Your dreams are too impractical. You can’t be a pilot, dear boy that’s not how the world works. Choose something else, something in line with your reality, something in line with your environment. How about an Uber driver? No, that’s too steep. Let’s try a taxi driver operating somebody’s 16 seater. You have to remember that you have owners. You are not free, no one is free, in fact dear boy, there is no such thing as freedom. It’s all made up like your dreams of flying airplanes. Someone needs to bring you down to earth, having your head above the clouds is only metaphoric like shooting stars in the sky. And well, you are no star. The truth is that you are limited like prepaid data. The truth is that you’ll never amount to much. The truth is that your are doomed like insects in a corner. There is no way of maneuvering this, you are playing a rigged game and the cards have been dealt to you since your inception. There is no way to change hands just play the cards you have been dealt as best as you can. Don’t mess up the order of the world, don’t anger your owners, just do as you are told and don’t be a hero. Lower your expectations dear boy you are nothing but a pawn in this chess game called life. No one cares about you or your dreams. But that’s not such a bad thing, strive to make your owners rich and you’ll do better than most people. Dear boy, just stay in your lane and you’ll be alright.
I think Pixar are trying to kill me. Before I delve into the main subject of this text. What was with “Toy Story 4” guys? What the hell was that? What sorcery was that? I mean I have been a “Toy Story” fan for literally my whole life and they have never made me cry. Sure the storylines are emotional as in the one exhibited on the third installment but I never cried, almost did but I didn’t. You guys assaulted me on the 4th installment. What a tear jerker. The emotion regulation techniques used in the movie are outstanding. The toys exhibited sensitivity and empathy they could regulate each others emotions. Everything is just so emotive, the film score just moves you, it is so powerful yet subtle and familiar. The movie just goes straight to your heart. I am fascinated by emotions. It’s like something hijacked my rational faculties. I had no control over my emotions, it just happened – what an experience! It wasn’t the first time you guys made me leak, you did it with “Ratatouille” too. You guys are truly something else. It’s amazing how you can create an experience like that. When my emotions get out of control like that it makes me think of how amazing the Universe is, how amazing life is. We are the Universe experiencing itself, all of life and nature is one – we all come from the same source. When you guys made me tear up with “Toy Story 4” I was one with the storyline, one with the experience you created, one with your mastery, one with your artistic expression and at that moment everything was perfect. I felt one with the Universe and hence there was nothing I could do. I was under your spell. What amazing art you guys created. I felt my facial expressions change, I felt my eyebrows going lower, I felt them coming closer, I felt the downward pull of my mouth, I felt my facial muscles contract and with that tears came out from my eyes. I felt my face wrinkle like a raisin. I did not do that consciously, it just happened, I was overwhelmed. It makes me think; emotions are not concealable, it is impossible to hide them, they always have a way of leaking out. The avenues of these leakages are found in body language, voice and facial expressions. It’s impossible to hide what you are truly feeling because it is an unconscious phenomena, it is the Universe communicating. Our emotions are spontaneous things that happen to us and we experience them. This means emotions are depended on socioeconomic factors like the environment, culture, family, friends and other external stimuli. This makes sense because the emotion fear is triggered by the amygdala – the flight or fight organ. Wow! It seems as though existence is a program. We don’t know what consciousness is or where it comes from and we can’t control our emotions. Because of this fact I don’t think we can fully understand our emotions, they are complicated. What a predicament. What a revelation! But I digress, thank you guys for the beautiful movie, I loved it! It was thoroughly entertaining, it was hilarious, it had imagination, the animation was brilliant, it was moving and heartfelt, it was emotive, it was beautiful. It was interesting to see; children begin to regulate emotions in the first few years of life. They find a favorite toy, blanket or stuffed animal that they use to self-soothe and regulate their emotions. We saw that with Bonnie and Forkkie, it gave me nostalgic memories, I couldn’t help but to reminisce. I am happy Gabby Gabbys dreams came true. What a noble thing to do, thanks Woody. I am excited at the prospect of a 5th installment. I hope I watch the 5th installment on the big screen with popcorn and a large coke. I watched “Toy Story 4” a year later and it was well worth the wait. To the Universe, thank you to the spirit of Steve Jobs. Thank you to John Lasseter and every creative who has ever made a contribution to Pixar. One day, I want to own stock in Pixar; I want a slice of heaven. You guys make my soul dance, you make me happy and you keep me young. Being childlike is a quality I never want to lose and you guys are aligned with that mission. I love everything that you guys do and I will be a fan until I die.
