Culture fails.

[notimp]

In the last few months I've more and more introspective moments, where regardless of what what I'm looking at - I see in it major failures in established institutions to still play the role they think they are playing. Especially in the western hemisphere.

This is my way of sharing some of the cynicism I react with with the world.
-

So what are culture fails?

When you start off the Oscars 2018, with a performance of "whats left of the band Queen" singing "We are the champions" to an auditorium full of people that are mostly thinking about, that you couldnt manage to get a host this year, because of virtue signaling. Also - before any of them has won something. At an awards ceremony.

First shot of the audience after they realized what was happening:

Not quite Freddy Mercury and an old man thinking about better times:

I expect this to get more political quickly, but lets start off with an easy fun one.

This thread is supposed to also help out struggling comedians to find something apart from human interest stories to talk about. So ideally low barrier of entry - but thoughtful in whatever gets presented in here.

edit: One more thing:

Leaving an image of Freddy Mercury up for more than ten seconds, after the performance - for no immediate reason - so people could look at a real icon, while applauding.

Spoiler

Then giving best picture to a movie about the life of Don Shirley whose family called the film "a symphony of lies" after seeing it. Wonderful.

Only in Hollywood.

I hope next time around they realize that the comedian host is there to give the event a moral grounding, while its going on. A sort of figure that is there to remind everyone not to take themselves too seriously. Speaking of seriously - here is a picture of Lady Gaga faking being moved by looking at a picture of a dead Freddy Mercury within the first five minutes of this years Oscars.

Wonderful.

 

[H1B1Esquire]

Dude, what?

This isn't even a political topic--it's a problem.

I can't even begin to chronicle why things are the way they are right now, but.....it is a culture fail.

What I can tell you in regards to this:

This thread is supposed to also help out struggling comedians to find something apart from human interest stories to talk about.

a comedian who can't laugh at all this shit and wrap it up for others deserves to struggle.


My personal truth: the world is fucked up and we all failed each other.

 

[notimp]

From another recent thread of mine. Telling everyone on national television that war propaganda is fun, because you got to visit a "secret location" - while making the most popular movies that currently get produced:

Tangent:

Its hopeless. Every american still thinks, that their feelings on this issues are important - then they'll go see a fun Disney movie - that literally tells them -

quote

I: Vers?
V: Intelligence.
I: Your commander insists that you are fit to serve.
V: I am.
I: You struggle - with your emotions. With your past, that fuels them. (*swoosh sound and lighting effect* to interrupt thinking process)
You are just one victim of the sprawl expansion that has threatened our civilization for centuries.
Imposters, who silently infiltrate, and take over our planets.
Horrors that you remember and so much that you do not... (*swoosh sound and lighting effect* to stop thinking process.)

To see more idiotic banter, added to this kind of propaganda, watch a few seconds of the Late Show I just clipped.

https://streamable.com/3gnzr

I'm watching stuff like this with disgust at the moment. Somehow - It still makes folks in the US laugh though.

Sorry for the repost, but this deserves more recognition.

 

[H1B1Esquire]

....you live in JP. Be glad.

Unless you're a liar and you live in the USA, then this TV-related tragedy is all okay.

 

[notimp]

a comedian who can't laugh at all this shit and wrap it up for others deserves to struggle.

Yes - hes hardly a comedian at that point. Society will have no purpose for him anymore.

So you can leave out the role at the Oscars entirely.
Makes for a more instagramable event after all.

My next posting will probably be about Venezuela, to make this thread truly political once and for all..

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

What is a cultural political fail?

To raise natural oil and gas production in North America by the following quotient:

src: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=23932

To then freeze the assets of the Venezuelan state oil companies within the US and prevent them from selling into your country.
src: https://www.centellect.com/us-freezes-venezuela-7b-assets-11b-year-oil-exports/
different source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/...assets-warns-more-venezuela-sanctions-n788291

Which was deemed an unlawful action in the past.
src: https://www.cnbc.com/id/23628728

Then hold speeches like the following:


While openly supporting a different political candidats claim to power in that neightbor country of yours. While its in political turmoil, because of your actions. Or this: src: https://www.vox.com/world/2019/2/20/18233394/mccabe-trump-venezuela-war-oil-lawrence

Little humor in that one. But cultural failure.

