Category: Luddite Online

Luddites of 17th Century England fought the government to retain a hold on their livelihood and standards of living. The government’s recent decision to enforce rules of “net neutrality” designed to prevent private corporations from parceling out better Internet service to the wealthy illustrates the complexity of the “Luddite” debate.

“Net neutrality” proponents view the Internet as a public utility, which it is from an objective standpoint. Telephone service, mail delivery, housing, access to medical care and legal services, education, and work are all institutions designed to serve the general interest and are the basic building blocks of civilization. Privatization and deregulation advocates appear delusional in their insistence that only the very wealthy should enjoy these most basic of human rights.

Luddites fought modernization in their efforts to maintain control of a part of the economy that provided them with the comforts and security their skills and training had earned them. On the surface, the pro-government view of net neutrality seems to be in opposition to traditional Luddism. But the proponents of privatization and deregulation, unlike traditional Luddites, are not threatened with the loss of their income or place in society, and the laws they oppose limit technology for a very different reason: Net Neutrality Passes FCC.

1. Thermodynamics.
   1. (in statistical mechanics) a measure of the randomness of the microscopic constituents of a thermodynamic system. Symbol: S.
   2. (on a macroscopic scale) a function of thermodynamic variables, as temperature, pressure, or composition, that is a measure of the energy that is not available for work during a thermodynamic process. A closed system evolves toward a state of maximum entropy.
2. (in data transmission and information theory) a measure of the loss of information in a transmitted signal or message.
3. (in cosmology) a hypothetical tendency for the universe to attain a state of maximum homogeneity in which all matter is at a uniform temperature (heat death)

4. Doctrine of inevitable social decline and degeneration.

(Entropy. (n.d.). Retrieved August 14, 2015, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/entropy )

Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution once was considered shocking. To suggest that humankind descended from apes was considered blasphemous. Oddly we now have arrived at a state of entropy occupied at one extreme by proponents of “unnatural selection” who argue in favor of artificial, planned, engineered evolution, thereby rendering criticisms of Darwin quaint; and on the other extreme by neo-fundamentalist religious zealots who would like to reanimate the Darwin debate and realists who have accepted the malaise of a lingering entropy as the inescapable path forward. In Future Humans: Four Ways We May or May Not Evolve, The National Geographic has provided a blueprint for the future with four paths to choose from: Where do we go from here?

(Reference: FUTURE HUMANS: Four Ways We May, or May Not, Evolve. (2009, November 24). Retrieved April 1, 2015, from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/11/091124-origin-of-species-150-darwin-human-evolution.html.)

Amidst all the rapid and radical change from carbon paper, leaded gasoline, transistor radios, black and white television, rotary dial phones, and telegraph machines to high-speed Internet, disposable cell phones, space travel, omnipresent surveillance, and high-definition everything in less time than it took to invent the Gutenberg Press, sometimes we forget that the sun and the moon and the stars and the sea haven’t noticed.

1987 was not that long ago, but remains an important year in film thanks to the release of Babette’s Feast, a classic tale that speaks volumes about the human condition. Check the Films page for more information.

Within recent memory, people respected those who achieved success through hard work. Similarly, not so long ago, cool  was how we described those who could pull us out of sad, abusive, toxic places and make us feel good again. The Wide World of Sports, once an American tradition in sports broadcasting, began its weekly program by reminding us why we enjoy sports: the ennobling of the human spirit is personified by “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” [(1961). Wide world of sports. Television series. American Broadcasting Corporation.]

The corrupt, money-worshiping, morally bankrupt influence of 1980’s Wall Street culture in which the victory of greed by means of cutthroat competition is the only thing that gets respect ended all of that. Amid all the decay and degeneracy, however, one bright spot has been the development of technology, with its promise of giving a voice and long-promised opportunity to otherwise oppressed, invisible, and powerless minorities. And to some degree, anyway, that has happened. Silicon Valley gave rise to the “irrational exuberance” of hordes of young entrepreneurs who responded to Google leadership’s vow never to be evil.

Although Silicon Valley has been a relative paragon of virtue in the story of Twenty-first Century capitalism for so long, this story strikes a tragic if familiar chord. As a sign of the times, the IT industry’s decision to embrace amorality at the expense of shareholders and the public trust may allow you to depersonalize your annoyance at inaccessible websites and the non-responsiveness of the Great Corporation. Let’s hope the Google founders’ pledge, “Don’t be evil,” has not been shredded with Enron Corporation’s SEC filings: Silicon Valley’s Culture of Amorality.

