Flout 'em and scout 'em, thought is free. . .

Shakespeare said it: Thought is free. Schiller said it: Die Gedanken sind frei.

Think what you like. Quentin Tarantino has been saying it, loudly: his thoughts are free, for the price of a cinema ticket, and your willingness to have your sensibilities assaulted with cussing, fisticuffs, firearms abuse, and probably a lot of other forms of violence that I'm unlikely to know about. Because I refuse to go see that movie. It's a free country, and I don't have to. Also, my thoughts are free, and I choose to listen to Mr Spike Lee, whom I respect more than I do Mr Tarantino. Mr Lee says that film is disrespectful to his ancestors, and frankly, it sounds to me like it's disrespectful to everybody's ancestors. I don't know who Mr Tarantino's ancestors were, or whether he thinks they'd care if he was disrespectful, but I still don't want to see an X-treme version of Gone with the Wind with, probably, puerile, Pulp Fiction-style jokes in. That's my prerogative, as it yours to go and watch the movie, if you like.

What's interesting, though, is that a lot of very thoughtful people – and probably some who aren't so thoughtful – have been talking about whether watching movies like that is good for your brain.

Now, on that, I have a few stray thoughts, which you may have for free.

I'm not really interested in statistics. I doubt you could prove much by them, anyway. The world is so saturated with 'media' – internet garbage, print garbage, TV and cinema garbage, MMOs – that there's no way to make a controlled experiment out of it. Obviously, some people read/watch and think, 'Yuck,' and move on. Others let the ambience of the Zeitgeist flow gently past. Still others become rabid, obsessed fans of schlock horror, violence, etc, while continuing to coach Little League and win 'Citizen of the Year' awards. So be it.

The question for me is not, 'Does imbibing a steady diet of fictional violence cause you to become a terrorist/mass murderer/general bad person?', but, 'Does imbibing a steady diet of fictional violence have a bad effect on the way your mind works?' In other words, does it make you dumber? Does it make you less caring? Does it damage you in some way?

Ah. Now there, nobody is ever going to agree. Because Person 1 – say, me – will remark:

'I think this stuff messes with my mind.'

To which Person 2 will reply:

'That's because you have a weak mind, my friend. It doesn't do anything to me at all.'

To which I can only reply:

'One, I'm not your friend if you talk like that. And two, I don't believe you. That's my prerogative, because my thoughts are free.'

Sounds lame, doesn't it? I suppose we could quote a lot of psychologists, sociologists, and other professional thinking persons – ones with what Penny in O Brother, Where Are Thou? called 'bona fides' – but, somehow, I don't think anybody believes them. I think most people just shop for an 'expert' they agree with. For that reason, I don't expect anyone who reads this to agree with me. Unless, of course, you already thought exactly the same thing. I can't sell stuff, and I probably can't convince people, either. I'm not sure I want to, anyway. But just in case. . .

Here's an experiment you can do with yourself. Nobody will know if you did it, unless you choose to share it with them. Nobody will know whether you're telling the truth, either. But if you care to try, you might experience something that will make you thoughtful.

The Reader-Warning Part

Read this first: DON'T click on these links if you don't want to experiment. I don't want to make anybody feel bad, and I've already advised the person closest to me not to click on one of these links. But if you don't think violence bothers you, go right ahead, on your own recognisance.

1. Read a description of this film. If it appeals to you, you might want to see the film sometime. Then answer the questions below.
2. After you've processed the first film description, read this one. If it appeals to you, you'll probably have to rent the video, although in the US, it's available on Hulu. Then answer the questions.

Questions:

1. How do you feel after reading the description of the film, and watching the trailer? Choose adjectives from this list:
   
   • Restful
   • Exhilarated
   • Angry
   • Inspired
   • Frightened
   • Blessed
   • Disgusted
2. Which of these actions might seem appropriate to you after watching this film?
   
   • Going to a bar
   • Feeding some wildlife
   • Listening to good music
   • Recommending the film to some friends
   • Learning more about the subject of the film
   • Taking a long, hot shower
   • Going to sleep and anticipating good dreams

Okay, so what do you think? This experiment was inspired by the fact that I was personally so disturbed by reading the Wikipedia article on the second film that I was depressed for several days. The first film, of course, is one which I recommend to one and all. It gladdened my heart.

Of course, these are just personal reactions, anecdotal evidence. But they're my thoughts, and thoughts, as we know, are free.

Does what we read and watch shape the way we see the world? Of course it does. If it didn't, why read or watch? A world in which most people's popular music consisted of handmade acoustical instruments and singalong tunes was a world in which people thought differently – at least, in some ways – from those whose idea of music starts with the word 'electronic', and possibly ends with the name 'Lady Gaga'. No praise, no blame, as Krishnamurti said: I'm not saying that 'Over the Hills and Far Away' is better than, say, 'Wind Beneath My Wings', but I'm not saying it's not, either.

Would reading something other than detective novels improve your mind? Er, why did you join that book club? Would watching better films make our brains better? The funny thing about brains is that they're like computer programs, a bit: you know, Garbage In, Garbage Out.

So, does it make the world a better place that somebody filmed Winged Migration? I think it does. Does it make the world a worse place to live in when somebody makes yet another one of those films my grandfather used to call 'Shoot-em'ups', just before he turned the channel? My grandfather thought so, and so do I. We're allowed to think that: thoughts are free.

PS My apologies to anybody who clicked on that second link, and wasn't happy about it.

The Fact and Fiction by Dmitri Gheorgheni Archive

Dmitri Gheorgheni

21.01.13 Front Page

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