If you have a hard time, bringing that in congruence with fighting against global warming - don't worry, everyone else in the world has as well.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Bank on this sentiment in peoples attitudes, to continue your actions. Sorry. Only an image this time - I know. This isn't an image board.

But they help to illustrate concepts.

Best illustration of the MAGA concept I've come across.

Its from the same speech.

Sadly its not high resolution.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

....you live in JP. Be glad.

Unless you're a liar and you live in the USA, then this TV-related tragedy is all okay.

I actually live in the EU. The flag on the left was just a random pick years ago, when I registered for this forum.

Queen (the band the Oscars borrowed the icon symbolism from this year) was a british band by the way.

 

[notimp]

Giving the world instagram and facebook of course.

I Mentored Mark Zuckerberg. I Loved Facebook. But I Can't Stay Silent About What's Happening.

The massive success of Facebook eventually led to catastrophe. The business model depends on advertising, which in turn depends on manipulating the attention of users so they see more ads. One of the best ways to manipulate attention is to appeal to outrage and fear, emotions that increase engagement. Facebook’s algorithms give users what they want, so each person’s News Feed becomes a unique reality, a filter bubble that creates the illusion that most people the user knows believe the same things. Showing users only posts they agree with was good for Facebook’s bottom line, but some research showed it also increased polarization and, as we learned, harmed democracy.

src: http://time.com/5505441/mark-zuckerberg-mentor-facebook-downfall/

Thats all talking about culture fails in current events and newsstories.

Not about past wars, the last financial crisis, the birth of turbo capitalism (google: James Tomilson Hill), all those can be bygones. Lets use this thread to represent the here and now.

 

[H1B1Esquire]

Yes - hes hardly a comedian at that point. Society will have no purpose for him anymore.

I actually live in the EU.

....I applaud you for writing all of this, but you're better off making a youtube video about this. After that, come to America and get a first-hand experience of this fuckery.

Still confused by your thoughts of a "struggling comedian". A lot of great comedians suffer horribly, but they have the ability to laugh at their own pain.

Basically, if you're not a struggling comedian, someone else writes "your" material.

Maybe what you meant to say was, "a comedian who can't see the forest from the trees." ?

Think about it for a bit.

 

[Xzi]

To see more idiotic banter, added to this kind of propaganda, watch a few seconds of the Late Show I just clipped.

https://streamable.com/3gnzr

The hell is your problem with Colbert? I really don't understand the point you're trying to make by posting a single isolated interview about Captain Marvel. Then again, with the way you format sentences, I struggle to understand the point of anything you say.

 

[notimp]

....I applaud you for writing all of this, but you're better off making a youtube video about this. After that, come to America and get a first-hand experience of this fuckery.

Still confused by your thoughts of a "struggling comedian". A lot of great comedians suffer horribly, but they have the ability to laugh at their own pain.

Basically, if you're not a struggling comedian, someone else writes "your" material.

Maybe what you meant to say was, "a comedian who can't see the forest from the trees." ?

Think about it for a bit.

Is this a joke?

How many people click links in youtube videos? How many people read source texts they got refered to in youtube videos.

Then the next irritation, why does everyone have to play armchair coach on presentation? Why is written text never good enough?

Then the next irritation, I couldnt use the clipped material in a youtube video, I would be flagged by content ID, the video would be taken down and I'd have no recourse.

Then the next irritation, my aim is not to get followers - my aim is not even to make life easier for folks around here, not even for 'comedians'. That was just an attempt to illustrate, that currently I see all those moments of irritation in the cultural presentation of lets say "valued institutions", and I'd attempt to joke about it, if I'd not have lost the ability to laugh about them a long time ago. Luckily I'm not a comedian. But I still think, that some of those are important topics, that deserve more attention, than the 100th reprisal of "Donald Trump said something dumb", or "how do you feel about abortions".

Then the first reaction to all this is "if someone cant make people laugh - looking at those things" they arent very good at their job, arent they...

