by grin2b » Fri Sep 09, 2011 9:10 pm
You're fucking stupid. This comic was genius. Positivity is the opiate of charisma and social dominance, in a society where power comes from admiration. Admiration in turn comes from social learning through emotional contagion: We imitate those who seem to live well. Or, put differently: We follow the leader. Positivity, then, is a way to artificially generate leadership. Given that we live in a society where positivity/charisma dominates our lives, we will see it as a virtue, in the same way that a patriarchal society promotes patriarchal religion as an opiate of the masses: It alleviates our cognitive dissonance, and enhances our social potency. When a trait/behavior is seen as virtuous, and when society is seen as authoritarian, and when we cannot stomach to question social arbitrariness, we will drive social arbitrariness to its extremes, usually through state violence. The most modern example of this is the War on Drugs, but statist crusades of virtue have been overwhelmingly common in Western history. This comic is about sociopolitical pollution.
If you're looking for a reading list, try Bandura, Decety and Marx/Festinger.
Honestly, if I had any criticism of this comic, it would be that emotional regulation is not
limited to positivity: But that would bring us into the realm of Debord or something.
OH YEAH: Wikipedia has this wonderful gem in its article for Equilibrium...
In a slightly more emotional statement during a Sci Fi Dimentions interview, Wimmer implied that he values fan reaction above critical reception: 'Why would I make a movie for someone I wouldn't want to hang out with? Have you ever met a critic who you wanted to party with? I haven't.'
You're fucking stupid. This comic was genius. Positivity is the opiate of charisma and social dominance, in a society where power comes from admiration. Admiration in turn comes from social learning through emotional contagion: We imitate those who seem to live well. Or, put differently: We follow the leader. Positivity, then, is a way to artificially generate leadership. Given that we live in a society where positivity/charisma dominates our lives, we will see it as a virtue, in the same way that a patriarchal society promotes patriarchal religion as an opiate of the masses: It alleviates our cognitive dissonance, and enhances our social potency. When a trait/behavior is seen as virtuous, and when society is seen as authoritarian, and when we cannot stomach to question social arbitrariness, we will drive social arbitrariness to its extremes, usually through state violence. The most modern example of this is the War on Drugs, but statist crusades of virtue have been overwhelmingly common in Western history. This comic is about sociopolitical pollution.
If you're looking for a reading list, try Bandura, Decety and Marx/Festinger.
Honestly, if I had any criticism of this comic, it would be that emotional regulation is not [i]limited[/i] to positivity: But that would bring us into the realm of Debord or something.
OH YEAH: Wikipedia has this wonderful gem in its article for Equilibrium...
[quote]In a slightly more emotional statement during a Sci Fi Dimentions interview, Wimmer implied that he values fan reaction above critical reception: 'Why would I make a movie for someone I wouldn't want to hang out with? Have you ever met a critic who you wanted to party with? I haven't.'[/quote]