On the epic song by Jay-Z and Kanye West “No Church in the world”, Kanye West points out that love is ruined by monogamy. This is an interesting sentiment, one that disputes the validity of a marriage institute. Marriage is an institution created by the church to unite people who love each other romantically. It wasn’t always like this, to get married because of emotions and feelings would be considered an obscenity in the good old days of the past. People got married for reasons that were practical economically, they joined to unite fortunes and establish a powerbase. Marriage was a legal binding entity used to preserve wealth among families. It was not a measure of one’s love and dedication. However, going forward things changed with the entrance of the romantics. They affected and changed culture in a big way. Writers and poets started making an art form of this phenomena known as love. It was contagious and spread all over the world. De Beers located a diamond mine in South Africa but since diamonds had no value, they created value through the visuals of Hollywood movies and ads on billboards and newspapers – it was a frenzy, diamonds were everywhere, on printed media, billboards, television, in music and referenced by poets. Diamonds were made desirable. They were made valuable. They now demonstrated the love you had for your partner. Culture derived, formulated and concluded that your engagement ring should be worth at least 3 months of your paycheck. It was a madhouse and everyone was in the delirium. For their efforts, De Beers made riches and they continue to own the diamond market in the world. Their success is attributed to the romantic age. The romantic age contained an impractical people. Indoctrinated in the constitution of the church, they believed in monogamy that is one partner for one man. The Romantics added to that and proclaimed that this partner should complete and fulfill you. The romantics United love and sex. The romantics were irrational, deluded and impractical. An institution that unites love and sex is flawed simply because sex is a form of expression. Sex is gratifying a desire. Sex is individuality. Sex procreates. It is possible to love you and not be sexually attracted to you. In the same way that I can have a mistress that I have sexual relations with and not love. In fact, it is the norm in our culture. We see this on books like “The Great Gatsby” with the characters of Tom Buchanan, Daisy, Tom’s mistress and Gatsby. Dispite his known infidelity, Tom goes back home to Daisy. We see this with Daisy too, she has an affair with Gatsby and later goes back to Tom. For Tom, Daisy represents stability, his heart and it is the same with Daisy. Their infidelities don’t mean that they don’t love each other. This is also exhibited on the 1974 movie “Emmanuelle”, where Emmanuelle’s partner doesn’t marry her for mere possession, he marries her because he loves her. He encourages her to explore her sexual desires and fantasies with other people besides him, citing “You not my beauty, not my property”. All that he asks for in the relationship is transparency and honesty. For them communication and trust is vitally important. They understand that love and sex can be separate. This makes the bond they have for one another strong. For love is patient and understanding. Love is practicality and reason. Love is not vain and shallow. It is not narcissistic entitlements and pride. Love operates at a positive wavelength. It calibrates at a high conscious level. Love is the default language of the world. Love is life.
Maybe there’s wisdom in monogamy for it creates a world of order in your life. Monogamy is stable and often reliable. It fosters closer relations in the family. Monogamy is warm, stable and secure. It makes life meaningful for we can raise our children and our grandchildren and die gracefully. Monogamy is consistent and always there for you. At least that’s what it promises on paper. The salesman who’s selling us on the idea of marriage is a great one because we still go into marriage head first dispite the staggering divorce rates. The odds of a divorce are 1 in 2, that’s 50% – that means either you or a friend is getting a divorce. This is because of the unrealistic promises of romanticism. I can’t be your everything. I can’t fill the void in your heart or complete you. I am not your savior. We can’t unite love and animal sex in our relationship, we can do it for a while but don’t expect it to last forever. Reason being is that I am flawed. I am a human being and I have my days were I am not at my best. Sometimes my actions are repulsive, bad natured and suspect. I have deep rooted insecurities. I am a horrible person but I try my best to be presentable. I am repressed and I will exhibit undesirable behavior. I am a mess and untidy. Sometimes I will get defensive and angry. I am narcissistic. I have a big ego. I am imperfect. I am a born sinner. With that said, let’s create a love that will be accomodative and sustaining for someone like me. I don’t believe in forever because I live in a vacuum of time and space. So let’s create something practical and usable. What is the reason of our union? Is it for protection and wealth, is it for a partnership, is it for cohabitation, is it to start and raise a family, is it the sex, is it because you love me and want to be with me forever and ever? Let’s discuss this and put it in the world. Let’s discuss how we can make provisions for our inadequacies. Let’s come to an agreement that will suit me and you. Let’s make our love objective and with a criteria, it will help regulate our actions and we will never take each other for granted.
In his comedy special, comedian Kevin Hart explores the difference between new relationships and relationships that have gone the long mile. He explains that he hates new relationships because everything is fake and we are in a continual process to impress our partner. He states that we are willing to do anything to prove we are the right person, that we regulate our impulses and emotions, that we are overly generous with everything including sharing food off our plates on our dates – despite the fact that we don’t like sharing food. He contrasts this with old relationships, where the couple are highly familiar with each other. He makes a joke stating that if that couple went inside a shop and the one person came out with snacks and the other one came out with Juice and the one with the snacks asked the one with the juice for a sip, the person with the juice would be outraged. That he wouldn’t share his juice and it would be the topic of the whole day. Mileage on relationships reveals people’s true nature and character is the aim of this joke. Urban Poet Kanye West, explores this on songs “Paranoid” and “RoboCop” in the awesome 2008 album “808’s and Heartbreaks”. Kanye talks about a girl who completely changes on her, she’s irrational, lacks trust and overly paranoid. This paranoia creates in her a RoboCop, whose constantly surveiling Kanye hoping to get evidence. The idea here is that the romantics version of love can make you crazy. Simply because it’s built on possession, ownership and entitlement to a person. The romantics love is the same as slave trading. It is a demon that needs to be exorcised from culture. We need a new kind of love. One that is intelligent, practical, reasonable and life affirming. Generally, there are 3 stages of love. First is the infatuation stage, where everything about our love object is perfect. We just can’t get enough of that person. The relationship is new and burning with desire. Sex is a constant and we just can’t keep our hands of each other. The duration of this stage is anywhere between a year to 3 years. Then we have the second stage. In this phase, the couple start the process of knowing each other. This stage is the fruit of the infatuation phase.
It is the most rewarding phase as it fosters closer relations. It fosters intimacy and spirituality. It is liberating. It is fulfilling. The 3rd stage is the accumulation of the 1st and 2nd phases. It is the limit. A place where everything dies. This is because everything has been established. Behaviors are now habits and novelty ceases to exist. You know everything about your partner and she knows everything about you. It can even be said that she knows you better than you know yourself. This is the natural order of all relationships. Unless, you can bring it back to the first step (infatuation phase) it will die. Hence, redefining yourself and creating relationship goals is key. It will keep the fire burning and enhance new qualities you didn’t know existed in you. It will generate a sense of wonder in the relationship. It will make your partner fall in love with you all over again. It will keep your relationship youthful and exciting. Relationship goals are key because at this point in the relationship you are one, a unit, a pair and as such a third entity has been created. This third entity is the love you have for each other and it has to grow, it has to self-realize. This third entity is a energy that needs to grow and expand. It needs fuel like how your body needs food. It needs love and support. It needs continual growth. Relationship goals or mutual goals are what will propel the relationship forward. It will refresh things in the relationship. It will refresh the stages or phases in the relationship. This is because goals require specialized focus and attention. It activates traits and talents you didn’t know existed in you. Goals are challenging and hard. Goals require a lot of work. This is what will keep your relationship flourishing.
