The Stories We Tell

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There is a way to understand both sides of the AI utopia/apocalypse dichotomy. A bizarre ideology that has finally started to get the critical attention it deserves for its perverse worldview that seeks to demolish democracy in favor of their exclusionary utopia, whether the rest of the world wants it or not. It is a deeply anti-human worldview that sees humans as “biological bootladers” for digital superintelligence, a mere stepping stone toward their techno-capitalist fantasies of infinite growth.

Emile P. Torres was a true believer in this ideology for ten years, and after seeing it for the cult that it was, left the movement and became one of its harshest and most prolific critics. They, along with computer scientist Tinmit Gebru, explained that the movement was rooted in eugenics with their TESCREAL thesis, which I think is one of the least understood, yet most vital theories for explaining the AI race in the US. Unfortunately, far too many on the left don’t understand it and even platform its many adherents. Bernie Sanders, bless his heart, has been fully doomer-pilled and is taking advice from supposed “experts” like Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares, and has allowed their sci-fi delusions to drive policy proposals.

Watch on YouTube & see sources: https://youtu.be/tQQWJUSsEgk

Emile's Newsletter: https://www.realtimetechpocalypse.com/

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Today I am joined by Ben from the YouTube channel Dummy, where he talks about media theory, history, and business. In this episode we touch on a wide range of topics, from propaganda, to Noam Chomsky, an ecological approach to media literacy, the Israel-Palestine war, YouTube censorship, Trump 2.0, big tech, and much more!

I also give a preview of what's coming down the pipe for this podcast. I got a lot of ideas!

Ben's Video

My video

Other links

SUBSTACK

YOUTUBE

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL

INSTAGRAM

EMAIL: [email protected]

NEW DISCORD

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'Little Miss Sunshine' teaches us to accept our absurd existence, and in this acceptance, we can find joy. In this video, I bring in concepts from Albert Camus, Friedrich Nietszche, and Marcel Proust to illustrate that the suffering we feel should not be resisted, but accepted, a powerful concept to anyone who’s gone through a dark time in their life.

My other videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM-cp9Mw810

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Us5_-iiEbE

https://youtu.be/DdCxER5hoLc?si=HzYPZEPW99Kx268K

https://youtu.be/rRPkaVtx1_o?si=g9lWy-jbyWHT1l25

Website: https://remarkablebooksandfilm.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestorieswetell303/

Email: [email protected]

Podcast: https://remarkablebooksandfilm.com/podcast

Buy used books from me if you live in Denver: https://remarkablebooksandfilm.com/buy-books

0:00 - Sisyphus

1:20 - The Power of Acceptance

3:40 - Channel Intro

4:22 - Dwayne; or Do What You Love & Fuck the Rest

9:14 - Frank; or Forgive Yourself

11:42 - Richard; or It's Okay to Lose

14:47 - Sheryl; or Accept What You Cannot Control

16:31 - Olive; or Embrace Yourself

19:18 - Accepting the Absurd

Sources

'The Myth of Sisyphus' by Albert Camus

'The Will to Power by Friedrich Nietszche

'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' by Friedrich Nietszche

'In Search of Lost Time' by Marcel Proust

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4pDUxth5fQ

#philosophy #camus #nietzsche #videoessay #proust #filmreview #acceptance #mentalhealth #sisyphus

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In part 2 of my 'Crime & Punishment' analysis, we will take a look at Dunya, and how she shows strength in the face of patriarchal dominance and ideals

#crimeandpunishment #feminism #Dostoevsky #philosophy #classics #literature #russianclassics #videoessay #patriarchy

My other videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzqZOPxcIfc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Us5_-iiEbE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM-cp9Mw810

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKBdxYqavCw

https://youtu.be/DdCxER5hoLc?si=iOIlR2e3EFcUvfds

https://youtu.be/rRPkaVtx1_o?si=g9lWy-jbyWHT1l25

Website: https://remarkablebooksandfilm.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestorieswetell303/

Email: [email protected]

Podcast: https://remarkablebooksandfilm.com/podcast

Buy used books from me if you live in Denver: https://remarkablebooksandfilm.com/buy-books

Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbweDNPP_Ak&t=1s

‘Sonya, Silent no More: A response to the woman question in Crime and Punishment’ by Elizabeth Blake

https://youtu.be/F1KKNKHJsuY?si=9IGHRsfxIeAAk7gM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOpf6KcWYyw

Dostoevsky and Women by M. https://dostoevsky-bts.com/blog/dostoyevsky-and-women/

Dostoevsky on Feminism by Thinking Housewife https://www.thinkinghousewife.com/2013/08/dostoevsky-on-feminism/

Svidrigailov and the "Performing Self" by R.E. Richardson

Art used:

Raskolnikov, Dünya, and Svidrigailov: https://carcinogenical.tumblr.com/

Sonya: https://medium.com/@premiumeth/femininity-in-fyodor-dostoevskys-crime-and-punishment-7970cb924de1

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

4:14 - Svidrigailov: Patriarchy as a Weapon

16:58 - Luzhin's Miscalculated Risks

25:10 - Dunya, Sonya & Feminism

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Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Us5_-iiEbE

Unpacking Raskolnikov’s Egoistic Utilitarianism and Sonya’s love as a savior in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment.

#CrimeAndPunishment #Dostoevsky #philosophy #classics #literature #russianclassics #Raskolnikov #Sonya #videoessay #utilitarianism #egoism

My other videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM-cp9Mw810

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKBdxYqavCw

https://youtu.be/DdCxER5hoLc?si=iOIlR2e3EFcUvfds

https://youtu.be/DdCxER5hoLc?si=HzYPZEPW99Kx268K

https://youtu.be/rRPkaVtx1_o?si=g9lWy-jbyWHT1l25

Website: https://remarkablebooksandfilm.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestorieswetell303/

Email: [email protected]

Podcast: https://remarkablebooksandfilm.com/podcast

Buy used books from me if you live in Denver: https://remarkablebooksandfilm.com/buy-books

Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbweDNPP_Ak&t=1s

‘Sonya, Silent no More: A response to the woman question in Crime and Punishment’ by Elizabeth Blake

https://youtu.be/F1KKNKHJsuY?si=9IGHRsfxIeAAk7gM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOpf6KcWYyw

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

4:44 - Raskolnikov | Egoistic Utilitarianism

17:26 - Sonya | Moral Integrity and Love

23:24 - Love as a Savior

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VIDEO ESSAY ON YOUTUBE

Mindfulness, space, absurdism & writing.

You don't have to be anything. You only have to be.

#meditation #mindfulness #absurdism #nature #buddhism #space #philosophy #camus #sisyphus #videoessay

My other videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM-cp9Mw810

https://youtu.be/DdCxER5hoLc?si=iOIlR2e3EFcUvfds

https://youtu.be/DdCxER5hoLc?si=HzYPZEPW99Kx268K

https://youtu.be/rRPkaVtx1_o?si=g9lWy-jbyWHT1l25

Website: https://remarkablebooksandfilm.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestorieswetell303/

Email: [email protected]

Podcast: https://remarkablebooksandfilm.com/podcast

Buy used books from me if you live in Denver: https://remarkablebooksandfilm.com/buy-books

Sources:

https://bigthink.com/hard-science/the-universe-may-be-a-giant-neural-network-heres-why/

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-43674270

'The Art of Living' by Thich Nhat Hanh

'The Myth of Sisyphus' by Albert Camus

'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' by Friedrich Nietzsche

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FULL VIDEO ESSAY ON YOUTUBE!

The greatest art makes you question. Question who you are, what you believe. Question the assumptions you make about the world around you. Question the fabric of reality, the nature of being. Question free will or fate. Question systemic influences of behavior, or intrinsic human desires.

It does not answer, because in answers we find a more shallow understanding of ourselves and of the world’s complexity.

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen is one of these great pieces of art. Its questions are not concerned with your preexisting notions of the Vietnam War, nor will it dichotomize the opposing sides into good and bad, right and wrong. The complexities of the War are not simplified, and our American-centric perspective is challenged at every turn. If you read closely and mindfully, you may finish the book having examined the very nature of your way of thinking, our collective desire to neatly place thought into ideological boxes that give us an easy position on any issue.

