Barbarians: Danger Era

[Abishai100]

Here's a tale about modern citizenry vigilance symbolic of new age schizophrenia.


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Hollywood (USA) was negotiating with the British film industry regarding the release of two controversially graphic-violence films titled Leatherface and Escape from Cannibal Farm. Both films involved the use of a devastating and terrifying murder weapon --- a chainsaw. The American movie-star Tom Cruise was making statements in the media such as, "It's odd how modern consumerism 'traffic' and suburban 'sprawl' requires us to think actively about goods-flow, the ethics of sales (e.g., gun-control), and neighborhood curfews! Do you know how easy it is for any American to walk into a Home Depot hardware store and purchase a chainsaw?"

Meanwhile, in a suburban area of New Jersey (USA), an emigrated Saudi Arabian prince named Ajay Satan was secretly engaged in a love affair with Duchess Kate Middleton, wife of Prince William of England after Kate discovered her royal hubby was himself involved in some covert extra-marital affair with American movie actress Cameron Diaz. Ajay was intrigued how modern 'paparazzi' melee was putting a strain on human relationships (and friendships). He decided to start blogging on the Internet (using the Marvel Comics identity-masking alias/avatar, 'Iceman') about the importance of open dialogue about community values.

Ajay's uncle in Egypt (Ali) was concerned after hearing from other relatives that his nephew was perhaps involved in a love-triangle with British royalty. Ali was seriously studying Middle Eastern politics and the current negotiations between Great Britain and Saudi Arabia made any possible 'extra-curricular' social scandal/spectacle very dangerous. Ali decided to travel to America and visit Ajay in New Jersey to provide some calming wisdom and guidance for his hot-tempered nephew. "Royalty must behave like royalty, Ajay!" Ali told his nephew. Ajay took his words to heart and started posting on the Internet about 'media scandals' circulated by modern-age 'paparazzi hysteria.'

Cruise read Ajay's blog on the Internet and started thinking about the fame-paranoia Woody Allen film Celebrity. "It seems people of the modern world are engaged in 'values intrigue'," Cruise thought to himself, "and an anti-Western terrorism-organization such as ISIS just might capitalize on American pedestrian sins!" Cruise met Ajay's uncle Ali on the Internet and decided to coordinate a citizenry-blogging campaign. Cruise and Ali recruited a handful of idealistic American citizens (men and women) to comment on community values. The 'group' called itself The Barbarians (in reference to the consumerism-inquisition book Barbarians at the Gate), and their posts changed the way Americans were discussing 'media culture.' Ajay realized the 'buzz' created by the Barbarians was creating the necessary chatter for a proper values-review of pedestrianism-paranoia films (e.g., Leatherface). Cruise realized what was about to ensue was a consumerism-related 'wonderland war.'

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Barbarians at the Gate (Wikipedia)

 

[Abishai100]

Pretty Woman


It's not all bad news and omens though, and I appreciate wistful pedestrianism daydreaming in the modern age too --- e.g., Pretty Woman, The Mighty Ducks, Malena, Speed Racer, etc.

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FLOWER GIRL: Accept this dandelion and pink rose as a gift, sir!
COMPANY MAN: I can't! I'm on my way to a very important meeting.
FLOWER GIRL: Don't you have time to appreciate life?
COMPANY MAN: No. I need to forge a contract with a special company today.
FLOWER GIRL: What is the contract?
COMPANY MAN: Well, if you're really interested, it's about a new power plant in Milan.
FLOWER GIRL: You don't seek a flower of remedy on this day of 'power-plant' negotiation in charming Milan?
COMPANY MAN: Lady, I'm a bureaucratic tin-man.
FLOWER GIRL: Beware the winds of ambition in this 'modern world.'
COMPANY MAN: Maybe someday words like that might actually enlighten me (but not today).

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[Abishai100]

The Terror


To brings us back to speed, here's a dialogue script between a hypothetical democracy vigilante (an Internet-blogger named Ajay Satan) and a psychotic anti-capitalism 'Leatherface copycat' (a chainsaw-wielding terrorist) about 'consumerism debris.'

