What's so great about emotions?
December 14th 2006 01:15
But how many porn films would you call works of art?
L'il Brudder might be genuinely sad.
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Besides plain emotion, there's emotionally complex, there's truthful or real, intellectually engaging, suspenseful or gripping, different or original.
And there's the nebulous concepts of "meaningful" and "valuable".
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In an acting context, it's not uncommon for males to think they've earned a medal when they finally crack crying on stage.
And it's not uncommon for males, and females, to be shot down by acting teachers -- "indulgent", "emotional masturbation" -- when there's only emotion, and nothing else.
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Fact is, affective and effective are two different scales, and plain emotion ain't necessarily soul.
We have more control than at any other time in history over how to push people's buttons. Our creative industries are larger. Our methods of sociology and psychology are more developed.
But just because you're being played don't mean you don't know it, and don't mean you don't resent it. We have more control, yes, but we're also more awake to craft and the behind the scenes.
The entertainment machine is to some extent self-defeating. The commonness of emotion detracts from its value. And if we know about the manipulation, if we're conscious of mechanical techniques -- well our response is distrust, and separation of ourselves from ourselves.
What's emotional is no longer what's central to identity.
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Comment by LaurenD
And this is why, when a performance is authentic, it reaches for your heart and gives it a squeeze.
Consider the trite versus the authentic Ophelia. The trite is like a kid banging on a piano. The authentic gives voice to the secrets of our deepest, most hidden despair.
Very provocative this morning. Thank you.
LaurenD
Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Comment by JoshZ
A Simple Christian
But back to the point.....
Emotions are buggers. They have been used to justify the best and worst of the human condition.
Great post man,
JZ
Comment by Carpeviva
Moreover,
Scripted "REALITY" tv is oversocializing the youth to not value anything which was once considered human. Mearly versatile machines.
JPG
Comment by Adrian
Philosophy Blog
I reckon it's precisely the beliefs that everyone believes that should be most examined.
They might well be true, of course, but I think it's healthy to be slightly sus of them.
So, in this vein, I've always wondered whether it's true that popular culture desensitizes...
Here's some thoughts:
-- are doctors dehumanized by being around death all day?
-- does literature dehumanize, if it constantly describes scenes of misery and makes you feel the accompanying emotions? (or does it humanize?)
-- under what conditions does exposure hypersensitize rather than desensitize? (For instance, people who are allergic to pollen are likely to have grown up in the country -- they're hypersensitized by the grass, not desensitized to it)
-- when you watch a movie, to what extent are you conscious that it's fake? And what role does such a consciousness play? Perhaps it's like a protective layer that stays behind in the cinema, so that real blood is still terrifying, even if gallons of fake blood are yawn-worthy.
As I said, I don't know the truth of the matter... Though I do suspect that cavemen, without art of any kind, were less emotionally sensitive...
Regarding the word "dehumanize"... There's a Jewish expression that goes something like, "That guy, he's a real human being". It implies something like a series of desirable character traits. But I suppose one comment to make is that, personally, I find it difficult to talk about an ideal humanity, and what makes us human and doesn't. I find it difficult to dictate to people what personality they should have. After all, there's always a range of characteristics among existing humans, and humanity is constantly changing, and will evolve in unimaginable ways over the next millions of years...
Even a quality like emotional-reactivity -- I find it difficult to say that this should be possessed by everyone. After all, there is also the widely-partly-believed Stoic ideal of someone who can control their emotions, and knows what is right to do based on reason, and doesn't let emotion interfere with that.