Non-Monetized Together #svalien

This article is also available at https://medium.com/non-monetized-together/8-things-i-can-only-do-here-on-nonmonetized-together-2d829fdceb63

Nonmonetized Together, the publication you are reading right now, is an experiment in deliberately creating an online culture that will counteract the problems with Internet culture. This online environment is structured and organized to allow for social interactions that wouldn’t be feasible anywhere else. In doing so, you and I can receive opportunities we wouldn’t receive elsewhere and use those opportunities to do things that wouldn’t be achievable elsewhere.

Whenever you think to yourself, “if only I could get the chance to do so-and-so in a so-and-so way” or “if only I could do so-and-so without dealing with so-and-so,” try doing it on Nonmonetized Together. Maybe this publication can make your dreams come true.

Here is a list of things I could do on Nonmonetized Together that I couldn’t do anywhere else:

1. I don’t target any specific demographic with Nonmonetized Together.

Personal photo representing diversity

This means Nonmonetized Together can empower a greater variety of readers than I would anywhere else, which creates a more equitable impact than creators who focus on individual demographics. Depending on political orientation, nationality, race, age, and socioeconomic status, people have many different ideas of what it means to have a better life, but I try to write in a way so anybody can get closer to achieving that by joining the conversation.

They just have to be willing to put up with writers that refuse to deploy psychological tactics other writers use to keep readers loyal, such as sugarcoating morbid realities or reaffirming their preexisting beliefs (yes, I know this will reduce my audience in the short term, but I think being authentic will make this blog more valuable in the long term).

Keep in mind, I’m not a self-help guru. I am trying to create a culture without a power dynamic, where you can find your own way of gaining strength and supporting others.

2. I can take online incidents that most people would see as insignificant and give people reasons to see them as significant.

Personal photo

A few of my articles are about little-known Internet posts from ordinary Internet people. Typically, if I saw those sort of posts acted out in the physical world, I wouldn’t bother getting involved because it just wouldn’t be any of my business. But it’s different when these things get posted publicly on the Internet.

Whenever you make a public post on the Internet, that post becomes everybody’s business. You’re inviting the whole world to see your post, interact with it, and potentially get influenced by it. You’re letting people know that you’re comfortable with it receiving all this attention.

So, even though most people would expect a blogger to write about things that the public has already shown interest in, I sometimes write about Internet occurrences that, at first glance, appear non-notable. I’m aware that it’s not always just celebrities and major brands that shape our experiences. Sometimes it’s the smallest things that make the biggest difference, and I think there should be a public online space where we can discuss the significance behind random people’s posts. By putting it on the open Web, readers can use this discussion to make a bigger difference in the world than if they kept it private.

So whenever I write an article about these so-called mundane topics, my goal is to answer the question, “why should this topic be taken seriously?” I want people to ignore the commonly accepted definition of notability and instead recognize the transformative potential of what less powerful individuals have to say.

3. I get to approach social justice in a way that I hope will appeal to both sides: people who support the current movement AND people who think it’s going too far.

Personal photo

Nonmonetized Together is a place where people can discuss social justice ideas from an experimental lens. This means that it’s from the perspective of “let’s try this social justice idea, see how it goes, collect the results, and from there on ask how can we develop this further?”

It’s not like elsewhere on the Internet, where it’s either “everybody needs to behave like this or we’ll insult them, and we’ll do it behind their backs so they don’t know” or it’s “I don’t like obeying these dumb rules, so instead of choosing not to follow them, I’ll insult other people for participating in them, and I’ll do it behind their backs so they don’t know.”

Nonmonetized Together is a free-thinking community that is less about fulfilling power fantasies and more about producing knowledge. You may not agree with all social justice ideas on the community, and on Nonmonetized Together, you don’t have to participate in them. But it’s important for people to try certain social justice strategies and collect data. I hope this will help us make the world a better place without getting pushback from the traditionalists.

4. I can have a conversation without getting bogged down by political code words.

Personal photo

If anybody uses political code words, I will stop to clarify what the user really means before going forward in the conversation. What if they choose to refuse explaining what they mean by the code word? Well then, it would make them look bad, and I wouldn’t want to do that. When I clarify the code word, the user gets a chance to become more transparent and get closer to achieving a productive conversation. Yes, they admit to making a mistake but that’s not a bad thing, even if you’re Donald Trump.

For example, let’s say you’re somewhere other than Nonmonetized Together, and you want to turn your followers against someone, but you lack any concrete reason to do so. Well then, you can just call them “mentally ill” and that will do the job. But on Nonmonetized Together, “mentally ill” doesn’t have those connotations. It just refers to its literal definition.