This is what this thread is all about:

After seeing every clickbait politics story of the day paraded in this subforum up and down. After seeing that most peoples idea of discussing political themes was to "say how they feel - and explain, that its only proper, that they feel that way".

After seeing a thread where feminists argued for also drafting women, so they'd had the chance to also die in wars.

I actually had enough of "instagramable" easy to digest but senseless virtue signaling - and I illustrated some examples of cultural institutions failing entirely - at what they are proclaiming to do.

Being open, honest, diverse, independent and informative.

None of that is happening, everyone is just chasing trends, to be able to sell out better. Or dream up another scheme how to get another countries resources faster.

There will be ample examples of this in the future - so that will make this thread go along fine.

Whatever you think, that activism does these days to give this visibility - it doesnt.

And I should bring attention to that on youtube? Why? Thats not even my scene.

(But you could be more popular, and --- ah, forget it...)

Read this instead:

From late 2012 to 2017, Facebook perfected a new idea–growth hacking–where it experimented constantly with algorithms, new data types and small changes in design, measuring everything. Growth hacking enabled Facebook to monetize its oceans of data so effectively that growth-hacking metrics blocked out all other considerations. In the world of growth hacking, users are a metric, not people. Every action a user took gave Facebook a better understanding of that user–and of that user’s friends–enabling the company to make tiny “improvements” in the user experience every day, which is to say it got better at manipulating the attention of users. Any advertiser could buy access to that attention. [...] If civic responsibility ever came up in Facebook’s internal conversations, I can see no evidence of it.

Thats from the times article linked above. But why couldnt he have made that statement on youtube - it would have been more popular.

Here is youtube for you. 98% liked that Oscar music performance, thought it was juuuuuust perfect. Yes, play another song about "we are all champions" right before an important awards ceremony, where you cant animate the losers screens off of screen with animations fast enough, after every win announcement later on and let people applaud a dead british music icon at a film industry event - because none of what you do could even come close in importance these days. Make sure you have a shot of Gaga, trying to conjure up an emotion, looking at a still image above stage. Press like, and watch again.
h**ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwbCfVEB5EM

Oh, and the singer was a former Americon Idol contestant. Great. Obviously. Does that get us more likes on insta?

 

[H1B1Esquire]

Is this a joke?

No, it's a butterfly.

lick links in you

I don't know if that's quantifiable. Guessing, at least 40%, depending on the Zelda.

ten text never goo

Welp, welcome to the future. You had to be there to get it. Seriously, I don't even know where to start with you.......do you know how badly America has fucked over the past 35 years? Short answer: America is fucked up, that's why we don't read.

tent ID

I...don't think I mentioned anything about that, but....you play video games, look for the solution to the puzzle. It'd fall under "fair use" because you plan to ____. Obviously, don't try to make money from it.

This thread is supposed to also help out struggling comedians

not even for 'comedians'.

Maybe I should elaborate between "struggling" and struggling--one is for those struggling to find work/make material versus those who are struggling with life. So, the ones who can't find the humor deserve to struggle to find work, while most successful comedians either struggle with life or have other people write material/steal material from those who are struggling (depression, abuse, ect,.)
Please, elaborate what you mean.

Actually, I really have no idea what you mean.
If you really think the world is ____, so I must ___, you need to meet more people....and do some drugs. Personally, I couldn't even read the rest of your reply because I have no: Facebooty, instashit, Twatter, Pisstrest,--nothing. I had an okcupid and POF, but I stopped using those two years ago.

For the fun of it: I didn't watch the Oscars. I dislike most of what people like, because I generally dislike people. I'm more negative than positive--I lived a ridiculous life and I don't want people to suffer, but I enjoy letting people hang themselves if they deserve it.


If you want to free yourself: delete all of your social media, stop chasing trends yourself, talk to people on a real level, change everything you're eating, exercise more, read more things that actually interest you (not the latest trending thing, sex article in Cosmo, useless blog about ___--actual knowledge you can utilize (maybe why America is so fucked up?)), write about your days in a sincere way (not, "OMG, great day, yey! bed now, byeeee.), express yourself creatively, study new subjects, commit random acts of kindness, get more sleep, get a new wardrobe of clothes you like (you seem to be dripping with the belief you need to please people by staying "current" and "trendy"), get your ass licked, play more games, learn new words, go take a trip, clean your house.

