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Getting On : All My Politics
The Family as a Fellini Film | from exister - Monday, November 10, 2003
accessed 1873 times Bizzare pageantry and weird religious symbolism was not invented by The Family. It occurred to me that in many ways The Family is like a weird Fellini film. If the Italian director were still alive today he might have looked to The Family for a story idea.
If you want to see what I mean then watch "Satyricon" a fun jaunt through bizarre symbolism with plenty of sexual aberration for good measure. I watched it with a friend of mine and the homoerotic pedophilic overtones were too much for him, but if you put up with The Family's crap for a few years you will probably find this film interesting.
This brings me to my next point. I am fascinated by dereliction. If I am on the bus and a psychotic street bum is rambling I may start writing down what he is saying for its entertainment value. I will study the posture and stride of crack whores for field identification purposes. When forced to assume about people's private lives I will ascribe to them the basest and most derelict attributes that can be logically justified. And I derive great entertainment from any media that deals with the more pathetic aspects of the human condition.
Do any of you share these traits? If so, why are we this way, and what does it mean for our future? |
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Reader's comments on this article Add a new comment on this article |  from rainy
Monday, April 23, 2007 - 02:36
(Agree/Disagree?)
Does everyone just hate it when I dig up old stuff like this? If so just tell me to stop. Whether I'll listen to you depends on how bored I am.
Anyway, Exister, I found this interesting, as I am also fascinated by dereliction, although I'd never put that into a thought before.
Especially when I first left the Family, I was fascinated with people and really wanted to know what made them 'tick'. I was pretty crazy, I have to say. Walking home from work late at night with a likeminded friend, we came across a drunk sprawed on the footpath. So we sat next to him, and before long we had heard his entire life story. Great old bloke, telling us his children were hollywood stars and that he'd written some famous song but nobody knew it was him. After that we continued on our way (It's about 2:00 AM) and came across somebody totally off their face on who knows what drugs in the park. He was convinced aliens where coming tonight and he was hiding in the park and getting his lasers ready. We tried to listen respectfully, but really we were trying hard to keep from pissing ourselves with laughter.
I was living in the city where it was supposed to be dangerous, so I just decided to get to know all the dangerous people and discover why they were like that. Stupid I know. But there it is. I did end up knowing most of them in the end.
I'd always been like that though. In India and Sri Lanka I would sit next to beggar children on the street to talk with them and look in their little mud shacks and get them treats from the local wallah. In that case of course, the injustice could be overwhelming, but the joy emanating from the children makes it all a happy experience.
Still now, I ride the bus every day and get to know everyone on it. Recently an obviously drunk aboriginal man got on and sat next to me. I started talking to him, and found out he's been travelling Australia trying to get justice for an aboriginal man who was beaten to death in custody. Talking to him was humbling, as I realised I seldom think about what these people go through everyday in this country which I think is so beautiful. It's not so beautiful to them. It's not the lucky country for everyone. That night, there he was on the news. His name is Michael Cockatoo. He was on his way to a meeting with the Prime Minister.
I don't know if my fascination has the same origins as yours, but this idea resonated with me all the same.
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| | | | | | | | | |  From vix
Monday, April 23, 2007, 03:25
(Agree/Disagree?)
:-)
I know it's off topic (although in my own head it relates very well to what you're discussing but I'm not going to try to articulate that just now), but further to our convo in chat earlier, here's a great quote I just read:
"Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
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| | | | | | | | from anovagrrl
Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 13:02
(Agree/Disagree?)
Sounds like you got the twisted soul of a social worker. Derelicts-R-Us! I particularly liked working with people who have psychoses--these folks can be hilarious (if they're not also homicidal). I'll never forget the guy who couldn't walk because he thought he had a 7-foot penis. That particular delusion caused him quite a lot of trouble until the meds kicked in. He was a really sweet guy, btw. Ever watch someone with a crack-induced psychosis? It's like channel-surfing at warp speed.
