Post-Election Bread and Circus

"'Bread and Circuses' (or bread and games) (from Latin: panem et circenses) is a metaphor for a superficial means of appeasement. In the case of politics, the phrase is used to describe the creation of public approval, not through exemplary or excellent public service or public policy, but through diversion; distraction; or the mere satisfaction of the immediate, shallow requirements of a populace, as an offered 'palliative'. Juvenal decried it as a simplistic motivation of common people. The phrase also implies the erosion or ignorance of civic duty amongst the concerns of the common man."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses

The last several weeks have become a roller-coaster ride of Hurricanes, Elections and now "Wag-the-Dog" high level resignations and mentions of possible cover-ups (a la David Petreaus). There's never been a moment in history where I have sensed so strongly that our view of reality is changing collectively though its hard to envision what the new paradigm will be. The United States is now no longer an invincible country as we witness New Yorkers suffering rationing for gasoline and having no power for days. The Obama victory in the Election was almost anti-climactic in retrospect with Nate Silver's statistical analysis proving what should have been obvious all along - the general public did not in fact have an appetite for Mitt Romney. Now however, barely a week after the election, serious rumors are mounting again about the United States' solvency, potential major market crashes looming on the horizon and massive layoffs already beginning. Unfortunately it seems that some are blaming the layoffs on Obama alone though I think personally that is unfair to the President - he is only one cog in the wheel whose gears are composed of each and every one of us though more so with the elite. So where does this leave us?

Apparently, everything I have mentioned above is not the end but the beginning of a chaotic series of events combined with a "Bread and Circus" effort by the powers that be to distract us during these difficult times. The Petreaus affair is the most obvious example. Who believes the military industrial complex, having its hands bloodied for years with unwarranted drone strikes that have killed countless innocent civilians in the Middle East, actually cares for a moment about marital infidelity? Of course it is ridiculous but its designed to distract those most vulnerable to puritanical programming who are not so much interested in leading a moral life but rather in feeling empowered by shaming the "sinners" among us so they can feel momentarily distracted from the more banal aspects of their existence and the fear of the unknown turgid waters ahead. Yes these are the times of "Bread and Circus" where the leaders make desperate attempts to distract us from what really matters. In thinking about this, assuming that my website is read at all by anyone of any power or stature, I would like to directly address our "leaders" in the western world.

First, let me say that those of us with our critical thinking skills intact are not the least bit impressed right now. With each passing day your desperation becomes more and more apparent and obvious to the point that even the average, status-quo minded individuals are beginning to notice. Do you feel powerful in knowing this? At what point do you recognize that you can not further force your propaganda on the population without them recognizing that such obvious force is being applied? We are slowly but surely reaching that point where the application of more propaganda only leaves you more exposed and vulnerable to ridicule not only online in blogs like this but also in more mainstream sources. Surely you are feeling the pressure of society beginning to wonder if you are indeed even relevant? Here, let me provide you with an example so we are all clear about what I am referring to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLjDsKuLkOc&feature=player_embedded

Is this how you wish to be remembered by history? Perhaps its time you come to your senses and humbly accept the fact that you are not in control. Indeed none of us are really, only in the collective sense.

So, now that we have established that the adults are neither adults nor in control what comes next?

The Third Party Debate

 

For those of you who didn't get a chance to see the Third Party Candidates debate on RT/CSPAN/Al-Jazeera/Not-an-MSM-Outlet I recommend watching the re-run which will inevitably make its way to the internet/youtube shortly (http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/335390). More specifically I recommend watching this and the Romney Obama debate (round III) and asking yourself what you see that is different. If you are like me, the Romney-Obama debate will seem scripted and banal, full of emotional tugs and knee-jerk provocatism devoid of real meaning. It's a sad state of affairs in the US these days - nothing of any meaning or basis in reality seems to be a point of discussion. The mainstream media and those who follow or think like them seem to have no interest any more in facts or reason - Straw-man arguments are constructed to make candidates look bad, complex ideas are replaced with cliche narratives, meaningless choices are presented as salient differences (would you rather have more war, more debt or both?) and reality is dismissed at virtually every opportunity.

Why are we Americans (and westerners in general) so gullible, ignorant, indifferent, insincere, arrogant and reckless? That may seem like a scathing indictment and I certainly wouldn't say it in public around anyone I thought would be offended but it just seems to be an inescapable fact these days. Perhaps I will struggle with this question for the remainder of my life and maybe its time to just accept that this is the way it is and go back into my reclusive interests again before I got into this whole blogging thing. Speaking of which, I am thinking of closing this blog, partly because I am starting a new job and won't have much time for it but also because I don't see any comments on it. The world keeps its secrets and people go on with their lives without even knowing it had any and blaming all their problems on the wrong things. If you are interested in these topics and themes please speak up, please share your thoughts and ideas wherever you are in your own lives (on here or otherwise) - after all the clock is ticking for all of us and Rome does appear to be in flames...

Looper: Time Machines, Quantum Homicide and Telekinesis

 

I just saw this film earlier today and let me just say that it was quite a mind-bender that I was not prepared for. I am not going to go into a lengthy review with this film as I do my others since I don't have the time or energy at the moment but more importantly because this is a movie you should see for yourself without giving away too much. However let's take a cursory glance at this movie and its plot to find some evidence of future memes and realities that may be coming right around the corner.

The main Character Joe is played by both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis - the first in his formative years and the latter in his later years. Joe is a "Looper" or a hired gun who works in the past for a crime syndicate that exists int the future. Joe waits at predetermined locations for kidnapped people to show up at which point he executes them, point blank before cremating their bodies. This works out well for the crime syndicates of the future who need to dispose of bodies without a trace during a period when apparently it is difficult to do so. Having a hired gun from the past eliminating someone from the future (who supposedly does not exist yet) results in a clean kill without a trace. On the other hand, these hired guns (otherwise known as "loopers") are themselves subject to the same treatment of assassination (after 30 years have past and they are old enough to possibly interfere with the crime syndicate again). Once the "loopers" themselves are sent back to the past they are often shot and killed by the earlier version of themselves resulting in a "closed loop". Without going into the specifics of the logic behind such a mind-bending plot and the hyper-dimensional quantum physics involved (which I assure you I do not understand) I will just say that this allows for some very wild twists and turns as well as a seriously long movie.



In any case, at some point Joe winds up with the inglorious task of having to kill the future version of himself to "close his loop" at which point he becomes entangled in both bringing down the current day mobsters being run by future mobsters, as well as preventing "Future Joe" from assassinating individuals who are now Joe's employers or other children that "Future Joe" believes will become part of the crime syndicate in the future. Again, far too complicated to discuss in detail here.

However, there were several themes that were revealed in this film that I believe may have relevancy to emerging trends in our current world. First, all Loopers are paid in silver. As many of us who study alternative economic news already know, silver is both a commodity and a precious metal and the value of paper silver is attrociously repressed to prevent this commodity from being traded and sold at its true worth - NOT SO in the movie. The movie makes it clear that SILVER is the currency of the future as well as the parallel present. So WOW, yeah, that's quite an admission and statement in the film (obviously the director thinks this new silver-based reality is on its way).

There was also another meme that the film brought up about telekinesis in the future. In the film many people develop this ability and are able to "float quarters" (usually just to pick up chicks) in their hands. At first this seems to be completely tangential to the film but later we learn it is not - let's just leave those details out for the moment so as not to ruin the film. 

The final theme that stood out for me is that there seems to be a suggestion that this time travel technology could already exist. There are rampant rumors all over the internet about the possibility of time traveling involving everything from Nazi UFO's to quantum teleportation to astral projection and lucid dreaming (also see the movie "Source Code" for similar content). So the question then becomes, are these technologies already influencing our reality now? No way to be sure of course - I suppose there's no way to verify this other than to time travel yourself but I couldn't help thinking about it throughout the film.

On a final note, I couldn't help escape the feeling that this film was a warning of sorts about messing with certain aspects of reality and how destructive it could all become if certain technologies were to fall into the wrong hands. We have a tendency to laugh off such things these days but perhaps we shouldn't. A crime syndicate that mastered the science of time travel could eventually come to rule the world and all of its parallel dimensions and entangled timelines as well (if you catch my drift). It would be better if the population at large developed into aware and enlightened citizens (i.e. not the sheep they have become today) to ensure this does not happen but I am not holding my breathe....

The Mathematics of the Relationship between Money Velocity and Interest (AKA Everything You've been Taught about Money is a Lie)

Ergodicity (n): An attribute of stochastic systems; generally, a system that tends in probability to a limiting form that is independent of the initial conditions.

We in this modern era like to think we know a thing or two about money. The most basic of us understand money as a means of exchange where as the financial and academic elites further understand the role of money as a catalytic force in the economy with the power to create and destroy goods so long so as the preferred form of currency has the full faith and confidence of it's exchangers. However, we are are noticing some fundamental problems with our modern form of debt-based money. Debt-based money has long been a source of scorn from economists ranging from the Ludwig Von Mises Academics to the Libertarian Movement within the U.S. From their perspective, introduction of interest attached to money implies that economic growth must be commensurate with the growth in the money supply. Note that since all money comes with interest that must be repaid, the future supply of money must necessarily be larger than the current supply reflecting the necessary growth in the economy.

The Modern Keynesian crowd believes that the increase in the money supply can perturb the economy and awaken it from its sleep as the consumer becomes stimulated again and again by more money to spend. This act in turn (they believe) triggers an increase in the money velocity (the rate at which money gets spent on average) which then triggers more economic growth as businesses began to produce excess goods for consumption based on the implicit optimism displayed by the consumer's current spending - a sort of mass feedback illusion if you will. This will also necessarily force people to work harder and longer to increase their economic output so they can earn future money plus interest to pay for the goods they already spent. They are now the busy bees whose existence is tied exclusively to the illusion of growth under such a system - work harder, spend more, get more. In their minds, recessions only occur when one nefarious group or malevolent force in the Universe interferes with this infinite growth lending cycle - a credit contraction for instance. However the cycle itself, from their point of view, is sacrosanct.

