Shrinking a Brutalist Real Pain

How institutions, architecture, social groups and the government interact and cater to human emotion is at the core of most entertainment, media, and sadly politics. Some rare movies and TV shows are experts in bringing out the substance and clarity deemed from emotions while others fall short or make it worse with broad sweeping declarations that act like benchmarks that distort reality. I’ve recently seen three great examples that contrast these 3 pillars well. Going in to see the Oscar-nominated film “The Brutalist”, I was really hoping to have my mind changed about brutalist architecture, yet the opposite occurred which in an ironic way would make this a great film but sadly this was not the intent of the filmmakers. The extremely well directed film highlights the gut-wrenching power of one of America’s greatest actors, Adrian Brodie. Brodie conveys such subtle depth and insight, like Meryl Streep he makes every scene he is in a true introspective experience. We all relate and learn from his depiction of pain and anguish, yet the writer director Brady Corbet and co-writer Mona Fastvold not only failed to resolve or even properly explore his dilemma, they presented it in an erroneous presentation catering to beautiful cinematography and minimalist expression lazily mirroring and championing a dangerous societal precedence, brutalist architecture. Brutalist architecture is a post WWII minimalist design structure that exposes construction elements in favor of inexpensive assembly attempting to find beauty in simple stream like lines and bold abstract idealism. Brody’s fictional main character László Tóth, based on several real-life brutalist architects, finds beauty using light and grandiose size, like 50 foot ceilings in small rooms making impractical purely aesthetic spaces meant of reflection or spectacle. His greatest work, an enormous community center uses light to shine a massive cross in a giant empty chapel over concrete and a small marvelous marble altar. While the attempt at minimalist beauty is admirable its steeped in rejectionist symbolism of do-nothing defiance. During the last scene at an honorary event Toth’s niece gives a speech praising her uncle’s work depicting how the rooms and tunnels within his massive community center echoes triumphantly prison rooms and Nazi death camps. The idea being that the soul and spirit of Jewish survivors like Toth are defiant in the face of oppression and tyranny in the timeless work like a memorial to the victims. At the end of her speech and the film she says his work, which we mostly saw only in photos on walls during sweeping pan or over the shoulder shots, is defiantly “about the destination not the journey” as, she quips, authors tell us. This final statement, spoken just feet away from a mute old Toth sitting in a wheelchair is perhaps the greatest argument against brutalist architecture but again this was likely the opposite of Corbet’s intention, yet it’s hard to say given the uninformative last half hour of the film. There are so many unresolved issues regarding Toth including a climatic traumatic event that his wife, adequately played by Felicity Jones, defends him over despite the complete lack of any dialogue between him and the culprit on what occurred. This neglect, like brutalist architecture, ignores human need and comfort, failing to confront the issues at hand. Perhaps this was Cobert’s intention, leave it up to the viewer to decide and assign how things should sit and actualize reality but its this type of thinking that’s giving us the current downfall of American democracy we are watching in real time now with President Trump and his sadistic MAGA project 2025 movement. The United States of America is incidentally burning from cheap wooden homes I digress, ignoring climate change and our responsibility to human need. I don’t dislike the essence minimalist beauty of post brutalist structures like that of Frank Loyd Wrights’ which find harmony with nature or contrasts within the New York rat race like the spiraling Guggenheim art museum on the upper west side of Manhattan, but I would prefer a welcoming statuesque building with beautiful angels, foliage or sculptures of knights pointing to the modern art inside. Perhaps lounges throughout it hosting cafes or comfy classrooms all elevating the human experience as a cozy interactive welcoming art case with a purpose to solve problems like isolation or disassociation which can lead subsequently to the acceptance of disinformation. Why depersonalize art making embracing the aesthetic of shapes as opposed to careful details that long for achievement and the excellence of the human condition. An elegant plush comfortable couch is not in itself inaccessible, but a massive rectangle of concrete is to everyone always. In “The Brutalist”, Toth creates a Zen-like library with a unique beach chair in an empty rotunda. No couches, no tables, no place for people to convene, share, and admire books or even relax in splendorous velvet or lush and plush comfort that most would want for a timeless experience. Instead, you have a cold thought-provoking epitaph which stops time much like the disinformation that coats dangerous political rhetoric. Trust Elon Musk with our records because he’s looking for waste, blame immigrants for crime as we see them lining up at the border, or blame our lack of spirituality on trans youth and abortion. All just dog whistles without any intention of working together with people in a common space to work out all the nuances of our issues and differences, as if a gigantic concreate box is more inviting than an indoor stadium filled with recliners. While on the topic of stadiums; ever notice how almost no seats at ball parks allow the viewer to easily see the pitching at homeplate; they are all upside-down giant C shaped cones although the opposite would help everyone see what’s a strike or ball much clearer. Architecture like political movements need to cater to specific needs and demands in order to be fruitful; creating an inspirational stage to solve problems. We need to take the time to care about each other in our spaces and hearts. What are the origins of our pains? While “The Brutalist” fails to even attempt to resolve pain (although you can make the case that Brody’s expressions in the end do, which is partly why I would recommend the film for its acting and sheer artistry) the film “A Real Pain” desperately tries to solve them but comes up short.