So to weed out people who start political drama instead of political progress, I will ask them to clarify what mental illness they meant and why it’s relevant to the discussion. If they have an answer, then they probably actually meant “mentally ill.” If they don’t have a real answer or start acting attacked, I will explain Nonmonetized Together, find the term they meant to use, forgive them, and continue the discussion from there.

I know other political codewords as well (like the recent popularity of “women’s rights” in reference to being able to easily get an abortion) but I probably don’t know them all. If you notice someone use a political codeword that I can’t catch, please let me know, and I will try to come up with a solution. But be wary if you misuse this guideline for the purpose of sowing disorder. I’m politically neutral and will be able to catch that right away.

5. I can write about niche topics. Outside Nonmonetized Together, I know not to bore people by talking about obscure things they probably don’t know about, but the Internet is different. There will always be someone online who will find your posts useful.

Nonmonetized Together takes advantage of this reality by making articles about incredibly niche topics sometimes. I even invited the “decadeology anarchy” community to share their posts onto Nonmonetized Together, despite them being an even nichier version of the already niche community r/decadeology. None of them have taken up my offer yet, though I at least hope Slim95 will write for Nonmonetized Together as he recently got fed up with Reddit and left r/decadeologyanarchy.

6. I can communicate with people I would not want to talk to in real life.

I can reach a stadium full of people (Personal photo)

Nazis, trolls, cult leaders, rape apologists, terrorist supporters, abusers, pro-anorexia participants — I would not want anything to do with any of these people outside of Nonmonetized Together. But I can’t just leave them to their own devices as that would be turning a blind eye to the problems they perpetuate.

Maybe if they stumble upon Nonmonetized Together, we can hold them accountable or even get them to go down a different path. If we aren’t successful, at least we get to provide the Internet with examples and results of our intervention methods, which could inform people on how they could do it in the future. And if you want to say something to these people but feel scared, send your message to me in a private note and I will speak on your behalf.

If there’s any place on the Internet that can pull this off, it’s this one. Nonmonetized Together is dedicated to figuring out how Internet communities can function better. It tries to promote patience and understanding of everyone’s situation, yet at the same time, tries to hold people accountable. It encourages participants to challenge each other’s preconceptions.

If the comment sections get dominated by people promoting horrific ideas while refusing to practice self-reflection, I promise I will either make changes to how this community functions or declare it a failed experiment. But if that doesn’t happen, we can make some progress or inspire other people to make progress.

7. I can acknowledge advertisements for what they really are.

Personal photo

Since this blog is nonmonetized, I don’t care about appeasing advertisers, so when I discuss them, I will describe them as what they truly are: entitled, narcissistic, shallow leeches that would rather turn everyone into morons than challenge society.

I once had a dream that advertisers were cool. I was walking through a store and I see these promotional banners hanging from the ceiling. Each banner contained a sentence in the format, “In (year), (person or group of people) were perceived as terrorists.” Could you imagine if an advertiser had the soul and spunk to do this in real life? But people don’t care that advertisers are lame because they get distracted by the fact that advertisements play an important role in society. And yes, that dream ended up inspiring me to write the article Year-By-Year Google Trends Data Shows How Terrorists Were Represented From 2005–2023.

8. I get to communicate outside of the political context.

Peaceful personal photo

Nonmonetized Together is the only secular environment that operates outside of the political sphere. Outside of Nonmonetized Together, everywhere you go, you see a society built on competing over resources and overpowering enemies. Everyone seems to be working for their own interest and trying to take advantage of each other. This type of society will burn to the ground. Disadvantaged people are most at risk as they are desperate and rely on powerful people.

Not only that, politics is a losing game. No matter how much political power you obtain, the other side isn’t going away. They will always be there, obstructing your path to true happiness and fulfillment. The only way to win the game of politics is to retire once you reach a certain level, which is what I did.

I decided I would make a better influence on society if I didn’t align with any of these political movements. I trained my mind to let go of the political beliefs I had previously.

Instead, I started viewing the world from a Catholic and Freirean perspective and tried to live like Jesus, even if it comes at a personal cost. I began using peaceful, open dialogue to allow people to navigate the world’s issues in their own authentic way. I focused on giving people the tools to enrich their own minds while trying to take something positive away from my own interactions with people. I encouraged people to challenge my blog posts (shoutout to @michaelzwierzanski) as I knew that would give them intellectual strength and agency.

This became more fulfilling for me than political involvement and eventually became my default state of mind. This is how Nonmonetized Together became the only secular environment that operates outside of the political sphere, because it is run by someone who is not politically motivated but is instead motivated by knowledge and fairness.

