Stop Contact

[doolhoofd]

Hi,

my name is Geert, I'm 29 years old and I'm from Belgium.
I just signed up today to present my first full text, Stop Contact.
Basically it's a criticism on pushed technological progress, inspired mostly by Baudrillard.
You can find the English version on my deviantART page.
the link is:

:: http://www.doolhoofd.deviantart.com/#/d41q6en ::

It's a bit of a rant at times, but I hope some among you will appreciate it for what it is.
Here's a fragment from the text, about modern cinema:

The same extortion, the same diaphanics in contemporary film: the stories are ripoffs, it's all about the overwhelming impact of the medium itself, about a technical forcing of a cold extacy by an attack of the senses with a staging of 'dazzling special effects' which have long ceased to be dazzling or special, which have long lost their effect; the sequel which is not a continuation but an even more spectacular clone is, similarly to the addition of a third, fourth, fifth dimension to film, the realisation and hyperrealisation of film into an interactive virtual reality in an explicit striving for an even deeper immersion of the spectator and an even heavier impact of the medium (the sound tapes are already blasted through you in 360° Dolby Surround) an equally transparent as lucrative attempt to potentalise the broadly streched-out magic of the effects even further. No story, no atmosphere, no credibility, no real content, only the cold and transparent connection of cold and transparent effects. Since transparency is spectacularised itself (the making of...), it is not unthinkable that this non-quality is a part of the undeniable röntgenesque charm of the hyperspectacular. Ever more technology performs the role of an independant spectacle, of an object of seduction unto itself revered by nerds, transhumanists, music freaks, car lovers, television addicts, the proverbial man/woman in the street.

[chaz wyman]

Hi,

my name is Geert, I'm 29 years old and I'm from Belgium.
I just signed up today to present my first full text, Stop Contact.
Basically it's a criticism on pushed technological progress, inspired mostly by Baudrillard.
You can find the English version on my deviantART page.
the link is:

:: http://www.doolhoofd.deviantart.com/#/d41q6en ::

It's a bit of a rant at times, but I hope some among you will appreciate it for what it is.
Here's a fragment from the text, about modern cinema:

The same extortion, the same diaphanics in contemporary film: the stories are ripoffs, it's all about the overwhelming impact of the medium itself, about a technical forcing of a cold extacy by an attack of the senses with a staging of 'dazzling special effects' which have long ceased to be dazzling or special, which have long lost their effect; the sequel which is not a continuation but an even more spectacular clone is, similarly to the addition of a third, fourth, fifth dimension to film, the realisation and hyperrealisation of film into an interactive virtual reality in an explicit striving for an even deeper immersion of the spectator and an even heavier impact of the medium (the sound tapes are already blasted through you in 360° Dolby Surround) an equally transparent as lucrative attempt to potentalise the broadly streched-out magic of the effects even further. No story, no atmosphere, no credibility, no real content, only the cold and transparent connection of cold and transparent effects. Since transparency is spectacularised itself (the making of...), it is not unthinkable that this non-quality is a part of the undeniable röntgenesque charm of the hyperspectacular. Ever more technology performs the role of an independant spectacle, of an object of seduction unto itself revered by nerds, transhumanists, music freaks, car lovers, television addicts, the proverbial man/woman in the street.

Thanks for your courage in offering up your work for analysis.

I think this text is meaningless as a stand alone unless it is referring to a specific film.
"Modern' FIlm simply does not fit this description. You are either wrongly generalising about film - in which case you need to get out more, of you are really just attacking a specific genre of Hollywood Blockbuster.
I imagine when I get to the full text this discrepant perspective will diminish.
I quite like the style. ALthough it borders on the Obscurantist is is capable of conferring a definite meaning to any one of intelligence that wants to read it.
However, I really don't like your last sentence with its collection of prejudiced stereotyping. That is seriously uncalled for and reveals a cavalier and un-nuanced point of view of everyone you deem is beneath you.
Oh- and what is the proverb of the "man in the street"?

Do you think there is an acceptable class of film? What you you place a the top of the tree in terms of last years' films?

I'll take a look at the full text and get back to you.

PS What do you mean by diaphanics??
And röntgenesque?

[doolhoofd]

Thanks for your courage in offering up your work for analysis.

I think this text is meaningless as a stand alone unless it is referring to a specific film.
"Modern' FIlm simply does not fit this description. You are either wrongly generalising about film - in which case you need to get out more, of you are really just attacking a specific genre of Hollywood Blockbuster.
I imagine when I get to the full text this discrepant perspective will diminish.
I quite like the style. ALthough it borders on the Obscurantist is is capable of conferring a definite meaning to any one of intelligence that wants to read it.
However, I really don't like your last sentence with its collection of prejudiced stereotyping. That is seriously uncalled for and reveals a cavalier and un-nuanced point of view of everyone you deem is beneath you.
Oh- and what is the proverb of the "man in the street"?

Do you think there is an acceptable class of film? What you you place a the top of the tree in terms of last years' films?

I'll take a look at the full text and get back to you.

PS What do you mean by diaphanics??
And röntgenesque?

Thank you for reading and commenting.
generalising and un-nuanced, well, yeah, guilty as charged. A nuanced analysis just wouldn't have the same effect.
Thank you for your compliment on my style.
In Dutch "the man in the street" is a proverb meaning "just about every ordinary guy"
Actually I watch a lot of films and I think a lot of them are quite good. Can't think of any favourites right now though, I'll have to get back to you on that.
diaphane: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/diaphane
röntgenesque: x-ray-like, transparent

I forgot something important, the link to the video of the apotheosis of the movie Contact starring Jodie Foster
:: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzTHC6JSUvM ::
it's also at the bottom of the text on deviantART

[SpheresOfBalance]

Well, I for one really liked Contact. Mainly for the subject matter, but the visual effects were nice as well. There hasn't been a Contact II yet. It's just that I would like more movies about space exploration and strange happenings, not, yet another Star War. I'm tired of all the "fussing and fighting my friend." Steven Soderbergh's Solaris, with George Clooney was slow but interesting, much like Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, but not quite as deep.