The contemporary world may be described as the era of “isms.” Capitalism, communism, fascism, nationalism, idealism, nihilism, atheism, totalitarianism, relativism, socialism, patriotism, fanaticism, pluralism, populism… the list goes on and on. Combined with education and government policies inspired by uniformly regimented and inflexible digital coding languages formulated and administered as if they were patches to fix bugs in computer programs, the devastating psychological impacts of over-specialization and alienation can be overwhelming,  especially when there seems to be an expectation that we all conform to a single, one-size-fits-all universal philosophy.

At Luddite Online, we are aware of the danger and treachery of being reduced to just another “-ism.” So to keep things fresh and lively, we are happy to introduce a new feature. In collaboration with Groowinky.com, Luddite Online will begin providing access to original films and reflections about the growing atmosphere of depersonalized, nihilistic, tech-heavy absurdity as the corporate takeover of planet Earth continues apace, unchecked, unregulated, and with apparently no end in sight. We hope that by including original, contemporary contributions, we can avoid trapping ourselves in a self-deluding bubble of neo-Luddism.

Among other things, Groowinky produces, films, and releases short, independent movies featuring independent actors and independent script writers. We believe these films are a better representation of the value of the media of film than what is typically produced in the major Hollywood studios.

Our Films page hosts a selection of many major motion picture releases whose themes are sympathetic to and compatible with many of the beliefs held by contemporary-era Luddites. We are excited that Luddite Online has attracted the support of independent filmmakers, and we believe that such ventures will lend a voice to others who feel drowned out in the increasingly technological world order. We also hope that the filmmaking efforts at Groowinky and elsewhere will lead to a renewal of classic filmmaking more concerned with quality acting and writing that addresses themes that are concerned more with film viewers and art lovers, and less with generating box office receipts or catering to the dictates of the film rating associations.

Above is a short film entitled, “Taffy Tucker.” This film is valuable and thought provoking. This film portrays the very face of evil and obstruction that has reduced life from the fulfillment of rewarding and meaningful pursuits to an absurd, empty, and meaningless obsession—in this case with tucking taffy.

This film depicts the pain of life in modern cities in a way that does not resort to exploitation, and gratuitous violent and sexual abuse. In a sense, this kind of “G-rated” pain may be even worse because the actors are denied their own humanity, independence, adulthood, and autonomy, reduced instead into forced roles of subservient children playing games that amuse the owners of the city.

Are they willing and complicit? Are they helpless and clueless victims of a modern society that refuses to acknowledge anyone’s humanity? It is difficult to confront people who, when faced with these dilemmas, often choose to cooperate with forces that are clearly trying to harm them—maybe it’s people like this who, in another time, eventually became the inspiration for the gargoyles that adorn the buildings of so many American cities. They appear so innocent, yet they are so sado-masochisitic. Is this just the best they can do when they are faced with the reality of empty lives and nothing to live for? In that sense, a life spent tucking taffy may be a victorious rebellion. Perhaps some meaning and friendship is better than none at all; and if they are able to expose their tormentors, all the better.

YOU CAN VIEW ADDITIONAL ORIGINAL FILMS BY GROOWINKY, AS WELL AS REVIEWS OF MAJOR RELEASES THAT CELEBRATE THE ART OF FILM, ON OUR FILMS PAGE. ACCESS TO THE FILMS PAGE REQUIRES A FULL MEMBERSHIP, WHICH YOU CAN PURCHASE ON OUR MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS PAGE.

ENJOY!

 GROOWINKY FEATURES POETIC MUSINGS, ZANY DRAWINGS (DONE MOSTLY ON DISCARDED JOURNAL ENTRIES), INVENTED WORDS, FILMS, AND OTHER CREATIONS WHICH POUR OUT OF ONE MAN WHO LIVES FEVERISHLY UPON THE CREATIVE CURRENTS OF HIS OWN MIND.

Once upon a time not very long ago, in a place not very far from where you are standing right now, the world was a vast place full of wonder, mystery, adventure, and promise. Thousands of generations of men, women, and children, stretching back into the deepest recesses of historical memory, and even further back than that, made this world—brick-by-brick, day-by-day, season-by-season, and year-by-year. Over the millennia, this world suffered feasts, famines, huge leaps forward, devastating setbacks, wars to end all wars, and revolutions to overthrow all revolutions. One thing remained constant despite all these changes—the world was unendingly and always the domain of humanity.

