Wheel of Wishes: Folklore

[Abishai100]

In the Dirty Harry film The Dead Pool, a serial killer is stalking celebrities, prompting the iconic American detective to become gritty on the streets.

This film presents a theme common to many symbolic stories in American folklore and cinema --- bad fortune.

The serial killer in The Dead Pool seems to be making sardonic comments about the vulnerability of popular characters and media personalities who are deemed as 'fortunate' in society, perhaps as an anti-social gesture meant to demonize and condemn the proverbial 'American Dream.'

In the famous Shakespeare play The Merchant of Venice, a sharp woman named Portia must rescue a man who is trapped in a death-contract to a cruel Jewish money-lender, and the ensuing 'court battle' prompts everyone to be a little bit more shrewd regarding contract enforcement leniency.

The concept of fortune is very important to human beings, since we use it to make comments on mortality, prosperity, and risk. Fortune evaluation guides many social contracts and business negotiations, since individuals and companies seek to maximize profits by scrutinizing risk.

When a Wall Street investor loses all of his assets during a stock market crash, we may make a comment such as, "This poor fellow is experiencing the back-end of a civilization fall-out!"

In other words, assessment of risk and profitability is vital to our analysis of fortune and negotiation.

Such a consciousness is 'investigated' in the fame-fortune sardonic film Celebrity (Woody Allen).

Do we pity those who take foolish risks or make contracts with untrustworthy parties, or do we condemn people for unwise decisions to feel like we are closely monitoring citizens' assessments of profitability-calculation?

Such questions are important in our new age of profiteerism-gauged networking (e.g., European Union, NATO, eTrade, etc.), which is why Hollywood (USA) incidentally makes films such as The Wolf of Wall Street.

Imagine you go to a nightclub and meet a beautiful young woman and decide to date her only to find out one week later she's your boss's daughter! Would you feel paranoid about your sense of 'sociability smartness'? You might say to yourself, "How could I have been so stupid as to not consider the possibility that I was risking my job by dating someone who resembled my boss?"

This is why I love the American comic book superhero Batman (DC Comics), a fictional masked urban vigilante who tackles the criminally insane in a place called Gotham City. Batman deals with bizarre maniacs such as Two-Face (an extremist punisher), Poison Ivy (an eco-terrorist), and the Riddler (a death-trap trickster) who pit Batman in situations where he must lift people out of 'risk-pits' to salvage the sanity and security of all Americans.

Maybe 'fortune storytelling' is the new 'folk tradition,' and 'Wall Street psychiatry' is the new 'religion.'

 

[Moonglow]

The original series of Batman in the 1930's had Batman taking down crooked companies also...

 

[Abishai100]

The Rat Race

I agree, Batman is great, since he's willing to deal with the corruption that lies hidden *just* below the surface.

Most of his nemeses exhibit suicidal tendencies or self-destructive patterns, which makes me think it is worthwhile to consider the relationship between suicide/self-destruction and discussions about 'karma.'

It's a symbolic topic for our times, which is why perhaps the Unabomber gained such recognition/attention in the media --- an anti-social 'philosopher' who spewed against 'modernism' but was from Harvard himself.

So here's a mock-dialogue about suicide (sociologically speaking of course) between Krishna (Hindu god of negotiation) and Shiva (Hindu god of destruction).


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KRISHNA: I like Durkheim's evaluation of suicide.
SHIVA: A sentient being's ability to contemplate 'self-destruction' is part of intelligence.
KRISHNA: Self-destruction can be 'philosophical' but it is usually 'psychological.'
SHIVA: One can argue that being a rat-race Wall Street stockbroker is 'suicidal.'
KRISHNA: True (funny), but we also praise social achievement (e.g., Rockefeller).
SHIVA: Why do we hype fame-magnification films such as Celebrity?
KRISHNA: Perhaps we want to 'sentimentalize' ambition itself.
SHIVA: Competitive behavior makes it difficult to 'romanticize' ambition.
KRISHNA: Yes, and indulging in ambition can yield greed or even malice.
SHIVA: This was partly the case in the Cold War.
KRISHNA: The Gulf War was a showcase of American 'smart-weaponry.'
SHIVA: I really like the Charlie Chaplin film Modern Times.
KRISHNA: The Unabomber was an anarchist from Harvard!
SHIVA: Perhaps he was a critic of 'modern gambling.'
KRISHNA: I like the modernism film WarGames.
SHIVA: Perhaps ambition is suicidal.
KRISHNA: In terms of altruism, ambition is certainly a challenge.
SHIVA: New age storytelling hypes karma-caricatures such as 'Brainiac.'