Alternatively, we could just have a 5 year lease on love and marriage. Nothing in life is certain, especially the union of two individuals. This is because of cultural differences and our perceptions of the world. Our history and past makes us distinct from one another. We have different intentions and plans. Life is a process that keeps unfolding and developing. Evolution is constantly evolving and expanding. Change is eminent. Marriage as forever is a hoax like the moonlandings. We need to be able to adapt to new environments and ultimately conquer only to move on to newer pastures. A 5 year lease on marriage is active, it is progressive and will provide different perspectives. A 5 year lease on relationships and marriage provides us with freedom to live life on our terms. We will never take our partners for granted. Our lives will be filled with novelty and we will grow and become all that we can be. But maybe the state won’t allow that, to that I propose empathy and understanding for our partners. I propose patience and a light view of the world. I propose we treat our partners like we do our children. This is because, we are all children at heart. Maybe we forgot that we are children because the world is so harsh and doesn’t condone childish behaviors. The word “childish” has become an insult, a smear campaign on one’s character and conduct, a terrible disaster. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. Consider for a minute how we treat our children. We are more emphatic, we are understanding and we are patient with them. This comes from the fact they are young, small, vulnerable and don’t know any better. We think it’s cute when they make blunders and we laugh. We are gentle. We are considerate and love them unconditionally. That is something we must adopt in our relationships. We should treat our partners like children. They are children at heart and also don’t know any better, in fact no one does. We are all lost in need of guidance, love and assurance. We should adopt the the action of giving and not expecting anything from our partners. Give with a pure heart. Give everything you have. This action will give longevity in the relationships in your life. You will be a better human being because you will be more empathic. People will seek refuge in your hands. If you treat your partner and the people all around you like children, you will see the light side of life and will laugh when life issues you a challenge. You will love yourself more. You will be strong and affirmed.
In 1998, critically acclaimed artist, the queen Lauryn Hill released an album titled “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”, it was lauded by critics and won Album of the year at the grammys. The album explores the subject of love. It is the most important music album ever created and is what love sounds likes. It covers, self-love, self-worth, self-identity, romantic love, family love, destiny, law of attraction, self-actualization, self-realization, ambition, Taoism, the human spirit or soul and happiness. It is an amazing album, unrivaled in any genre of music. The album is enlightened. It is an album that has the capability of changing your life in just one listen. It is an album that calibrated at an high energy level. It is natural and free. To add to the texture of the album, Lauryn Hill got kids to talk and discuss the subject of love. These kids give their insights on what they think love is – on what love means to them. That makes the album sound so special. It is heart-warming. You will never find a better album on love than this one, I promise you – it’s impossible. I encourage you to take a listen.
There’s a beauty in infatuations, they color in the world, they have the ability to put you in a dream-like trance, they can make you fly, they can make you touch the sky and they have the promise of making all of your dreams come true. What is it about love that makes people lose their minds? Is it oxytocin, the love chemical that fosters closer relations with people? Human beings are social beings by trait and we need validation of some sort to survive, to live, to thrive. Love is on the first level on the Maslow hierachy of needs. Then again, love also induces cordizol, the stress hormone for it can leave us anxious, stressed and utterly mortified. Which one is it? You know we get butterflies in our stomachs when we are in love. It sounds like a part of speech but it isn’t, you can literally feel them flapping their wings and flying all about in your stomach. It is a feeling that can make a statue out of you, one that mould you into a perfect sculpture or the perfect snowman because it makes you freeze. It is a wonderful, yet terrifying thing. Infatuations, love can make you feel vulnerable like a big bullseye sign in a dart competition, the soft spot, the flank – it has the capability of taking off your panties and laying you down, down into a deep abyss of apathy and helplessness. So what do you do? Do you sit on the sidelines or do you play ball? Do you tell the one that you love, your crush that you love her and that you can’t live without her?
Infatuations are a product of the mind. They are unconscious features that are repressed within you, your mind. A sort of transference and projection. The spirit or soul is boundless, it has no restrictions or demarcations, however society deems to assign it a role, a gender based on the reproductive organs of the body. So, we indoctrinate the soul into the customs of this specific gender. The other half of the soul we repress, relegate and surpress in the realm of the unconscious. By nature, the human soul is bisexuel. When we grow up, we subconsciously take and adopt desirable qualities or features from the parent inverse our gender. Meaning, that a boy is more likely to marry a girl who has the qualities of her mother and likewise with the girl. It is a subconscious phenomena and we do this because they feel familiar. Sigmund Freud, the godfather of psychology calls this the “Oedipus complex”. He states that the little boy is jealous of his father and wishes to possess his mother but is at the same time frightened of this rival and of castration as a punishment for his incestuous feelings toward the mother but nonetheless, he wishes death onto his father. I think it’s a bit extreme but it deserves a mention. It would also explain why sons are much closer to their mothers and why daughters are far more closer to their fathers. It could also be a Ying-yang thing. I like Carl Jung’s take on this with his work on the Anima and Animus. Carl Jung states that the Anima is the female side of the male that is repressed. And the Animus is the male side of the female that is repressed. According to this, we are likely to choose a partner based on our Anima and our Animus. Of course, parents play a big role in this decision because from a young age, as children that’s where they get their education. The individual bears within himself all kinds of opinions and feelings from his parents and ancestors, but which he believes to be his own. Nietzsche states; In the son becomes conviction what in the father was a lie. Not only fathers, but mothers also determine the conduct of the individual. Every person carries within a picture of women which he acquired from his mother. From this picture, he will be determined to respect or despise women or be indifferent toward them.
