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Should We Use Cinema To Warn The Public?


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15 replies to this topic

#1 nexus

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Posted 15 December 2003 - 09:59 PM


I think one of the best ways to reach society about important issues is through entertainment. Why not make a movie about the future after the final blackout? It might scare society into conservation or at least inform some.

#2 Bruce Klein

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Posted 15 December 2003 - 10:04 PM

Welcome nexus,

Good idea.. as this is something we may wish to expand upon going forward.

What may be the barriers to implementing such an idea?

And how best can we start now to ensure a successful implantation to such an idea?

#3 nexus

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Posted 15 December 2003 - 10:20 PM

I would think the impact the movie creates depends on the director and the quality of the film itself. The better the movie the more tickets it sells right? The only problem with finding a director and a film company to produce the movie lies in the fact that the script would no doubt be depressing. Also not many movie goers like environmentally based storylines. Since the dangers of low natural resources are becoming more and more evident the public has to be informed very soon but I cant think of a better choice other than cinema since it provides total immersment and the youth of the world move further away from literature.

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#4 Mind

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Posted 15 December 2003 - 10:26 PM

I like the idea of using entertainment to spread our ideas, however I have to argue against the premise that we are running out resources.

Many of the other ideas presented at imminst are not doom and gloom but hopeful and positive. The kind that would make great Hollywood endings.

I repeat...great idea nexus.

#5 MichaelAnissimov

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Posted 16 December 2003 - 01:25 AM

Welcome nexus, I hope you'll forgive me even if I rain on your parade during one of your first posts...

Hollywood is already supersaturated with scripts and scriptwriters, with connections, all vying to get their script made into a movie. A movie about immortality or related concepts will only happen when top directors decide it, not when we decide to make an effort. Going to a movie and getting the idea to write a script and have it made into a movie is a reflex thought for anyone trying to spread their ideas, but it's incredibly unlikely to work in reality. Why not try publishing papers online instead?

Movies will always cater to the lowest common denominator, which will always lag 10-40 years behind the forefront memetically. The most leveraged way to exert memetic change is to influence the intellectual and technological leaders at the forefront. This is not elitism, but a simple fact.

#6 darktr00per

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Posted 16 December 2003 - 08:56 AM

I think its a good/bad idea. Yes you would be educating, but whats next? Government and others orgs would be using media as a propaganda machine. If there would be such a plan it should be made by a independant with an unbias POV. People go to the movies to forget about reality-its entertainment-not to be spewed problems in reality.

#7 shedon666

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Posted 16 December 2003 - 04:22 PM

This is not a new idea. The Entertainment Arts have always been a platform of freedom of expanding new ideas of all kinds, be they existential, political, spiritual, etc etc. My opinion is that it is a great idea regardless the results, for if it is 'art' in the name of 'warning', even if negative things happen, the fault is in totality of that of the perceiver/observer. Art will eternally be an innocent medium of expression free of restriction to the creator.

#8 outlawpoet

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Posted 20 December 2003 - 10:30 PM

This is an interesting idea, if you drop the idea of having the movie 'made'. Doing it yourself has a lot of advantages. Independently made films often find wide viewership when they present interesting ideas or explore new areas. also, you don't have the difficulty of ensuring your vision is untainted. And you can use the video and clips however you want. I know a few independent filmmakers and artists, and it's interesting work in it's own right. Living in Utah, we have a lot of film culture around anyway. If anyone has any pressing ideas, or scripts to push, I'd be interested to talk about them.

#9 Bruce Klein

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Posted 20 December 2003 - 10:33 PM

Justin,

Optimally we'd hope to find an immortalist friendly filmmaker who'd like to take this on a personal passion.

Perhaps there is someone like this who is interested?

#10 MichaelAnissimov

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Posted 21 December 2003 - 01:16 PM

What Justin has to say...is valid. :) Independently making a film would circumvent all my previous criticisms. (Such a movie would probably would have the greatest positive impact if it were to be freely distributed on the net, or sold at a very low price.) Cheers to whoever makes the first serious immortalist-oriented film.

#11 outlawpoet

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Posted 21 December 2003 - 06:59 PM

Well, it's always good to be... validated. I've been peripherally involved in the creation of a few films, and it's hard work. There is a great deal that goes into writing, casting, prepping and filming even a short work. But the rewards are substantial, and video can often have a great effect on people. Seeing something, even fictionally makes one consider, largely because we're not built to doubt full motion sensora.

So an immortalist/transhumanist film could be a big step, not to mention a nifty thing to do. If anybody around here has interest in such things, I may start investigating what it would take to get started. There isn't much money in such things, but there is memetic impact. And isn't that what it's all about anyway?