The world may feel like it’s spinning out-of-control, but by creating my own community from scratch, I can provide a space to escape from the chaos and start anew. We can use better techniques, use better information, and have better relationships than the rest of the internet. This way, we can protect future generations the best we can.

https://write.as/non-monetized-together/about-our-blog-tired-of-internet-drama-and-fakeness

#Internet #Writing #Blogging #InternetCulture #SocialJustice

Discuss...

Obie Fernandez/Unsplash

You can also view this article at https://medium.com/non-monetized-together/autism-is-a-mental-condition-not-a-pr-strategy-11247e24bd34.

I’m so tired of hearing this from people. Whenever a disgraced celebrity, such as Kanye West or Sia, comes out as autistic, there will always be somebody who will claim that the autism is a PR attempt for levelling public backlash against them. These people are very uninformed on what autism means.

News flash: autism is not, and never was, a status symbol for protecting someone from being criticized. It is a medical term for people who mentally process things differently than other people.

Some people will respond to Kanye, Sia, or Brewdog CEO James Watt with “autism isn’t a get-out-of-jail-free card,” but these comments are still wrong because they feel a need to bring up the PR aspect unprompted. None of these three public figures never said anything about it being a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Anybody who thinks autism is a PR tool is completely detached from reality. They need to stop sensationalizing things and get in touch with the life experiences of the people around them. Could celebrities be taking advantage of people who have this wrong idea about autism? Maybe, but if commentators stop associating autism with PR, then autism won’t be an effective PR tool.

Before I leave, I noticed that even though Nonmonetized Together keeps getting more and more views, nobody other than me has written an article for it yet. I started Nonmonetized Together because I wanted a place where anybody on the Internet could have their voice taken seriously. Because of this, I would appreciate it if you provided me feedback as to why you haven’t yet wrote an article for this publication. Are there any changes you want me to make to Nonmonetized Together first?

https://write.as/non-monetized-together/about-our-blog-tired-of-internet-drama-and-fakeness

https://write.as/non-monetized-together/why-i-added-svalien-to-the-nonmonetized-together-title

#Autism #Neurodivergence #Society #Celebrity #Feedback

Discuss...

When you’re as privileged as I am, taking any political side is evil.

I can’t blame struggling people for getting involved because politics impacts their lives. Yet a political effort can only thrive when the masses are cruelly manipulated by leaders who are themselves too privileged to feel threatened by political developments.

Imagine if I decided to be active in competitive politics. I couldn’t dare let my followers lose interest in political engagement, so I would have to always ALWAYS create the narrative of an enemy plotting against my political team. I would promise my followers prosperity if we defeat this enemy, but then if we do, I come up with a new enemy for my victims to worry about. Works every time.

You can also read this article at https://medium.com/non-monetized-together/im-sharing-the-privilege-of-not-having-to-depend-on-politics-constantly-fe73b89101c8.

Who would support a political movement that doesn’t convince them that their lives are at stake? If I don’t get my followers to feel this way, they may no longer feel that they need to rely on the false hope of my political movement to survive! Never mind that I’m too privileged to feel threatened by my side’s political enemies!

I would also need to make sure that my subjects have a narrow, ignorant, prejudiced understanding of these enemies. If my team becomes too open-minded, they may question my authority! They may come up with ideas that benefit them more than they benefit me!

But maybe I don’t want to brainwash my followers into a lifelong state of fear and paranoia. Maybe I care less about ordinary people having my political views and care more about these people making innovations in the way their political orientation views the world. Since I can make the decision to neither treat people cruelly nor hoard my privileges, I won’t get involved with the political sphere.

Instead, I decided to create an online space that functions as an alternative to politics. Where ordinary people can temporarily retreat from their oppressed mindset as political follower, share productive ideas using honest two-way dialogue, and work towards solutions regardless of whether top brass will approve. This context is called “The Context That Isn’t Limited In The Same Way As The Political Context” or #svalien. It applies to everywhere on Nonmonetized Together.

With this context, I can use my privilege to make an online space in which I can give other people that privilege! As long as you don’t use political tactics, you and I will have equal say in how this community functions. If you try political techniques in Nonmonetized Together, they will flop just as hard as #svalien techniques would in the political arena, not because of free-speech restrictions, but just because our social values are so different. Make sure to return to using political tactics once you return to the political sphere as #svalien tactics won’t work so well there.

In this article, I will collect some recent tweets from politicians and political figures, remove them from the politicized context they come from, and place them in this more open context, so the readers can have an open discussion about what these tweets have to say. Make sure to put the number associated with the tweet in front of your comment so people know what you’re responding to.

Tweet 1: “When the ISIS terrorist attack happened in Moscow, the BBC first reported it as a “terror attack” but then edited it to “attack”.