Start with that and suddenly, you'll be the coolest motherfucker.

TL;DR
Wut?

 

[notimp]

Its easy. Talking about comedians really is only a sentiment. Something that says - there is so much wrong going on currently in society - that someone ought to catch - and make fun of, or at least somehow put a spotlight on - but then mostly no one does.

I posted this in here, because I saw others mostly being busy discussing prefab political outrage narratives - that care about which social subgroup is currently 'winning'.

All those stories above - are highly problematic (imho), but uncontextualized in most of popular media.

1. The first story is about fake sentiments, that get played as highly important and meaningful, and touching - but that are borrowed just for effect, for the event. Its basically designing emotional moments, for the sake of designing emotional moments - and then sharing them on social media - for recognition, growth, ...

And if Hollywood doesnt have the icons for the time, quick - lets borrow a dead british one from the music industry.

2. The second story - really is about enemy concepts in popular media - and how story telling more and more is replaced with intercut effects, to make stuff like you are fighting against "a sprawl expansion that has threatened our civilization for centuries" and "Imposters, who silently infiltrate, and take over our planets" make some resemblance of sense - when really it is just an attempt to play with sentiments, that might subconsciously connect with left wing and right wing sectors of your audience. Its nonsense. Its the propagation of concepts that sound somewhat familiar, and building popular enemy concepts out of it.

Thats propaganda. At least bundled with the concept, that the military figure askes the all knowing AI, to give her a pre first battle prep speech, in which the AI has empathy for human emotions.

Thats shorthand for 'stories matter' and thats a cheap method to tell one. Thats caught by the late night presenter, he contextualizes it (subtext: " Thats pretty silly") - but the resolve is more banter, on how fun it was to visit a secret location on shooting the movie - which is just another PR line. Then everybody laughs.

Most popular Hollywood movies that currently are made.

3. The third story is about selective framing and US foreign policy.
This one is truly political. And pretty palpable on the surface level. You read the articles - you understand it.

Its also about how dishonest populist speeches are in context. Because its hard to believe that the guy who apparently openly told his staff, that they should invade Venezuala "because they have all that oil" - in a speech the other day talks about how sad it is, that their government, cant manage an internal revolt caused by US foreign and economic politics.

4. The fourth story is about building a world wide business, that used growth hacking (the hacking part here stands for social and psychological engineering) as the solution to all its growth problems - and ended up being a business, thats routinely abused by other actors, and that refuses to take on real responsibility when it gets to concepts like building in user sovereignty, or not freely sharing very detailed data, with every third party - if it benefits their bottom line. On a meta level its about a company shedding any social responsibility - and replacing it with CSR (the marketing equivalent).

Theres also a story buried in there about this ( https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/25/...-interviews-trauma-working-conditions-arizona ) where in public facebook is promising to layer in controls "with AI" when currently they are paying people to categorize their training sets at little above minimum wage - causing permanent trauma, thats externalized from the actual corporate culture, or even society - on which behalf they are supposed to work. While facebook users are supposed to think, that thats flagging and AI stuff. But here we are layering in further concepts. So if you want it simple - just look at the first paragraph.


All of this is me not acting as a 'comedian', because I'm literally spelling out the outlines of every story here. Giving it circumstantial context - by talking about - that all of this is basically society failing - with no one looking at it - because they are too busy looking at another rehash of the abortion debate, or 'what silly stuff Trump said today'.

A good comedian now would take those stories, find a way to underline the opposing narrative structures within each story - and make a proper joke about it.

I cant. So I pitched this thread as being a material collection for people who might be better in that regard.

But it really wasnt - It was largely about me struggling to look at all this, and having lost all humor about it.

I hope things are a little clearer now.

Then someone said "I would have cared, if you made a youtube video". And I thought to myself - yeah, thats really the times we are living in.

 

[H1B1Esquire]

Then someone said "I would have cared, if you made a youtube video".

Do you mean:

....I applaud you for writing all of this, but you're better off making a youtube video about this.

because if someone else told that to you, you should do it.

