Virus by Thought

There's a movie out there called Pontypool. Have you seen it? It's a sleeper. Never really got any play in the theaters. I've watched it a couple of times now. It's a bit scary to be honest. Not because the movie is actually scary but the concept is scary.

I don't think this movie was ever meant to be taken straight up. It's a metaphor.

The plot of the story is based around a virus that is spread through speech. The whole movie occurs inside a radio station. Talk about a low budget. There may have been two or three camera positions used throughout the entire film. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration. Still there's little need for effects in the movie. It's entirely story based. CONCEPT!

At any rate the virus spreads quickly through words. Specifically the English language. The virus causes people to become unduly violent. Soon mobs are roaming the streets infecting everyone. Now maybe the idea that a virus could be contained within speech is a bit far fetched but I don't think that's what the writer was getting at.

The analogy is plain enough. Ideas spread like a virus. The right words, spoken in the right manner to the right people can spread and cause people to do things they would otherwise never do. A more direct "translation" of the Zombie movie.

Zombie movies in themselves were a metaphor. Zombie movies became very popular during the late 60s. The Vietnam war. The Assassination of JFK. The explosion of mind altering drugs. People were learning to challenge the authorities. Some people were beginning to realize that not everything we are told is true. The people can be made to work toward a unified goal that is not necessarily in our better interest.

"it is when we understand the word that the virus takes hold. And, once it takes hold it copies itself.".

Do zombies exist? Maybe. I know that there are places in the world where peaceful people are being persecuted because their beliefs are not contemporary. It happens more often than you think.

There is nothing wrong with asking questions. Ask questions about the questions.

Is there truth? As sure as you will fall off the roof if you jump, there is truth. Finding it is another thing altogether.

Pontypool

Futureproof

Where are we going? I wonder how anyone could possibly make money in the music industry these days. It seems someone is making money. How are the big boys surviving? It's something that's just picking at my brain. Are they actually selling mp3s? It's mind boggling. Torrents aren't going away.

There are two genres that are maintaining any kind of CD sales. Country and Metal. The rest of the people seem be reliant on mp3s. That doesn't really leave much room for sales. Most people would rather steal their music than pay for it. It's really not funny. How do they get on without a physical product?

From my personal observation, there is more than just the music. Pop culture relies on the image to such a great extent. There is no respect for the artist anymore. The only real thing driving sales is people's desire to emulate their idols. Endorsement deals just like in sports. Wearing the right cloths on video. That seems to be where it's at for the new generation. So how does anyone expect to break into that racket?

Prime example, Pomlamoose. They started out with adsense I'm sure but that soon led to Ads for Toyota. Is this where music is going?

If that's the case then, I dare say music isn't going anywhere. It's regressing. Giving in to the "Man". Never have the words rung so true for me: "Rock and Roll is dead". Long live Rock and Roll? How? You can't make money at it anymore. Not without selling out. Rock and Roll has fallen into the very pit of corruption that it professes to rebel against. They're all sell outs. Endorsements for strings, software, hardware, clothes. That used to be a side deal. Now it is the deal. There is no more music industry. Just another vehicle for sales and the promotion of consumerism.

So you want to make it big? Don't count on it. Shape your product. Get your image in line. Define your clothing line. Even tattered can be mass produced these days. The holes in the jeans don't mean anything anymore. It used to be that the clothes are what you could afford. The holes were a result of being over worn.

Even guitars come new as "road worn". What a joke! What happened to integrity? What happened to the school of hard knocks? They sold that school. When the machine discovered that it was saleable, they bought it, wrapped it in a tattered package and marketed it to the masses.