 

Instead of owning up to the double standards of their reporting of Hamas terror on Oct 7th, they’re downplaying ISIS atrocities.” – @ArchRose90.

This could be an especially productive discussion point for a website such as Medium since a good chunk of this article’s viewers pay careful attention on how they word their posts. It’s good to hear their perspectives.

Tweet 2: “Thankfully the Western world has long progressed past the idea of castrating and torturing criminal suspects. I hate the ISIS terrorist too but if you want to live in a society where the police can cut off your penis if you are merely suspected of a crime I can’t help you.” – @DrewPavlou (along with a screenshot of a post from @violetcity_ saying “But it was totally okay for him to murder innocent people? His ear is more important than the 133 lives he and the rest took? Gfy He’s lucky that they didn’t cut his penis off”)

What’s a response that addresses @violetcity_’s point in a productive way instead of going on a phallic sidetrack?

Tweet 3: “Some of the excrement that carried out the Moscow attack. They massacred over 100 people. I hope the Russian authorities torture them to death 💀” – @GoldingBF (along with a photo caption of them in holding)

I’m including this one as a challenge for you commenters. Do you have what it takes to have a clear head while talking about such an emotionally charged comment? Could you ensure it becomes a conversation in which everyone benefits? If so, congratulations!

Tweet 4: “MAGA this is you. Accept it or not, your children will learn in history class how Donald Trump was a traitor, a rapist, a criminal… I can go on and on. And you’re gonna have to explain to your children how you aided and abetted him.

 

This is an inescapable reality. #DonPoorleone” – @petee224.

I want to open this comment up so it applies to people who don’t believe that history teachers are infallible (should be all of you). In the near future, who do you think will be the most trustworthy (or least untrustworthy) source that will look back on Trump and inform the public, “he’s a traitor, a rapist, a criminal!” Who do you think will be the most trustworthy (or least untrustworthy) source that will disagree? Make sure to answer both questions. If you still think the answer is “history teachers,” that’s fine, then feel free to answer the question as @petee224 asked. Once you answer both questions, take the evidence from your side and hold it up against the scrutiny of the most trustworthy source on the opposing side! This way, you can put up a strong defense for your point instead of just dunking on easy targets. Remember what I said about how political figures benefit by showing only the worst of the other side! You don’t have to do that Nonmonetized Together. There’s also the possibility that this challenge will result in you changing your mind. Or you may change the minds of others. Or at least learn things you wouldn’t have learned otherwise. All great outcomes.

I understand that “The Context That Isn’t Limited In The Same Way As The Political Context” will be an unfamiliar experience for many of you, so don’t feel insecure if you make a mistake. A lot of people will. I will be patient and we can always restart the discussion over from the beginning if you accidentally slip into the mindset of the oppressed person.

If you want to learn more about this new context, you can read the linked article below. I hope Nonmonetized Together brings some exciting new intellectual opportunities and experiments for you! If you want to take advantage of the Internet’s untapped potential for mental empowerment, you’ve came to the right place.

https://write.as/non-monetized-together/why-i-added-svalien-to-the-nonmonetized-together-title

#Freedom #Power #ISIS #News #Terrorism

Discuss...

AI-generated photo from Pixabay

You can also view this article at https://medium.com/non-monetized-together/the-first-musician-to-make-future-funk-music-8c59f5fe8df2.

What was the first example of future funk music? Some people say the Louis LaRoche track “Peach” (2008) or The Phantom Revenge track “Absolute Ego Riot” (2008), but I don’t think either track is fully future funk, even if they are precursors of the style. Other cited examples include Keats Collective, Saint Pepsi, the song “Close to Me” (2010) by Teams & Star Slinger, and even the song “Arabest” (2011) by SebastiAn, but I have a contender that predates all of these examples, and that I haven’t seen anybody mention before.

My suggestion is Go Go Bizkitt’s 2010 EP The Bizkitt, which is just two songs and a remix. The two songs are Miami Nights and Get Up, and the remix is a redone version of Miami Nights.

When determining the answer to the question “who was the first future funk musician,” what you really need to be asking is “when did filter house evolve into future funk?” You can find music that sounds close to future funk as far back as the mid-90s if you look at the genre “filter house,” also inconveniently known as “French house.” Future funk grew out of filter house in the early 2010s. Both genres are funky, energetic, and prominently sample tracks from the 70s and 80s.

But what are the differences between filter house and future funk? I have trouble answering this question, and even if I use the Internet to help me, there are not very many sources online that can help me. Thalia Harris of YumeTwins tries distinguishing the two styles of music in her article “Future Funk: A Guide to This Retro Aesthetic.”

