tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37179942.post8222435052991154997..comments2023-10-22T05:51:58.898-04:00Comments on Soob: Heath Ledger and Jackals with CamerasJay@Soobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12208597218366281778noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37179942.post-9723294385091247352008-01-30T19:26:00.000-05:002008-01-30T19:26:00.000-05:00Too true, Snoop. I wonder: Is the human attraction...Too true, Snoop. I wonder: Is the human attraction to the suffering of others a genetic trait or simply a cultural trait?Jay@Soobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12208597218366281778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37179942.post-56954176809553603872008-01-28T14:10:00.000-05:002008-01-28T14:10:00.000-05:00Vultures they definitely are. But somebody pays th...Vultures they definitely are. But somebody pays them and somebody laps up their produce...SnoopyTheGoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00920565522498918323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37179942.post-66550507445001267782008-01-24T05:43:00.000-05:002008-01-24T05:43:00.000-05:00I think Saul thinks the same thing, he goes on abo...I think Saul thinks the same thing, he goes on about the population becoming more civically active. <BR/><BR/>I think Saul wasn't talking power in a conspiratorial bent though (perhaps it came off that way in my writing), more in the vein of power as political decision making, and that celebrities only have the illusion of power and the fame of the real decision makers. So the populace are won over by this, because gossip, good looks, and drama make for an exciting life over the perceived dreariness of policy and political economy. <BR/><BR/>An example Saul used was financial, and other aid, to failing states. He quotes a British study of the British populace where people were asked who do they think have the power to change conditions in the third world, the majority answered different celebrity names. <BR/><BR/>Of course, the real decisions to help such failed nations (the logistical, financial etc etc. backing), and hence the real power base, comes from governments and NGOs like the red cross. <BR/><BR/>But I digress from the topic at hand ...Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10588546748297924666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37179942.post-6212986248835785832008-01-23T20:29:00.000-05:002008-01-23T20:29:00.000-05:00I haven't read Saul's apparent masterpiece. The an...I haven't read Saul's apparent masterpiece. The analogy of American celebrities to Greek heroes is simply brilliant though the darker "real power brokers" bit seems a stretch. Not that I disagree with Saul's "real power" element, rather I see the American populace as being both the propagator and victim of their own disillusion.Jay@Soobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12208597218366281778noreply@blogger.com