The Libertarian /Von Mises thinks this recursive nature of interest based debt generating even more interest based debt causes the economy to go into overdrive followed by sudden recessions that harm the economy overall. Society is further traumatized by the unpredictable boom-bust economies that prevent them from knowing when to grow their business vs. when to contract which result in hoarding patterns and malinvestment. They furthermore see that money itself is largely illusory and subject to the change of the whims of the people and the governments that represent them. Therefore, one should fix the money supply  without interest. This is most often argued to be a gold-backed or precious metals backed economy with a fixed supply of money (i.e. allocated gold).

The modern Greenback Movement (aka Bill Still) takes the Von Mises Crowd as yet another illusion and insists that in addition to having sound money, the governments must never borrow from anyone but themselves. Then the government can decide for itself if more lending is needed or if debts should be forgiven or not based on the money supply. Furthermore a taxed population should never have to pay taxes to private individuals/corporations/groups who loan the money into existence to begin with - certainly not with interest attached to that money. Indeed the Government should be the sole creator of money and private companies should compete for that money in an open market where they bid on projects that reflect the needs of the people as deemed by a representative democracy.

Even this however does not go quite far enough into the true nature of money and how it should be managed. These additional properties required of true money are even more elaborate than this for it to be capable of sustainable economic growth. They are:

1. That it be perceived as a means of exchange or "currency" that reflects, to some degree or another, a valid point of reference on a supply/demand state space of any fully enumerated market basket item of goods in an individual's mind. Such a basket of goods contains all conceptual items of value in the mind of the consumer/producer along with their corresponding price per unit or portion of ownership of that item per unit of currency.
2. That the money be relatively liquid meaning "transportable". This means that the money need both be divisible and easily converted and "swapped" for the item of interest - however the latter comment implies a necessary infrastructure accompany it. Modern money relies somewhat on the infrastructure of the economy to deliver goods in a reasonable time frame of the transaction itself. Without this liquidity orders will freeze as it fails to deliver the goods in time for their usefulness to have any positive impact on the economy without a serious delay in productivity. In this scenario consumers will also retract their non-local orders to include only basic necessities that they can predictably and reasonably wait for at a moderate price and are within a reasonable physical distance from them. Therefore true liquidity requires infrastructural investment to ensure certainty of delivery for non local goods. Certainly if a global economy is to continue to grow or even sustain itself this infrastructural arrangement must be constantly operating and present.
3. That the money be capable of changes in its own velocity as required by the economic needs of its users. In other words there should be no practical limitations to the change in the velocity of money - it should be able to ramp up or down according to the needs of the economy. People should not be impeded by force from spending due to interest rates which slow money velocity down unless the money velocity has exceeded certain agreed upon thresholds and raw goods are disappearing faster than they can be replaced. Only movements in reality-based supply-demand state space should be responsible for controlling the money velocity. Therefore the government should be objectively, openly and using good science, involved in the dissemination of economic indicators such as current, best guess supply demand relationships and negative utility information (i.e. potential product harm to the public well being) so the public can decide how best to spend their hard earned money and producers understand what prices are needed to support that demand.
4. That the flow of money be steady-state, non-ergodic, aperiodic and with no net accumulation in any direction (i.e. should not be representable as a directed acyclic graph or DAG). Stated in layman's terms this means that the money ideally should never have a net flow in any one direction either from the lenders (i.e. governments and banks) or the consumers (private lending and payroll). Ideally, accumulation need only reflect the degree to which future purchases of a market basket of goods can be budgeted into the current system, not for personal or collective hoarding, force, fraud or coercion by any party. When the flow of money becomes ergodic (i.e. independent of initial conditions, it always tends to the same form/state where by it is accumulated by smaller and smaller groups), it necessarily loses its ability to budget itself and becomes disconnected from reality as no one is able to accurately price anything since it is unclear exactly how much money there is and how much of it is being accumulated vs. spent. Of course there will be an initial directed flow once the money is lent into existence but this should be followed immediately by random percolation of the money throughout the economy with the corresponding growth and construction of actual goods.
5. That the velocity of said money stipulates the limitation of growth and is the truest reflection of the aggregate psychological state of consumers as opposed to the sheer volume of money. If the veloctiy and exchangeability of money is of no limitation, the economy can grow as fast as our minds, machines and physical bodies can build it, eventually almost as fast as we can imagine it. Granted, for sustainability purposes we may never want such an economy on steroids but my intention here is only to show how an ideal form of money would be useful under the most demanding circumstances.

When you add up all of the above, you come to one startling conclusion...

Everything we have been taught about money is a Lie!

Once we have identified the ideal properties of money working in an ideal system it is necessary and logical to immediately conclude that everything our modern banking system does is an assault on sustainable, organic, logical economic growth. It is the sole intention of the central banks to ensure that the economy does not have these properties. For instance the Federal Reserve lending to the US Government with interest rates that they dictate based on their projection of how large the economy "should be" are entirely unnecessary and unwarranted. In fact what the Federal Reserve and central banks do are antithetical to sustainable, organic growth and if anything are ultimately regressive forces in the economy. They ensure that money does not percolate randomly by it's consumer defined efficiencies and that it accumulates almost instantly in the account of a large bank, investment firm or wealthy patron before it even enters into the "free market".

Because these large pools of money sit on the side line, they then become permanent accumulators that can effectively distort, in any direction, the cash value of a given item in the market basket of the consumer's mind - artificially suppressing prices in some areas and inflating them in others. The less the consumer is involved in this process the better for the government and corporations who attempt to subsidize that which they deem must be cheap and penalize that which they deem must be expensive. This is done also through Bernaisian manipulation of the masses so that they too feel the need to consume certain items while eschewing others as well as Keynesian manipulation of the currency. This means that what ideally could be built now will likely be postponed indefinitely or at least until the system crashes. I dont believe the central banks will be successful in this endeavor forever however for the following reason: The natural state of any money system - i.e. a system that it is in its lowest energetic state (i.e. requires the least amount of external "force" to self-perpetuate) must be the system I just described for reasons that are purely mathematical and thus irrefutable - the economy can not grow indefinitely and the forces required by the centralized bankers to keep the current system in its current form are themselves unsustainable and futile. Manipulating the money supply and consumer sentiments alone to drive the economy has practical limitations and requires powerful forces constantly overseeing it. In the end though these forces become completely exhausted in a hyperbolic effort to micromanage every aspect of the economy and thus ensure it will crash totally and be replaced by the more natural system I have described with or without economic intervention - the only real question is how long they can sustain their efforts. Let me state my hypothesis openly and succinctly again for you to examine:

The velocity of money determines the growth cycle not the money supply. More precisely it is the change in the velocity of money that determines the growth cycle of the real economy - increasing velocity is a sign of economic expansion where as decreasing velocity is a sign of retraction. Furthermore, the velocity of money can be determined entirely by the consumer based on their real needs and desire to spend either globally (if the infrastructure allows it) or locally (if constrained). What is needed is money and infrastructural investments to ensure that the money velocity is adequate for the rate of exchange required to ensure sustainability (or if desired growth). In other cases where the infrastructure is inadequate we must let the price discovery mechanism itself be the sole determination of market utility.

Now that we have re-asserted cause and effect properly (increased consumer confidence and enabling economic infrastructure causes money velocity to increase) we can introduce true economic planning that recognizes this property and utilizes it to it maximum effectiveness. In short we must recognize that the natural state of the economy without the use of force is best described as "Productive Anarchy" where the irregular movement of money triggers the production of new businesses and novel products as well as infrastructure. It is not a giant cluster-fuck incapable of directing itself and in need of a parasitic banking system as we have been taught. The natural state requires little intervention of any kind to perpetuate itself and grow sustain-ably in the physical world. What is most unnatural to these naturally smooth (i.e. non-volatile) economic growth and retraction cycles, is the use of interventionism that attempt to grow the money supply and thus the money velocity to match whatever absurd targets of growth (positive or negative) our masters have planned for us. Let it be known that the money supply in this more natural system I speak of may increase at times and decrease at others with positive and negative interest rates cancelling each other out over time. This allows for the money supply to be essentially held constant or at least somewhat proportional to population growth.

If indeed we are going to have any kind of centralized economic planning it should be for enabling money velocity with flows of money that are overall ergodic (i.e. without a net increasing accumulation by any individual, institution or group therof) and aperiodic (i.e. not predictably cyclic). Banks should not be determining what the rate of growth should be based on population, demand, resources, greed, etc, but allow the system itself to choose and let the prices accurately reflect the true utility of those choices by enabling the money and corresponding supply of goods to respond quickest to any shifts in the demand-supply curve and by making negative utilization known to the public using good science (i.e. toxicity of a product to the environment) but without use of excessive force. Instead of increasing the money supply to encourage spending and thus triggering the growth of "accumulators" in the economy, the planners should only be involved in attempting to ease any restrictions or limitations in the velocity of money and the transport of goods - the latter through infrastructural investments lent out at negative interest.

For instance if the accumulators become too large and reduce the money velocity to effectively zero as money becomes hoarded, then and only then should the government begin lending and at negative interest to parties most likely to increase money velocity again - yes this does include the concept of "free money" but guess what? We are already there as the central banks are currently discussing such policies - the only issue being who they are lending to. The greater the accumulation of cash by institutions and individuals, the more negative the interest to those who want to continue to expand their businesses in the now depressed economy. In this scenario the accumulators are encouraged to begin spending down their own "money supply" by the negative interest as their money will be worth less and chase fewer goods in the future vs. spending it now. Likewise when the economy and money velocity is too high for productivity to keep pace, positive interest rates can be re-introduced so that savings are encouraged and savers begin to accumulate money again instead. In fact a mathematical formula relating the money velocity to the interest rates with the central or mean rate hovering around zero should be formulated, discussed and improved every year by cutting-edge economists trained in a variety of disciplines. In this way, the rate of inflation is kept relatively constant. Likewise, all forms non-essential derivatives or futures contracts would be banned - in other words the only legal derivatives would be for agricultural, mining and mineral goods. Derivatives trading based on stocks and bonds should be illegal as would naked short selling as these encourage money accumulation and price distortion. Hoarding money itself would not be illegal but when the money velocity is low, it will simply not be in the owner's best interest to continue to hoard vs. converting them to goods now before the money is worth less. Likewise when money velocity is so high that it becomes unsustainable, accumulation would be rewarded for a period of time in the form of higher interest rates until the system can catch up again to a steady-state equilibrium.

