Abishai100
VIP Member
- Sep 22, 2013
- 4,957
- 250
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When a human being blackmails another human being, he/she intends to extract information/fortunes from the 'victim' through the threat of ignominy.
1. "If you don't give me an A+ on my research-paper, I'll tell the school you're having an adulterous affair!"
2. "If you don't grant me this business contract extension, I'll inform the government you stole!"
3. "If you don't let me sleep with your wife tonight, I'll tell the town you were a junkie in college!"
Blackmail is a rather crude and inhuman 'tactic,' but it can certainly scare the living-daylights out of someone. This blackmail-victim may feel compelled to do the bidding of the blackmailer to avoid repercussions. There are of course more 'crime-organized' forms of blackmail such as extortion (e.g., Black Hand), but usually we think of 'basic/primal' blackmail as 'everyday threats' regarding the exposure of detrimental information/secrets.
In cinema, Hollywood (USA) movies, we find multiple stories about the emotional anguish associated with blackmail-oriented 'situations.' Such films include Return to Paradise, Miller's Crossing, Disclosure, and The Merchant of Venice (a classic!).
We entreat our imagination when we watch such films, since we're curious about the 'experience of ethics,' the engagement with evil, the problem of suffering, and the unbearableness of poverty or desperation. These cinematic images 'soothe' our anxieties about what the human will may resort to when confronted with the problem of real betrayal (e.g., Stalin's Russia).
So how does capitalism itself contribute to our 'analysis/evaluation' of blackmail? Such a question can help us better understand the 'ethical fears' associated with TrumpUSA and may subside our natural yearning to protest an arguably commerce-biased 'system.'
====
TRUMP: I'm a big fan of Oliver Stone's Wall Street films!
KIM JONG-UN: You seem comfortable talking about capitalism with me...
TRUMP: That's because the Winter Olympics finds North and South Korea 'united.'
KIM JONG-UN: Really? I worried you might 'doubt' our intentions...
TRUMP: Why would I doubt your intentions? The Olympics is an arena for peace.
KIM JONG-UN: Did your predecessors believe this?
TRUMP: I know Bush, Clinton, Reagan, and Carter (among others) did!
KIM JONG-UN: Americans love storytelling, daydreams, and cinema.
TRUMP: There's nothing wrong with entertaining 'fantasies.'
KIM JONG-UN: Capitalism sometimes feels like a 'fantasy.'
TRUMP: There's a difference between piracy and paranoia.
KIM JONG-UN: Wall Street sometimes feels like a 'pirate-ship.'
TRUMP: We can't all be Jesus Christ.
KIM JONG-UN: No, but you must feel obligated to be 'a good dinosaur.'
TRUMP: Are you blackmailing me, so I'll feel guilty about capitalism-vices?
KIM JONG-UN: No, but the Olympics is a chance for our nations to negotiate.
TRUMP: I agree with you; perhaps we should watch Wall Street together!
KIM JONG-UN: We can talk about homelessness/poverty.
====
1. "If you don't give me an A+ on my research-paper, I'll tell the school you're having an adulterous affair!"
2. "If you don't grant me this business contract extension, I'll inform the government you stole!"
3. "If you don't let me sleep with your wife tonight, I'll tell the town you were a junkie in college!"
Blackmail is a rather crude and inhuman 'tactic,' but it can certainly scare the living-daylights out of someone. This blackmail-victim may feel compelled to do the bidding of the blackmailer to avoid repercussions. There are of course more 'crime-organized' forms of blackmail such as extortion (e.g., Black Hand), but usually we think of 'basic/primal' blackmail as 'everyday threats' regarding the exposure of detrimental information/secrets.
In cinema, Hollywood (USA) movies, we find multiple stories about the emotional anguish associated with blackmail-oriented 'situations.' Such films include Return to Paradise, Miller's Crossing, Disclosure, and The Merchant of Venice (a classic!).
We entreat our imagination when we watch such films, since we're curious about the 'experience of ethics,' the engagement with evil, the problem of suffering, and the unbearableness of poverty or desperation. These cinematic images 'soothe' our anxieties about what the human will may resort to when confronted with the problem of real betrayal (e.g., Stalin's Russia).
So how does capitalism itself contribute to our 'analysis/evaluation' of blackmail? Such a question can help us better understand the 'ethical fears' associated with TrumpUSA and may subside our natural yearning to protest an arguably commerce-biased 'system.'
====
TRUMP: I'm a big fan of Oliver Stone's Wall Street films!
KIM JONG-UN: You seem comfortable talking about capitalism with me...
TRUMP: That's because the Winter Olympics finds North and South Korea 'united.'
KIM JONG-UN: Really? I worried you might 'doubt' our intentions...
TRUMP: Why would I doubt your intentions? The Olympics is an arena for peace.
KIM JONG-UN: Did your predecessors believe this?
TRUMP: I know Bush, Clinton, Reagan, and Carter (among others) did!
KIM JONG-UN: Americans love storytelling, daydreams, and cinema.
TRUMP: There's nothing wrong with entertaining 'fantasies.'
KIM JONG-UN: Capitalism sometimes feels like a 'fantasy.'
TRUMP: There's a difference between piracy and paranoia.
KIM JONG-UN: Wall Street sometimes feels like a 'pirate-ship.'
TRUMP: We can't all be Jesus Christ.
KIM JONG-UN: No, but you must feel obligated to be 'a good dinosaur.'
TRUMP: Are you blackmailing me, so I'll feel guilty about capitalism-vices?
KIM JONG-UN: No, but the Olympics is a chance for our nations to negotiate.
TRUMP: I agree with you; perhaps we should watch Wall Street together!
KIM JONG-UN: We can talk about homelessness/poverty.
====