Based on this telling evidence, you are crazy, you are not normal. It’s all in your mind. You are suffering from a projection that is making you see things that are not there. You are implanting characteristics and traits to a receiver that is bound to reject them. Psychology tells us that man projects onto woman one of several ready-made pictures that he carries within him; the picture of the mere sexual object, of the femme fatal, of the muse, the virgin-mother, those belonging to what Jung latter called archetypes. The same goes for woman but with different archetypes like the woman to save him and the worshiping woman among others. You think she’s perfect because you don’t know anything about her. You know what your mind is telling you about her and your mind draws data from occurances that transpired or what feels familiar, safe or homely. They say that love is blind and that’s true because when you are in love, you are focused, your brain induces chemicals, your physiology reacts and your subconscious mind fools you. Thus being infatuated with a person is the biggest compliment you can pay. The conscious mind has very little control instead your shadow assumes control. Carl Jung describes the shadow as “The sum of those personal characteristics that the individual wishes to hide from others and from himself.” The shadow lurks in the subconscious and is operant when the conscious mind has lost all sight of reality. This makes sense because when you are infatuated with someone, all you do is think about them. You bill them up to more than they actually are. You see no imperfections and frailties, your reasoning capabilities are out of touch and you think they are the most wonderful person in the world! And maybe they are because truth is a subjective concept and you, well you are crazy but it’s alright.
Tell your crush you love them. This is a test, this is about you. By doing this, it will reveal things you didn’t know about yourself. It is an act that will make you courageous. It will empower you because this comes from your lens, your reality, your map of experience. It is personal and subjective and it will liberate your soul. You crush possess traits and characteristics that you love on a subconscious level, it is like holding a mirror to your soul. Take advantage of it, that’s the universal, God or whatever you believe in telling you to go for it – it is a map of experience that is specifically designed for you. It is an experience, a moment in this vast and expanding universe to know something of substance and value about yourself, your history and even your ancestry line. It is an opportunity to free apathy from your life. It is an opportunity to follow your dreams. It doesn’t matter how you do it, do what comes natural to you, do it so you maximize your returns. Write a poem, sing a song get your creative juices running. Be encouraged, be inspired – this is a big moment in your life. Sure, he/she might reject you and rightfully so because like we covered you are crazy but so is everyone else. This important feat is not about the response you’ll get, it’s about personal growth and self-gratification. It is about understanding of the self. Love is difficult, complicated, unreliable and unstable and you took a risk, you took a chance! Who knows maybe in a perfect world, the person of your affection will return your love. Maybe your life will be perfect. Isn’t it a chance you should take?
I believe Lira’s Feel Good is one of the greatest albums of all time. It has such a high energy level. It sounds like heaven and I mean that in a literal sense. It is an enlightened album that covers sophisticated subjects, subjects that calibrate at a high conscious level, subjects like; love, gratitude, self-realization, happiness and freewill. It explores the psychology of a young, bright woman who is optimistic about the world. She sees the world through the eyes of a child and sees novelty in everything. A woman who is so intelligent and knows her worth. She has such a strong, confident personality that it is contagious. It spreads through the listeners ears, hearts and finally life through melodious choruses and striking chords. It is the ultimate feel good album. On “Typical” she is dismissive of girls trying to get to her man, stating that “his not into the the typical”. This of course communicates that she is not “typical”, she hints at possessing something extra, something that makes her irresistible. She’s so confident in her self that she states “it doesn’t matter what you do, he still remains my baby love.” In this song, she understands her worth and communicates to the listener on a subtle level that we all have something about ourselves that is desirable and that we should love ourselves and not be concerned by the attributes of other people. This song is about self-love and appreciation because no one views themselves as “Typical”. It is a song brimming with confidence. It is assured and has plenty of attitude. Another song with attitude that shows self-worth and understanding is “Ixesha”, quite simply the chorus translates to “Stop wasting my time”, this eludes to a woman who has things to do. “Dance of life” is more celebratory, it literally sounds like a dance and this is enforced by the striking chords of the piano. The song is upbeat, festive and positive. It references dance styles like “the cha-cha” and the slow-dance. The whole song is a metaphor celebrating the life shared by Lira and her partner and she explains that life is like a ball in which they have to keep moving and dancing, implementing new and different styles at times. Life is fun and beautiful and she is just so happy and blessed that he is besides her dancing in the game of life. The song is bursting with imagination, originality and creativity – listening to it is pure bliss. “Ngiyazifela” explores the love he has for his lover. It’s not infatuation or romanticism. The love she has for him is pure and heart-warming. She states that she is proud and will patiently wait for him. That she loves him and wants to be with him forever. In the chorus she states that she can’t help loving him. That her love is automatic and natural. Her voice sounds sincere and honest. Her lyrics are like a love letter or a poem and she gives all of herself by delivering an amazing highnote that highlights that she would do anything for him. The song is an expression of love and it sounds so beautiful. On “Crush” she talks about someone she is smitten by. He is the object of her desire. He is the image of perfection and