Such a system ensures that the velocity of money would be the primary measure of economic health which would ensure sustainable growth based on valid economic feedback for the forseeable future.

Light and Dark

I've taken yet another break from this blog. Writing about these deep topics can be both fruitful and tiresome and I feel long breaks are often needed to avoid redundant meandering posts. My recent film reviews have constituted some of the longest stretches of writing I have done in a while - something I don't do enough of. One topic that keeps coming up lately is the complexity of light and dark forces in the universe and in particular in the world we live in now with the constant fading in and out between them. We in modern western civilization don't really understand these forces and actively seek to keep the population ignorant of them.

Do you notice how obsessed Americans are with "positive thinking/feeling"? Its embedded into our culture to such a degree that we ostracize those who tell us things that contradict our positive thoughts, feelings and views of the world. We constantly tell ourselves that if we just keep a positive outlook on things our outlook will manifest itself in reality and reality itself will in turn reflect our inner state. Unfortunately this often puts the cart before the horse as we confuse cause and effect. Positive thinking is a reflection of the shadow of our deeper self and its complex emotions as well as the karma we create from our long term actions and planning. When we "Do Positive" we tend to "Think Positive" but even that's really only scratching the surface.

When we dig even deeper we come to the idea of light and dark forces in the Universe. Through our modern westernized propaganda (i.e. media, education, culture, etc.) we have lost our connection to the meaning of these primal forces and their balance. Think of the Yin and Yang symbol above - its part light and part dark. But you also notice something else - the light and the dark have a shadow or a reflection of the other within it.

What does this mean? One interpretation of this is that the light and the dark are intertwined and thus there is darkness within light and lightness within dark. Stated more meaningfully there is a "false light" which is actually dark and equally a "false dark" which is actually light. Think about this for a moment - "black comedy", "white lie", "dark humor". When we truly examine the darkness we sometimes find it is liberating because we find slivers of light in the most oppressive of all places where (we tell ourselves) it should not exist! Much like finding life at the bottom of the ocean - this discovery allows us to experience the true meaning of light and dark forces and why they exist - to bring contrast to each other. Likewise we must also consider what the "darkness within light" means. This can be the case where we put someone or something on a pedestal where it does not belong and bathe it in light that is only coming from us. In this process we blind ourselves sometimes to their true nature which may be partially or even completely dark.

Therefore we need to be wary in these times of the "false light" - the light that feeds disconnected and apathetic thoughts/feeling that brings us to the worst of our desires and intentions and tells us its all ok because we just get what we deserve anyways. The light that tells you someone is "perfect" when really you should know better. The light that tells you a thought/opinion/belief is infallible and therefore need not be tested. All these are forms of delusions. I believe we are coming to the end of an era where such delusions will soon (if not already) be revealed for what they are and come boiling to the surface showing us all our ugly warts for ourselves and others to see in plain view. Then, after we freak out because we had not prepared for that moment, after the guilt/shame/suffering subsides in all its many forms, we will learn to appreciate them again - but this time as flaws, not as perfection.

Lastly let me finish by saying that death itself is something our culture has been avoiding talking about for some time. I believe many in this culture think death is something akin to turning a computer off - after all they see themselves as nothing more than a machine anyways so why not just get what you can and "just be happy" while you are alive no? Little contemplation has been given to whether they will still feel this way even up until their moment of death or that the experience of death itself may not in fact be unconscious at all! Think about that for a moment! Your entire life you believe there will be nothing and then when it happens you realize there is indeed something after death after all - but now you have no idea where you are going. You are lost. Its best to start thinking about these things now while you still have time. I believe it is better to prepare for one's death emotionally and physically through meditation/prayer/contemplation/forgiveness as it will come quicker than you think and all those unexamined dark forces will come flooding back, this time unwilling to cede to your conscious mind's feeble attempts to block them out. What will you do then?

The Dark Knight Rises: Pain, Death and Rebirth

(WARNING: MOVIE SPOILERS BELOW - WATCH FIRST THEN READ)

It is now the summer of 2012 and the third installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy has been released: The Dark Knight Rises. This film picks up eight years after the Joker's reign has ended in "The Dark Knight" (2008) with Bruce Wayne wasting away in his mansion from depression and physical body ailments brought on from the punishing requirements of his alter-ego Batman. After a brief introduction in the opening scene to Bane, the primary villain (who kidnaps a CIA informant), we are shown a tribute party hosted at the Wayne Mansion to Harvey Dent, the fallen hero from the previous film whose anti-racketeering, anti-mafia "Dent Law" has helped to put away hundreds of the Gotham's worst felons for maximum sentences. Police commissioner Gordon begins to deliver a speech, seemingly about the true nature surrounding the events of Harvey Dent's death, only to interrupt himself and give his usual "Dent was a Hero" speech instead. Later on, with Bruce held up in his master suite bedroom we are given our first glimpse of "The Catwoman" played by Anne Hathaway who, posing as a maid to serve Bruce his dinner, masterfully robs Bruce of his mother's pearl necklace and escapes quickly out the window just after revealing that she is not in fact a maid after-all. The chemistry between them is immediately palpable...

Later on we discover that The Catwoman has essentially "kidnapped" a congressman that she met at the party at Wayne Mansion however this is no ordinary kidnapping - it appears the congressman is in love with her and has some form of Stockholm Syndrome. Catwoman drags the Congressman (now dressed as a whacked out Hawaiian Tourist) into a bar with her where she uses him as a collateral to make a trade with a suit-and-tie criminal whose affiliations are not yet known - Bruce Wayne's Fingerprints for a "clean slate" on her crime record and identity. When the deal goes sour and she is not afforded her end of the bargain, she recognizes the deception and tricks the crony into making a phone call with said Congressman's phone which immediately alerts the police. When the Police arrive a shootout begins with the Cronie's henchmen and Gotham's SWAT team exchanging rounds. Eventually Gordon arrives on the scene and gives chase of the armed rogues into the sewer system underneath the city at which point he is assaulted and brought into the underground city for Bane- whom is now apparently assembling an underground army underneath Gotham but whose motives are not yet fully known. Bane is not amused with what his thugs have done - bringing the Police Chief into their secret layer. The Police Chief then awakens again and jumps back into the sewer and is shot. Bane quickly kills one of the thugs for his sloppiness and shoots the other one as he tells him to go after Gordon and bring back the body. Bane has no patience for such errors and his cold-blooded, mission-at-all-costs mentality is apparent. His brute physical stature is also apparent. Eventually Gordon is rescued by detective (Robin) Blake who hears of Gordon's stories about an underground city of army rogues and hidden weapons - of course he sounds delusional so no one really believes him.

Meanwhile Bruce Wayne is debating a return to his caped crusader persona. After meeting with a doctor who tells him all the cartilage in his knees are gone he abruptly meets with the Congressman (now wounded) who tells him batman must return - later on we see Dr. Wayne with a strength-enhancing mechanical knee-brace - he apparently is ready now to return to his role as Batman in spite of his aged physique and slower reaction times. Soon afterwards he will get his chance to return, as apparently the Gotham Stock Exchange is raided by Bane's armed thugs who are performing some kind of financial terrorism using Bruce Wayne's Identity (presumably stolen from his fingerprints). Bane and his men escape into the streets of Gotham with hostages taken from the Stock Exchange which alerts batman who quickly arrives on the scene using his Bat-Cycle. He successfully manages to crash several of the bikes by targeting their electro-mechanical control systems using a hand-held Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) weapon. Note that this is the first time we see such a weapon even discussed in a popular movie (supposedly such highly concentrated hand-held EMP devices exist only in "rumor"). Later on the new Police Commissioner Foley decides to target the Batman instead of the rogue motorcyclists. After-all, Batman was the man accused by (now former) Commissioner Gordon of killing Harvey Dent and several other police (i.e. the cover-up from the previous film). The chase proves unsuccessful of course as Batman simply escapes with his latest techno-toy the "Bat-Copter" (a new item Lucius introduces him to at Wayne Enterprises).

(For more on EMP weapon technology see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT5EJYY_6HQ&feature=player_embedded#!)

Soon after the Stock Market hit, we learn of the true purpose of it which was to sink the market and Wayne Enterprises which destroyed the value of the options Bruce had in the company and "forces" him to sell his shares to Bane's insiders within Wayne Enterprises (we learn of this connection later). Though fraudulently induced, this results in a complete devaluation of Bruce Wayne's assets and he immediately loses his position as a managing Director and Shareholder. Additionally during this time period we are also introduced to Miranda Tate whose Clean Energy Technology had been invested in by a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises overseen by Bruce. Miranda is do-gooder and green technologist whose goals are to bring clean, renewable energy to the world. Bruce suggests that Miranda, now a managing shareholder, be shown a clean energy device that Bruce had been secretly funding under her division (i.e. under her nose) all along. This device which generates enough clean renewable energy to power the entire city of Gotham however is a cold fusion reactor that apparently can also be re-configured into a nuclear weapon (technically a neutron bomb). Later we learn of its connection with a certain Dr. Pavel whom Bane had kidnapped from CIA Black-Op Group earlier in the film. Dr. Pavel is the only person who can activate and disarm the core reactor. Bruce further suggests that Miranda mothball the project until "the time is right" (i.e. not now) as it can be used for obvious nefarious purposes. Miranda begrudgingly agrees though she is upset it will not be used to help the people of Gotham. Later on as Bruce's mansion is being prepped to be liquidated, they break into it and Bruce suggests that Miranda buy his place and look after it in the Wayne Family tradition. Later of course they have a romantic interlude. A quick screen shot of her upper back however reveals an unusual symbol that will become known later in the film.