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VIGILANTE: Americans love credit cards.
TERRORIST: I like stalking pedestrians carrying big purses.
VIGILANTE: Terrorists will soon attack shopping malls.
TERRORIST: Women hate terrorists.
VIGILANTE: Consumerism inspires us to think wisely about fortune.
TERRORIST: Anyone can purchase a chainsaw at a Home Depot hardware store.
VIGILANTE: Gun control (e.g., NRA) has become an issue in the age of commerce.
TERRORIST: Home alarm system (e.g., ADT) sales have gone up in recent times.
VIGILANTE: Americans resent the fact that Japan makes better automobiles.
TERRORIST: Americans spend too much time making horror films.
VIGILANTE: The Internet-hacker is the new terrorist.
TERRORIST: I think that's because Facebook symbolizes 'convenience engineering.'
VIGILANTE: Fashion models are in multiple cases drug addicts.
TERRORIST: I think that's because consumerism and fashion trends represent vanity.
VIGILANTE: One of my favorite 'pedestrian culture' films is Halloween III: Season of the Witch.
TERRORIST: Americans like Halloween, because it speaks to a cultural curiosity about youthfulness.
VIGILANTE: Consumerism requires a certain 'metaphysical vitality.'
TERRORIST: That's why I always buy water-guns for my kids!

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[Abishai100]

Leprechaun


Consumerism 'culture' offers us culture-based 'capitalism mascots' such as Lucky the Leprechaun (the Irish imp mascot for the Lucky Charms breakfast cereal) and the Notre Dame Fightin' Irish college football team Leprechaun mascot (which we see every Saturday on NBC in autumn).

The Leprechaun is an Irish folklore imp said to guard precious pots of gold at the end of rainbows and endowed with the power to grant wishes if someone is able to capture them (the wish is granted in exchange for their freedom).

We can reference the Leprechaun in modernism relevant 'campfire stories' about the ethics (and metaphysics!) of 'capitalism consciousness.'

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Everyone at the party wondered if their Ouija incantations would effectively invoke the enigmatic spirit of Lubdan, the mischievous and powerful Leprechaun rumored to be hiding in the forests of the Pine Barrens in New Jersey (USA). The party included a handful of Princeton University students including an anthropology major named Damien who believed Lubdan was hiding some capitalism-culture secret since the tragedy of 9/11 (when the terrorist organization the Taliban attacked the World Trade Center, a symbolic 'hub' of global free market activity). Damien wanted to capture Lubdan and ask him about the eccentricities and complications associated with capitalism 'obsessiveness' (the way Karl Marx outlined).

LUBDAN: How did you catch me, Damien?
DAMINEN: I used a tent-looking trap with the allure of the smell of cooking meat.
LUBDAN: You thought I'd be drawn into the human activity in my forest?
DAMIEN: You're the 'master' of these woods?
LUBDAN: Let's say I'm a guardian and an observer, but there lurk other beings/creatures here more...relentless.
DAMIEN: Such as?
LUBDAN: The Jersey Devil and Jason Voorhees.
DAMIEN: Well, we'll deal with them later. I want to know what's the secret of 9/11 (Taliban-World Trade Center)!
LUBDAN: The secret my lad is that human beings have become arrogant about 'commerce vulnerabilities.'
DAMIEN: Are you saying the world has become obsessed with gold?
LUBDAN: Aye! And they'll do anything to steal even me' own precious pot o' gold!!!
DAMIEN: Well, Lubdan, then you're some kind of 'diplomat of purgatory.'

After Lubdan fled from the presence of Damien and his Princeton friends, the students chatted about what they thought were the metaphysical implications of their observations. Damien suggested that Lubdan showed them that 'capitalism-culture' creates strange paranoia about human traffic on multiple levels and that as civilization 'evolves' towards efficient profit-driven networking, the human heart and metaphysical consciousness of the species starts to stray from a balanced grounding in 'anti-profiteerism spiritualism.' Damien proposed he and his Princeton peers write a thesis (in conjunction with the Economics Department at the university) about 'capital-based consciousness.' The thesis was titled, "Barbarians at the Gate: Leprechauns and Launderers!"

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