he just drives her crazy. The man is too good to be true and she is locked in a trance. She doesn’t know what to do. She wants to talk to him but she is scared to do so. She doesn’t want him to ignore her, she wants to be seen. For the first time in the album she questions herself and displays her insecurities, questioning “Do I even stand a change?” This results in apathy and she is left to just contemplate about him. The song ends in her stating that “his such a beautiful stranger”. “Crush” is descriptive and will leave you reminiscing. The song is nostalgic and golden. The type of song that has the ability to make your soul dance. “Twisted” is a more soulful song. It is intimate and thoughtful. It explores Liras feelings at depth about the relationship she is in. It is a reflective song and this is reflected by the horns and Lira senerading us. The song is mature like good wine. On “Ngiyabonga”, Lira expresses her gratitude to her family and friends. She is grateful for the gift of life and where she is in life. She is open and expressive. The song is joyous, festive and celebratory. On “Iris” she explores choices and being whatever you want to be. She covers freewill, an inner scorecard and an inner campus. The song sounds like liberation. It sounds like it’s setting is in nature with the trees and animals roaming around. The acoustic guitar solo is like a painting of nature with its mountains and lake. She pleads to the listener “You don’t have to be what people say”. “Iris” is about individuality and the process of self-realization. In the land of Iris is an ideal we should all aspire to be. This is my favorite song in the album. “Dumisa” is another song about gratitude. The song is minimalistic and contains mainly an acoustic guitar in its background while Lira takes center stage and serenades the listener. It is a soulful and harmonic song. “Feel it in me” is about intuition and an inner voice that we all have. It is about the will to life that pushes and propels you forward. It is a genetic code, a kind of destiny, the universe and even the God in you. The song states that everything is in you, that you are the source of everything in your life. The song is upbeat and vibrant. It contains drums that steal the show to turn it to a Fiesta. The song feels alive, youthful and celebratory. “Yeah, yeah, yeah” is a beautiful song dedicated to her mother. It is smooth and light with the only instrument being an organ or piano of somesort. It contains melodies that complimentary to the texture of the song. Lira is thankful to her mother for everything; the lessons, the sacrifices and the unconditional love, this highlights a recurring theme in the album – gratitude. The last song “Change the world” is highly optimistic and discusses how me and you can change the world. It is ambitious and Lira aims to solve the biggest problems in the world. She implores us to change individually so we can alter the world collectively. She states that if we can live as one nation then we change the world. By “live” she states love because it is it that unites. Love is patient, love is kind and by practicing love in our lives, we have a chance to change the world. The eternal optimist, something she is certain we can achieve. In the main theme of the album is choice and love. Lira states that we have a choice to want to be happy. The first song “Feel Good” is about a choice to lead a life that is meaningful. It is about saying yes to life in its totality, to embracing it and living it in a way that makes people grateful of your existence. The album is a great example of reason and pure unadulterated love. The album is a mirror of life, it embodies nature and the idea of life striving to be more. The album is free and natural. It is an album that can resonate with anyone because it is so philosophical in its lessons. The aim of philosophy is to teach and “Feel Good” teaches one how to live a fulfilled life; a life of gratitude and love. This is such a great album and I salute Lerato and her team for bringing this to the world. Lerato because I want to be closer to her, to her spirit. She is such an amazing artist, a brilliant creative who created one of the masterclasses of the ages.
You have to be in awe of the female form. For it concieves, it produces, brings to life, and brings about light like the awe inspiring, center of the universe mercury star. The female form is something to be worshipped for without it, nothing exists. For the building blocks of the universe, it’s essence, existed two particles that had a sexual union to bond to create the big bang! That is what string-theory (the theory of everything) is all about; scientists have dedicated their whole lives to finding out what was before the big bang. The thought that we are a product of an explosion, an orgasm is a theory they accept thoroughly, however science wants evidence of the sperm and fertile egg. Something that could prove difficult considering the universe is already in the womb, growing and expanding. Maybe science will have a theory of everything but the answer to that is not yet conceived because we are in the early stages of development in the womb. As such, we cannot comprehend the world outside the womb with no time and space. Hopefully, my extended metaphor painted a picture of the divinity of the sacred Feminine and the fact that nothing is above it. The feminine form is the start, it is awakening, it is consciousness, it is self-sustaining, it is God and it is forever. Nothing exists without a sexual union and feminity is the source that nourishes and harneses growth and well-being of the offspring. This is the very pulse of nature, the natural order, her will. The male sperm is essential for procreation since it plants the seed, however the female body serves as an incubator to grow and protect the seed. This is nature to the female form. I think it’s amazing. It’s a miracle. Nietzsche had this to say on “Twilight of the idols”; “For the Greeks a sexual symbol was therefore the most sacred symbol. Every single element in the act of procreation of pregnancy and of birth aroused the highest and most solemn feelings. In the doctrine of the mysteries, pain is pronounced holy; the pangs of the woman giving birth consecrate all pain and conversely all becoming and growing – all that guarantees a future – involves pain. That there may be the eternal joy of creating, that the will of life may eternally affirm itself, the agony of the woman giving birth must also be there eternally. All that is meant by the word Dionysus.”