Bruce soon discovers the true nature of the hit on the Stock Market and the connection to the masked criminal Bane. Alfred the Butler warns Bruce against pursuing Bane and his gang underground after it is revealed that Bane was once a member of the League of Shadows (see installment 1) and one of Roz Al Ghul's apprentices before being disbanded. Alfred suggests wisely that Bruce reconsider his pursuit because after all "Any man too extreme for Roz Al Ghul is not a man to be trifled with". Alfred further suggests that its time Bruce consider settling down with a partner which Bruce resents as he brings up the tragic death of his beloved Rachel. Bruce ignores Alfreds warning and suggestions - Then Alfred suddenly reveals that Rachel's final letter to Bruce, claiming she loved Harvey Dent only, was burned by Alfred to protect Bruce's feelings. Bruce is infuriated and tells Alfred (now in tears) to pack his bag. Alfred says he fears that Master Wayne wishes to die. Later on we see Bruce back in his cape and suit working with the "Catwoman", striking a deal with her to be take to Bane's hideout underground which she warns is a dangerous undertaking - he insists anyways. Upon arrival into Bane's layer she betrays him as the gates close behind him and he is trapped with Bane.

This first introduction between the hero and anti-hero is heavy and laden with references to the League and its primary motives. Batman appears noticably slower and sluggish than in previous films as they begin hand to hand combat inside the underground layer surrounded by armed gaurds. Bane is physically impeccable with brute strength that Batman can not match. His powerful strikes catch Bruce off guard who then resorts to his familiar Batman tricks of hallucinogenic powders and shutting off the lights - all to no avail. Bane says...

"Theatricality and deception are powerful agents to the uninitiated... but we are initiated, aren't we Bruce? Members of the League of Shadows!....And you betrayed us!"

When Batman shuts off the lights Bane reveals that he was born in the darkness where as Batman only adopted it. He then proceeds to capture Batman and bludgeon him to a pulp, removing a piece of his mask and making his final statement using his powerful, apparatus-enhanced voice....

"I was wondering which would break first - Your mind...or your body!"

Bane then proceeds to lift Batman over his head and breaks his back over his knee. At this point the ceiling of the layer is blown up and it is revealed that their location is directly under the secret military ops lab of Wayne Enterprises - Bane thanks Batman for giving him the gift of all his weaponry for use in the "People's Army" to be used in a popular uprising prior to the destruction of the city. This is where the films takes a turn into the surreal....

Not long after Bruce Wayne awakens inside some sort of prison - apparently the prison Bane was born in. This prison is something of a fairy tale - located in the depths of war-torn Africa it lies at the bottom of a giant hole in the ground which has perhaps just enough climbable features to escape - if you are willing to flirt with death. A particular leaping lunge is required to completely escape near the top and failure apparently results in certain death or a broken back from the taught rope one ties around their waist (but that ends partway up). Bane is there initially with Batman who tells him that he must watch the destruction of Gotham on his TV before he is "allowed" to die. He then leaves him to his fellow prisoners whom watch over Bruce with curiosity - they are the keepers of the prison now whom Bane has entrusted.

Back in Gotham, an investigation by Detective Blake (who now knows Batman's true identity) reveals that the entire city is rigged using explosives that Bane and his men have been working on underneath the city - all paid for by Wayne Enterprises through construction contracts from fellow board-members whom it is revealed were working with Bane all along. Bane then murders an inside shareholder from Wayne Enterprises and nominates himself in his place after which he crashes a board-room meeting. He then forces the boardroom members to give him access to the clean energy device Dr. Tate had been entrusted with and forces her to activate it for him when Lucius refuses. Bane then instructs them to remove the core which Dr. Pavel indicates will result in a nuclear meltdown (all part of Bane's plan). Not long after a series of explosions rock the entire city - blowing up all but one bridge and several major points of control around the city. Bane has now taken the city captive beginning by blowing up these various key locations around the city including the local football stadium which he himself attends. Bane then introduces himself to the crowd along with Dr. Pavel and the dislodged core from the free energy device. He explains to the crowd that the city has been captured and is now under lockdown by his men and that if anyone tries to escape an unknown denizen of the city, who has the detonator, will blow up all of Gotham. He then murders Dr. Pavel in front of the crowd after explaining to them that he is the only person who knows how to disarm the device. The city is then to await further instructions from him. During the explosions Gotham Police were given a false lead to chase Bane's men into the underground city - of course now that his men are on the loose the police unfortunately are trapped underneath from the explosions as the city goes into panic. The military sends in a special ops force but it is immediately shut down and the men are executed and hung from a bridge to be seen on TV (and by Bruce in prison).

Meanwhile, in the African Death Prison, Bruce is forced to watch the events unfold on tv while writhing in agony. He tells the prison caretaker that he must try to escape by climbing up the death-wall to which the caretaker responds only one person has successfully completed - the child of Roz Al Ghul (i.e. the child of a mercenary). Bruce reasons that this child is Bane, born in darkness and hell who escaped of his own free will and determination. The caretaker however tells Bruce that he has a bulging disk in his back and that he must fix it before he can attempt to climb out - he then strikes a forceful blow to Bruce's back to reset the disc. Bruce is in agonizing pain, screaming and writhing. He then instructs him to hang his body vertically from a rope until he can walk at which point he will attempt to climb the wall. Several failed attempts ensue as Bruce falls from up high on the wall, re-injuring his back as the taught rope nearly snaps it again. At some point during this part of the film Bruce is visited by the ghostly apparition of Roz Al Ghul who tells him that in spite of all his herocism Gotham still could not be saved. This motivates Bruce to give one final attempt at the wall - this time without the rope which means a fall would be fatal. The caretaker gets him to realize that his fear of dying in prison is greater than his fear of dying from a failed attempt and so he faces his fear and of course succeeds in escaping in the same way he had imagined Bane escaped when he was a child.

Back in Gotham again, Bane takes over the city prison and reveals on television the truth about Harvey Dent - that he was the killer all along and not Batman and that Commissioner Gordon had hidden this fact. He then releases the prisoners, many of them imprisoned beyond their statutory limits due to the "Dent Act", into the streets of Gotham. He then declares Gotham a city of the people, suggesting that people be allowed to do as they please. Of course though this is a ploy as the nuclear device will be set to go off anyways. Commissioner Gordon and Detective Blake decide they must act to save the city. A "People's Court" (not like the kind you saw on tv as a kid) begins executing former members of city council and the police force every day. When Gordon was caught with the Secret Service he was placed into the People's Court and sentenced to Death/Exile - essentially the same thing - walking out onto the frozen ice across the river only to fall in and drown/freeze. As the commissioner is being forced out Blake attempts to free the police from underground. The first freed officer is shot but then of course Batman Returns to take his city. He then frees Gordon and the remaining police force underground. Later Batman meets with the Catwoman (no apologies necessary) and tries to convince her to join him, enticing her with a clean slate of her past crime record as a reward for her help to which she seems to agree.

The following day there is a showdown at City Hall, now being guarded by Bane and his People's Army. The Police and Bane's men have a final shoot-out/brawl after the Batcopter disables Bane's armored vehicles using a directed Electro Magnetic Pulse Weapon. Batman then joins the crowd on the street and battles directly with Bane - more brutal street brawling ensues between them but this time Batman gets the upper hand and delivers a crushing blow to Bane's Mask with his wrist blades which weakens Bane. As Batman gains the upper hand, Bane then suggests that the person with the detonation device is still at large - at which point Dr. Miranda Tate emerges and stabs Batman in the side revealing that she was the one who escaped from prison (not Bane) and now holds the detonator - the child of Roz Al Ghul. As it turns out, Bane was her beloved protector who saved her from the other prisoners when she was a child - they attacked him later for it resulting in his condition and mask. Roz Al Ghul's wife had been banished to the prison there because she was the wife of a powerful military warlord (for whom Al Ghul had worked as a mercenary) and she had died in prison which he hadn't known at first. Once the child Miranda had escaped, Al Ghul returned to grab Bane, who now had a breathing apparatus installed (to keep his pain at bay), after a vicious attack from the other prisoners. They were then trained in the League of Shadows together until Al Ghul banished Bane simply because he could not stand the sight of him (reminding him of the prison hell his wife and daughter were kept in). She had not forgiven her father until Bruce killed him and she returned to finish her father's work to destroy Gotham as it was "unsavable" (see installment 1).

As this story is told we see that Bane is capable of emotion after all, and tears begin to flow from his eyes. When Bruce asks her why she betrayed him she essentially responds that building him up only to tear him down made it all the more worthwhile - it is the warm knife that cuts deepest. She then fixes Bane's mask and tries to detonate the bomb - it failed. Commish Gordon managed to keep the device intact by getting the core back with the rest of the device after tracking garbage trucks where the core was being transported throughout the city. None the less the device had only 20 or so minutes left to be deactivated before the core would melt down of its own physics, so she flees the scene. Bane then is about to kill Batman but moments later Catwoman arrives with the Bat Cycle and kills Bane with a single shot from its side mounted blasters. They then race to find the reactor and realize there isn't enough time to deactivate it - Batman's final act is to fly the reactor into the ocean (with less than 2 minutes remaining no less) and drop it far enough away from the city to save it.

In the end we see a final scene after Bruce Wayne's funeral that indicate the detective Blake (whom we find out has a real name "Robin") will follow in Batman's footsteps when he discovers his secret layer. We also see that Bruce has in fact survived after all and has fled the country with his new romantic interest Catwoman as his new companion....

This film was very moving and one of the few times a final installment to a trilogy was as good (or better) than its previous ones. Apart from the pulsing soundtrack, darker tones and human tragedy that glued me to my chair, I would say that it seems to be a "film for the ages" touching upon so many aspects of our modern world that are just beginning to emerge from clean energy, to big brother, to financial terrorism, to EMP devices and shadowy groups as well as populist uprisings. Regarding the clean energy device, I must admit there I was somewhat disappointed in the Director to see that said device, a supposedly "clean and renewable" energy source, was intrinsically connected in the director's mind to a potentially destructive nuclear weapon. To me personally, that does not make it "clean energy". Regardless though, do not be surprised if we begin to hear of such devices in the media and alternative news/journal space. In fact a quick Google Search can take you to the web page of the builders and wholesale retailers of such devices and you can decide for yourselves if you believe it. If you believe as I do, this film is prepping the audience for these memes to emerge in our daily lives.