“[Filter house] tends to have more ambient build-up and repetition, with short loops and repetitive structures at 120–128 bpm and longer track durations. On the other hand, future funk is more melody-driven, sample-heavy, and influenced by the psychedelic elements of vaporwave. It features tracks typically under three minutes long and at 100–110 bpm.” — Thalia Harris/YumeTwins

Harris’s claim that future funk is more sample-heavy is not true. As a filter house fan myself, I can tell you that almost all tracks in the genre are based off samples. Other than that, Harris seems to have a good grasp on the differences between the two genres.

Aside from this, the only other sources I can find that differentiate the two genres would be a bunch of Reddit discussion threads. They mostly echo the points Thalia has already made, though some users have added other points of diversion, like the drums in future funk being louder, or future funk being more maximalist.

Some other people say that filter house and future funk are too similar to each other to be different genres. To be honest, I can’t say I disagree with this take. I’m surprised that people thought future funk was different enough from filter house that it had to be its own thing. Despite this, no one person can control how new music genres are defined and categorized. Once enough people recognize a genre as its own thing, the genre name is out there in the world, and you can’t change it back.

So based off the minor differences future funk has from filter house, when was the moment that filter house first transitioned to future funk? There are two tracks from 2008 that have been brought up as candidates — “Peach” by Louis La Roche and “Absolute Ego Riot” by The Phantom’s Revenge.

Peach — 

Absolute Ego Riot — 

Feel free to disagree, but I don’t think either of these tracks classify as future funk due to their lack of melody. The two tracks on the Go Go Bizkitt EP have some melodic parts, so I think they’re more like future funk than the two tracks from 2008.

I would also say “The Bizkitt” matches the other criteria for future funk. It’s psychedelic, the drums are loud, and it’s maximalist. “Get Up” uses samples from the 1981 Gwenn McRae song “Funky Sensation.” Both original tracks use more variation than most filter house tracks, and are structured more like a pop song. You could argue that the speed and tempo of these songs are closer to filter house than future funk, but I don’t think that makes these tracks not future funk. Here’s the Apple Music link to the EP. I can’t pull up a YouTube link to the songs on the EP, because they aren’t publicly available on YouTube.

AI-generated photo from Pixabay

“The Bizkitt” was released on April 21, 2010. This predates other contenders, such as the label Keats Collective or the musician Saint Pepsi, both who began creating music in 2012. SebastiAn’s one-off foray into future funk, “Arabest,” was released in 2011. Even the earliest future funk release in RateYourMusic’s database — “Close to Me” by Teams vs Star Slinger — was only released in June 2010.

Another reason that Go Go Bizkitt, whose real name is Tom Nelson, could lay claim to being “the father of future funk” is that he actually intended to create a new genre. Except he didn’t call it future funk, he called it “stutter funk,” as you can see in the Bandcamp description for his second EP StutterFunk. This EP may be the second-earliest future-funk release, having been released on May 4, 2010, still earlier than any future funk track I can find from any other artist.

Go Go Bizkitt’s pioneering tracks still hold up today. They are fun and energetic, with sound design that pops and sparkles. Nonetheless, Nelson no longer makes future funk under the name Go Go Bizkitt, which is understandable because that style of music doesn’t seem as popular as it used to be. Now, he makes 80s-style synthpop under the name Luxxly.

Even though Luxxly’s music sounds nothing like future funk, Luxxly’s aesthetics are more future funk-like than Go Go Bizkitt’s aesthetics have ever been. Luxxly music videos use a lot of nostalgic and consumerist footage from the 80s and 90s, and there’s lots of anime in his SoundCloud artwork. I enjoy some Luxxly’s songs, but I prefer Go Go Bizkitt. I feel like Nelson had more ideas as a future funk artist than a synthpop artist.

We may be nearing the end of this blog post, but the story is not over yet. I always want Nonmonetized Together to be an interactive community, so not only will I challenge you to find an earlier future funk release, but I’ve found a good starting point you can use. This blog post from 2011 has described Go Go Bizkitt as being part of a new era of disco producers, which includes U-Tern, Starsmith, Ghost of Venice, and Geisha Twins.

Despite being a follower of nu-disco music, I have never heard of any of these musicians. Perhaps one of them has a future funk release dated earlier than “The Bizkitt.” I’ll leave this as a project for my readers to explore.

Here are two links that explain to you what Nonmonetized Together is:

https://write.as/non-monetized-together/about-our-blog-tired-of-internet-drama-and-fakeness

https://write.as/non-monetized-together/why-i-added-svalien-to-the-nonmonetized-together-title

Discuss...

#Music #MusicHistory #FutureFunk #Vaporwave #DanceMusic

syndey Rae, Unsplash

You can also view this article at https://medium.com/@non-monetized_together/dont-be-one-of-those-grown-ups-screwing-up-the-world-17c3e24cdabf.

