• hdnsmbt@lemmy.world
      5·
      11 months ago

      The guy who wrote those is very insightful. I also like his writing style. Thanks for sharing!

    • ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca
      3·
      11 months ago

      Huh, these are really good! I admit I definitely didn’t see people born into rural poverty the same way I saw people born into urban poverty. That gives me a lot to think about!

      • R0cket_M00se@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        11 months ago

        Like 75% of my basic training division was either inner city poverty escapism or rural poverty escapism.

        Ironically that became the uniting force of those people, something they could understand when everything else about the person is different.

    • Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      2·
      11 months ago

      It’s too bad they laid off all their good writers about five years ago. At least we got Behind the Bastards out of it!

  • Vode An@lemmy.mlEnglish
    384·
    11 months ago

    To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Blue’s Clues. The humour is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of theoretical physics most of the jokes will go over a typical viewer’s head. There’s also Blue’s nihilistic outlook, which is deftly woven into his characterisation- his personal philosophy draws heavily from Narodnaya Volya literature, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these jokes, to realise that they’re not just funny- they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Blue’s Clues truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldn’t appreciate, for instance, the humour in Blue’s existential catchphrase “a clue a clue,” which itself is a cryptic reference to Turgenev’s Russian epic Fathers and Sons. I’m smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Traci Paige Johnson’s genius wit unfolds itself on their television screens. What fools… how I pity them. 😂

    And yes, by the way, i DO have a Blue’s Clues tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It’s for the ladies’ eyes only- and even then they have to demonstrate that they’re within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand. Nothin personnel kid 😎

    • Kolli
      51·
      11 months ago

      Why can’t they be of higher IQ than you?

      And why 5 points, doesn’t communication gap theory push for 15?

    • theneverfox@pawb.socialEnglish
      3·
      11 months ago

      Bold of such a casual watcher to opine on her motivations.

      If you had actually been paying attention, each clue represents one of the 12 arcana given context by the way it is revealed, each episode being a tarot reading that gives depth and context to her character.

      A true fan would watch in order, and would discover each season clearly describes the fools journey with a reading for each step - at that point it just. It then repeats, revealing more of her backstory each season

      I’ll give the broad strokes, since I’m sure that’s all a casual viewer like you is interested in.

      Blue was born as the deity of a small tribe on the coast of modern day France. She loved her people and worked for them tirelessly, and they loved her as she lavished them with bountiful harvests and artistic inspiration. Her people were kind and righteous, creating beautiful sculptures and cloth that they traded generously. Then the sea people attacked.

      It’s unclear who they were, but her people were slaughtered and enslaved, her power slipping away, for she had given back all her people gave her, not considering her own needs. Slowly they died out, and knowledge of her name slowly died out.

      Fading and in desperation she bound herself to a place, a cave in modern day Paris. Her heart broken by loss, she changed in those dark centuries. Her presence still brought fortune and so her former people’s land was taken by others, but she no longer had love in her heart. She compelled them to bury their dead in the caverns under the city, where she feasted upon souls of the dead for generation after generation. But none knew her name, and so she barely was able to sustain her existence.

      At the advent of WWII, knowledge of the occult reached a peak. The Nazi leadership heard of the abnormal luck of the city, and so made a deal with the French - they only wanted access to the city without revealing their goal.

      The Nazis took the city, and drove the resistance down into the catacombs, giving them an excuse to seek her out.

      They succeeded, and they found her. She was almost feral at this point, but after heavy losses they managed to imprison her in a relic, an urn containing scraps of bones of her people. On this urn, they engraved an inscription, a binding to a single person. That person would gain eternal youth and funnel power to her, but they misunderstood what she was - in effect, those bound to her died quickly.

      The relic was captured at the end of the war, and ended up in Hollywood along with many other odds and ends. After several high profile deaths, they discovered that attention from children could sustain the needs of this unnamed being. By destroying their potential, a little at a time, the host would not age or be drained by the relic.

      What no one expected was how well this would scale. The fallen deity known as “Blue” has swiftly recovered, and there’s many fan theories about what this means.

      And just to spell it out for the slower among you, this is a clear metaphor for capitalism, the effects of the industrial revolution, and the how in an effort to make children subservient , we reduce the future prospects of everyone, including those at the top

  • CALIGVLA@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    33·
    11 months ago

    Unironically Deus Ex, it’s full of cookie-cutter crazy conspiracy theories and references, but it introduced me to the literary genre of Cyberpunk and it’s surrounding culture back in the day. If it wasn’t for it, I probably wouldn’t be so critical of modern consumerism and corporate culture. It helps that a lot of the game’s social commentary remains very topical twenty years later, they simply don’t make games like this anymore.

    • pdxfed@lemmy.world
      2·
      11 months ago

      Just started the Fallout series a few months ago(3, now into 4) less neon but definitely highly critical of corporations’ soullessness, consumerism, vanity and all other things that will disappear when important things happen. Incredible consistent aesthetic and feel.

      • CALIGVLA@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        1·
        11 months ago

        If you’re already liking 3 and 4, then your head will explode whenever you decide to give New Vegas a try.

        • pdxfed@lemmy.world
          1·
          11 months ago

          I’ve heard that consistently. Love going into games blind, never even saw as much as a trailer for fallout before jumping in. Heard Vegas was the bomb, enjoying 4 for what it is now.

  • pdxfed@lemmy.world
    15·
    11 months ago

    “The Selfish Gene” by Richard Dawkins

    Daft Punk’s 1997 “Homework” album

    “The Atomic Cafe” 1982 documentary film

    Edit: Vonnegut, the far side and Calvin and Hobbes for making me feel like I’m not crazy and most people are peddling a tremendous amount of bullshit.