Whether or not this last installment is the final Trilogy (I suspect it is not based on the final scenes), it is certainly the logical ending to the story of "The League of Shadows" and Bruce Wayne. This final story, which started with "Batman Begins", is essentially one of Pain, Death and Rebirth. Note that with each of Nolan's trilogy episodes a particular theme is chosen which I believe I have captured in the titles of my blog entries for each. Batman's feeble initial attempts to re-emerge are crushed by Bane and it is during his prison stay that he must essentially die and be re-born. Pain is an integral part of the Death-Rebirth Process and it is no coincidence in my opinion that this theme is playing out so strongly in the film as well as in real life - are we not in the final throws of a Pain-Death-Rebirth cycle now? Is the US Economy not sufficiently wounded that people can not see its inevitable demise hopefully to be reborn and replaced by something much stronger, more connected and sustainable? And if so, would it not be the pain we are suffering now that will provide the impetus needed to rebuild our economic system from the ground up? For those of you who have been following this blog you will likely notice several themes, one of which is that a palpable underlying darkness is enveloping our society and world, and that we must find the courage within ourselves to face it. Perhaps that is the true role of films such as "The Dark Knight" and "The Dark Knight Rises" - to remind us of our potential during periods of great darkness and sadness. It is perhaps the primary role of the director to guide our unconscious minds towards that end, whether he is even aware of it or not. For if it is true that many of us are in fact "asleep" at this moment then a film encoded in the form of a horrific dream-scape may be the very thing needed to help us wake up.

I would also like to point out something with regards to the relationship between Bruce Wayne and The Catwoman played by Anne Hathaway. In the beginning of the film, in spite of the obvious chemistry between them, it would appear that these two are worlds apart. The Cat-Woman is part of the populist movement and has nothing but contempt for the elite world that Bruce comes from. I know many people like this and the anger is understandable - I admittedly at times am one of them. Her initial distaste for Bruce and his class is eventually overcome by her admiration and fondness for him and then it occurred to me that perhaps the director was hinting at something. For those of you who have been following this movie and its critics there seems to be some resentment from the Occupy Movement that this film has an anti-populist agenda (see link below). I don't entirely buy into this for the following reason: The populist movement in "The Dark Knight Rises" was, if you follow the story line closely, not a populist movement at all - it was in fact a faux-populist movement initiated by the League of Shadows - i.e. "the elites". So it may well be that the movie is in fact a warning of sorts for those who wish to manipulate populist movements and those who follow them - that they too are fallible. The relationship between Bruce and The Catwoman may in fact be the final destination of our society - the marriage of the elite to the underclass. Marriage is what was traditionally done within warring tribes of the past to preserve peace and I wonder if something of the sort isn't needed now with all the underlying resentment and anger that is building up surrounding the unconscionable gaps between the elite and the underclasses emerging in modern America. No, I am not suggesting that we are all going to hold hands and sing Khumbaya, but it is possible that both the elite and the underclass will realize their common humanity and the destruction of one group by the other ensures the destruction of all. Even if the elite wish to rid themselves of the 99% inevitably a new 99% will emerge and the process will repeat until we wipe ourselves out completely. Humanity without a free, healthy and active 99% is nothing but a miserable tragedy and without the elite we may well slip back into chaos and in-fighting again for, however much we may resent them for it, they understand our technology, economy and mass psychology far better than we do - it may in fact be advantageous to learn from them and encourage them to open up their "secret knowledge" to the public for humanity's benefit (as well as their own) to help us transition into the new era. A "marriage" of sorts, if you will....

http://www.salon.com/2012/07/18/batman_hates_the_99_percent/

The Dark Knight: Order and Chaos

The Dark Knight was released in 2008 as the follow-up to Nolan's "Batman Begins" in 2005. The Dark Knight is a character play primarily between Batman and The Joker. It delves deep into the Jungian Concept of Enantiodromia, the idea that the superabundance of a single force gives rise to its opposite - in this case Order and Chaos, Batman and the Joker. Most Americans are not familiar with such concepts and so the movie helped to introduce this dichotomy into the cultural vernacular coincidentally (or not?) right at a time when the stock market was on the verge of collapse immediately after the Dow Jones had peaked at its all time high, capping off the largest and most egregious credit expansion in history with its corresponding peak "boom" followed by immediate bust in the US and world economies. The film's premiere was also quickly followed by a sudden tragedy - the apparent suicide of the gifted actor Heath Ledger who played the Joker - the first, but unfortunately not the last, incident where the darkness of the film trilogy seemed to spill over into the real world (an unintended consequence). This film was exceptionally dark and yet highly cathartic. I myself was rather moved for days after viewing it - it seemed to have an effect on everyone.

The film opens with the scene of the Joker and some of his hired thugs robbing a bank. We are immediately given a taste of the Joker's potential to manipulate and deceive others, even in his own "circle", to do his bidding with absolutely no remorse and seemingly no thought given to any future consequences. During the opening robbery scene the Joker tricks each person involved in the robbery into shooting one of their accomplishes for purely personal gain until inevitably it is the Joker himself who makes the final hit keeping the profits for himself. While preparing to leave the scene of the crime on a school bus the bank manager tells him "You think you're smart huh? You're the guy that hired the goons. They'll just do the same to you. The criminals in this town used to believe in things - honor! respect! Look at you! What do you believe in huh?". The Joker then responds eloquently "I believe that which does not kill you makes you....stranger".

Later on in the film we are introduced to Harvey Dent, the young, energetic and deeply committed district attorney who is attempting to fight corruption in Gotham. Batman and Lieutenant Jim Gordon decide to include the sincere, new district attorney, who is dating Rachel Dawes, in their plan to tackle the mob and Bruce offers him a fundraiser. The new threat is not well received by mob bosses Sal Maroni, Gambol, and The Chechen who immediately convene a meeting to discuss how to deal with the matter as well as the increasing threat from Batman himself. During the meeting the mob cartels are are informed by Lau, a Chinese accountant, that he has hidden their funds and fled to Hong Kong to escape the new pressure. The meeting is then abruptly interrupted by the Joker who says

"Look, listen. I know why you choose to have your little group therapy sessions here in broad daylight. I know why you're afraid to go out at night; the Batman. You see, Batman has shown Gotham your true colors, unfortunately. Dent, he's just the beginning. And, and as for the television's so-called plan? Batman has no jurisdiction. He'll find him, and make him squeal. I know the squealers when I see them and...(points at Lau)"

They laughingly refuse when Joker offers to kill Batman for half the money and Gambol puts a bounty on him. Not long after, the Joker kills Gambol and takes control of his men. Later on Batman successfully kidnaps Lau from his office hideout in Hong Kong and brings him back to the US and hands him over to Gordon who holds him on charges of money laundering but only so he can question Lau to get more information on the mob. During this phase of the film we also get a heavy dose of Harvey Dent, Rachel's new soon-to-be husband who relentlessly pursues the mob even to the point that his own life is endangered. Rachel, Gordon and Bruce Wayne all fear for his life and worry that he will be targeted for having such a high profile as a district attorney and making so many public statements and appearances.

The Joker then issues an ultimatum that people will die each day unless Batman reveals his identity. Bruce briefly contemplates the possibility of revealing his identity but ultimately opts against it. When his demands are not met the Joker then orders a spree of hits against a high profile judge overseeing the mob trials and commissioner of the police (Loeb) which he executes perfectly to a t. The Joker then targets Dent at a fundraiser hosted by Wayne Enterprises but Bruce hides him, while Rachel is looked after by Alfred. This results in a final, all-out assault by the Joker where he attempts to assassinate the Mayor but (seemingly) kills Gordon instead. As a result Bruce plans to reveal his identity, but Dent instead names himself as Batman to protect the truth ("protecting" the truth is a common theme throughout the series).

At this point Dent is taken into protective custody and pursued by the Joker across the city as Batman rushes to aid. Gordon, who faked his death, helps apprehend the Joker and is promoted to Commissioner. However, Dent and Rachel are suddenly kidnapped. Batman begins interrogating the Joker. The exchange between them is visceral and memorable. The Joker tells Batman that he has no intention of killing him because "Why would I want to kill you? You complete me...".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohU16OiduUs

Batman interrogates the Joker further to get the location of Rachel and Dent but is told he has to chose which one to save - he chooses Rachel however later he discovers that the Joker has intentionally reversed their locations so he is forced into saving Dent instead. Dent is given one last conversation with Rachel courtesy of  a speaker system arranged by the Joker that allows them to communicate with each other and he convinces her that everything will be OK. Batman finds Dent moments before the buildings explode, killing Rachel and scarring half of Dent's face with flammable gasoline - Dent goes into shock. The Joker then uses a bomb that he surgically implanted into a prisoner whom was recently taken into custody - an errant phone call from a police officer to a number given by the joker triggers the detonation device. Again, we are reminded of the Joker's seemingly limitless abilities to manipulate individuals into his bidding. He then escapes from the police department with Lau.

After the explosion and the death of Rachel, Dent is forever changed. His world of right and wrong, good vs. evil where he can crusade and be a hero has now been completely shattered courtesy of the Joker. Where before he saw destiny, now he sees only pain, suffering and most importantly, randomness.

Shortly thereafter, the Joker kills Lau and The Chechen, and threatens to bomb a hospital unless Reese (an Employee at Wayne Enterprises who threatens to rat out Batman on TV) is killed. The image of the Joker standing before a pile of burning money he just pillaged is particularly disturbing - he declares that Gotham deserves a new breed of criminal - one unmotivated by money or power but who commits crime purely for fun. This corresponds with something Alfred said to Bruce Wayne earlier in the film - "Some men aren't motivated by money. Some men just want to watch the world burn".