I like wine too, but I'm not a wine snob either.

[chaz wyman]

Thanks for your courage in offering up your work for analysis.

I think this text is meaningless as a stand alone unless it is referring to a specific film.
"Modern' FIlm simply does not fit this description. You are either wrongly generalising about film - in which case you need to get out more, of you are really just attacking a specific genre of Hollywood Blockbuster.
I imagine when I get to the full text this discrepant perspective will diminish.
I quite like the style. ALthough it borders on the Obscurantist is is capable of conferring a definite meaning to any one of intelligence that wants to read it.
However, I really don't like your last sentence with its collection of prejudiced stereotyping. That is seriously uncalled for and reveals a cavalier and un-nuanced point of view of everyone you deem is beneath you.
Oh- and what is the proverb of the "man in the street"?

Do you think there is an acceptable class of film? What you you place a the top of the tree in terms of last years' films?

I'll take a look at the full text and get back to you.

PS What do you mean by diaphanics??
And röntgenesque?

Thank you for reading and commenting.
generalising and un-nuanced, well, yeah, guilty as charged. A nuanced analysis just wouldn't have the same effect.
Thank you for your compliment on my style.
In Dutch "the man in the street" is a proverb meaning "just about every ordinary guy"

You misunderstand. I was having a dig. "The man in the street", works perfectly well in English. It is just not a proverb. You can have the proverbial "fatted calf" or the proverbial "sour grapes" etc. But the phrase 'man it the street does not, as far as I know have a related proverb, so is not 'proverbial'


Actually I watch a lot of films and I think a lot of them are quite good. Can't think of any favourites right now though, I'll have to get back to you on that.
diaphane: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/diaphane

In English we would use diaphanous. As in diaphanous nightie.

röntgenesque: x-ray-like, transparent

I was aware of Rontgen's x-rays but did not see how the metaphor fit.

I forgot something important, the link to the video of the apotheosis of the movie Contact starring Jodie Foster
:: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzTHC6JSUvM ::
it's also at the bottom of the text on deviantART

[doolhoofd]

I was aware of Rontgen's x-rays but did not see how the metaphor fit.

That's probably because I'm just making stuff up.

[doolhoofd]

It's a shame you guys are missing two intended puns,
the first one, in the title, a "stopcontact" is the Dutch word for an electric socket



& the second one, in the part about porn, "Kont Acts" (kont = ass in Dutch)

[chaz wyman]

I was aware of Rontgen's x-rays but did not see how the metaphor fit.

That's probably because I'm just making stuff up.

I get the idea though, same as diaphanous.
You are free to develop your own metaphors.
I suppose if you first invite us to consider them as similes initially then we will be more open to see them afterwards.
Thinking about it though, maybe the metaphor is misplace; an x-ray reveals that which is hidden, which is more than flimsy and diaphanous.

[chaz wyman]

It's a shame you guys are missing two intended puns,
the first one, in the title, a "stopcontact" is the Dutch word for an electric socket



& the second one, in the part about porn, "Kont Acts" (kont = ass in Dutch)

I thought you said you were from Belgium?
I was puzzling about the title!.

Do you mean that KONT = ****? That is vagina, vulva, female putenda.
Ass in English means donkey.
In England we use arse for bottom, backside; the soft area with which we sit on.
In the US ass is the same as bottom, but a general term for the body; as in I own your ass.

I seem to remember that Germans use 'stop' as 'fuck' as if to stop or to use a stopped bung or cork in a bottle.
In the UK we sometimes used "plug-in" for sex.

[chaz wyman]

We are no strangers to puns of a sexual nature, though this one often goes right over the heads of unsuspecting audiences.

In Hamlet, Hamlet asks if he may lay his head on her lap.
She gets worked up, thinking he is asking if he might perform a sex act on her.
He says I speak not of country matters.
Referring to her vagina, but letting her know he did not wish sex but to literally lay in her lap.

[doolhoofd]

I always thought the term "arse" denoted the anal cavity itself.
The Dutch word "kont" means "bottom."
My English is American English, sorry for the misunderstanding.

[chaz wyman]

I always thought the term "arse" denoted the anal cavity itself.

It can. But you can always say 'sit on your arse'.

The Dutch word "kont" means "bottom."
My English is American English, sorry for the misunderstanding.

**** and kont are just too near for them not to be connected. Do the Dutch use kont for men's bottoms?

There is another odd difference between US and UK English which caused confusion in WW2 when the American soldiers were here. In England another word for vagina is fanny, whereas in AMerica it is used to denote a bottom.

[doolhoofd]

Do the Dutch use kont for men's bottoms?

Yes, this is linguistically possible.

[chaz wyman]

Do the Dutch use kont for men's bottoms?

Yes, this is linguistically possible.

This is ambiguous. I did not ask if it was possible but whether Kont is used for men.

DOn't bother.
I've found my own answer

and Kont = **** as I thought.

Dutch

[edit]Etymology
From Middle Dutch conte (“vagina”, also generally “sex organ”), from Old Dutch *kunta (“vagina”), from Proto-Germanic *kuntōn.

Source http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kont#Etymology

[doolhoofd]

I've found my own answer

and Kont = **** as I thought.

Dutch

[edit]Etymology
From Middle Dutch conte (“vagina”, also generally “sex organ”), from Old Dutch *kunta (“vagina”), from Proto-Germanic *kuntōn.

Source http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kont#Etymology

cool