Hmmmm

The madman and the future before him...

Hey all.

Ive just recently watched two movies i'd reccomend to all.

Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" and "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence"

After watching these, i got to thinking about the message of the films. I've learnt enough from english to know this is what we'll all take from it - a deeper understanding of media and text. Fuck grammar - it's a lesson for anyone wanting to live here (one thing i've always been baffled with by immigrants - if you plan to spend your life in a country, the least you could do is learn the fucking language so we can all understand you, i know if i went somewhere i'd do it too, is it that much of an ask?)

Enough racial bigotry, im here to get my point across. I got to thinking about the future - its a big thing for all of us who are now just a week and four days away from finishing all out secondary studies. We have made our minds up and know where were going, are not sure but have a rough idea, have jobs and are settling down into careers or for a seldom few - happy to drift from place to place with no significant aim. I fit a little in between the first and second types: right now i know what i want to do, it just seems like there's going to be some shit in the way to get where i want and the way isnt clear. In my head, ive sorted out what really matters to me - first and foremost family, then my girlfriend jess, friends + mates and what i want to achieve and what i need to accomplish to get what i want. Beyond that, i dont really care too much...now isnt a time to be fussing over trivialities.

Watching Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" i saw a simple version of this thought. The men all had a goal - Vietnam, and had to go through basic training to get it. The pragmatic young marine who we see through, 'Joker' witnesses some harsh things - a soldier who was pushed to the limit and beaten snap and take with him the company drill sergeant before wrapping his mouth around the barrel and blasting himself to shit. I saw men going off to a war trying to force democracy on a sciety through violence and bloodshed, and the folly of not knowing why they're fighting for. The end of this film stays with me however - 8-ball goes off to check for 'gooks' after the company ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up snipered to shit. Drawn in, one of the men comes to his aid, only to be shot and left for dead himself. Seeing what really matters, the men, abandoned by their support by not being deemed important enough for the aid of a tank, go for the sniper in the building. It was this determination that stuck out to me - they thought decisively about what really mattered and went after their objective without faltering. That it was a Vietnamese girl who was viciously mowing down the troops, probably barely 10, didnt matter. Joker had his qualms about leaving the girl bleeding to death so shot her. This might have appeared cruel, but she recieved a soldiers death. I wouldnt go so far as to compare it to a samurai commiting seppuku and having his kaishaku (retainer) behead him so as to deliver him to the heavens, as it does not have nearly the connotations of honour or pride, but the metaphor is there.
In Innocence, we are led to question the role of technology and human consciousness. We see how people are becoming mechanised to the point of being a human no longer: the line has been blurred too far, and how it's the little things that define us all. Routinely indulging in philosophy, we hear quotes ranging from Browning, Descartes, Darwin and Confucius to references from the bible. The movie itself is beautiful - the cyborgs look like dolls but the backdrops are incredible. There was as much detail in the play of light reflecting off the metallic surface of a slow-moving automatic as in the fantastic parade of Hindu gods and pagodas floating to obscure choral chants amid the concrete passages of a bronzed city. Fantastic

In any case. Watch them, see what you think.

Update: Motorised Skateboard is complete enough, but nothing can hide the fact it needs a larger engine. relegated to the garage for now, you might hear of it later on. I learnt a lot from it.

Anyway, i better be off. - Dave

posted by Dave @ 3:51 PM