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

La Danse Macabre

Open your favorite newspaper and chances are you will see something about the "LIBOR" scam that has apparently rocked the UK Financial world and has "shocked" financial investors and regulators around the world.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1UG8RowZcks

Unfortunately though for the common investor/citizen this entire story is but a foregone conclusion. For years its been known by just about anyone who has cared to investigate high financial crimes, rigged markets, ponzi schemes and racketeering of financial regulatory committees (i.e. the Matt Taibbi's and Max Keiser's of the world) that this scheme has been going on for decades. So really what is the story here? I think its something more along the lines of we are finally willing to admit to ourselves that in fact we've been assaulted. It's as though the roofies have finally worn off and now we see the skin bruises and other signs of overt assault by the rapist who has since fled the scene. And so now we are faced with the question - do we suck it up and go on with "business/life as usual" or do we go to our corrupt police officials, bought and paid for politicians and myopic mainstream media outlets with this information and demand accountability in the form of immediate arrests of the perpetrators? Do we plunge forward into the abyss of "just how deep does this go?" or do we relegate ourselves to eternal victimhood and tell ourselves we deserved it because we are too stupid to know how the system really works anyways and besides who are we to question the judgement and wisdom of our ruling overclass? After all - they are the geniuses of our society that run the economy right?

Let's just assume for a moment that this LIBOR scandal does blow up and take down the top brass in the western banking nations to the point that basically everyone at the top of the financial food chain is implicated - just think for a moment what that would mean. It would mean that right now we are in the final descent into Hades - right now we are being forced to watch the "Danse Macabre", the great unwinding of all that is false upon which we have predicated our great nations and civilizations. All that we believed was "just" and "fair" and "meritocratic" will be shown to be what it truly is - an utter farce. All of our great leaders with their great ideas wont be able to save us once the rubicon has been crossed. It would be like driving on the highway and suddenly having someone call you on your cell phone to tell you that your brakes are missing - the best you can do is hope to guide yourself towards some safe landing zone or embankment but one thing is sure - you are going to crash and it would be completely undeniable in spite of whatever pep talk you give yourself. So that is, perhaps, where we are right now, in the opening act of "La Danse Macabre" to which we have a front row seat to watch the Grim Reaper known as "Reality" slowly conduct  and lead the zombie banks and their zombie hedge fund managers, traders, arbitrageurs and racketeers through their final act of self-destruction before the dawn of a new age is possible....

La Danse Macabre

Resuming the Blog and Other Meanderings

It's been a while since I've posted anything on this site. In fact I only did two movie reviews - not much to keep people interested in a blog with few followers. None the less though I intend to ramp this thing up again and bring it back to life. Let me just say a few things though about where I am at in my life right now.

I was recently laid off and this is now my last week of work before I get flushed out into the job market again. Regardless of my future job prospects, I will say that things are looking pretty bleak out there news wise - with each passing day I hear or read some story that pretty much disrupts any notion of "continuity" or sense of planning and direction I once had - everything seems to come out of left field these days. So lately I have come to the conclusion that "left field" is entirely where I need to focus my attention - in other words my attention needs to be tuned to the idea that things are highly unknown and uncertain in this volatile world we live in at the present moment. The best we can do is apply some form of evidence-based logic and reason to assess just what exactly is unfolding in front of us and where things might (emphasize might) lead next. Sounds like a plan right? Except there's one problem that I run into over and over again...

Hardly anyone seems to care about or even notice the things I am noticing and therefore I am essentially alone. People just go through the motions these days and act like today will be much like yesterday - they completely indulge in the status quo and the faux reassurance that normalcy bias brings - "today will be mostly like yesterday and if I just keep following the plan that everyone else is following I'll be fine - just 'think' positive thoughts". An immediate consequence of this is to alienate others who think differently - most folks don't like it when someone comes along and forcefully raises their head above the sand its been buried in. We are told we are not to "force" others into our point of view, right or wrong and while I basically agree with this principle it leaves those of us who are "awake" with one serious dilemma which I will describe as follows. The dilemma is basically this...