If the child version of you could see the person you are now, would they think you’re one of the grown-ups who are screwing up the world? As you got older, did you remember the promise you made as a child, that you would be the one to fix things up? Are you passing up the opportunity to turn your dreams into reality?

At the moment, are you working to fulfill the hopes and dreams your child self hoped to achieve as an adult? Or are you avoiding letting them come to fruition, wasting all that excitement you used to have? Are you letting down your child self? Are you ignoring their needs and emotions?

Are you letting down today’s children? Are you setting a good example for them, inspiring them to make their dreams become a reality? Do you think about how your decisions can help children get what they want, and how your decisions will shape people’s lives after you die?

Discuss...

What is svalien?

#VibeCheck #SelfReflection #Success #Childhood #Motivation

This article can also be viewed at https://medium.com/non-monetized-together/my-third-idea-for-a-film-genre-7217b8862b45

Just in case you’re wondering, here’s a link to my first idea and here’s a link to my second idea.

The video for the NZCA Lines and VIAA song For Your Love is one of the most emotionally powerful videos I’ve seen in a long time. It prompted feelings I may have never felt before when watching a movie. I asked myself, what is it about this video, directed by Florence Winter Hill, that allowed those feelings to develop?

Link to music video

And the answer I found was a strange one. What sets this video apart from most other films is that we don’t know anything about the characters.

The two “main characters” are depicted as silhouettes, so they could be anybody. The other characters all show up only once apiece and we don’t know anything about any of them. Rather, their purpose of being in the video is to symbolize emotions. Emotions such as excitement, passion, longing, and celebration.

How does this allow the music video to succeed? Because it heightens these emotions to the point where they come across as feeling different than they do in the real world. Filmmakers may put a lot of time and effort into making characters seem real and getting the audience to relate to the characters’ emotions, but let’s be honest, real-world emotions are a drag. They’re linked to the random chances of your life situation. They’re grounded and reasonable. They’re messy and sometimes confusing. They can ruin your day or even your life, but they will only satisfy the former.

This music video presents an escapist fantasy where none of that gets in the way. The people in this video do not come across as human beings with their own inner lives. They only exist to express the video’s themes and to coordinate the video to the music. And because of that, the video feels more emotionally intense than anything I experience in my own real life.

So how could this approach to filmmaking become its own genre?

My vision is of a movie that contains dramatic character interactions, but always at a distance from the characters. The audience is not to know anything about the characters. The film will also show the consequences of the characters’ actions. An example of this would be the film showing an announcement of a bill being passed, followed by a scene depicting an anonymous person’s everyday life under this new law, which would then lead to a shot from a moving vehicle capturing the law’s effect on the city.

Whose perspective would the film be shot from? Surely not from any of the characters. I’m envisioning the film instead being shot from the perspective of the land and of the space inhabited by the land. I think this will allow the films in this genre to feel like the music video I linked earlier.

So if you have writer’s block, why not try making a “distance drama?” By combining drama, symbolism, and escapism, your film can maximize its emotional power.

#Cinema #Emotions #Filmmaking #Dramas #Creativity

Discuss...

Markus Spiske/Unsplash

You can also view this article at https://medium.com/non-monetized-together/what-are-some-subtle-changes-youve-noticed-in-the-world-lately-ef455bc602d9.

Here I’m starting a discussion thread about subtle changes you’ve noticed among people in the past few years. Not big changes that people talk about, but ones you just barely notice, registering as nothing more than a different sense in the air.

I’m interested in hearing your responses because I like hearing perspectives about things I might not be thinking about much. Here are a few examples I’ve noticed:

· People don’t react to music anymore. Remember how people would be like “that’s my jam!” when they hear a song they like in public? Why don’t people do that anymore? I feel like this has been a thing since the pandemic started. Maybe they just don’t play good music in public anymore.

· Nobody my age is living in my town anymore. This is very noticeable for me, but not so for most other people. When I was in high school, there were a ton of other teenagers in the area, and there still are. But now that I’m 24, it seems like people my age have mysteriously abandoned my town. Where did they go? I doubt they’re finding a place of their own because it’s pretty rare for someone to do that immediately after they graduate. Yeah, there’s university residence, but that’s temporary, and besides, most of my peers are finished university already. Since I live in a suburban town that orbits a major city, you would think new graduates would want to stay here because it’s the cheaper option, but they aren’t, so I’m really confused about this one.

· Social media comment sections are mostly simple reactions or emojis. Entire comment sections on TikTok and Instagram containing huge stretches of emojis and simple sentences like “whoa” or “I’M DYING.” These comments were always a thing but I don’t remember them overtaking feeds to the extent they do now. Please don’t do that in this discussion!