The Joker then pays a visit to Dent in the hospital dressed as a nurse and begins to manipulate Dent, who's face is now hideously disfigured on one side, into doing his bidding. Dent plays a game with the Joker where he tosses a coin and if the coin comes ups tails he kills him - The Joker passes this test seemingly unafraid of whatever consequence may befall him. The Joker then convinces Dent to take revenge on all the corrupt police officials who allowed the Joker to get access to information on Rachel and Harvey Dent's whereabouts and Dent (now officially "Two-Faced") goes on a killing spree using his burnt lucky coin to decide the fate of all those corrupt officials who were involved. Simultaneously the Joker blows up the hospital.

The Joker now begins to make threats against the entire city and many, in a state of panic, decide its time to flee Gotham. The Joker then rigs two ferries, one with citizens and the other with inmates from Arkham Asylum, with explosives as they attempt to flee the city. His voice then interrupts the intercom and he explains to them that they each have a choice - they can either be blown up themselves or blow up the other ship and save themselves. Fortunately both boats, including the one with the inmates decide not to go for the Joker's bluff (one of the inmates even tosses the detonator overboard). At this point Batman intercepts the Joker at his location where he had also tried kidnapping several police officers and forced them to impersonate members of his Clown Posse. Batman explains to the Joker "What were you expecting? Not everyone is as ugly as you! You're alone". Batman then rescues the hostages and, after being tempted to kill the Joker returns him to the Police where he is placed under arrest.

However the Joker has one final devastating trick up his sleeve - He explains that the citizens of Gotham will lose all hope once Dent's rampage goes public. Batman then leaves to find Dent. Dent lures Gordon to the building where Rachel died and holds his family hostage, as Batman confronts him. Dent judges the fates of Batman, himself, and Gordon's son with three coin flips. As a result, he shoots Batman in the abdomen, spares himself and flips to determine the boy's fate. Batman, who was wearing body armor, tackles Dent off the building before Dent can kill the boy, resulting in Dent's death. Batman convinces Gordon to hold him publicly responsible for the murders so that Dent will remain a symbol of hope for the city. A manhunt for Batman ensues, as he escapes on the Batpod. Alfred burns a letter written by Rachel to Bruce announcing her engagement to Dent....

A constant theme throughout the movie is that Batman and the Joker are enantiomers - mirror images that both give rise to the other. Bruce Wayne even discusses this dilemma with Alfred the Butler, explaining that his desire to fight crime and the creation of Batman, while initially successful eventually cornered the mob into doing something desperate - empowering the Joker who only terrorized Gotham even further which was an unintended consequence. He indicated that the criminals will just keep upping the ante to match whatever wizardry Batman can produce and seems to suggest that in the end perhaps there is no victory only eternal fighting. Carl Jung, the Great Psychotherapist and Student of Freud initially proposed the theory of Enantiodromia - the idea that an excess of any force will eventually produce its opposite. This is true for any situation where force (lethal or non-lethal) is being used by one group or individual against another - force gives rise to opposition and opposition gives rise to conflict. Thus the world forever remains in a state of conflict in spite of our best intentions and efforts.

The Character of Harvey Dent however is the most striking example of enantiomerism in the film. Dent essentially becomes his own enantiomer born of the trauma he suffered from having to live through his fiance' Rachel's death and his inability to come to terms with the fact that others sold them out and that the Joker planned it that way. He simply lost his way and no longer saw order and meaning in the world - only chaos. This was the Joker's intention all along - to show that Dent, Gotham's White Knight, could be turned and thus anyone could be turned - proving to everyone that society itself with its conventions and norms of "right" and "wrong" is essentially, a joke and thus chaos would reign supreme.

At the end of the film, Gordon and Batman decide it is best not to reveal the final fate of Harvey Dent and instead hold Batman responsible for the murders - essentially to "protect" the public from the truth. This is where the film wanders a bit into the realm of conspiracy theory. The idea of "protecting" the public from the truth has long been a theme among conspiratorial minded folks who believe that the "Powers That Be" (i.e. the State) gets to decide what narratives the society as a whole are subjected to - essentially what is "true" and "false" from a cultural perspective. I must admit I disagree with such principles and feel the truth is always the best medicine in the long run for the public as living a lie tends to produce psychotic behavior but perhaps I digress. The point is that the Director seems to be indicating that this phenomenon occurs often in our society and the public should be more weary of "official" narratives. At least I think that is what he is saying.

Lastly, the Joker, as played by Heath Ledger, represented a new kind of villain, one that was unmotivated by any conventional self-interest. His energy, in my opinion, seemed to reflect the underlying uncertainty and unpredictable nature of the economic crisis that was unfolding in the world in 2008 at the time of the release of the film - it was as though the director could sense such a large macro-event was about to occur. I would venture to say that the Nolan Batman Trilogy is the collective unconscious (another Jungian concept) in action - as darkness envelops our society from bad economics to chaotic weather to unending wars abroad combined with an underlying apathy in the public, the darkness from our subconscious is projected into film and cinema instead where we can dismiss it as pure fantasy even though part of us knows better.

For more on this final topic please read the following...

http://www.collapsenet.com/free-resources/collapsenet-public-access/item/8673-massacres-droughts-and-a-society-unraveling

Batman Begins: Shadow Societies, Ninjitsu and Mass Psychosis

Batman Begins was released in the summer of 2005 as as "do-over" to the original, pointless and seemingly never-ending, quadrilogy which started in the summer of 1989 with Michael Keaton and ended in 1998 with George Clooney as the "final" Batman. Unfortunately none of these actors (in my opinion) fully embodies the defining qualities of Batman and more importantly the plots were hokey, superficial and meaningless - nothing but eye candy and some absurd action sequences. Thus in 2005 when it was revealed that Batman was being "remade" with consideration given to his origins and roots and that furthermore the new director would be Christopher Nolan (who had also directed the tense thrillers "Memento" and "Insomnia") I was excited to see what his vision was for the caped crusader. It was obvious from the trailers at the time that Nolan wished to explore darker and yet more human themes.

The film of course begins with Bruce Wayne as a neurotic young boy dealing with growing up as a child in a wealthy Gotham Family who's Paternal father figure is the President of Wayne Enterprises. Bruce's initial phobias about bats and the dark are triggered by him falling into a well where he was traumatized by bats flying around but was relieved when his father rescued him. Later in the film we see the family at the local opera where young Bruce again must see a scene where humans are imitating bats and has a phobic reaction, requesting to leave the theater early. The decision unfortunately leads to his parents death at the hands of a drug addict mugger who asks for their money but gets a little too trigger happy in the process and shoots Bruce's mom and dad dead on the spot - his father's last dying words are "don't be afraid". Bruce's development is shunted as he must deal with this horrific tragedy while trying to grow into an adult with his butler Alfred now as his primary caretaker. The film also makes it painfully clear the role that economics played in his parents death - most of the city is unemployed and broke leading to a massive crime wave and social unrest- a theme that will be ever-present throughout the entire Nolan Trilogy.

Later on Bruce plots to kill the murderer of his parents when he buys a gun and waits for him outside the courthouse but someone else whacks him first. Bruce then reveals his plot to Rachel, Bruce's childhood friend (and later romantic interest) when he reveals his gun and says to her "I'm not one of your good people", who then slaps him and tells him his father would be ashamed. Bruce then leaves Gotham to learn the ways of the criminal underworld and somehow eventually winds up in Burma in some kind of third world prison. Eventually he is rescued by Henry Ducard whom we later discover is Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson), the primary villain. Ducard offers to train him as a ninja and finds a way to release him from prison while leaving him vague directions of how to find his mountain temple for training high in the Himalayas. Bruce then meets him there and his training begins.

Ducard trains Bruce in the dark arts of ninjitsu. He explains to Bruce that he must learn to master and control his fear under all circumstances before he can become a true ninja warrior. He also trains him in the general tactics of stealth and guerrilla combat techniques - techniques which will come in handy later. In particular he exposes Bruce to the neuro-toxin derivative of a particular flower that causes disorientation, hallucination and confusion and tests Bruce's abilities to perform the task of hiding himself among a crowd of assassins under these conditions - a task which Bruce successfully completes though with much difficulty. Later however Bruce is introduced to the ninja master "Ra's Al Ghul" who presents him with a criminal that he is told he must execute because crime must not go un-punished. At this point he is initiated into the true intentions of the group, known as "The League of Shadows" and it is revealed to him that their plan is to burn down Gotham as it has become a cesspool of human corruption - no other path forward can be permitted. Bruce refuses to kill the criminal and suddenly realizes he is in danger - later he burns down the League's temple, killing the ninja master in the process, while saving Ducard's life before escaping.

 

Bruce then returns to Gotham only to find the city worse off than when he left with the powerful gangster "Falcone" practically running the town. Bruce also discovers that William Earle is attempting to takeover Wayne Enterprises which is now heavily involved in defense contracts. Bruce then meets Lucius Fox, who introduces him to the company's experimental prototype technologies, including an armored car and protective bodysuit, which Bruce takes great interest in eventually asking to be re-admitted into the corporate structure as head of R&D. Earle sees no threat in this as he believes R&D is essentially a dead-end position with little or no profit to be made where as Bruce sees it as an opportunity to explore crime fighting weaponry while secretly planning to retake the company.

Eventually Bruce begins to experiment with these technologies to the point that he is ready to embrace a new crime fighting persona - by mixing the world of ninjitsu with modern technology and overtones of bats into his  outfit he becomes "Batman". As Batman, Bruce intercepts an illegal drug shipment, empowering Sgt. James Gordon and the Gotham police to arrest the previously untouchable Falcone. This act begins a partnership between Gordon and Batman with each gaining the other's trust. Gordon is thankful for Batman's willingness to put himself in harm's way to do the work the cops can't and Batman is appreciative of Gordon's honor and incorruptibility in an era of outright corruption and failure among Gotham's police force. Meanwhile, a Wayne Enterprises cargo ship is raided and an experimental weapon is stolen, a "Microwave Emitter" that uses microwaves to vaporize an enemy's water supply.