The film currently in theaters and on Hulu written directed and starring Jesse Eisenberg alongside Kieran Culkin who play two cousins on a Jewish heritage tour through Poland is a compellingly earnest look at what defines the human character and how our interactions affect us. The scope and effort here, together with ultra realistic heartfelt performances, especially from Culkin who embodies his annoyingly emotionally needy character with a profound intensity that truly pierces into your psyche becoming an emotional terrorist pinning away at norms and introspection with grand aplomb. The seemingly unfinished script is worth the price of admission and makes this film a must see despite its adequate, albeit, pedestrian direction and weak cinematography, but we are left in the end, like “The Brutalist, unresolved. I truly feel for all the characters in the film. The tour group and the two main characters come together and exchange extremely important takes on how to interpret and examine meaningful interaction. It is an Oscar worthy portrayal of our reality as social creatures dependent on each other to understand social constructs and it does lay important groundwork for communal resolutions, but the main supporting actor is left quite literally staring at the randomness of life’s mundane stage albeit at a place of reflection and good intent. Much like gangster rap that’s missing one line to be helpfully cathartic so to does this film leave us on the edge. Of course this was Eisenberg’s intent, like the majority of his work as an actor, he loves to react humbly leaving actions to our superfluous emotions to work out much. There is a great charm in this. His vulnerability is admirable and his honesty likeable and we do see his characters resolve issues but more so for comedic affect and existentialist drama. I think therefore I am but that’s not how I can change. One can see and appreciate the extreme realism here but damn it man, give me one line telling me he will be ok. Tell me one thing I need to know to change and grow or reach a place where I can feel something divine, not just an extra long hug, symbolizing loss or a view of Poland that looks like Paterson New Jersey looking west.

