thoughts from a spectator

First off, I would like to start this blog by saying that movies are my passion.  I truly spend probably around ten dollars a week renting, and thats including at movie gallery where you can get almost 4 movies for 5 bucks.  I believe that everyone can relate to each movie they watch and there is not a single character that they can not find some sort of connection with.  It’s through this that I find my favorite movies.  Perhaps, I do not connect with the characters, but I find a relation to the script, the movie for what its worth.  Perhaps it may just be my youth imagination, but I find my favorite movies are science fictions, more specifically the Alien anthalogy and Jurassic Park collection.  This has come to mind because I have seen these movies on television so much lately that I’m beginning to wonder if they are everyone else’s favorite movies, or if there is more of a message; these films are classics.  I then take this thought and stretch it further wondering who even thought of the movie Alien?  Of course its not hard to imagine a parasitic creature who gets its rocks off on murdering man, but the way the script carries and how frightening the movie was when it first appeared on the screen is pretty astonishing to me.  Movies like Jurassic Park are fun to watch because you later find flaws in the movies about how the dinosaurs actually would act.  Take for example the T-rex, the mother of all eating machines in the the collection, is actually a scavanger and sometimes defender of food.  I like the carnage in science fiction movies, you don’t see it everyday coming from your neighbor; a good thing. 

My favorite of all time is Sublime, not just Bradley the singer, but the bassist, drummer, and most of all dog.  I would have killed to see Sublime play live, it’s a shame Bradley kicked the can early.  But fortunately they put a live album they recorded mostly at a house party.  It gives a real vibe of the atmosphere and how laid back their music sets were.  It’s for the most part just Bradley playing on his guitar and singing, obviously intoxicated, but still better than ever.  I enjoy when Sublime does a type of jam, and the bassists carries on while Bradley just freestyles reggae and hip-hop.  My point is, I have yet to see another band to come around that has had such an influence on music.  They can put out the cheapest and worst quality-sound cd and still make a million bucks.  The cd titled “Bradley Nowell and Friends” is a truly inspirational cd for those who are looking to be rockstars.  It makes you feel like you can play at your friends house and mess up every now and then and even throw some experimental freestyle in there, while you’re on your way to hollywood.  I wish I could buy everyone this cd. 

So there’s something on everybody’s mind these days, money.  The economy however is the backbone to the money in our pockets.  We invest and take loans in hope that what we are doing is for the best interest of ourselves, not necessarily our neighbors.  That is in my opinion the problem with our economy, and most other country’s economies.  Of course, we succeed when others succeed as well, but we only wish for our own success.  There is a theory in philosphy called the General Happiness Principle; it states that for a society to be truly good and receive the most pleasure, we must maximize the total happiness based on either what the best rules are, or the best consequences.  However there is a flaw in this theory.  Although we may maximize the happiness of a total society by choosing the best rules or consequences, we may be penalizing or hurting others far more than the average population.  Benefitting a large class of people at the cost of a smaller class of people is in some minds, immoral.  Here in the United States, I believe we excerise this inbalance far more than we think and it has caused a large division in social classes.  This large division will in my opinion be the deciding factor of who our next President is. 

Wisdom - a virtue that is only gained through time.   Socrates, a well known philosopher of the ancient greeks, spoke of many wisdoms in Plato’s work the Republic.  Through many of the discussions Socrates speaks of the soul divided into parts.  He believed that there was an appetite, reasoning, and spiritual triad to complete the soul and all three came together to help us act in a justly manner.  The Greeks held a very high sense of unity in their empire, so they believed that if you disrupted the harmony of your own soul, you would be disrupting the balance of the whole city.  Of the many beliefs and theories discussed in the book, I found this idea of the triad soul most interesting.  Above all, Socrates and Plato work together in this document to prove that wisdom is greater than knowledge, and knowledge reigns supremecy over nearly everyone.   We can learn a lot from the beliefs of such philosophers and possibly become more in tune with our own selves, cities, friends and families.  The point is, in order to come to these conclusions about life and the soul, one must live long enough, travel far enough, and connect with a variety of culturally diverse people to come to these conclusions.  Or just sit and think long enough about it.

Television today can have many tricks up its sleeve with the introduction of reality shows or it can portray a part of life that show many truths.   A hit television series today on HBO is entourage, a series about a movie star and his 3 friends and agent trying to make it big in the film making business.  The dramady depicts day to day life in fortune and fame, while also showing sickening troubles any aspiring actor and their crew face.   This is a good step in the right direction for television.  After airing on the same network as hit shows such as the Sopranos and Curb Your Enthusiasm, this hit series has taken on a mighty following with eager eyes to see more and more seasons produced.  It is interesting comparing the real life situations and outcomes of every decision the entourage make to reality television shows today.  As much as networks will advertise their reality shows, one would think that the shows would become more and more realistic and interesting; instead they are getting more and more pathetic.  The point is that shows such as entourage have been created to entertain but have found somehow to educate.   Shows such as these should be aired on cable networks so more of the public can grasp ahold of such acting talent.  Those who dream of being actors should largely consider the usefullness of this HBO series and maybe not quit their day jobs.