#12 Lazarus Long

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Posted 21 December 2003 - 08:31 PM

So an immortalist/transhumanist film could be a big step, not to mention a nifty thing to do. If anybody around here has interest in such things, I may start investigating what it would take to get started. There isn't much money in such things, but there is memetic impact. And isn't that what it's all about anyway?


This understanding is important. If one goes into this kind of endeavor with an expectation of wealth & fame they are likely to be disappointed. If a group sincerely attempts to define and present in a fashion true to the medium and the message, occasionally they may be surprised by fame and fortune but most importantly by the success of actually communicating their message to the largest possible audience.

I recently and coincidentally had occasion to mention an idea in regards to this same approach in private with Michael so I was intrigued to observe the progress of this thread. I do have an idea for a screen play that I will discuss in private for now. I also will ask that those who are sincere in attempting this project voluntarily list themselves in this thread and last that as one of our editors Justin you realize that our priority is to finish the task at hand (the book) first before going on to new projects.

#13 outlawpoet

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Posted 22 December 2003 - 08:57 AM

Yes, of course. I wasn't suggesting a diversion of resources in any way. But certainly I would not protest if interested and heretofore uninvolved netizens took up and advanced efforts for a immortalist/transhumanist independent film.

As an organization, we have a certain focus, specific projects, and a directorate. But as a culture and a group, many interests may manifest themselves without deleterous effects upon each other. It is the nature of things.

#14 cyberchrist

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Posted 28 December 2003 - 03:14 AM

Well, it's always good to be... validated. I've been peripherally involved in the creation of a few films, and it's hard work. There is a great deal that goes into writing, casting, prepping and filming even a short work. But the rewards are substantial, and video can often have a great effect on people. Seeing something, even fictionally makes one consider, largely because we're not built to doubt full motion sensora.

So an immortalist/transhumanist film could be a big step, not to mention a nifty thing to do. If anybody around here has interest in such things, I may start investigating what it would take to get started. There isn't much money in such things, but there is memetic impact. And isn't that what it's all about anyway?


I think that while this may seem to be a decent vehicle, the better thing to to do prepare for the "Final Blackout" is to take pro-active steps to build communities and organizations that understand these issues and take measures to ensure their survival and the education and survival of future generations.

A film is going to generate some interest, but it is not going to be much against the typical Hollywood competition, and you are looking at 2-3 weeks of play in a theater anyway. Take a poll and you will find that most people can't recall the details of a movie that they saw 3-4 months ago.

It is better to work through awareness and preparation in order to ensure survival.

To be honest, as harsh as this may sound, I don't think that losing 70% or so the world's population would be a bad thing for humanity overall. In fact, there will be more resources available for less people and you will be able to cull the people from the world's population that never 'got it'.

That's harsh and brutal, but deep down inside, I don't think it is realistic to expect to be able to raise the awareness of every man, woman, and child around the world. I would even say that 5% would be stretching it.

#15 etc966

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Posted 28 December 2003 - 03:45 AM

CC,

I think you have a VERY valid point.

I currently am measuring my success in single digits.

I saved and prepared THIS family....now who's next ?

One family at a time...DAILY progress.

Viral marketing based on personal experience......"This guy helped us, you should give him a call."

It's slow work, but it IS gaining in momentum. And ALL those involved "Get It", and DON"T NEED persuading....


etc966


.

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#16 cyberchrist

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Posted 28 December 2003 - 04:37 AM

CC,

I think you have a VERY valid point.

I currently am measuring my success in single digits.

I saved and prepared THIS family....now who's next ?

One family at a time...DAILY progress.

Viral marketing based on personal experience......"This guy helped us, you should give him a call."

It's slow work, but it IS gaining in momentum. And ALL those involved "Get It", and DON"T NEED persuading....


etc966


.


To me, it's better to approach it this way and personalize the mesage rather than to try and capture the entire thing in a 2-hour block. I personally think there is too much information to share and to process to be able to squeeze it into a 2-hour block.

I also think that it is very important to try and instill these ideals into families and communities that will produce generations of people that will be more consciously aware of these issues than the current generations.

In 150 years, most of the people that currently live on this planet will have died and been replaced with their sons and daughters (or selfish, f*cked up brats they spawned to replace themselves, as 'Trainspotting' would say). Wouldn't it be great to be able to create communities that bring forth a generation of people that can make even more people aware of these issues?

I'm not even talking about Kumbaya touchy-feely pray-to-Gaia b.s. communities either, so I hope people reading this don't get the wrong impression. Then again, I am not talking about communities that become targets for the government (like Waco and Ruby Ridge). It's more like e-topias, which are communities that harness technology to its utmost level in order to create, paradoxically enough, a simpler life, yet be able to reap the benefits of long and healthy lives (very long if ideas in this forum come to fruition).




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