· Commercials feeling like an AI wrote them. I never pay much attention to commercials, but I saw someone on r/decadeology point this out, and so I just had to start paying closer attention to ads. Once I did that, it was extremely obvious how generic ads have become. The script for these commercials literally feels like AI without the quirkiness.

Zoomers not holding conversations. When I was in high school, my classmates could all hold conversations no problem. But for most of university, it seemed like people really had to force themselves to keep a discussion going. I feel like I’ve actually gotten better at it over time. However, I’ve noticed socializing has become a challenge for other zoomers. Not just when they talk to me, but when they talk to other people as well. Oh, and this only seems to be a problem with Generation Z. Not with other age groups. I think it might have to do with a rise in social isolation among zoomers.

Have you noticed any of these examples yet? Do you agree or disagree with any of them? What other changes have you noticed?

#SocietalChange #Observations #SocialTrends #Discussion #PersonalExperience

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This article is also available at https://medium.com/non-monetized-together/why-studios-should-make-movies-for-mingling-1b846f03a8cc

The filmgoing experience is all about identifying with, or at the very least, taking an interest in the characters and experiences being shown on the screen. Combine this with movies being a common dating spot and it seems like a natural next step to make movies designed to spark social interaction.

So I’m unsure why I’ve never heard of any movies made for the purpose of being played in the background while people socialize. What do you think? I don’t see what would be stopping these movies from being played in theatres. To enable viewers to talk, the employees can just turn the volume down, like they do for autism-friendly screenings. Plus, the film’s poster can emphasize that talking with other people is encouraged during the movie.

These movies can make it easier to keep a conversation with people. Have you ever met someone that you had trouble holding a natural conversation with, not because they didn’t want to talk to you, but just because they were an awkward match? These films can help you overcome these barriers. There would always be something happening on the screen to discuss. Maybe the movie can help you choose discussion topics you wouldn’t have otherwise thought of. Or perhaps some emotional scenes could help the viewers bond together emotionally.

“Movies for mingling” could be a great way to bring people back into the theatre. With the recent dominance of streaming, filmwatching has become more isolating and less communal. These mingling movies can create a social element that’s missing from streaming services. In a similar fashion, these movies can help theatres stay competitive if VR headsets ever take off.

These movies should be about something that has a following so that patrons can find people who have similar interests as them. This means no generic action movies, comedies, etc., unless they are trying to draw in a certain fanbase. The subject matter will draw in people that have things in common each other while drawing out creeps looking to take advantage of people.

These films would benefit from having a basic storyline that doesn’t demand constant attention from the audience. Comedies, action films, and documentaries would probably be the best genres for this format. Genres that rely on immersion, like horror and drama, should not be used.

If movie theatres developed their potential as a social environment, they could make a killing. They’re open all day and all night, every day, and play the same movie multiple times a day, so they’re much more convenient than other social locations. Most of them don’t serve alcohol or have dress codes either, which can allow them to attract an even wider audience looking to mingle.

So is this a good idea? Films have been around for a long time, and the fact that nobody has tried it out makes me things there’s a hole in this idea. I’d love to hear your thoughts, especially if you have industry experience. What’s preventing studios and theatres from profiting off the basic human drive of socialization?

#Movies #MovieTheater #MovieTheatre #Entertainment #FilmIndustry

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RosZie/Unsplash

You can also view this article at https://medium.com/non-monetized-together/it-should-not-be-an-insult-to-call-somone-unfair-8ae3d6711085

One of the biggest blows to the battle for social justice is that all the “-ism” and “-phobic” words have become insults. You can’t have a serious discussion about racism, sexism, classism, or homophobia anymore because so many people will feel personally attacked if anybody suggests to them ways they could work towards a fairer society. These used to be movements focused on equity and transformative conflict, yet they are now often used to spread moral superiority and petty conflict.

It’s important to instead discuss inequity as what it truly is, a social issue caused when people express viewpoints that accidentally contain logical gaps which overlook human rights. As a socially conscious provider of information, I can’t be sparking public fear by accusing all these statements of having malicious intent. Instead, I will have to acknowledge the possibility that the person may have simply forgotten to consider what their viewpoint means for other demographic groups.

In this article, I will demonstrate how I approach the topic of inequality. I will do this by presenting an example where the discrimination is easy to miss if you aren’t paying close attention. I will explain how it’s discriminatory, speaking for the benefit of the people who may fall for it and the people who are targeted by it. I will describe these examples as logical fallacies, not as rage bait.

