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An online counselor looking at the great vacuum in meaning at the heart of civilization as expressed in Conspiracy films (dvd).
Some stories are invented to account for the lack of power in the postmodern climate.
Conspiracy , “is the poor person's cognitive mapping in the postmodern age” - Fredric Jameson.
These stories share the view that someone or those that benefit are wielding their power illegitimately. During the last week, I spend some time watching the activist film Zeitgeist (DVD) along with other more religious activist movies from other countries. Just keep in mind that I am not recommending these films and I do not think that you must confront your life, yourself or your culture with them.
“'Zeitgeist' refers to the ethos of an identified group of people, that expresses a particular world view which is prevalent at a particular period of socio-cultural progression.” ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitgeist)
For me the view expressed in the film (DVD) Zeitgeist is that our truths are a manipulation of politics, economics and religion. This was indeed a thought provoking viewing experience. As a viewer, I was at awe with the logical capabilities of Jacque Fresco. I suspect that viewing this story and hearing its logic can leave a person with a sense of personal powerlessness, since the focus is on the power of corporations and the elite of the world. Viewers may experience an ‘the end of the world' feeling (more so in the other films). This combined with the current state of world economics could cause a person to experience more doubt, despair and a sense of meaninglessness. Pragmatic thinking and logic can also create a feeling of emptiness.
In the Zeitgeist film hope and light are expressed in the ‘believe' (science is also a narrative in attempting to understand the world) that the language of science and technology is the only way. There is also some talk of behaviorism being very important to this future. Those like me with a background in Psychology are probably aware of the ‘dark' history of behavioral modification. I liked the story of unconditional love and connectivity, but did not hear of any further developments in this direction.
Surely even the children born in the Venus project will also have ‘why?' questions to life. Will it be possible to reduce ‘their questioning' to singular meanings like scientific / pragmatic language seeks. Can we really do away with storytelling / meaningfulness / religion?
Remember that the Christian story was once good news for the oppressed.
We connect by stories. We also experience isolation, disempowerment and problems when our intentionality and storytelling are not voiced / legitimized within stories that contain dominant or constrictive “truths” about ourselves. Our own storing can also restrict us from experiencing other possible meanings and actions.
“We dream in narrative, remember, anticipate, hope, despair, believe, doubt, plan revise, criticize, construct, gossip, learn, hate and love by narrative” (MacIntyre 1981, p. 211).
I am still celebrating the richness and multiplicity of the stories / selves shared or re-storied in online counseling.You can receive online counseling within the narrative view at my site www.onlinecounselingtherapy.com (narrative counseling)
Other sites:
www.onlinecounseling-marriagecounseling.org