I also liked working with really chaotic, dysfunctional families. I get a vicarious thrill from getting up close to serious deviance. Family values--hah! As the defense of marriage folks say, Every child deserves to have a mommy and a daddy. So what happens with "dad" is an alcoholic drag queen and "mom" tells her 13 and 14-year-old daughters she'll give $500 to the first one who gets pregnant by the 17-year-old "cousin" she's been sleeping with? God forbid we put the 13-year-old (who claims she's lesbian) in a foster home parented by two womyn!
Yep, I get the Family-as-Fellini-flick concept. I loved Satyricon. Ordinary folk have no idea just how bizaare the world can be. Maybe that's why Jerry Springer had such a hit show, but I had a problem with all the screaming and violence. Deviance can be entertaining, but behind the chaos and insanity there's usually a lot of suffering going on. Maybe that's how you learned to survive in TF--by taking a stance of amused detachment. Coming from a fairly wacked-out family of origin, I see that as one of my coping mechanisms.
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| | | | from Joe H
Monday, November 17, 2003 - 11:18
(Agree/Disagree?)
If you're so fascinated with dereliction, you should watch Mugatu's "Derelicte" fashion show this sunday on E!
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| | | | from ChimpChutney
Monday, November 17, 2003 - 06:33
(Agree/Disagree?)
I agree blasphemy as it is most commonly reffered to is nothing new. While your on those lines dont pass up Ken Russell's work particularly The Devils (UK cut only, only on VHS).
A great deal of Euro Trash (1960s/70s horror/gialli) combined religion sex and violence (Dario Argento's Inferno, Michele Soavi's La Chiesa, Jess Franco's evil nuns, Juan Lopez Moctezuma's Alucarda) - fairly obvious material for artistes raised in obscenely Catholic societies rife with contradiction.
If it weren't for American censorship and Hollywood domination I'd expect a resurgance of the genre (parodies and piss-takes aside) from the stables of small town fundamentalism in the US.
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| | | | | | | | | | from Sir Rantalot
Sunday, November 16, 2003 - 17:20
(Agree/Disagree?)
This guy has got class. I Thînk his post is damn funny!
(reply to this comment)
| from neez
Sunday, November 16, 2003 - 16:12
(Agree/Disagree?)
"I am fascinated by dereliction... And I derive great entertainment from any media that deals with the more pathetic aspects of the human condition."
No your not the only one.. Have you heard of the Jerry Springer Show?
(reply to this comment)
| From exister
Monday, November 17, 2003, 12:03
(Agree/Disagree?)
Dude, I love the Jerry Springer Show. I once took a 30 day vacation and watched Jerry Springer every day over breakfast. It beat the crap out of "Devotions."
The genius of Jerry Springer is that it is fueled by preexisting phenomena. Trailer trash will get involved in verbal and physical altercations with each other, Mr. springer realized that for the price of a plane ticket and a couple nights at a hotel he could harness this natural process and make a killing.
BTW, a few weeks ago someone wrote an opera based on the Jerry Springer Show and its opening sold out in a few days. (reply to this comment) |
| | From Lance
Sunday, April 10, 2005, 03:31
 (Agree/Disagree?)
While I understand the fascination with the human condition, and all the emotional drama that comes with it. I do not understand how you can show signs of having any level of intellect while still appreciating any slop thrown to you by the media. Such prefabricated crap like the Jerry Springer show is meant for the proletarian who is too stupid to differentiate reality from the histrionic nonsense that is spoon-fed to them by an over zealous media who only cares for ratings.
Jerry springer is not a genius. He simply knows how to use the ignorant masses for profit - much like a dead cult leader that I used to know. (reply to this comment) |
| | | | | From Lance
Saturday, April 16, 2005, 04:53
(Agree/Disagree?)
I accept your criticism, yet I feel the overwhelming desire to admonish your use of the word 'prozaic'.
I'm sure you meant prosaic. But I won't judge.
Sin City is but one on a list of movies that I must see soon, and I'll have to catch it in order to get a better understanding of whatever point it is that you're trying to make.
I wish you good luck in the whole army endeavor.(reply to this comment) |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | From Lance
Saturday, April 16, 2005, 05:13
(Agree/Disagree?)
If money diminishes the value of ones soul then I'm sure Jerry Springer is far worse the tyrant then Berg.