I’ll discuss the comments on this r/worstof thread shaming a person who asked r/TrueChristian how to explain Christian reasoning against same-sex relationships to a Christian coworker who was already in one. I can see how at first glance, the comments can seem like fair criticism directed to someone behaving petty, unnecessary, and judgemental. So while I’ll assume the r/worstof commenters had good intentions, they failed to recognize an important piece of context, which resulted in their comments actually being discriminatory against Christians. (By the way, attacks against people for their faith do not have an “-ism” or “-phobic” word associated with them, at least not to my knowledge, but as long as they attack the people and not the religion, they can be placed in the same category).

What the commenters missed out on was the fact that Christians, like anyone else, have the responsibility to love and respect people they disagree with. The r/TrueChristian user never actually said anything judgemental, but since they view same-sex relationships as a sin, the commenters jumped to the accusation that the Christian was filled with resentment for this person, despite the fact that the Christian even says, “I’ll be praying and keep treating her the best I was already treating: with love and kindness.” Maybe they could have been a kind, supportive, empathetic friend with their coworker. But by that point, the commenters dismissed any such possibilities on the grounds of their religious views.

Some commenters also assumed that these comments would hurt their friendship. These users have forgotten that respectfully sharing advice is a common attribute of relationships among all people, Christians included. Now, it’s fine to disagree with Christian advice or to even be offended by the advice itself, and if a respectful Christian encounters that response from someone, they will know not to bring it up to that person anymore. The difference is that the r/worstof commenters aren’t personally involved in the Christian’s situation, so the commenters are saying that they don’t have to know the coworker to know that the Christian’s suggestions would poison the relationship. By assuming that nobody would take Christian advice well, the perhaps unintentional effect of their comments is that Christians should not share advice with anybody, even if they’re respectful about it, which is a double standard because that’s what everybody else does.

Now I’m not trying to get anybody outraged by a “Christian hate panic” or whatever — this is only one Reddit post after all. I’m instead here to show an example of where inequity can come from, how it can easily go unspotted, and what you can do to prevent it from happening. Christians such as I believe that intolerance against Christians is inevitable and that it will never go away completely. Instead of creating rage bait, we are supposed to consider these obstacles to be like puzzles to navigate. How we handle these puzzles will reveal our level of faith.

RosZie/Unsplash

What doesn’t solve the problem is when you insult people. This is the problem when words that should be used to describe unfairness become insults. It doesn’t people to the knowledge they need to treat people equitably. Instead, people believe that when they are called racist or homophobic or ableist or whatever, then the other person must hate them, and that they must respond not by considering the impact of their words, but by repairing their bruised ego.

Every time inequality is viewed in this way, the opportunity for resolution goes out the window, adding up to a staggering amount of lost potential over the years. Millions of missed opportunities. That’s the problem right there.

And Internet discussions are our big ticket to solving it.

Now you can give it a try in the comment section below. Feel free to use this new method of describing examples of discrimination.

#Inequity #SocialJustice #Religion #Reddit #ConflictResolution

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Image from DALL-E 2

I know the world doesn’t revolve around me, but if you want my honest feedback about doing a presentation, here it is: don’t begin with an overview of the sections of the presentation.

Overviews set a dull, unimportant tone that often lasts for the rest of the presentation. They contain no real content, so the audience is just left waiting for you to move on to the next slide. By placing something like that at the beginning of your talk, it impacts how I experience the entirety of the presentation, putting me in the mindset where I’m waiting for the presentation to end.

Instead, you should begin your presentation with something fun and casual to grab your audience’s attention and make them interested in what you’re talking about. You can follow that up with an explanation of how the fun stuff is actually important to the subject you will be discussing, allowing you to smoothly transition to the main portion of your presentation. This format makes me feel like I should value and appreciate what you’re talking about. Plus, it doesn’t interrupt my engagement like a summary does.

I’m also more likely to enjoy your presentation if I don’t know what you’re going to discuss next. If you begin your presentation with an overview, the audience has nothing left to look forward to except for the facts that matter to them or that answer their questions. So when you’re not addressing those concerns, people like me will feel bored. I might feel anxious for you to get to the part that matters to me.

I’d rather not know what you’re going to talk about next because it gives me a reason to stay engaged, even when you’re not discussing the things that are most important to me. If you don’t include an overview, then I know I better pay attention because there’s always the possibility that an important point is right around the corner.

By not starting with a summary, your presentation can go from being a chore to commanding the floor. Your first impressions can improve your entire presentation, but preview summaries turn off my interest immediately.

This article can also be read on https://medium.com/non-monetized-together/do-you-agree-that-presentations-shouldnt-start-with-overviews-f755ccadb164.

#PublicSpeaking #PresentationTips #Presentations #Speech #FirstImpressions

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