New Adam Curtis doc "Hypernormalisation"

BintyTwanger77

benmurray85 said:

Yeah? So can I wobble people or not? ;-)

Wobble away, my friend!

It's more galling Westerners worrying about it, tbh. They should be thanking geography and circumstance that they weren't born in Syria. They have a right to worry!

thermionic

BintyTwanger77 said:

I suppose you could argue that if AC's theory holds, that no matter what we do as a society, an elite will be on complete control of your life, then there's no point in worrying about something you can never change.

I don't take such a pessimistic view. If we know who's really in control, we  should go for them and not waste time blaming governments.

I was reading New Scientist this morning and apparently the latest twist in the Simulated Universe theory is that if we run longer and more complicated simulations ourselves, inside the Simulated Universe, we could break it. There are startups in Silicon Valley actually looking to fund this.

fretmeister

As long as I can still get a good curry, I don't care.

BintyTwanger77

thermionic said:

BintyTwanger77 said:

I suppose you could argue that if AC's theory holds, that no matter what we do as a society, an elite will be on complete control of your life, then there's no point in worrying about something you can never change.

I don't take such a pessimistic view. If we know who's really in control, we  should go for them and not waste time blaming governments.

I was reading New Scientist this morning and apparently the latest twist in the Simulated Universe theory is that if we run longer and more complicated simulations ourselves, inside the Simulated Universe, we could break it. There are startups in Silicon Valley actually looking to fund this.

Obviously "you could argue" doesn't necessarily mean "agree that"

Unorthodox

I found it treaded over much of the same ground that he covered in Bitter Lake (the west interfering with the middle east and not realising how complex the situation is, fucking it up, backing out and telling lies all along the way and then shout about how it was a success). There even seemed to be some scenes almost directly lifted from Bitter Lake.

It was certainly interesting, but like Curtis mentioned about the Occupy movement collapsing because they couldn't offer a better system to take the place of the current world workings, the doc also offered no suggestions. Then again perhaps it's not his place in a documentary to suggest how to change the world.

monquixote

Just watched it.

There was lots of interesting stuff in it, but it didn't pull together into as cohesive a narrative as his earlier work (although given the subject matter maybe that was the point) and I agree that some of it was a retread of earlier work.

I would recommend anyone tracking down Century of the self, or Power of nightmares which are I think his best work.

Sporky

BintyTwanger77 said:

If the type of film you like involves a former basketball player throwing a custard pie at a jive-talking cartoon otter....this ain't for you.

That is literally my jam.

Link please.

BintyTwanger77

Sporky said:

BintyTwanger77 said:

If the type of film you like involves a former basketball player throwing a custard pie at a jive-talking cartoon otter....this ain't for you.

That is literally my jam.

Link please.

As soon as I said that, I thought, "I actually want to see that film now"...

pintspiller

Is this the film with Mel Gibson about conspiracy theories?

Winny_Pooh

thermionic said:

BintyTwanger77 said:

I suppose you could argue that if AC's theory holds, that no matter what we do as a society, an elite will be on complete control of your life, then there's no point in worrying about something you can never change.

I don't take such a pessimistic view. If we know who's really in control, we  should go for them and not waste time blaming governments.

I was reading New Scientist this morning and apparently the latest twist in the Simulated Universe theory is that if we run longer and more complicated simulations ourselves, inside the Simulated Universe, we could break it. There are startups in Silicon Valley actually looking to fund this.

Computers are not nearly close to fully simulating a human brain. Realistically, mapping every proton/boson in the universe is safely considered implausible and simply just a bid for publicity.

thermionic

It doesn't need to. The suggestion was that if we run enough complex simulations here, the Simulation would have to incorporate them in its own calculations, putting a strain on their computing power. Kind of an iterative thing.

If it does break it though, they'll probably just turn it off and turn it back on again.

BintyTwanger77

pintspiller said:

Is this the film with Mel Gibson about conspiracy theories?

No, that's just Mel Gibson himself.

fields5069

BintyTwanger77 said:

Sporky said:

BintyTwanger77 said:

If the type of film you like involves a former basketball player throwing a custard pie at a jive-talking cartoon otter....this ain't for you.

That is literally my jam.

Link please.

As soon as I said that, I thought, "I actually want to see that film now"...

A cartoon otter, named Ray-Lee. Voiced by Joe Pesci.

Sporky

fields5069 said:

A cartoon otter, named Ray-Lee. Voiced by Joe Pesci.

Good call. Whereas wisecracking chihuahuas should always be voiced by Steve Buscemi.

BintyTwanger77

Sporky said:

fields5069 said:

A cartoon otter, named Ray-Lee. Voiced by Joe Pesci.

Good call. Whereas wisecracking chihuahuas should always be voiced by Steve Buscemi.

Nick Nolte voicing a heroin-addicted badger.

Moltisanti

the part i found most interesting was the apparent freedom of cyberspace being heavily manipulated and controlled so you only get to see the things you want to see. This isn't a surprise but was an eye opener for me as someone who ignores 99% of mainstream media