Since we "awake" folks see things differently than others and use logic/reason/empirical-fact-base-evidence/reality and even good old-fashioned intution (from years of experience) to form our beliefs, plans and predictions about the world how can we be effectual in transmitting this knowledge to the betterment of society and our fellow man when just about everyone wants to ignore it? How do we not get frustrated and begin to loathe someone who is completely comfortable with their own ignorance of reality? Granted I am not implying I know any form of absolute "truth" - that kind of thing is for religious people. The only thing I can tell for sure is when something is 100%  bullshit - to all other things I ascribe a "probability" or "likelihood" to any given event or scenario. By ascribing likelihoods instead of absolutes and re-assigning them from time to time based on new evidence I find I am much more fluid and able to sift through information and make use of it. If I cant disprove something outright (i.e. determine that it is "bullshit") then it survives in my mind as a possibility whose likelihood will be adjusted up or down as new evidence is obtained. So few people are even capable of this kind of though process (i.e. "entertaining an idea").

What I see unfolding around me in my fellow American these days is an insatiable desire for certainty about whatever they think or feel and for that certainty to be shared (albeit superficially) by others - a kind of hive-mind effect. And while that certainty may seem noble or even a form of confidence I find too often it is based almost completely on something someone else in the giant media/academic/corporate/religious/political/"scientific" echo chamber known as the United States of America has told them - in other words it has completely bypassed their critical thinking capabilities and they only go about filtering out events and new evidence to fit this belief while ignoring all counter-evidence even going so far as to avoid people who may think differently and thus remind them that perhaps they are not as brilliant as they would like to believe.

This problem is so pervasive and so palpable now that I have began to wonder if we are not witnessing some form of mass-psychosis in front of us. I believe that many of these people I am referring to are in fact basically ok/decent human beings but are highly misled and willfully ignorant. This ignorance can then manifest itself through odd behavior in ways that might not be obvious to an untrained observer - in other words these folks are either knowingly or unconsciously struggling to make sense of their world but have great difficulty admitting it or doing anything about it and thus take out their frustrations in strange ways that have become socially acceptable. Wonder what I am getting at? Need an example? Here's a good one for you...

Have you noticed how incredibly insane people are on the highway these days? Does anyone besides me seem to think its getting worse each and every year? What I've witnessed on my commute to work each day is nothing more than a human jungle or miniature battlefield playing itself out on the national highway system. Drivers seem to fall into one of 2 or 3 different groups. The two main categories are road ragers/tail-gaters and what I would call "turtles" and they appear to be at war with each other. Road ragers and tail-gaters are impatient, thoughtless and reckless. They swerve through lanes and tailgate the fuck out of anyone they can sometime just for pleasure it seems (they also like to drive close behind you at night with their high beams on). Even when you try to pull over for this particular lunatic they nearly clip your rear end as they try to pass you without an inch to spare. These people have no empathy for other humans and clearly see other drivers as "inhuman". On the other extreme however is "The Turtle" driver who just wants to go their own pace but also seems to believe that their pace should be imposed on everyone. I've noticed lately that many of these drivers actually prefer the far left passing lane where they drive slow (i.e. right at the speed limit) without passing anyone. This forces drivers who want to drive a little faster (but not recklessly) like me towards the middle lane and sometimes even the far right line (my highway commute is 3 lanes). The problem with the "Road Ragers" and "Turtles" is that they are at war with each other - the moment a "Turtle" even suspects that you are a "Road Rager" they slow down even worse and wont let you pass as though its their right to enforce the speed limit on everyone. Likewise the moment a "Road Rager" suspects you are a"Turtle" they speed up and tailgate you harder as though to punish you for slowing them down (admittedly I've engaged in this myself a few times though I usually feel bad about it later). It seems that both sides lack any awareness and understanding of other humans trying to go about their way to work. When you add cell phones in the mix it gets exponentially worse. To me these are all signs of a failing culture of prideful, ego-lusting chidults who are never punished. Have you noticed that none of this horrific behavior seems to be policed? The cops only care if you are speeding but don't seem to mind how dangerous your driving is to others (i.e 60 mph in the left hand passing lane is DANGEROUS imo). Actually I often see the police engaging in the same behavior - go figure...

Which makes me wonder - how did we get here? This is what I intend to explore with this blog. I hope others find my stories and reviews interesting and add their own comments, ideas and experiences.

-Mollusc

PS - US cities with the worst road rage listed here...

http://www.cnbc.com/id/31408478/US_Cities_With_The_Worst_Road_Rage