It doesn’t take long for an unprecedented event to take its place in the long historical march of previously unprecedented events, and the next unprecedented event seems always to threaten us with its incurable unprecedentedness. But this time, we’re really up against it—never in all the previous disruptions of our sacred traditions and principles have we been confronted with the unpoetic and dehumanizing reality of digital technology, social media, high-definition everything, perennial surveillance, and inescapable, global totalitarian behavior modification!

Once upon a time, the tule fog in the Sacramento Valley was so dense every winter that you couldn’t see across the street in the morning. Once upon a time, the magic of San Francisco’s construction moratorium attracted travelers from all over the world to indulge in The City’s charms. Once upon a time, the threat of instant hypothermia kept the North Pole’s prehistoric inhabitants safe from the predatory advances of real estate developers and tourists. Dude, where’s my world?

Pessimism is unnatural. I was recently discussing business opportunities with a local colleague who also owns and operates a small business. Unfortunately, we were unable to come to any agreement or establish any kind of productive relationship. I have grown accustomed to this disappointment, but I still know deep down that continual disappointment is not normal, and that toxic and negative professional environments are the exception, and not the rule. Despite the bad news, I was gratified that my short conversation with this colleague was not entirely unproductive. He confirmed what I have been suspecting for the longest time. He indicated to me not only his belief that operating outside the law was a preferable way to run business; but also that the current dysfunctional environment is the result of a deliberate effort on the part of a few wealthy individuals to corrupt and pervert the educational system into a tool for organized crime by indoctrinating generations of young people into a cult of pessimism; and that he was proud to be part of that effort.

And now, for a word about the growing culture of pessimism, for which some people proudly claim responsibility for having deliberately engineered, please follow this link:

Pessimist Perspective

Finger-pointing and “The Blame Game” are the status quo, to some degree: determining guilt is often no easy task and is the reason every nation has its established method of determining how to apply legal remedies to crime. Revisionist historians distort facts, play with perspectives, and use images, statistics, and the tools of technology and science to play fast-and-loose with the truth, usually for financial gain or to impose a personal agenda or worldview  on others. The latest incarnation of this crime goes by the euphemism, “cultural cleansing.” Luddite Online holds a view that history should be neither forgotten nor romanticized, but recorded and used as a compass to guide us forward in the ways we know are best. It is curious we would have so many tools at our disposal in the contemporary world to accomplish this goal with less effort than ever, yet there seems to be a simultaneous tendency toward duplicity and an undying passion among those responsible to seek the opposite aim.

To triangulate, World War II saw the massacre of tens of thousands of Polish citizens at the hands of Soviet soldiers. At the time, the blame fell to the Nazi regime, and the Soviets were only to happy to let them have it, but as time wore on, the Soviet government contributed to the cover-up that soon became the accepted reality. This deliberate distortion has since been brought out into the open, but the damage is done. Similarly, anti-American forces like Al Quaeda and the Taliban are quick to strike out at American imperialism as we recall from the devastating attacks on September 11, 2001, yet the Taliban’s record of cultural cleansing has grown even more worrisome recently. And while America may be deserving of the support it has received in the light of these events, their not-completely-unfounded claim of the moral high ground competes with a claim to the height of hypocrisy in light of their contemporary penchant for revisionist history at the expense of their own heritage. It is no small wonder that “neo-Luddites” view the world with an almost impossible mix of hope and despair.

Deus ex machina is a Latin phrase meaning “God from the machine,” and has until recently been used almost exclusively to discuss literature. When a complicated plot in a novel or short story runs up against a seemingly unsolvable problem, the deus ex machina plot device is sometimes employed. The film Training Day used this device in the scene where the new police recruit, stranded in the ‘hood and about to be eliminated by some homies, is saved by the unlikely discovery of one of the thugs’ niece’s wallet in his jacket. Initially, this discovery inflames the gang member, but ultimately allows the narc to tell his side of the story, which, once confirmed by a quick cell phone call between ex-felon and young niece, allows the handsome young police-officer in-training to go about his day.

Unfortunately, the hordes of devoutly literal-minded fanatical idiots have destroyed another thread in the fabric of human civilization. While illiteracy, corruption, hunger, incompetence, fear, violence, and failure spread like wildfire around the globe, and the world governments ransack the public funds to arm themselves to the teeth and make fools of themselves on the Internet and the public airwaves, the public has to suffer the IT industry’s decision to use its money, talent, and influence to reverse the deus ex machina effect. Instead of rushing in to save the day by funding schools, hospitals, and the effort to eliminate lobbyists from government and put an end to the for-profit prison business, they have released Deus Ex Machina the video game. Now you can pretend the world’s problems are unimportant and immerse yourself in a fully functioning psychotic pseudo-reality so you will never have to wake up and feel the humiliating slap in the face the Big Money decided to deal you this week….Have fun! (Not literally!)

