Vimana
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I'm sure everyone who smokes weed has contemplated starting a weed religion as a joke. One of my friends made Budlam, but then later deleted it.
Dakryn's Batshit Theory of the Week
- Thread starter Ender Rises
- Start date
I'm sure everyone who smokes weed has contemplated starting a weed religion as a joke. One of my friends made Budlam, but then later deleted it.
Stay on this train of thought.
Smith represents (The system/religion in its false sense/control/the misuse of science/evil)
Which is why it is my avatar. You must love your enemy to truly understand love.
It is from this that a chain reaction of understanding can happen.
So by seeing light in darkness......Smith is fuckin' cool.
Vimana
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I haven't seen The Matrix in a while, but the only one of those things I think Smith really represents is control, or authoritarianism, or some kind of idea of harmony incompatible with human freedom or happiness.
Basically based on this:
Basically based on this:
Last edited by a moderator:
Exactly. You don't see how all the things I listed are used for control?
The matrix also shows quite a bit of other things. The fact that AI does not have internal knowledge of good and evil and can only be programmed to "know" what is right and wrong. Much like how religion does this to humanity...."A prison for your mind".
If you look at the way humans have acted towards one another and towards the earth throughout history, and you look at how a computer finds and treats viruses, how could a computer not consider us a virus?
Humans are a cell, like a battery. Positive and negative "charges"(good and bad influences taken in from the world we percieve).
The matrix also shows quite a bit of other things. The fact that AI does not have internal knowledge of good and evil and can only be programmed to "know" what is right and wrong. Much like how religion does this to humanity...."A prison for your mind".
If you look at the way humans have acted towards one another and towards the earth throughout history, and you look at how a computer finds and treats viruses, how could a computer not consider us a virus?
Humans are a cell, like a battery. Positive and negative "charges"(good and bad influences taken in from the world we percieve).
zabu of nΩd
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Einherjar86
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How does the most capricious, unpredictable, uncontrollable element of the Matrix represent control or misuse?
Vimana
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I haven't watched the movie in a while, as I said before, but I think I remember him being against the humans, who I always thought of as symbolizing chaos and freedom in contrast to the machines. That's why I could see him as representing control.
It's hard for me to have one on a movie I haven't seen in years. ldo
zabu of nΩd;10088887 said:
It's hard for me to have one on a movie I haven't seen in years. ldo
He was a computer program...AI(artificial intel)....created by humans.......have you even seen the movie?
AI does not understand(because it is programmed) that good can be accomplished through bad and bad can be accomplished through good.
So it would be forced to recognize every human being as a threat to one another and to the earth.
The Terminator movies follow the same concept.
The black metal you love and the bible you hate are but one....do people read lyrics or books anymore????
(This may seem like it jumped, but if you read the bible, look at black metal lyrics, and look at how computers decide something is a threat...)
The catholics(or any religion that is used for greed) don't just fuck kids physically. They are fucking everyone mentally.
AI does not understand(because it is programmed) that good can be accomplished through bad and bad can be accomplished through good.
So it would be forced to recognize every human being as a threat to one another and to the earth.
The Terminator movies follow the same concept.
The black metal you love and the bible you hate are but one....do people read lyrics or books anymore????
(This may seem like it jumped, but if you read the bible, look at black metal lyrics, and look at how computers decide something is a threat...)
The catholics(or any religion that is used for greed) don't just fuck kids physically. They are fucking everyone mentally.
Vimana
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Again, I haven't seen the movie in a while, but your interpretation fits the "idea of stability that is incompatible with human nature." A better way for me to have worded it would to be "an ideal for stability in human society that is incompatible with human nature." Things like communism, systems which take control of things normally chaotic and ultimately fail at their goal to prevent the evils of the chaos.
That was directed towards Einherjar, sorry.
Yeah life is naturally chaotic. And a little bit of control creates balance.
You can see how, through multiple mediums, this world was becoming imbalanced?
It's all about fear. If you are afraid you want control. The best way to control absolutely is by using fear.
What is the most frightening thing to most people? Death. even deeper than that?(the unknown/what happens after death) Eternal damnation.
Organized religion(s) is the biggest brainwashing operation that has ever existed.
Science being taught as anything but a tool to understand is also "religion".