Give me great minds that find solutions, even if they veer from the harsh reality of empty incompetence or dreaded inaction. Give me a show like the Apple TV series, “Shrinking” about therapists working out issues using our most sacred power; human potential. The writer creators Brett Goldstein and Neil Goldman together with “Ted Lasso” executive producer Bill Lawrence are all about resolution and comfort, whatever the space or depth of need. They take everything they can get and blend it into something tangible that moves us all into an acceptance and deep understanding of our humanity. This is how to be, how to think and how to feel and we are getting this from flawed characters we all love because we are all flawed characters that we should all love. Shrinking into the abyss of mental health, Jason Segal presents a mythical wizard like chosen child portraying his lines with refreshing clarity and Harrison Ford astounds, after dozens of years as a technical actor he is finally finding his method in a performance that redefines the iconic cowboy, or the triumphant warrior king into a relatable mountain of steer actualization. This is perhaps Ford’s greatest acting ever. Where was this unwavering approachable reflection on that bridge with Kylo Ren? We all need method acting to transform emotion into something we can tangibly relate but while he fails to do this in Star Wars he redefines it in Shrinking, a show that should be shown to kids in school to teach them how to be human and how to deal with our shortcomings. This comedy is one of the greatest written masterpieces of human thought and progression, a celebration of divinity in all its subsequent travails. Quite the opposite of a country enraptured into a new administration, squandering for whatever humility can be drawn, the news ignoring Trump’s pronouncements and blatant grift because it’s a show we are all unwittingly playing parts in. Pundits and reporters may hint at the smoke screen distractions, but the headlines aren’t flashing the disinformation. The facts are subdued by the disinformation so much that we are caught off guard and in awe of the spectacle. Trump fears Wall Street and trailer parks taking up pitch forks and tanking his ratings that would cut off his republican support but where is the common ground, where is the resolution of his failings? Why are they all ignoring the largest stumbling blocks and injuries, like the tens of thousands or God knows how many people that will die because almost all USAID has been cut or what occurred on July 1st 2024 when the Supreme Court through its immunity ruling made the office and their own court illegitimate. Why is congress and the people not demanding a vote to reverse these simple acts that harm? Everyone knows absolute power corrupts, well its time for news and entertainment to start “Jimmying”, like Jason Segel’s character in “Shrinking”, Jimmy Laird, going inordinately out of his way to help his clients while barely holding on but with a determination to solve the underlying problem of rhetoric versus reality and better still how our thoughts can manifest resolution. Congress like the therapists on “Shrinking” needs to go back to the origin of our problems like the immunity of the President’s actions or the eroding of our constitution and democratic process. Let us not just describe the pain or simply march like monuments of defiance that do not even resonate with small minded ignorance. Let us embrace and solve our needs not merely flaunt our wants and aspirations keeping them unattainably abstract.

Rez Dogs in the MAGA Megalopolis

Less than 30 days and the unpresented threat to our democracy begins to die or is unleashed spiraling us all, yes; the whole world, into a new unfathomable reality subsequent to the alternate reality we are currently living in. In the days before Sarah Palin, such rhetorically sounding alarms would be just quaint jests of poetic license but sadly today they are not as dozens of court cases and lawsuits present themselves combating active efforts to suppress voting in dozens of states, see the great work at democracy docket for more. The latter is erroneously glossed over as just a few segments unworthy of our constant attention which in news speak would mean network reporters on the scene providing updates everyday and extensive investigation, instead you get a few passing segments and quotes describing the 2020 election as if the only threat were designs to reactivate the rioters to storm the capitol once more declaring not only 2020 but 2024 stolen just as the former president and his some of his surrogates in suits are proposing. The mishandling for such dire misanthropic delusions and the direct corruption it springs from can be neatly experienced symbolically artistically and poetically with hyper stylish aplomb in Francis Ford Coppola’s stunning Megalopolis, but the true answers needed to heal you can feel wholeheartedly by the pond or in the back of the pick-up with the FX Hulu series, Reservation Dogs. Megalopolis is a magnificent epical spectacle that drums out a plethora of timeless old platitudes that should be absorbed. This feature film should be watched not once but several times because it harps on the symbolic grandiose gestures of both tyrannical power and altruistic dreamscapes quite literally but as the beatnik in one of Coppola’s own fluff films, Peggy Sue Got Married suggested about Hemingway’s The Old Man in the Sea; there was no meat on the bone. The old man opined about life, courage, honor, and purpose while fighting for his life bagging a Marlin in a small boat off the coast of Cuba but he returned with a skeleton, like the false communism on the island, unable to feed himself or anyone else. How was Cesar Catilina, played majestically, powerfully and intuitively by Adam Diver, going to incorporate the masses into his plans? What steps could the government of played to of helped New Rome? Are the answers for content peaceful comfortable living so hard to outline or implement sociologically in detailed actions and explanations? As young Bucky in Reservation Dogs said, “at least we know who we are”. The character played brightly by Mato Standing Soldier is suggesting no matter what the white man does or had done to native Americans, they still have purpose and meaning in life because of their identity, culture and ancestors. So why is just under 40 % or hopefully not more holding in their hearts lies as epitaphs to our demise? Bluntly put they don’t see the danger from the MAGA clan, they didn’t experience the daily chaos and anxiety that the former now illegitimate president wrought every single day. How bad can he be when about half of congress and dozens of suits on TV say he will “Make American Great Again”? The truth is the former President would be in prison if not for six members of the supreme court of the United States who have not only delayed and distorted his indictments but worse they redefined our nation on July 1, 2024 with their presidential immunity ruling effectively making us a monarchical republic, no longer a democratic republic. Congress and the justice department can no longer investigate certain communications or actions communicated or actuated by the president of the United States. We are no longer cowboys, ladies and gentlemen, we are now enslaved ranch hands.

