DanielF

Dear Forum, I know most of you are very focused on the recent U.S. presidential election, but please, allow me to take your attention for a moment. I want to tell you what is happening in Spain right now and how furious I am with our politicians. They are the worst of the worst, and I can’t stay silent anymore. About 20 days ago, in the region of Valencia, we had terrible flooding. It was so sudden and violent that it swept away cars, animals, and even people. Some managed to climb trees and waited there, stranded, in the middle of the night. Just imagine—a few hours before, it was a normal street, and now it was a sea. The next day looked like a disaster movie, with everything destroyed, mud and debris everywhere, and lives completely ruined. But what makes me angrier is not just the flood itself but the total failure of the authorities. There was no warning about the flood. People didn’t know anything and were caught going about their daily lives. They ended up trapped in cars, on roofs, or swept away by the water. By 8 p.m., when the authorities finally issued a warning, it was already too late—hundreds of people were missing or dead. And then, for 72 hours, nothing happened. No emergency response. No rescue teams. No army. People were left alone without food, drinking water, or help. The streets were dangerous at night, and many underground parking areas were completely flooded. It is feared that many bodies are still there, waiting to be discovered. The only help came from volunteers. People from other parts of Spain organized themselves and brought food, water, and whatever they could for the victims. They worked hard to clear the mud and debris from the streets. But after days, the mud is now causing diseases because of the decomposing bodies and animals mixed in. These volunteers did everything they could, but it shouldn’t have been only them doing this. Where were the authorities? Nowhere to be seen! There is an emergency branch of the army for situations like this, and they didn’t come. Firefighter teams from all over Spain were ready to go, but they were told not to. Even 200 French firefighters offered help, and it was rejected. Can you believe this? They abandoned the people completely! Why? Because politics. The Valencia region is ruled by the conservative party, and the central government is ruled by the socialist party. Instead of working together to help, they decided to play their games. The regional government didn’t want to look incompetent, and the central government dragged their feet to make the other side look bad. People were dying, and these politicians were pointing fingers at each other! Now they are doing something even worse: they are hiding the death count. They are delaying the numbers to manipulate the situation, waiting for the right moment to release the final figure. They are calculating how to use it for their political gain, like it is some kind of strategy game. It is so disgusting, like something from 1984. I am so angry. How can these people be so cruel? So heartless? In a disaster like this, you would think they would put politics aside and help. But no—they care more about their own image than the lives of their citizens. I know politicians are like this everywhere, but this is too much. These people are monsters. They don’t deserve respect. They don’t deserve to be in charge. They are the scum of the earth.

You may want to watch this sci-fi short film. Quite good in my opinion. https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1716483630145450278 There's something relevant to this forum, but I don't want to make any spoilers

Well, for example, one that is actually described in the book: You are late for a meeting and you try to look in a state of disarray, like you have been running. Basically, trying to send the message "Look how hard I tried to get on time". Another game described in the book is called the "wooden leg". It is call that way because you can't expect from somebody with a wooden leg to perform certain things. So if you want to avoid doing the dishes, you only have to pretend that you are very clumsy and break something every now and then. What can you expect from a clumsy person like me? In my case, it was more like a variation of that game. I needed somebody to assure me that I am doing fine. Like, "oh I don't know how to cook, sorry if the food is not good" and I was expecting to be answered "nooo, your food is good! You are doing just fine!". So, my wooden legs were all my insecurities and I was pointing at them so I could get some reassurance from somebody.

I recently finished this book called "Games people play".I assume some people are familiar with it. The book is illuminating and you can immediately start identifying what games people play in your environment. However, there is another side to it. At some point I realized what games I used to play and what games I am playing. This realization doesn't come without embarrassment, to be honest. And then, there this other realization. What games am I still playing but I am not aware? How can I know??? Will there ever be a truly or honest "me"? Should I just try to relax about it and just accept that is just a discovery process of oneself ?

Good question, this is something I actually gave it some thoughts. Since you asked, this are my most probably wrong conclusions about movies I believe that story telling is part of the human condition. One could consider movies an evolution of those tales around the fire from when we used to live in tribes. Movies (or stories in general) allow us to gain experience based on events that never happened to us. They can be based on real stories, or in hypothetical events. Sort of "what if". What if aliens want to invade earth. By learning from this exogenous experiences we learn how to react and behave. Sort of like a vaccine exposes us to pathogens we haven't encountered yet. Movies also provide us with moral values that are essential for a society and survive in a society as an individual. If one think about it, how many values have we acquired through movies? For example, we all know that cheating in a relationship is inmoral. I think personally I learnt that in movies (before it was the Bible). From ancient times, the dominant nation in a region will control the creation of art and thus imposing its values. This has of course been noticed by leaders and used art (and movies in particular) as a form of propaganda. As a non-American (maybe you can tell ) I can see how many of these Hollywood values are percolating into the European society. However, there is more to movies. Entering into a more spiritual approach, there is more to explore. For example, let's talk about scary movies. Some people, I believe mostly women, really like to watch them. It could be a way of facing our fears. Some sort of self-impose meditation. Really sitting there and allowing yourself to experience your fears. And talking about experience your feelings, we can generalize the above. If you went through a break up, you may want to watch a movie about that. If my memory serves me, I think during the lockdown one of the most watched movies on Netflix was about a virus pandemic (can't remember the name now) On the other hand, watching a movie is an identification process. If the movie is good, we will feel identified with one of the main characters. We forget about ourselves and who we are for a while. It is sort of a magical process. Having said all that, I wonder if there is any movie out there so different that we will feel completely disconnected. It should have these characteristics. It happens in a very different place. It happens to a very alien form. They have their own set of values. And they have feelings we don't know. I wonder if there is such a movie or what would be the closest to it. In sci-fi books, there is A Meeting with medusa by Arthur C. Clarke that I reckon it will qualify.