No matter what school you go to, kids are being taught that life is about work. And there's a reason for this.
"IF YOU WORK HARD YOU CAN MAKE MONEY!" (Or you can be poor and die)
"IF YOU BELIEVE IN GOD YOU CAN WORK FOR HIM AFTER YOU DIE!" (or you can burn in hell)
It's easy to sit back, get fat, and be rich when everyone else thinks working is the meaning of life.
There is a group of greedy/confused people that are, through manipulating religion, trying to take power in government to do thier own will in the name of "God" and are destroying people physically, emotionally, and spiritually in the process.
...and that is Black Metal as fuck
In tough times people turn to faith......$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
But I am currently seeing how this is losing it's grip on people, and balance will be restored soon. At least as long as everyone knows whats happening.
Yeah life is naturally chaotic. And a little bit of control creates balance.
You can see how, through multiple mediums, this world was becoming imbalanced?
It's all about fear. If you are afraid you want control. The best way to control absolutely is by using fear.
What is the most frightening thing to most people? Death. even deeper than that?(the unknown/what happens after death) Eternal damnation.
Organized religion(s) is the biggest brainwashing operation that has ever existed.
Science being taught as anything but a tool to understand is also "religion".
No matter what school you go to, kids are being taught that life is about work. And there's a reason for this.
"IF YOU WORK HARD YOU CAN MAKE MONEY!" (Or you can be poor and die)
"IF YOU BELIEVE IN GOD YOU CAN WORK FOR HIM AFTER YOU DIE!" (or you can burn in hell)
It's easy to sit back, get fat, and be rich when everyone else thinks working is the meaning of life.
There is a group of greedy/confused people that are, through manipulating religion, trying to take power in government to do thier own will in the name of "God" and are destroying people physically, emotionally, and spiritually in the process.
...and that is Black Metal as fuck
In tough times people turn to faith......$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
But I am currently seeing how this is losing it's grip on people, and balance will be restored soon. At least as long as everyone knows whats happening.
zabu of nΩd
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Are you constantly high these days? You seem to have lost your verbal diarrhea filter entirely.
skeptik
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I re-read the wording of what I was responding to and I see where I erred. I thought that he was criticizing an agnostic position toward the existence of other civilizations. I think it's useless to be assured of the certainty of the existence or non-existence of sentient extra-terrestrial life given what we know.
And Tonka Time, holy fuck, shut the fuck up and do drugs less often. You're just a god damn pile of nonsense coated with fucking stupid.
Einherjar86
Active Member
I really don't have any clue where most of this is coming from, or going, or even interrelated; but I just want to say that using lyrics in music or dialogue in films/books isn't sufficient in successfully interpreting a work.
Agent Smith says that "humans are a virus"; but this doesn't mean he's authoritarian, totalitarian, or some other representation of oppressive political regimes. Within the film, Smith fulfils the structural role of the system run amok, the unpredictable variable that "protects" the system, but yet simultaneously works against its own success (merely recall that Smith's entire existence depends on Neo's survival; as soon as Neo perishes, so does Smith).
Smith's rebellious tendencies, his diatribes against humanity, don't paint him as authoritarian or totalitarian so much as "antithetical." Totalitarianism depends on human existence and submission for its own survival. In this light, the Matrix itself is the more appropriate sign of totalitarianism (the false reality created by the machines who farm humans in order to power/sustain themselves). Smith, as a structural component, represents the inability of the system to maintain its own logic.
This, in turn, leads to what I've always seen as the troubling conclusion of The Matrix Trilogy. It ends on a somewhat hopeful note; the idea that Neo has to return eventually, but that for the time being humanity has reached some kind of stalemate, or potential "synthesis," with the system. My provisionary claim would be that this suggests some form of dialectical unity, or mutual understanding between the system and the individuals it forces into submission (i.e. humans). And this, in my opinion, is a troubling conclusion.
Dak
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I was initially unsure how to digest the final scene from the conclusion of the trilogy, but since the Architect and the Oracle don't really exist, and they are on a bench together smiling, it seems quite obvious that the "Reset" the Architect spoke of happened again, regardless of Neo's actions. I think this is the most accurate parallel to human history.
Vimana
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Good argument, Einherjar. I don't know as much about the movie, but you seem to have explained Smith's metaphorical representation really well.