Back in Gotham, Falcone and his henchmen are declared mentally unfit for trial and about to be transferred to Arkham Asylum by the corrupt Dr. Jonathan Crane, who had been using Falcone to import a dangerous hallucinogenic drug that causes severe psychosis. Falcone, thinking he is a big shot and will be set free shortly, wishes to meet Crane's drug supplier himself - Crane refuses and further indicates that questioning his supplier would result in a request to kill Falcone. Falcone looks confused but doesn't see what's coming next - Crane puts on a dank bag over his head and blows the hallucinogenic drug into Falcone's face who immediately goes into panic and psychosis eventually saying "scarecrow" over and over and is later admitted to Arkham Asylum for the criminally insane.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCELYhYlLtU&feature=related 

While investigating Dr. Crane at his residence, Batman too is subjected to the "Scarecrow" routine and also experiences a large dose of the hallucinogenic substance - a substance eerily similar to that which he encountered high in the Himalayas albeit far more potent. He too has a psychotic breakdown and falls out of a three story building after Scarecrow lights him on fire. He is later rescued by Alfred. Not long after Rachel, who has been working with Dr. Crane to try to get his medical clearance on criminals in the justice system, is suddenly brought into a warehouse (with Dr. Crane) full of the neurotoxin which is being dumped into the water supply at which point Crane pulls a "Scarecrow" on her as well and she too goes into a psychotic state. At this point however batman arrives on the scene, disposing of Crane's gaurds and henchmen handily and eventually confronting Crane himself - he finally gives Crane a dose of his own medicine to extract information from him and watches him wig out. Watch the scene here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f31nchsGUdw&NR=1

At his birthday celebration at Wayne Manor, Bruce is confronted by Ducard, who reveals himself to be the real Ra's al Ghul. Pretending to be drunk Bruce then kicks out his guests so they'll be safe, leaving him to defend the mansion and Alfred from Ra's and his ninjas. Later Ra's reveals several things to Bruce. First he reveals his plans to destroy Gotham using the stolen Microwave Emitter from Wayne technologies to vaporize the city's water supply and mix it with the neurotoxin (a concentrated derivative of the flower). This will create mass panic and psychosis and the city will simply tear itself apart. Second he reveals that the League has been involved in the rise and fall of many civilizations throughout the centuries going back as far as the black plague in the 14th century as way way of "culling the herd", creating a fresh society and rooting out corruption - extreme measures but supposedly for humanity's benefit. Lastely he tells Bruce that their most recent campaign against a corrupt Gotham using "economic warfare" was thwarted by none other than Bruce's father and his philanthropic beliefs - indicating he was involved in their deaths. Ra's then sets the mansion on fire with Bruce trapped inside though he is later saved by Alfred. At that point the toxin is unleashed on the population of Gotham and chaos ensues though a final, all-out dose has not yet been delivered - this requires the subway system to direct Ra's and the vaporizer towards Gotham's water supply. Batman confronts Ra's on the train and escapes just as Gordon uses the Tumbler to destroy the elevated tracks, leaving Ra's to die in the ensuing crash.

Batman becomes a hero, but loses affection of Rachel, who cannot bring herself to love both Bruce and Batman. Bruce buys a controlling stake in the now publicly-traded Wayne Enterprises, fires Earle, and replaces him with Fox. Jim Gordon is promoted to Lieutenant, showing Batman the Bat-Signal and mentions a costumed criminal who leaves Joker playing cards at crime scenes. Batman promises to investigate this new criminal while disappearing into the night.

And now for the discussion....

The League of Shadows is clearly an analogy or reference to secret societies that have existed amongst humanity throughout the ages. Conspiracy theories abound throughout the internet on just how involved these societies are in shaping the defining events of mankind - war, plagues, economic chaos, revolutions and social engineering just to name a few. While some of these theories may seem wild and inconceivable to the uninitiated, the film illustrates just how such societies could accomplish these tasks - corruption, nuero-toxins added to our water supply, economic warfare, etc. These theories though all have a common theme - by working with the most corrupt among us whom they empower, they are able to shape our future in the direction they see as best for us or for whatever version of humanity they wish to see evolve from the bottleneck events they create. I am not saying that is what I believe but I am saying it is possible and worthy of consideration. We can debate whether or not such societies exist but it is clear to me that the director thinks they do - no idea exists in a vacuum and as it is said later in "Dark Knight Rises", there are no coincidences. Batman clearly acts as a counterbalance to these forces - he has in effect made himself into a one-man secret society simply as a means to buffer the city against the malevolent influences of groups like the League of Shadows as well as run-of-the-mill gangsters like Falcone.

Another interesting aspect of the film is the romantic relationship between Batman and Rachel. Rachel is Bruce Wayne's truest love but she can not tolerate his alter ego Batman. Interestingly enough she eludes to his "mask" now becoming his actual face, not that of his costume. The hardened warrior he has become does not suit her and she realizes he can not return to his former self. The film ends with a nod to the follow-up film - "Batman the Dark Knight"

Prelude to Review of the Christopher Nolan Batman Trilogy...

I finally saw "The Dark Knight Rises" last night and had been planning for some time to blog about it however I have decided that the series itself is worth discussing from beginning to end - from "Batman Begins" to "Batman the Dark Knight" finishing with "The Dark Knight Rises". I will have a new post for each film shortly beginning with the first two followed by the final (?) installation. This will allow me to discuss the full spectrum of ideas and controversies surrounding these films. I also intend to have some concluding remarks regarding the horrific shootings in Aurora Colorado. This trilogy is deep and dark and deserves a large degree of one's attention to explore the hidden meaning behind the characters and plots. It is my intention to direct your attention to what really matters in these films and how they can be used to shape public opinion as well as become catalysts for new ideas whose time has come.

The Fear Index: VIXAL-Infinity

I am currently reading "The Fear Index" by Robert Harris - at this moment I am about half-way through. Before I finish it though I think I would like to briefly blog a bit about the content of this book and how it may in fact be "reality masked as fiction". The central character is Dr. Alex Hoffman, one of the word's leading AI researchers and create of "VIXAL-4", the. 4th version of "VIXAL" which is a concatenation of VIX (Volatility Index) and AL(gorithm). Vixal 4 is a state-of-the-art high frequency trading and derivative swapping AI software run on a multi-threaded, multi-cored server system in Switzerland which was created when Dr. Hoffman decided to abandon his research at CERN to promote and advance AI research by applying it to the derivatives market.

What I am finding so interesting about this novel is that it all seems to be a rather plausible story thus far, and I can only imagine, based on current available evidence, that AI machines are in fact running our entire global economy. A good example of this can be found here:

http://americankabuki.blogspot.com/2012/07/artificial-stock-price-support-in-action.html

and here:

http://www.financialsense.com/contributors/cris-sheridan/is-artificial-intelligence-taking-over-the-stock-market

According to the book the purpose of these VIXAL-4 is in fact to both sense and even trigger the human emotion of fear. At one point in the book Dr. Hoffman proclaims that "fear is what is driving the modern global economy" (and therefore his firm should exploit this to their own benefit). I couldn't agree more with Dr. Hoffman. It seems that algorithmic trading has eliminated the need for human econometric analysis altogether. The machines themselves only need to create volatility by triggering massive sell-offs from highly leveraged positions they hold by virtue of being "preferred clients" of central bank money printing schemes and "presto", "voila" you have a stock and derivatives swap market being entirely "pumped and dumped" in cycles of days to hours to minutes to seconds depending on which frequency level you are trading. This can generate massive revenue without the public's knowledge, literally stripping away wealth from other longer term "buy and hold" positions (i.e. the common investor) who just think they are getting their orders filled at a fair market price as well as put and option purchasers who aren't aware that the system is rigged by machines. I think I've come to figure out how many of these schemes work but basically its all being drive from the VIX index:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/peak-complacency-and-peak-leverage

Basically how it works is these algorithms are able to filter information far faster than any human can and detect sudden changes in market news and financial matters in milliseconds and turn it into an actionable order to be filled. The idea in the book is to trace these events to future volatility which then becomes the prime indicator of panic and hence opportunism within the market - traders love volatility. Furthermore when they are not subject to any regulations they are able to "naked short sell" a stock or commodity into oblivion thus creating the volatility themselves - all the common investors with their "stop loss" orders can do is react to this (irrationally) by selling which creates a massive panic and triggers further collapse in its price - just the volatility needed for a put option scheme on the underlying stock or asset or simply shorting the stock itself. Then the very same bank, having been given a giant line of essentially endless credit from the government from no interest loans (with a bailout guarantee to boot!) can buy up hordes of that stock once the volatility returns to normal again and drive the price right back up again. This can be done very quickly, on a variety of time scales (days, hours, minutes, seconds) and thus the ability to respond quickly to the volatility (i.e. make quick entry and exit) is essential to making a sure profit.

Does VIXAL-4 already exist? My gut tells me it does which also means, as Max Keiser recently suggested on his talk show, that our entire financial psyche is "occupied" by AI. In other words, the machines are running us and the most corrupted of us are the ones most likely doing the machine's bidding....

-Mollusk

The Amazing Spider-Man: Cross Species Hybridization and Genetic Armigeddon

The Amazing Spider-Man was released in the summer of 2012 as a remake of sorts that departed both thematically and in narrative from the initial 2002 movie with Tobey Maguire. In my opinion this film was a significant improvement to the original series and was well worth the remake effort - it is loaded with undertones and (I believe) hidden meaning. In particular the film is about genetic manipulation of the human species and I believe it has been released in a timely manner to probe the population's sentiment on this topic. There's also a fair bit more violence and gore and let me tell you the reptile character is downright creepy.

The story begins as always with Peter Parker as a slightly awkward, troubled and rebellious young teen struggling to grow up with his new foster parents (his aunt May and uncle Ben) while trying to avoid the gauntlet of public school life in New York City (the film opens with him being beaten to the ground by a fellow classmate during recess). Parker is good at pretending to follow rules while secretly following his own agenda - a skill that will come in handy throughout the film.

