Posted in: Movies, Psychology
Tough Guise: Violence, Media & the Crisis in Masculinity
The question that really comes out of this is ‘why are boys behaving in this way?’ ‘Why is 90% of violence committed by boys and men?’ It’s not just in these few places (like video games or movies) but it’s in what passes for normal culture. It is part of the normal training and conditioning and socializing of boys and men. That’s a point that a lot of people don’t want to hear, but if you look at the culture these kids are immersed in, violence is a normal, natural part, not just of the world, but...
Posted in: Psychology, Society
Nietzsche: Beyond Good and Evil
A brilliant young man, he was appointed professor at the University of Basel aged 24 having not even finished his degree. His evanescent philosophical life ended 20 years later when he went insane and died shortly afterwards. Nietzsche’s argued that the Christian system of faith and worship was not only incorrect, but harmful to society because it allowed the weak to rule the strong – it suppressed the will to power which was the driving force of human character. Nietzsche wanted people to throw of the...
Posted in: Health, Psychology
How to Make Better Decisions
We are bad at making decisions. According to science, our decisions are based on oversimplification, laziness and prejudice. And that's assuming that we haven't already been hijacked by our surroundings or led astray by our subconscious! Featuring exclusive footage of experiments that show how our choices can be confounded by temperature, warped by post-rationalisation and even manipulated by the future, Horizon presents a guide to better decision making, and introduces you to Mathematician Garth Sundem, who is...
Posted in: Health, Psychology
How Mad Are You?
Take ten volunteers, half have psychiatric disorders, the other half don't - but who is who? Over five days the group are put through a series of challenges - from performing stand-up comedy to mucking out cows. The events are designed to explore the character traits of mental illness and ask whether the symptoms might be within all of us. Three leading experts in mental health attempt to spot which volunteers have been diagnosed with a mental health condition. But will the individuals who have suffered from...
Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising’s Image of Women
Jean Kilbourne continues her groundbreaking analysis of advertising's depiction of women in this most recent update of her pioneering Killing Us Softly series. In fascinating detail, Kilbourne decodes an array of print and television advertisements to reveal a pattern of disturbing and destructive gender stereotypes. Her analysis challenges us to consider the relationship between advertising and broader issues of culture, identity, sexism, and gender violence. Sections: Does the beauty ideal still tyrannize...
A Brilliant Madness: John Nash
A Brilliant Madness is the story of a mathematical genius whose career was cut short by a descent into madness. At the age of 30, John Nash, a stunningly original and famously eccentric MIT mathematician, suddenly began claiming that aliens were communicating with him and that he was a special messenger. Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, Nash spent the next three decades in and out of mental hospitals, all but forgotten. During that time, a proof he had written at the age of 20 became a foundation of modern...
Architects of Control: Mass Control & The Future of Mankind
"The real war is the war on consciousness. It's very important to always remember that ...Mind control is ubiquitous. It's almost a question of who is not mind controlled, as opposed to who is mind controlled. It's just a difference in degree. The whole question of what is consciousness and how it can be manipulated is one of the most crucial questions of our time." Produced by Michael Tsarion and Blue Fire Film, Architects of Control: Program One, explores humankind’s future and the posthuman world. Will the...
Posted in: Psychology, Religion
Zen: The Best of Alan Watts
A person who thinks all the time has nothing to think about except faults, so he loses touch with reality and lives in a world of illusions. By thought I mean the chattering inside the skull; perpetual and compulsive repetition of words, of calculations, and symbols going on inside the head. For as a result of confusing the real world of nature with mere signs, such as money, stocks and bonds, title deeds, and so forth. This is a disaster. Time to wake up. Alan Watts (1915-1973) who held both a...
The Secret
The self-actualization phenomenon known as The Secret pivots on the time-honored new age notion of the Laws of Attraction: That is, think positively, and positive things will come to you. This film, originally broadcast over the Internet, has been enhanced and extended for this DVD edition; but it retains the essential elements that have captivated millions. Most of the material here is given in a straightforward manner, with the presenters simply talking into the camera to address the audience directly, which is...