Is that the point you were trying to make?
(Please note the question mark and don't reply with silly rhetorical nonsense about "what is a soul" etc.)
I am not questioning your ideals. I am only criticizing your resources.
The Jerry Springer show is a circus, meant only to delight the paying crowd. You should consider yourself smarter then that.
And by all means: "redeem your fucking brain cells"!
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| | | | | From neez
Tuesday, November 18, 2003, 19:15
(Agree/Disagree?)
If you can make your first million of psycho-babbling bums & crack-whores.. I'll be the first to shake your hand.
I could never handle more then 10 minutes of Jerry..
It's all the same... The obese cowboy wearing the nurses outfit begs his 'girlfriend' to leave her 98yr old lover & respect him for the confused freak he really is. & when that doesn't work, he decides that the best way to demand respect from a roomful of strangers is to start removing his clothes.
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| | | | | From exister
Wednesday, November 19, 2003, 12:51
(Agree/Disagree?)
Come on man, you don't give yourself enough credit. People raised in the family are the ones best equiped to deal with the dredges of society. After all we were surrounded by them throughout our childhood. That is probably the reason I worked as a corrections medic for 2 years. The pedophiles and psychopaths I dealt with everyday at work were not very different from the ones I had to dodge every day when I was a kid.(reply to this comment) |
| | | | | from DarkAngel
Sunday, November 16, 2003 - 04:27
(Agree/Disagree?)
Exister ,it seems that you don't have a life ,although we probably all have similar tendencies and attractions I'm believe that if I would take my kicks the way you do I would end up a cynic
(reply to this comment)
| From DarkAngel
Sunday, November 16, 2003, 04:36
(Agree/Disagree?)
Sorry got cut off B4 finishing ,Well If you love yourself try to put yourself in those folks shoes and send some good vibes their way after all we all need someone to pull us trough ; if not in action may be in thoughts and prayers or positive influence ...
Don't take me wrong now I do have the same tendencies too ..
Not everything learned in the Fam. is trash let's make some lemonade out off Fam. doctrines ...
After all they're not Fam. doctrines to start with ,but simple christians or self respectfull humans ideas.(reply to this comment) |
| | From exister
Monday, November 17, 2003, 12:10
(Agree/Disagree?)
It is clear that you have not yet purged your mind of all of the knee jerk reactions and hang ups that were jammed down your throat by a 2x4 wielding brute passing himself off as a shepherd of god's little sheep. How long you been out, kid? Six months? When you have managed to turn your mind into a blank slate then come back and we can talk about true human compassion devoid of the cruel prejudices of a dead god.(reply to this comment) |
| | | | | From exister
Wednesday, November 19, 2003, 20:01
(Agree/Disagree?)
Putdowns aside, It can take years to clear out the clutter.
"I 'm still a believer and the Fam. wierdness will not take this away"
The problem with this is that your belief is still infected. To achieve true belief do the following
1. Believe nothing.
2. Find a belief system you like.
3. Engage in it.
4. If it feels weird go back to step 1.
Chances are that after completing step 1 you will feel so good you will forget all about steps 2 through 4.
Finally, quit being so afraid of God. Even if he weren't dead he wouldn't take the time to be mad at you, your worthless.
Have a swell day :->, exister (reply to this comment) |
| | | | | From loch
Monday, April 11, 2005, 14:18
(Agree/Disagree?)
DarkAngel, ask yourself why you believe what you do? Is it not possible that it's because you have known nothing else?
I feel, that you can't claim to have true faith in any one God or faith, untill you have heard all that is out there to hear. Kind of like the simple example of people thinking the world was flat, because they had never seen anything to prove other wise.
I can tell you something for sure, this God you claim to believe in, who you think loves you because he "has his eye on every sparrow" will tear your heart out, and then tell you to get over it because he has a plan that you can't see.
If there is a God, we are his pawns in a sick game, and he/she/it doesn't give a crap about any of us. and if you think I'm being "dark" or "bitter" then all I can say is, you most likely have not experienced life to it's full yet.(reply to this comment) |
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