People don't have time (on a gaming-related website) to read about things they may not even be exposed to, and if going by what you're saying, why in the hell would they want to subject themselves to it in the first place?


Ideally, you should try to reach an audience that suits this thread. Think of it like this: you're selling boxes of agave sugar to diabetics.

A fun fact that you seem to negate:
people don't want to get roasted by the public for an opinion--look at all the blacklisted celebs.

Either way, I'm sure someone who you probably never heard of, is cracking jokes about the Oscars, the government, and things you haven't been exposed to.

I could rip the shit out of the Oscars, but you know what? I don't care. I just don't give a shit. Do you know what I did? I found something that interests me and I watched it.

I chose to better myself, rather than wallow in the shit the modern world covered itself in. I advise you do the same.

For fun, I'm going to guess you're between 16 and 23.
Here's a video about skateboarding; try it, you might like it.

 

[notimp]

Yes, people dont have time.

But strangely enough, I'm still not writing threads with my audience in mind all the time. Because in my mind, thats actually part of the issue. People are so busy optimizing for audiences, that they fail to identify issues.

If it doesnt work on insta, it almost might not even exist. Too long for a 280 character tweet? Too bad, your opinion doesnt get heard. Cant be liked. Doesnt matter.

Thats what this thread is actually about, that society currently fails to have any correctives for those things. That its still easier to have people up in arms about an issue with a "face", than to have them recognize any of the structural issues that are around at the same time.

Its hard to coat them in any of the five primal emotions.

(Late night talk show hosts caring more about their twitter compatibility than about pretty much everything else, is a fail as well. Not necessary directed at Colbert above, but in general. Thats part of 2.)

 

[H1B1Esquire]

Wut? I think I have a disconnect.

If it doesnt work on insta,

I don't have any social media. The closest it gets is 'temp for me.
I simply can't get behind what you're trying to accomplish...you say you want to help comedians by giving them material, but then you say it's not for the comedians, but then it's material for comedians....Iamsolost.wuthefuk.

I guess I should put it to you like this:
If you saw a hummingbird take a shit, would you care? I'd hope you have better things to do and it wouldn't scar you for life.

Right now, it looks like you're scarred from American television. Like you're in absolute shock and awe that actors......can fake emotions ....you seem to not understand how fake people act and just how "produced" America is.

This is why I tell you what I tell you.
You choose to listen to the TV and get angry, rather than listen to me and free yourself of the chains you wrapped yourself in.

Maybe you need this:



I won't pay for you to come to the NE coast of America, but if you do, PM me.

 

[notimp]

I don't see many comedians around here... The resolve is, that the first one was almost used as a dark joke.

More like a sentiment of what 'flair' I wanted this thread to have, because thats where I was coming from, than a literal "lets help all them comedians out".

Good comedy can be a catalyst to hint at societal issues. That was the implied connection.

 

[notimp]

The hell is your problem with Colbert? I really don't understand the point you're trying to make by posting a single isolated interview about Captain Marvel. Then again, with the way you format sentences, I struggle to understand the point of anything you say.

I think that Colbert has become a late night host, who basically laughs about things, because he likes to fit in. In interviews mainly - he likes "being accepted" by the guest. He never turned out a great interviewer.

(edit: Here is slate making the point better than me: https://slate.com/culture/2015/12/t...rt-s-interviewing-style.html?via=gdpr-consent )

But thats really a trend of the time. (It takes quite something, to have to admit, that Jimmy Kimmel has become the "edgy" one.. )

Colbert tried public alcoholism for a wile to foster the gambit of a "situated gentleman", but that kind of didn't work - but he struck gold criticizing Trump and with his impressions of Trump mannerisms.

I still watch, and I still like the "formerly known as" WORD segments - but for political, or satirical commentary of anything beside Trump he is quite shallow. He's often quicker to agree to a guests statement, than to find the contradictions or humor in it.

He even likes to start interviews with "how did you feel, when Trump said x ...hmmm" *nudgenudge*. Often. (When he thinks that a guest is 'political'.) Thats kind of his thing.

