theoretically: why would someone bother?
Discussion
have you met a human being before.
i mean really
like have you really met one
a human being
like in someone else or in yourself
are people aware if some of the shit that has happened on this planet thru time to human beings?
this is mild
the boulder, it wasnt personal
can we imagine the shit actual human beings who have met themselves are capable of when it is personal
mildly, casually,
when watching this film, Scott's Gladiator (2000) why does this line land with viewers
as in, if there wasnt a corresponding sentiment in the viewer, a recognition of the human beingness of the character, what this character suffered, how much this character means it, it wouldnt land at all
a viewer doesnt watch like:
maximus oh no bb. you take nothing with you, my guy
a viewer watches like: damn well probably. like probably this character if they die rn ~will~ find a way actually
cos we, as viewers, were with him
saw that marcus aurelius (richard harris!!!!) shouldnt have even asked that
saw what happened as a result
saw maximus race home
saw what happened to his family, murdered, both crucified
as viewers: yea you probably cant do that to a human being and expect them to be lying when they say "or the next"
like probably not fronting that guy
like commodus you are likely fucked
like in the film right now as a viewer i can expect this film gives me the satisfying commodus comeuppance at least or as viewers we riot we burn this theater down
and that's why cinema is and can be really awesome
the camaraderie silently with strangers in the dark
we are all on the same page
in the director's hands
immersed
and in this example:
pretty damn sure commodus gets his
to really drive this home:
watching in theaters for the first time,
couldve paused the film at this scene
house lights on
Ridley Scott comes walking down the aisle
he asks the audience:
"hey quick informal poll
raise your hand if you think commodus dies by the end of my film"
and much more seriously tho, why?
cos you cant do all that to someone.
cos that character, maximus, is a someone to us thru spending the time we have so far, in the story
a fictional story
where do fictional stories come from?
what are they inspired by
for them to be relatable
for you to feel them
for you to root for a character on a fundamental level
for you to be in your core all in on this
i dont have an answer to that
but i really dont think it is:
fictional stories?
a ruse, invention, fabrication, feigned, fake, fib, a scam, a series of lies, make believe, just made up random shit
as in, sure it is fiction
~but also~, as in ~and yet~
that doesnt quite hit the mark
doesnt really land as the whole picture
or even a plain picture in stark simplicity
i really like: "to knead, form out of clay,"
anyway, if it is natural for Scott's hero in Gladiator to feel this way
natural to us, in the audience, having seen what he has been thru, to accept that of course he feels that was, as in, as a viewer "i would, too."
well, shit like this, as bad as this, crimes against humanity at this level have happened thru time, continue to happen, will likely continue to happen today
in all this time, even centuries ago, when people had no doomscrolling, no tv, no fomo, and only time
do we honestly think not a single human being has ever been capable of what seems so readily believable and likely achievable when it comes to maximus when russell crowe delivers this line in the script?
like.. in the span of simply ~known~ still recoverable human history, uncontroversial, in historian consensus,
maximus had it pretty ok
maximus did not suffer death by a thousand cuts
凌遲 Lingchi: usually translated "slow slicing" or "death by a thousand cuts", is a form of torture and execution that was used in China from roughly 900 until it was banned in 1905.
a thousand years of death by a thousand cuts
not one guy was like:
nah. fuck this. im coming back here. cos fuck you.
im simply saying
all the devotional practice
all the sacrifice
all the monks and nuns there ever were
the prophets, priests, martyrs
not one?
not one
has managed?
press x to doubt
that's where i am on it
and if one has managed
a kid who sat in a cave on the side of a mountain since he was five years old until he died at 112 in the 1300s
if one person ever managed
well why just one
have fifty thru time?
a thousand?
what is the recipe?
different every time?
a couple thousand?
a hundred thousand?