The White House says Russia is behind a cyber-attack that breached the White House computer system. Edward Snowden is in Russia because he says the White House spies on everyone and knows everything. Everyone wants to live in America, but everyone agrees to hate America to ensure they will have a long friends list on Facebook. Except for Russia, who claims that everyone blames Russia for everything, which no one really does. And even if the White House collects information on everyone, they don’t know who broke through the White House computer security, except that they were Russian and worked for the government. Or they were a criminal. Or maybe it was someone else. No one is really sure. But it’s a big deal, because Bloomberg News has now confirmed rumors of Russian hacking of the American elections that the Republican party spent billions of dollars denying, with Michael Bloomberg himself registering as a Democratic candidate for President. Nothing has resulted from the simultaneous increase and apparent collapse of White House security.

Intelligence, diplomacy, counter-intelligence, politics, and statesmanship were once the solemn, revered, and respected profession of the elite. But Facebook, Twitter, and easy access to hacking apps galore have turned national security and government into a fun-filled and exciting parlor game the whole family can enjoy! Now any illiterate moron with a Twitter account can engage in a fun-filled and exciting round of global conquest.  War is hell only when it is the last resort of the most high, but now it’s the first resort of the stupid and greedy, and nothing more than the spectacle of the directionless having fun as they learn the ropes and climb the social ladder….High score! Woooo-Hoooo! The future awaits, trembling with fear…..

What is so sad about the abuse of technology is not only how people have been dehumanized and reduced to button-pushing, pill-swallowing, automatons indoctrinated into a somnambulant state of compliant consumerism; nor the tragic consequences of people who still heroically try to impose their spirit and joie de vivre on a society that has developed a cannibalistic taste for abusing their fellows when they do rise to the occasion; but the obscene arrogance of those in a position to maintain standards and reign in the monsters who have insulted and humiliated all of us, yet who have too many among us eating out of their hands like little lapdogs.

Edward Snowden’s decision to expose the American government’s abuse of surveillance technology was in the news recently. Of course, for most people the events of September 11, 2001 are a distant memory, or, like the Nazi Holocaust or the moon landing, are regarded as a fabrication so they can go back to sucking down energy drinks and playing Grand Theft Auto as they voluntarily devolve into a subspecies. Regardless, the effects of using technology as a tool of disseminating dangerous propaganda that, unlike old-fashioned print propaganda, also does lasting physical and psychological damage to its victims, have resulted in Mr. Snowden’s dethroning from a hero of a world tired of being violated to an object of abuse for the amusement of idiots. Must we reduce even the most lofty of humanity’s strivings to retarded adolescent toilet humor? The participants in the creation of this interview between Edward Snowden and John Oliver have taken the art of satire to a place where it seems to harm those whom it usually seeks to defend.

Although there is a debate, it is fairly one-sided. There is no debate that the unasked for, unregulated, unsupervised, uncontrolled, and incomprehensibly rapid pace of technological change being forced on the world has caused irreparable and undeniably harmful changes. There is also no debate that to a large extent, the more we advance technologically, the further we devolve socially, intellectually, psychologically, and in human terms. The only real debate that remains is how extensive and brutal and disturbing will be the changes to humanity as we are forced down a road not of our choosing.

To this argument, there appear to be two schools of thought: One predicts the outcome, already tragic, embarrassing, and obscene, will continue to get worse; the other is largely the argument continually broadcast by the Information Technology industry’s apologists who promise with warm, narcotic reassurance a nightmarish Huxleyesque future of inescapable and eternally orgasmic but empty and unearned pleasure.

The Pew Research Center has published expert research that provides insights into this debate. Your fears are not imaginary. In fact, it’s probably worse than you think. Regardless, drinking the Kool-Aid is not a pre-ordained act to which we are all required to submit. If you are less than pleased with this turn of events, take a little time to remind yourself that you are an American and have the guaranteed right of individual liberty and the freedom to decline participation in collectivized society.

(Reference: Jorund. (n.d.). “Concerns about Human Agency, Evolution, and Survival.” Retrieved December 13, 2020, from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/12/10/concerns-about-human-agency-evolution-and-survival).