The dramatic comedy series Reservation Dogs pines for our souls, and scours for our American Identity amongst heartfelt actuating effective dialogue and resonating performances. The series thrillingly sought to explain what each character needed and what they were going through with profound depth that heals. D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Paulina Alexis, Devery Jacobs, as well as short stints by Oscar nominated actors Lily Gladstone and Ethan Hawke all stand out truly holding their hearts on their faces, conveying the weight of their concerns and spiritual growth, unveiling it in front of our eyes. The dialogue, honestly the best and most meaningful in any series since Ted Lasso, holds us accountable to our inner purpose and identity as defined by our divinity unlike the grandiose glimpses in Megalopolis; a major flaw effecting our politics, fraternization or affiliation versus soul spirit and merit-based value.

Vice President Harris needs to stoke the heartland’s spirit of true liberty and justice among the dangers facing our democracy and indeed human rights by the MAGA movements not just here but throughout the world. Can you imagine Harris in Miami with Cuban dissidents calling out the threats from the Cuban regime while comparing them to the fake electors or to state voter board members once again pining to steal results in America? Or how about appearing with a teen who doesn’t know his mother because he was ripped from her arms at the border? Who are we if we can’t lay out the plans of Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin? What will we become if we can’t spell it out?

ramy r us

Ramy, the dramatic comedy series on Hulu featuring the life of a young Muslim American man in Jersey, is a good metaphor for languishing political situations currently unraveling around the world and in the US of A. Ramy astonishingly brought forth a vision manifesting the most important question for any individual and indeed for mankind itself. Do we live and maintain a spiritual divine state of peace and safety, or do we dwell in desire rift with guilt distortion and ambivalence that divides not merely into mammoth delusionary unequal dichotomies but into a spiral of divisive thought. Ramy loses his sense of self and reality searching for the ultimate love energy to guide us. His uncle comes out manifesting a so-called right wing conservative anger that’s openly discriminatory as Ramy manages to treat him with residual compassion, his soul still lingering from the time he dangerously lied to help a war PTSD suffering individual who begged for redemption. Ramy contrasts his uncle’s dysfunction with an ex American vet’s psychotic tendency. The series treats violence just as it does the sins of lust and distorted outcomes, outlining how kindness and sincerity rule the day even while other more rigid actions cause massive chaos and pain. A Palestinian boy is left to languish in prison from an act of extreme desire albeit distorted passion. He stole the bike and deserved to have his jacket taken from him forcefully, but one suffers much more than the other because society is built on extreme discernment which has replaced reasoned thinking. Politics now uses a pulpit of distorted realities based on false conspiracies spread by social media algorithms which exists to sell ads. Its fine to sell ads, ill give my data for better cheeseburgers gladly but don’t keep fooling my family and friends into clicking on outlandish trails of video clips all serving mendacities upon mendacities upon mendacities for coupons. We as a nation are obsessed with satisfaction, just now most will think of the rolling stones and that song: I can’t get no satisfaction. The thrill especially bounded in culture gives us an indolent contentment; an easy fix of hysteria that acts boldly enough to submit and replace structure action and reasoned thought. At the same time great bold action predicated upon brash courage must immerge. Cuba needs a January 6th to happen but go further, and America needs to root out injustice while rectifying and regulating with new laws.