During this early phase of the film we are also introduced to Gwen, the object of Parker's affection who at first pities and yet admires Parker as it is her boyfriend Flash who beats him up for standing up to his bullying. Gwen is a typical young blonde starlet and it just so happens to be that she interns at OsCorp - the corporate biotech giant that is genetically engineering all kinds of "goodies" for humanity (or so we are told). OsCorp's headquarters in downtown Manhattan and is digitally added to the Manhattan Skyline - the headquarters are both impressive and intentionally monolithic. When Parker discovers some papers that suggest his father's work at OsCorp may have been near-groundbreaking he decides to do some sleuthing and assumes the identity of a new intern during an intern-orientation program hosted by none other than his heart-throb Gwen. During his "orientation" Gwen realizes that Parker is assuming someone else's identity but instead of ratting him out she simply orders him to stick with the group. During the OsCorp "orientation" Parker has his first meeting with Dr. Curt Connors, his father's original associate though he does not introduce himself at the time and instead impresses Dr. Connors with his knowledge of genetic engineering and cross-species hybridization. Of course ignoring Gwen's requests, at his first opportunity, Parker wanders off into the halls of OsCorp after bumping into a rather sinister corporate man  - Dr. Ratha whom we later find out is associated with Parker Sr.'s death - and catching a glimpse of some of his papers that were related to Parker's Sr.'s work. After following this individual eventually Parker walks into the "spider laboratory" where he gets bitten by a genetically engineered spider that produces "biocables" and, well, you know the rest...

Not too long after being bitten Parker goes through a series of intense physical and neurological changes. Of course he becomes more athletic but also more precise, calculated and remarkably nimble. He settles a score with "Flash" on the basketball court - an act which gets him into trouble with his principle and eventually with his foster Uncle Ben. He also begins to court Gwen who seems to recognize Peter's newfound prowess and takes a serious interest in him. Later on, while in a heated argument with Ben regarding his errant behavior Parker runs away from home and eventually his uncle goes looking for him. This of course leads to his untimely death at the hands of a petty thief whom Parker ran into at a grocery store during a robbery which he made no attempt to stop. Of course Parker is crushed but later on his romantic interests with Gwen intensify as do his studies of his fathers work which eventually lead him to track down Dr. Connors.

When Peter meets Dr. Connors finally as himself at his residence (he reveals he is Parker Sr.'s son) Dr. Connor seems reluctant but eventually allows him inside. This leads to a series of meetings between the two of them where Peter reveals he has read much of Dr. Connors work and has taken great interest in his "rate decay algorithm" (a bit of a flashy phrase designed to wow the tech-savy viewer) which apparently was a hindrance to the cross species hybridization research that Dr. Connors was involved with. This seems to have been the obstacle that had prevented progress of his father's work and we soon learn that Bruce's father was the genius and visionary of the project - pushing it far beyond what their critics both at the company and in the outside academic world thought was possible. None the less though the "rate decay algorithm" was insufficient in its current form to allow for complete hybridization to occur without killing the subject (i.e. rat). Parker however reveals that he believes he has found a solution and shows Dr. Connors some revised version of the formula that Connors agrees is a good candidate to yield a complete solution. Thus Dr. Connors invites Parker to become a laboratory assistant of his and they begin a series of computational clinical trials conducted using a holographic interface into a mainframe supercomputer. Parker begins to test his theories using the supercomputer by iteratively attempting to splice human and lizard DNA -the idea being that since lizards can regenerate lost limbs (tails) this adaptive mechanism could be transferred to humans as well. We also learn of Dr. Connor's personal connection to his research - a missing arm which he hopes to regenerate and later succeeds albeit at a price.

Later on in the film we learn more about Dr. Ratha - he is the supervisor of Dr. Connors' research which has apparently been supported by OsCorp for almost three decades. Dr. Ratha has been growing increasingly impatient about pushing the research into "Phase III" clinical trials - i.e. on live humans so as to help save the CEO Norman Osborne's life - oddly we never meet this person. When he learns of the progress Dr. Connors has been making with his new apprentice he begins pressuring Connors to perform Phase III trials at the Veteran's Hospital no less (more on this later). Connors refuses and Dr. Ratha reminds him of what happened to his father during a similar episode in the past (we can only assume the worst at this point). Connors looks visibly stunned but does not yield and refuses to move on to Phase III until Phase II has been completely finished to his satisfaction. Dr. Ratha then says to have his staff and stuff packed out the following day as he would be shutting down the lab ASAP. Later on we see Dr. Connors looking desperate and suddenly reaches for the serum he and Parker had worked so hard to create - Dr. Connors goes for broke and inoculates himself with the serum hoping it will regenerate his lost limb. Later we see him convulsing at his desk, writhing in pain and passing out only to reawaken later to see his missing arm suddenly regenerated looking almost embryonic in appearance. At first he is ecstatic and makes a phone call to connect with Dr. Ratha but then he finds out Dr. Ratha is already on his way to the veterans clinic with a dose of the serum himself - something which Dr. Connors must prevent. Dr. Connors calls a cab as he continues to metamorphasize  with strange scales and other patterns beginning to emerge in his appearance and he aggressively orders the cab driver to the veterans hospital which of course takes them across the Brooklyn Bridge....

Prior to this point in the film we had seen glimpses of Parker slowly becoming Spider man - experimenting with his newfound abilities to produce spider silk. He's created technology that can direct the silk through a sort of miniature gun attached to his wrist. He also perfects his costume all while chasing crime and trying to track down the criminal that killed his uncle Ben. Finally Peter is invited to Gwen's place where he meets Gwen's father (played by Dennis Leary) who happens to be the police commissioner of New York - Captain Stacy - and is dead-set on finding and arresting the new-found vigilante dubbed "Spider-Man". He and Peter get into a heated debate which Gwen finally interrupts - later on they are on their balcony where they share their first kiss. However this scene is interrupted by her mother who informs her that her father must see her - he has apparently been called onto duty for an emergency evacuation of the Brooklyn Bridge which seems to be under threat of some kind (I believe they refer to a possible terror attack if I recall correctly).

This is the point were Connors has fully transmogrified into a Lizard-Man. The Lizard carries some of Connor's traits (i.e. he recognizes his human identity as Dr. Connor's) but sees humans, including himself, as weak. He is a raging beast and goes on a rampage looking for Dr. Ratha by tossing cars over the Brooklyn Bridge (which appears to have been traffic-jammed) as he looks for Dr. Ratha - at this point presumably for no other reason than just to settle the score. Eventually Spider-Man arrives on the scene (having received the distress signal) and struggles to save the cars the Lizard has tossed over the edge including that of a young boy. This is their first encounter and it should be said that the Lizard Man is perhaps the creepiest and scariest villain of all time - everything he does is calculated but aggressively motivated and his superhuman strength is matched only by his supreme intellect (mind somewhere in there is Dr. Connors).

Later in the film Spider-Man suspects Connors is the Lizard, and unsuccessfully confronts the creature in the sewers after seeking advice from human-Dr. Connors at his lab on how to track reptiles to which Connors replies humorously that reptiles can be "extremely aggressive" when confronted. Connors then becomes enamored with his lizard form and moves his laboratory into the sewer where eventually Parker gives chase and they battle even more intensely as they both discover the extent of their super-human strengths. Later on the Lizard learns Spider-Man's real identity and attacks Peter at school. The police hunt both Spider-Man and the Lizard, with Captain Stacy also learning Spider-Man's real identity.


By the end of the film The Lizard plans to make all humans lizard-like by releasing a chemical cloud from OsCorp's tower. Spider-Man eventually disperses an antidote cloud instead, restoring Connors and earlier victims to normal, but not before the Lizard fatally gouges Captain Stacy to death. The dying Stacy makes Peter promise to keep Gwen safe by staying away from her. Peter initially does so, but later suggests he may see her after all.

On a deeper level I feel this film is discussing the ethical dilemmas of genetic engineering and I believe it is being released to desensitize the population to this particular topic. Bear in mind that we are already beginning to see signs of a wave of unregulated genetic engineering in the world we live in today. Recently it has been revealed that we are moving far beyond merely tampering with agricultural biology and the genetics of our food crops - we are now fully into the realm of interspecies hybridization programs of the very nature being discussed in the film. Think I am kidding? Watch this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xArETjua30

And this...

http://www.youtube.com/user/fidelityinvestments?v=QFzMP-UNwLs&imm_pid=1&immid=00503&imm_eid=e33431413&buf=999999

In the first video we learn of research being sponsored by Fidelity Investments into genetically engineering goats to mass produce spider's silk - literally right out of the film itself! In addition it proposes producing massive genetically engineered salmon that grow twice the rate of normal salmon (i.e. up to 10 times the normal size). The second video discusses mapping the entire human genome project - all of this sponsored through Fidelity Investments.

A certain internet pod-caster who's name I won't mention has dubbed this "Genetic Armageddon" - i.e. the crossing of the rubicon where by we are no longer just attempting to increase mere crop yields but massively transforming the biological foundations of all species through hybridization programs - a sort of warp speed of evolution where the end goal is neither fully known nor understood. Sadly, none of this illegal and it seems the law has yet to come up to speed with the biotechnology that is being produced. Its as though the companies are attempting to desensitize the public to the existence of these programs before they fully understand their risks and any attempt is made to outlaw or even regulate them. Apparently someone, somewhere has already decided that this is our collective future, like it or not!

I was also struck by a scene where by Dr. Connors had videotaped himself declaring that humans were "weak" and his research was in fact a gift for all humanity that he alone would reveal. Clearly the implication is that the reptilian portion of the human brain (literally that portion of our brain that is run by our lower cortex areas) has latent powers and is more aggressive, dominant and persuasive than our more evolved mammalian/human prefrontal-cortex. In fact many studies have suggested that psychopathic individuals have much larger cerebral cortex's and highly underdeveloped frontal cortexes allowing them greater capacities for taking aggressive but calculated risks, lying, manipulation, lack of sexual inhibition but most of all lack of empathy for other humans and inability to experience shame for their behavior. The Lizard Man, in my mind, seemed to embody these traits.

All in all this was a very powerful and salient film with a timely release date of the summer of 2012 - I give it 4 stars out of 5. My next film to review is of course the one we have all been waiting for this summer: "Batman, Rise of the Dark Knight" with Christian Bale. That film will come out later this summer and looks to be another blockbuster with even more symbolism and cultural overtones regarding our current economic and political crisis in the US....

-Mollusk