    • tungah@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      11 months ago

      The Selfish Gene changed the way I see life itself. That and The Blind Watchmaker. I also love Unweaving the Rainbow.

    • hydrospanner@lemmy.world
      21·
      11 months ago

      Agreed on the Selfish Gene.

      I started on Unweaving the Rainbow but didn’t make much progress.

      Dawkins can be a proper tool, but at least that book was quite interesting.

  • Chahk@beehaw.org
    15·
    11 months ago

    I read Asimov’s Foundation series of books when I was 14 or so, and it made me a lifelong science fiction fan.

  • Olhonestjim@lemmy.world
    14·
    11 months ago

    The Hubble Deep Field image struck the first major blow against my childhood indoctrination in young earth creationism.

    • R0cket_M00se@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      11 months ago

      I had a similar experience but with a book about Dinosaurs that contained scientifically accurate eons, etc.

      I started to piece together that while we might not be 100% correct all the time, YEC doesn’t even have an alternative. They just try and debunk evolution but have no scientific method/knowledge that proves they’re correct.

      Where’s all the geological science that shows a 6000 year old earth? None. There should be competing theories, but instead it’s just “you’re wrong, trust me bro.”

  • Lightor@lemmy.world
    12·
    11 months ago

    The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury, it’s a collection of short stories with a light meta story connecting them. The man feared technology, thought it would ruin society. It was written in 1951 and some of his thoughts on how technology could ruin people are eerily spot on.

  • MajorHavoc@programming.dev
    11·
    11 months ago

    Heinlein’s “The Door Into Summer”. Both beacuse it reminds me that I might never find what I’m looking for; and because it taught me to never give up on looking, anyway.

  • GreyShuck@feddit.uk
    11·
    11 months ago

    There have been several. I’ll pick Eric Berne’s book Games People Play.

    I immediately recognised a few that I had played and, having been ‘called out’ on them by the book, it did lead me to stop and behave more constructively.

  • rautapekoni
    11·
    11 months ago

    It’s a bit early to say if it’s life changing, but Hi Ren made me reassess my thought patterns and negative self talk in ways therapy never could, which is pretty damn powerful for a musical performance.

      • rautapekoni
        8·
        11 months ago

        No health care professional ever told me that depression can be something that’s just a part of who I am, and that maybe there is no getting rid of it. Rens message in the video feels so genuine and real that instead of passing it over as just another piece of pop culture, I stopped to really listen and think about what he’s saying about managing your darker tendencies and learning to live with them. The song has maybe helped me accept myself a bit better, but as I said, it’s still a bit too early to call if it’s an actually permanent and useful effect.

        • Jarix@lemmy.world
          51·
          11 months ago

          Hi Ren is one of the only songs I will ever acknowledge as brave.

          Mildy related, have you seen Sucker Punch? You may appreciate it more than the average movie goer (but it could also be off putting)

          • rautapekoni
            4·
            11 months ago

            Haven’t seen, will add to the shortlist. Thanks for the recommendation!

    • JackFrostNCola@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      11 months ago

      I myself dont associate with any of the personal struggles discussed in ‘Chalk Outlines’ but dammit if it doesnt make me feel something, almost tears every time.

  • Juno@beehaw.org
    111·
    11 months ago

    https://youtu.be/xUiuVjX2ubQ?feature=shared

    Transplant tourism in China 🇨🇳

    There’s only one reason to make a device to give people an invisible lobotomy with that contraption. Transplant tourism is a real thing, if you need a kidney, they’ll find some poor Chinese citizen who’s broken some menial law or just pull some poor Uyghur, labotomize them, poof there’s your kidney match in short order.

    Here’s a video of what these people are doing https://youtu.be/xUiuVjX2ubQ?feature=shared

    It changed my life because after seeing this, for all practical purposes, I try my very best to avoid things from China because I don’t want one penny of my money going to support this barbaric inhumanity.

    If I see “made in China” I will try my best to find an alternative. For example, I returned to razor mice because they were made in China and got one of the same model instead that was made in Taiwan. It was sort of a luck of the draw, I had to buy two of the same model before I got one from the country that I wanted it from and I returned the one that was made in China. It was about an extra hours worth of annoyance, but it’s important to me to keep doing things like that, because of this video. Fuck the Chinese Communist Party and their treating other human beings like animals.

    • Elise@beehaw.org
      2·
      11 months ago

      I think it’s important to keep in mind that this happens everywhere in one form or another. For example Frontex, ICE, Solitary confinement and so on. I’m sure you’re aware of more examples.

      • Juno@beehaw.org
        6·
        11 months ago

        I believe it can be quantified in some way. I live in a country that has no problem with solitary confinement of minors at an early age for decades at a time.

        I think that’s deplorable and monstrous also. But something about government endorsed (don’t tell me the CCP doesn’t know about it) organ theft where they kill the donor and keep them alive through controlled brain damage so they can harvest more organs from them. Something about that seems worse to me than solitary confinement, enough that I changed my behavior.

        Yes keep it in context, but whataboutism isn’t an excuse for objectively dehumanizing behavior from anyone.

        (Note: I’m aware of companies and name brands that invest in private prisons, I do my best to avoid those brands, really I try to live my life but do what I can within reason)

        • Elise@beehaw.org
          1·
          11 months ago

          Yes I agree it isn’t an excuse. Am I right to be worried about people’s frustrations and their resulting anger? Change in China and other places must come from within.