Category: Television

Is Honest Journalism Dead?

11/2/2020

Why is there such lack of professionalism and ethics in journalism in recent years? My guest Brendan Malone of Left Foot Media and Monday Night live and I discuss the many problems with contemporary journalism and what can be done about them.

To be clear, there are some excellent journalists who try to adhear to time-honored standards of objectivity still doing great investigative work. However we focus on the general negative trends that we see occurring in media - bias, clickbait, dishonesty, illiberal cancel culture, and lack of humility, backed up by references to hard data where possible.

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What the Game of Thrones Ending Really Means

6/2/2019

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Some tyrants come as liberators. That is the final twist in Game of Thrones, a show known for it's shocking plot twists. This is what George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire is ultimately about; what war really does to people, the difficultly of just rule, the inability to overcome personal moral failings, and the cyclical nature of tyranny.

Game of Thrones, the show based on the Song of Ice and Fire novels, is a bit more about putting spectacle over story. But Queen Daenerys as the final villain, rather than Cersei or the Night King, is George R. R. Martin's surprise ending, make no mistake about it. Viewers were naturally horrified to watch a sympathetic character turn bad, but that's the whole point! We were tricked in order to get us to understand the cruelty and horror of war by watching a character we knew and maybe liked become a tyrant.

This isn't just my hot take on it, either. George R. R. Martin was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War. He acknowledges that the perception of war as something glorious is a problem. Though not a radical pacifist, he states in this interesting clip that his goal with A Song of Ice and Fire, is to show the true cost of war.

Violence under the guise of "breaking the wheel," promoting democracy, human rights, and most other justifications is still abominable. That is why we should be looking for non-violent solutions to problems rather than perpetually glorifying war and violent conflict.

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Why You Should Create Your Own Culture to Be Happier

10/23/2017

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It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the nonsense bombarding us daily. Sometimes I think that mainstream American culture leaves a lot to be desired. Whenever I get disgusted, I'm reminded of Terrance McKenna's instructions:

“Culture is not your friend. Culture is for other people’s convenience and the convenience of various institutions, churches, companies, tax collection schemes, what have you. Culture insults you. It uses and abuses you. None of us are treated well by culture...We have to create culture, don’t watch TV, don’t read magazines, don’t even listen to NPR. Create your own roadshow.”

McKenna is saying that if you don't consciously build your own meaningful culture in your life, it will be determined for you by dominant personalities, media, propaganda, peers, advertising, and all kinds of other capricious influences who have no business being in your head and determining your preferences and actions.

Life is short, and progress towards virtue is often time consuming and hard won. You should be very selective about what you devote your precious and limited time to. If you want to be happier, cut out expressions of culture that sabotage your happiness and personal growth, and deliberately create your own personal culture of beauty and meaning based on your values, rather than on other peoples'.

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5 Ways to Avoid Being Manipulated and Dumbed Down by the Media

9/20/2016

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Are our opinions really our own? How would we really know if they weren't? Consider this quote by Edward Bernays from his 1928 book Propaganda. Bernays, who is considered the father of public relations, combined social science and psychological manipulation techniques to create a sophisticated framework for influencing public communication:

“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organised habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society…We are governed, our minds moulded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is the logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organised.”

If you have read the first and second posts in this series, you'll know that I am skeptical about news media, partly because I believe that there are two giant, glaring problems with the quality of media in the West.

News is increasingly taking the form of yellow journalism, that is, it is being presented in a way that is dumbing us down. Even more troubling, news is often thinly veiled propaganda masquerading as news - intended to mold public opinion or manufacture consent.

Mark Twain said it best when he spoke to the conundrum of news consumption. He suggested that avoiding the news altogether leaves us uninformed, but that consuming news inevitably misinforms us at least some of the time. What can we do about this massive problem, short of avoiding news altogether? Here are 5 remedies to avoid being dumbed down and manipulated by the mainstream media:

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4 Pieces of Stoic Wisdom For Dealing With Negative News Media

8/24/2016

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News headlines, predominantly negative and sensational, dominate our lives. We are barraged with news information 24/7 through our smart phones, social media, TV, websites, papers, and magazines. What is the consumption of news media doing to our brain and our outlook on life? Should we choose to avoid the news altogether?