My favorite scene in the masterful series was when Ramy got his brain compared to that of a heroin addict with the same pleasure reward zones. Ramy, his doctor friend tells him, is overstimulated and needs to calm his mind down in order to get erect. You guessed it. Its all about sex and erections. The economy the environment and our justice system needs to get hard right. We need to storm the capitol building with appointed leaders ready to go; leaders biting at the bit to establish democratic rule in Cuba. Like good sex you got to be in love with what you’re doing, its got to be real, and based on whats good for you. What does science say about our emotions and where those thoughts lead us and how can we implement the proper reaction?

How do you give all your love selflessly? Only in temperance and restraint within the confines of divinity can you see clearly the ways to give of yourself. How much of myself must I share to properly love people? How do I harness this eternal force of contentment, living on the whims of devotion as guided by heartfelt sincerity always? Respecting all the dogma of the world and efforts to seek a reality for the soul after death, each doctrine points to the same conclusion a child could understand. To see truth and justice we should examine the intent of every heart and what motivates emotion. We all recognize our vices knowing how our limitations push us away or distorts our view of reality from a passive peaceful contentment bound by a lack of nervous fear or regret. To be gentle and kind is never complicated except when it is not actualized. This focus of thought is the meaning of life and the clarity of enlightenment. What is the easiest way attain a state of comfortable divinity always? It is easy to contemplate on our God or a different version of him as the means to achieve such discipline. To rule over your expression words and feelings tying then directly to a state of prayer or yoke calling upon the most good that can be felt, thought or actualized.

REVIEW: STUCK TOGETHER a film for a new age of reason

The world has a problem with substance as news has become opinion and commentary, allowing for dangerous distractions and subversions in the social contract; on beautiful display in the patient well-worn staging of average personalities all coping with the same underling problem, “Stuck Together” in a pandemic. The French film’s title itself a not so obvious metaphor for our political constructs. Set during the months before viable vaccines at the height of the covid scare, the humor and drastic realities are masterfully depicted in this epic story weaving a cast of apartment building extroverts and egomaniacs gunning for the most understanding and clarity in the temporary surreal existence of a government-imposed lockdown. The best part of the film stuck to a common theme we are all still feeling; how does your safety or perception of safety relate to who you are as a person? Everyone builds toward whatever grace they can surmise in a struggle to survive, weighing the pros and cons of freedom. One character charged with representing germaphobia was too slapstick for me, but my wife laughed loud during his absurdist scenes incidentally symbolizing the horrifically foolish extremes attempting to trump science and reason at a critical time. The safest vaccines ever, have been ridiculed erroneously ad nauseam. The most epic storyline features lawyer Laurence Arné as Claire; her touching teary eyed acceptance of a political rival’s redemption, that of a brute businessman played engagingly well by François Damiens as Tony. Worth the price of admission, the crescendo like impossible love felt fleeting at the same time as ever enduring, a masterclass of acting and directing capturing the essence of spiritual empowerment. Not far behind in accolades, the treatment of a child’s first romantic love in all its infinite innocent bliss was captured by the serene timing of child actors, Rose De Kervenoaël as louna, and Milo Machado-Graner as Basile; their extremely complex acting, especially at their age, was set to gorgeous cinematography which should have been used more. The innocent romantic love between children captivated in a heart shaped scene. A heavenly painting of a perfect moment seared into your mind with the sign of the heart juxtaposed marvelously. Artful framing and rich photography have sadly been used all too sparingly throughout the history of film; even masters like Bergman, Gilliam, Spike Lee, Wes Anderson, Nolan, and Spielberg who do dabble in scene painting don’t use this technique enough. Several modern political and social dilemmas can be measured against the psychology displayed in this classic film. Perhaps the most intense and glaring question to pose is, how news was examined as commentary throughout or how unexamined ideologies creep into our personalities establishing unrooted convictions lazily carried out at timely extremes. Our current media likewise focuses on soundbites as defining what news is rather than examining the actions and consequences being taken; the boring reporting of progress or lack thereof ignored. At one point in this film, spoiler alert, a doctor is arrested for running dangerous experiments with himself and others unbeknown to them, taken away with a possible perfect vaccine, the science of which remains studied. Perhaps symbolizing the conscious of a modern nonbeliever carried away by opinion in a world desperate for new rules and edifying justice. The dream of Franklyn and Paine, relies on actionable reason going about the reforms and implementation of new ideas and social constructs that brings us together in a harmony of a true democratic republic which strives toward comfort safety and true inclusion. Instead, we a ‘stuck together’, listening to our incoherent gripes and uncontested battles.

