that enjoyed and revelled in life the most. Baraka had different video clips within it of the religious practices of several cultures. It seemed to show that the United States was lacking the most in proper religious culture while many of these other places around the world gather together in big groups for their rituals.
It juxtaposed cultures and different aspects within cultures from scene to scene. For example in one scene it would show a chicken factory and the chickens being cruelly vaccinated and their little beaks burned and then they were shoved in to cages in close quarters to be raised. The next scene it would show would be of Americans all confined together in a subway or going up and down escalators while in very close quarters. The video used such simple things in nature as being at the top of a mountain and viewing the clouds around you to awe the viewer. Perhaps the saddest part of the entire movie was written all over the face of a monkey in the very beginning just soaking and reflecting in the water. So many messages were conveyed without so much as a single word being spoken.
The movie was filmed in 152 locations throughout 24 countries. It uses purely truth and fact to evoke emotion from its viewers. For example just viewing the cruelty that takes place in a chicken factory is enough to make ones stomach twist into knots. In many ways this simple footage is much more effective by just presenting the facts, than 100 people standing outside of a chicken factory with signs protesting cruelty to chickens could ever be.
The movie Baraka is an incredible piece of cinema. It shows just how lovely and beautiful nature truly is and how very little people in general stop to view it. The poor chickens raised in a factory, the young children sent into prostitution to help their families get the money needed to survive, the lonely monkey reflecting in his own little pond, the clouds below the top of a huge and beautiful mountain, and and the human beings amazingly oblivious to it all. Baraka is truly a wonderful work of art that leaves a huge impression with images that will forever be imprinted in its viewers brain.
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