His writing staff is still on point, and overall he's still one of the best amongst the bunch.

In terms of the thread, hes really just the late nite host (could have been any one) that smiles into the camera knowing, that what he has to show isn't "quality", but saying nothing about it.

In regards to that Disney clip, I really dont have much more to say, than what I've already said.

edit: I decided to spell it out a bit more:

A longlasting threat of a sprawl expansion with imposters that secretly infiltrate - may make sense because the terms seem familiar, but in itself its nonsense. You see the moment, when the heroes internal motivation is set up, and it is intercut by swoosh effects not to have peoples analytical thinking kicking in for too long. Then its a motivation speech prior to a battle. Again. Then its done by a personified AI, who shows empathy with human emotionality. When in the real world we try to get people to understand, that AI is anything but. Its another rehashing of the myth of "the military knows everything (the AI is called 'intelligence'), is empathic, has the best tech (VR), fights the right fight, has heroes acting for them, decides for you better ('and things you havent known')" - its complete nonsense, propaganda even.

"But people dont watch marvel movies to learn something." "But still those are the stories that stick".

And Colbert even catches, that what he shows is garbage, but he says nothing. Thats the moment captured in the screenshot above.

 

[H1B1Esquire]

sues. That was the imp

I guess, but I'll still tell you, you're going to get a better response doing it yourself.

In fact, if a comedian did use your "material" you probably wouldn't know about it. I mean, if you wrote a full script and it was Carlos'd, okay, but you're talking about something quite public, in a non-specific way.

I could have wrote something about how, "I hate the Oscars", but I chose not to. Why? I didn't watch them in the first place.

Even if I did, I highly doubt anyone could benefit from detailing my disdain for an overproduced award show. I know my time would be better spent assisting someone with the knowledge I have and know brings a positive impact.

What I can say is funny (not trying to be offensive, just getting a cheap laugh), a guy who lives in the EU gives a shit about an award show in the US and made a thread about it on a gaming site.

 

[notimp]

Its fine... It was just something that was on my mind.

- Hollywood having to do throwbacks to the british music scene of the eighties, to get their "left liberal gay icon" to have people applaud for.
- Late Night shows being tame to the point of the host almost self censoring on camera.
- No one really telling the economic story about the Venezuela crisis (neither side, because Venezuela should have seen it coming)
- Zuckyboys former mentor being another sole voice that speaks out regarding facebook having become an issue. Then the "who does facebook housekeeping" story vanishing into nothingness again - not major news...

It may be the same as it always was - but for some reason, the idea of the Oscars championing themselves this year for having shed a comedian host, then rocking out to "we are the champions" triggered me to write this stuff.

I actually enjoyed spelling out the stories in detail, it made me think about them a bit more.

 

[notimp]

Facebook was caught engaging in a global campaign to lobby against privacy laws:
https://www.theguardian.com/technol...campaign-against-data-privacy-laws-investment

Should have seen that one coming.

"Threaten to withhold funding from countries unless they pass facebook friendly laws..."

Its a follow up to things hinted on in this thread, so I'll post it here.

 

[notimp]

Bob Dylan recently played in Vienna (Konzerthaus) where the following took place.

The love of his audience could have meant serious harm to Bob Dylan on his first evening in the Konzerhaus: At the first encore, "Blowing in the wind", fans rushed up front, many of them readying their smartphone cameras, and filming. Dylan, who can't stand this, became enraged and stumbled. He only was able to just catch himself between the drums and his base player, then stood up furiously on the ramp, and hissed: "We can either play or pose. It's your decision!"

The Band went silent, mirrored Dylans behavior and stared into the audience with a dead eye look.

More or less discretely the mobile phones vanished. The show could go on. A rudely spooled off "It takes a lot to laugh, it takes a train to cry" still followed, before Dylan left the place of adversity ...

Translated from a german src at: https://diepresse.com/home/kultur/5614164/Die-Wiener-haetten-Bob-Dylan-beinahe-zu-Fall-gebracht

Ah, always lovely to see a real performer in action.

But I need it for my ista reputation! And think of all the spotify cents, when people click your song, after watching my cam video! -- F*ck you.