Chin Up, Keep Muddling Through

I got rejected from BMI, bah. I was pretty upset about that today, but I've decided to do the healthy thing and repress all of my emotions and make this a damn interesting blog entry if it kills me.

OK, so what's interesting? I was thinking today about the way we, nowadays, portray aliens in our movies. They're robot-ish, intelligent but difficult to understand, but perhaps most importantly, they usually ooze some kind of unfortunate fluid or have disturbing eyes or unappealingly textured skin. I have to figure that our portrayal of aliens is really just a portrayal of how we believe outsiders would view humans. In some ways, the answer is good, in that we're intelligent. But the answer is also an emphasis of the strangeness of our bodies. How we may appreciate them because we're used to them, but they're really slimy and disturbing and would appall anyone who was unfamiliar with them and encountered them. These aliens are also usually immoral creatures with a hint of amorality. It's a bit of "they know not what they do...ok, well, maybe they have a clue and just don't care...or take a little bit of sadistic pleasure in it." It expresses an ambivalence about the negative aspects of our nature. We reap all we can from the planet, from the animals, from each other under the guise of survival. But we really do know what we're doing. And maybe we get more than a little bit of a kick out of pillaging earth. Now, why do I assert that our portrayal of aliens is a reflection on how we view ourselves? To me it seems intuitive, but at least part of it is that we are conceiving of a different intelligent life. But we can't conceive of a kind of intelligent life we know nothing about, so we just emphasize and deemphasize human features. The alien is what we both desire and fear in our fellow man. He is "the other," but not so other than any part of him is truly alien to us.

Now wasn't that interesting? And almost coherent considering I wrote it after my bedtime?

Something else I was chatting with my Dad about the other day: I'm not sure that I believe in catharsis. Now, that's not to say that absolutely nothing is cathartic. I'll grant that sometimes it can be good to cry or exercise or whatever. But I generally find, as does research, I believe, that a so called act of catharsis only very temporarily sates a desire and, in the long run, actually increases that desire. I mean, that's how sex/masturbation/orgasms work, right? You don't desire it much until you start it. Then the need becomes more frequent. Speak to anyone who's been out of a relationship for a week: they desperately crave sex. Speak to anyone who hasn't hooked up with anyone in two years: they'd like it, but the need isn't so immediate. Catharsis is somewhat self-defeating, here. This is also the case with violent movies. Some say these movies get out the tendency toward violence in a non-destructive way. I believe most studies show that by watching violent movies, people really do become more violent. I would love to believe in catharsis for all desires, just I as I would love to believe that there's absolutely no drawback to watching porn. Unfortunately, all experience points against both of these.

Also interesting! Discuss amongst yourselves. Or in the comments section.