It’s is not a new question to be asking. 2000 years ago, the Roman Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus questioned the effects that negative forms of socialization have in our lives. We, as philosophers, should not worry about the things that most people do as a result of their constant consumption of news media.

“How could we acquire courage if we had merely learned that the things which seem dreadful to the average person are not to be feared, but had no experience in showing courage in the face of such things?” he asks.

You too can exercise the Stoics' ancient brand of philosophical wisdom and not get upset about events in the news. Terrorism? A shooting? Crisis? Corrupt Politicians? Freedom from these concerns can be yours via these 4 important realizations:

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Evil in the Hearts of Men: Pacifism and Ethics in Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire

4/3/2014

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HBO's acclaimed Game of Thrones is often regarded as being one of the best shows on television. In anticipation of the Season 4 premier this Sunday, I am focusing on the popular epic fantasy series which the show is based on, A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R. R. Martin.

The books are known for portraying an exceptionally violent rendition of life in the Middle Ages, to which many people ascribe the famous Hobbesian maxim, “Life is nasty, brutish, and short.” What may not be readily apparent to both readers and TV show viewers, is that there is strong evidence suggesting that Martin is in fact actually trying to convey a non-aggressive or pacifist message, more consistent with his own conscientious beliefs, than a cynical or Hobbesian perspective.

In creative writing, the gold standard is “show, don't tell.” Martin does this so well and so subtly, that many people are not even aware of the novel's pacifist themes. In fact, many readers assume the opposite. Both the novel and the TV show have often been criticized for being too violent. There is a good deal of rage, bloodshed, war, cruelty, death, tragedy, rape, incest, profanity and sex. On account of this fact, it's no wonder that some derive a cynical or “everyone is evil” mindset from the books and show. However, Martin has stated that he wants to make A Song of Ice and Fire realistic like the Middle Ages and real life. Some people tend to mistake this realism for proof of the novel's amorality, but it is not actually amoral.

Ironically, you don't often come to higher order understanding about non-aggression or ethics by refusing to address the fact that people are capable of aggressive and unethical acts, and that there are consequences to such actions. (Before you continue reading, please note that this essay contains mild book 1-3 spoilers, and Season 1-4 TV show spoilers.)

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Breaking Bad's Secret Message: Actions Have Consequences

12/5/2013

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Most people watch television to be entertained. AMC’s popular series Breaking Bad, is a rare show which entertains and does something infinity more important; it examines serious moral issues in grave detail. Vince Gilligan, the creator of the show, stated, “If there’s a larger lesson to Breaking Bad, it's that actions have consequences.”

The actions in question often relate to the downward spiral of the show’s anti-hero, Walter White, who after a cancer diagnosis, goes from ordinary high school chemistry teacher to brilliant and violent meth kingpin. While overtly a modern Western about science, drugs, and criminality, Breaking Bad is secretly a moral treatise.

Widely touted as one of the best television series of all time, Breaking Bad concluded in September 2013. The show has also been criticized for its grittiness, cynicism and lack of humanity. There may be certain times when viewers will inevitably feel cynical because the show accurately portrays human failings, consequences and the tendency for self deceit. All moral choices are human, but some are just not pro-humanity. The show's deeper purpose is to realistically explore overarching themes of moral choice, personal conduct, responsibility, self-deception, and karma.

Note: if you have not seen the entire series, there are spoilers below.

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Is Honest Journalism Dead?

What the Game of Thrones Ending Really Means

Why You Should Create Your Own Culture to Be Happier

5 Ways to Avoid Being Manipulated and Dumbed Down by the Media

4 Pieces of Stoic Wisdom For Dealing With Negative News Media

Evil in the Hearts of Men: Pacifism and Ethics in Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire

Breaking Bad's Secret Message: Actions Have Consequences

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