The universe is in a womb because earth is so fertile. Earth is hospitable, it is life-assuring and sustaining. From plants and trees, to the animals roaming in the Savanah, to sea animals navigating their way pacific to pacific. Mothernature is accommodating and an outstanding host. We are her children and she takes care of us. Mothernature is feminine. Reality is a combination of masculine and feminine – it is Ying Yang, it is order and chaos. The world is chaotic by nature and as living organisms we have to instill order to survive. Order is the will to survive, to thrive and live a meaningful life. This is what every living organism strives to do, from the plants to land creatures and sea animals – they strive to be more, they aspire to live one more day. This is in the genetic code of life, life affirms itself, life is masculine energy. Still, reality, the world is feminine energy. We are a perfect fit. Culture seems to understand this notion and we openly celebrate sacred feminine. This is exhibited on one of Beyonce’s songs titled “Who run the world (girls)”. This song is a celebration of the sacred feminine. SZA has her say on the song “Doves In the wind” stating that “pussy” (the female reproductive organ) runs the world, that it is basically the best in thing in the world. This of course is another salute at the sacred feminine, the spirit that runs the world. The Disney movie “The Lion King” also celebrates the sacred feminine. In the movie we see the movies lead, Simba throwing himself to the ground because of exhaustion and dirt in a form of specks and dust hover over his head and spells out the word “sex” quite visibly for everyone to see. This is a tribute to the sacred feminine and the life bearing power she has. Disney are well-known for depictions in their animation and storylines celebrating the sacred feminine. They did it again with the magical animation movie “Moana”. In a nutshell, something valuable is stolen from Mothernature. This results in an imbalance that causes Mothernature to rage on. She causes havoc and life suffers. Mothernature is personified in this motion picture. The only way to restore balance in the world is to give Mothernature what is hers. It is a beautiful movie, filled with singing and Disney magic. We also see depictions of the sacred feminine on the works of Georgia O’Keefe, to spoil the surprise they are awesome – I am a fan. “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown also explores the “sacred feminine” through the story of Mary Magdalene, the church and the Holy Grail. The book provides revelations about the story of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. It is said that, Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and conceived a beautiful girl. This is a secret that the church doesn’t want to go out. As such, Mary Magdalene is slandered and branded a prostitute, a whore by the church to tarnish her image. Mary Magdalene is a product of propaganda by the church. The falsehood of this story is known by a secret society, that had once in its rank, highly esteemed individuals like Da Vinci, Newton and Botticelli. A lot of secrets regarding the sacred feminine are uncovered in this book and the work of Da Vinci serves as the catalyst. Da Vinci’s works are scrutinized and serve as the building block to get the ultimate truth – the Holy Grail. This is a great book and will give you another perspective of the reality of the world.
Pegan customs worship nature as they see organized religions as restrictive, regulated and confined. Organized religions are a power strugle, they are hierarchical and patriarchal and as such truth is not a possibility. Organized religions are deceptive and cruel. They indoctrinate illusions in the form of heaven and other types of utopia and teach passivity in their congregations. Organized religions are control systems meant to regulate and dictate behavior. They keep people passive and helpless in their suffering citing “It’s God will.” What if God himself turns out to be our most persistent lie? On the awesome book “Brave New World” by Huxley, Mustapha Mond states “People believe in God because they have been conditioned to.” That is the dilemma facing pegans. The problem with organized religions is that they take all the responsibility away from you, assigning it to a “high power” and as Nietzsche states “When an individual no longer feels like they are the collaborator, let alone the center of becoming, nihilism becomes a very real possibility.” Organized religion can take the spirit out of your body while you still breathing. For pagens, religion is not a viable option for a sustainable life. The movie “Silence” by Martin Scorsese discusses this at length. Two Christian missionaries enter Japan with the aim of spreading Christianity but they are unwelcomed by the upper echelon of Japan simply because Christianity is not compatible with Japan. The Japanese believe that Christianity is bad for its people. They practice Taoism and Buddhism. They are a pagen people, they worship the sun and nature. They fear Christianity will hinder the progression of their country and its people. The Christian God is challenged at length to help his people from death at the hands of the Japanese pagens but he responds in silence as believers of the Christian doctrine are killed mercilessly because they don’t want to abandon Christianity. Because of God’s silence, the Christian missionary is forced to abandon Christianity to save Christian lives. For if he can denounce Christianity in public and adopt Japanese customs and beliefs, the public will see how useless it is. “Silence” is a hard and challenging movie but a great movie nonetheless, it is Martin Scorsese at his absolute best.
Acclaimed comedian Dave Chappelle stated in one of his comedy specials that man’s biggest challenge in the world is woman and woman’s biggest challenge is material. He continued that man would happily engage in sexual intercourse with a woman in a box if he could, but it’s not possible, because the woman wants the man with a Porsche. When you understand this fact, you understand the power of feminine energy. You understand the construct of society, you understand Capitalism, you understand the power dynamics in the world, you understand the hunger and poverty in the world. Man unconsciously and consciously wants power over his fellow men so he can be the alfa-male. This is seen in the animal kingdom with animals like Gorilla’s fighting to be the head honcho. This is important because the alfa has first preference on the ladies, he can have as many as he wants with no opposition. The alfa can be the only Gorilla that mates and choose to leave no mating partners to his subordinates. He is the boss like that. This subject can be visited on the work of Charles Darwin with his theory of “Natural selection”. Man is fundamentally driven by power and by what Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud called the “Libido” which is sex drive. Musician, SZA talks about this on hit song about the sacred feminine “Doves in the world” that men lose their minds for pussy, that they are irrational and they will do anything and everything to get pussy and this is true. The vagina has untold power over the man. To attain power man will do anything, including humiliating and exploiting his fellow man. This is the will of mother nature, the reasoning behind “survival of the fittest”, “struggle for life” and “elimination of the unfit” by Charles Darwin. Man is alienated from himself, Marx contends because of the division of society into classes, the ruling class oppressing and exploiting the ruled classes. Therefore, he said, a classless, socialist society would bring about the disappearance of alienation and all its manifestations. That looks good on paper but in a world dictated by feminine energy it’s not possible. We saw evidence of this with Hitler and Stalin. Socialism is like heaven, ungraspable, unattainable and unintelligible. For the world is pure madness, chaos, and pure and unadulterated hysteria. For twenty-five centuries, hysteria had been considered a strange disease with incoherent and incomprehensible symptoms. Most physicians believed it to be a disease proper to woman and originating in the uterus. Hysteria like nature, chaos and woman is art. It is challenging and difficult. It requires attention and focus. It requires one to be imagitive and bold. It is fulfilling for its a release like fluid ejaculation. Feminine energy tests us and we should response in kind with masculine energy. We should be forceful and aggressive in our battles with life. Feminine energy tests us so we can grow. It puts you in a corner so you can learn to maneuver around. Feminine energy is like your girlfriend hysterical, crazy and unpredictable but her love is unquestionable, tender like the bosoms on her chest. Feminine energy serves to grow life because there is no growth without pain and adversity. The sacred feminine tests all of life and those who show great strength progress. Unfortunately, hunger, exploitation, poverty and death are some of the ways that she tests us. You might say these are man constructions, however man is nature and a construction of the sacred feminine.