Si Se Puede - July 11 in Cuba - documentary short

 https://youtu.be/XDfN2yZXK5o

The Social Dilemma: Seven Months Later

Commercial use algorithms must be designed to omit certain types of content. Even though you can opt out to get your feeds in chronological order without interference and you can also make a feed based on your favorites. These are in effect the safety measures social media companies have created in the wake of our political dystopia in America married like a Siamese twin with an alternate reality of a party which uses lies and deception.

Ever since we began congressional hearings on social media the companies have been working to improve the service by removing extreme content that violates “public standards”, but no plans were laid out to regulate for ‘civic standards’, politics or mental illness.

The scary ai, artificial intelligence, we all should worry most about are social media algorithms which create specialized content to serve advertisers. Seven months after the epic documentary film The Social Dilemma we still haven’t addressed the elephant in the room, and it bears repeating. At one point the film which should be required viewing for students, a fictional teen girl smashes a locked box to get her phone locked up on purpose by her mom for only one hour and her son tries for a week without his phone; both instances showcasing the extremes of online addiction. Through these dramatizations guided by interviews with many of the original social media algorithm creators the harsh reality of modern-day technology is clearly evident but the solutions and regulatory needs are not detailed.

We all have our own distinct social media feeds, separate and individual, and when manipulations increase polarization for profit, it becomes dangerous especially when its used just for your attention. Information and news can never be politically motivated in such an environment because it creates harmful interest groups. Content that is deliberately a deception should be considered political and should not be part of any algorithm reliant on holding your attention to sell ads. The psychological consequences will be studied for years to come but what is most urgent is how it effects politics. It is unethical for social media platforms to monetize any content that contains socio political information. While of course free speech and political content should never be banned; people should be able to search and find any type they want legally, but that content again should not be used in algorithms that are monetized to maintain your attention in order to play you ads; this by definition becomes a political ad even if there is no person or political party physically purchasing the feeds. The examples of governments paying social media to help them win elections by manipulating viewers is appalling and egregious. Democracy should never be caught up in a sale of any kind. That is the existential threat. Manipulating your attention for market uses I believe are fair game while obviously coming with other types of psychological problems that should be further studied and regulated. Likewise online platforms should never be able to block search content; the internet must be free from commercial obstruction.

They are calculating our emotions and actions online, analyzing what we consume for advertisers. Political ad buying should never be a part of this and must be illegal on social media, period. Hours of congressional Hearings didn't even mention this as a viable solution. At the very least political monetization altering motivations and the habits of users should be illegal on social media platforms.

Solutions at end of the documentary film give some other essential tips on how you fight the algorithms like not clicking on recommend videos, but the problem is not with savvy people that could reprogram their feeds, it comes with mammoth size groups clustered over specific interests or beliefs regardless of merit. If they are clustered because of commercial access to attention, then they become divided even from their own true beliefs whether they realize it or not. It’s clear that the information age has made smart people smarter and dumb people dumber, but we can not allow mob rule to be strengthened by commercial proxies focused on profit and self-interest.

 

https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/algorithms-and-amplification-how-social-media-platforms-design-choices-shape-our-discourse-and-our-minds