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[Abishai100]

The Strangers

After seeing the home-invasion film The Strangers, I started thinking about how human beings are very anxious about pedestrianism-related instabilities.

Is such anxiety connected to American culture in general?

Here's a multi-part dialogue between a hypothetical 'nihilistic philosopher' (referred to simply as 'Stranger') and a hypothetical argumentative 'pro-American' (referred to simply as 'American').

The purpose of this dialogue is to stimulate ideas about pedestrianism-related sociology pertinent to the topic of this thread --- journeyman karma! I wanted to add this 'addendum' since I think it will enhance this discussion about 'metaphysical fortunes.'

This sort of consciousness is explicitly explored in the iconic American film The Devil and Daniel Webster.


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I. Salem's Lot
STRANGER: Gambling yields euphoria.
AMERICAN: Everyone hates insurance salesmen.
STRANGER: Have you read Arthur Miller?
AMERICAN: I like stories about humans in moral tests.
STRANGER: The average man daydreams about heroism.
AMERICAN: Obesity and gluttony are problems in America.
STRANGER: That's due to mismanaged consumerism.
AMERICAN: It's where the Devil really reigns.

II. Museum
STRANGER: I'm a big fan of Michael Jordan.
AMERICAN: I prefer Julius Erving.
STRANGER: Jordan changed the definition of 'athlete superstar.'
AMERICAN: Erving reminded us that that the spirit of sports is alive.
STRANGER: Erving was more of a gentleman.
AMERICAN: Jordan appeals to youngsters.
STRANGER: Jordan got huge endorsements.
AMERICAN: Erving was an angel.

III. Graffiti
STRANGER: I prefer graffiti to pornography.
AMERICAN: Pornography requires more maturity.
STRANGER: Graffiti is often misconstrued as vandalism.
AMERICAN: If the artist intended the display to be dazzling, then it is.
STRANGER: Pornography is explicitly expressive.
AMERICAN: Graffiti expressionism relies on color-use.
STRANGER: There are few pornos about ghosts.
AMERICAN: Maybe the Devil doesn't care about graffiti.

IV. Hallmark
STRANGER: I love that show Desperate Housewives.
AMERICAN: Americans are very casual about social etiquette.
STRANGER: Multi-culturalism breeds colloquialisms.
AMERICAN: I love that show Modern Family.
STRANGER: Would you watch a show about prostitutes?
AMERICAN: I would if it presented economics-based concerns.
STRANGER: Do you care about poverty?
AMERICAN: I'm an angel!

V. Halloween
STRANGER: Feminists are intrigued by witches.
AMERICAN: Gender disparities make for intriguing debates.
STRANGER: Nobody cares about airline stewardesses.
AMERICAN: Airline travel is considered an 'amenity.'
STRANGER: I'd like to see a stewardess Halloween costume!
AMERICAN: I'd like to see a ballerina Halloween costume.
STRANGER: Americans love horror films.
AMERICAN: The Devil probably hates candy.

VI. Highway
STRANGER: Do you pick up hitch-hikers?
AMERICAN: I'm very wary of doing so.
STRANGER: Why?
AMERICAN: I might pick up an unsavoury individual.
STRANGER: What about the Good Samaritan?
AMERICAN: Charity begins at home.
STRANGER: God probably likes limousines.
AMERICAN: Everyone wants angels to be comfortable.

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