8.08.2022
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Newsletter. Last times Newsletter can be found below, as well as some of the things I’ve been reading lately:
Writings under Quarantine.
- Attention
I “recently” got a puppy with my Fiance. His name is Oliver, and he’s exactly what you’d expect of a puppy. He chews everything and barks at new things he’s never seen.
It has involved a lot of patience, attention, and motivation to try and “get it right” when training - rewarding good behavior and knowing when to step in and discourage others.
Over the weeks, I have felt more attentive to his needs, body language, and what he likes and doesn’t like. But something that struck me recently that I had not anticipated was the inexplicable joy that he brings me.
Despite the sheer “one-sidedness” of our relationship, watching him is transformative. On one of our walks, he picked up a stick and trotted along as if it was a moment of absolute joy for him. There was no worry, no angst, no anger, no anxiety. There indeed was not another sentiment he could’ve had. Now some people are often skeptical about the emotional states of animals. Still, all I knew at that moment was that he was feeling something akin to the experience of happiness, and in that joy, I was able to experience it too.
I thought it would’ve been an opportune time to pull out my phone and snap a picture, but I stopped myself, took the moment in, and was satisfied with sharing that intimate moment with him. It was as simple as watching the rain or seeing a sunset, but there is something different than sharing joy with another creature.
- Reality and Sincerity
I’ve been watching a lot of TV while quarantining. A show that I had been highly anticipating was Nathan Fielder’s newest series on HBO, “The Rehearsal.” To summarize the show, Nathan creates studio setups, using scale replicas of locations and hiring extras to replicate a situation or, in some cases, simulate an experience for someone with the hope that they can adequately chart out that experience in real life.
Now there are a lot of “Meta” aspects to the show. On the one hand, it is a commentary on TV and Reality TV, as Reality TV often portrays itself as being closer to “baseline”, always alluding to “this is how some people act”. The Rehearsal subverts this by being fully aware, commenting on the inclusion of cameras, and even calling out HBO by name. Begging the question, “how might one act knowing they are being recorded?” A central point in Reality TV is the immersion in a group of people’s lives, but The Rehearsal is a complete reconstruction of them. In some instances, Nathan will cross the boundary of obtaining information or method, acting to the extreme. Still, it asks, “what is the difference between this and other TV shows?”
Now there is so much more I could comment on, but I want to focus on something that stuck with me about the show, which is its take on Sincerity. I find the show one of the clearest examples of a post-post Modern body of ethics. What I mean by this is that the entire show embodies the hyper-real, the artificial, the simulated, but it subverts this; instead of being left with vacuous post-modern cynicism, I ended a lot of the episodes with a true sense of connection, “I too have felt that alienation,” “I too have been unable to take action for constant indecisiveness in my life”. And despite the absurdity of the show, many of the setups actually work in helping the people overcome their problems.
In a world where satire and ironic poisoning have destroyed any semblance of hope, connection, and meaning, something as absurd as reality TV has somehow been able to make me feel hope.
- NOPE
Nope, it is the newest film by Jordan Peele, and honestly, it’s good. I liked this film more than all his other films and found this one to be his most mature film.
Now I’m going to say that I don’t buy into many interpretations of the film being about spectacle and exploitation. Instead, I read the film as overcoming grief by means of confronting absurdity. Capturing a miracle, so to speak.
I see the UFO in the film not just as an intervention from the outside, but I legitimately see the UFO, not as a spaceship or a “creature” but as an Angel. That which brings a message can show itself but does not want to be “captured”.
I’m being cryptic, but I don’t want to spoil the film. At least, not completely, I found that by completing the task to “capture” the UFO, they can come to terms with the absurd way OJ’s (the protagonist) Father passes in the film.
There’s a lot of weird imagery that invokes other movies like the shinning and Akira, and sort of Neon Genesis Evangelion that just told me that the UFO was an Angel.
That and the film starts with a bible verse.
~Links~
“Repressive forces don’t stop people expressing themselves but rather force them to express themselves; What a relief to have nothing to say, the right to say nothing, because only then is there a chance of framing the rare, and ever rarer, thing that might be worth saying.” - Gilles Deleuze
I would also like to send a special thank you to my Patrons:
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My Patreon is connected to the podcast I co-host with @YAgamben.
We recently opened up a Patreon to help support the expenses to keep some of these operations running, including hosting and things of that nature.
We strictly want to follow a “buy me a cup of coffee” model, so any “donation” is welcome. If you want to support any of our work, consider becoming a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/Decodecast.
-C.N.