bruceyg - every single one of us moves in a fairly clearly defined circle of people of similar education standards, professions, similar views and it is important to sometimes look and listen to outsiders, i.e. people with totally different life experiences. This is where a forum like HC also comes in (for me), but general societal trends are also worth watching.
Re the books, films you suggest: In my youth I was a science fiction fanatic (Asimov, Orwell, Huxley, Wells, even Jules Verne etc.) and there are many things in our modern world which were anticipated in some form by those writers. I also like big-scale 'sagas' like the heroic tales of all the world's peoples, invented ones (Sci-Fi if you like) like Tolkien's Ring tales - most film sagas (Star Wars) are just spin-offs of those creative talents. 'Soylent Green' I read as a book and watched only a bit of the movie (on TV) and then turned off. I, together with my husband, loved Star Trek.
However these days, older and wiser I find, that there are few films worth watching which really do hit the 'truth' button; a lot of film makers simply make movies to get the chills up our spines and the dollars rolling in and don't have great ethics. However, as far as cautionary tales go, they are good.
I am not big into media, I probably get a few images a day from one of my kids who's got a new dog, the odd birthday wish on Facebook and that's it. But a few years ago I was pretty 'mouthy' and outspoken over the internet and an old work colleague of mine who had gone back to the States found me over the internet (I had moved jobs and address since and have an unlisted phone number). I then checked all my old user words etc. and was astounded at what I found - nothing to be ashamed of, I might add, but enough to give a malignant outsider a chance at 'profiling' me.
I visit England every 3 or 4 years, have a daughter, married, there - and the amount of security lights in the streets, watching over traffic, is unbelievable, plus you live very close to your neighbours, unless you are super-wealthy - and spying via some-one's WiFi would be an easy thing to do.
Europe you needn't write off just yet - IF the present movement of people can be stopped (the bigger problem are ignorant uneducated Africans, landing anywhere on the Southern coasts and eventually making their way inland, even walking across the Alps) - they will be integrated. The crime rate is not nearly as much as some people will have you believe. Yes, the authorities try and suppress anything involving a 'migrant', but the problem is being managed - as I hinted in one of my mails, it will only be resolved if the local populations 'invite' a foreigner into their lives by way of cheap labour, but also acquaintance and friendship. (There isn't enough work, but essentially there no longer exist 'servants' in the old-fashioned way and everyone of us (myself included) spends a lot of time doing work which is simple, repetitive and which could be outsourced, if the price is right. I keep saying this to everyone I meet from overseas. )
Europe has always had invasions by way of its many large and also petty wars with the resultant foreign DNA left in the local population etc. - I just had an Ancestry DNA test done on myself and was astounded at the result (if it is true, that is) - still genuinely European, but from all over the place. The really big problem is youth unemployment, particularly in places like Spain and Greece.
Society, societies in general will have to come to make a new compact with a large underclass of very poor people - there has been no trickle-down effect from the super-wealthy, there never will be; it will probably be 'revolution' or a 'coming-of-age' i.e.willingness by the super-wealthy who hold more than half the worlds' wealth (I think it's more, but do not obsess about these things) to pay higher taxes, or just to pay their due share, which they don't do at the moment, nay, it's the opposite, they avoid paying tax wherever they go - parasites!
I'll keep a look-out for the 'Mirror' - have to check out your remark about re-wiring the brain???
There is a lot of research happening into the workings of the brain and it's something which interests me - re-directing one's thoughts is possible but it takes a lot more than just a movie, or even media. I believe that the constant checking for emails on mobiles gives a kind of dopamine gratification, but going by my own, brief brush with it, the addictive qualities wear off.
It will soon become more common knowledge that regular handling and keeping a mobile close on your body has possible cancer-producing effects; one should also only keep it on the bedside table when totally turned off. Similar with any other electronic gadget on or near your bed - don't have them.
Thanks for your input re media safety - I hope for more from anyone who reads this, please.
Taurisk
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