While Religion is good for regulating morality, pegans value freewill and a sense of destiny. They believe true power resides within, while the characteristic of a God (or spirit) is anthropomorphic, invisible, powerful and has special function that no ordinary human being could perform. Pegans believe they can perform anything in the confines of reality and life. They believe in the sacred feminine – they believe all is nature. This is reflected in Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Vitruvian Man” and PHI (1.618) – the Devine proportion. The number PHI, 1.618 is considered the most beautiful number in the universe because it appears everywhere in nature and life. PHI was derived from the Fibonacci sequence – a progression famous not only because the sum of adjacent terms equalled the next term, but because the quotient of adjacent terms possessed the astonishing property of approaching the number 1.618 – PHI! 1.618 is the fundamental building block in nature. Plants, animals and even human beings all possess dimensional properties that adhere with eerie exactitude to the ratio of PHI to 1. In a honeybee community for instance, the female bees always outnumber the male bees. And if you divide the number of female bees to the males you will always get PHI 1.618. The sunflower seeds grow in opposing spirals. The ratio of each rotation’s diameter to the next is PHI 1.618. Da Vinci’s “Vitruvian Man” is PHI – 1.618. Da Vinci actually exhumed corpses to measure the exact proportions of human body structure. He was the first to show that the human body is literally made of building blocks whose proportional ratios always equal PHI. Measure the distance from the the tip of your head to the floor. Then divide that by the distance from your belly button to the floor – you get PHI 1.618. Measure the distance from your shoulder to your fingertips, and then divide it by the distance from your elbow to your fingertips – again PHI. Hip to floor divided by knee to floor – PHI again. You get PHI 1.618 on the pyramids of Egypt and even the United Nations Building in New York. PHI appeared in the organization structures of Mozart’s sonatas, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, as well as the works of Bartok, Debussy and Schubert. The Devine Proportion exists in all nature, in all life. It is you. It is the signature of the Universe. It is the literal hand of God. The universe is feminine because it accommodates life and creation. And you are masculine because you have to engage with it. To be one with it. You are life. You are nature. You are the Devine Proportion. The only person you are accountable for is yourself. The sacred feminine has granted you life – impose yourself onto life, build, create, be the best that you can be – make the best of it you God!
I love the WWE. As a company wow, they have so much imagination. Vince McMahon did it, he created the perfect company, a company based on his passion. He took this small dream and made it gigantic. Their slogan is “Then, Now, Forever” how fitting. The WWE has been around for generations, it has been popular culture for generations and has had many golden eras. From WCW to ECW to WWF to today’s WWE. It is immensely entertaining. The Kayfabe, the personas, the grand entrances, the music, the commentators – Jerry the King Lawler, Jim Ross, Tazz and Michael Cole, the catch-phrases, the promos, the gimmicks, the emotions they stir-up, the crowd and the talent in the ring. WWE is exciting! Everything is so structured and beautifully packaged. The storylines keep the spectators and audience emotionally attached and attuned. The personas give us an avenue to project our undesirable characteristics and feelings. This is so effective because everyone is repressed and we must not give in to our animal urges because society deems them undesirable and they can get you incarcerated. So, the next best thing in projecting those undesirable qualities is being a Randy Orton fan; a character who is sly, vindictive, sinister and two-faced, who claims to hear voices in his head telling him to do bad things and so he obliges. Randy Orton is unsportsmanlike, he injures his fellow competitors by kicking them in the head thus causing concussions and ending their careers. He once kicked the chairman of WWE Vince McMahon in the head and won the Royal Rumble the next day, guaranteeing himself a spot to headline WrestleMania. And so he was exempted from the repercussions of kicking the founder of the WWE in the head. These are the type of storylines that keep the fans engaged. WWE tackle morality, the subject of good and bad in their storylines and the wrestlers are exceptionally good in communicating this with the audience. Somebody like John Cena was exceptional on the mic. But they don’t just sell morality, they sometimes do unbelievable and the jaw-dropping. In the early 2000’s, Brock Lesnar superplexed The Big Show who weighed in at 500 pounds on the top rope, a move that dismantled the ring. The superplex was forceful and hard that the two wrestlers couldn’t compete anymore, medical assistance was dispatched to assist. We don’t know if WWE planned that or they were just as shocked as the rest of the world. What transpired was a freak of nature – it was like a natural disaster and the images are imprinted on every WWE fan. WWE can be spontaneous and chaos can roam out and throw everything on its head. However, much is controlled through the personas they have created for the wrestlers. They stage confrontations of two personas exhibiting a dislike for one another to garner hype and excitement to sell tickets and get an audience. One persona I loved was that of Eddie Guerrero billed as “Latino Heat”. His gimmick was that of “He lies, he cheats, he steals”, what this gimmick entailed is that he did everything and anything to win a wrestling match. Through this persona, Eddie was unethical and unsportsmanlike, he delivered low-blows to the opponents when the referee wasn’t looking, he hit opponents with foreign objects when the referee wasn’t looking, he raked and blinded opponents, he basically did everything that was morally unjust. Still, the fans loved him. He was one of the staples of the Smackdown brand when it started, along with wrestlers like “The Undertaker” “Brock Lesnar”, “Kurt Angle”, “JBL” and Rey Mysterio. What made Eddie Guerrero special was the fact that he could be a “fan favorite” and later play the “heel”, the heel is someone who everyone hates. Because of this rare ability he was the face of the Smackdown brand. Eddie Guerrero was supremely entertaining. He could captivate the crowd and make them laugh and he could make them boo their lungs out. He was a gem. RIP Eddie Guerrero. The WWE has its own world and they sell merchandise, make movies and generates millions through their trademark brands. They also have development hubs all around the world for aspiring and up and coming wrestlers. The talent they have on their rosters (Raw and Smackdown) are amazing. They are athletic and professional. They look like they love what they do. They are committed. They live the Kayfabe. You can see it on their faces, they are living their dreams. It is a beautiful billion dollar company. I love this company!
