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Seeds, Collectives, and Omelas: The Hard Problem of Sacrifice in Marvel’s Infinity War
In this week’s episode, we take a minute to reflect on ways and whys to balance individual autonomy and collective good in a more relaxed conversation about the somewhat contentious film Avengers: Infinity War. How are we defining “good”? Who gets to choose what “good” is? Is there a difference between a person choosing to sacrifice their self, versus a group or institution choosing to sacrifice that person on the group's behalf? And what, exactly, are we sacrificing along the way? Tune in to catch: an accidental spiral on the writing choices made in Civil War, a valiant attempt to understand Thanos’s questionably neo-Malthusian motivations, lots of enthusiasm about romance, and, in a thrilling twist, a very special guest appearance.
We don’t mean at all to put down anyone who likes the movie Avengers: Endgame and we hope that none of the frustrations expressed about that movie were hurtful or upsetting to anyone who enjoys it! You do you, etc. etc. Hopefully we explain ourselves well enough that it’s understandable why we have the frustrations we do.
As always, feel free to share any thoughts, questions, or concerns in the comments section of the YouTube upload, or send me a message on the platforms I promote this on :)
REFERENCES:
Framework for these Discussions:
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1981). Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago Press.
"The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction" -- https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/ursula-k-le-guin-the-carrier-bag-theory-of-fiction
Tolkien on Myth -- https://jenniferjsnow.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/11790039-jrr-tolkien-beowulf-the-monsters-and-the-critics.pdf
Joseph Campbell's "The Power of Myth" -- https://www.docsonline.tv/the-meaning-of-life/
David Bohm, “Thought As A System” Published Posthumously 1992 -- https://books.google.ca/books/about/Thought_as_a_System.html?id=Nj77486SOyMC&redir_esc=y
In-Discussion References:
Collectivism -- https://www.google.com/search?q=collectivism&oq=collectivism+&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i59j0l2j46i20i263j69i60j69i61l2.2903j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Individualism -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individualism
Thomas Malthus and Malthusianism -- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Malthus
Ursual Le Guin, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” -- http://sites.asiasociety.org/asia21summit/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/3.-Le-Guin-Ursula-The-Ones-Who-Walk-Away-From-Omelas.pdf
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By thelegendmakerspodcastIn this week’s episode, we take a minute to reflect on ways and whys to balance individual autonomy and collective good in a more relaxed conversation about the somewhat contentious film Avengers: Infinity War. How are we defining “good”? Who gets to choose what “good” is? Is there a difference between a person choosing to sacrifice their self, versus a group or institution choosing to sacrifice that person on the group's behalf? And what, exactly, are we sacrificing along the way? Tune in to catch: an accidental spiral on the writing choices made in Civil War, a valiant attempt to understand Thanos’s questionably neo-Malthusian motivations, lots of enthusiasm about romance, and, in a thrilling twist, a very special guest appearance.
We don’t mean at all to put down anyone who likes the movie Avengers: Endgame and we hope that none of the frustrations expressed about that movie were hurtful or upsetting to anyone who enjoys it! You do you, etc. etc. Hopefully we explain ourselves well enough that it’s understandable why we have the frustrations we do.
As always, feel free to share any thoughts, questions, or concerns in the comments section of the YouTube upload, or send me a message on the platforms I promote this on :)
REFERENCES:
Framework for these Discussions:
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1981). Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago Press.
"The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction" -- https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/ursula-k-le-guin-the-carrier-bag-theory-of-fiction
Tolkien on Myth -- https://jenniferjsnow.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/11790039-jrr-tolkien-beowulf-the-monsters-and-the-critics.pdf
Joseph Campbell's "The Power of Myth" -- https://www.docsonline.tv/the-meaning-of-life/
David Bohm, “Thought As A System” Published Posthumously 1992 -- https://books.google.ca/books/about/Thought_as_a_System.html?id=Nj77486SOyMC&redir_esc=y
In-Discussion References:
Collectivism -- https://www.google.com/search?q=collectivism&oq=collectivism+&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i59j0l2j46i20i263j69i60j69i61l2.2903j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Individualism -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individualism
Thomas Malthus and Malthusianism -- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Malthus
Ursual Le Guin, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” -- http://sites.asiasociety.org/asia21summit/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/3.-Le-Guin-Ursula-The-Ones-Who-Walk-Away-From-Omelas.pdf