#vietnamwar #books #booktube #ideology #videoessay #zizek #slavojzizek #capitalism #philosophy #vietnam #literature #thesympathizer #propoganda #hollywood #communism #consumerism #vietnamesebooks

0:00 - Intro

1:12 - A Man of Two Faces

7:50 - Asian-American Rage

14:44 - Independence and Freedom

21:31 - Question Everything

32:45 - Conclusion

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THIS EPISODE IS AVAILABLE AS A VIDEO ESSAY ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL

The Iron Giant and Spirited Away's No-Face have more in common than you might think. I'll explore how their identity is shaped by empathy, and how this relates to my own struggles with identity.

#film #studioghibli #theirongiant #ghibli #filmreview #videoessay

Website: https://remarkablebooksandfilm.com/

Instagram:   / thestorieswetell303  

Podcast: https://remarkablebooksandfilm.com/po...

Buy used books from me if you live in Denver: https://remarkablebooksandfilm.com/bu...

0:00 - Intro

1:00 - Finding Identity

5:31 - It Came from Outer Space

9:45 - Xenophobia

14:46 - Full Circle

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EPISODE AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE!!!

Vanity masquerades as individuality. Selfishness masquerades as acheivement. Pointless pursuits masquerade as progress.

Victor Frankenstein embodied these ideas when he devoted years of his life to merciless toil in the name of science. He was vain, selfish, and pursued great accomplishments, not for the sake of improving the world or helping people, but for his own ego and legacy. The cruel twist of irony in Frankenstein is that exactly this arrogance doomed him to a life of vicious misery.

Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, the 1818 classic of gothic horror and science fiction, in the age of—and largely in response to—the Industrial Revolution, a time of great human “progress” and “achievement”. It is a harrowing tale of a scientist that goes too far and creates a monster in his desire to learn “the secrets of heaven and earth”. And although he occasionally frames this thirst for knowledge as a driver, the much greater desires, by his own admition, are glory and power. Frankenstein says, “A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs.”

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Director Céline Sciamma decided upon two key omissions early in production of Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019). First, that there would be few smiles from the all-female cast in what became the first 70 minutes of runtime. Second, that there would be no music, save two scenes where it crystallizes with the power and emotion of a thunderstorm. “…you will have to find the musicality of the film elsewhere,” Sciamma said in an interview with IndieWire. “In the rhythm of the scenes, in the bodies of the actors.”

The film follows Marianne, a french painter commisioned to secretly make a portrait of Héloïse, the daughter of an aristocrat who resides in a castle on the island where the film takes place. The painting must be created secretly because Héloïse refused to pose for the previous painter in protest of her upcoming arranged marriage. She is quite literally trapped, her anger an everpresent flame beneath a steely expression.

Over the course of the film, desire between Marianne and Héloïse swells like the tumultuous ocean which they gaze upon while stealing longing glances at each other, until the swells coalesce into a grand wave of passionate hunger, a necessity for each other’s touch. Portrait portrays the yearning and desperate lust of an early relationship better than any film I’ve seen, all upon the tragic backdrop of the lovers’ knowledge that what they’ve captured cannot last. For Héloïse is betrothed to another, a Milanese aristocrat who she barely knows.

The lack of music in most of Portrait is jarring, and requires magnificent performances from the actors who play Héloïse (Adèle Haenel) and Marianne (Noémie Merlant) to provide rhythm to the love that we experience through them. Sciamma pulls off her unconventional approach, which she describes as purposeful, “to put the viewer in the same physical condition and frustration” as the forbidden lovers.

Sciamma meticulously establishes the two characters, draws out their building desire through furtive glances and suppressed smiles. Indeed, we don’t see them kiss until nearly 80 minutes into the film. That’s not to say there is no intimacy, but rather points to the mastery of the craft that Sciamma exhibits in showing such intimacy outside of traditional means. The tender framing, the lush sound design, the warm cinematography, the careful dialogue. All of it adds to a tension which grows so tight that by the time they finally embrace and commit to their love, emotion pours out like a gushing river in which the viewer cannot help but be swept away.

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