I usually just read the tops of his posts before he edits them (if I can). They tend to make more sense that way.
zabu of nΩd;10089116 said:
I usually just read the tops of his posts before he edits them (if I can). They tend to make more sense that way.
Vimana
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It's only when it becomes really rampant that the person begins losing their ability to make sense. Occasionally, I think it's fine, but I've only heard bad things about synthetic weed. I know it's a synthetic cannabic compound and probably isn't too different from THC, but I've heard the potency makes its effect that of an amplified effect of marijuana, negatives included.
Onder
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Government research says piracy not as harmful as industry claims.
The government of Switzerland has issued a statement declaring that it will not take action to alter current copyright laws allowing the downloading of music and movies for personal use. The statement is the result of a lengthy study conducted by the Swiss government into the impact of so-called “piracy” on the entertainment industry.
The entertainment industry has been complaining in Switzerland – as in the US and elsewhere – that the unauthorized downloading of music and movies has harmed their business. The situation in Switzerland is somewhat unique, in that current copyright law considers the downloading of content for personal use as acceptable and legal. The entertainment industry has been lobbying the Swiss government to change the law. This study is the government’s response.
Despite the industry’s claims that downloading undermines their business, this study shows that the effect of unauthorized downloading on the industry’s bottom line is negligible. One key finding of the study is that downloaders spend as much if not more to acquire content legally as those who do not download. Researchers found no change in amount of disposable income spent on music and movies, despite the fact that roughly one third of Swiss people engage in some form of downloading. The government concluded, then, that no change to the current legal structure was necessary, and urged the entertainment industry to grow and adapt with the changes in technology and in consumer habits, rather than trying to suppress progress.
Switzerland’s findings are just the latest in a series of reports showing that the downloading of music and movies is far less harmful than the entertainment industry would have us believe. In July Douglas C. Merrill, formerly of Google and then EMI, one of the three main record labels, said in a keynote address that his research while at EMI showed that users of torrenting service LimeWire were among the best customers in the iTunes music store. Around the same time, Telepolis published a report (Google Translation) stating that users of the recently raided kino.to website tended to pay more at the box office than the average moviegoer. Meanwhile, another study conducted by Northwestern University (PDF) showed that users of peer-to-peer client software – i.e., BitTorrent users – bring in a substantial amount of money for the large ISPs.
A Google Translation of the Swiss press release may be found here. A PDF of the government study, which is in German, may be found here.
The government of Switzerland has issued a statement declaring that it will not take action to alter current copyright laws allowing the downloading of music and movies for personal use. The statement is the result of a lengthy study conducted by the Swiss government into the impact of so-called “piracy” on the entertainment industry.
The entertainment industry has been complaining in Switzerland – as in the US and elsewhere – that the unauthorized downloading of music and movies has harmed their business. The situation in Switzerland is somewhat unique, in that current copyright law considers the downloading of content for personal use as acceptable and legal. The entertainment industry has been lobbying the Swiss government to change the law. This study is the government’s response.
Despite the industry’s claims that downloading undermines their business, this study shows that the effect of unauthorized downloading on the industry’s bottom line is negligible. One key finding of the study is that downloaders spend as much if not more to acquire content legally as those who do not download. Researchers found no change in amount of disposable income spent on music and movies, despite the fact that roughly one third of Swiss people engage in some form of downloading. The government concluded, then, that no change to the current legal structure was necessary, and urged the entertainment industry to grow and adapt with the changes in technology and in consumer habits, rather than trying to suppress progress.
Switzerland’s findings are just the latest in a series of reports showing that the downloading of music and movies is far less harmful than the entertainment industry would have us believe. In July Douglas C. Merrill, formerly of Google and then EMI, one of the three main record labels, said in a keynote address that his research while at EMI showed that users of torrenting service LimeWire were among the best customers in the iTunes music store. Around the same time, Telepolis published a report (Google Translation) stating that users of the recently raided kino.to website tended to pay more at the box office than the average moviegoer. Meanwhile, another study conducted by Northwestern University (PDF) showed that users of peer-to-peer client software – i.e., BitTorrent users – bring in a substantial amount of money for the large ISPs.
A Google Translation of the Swiss press release may be found here. A PDF of the government study, which is in German, may be found here.
Dak
mentat