I’ve been researching Amazon and Jeff Bezos for a while and my brain is sore. How? Is a question I keep asking myself. How did he do it? I understand the process but how? What Jeff Bezos did with Amazon is a miracle. It is an act of God. From a internet bookshop company to owning half of the internet. Maybe I am exaggerating but hyperbole is necessary to communicate the fact that he owns a large chunk of the internet. Jeff Bezos owns the worlds information. In the history of humanity, no one has ever won like him. He is a professional winner. My mind cannot comprehend all his winnings. Amazon is God. It has everything, it sells everything. Jeff makes billions every day and doesn’t even pay taxes. What a business model. My mind is in pieces, this is too big for my primitive mind to comprehend. He is like the Albert Einstein of business. He sees into the future like Nikola Tesla would. He controls reality like a puppet master, stringing the world along to his tune. Sure, the economics of scale works but not like this. Jeff Bezos is a genius, a real genius! A mastermind. He is supremely intelligent. My theory is backed-up though, Amazon’s stock is inflated but there’s a reason for that – it is because it is Amazon, the brand reliability and confidence is that strong. Whip-saws are insignificant. I am certain now, he is the J D Rockefeller of the 21st century. He is the richest man in the world and he will never be surpassed – I am certain of that. Amazon just split my mind. This whole post is just raw energy. The beauty of time, you just have to be in awe of what a little time can do. It was all part of his genius plan, he ran Amazon for years on a deficit knowing that it will be the most valuable company in the world. He is winning capitalism and no one can touch him. He is invincible!
Who’s the richest man in the world? For years Forbes has stated that it is Jeff Bezos but I have never been sure. Sure, Amazon is a great company and it runs a monopoly. A great monopoly that sells virtually everything and knows you better than you know yourself. The acquisition of companies like Alexa and Twitch makes it a force to be reckoned with, but I still think its stock is too inflated. Don’t get me wrong I think Jeff Bezos is an absolute genius who specializes in internet companies and a visionary who can forecast into the future. He has smart investments in his portfolio, futuristic investments like the purchase of Twitch. He bought Twitch for $970 Million, he knows e-sports is the thing of the future. We have more examples of Bezos futuristic thinking, he was one of the founding investors of Google investing $1 million in 1998. He was one of the first people to see the potential and now Google is the pulse that runs the world. In addition to Google, he invested $15 million into Twitter in 2008 and today they are evaluated at over $22 Billion. He also invested $3 Million into Uber and now its stock is worth $300 Million – a 13233% return on investment, not bad for a day’s work. The acquisitions of organic food company Whole Foods Market and the space company Blue Origins is just brilliant. People are becoming more health conscious and are watching what they eat, the purchase of Whole Foods Market Is in line with that reality. There’s also the small fact that we want to inhabit Mars in a couple of years making us a multi-planet species. The acquisition of Blue Origins to rival SpaceX just makes sense and provides a great opportunity to make a lot of money. Regardless the question has to be asked. Are his assets liquid? Or are they just paper assets? Jeff Bezos recently had a divorce and had to part with 25% of his Amazon shares. He initially had 16% and gave his ex-wife 4% which amounts to $38 Billion. Isn’t that a bit steep? Don’t you think Amazon shares are over evaluated? Don’t you think they are inflated? Granted, I may be underestimating Amazon but I don’t think I am. I don’t doubt Bezos business acumen, I think he is the JD Rockefeller of modern times. He runs Amazon like Standard Oil, he buys the competition or he butchers them. No one even comes close, he is ruthless. He is one of the best businessmen in the world. Still, his investment portfolio is over 60% of Amazon and if indeed Amazon’s stock is inflated that would make him the richest person in the world – but only on paper. Something behind the door is being done to inflate those shares, maybe his issuing out shares like how banks just create new money. I seriously doubt that he could give away billions to charity like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates. And if he can’t is he still the world’s wealthiest man?
Half of Bill Gates portfolio is Berkshire Hathaway. Interestingly he doesn’t own a lot of Microsoft shares. In the year 2000, during the big tech crash he sold out most of his Microsoft stock to diversify his portfolio to protect his net worth. I think that’s so intelligent. Throughout the years Warren Buffet had been a rival in the list of the richest people in the world. Buying Berkshire Hathaway shares worth billions is a great way to nullify the threat and the best way to diversify your portfolio. And because Warren Buffet is considered to be the greatest money maker in the world, success is virtually guaranteed. It was a chess move for Bill Gates and it speaks volumes of the respect he has for Warren Buffet. You see by owning so much of Berkshire Hathaway, Bill Gates is an owner of everything Warren Buffet owns. Berkshire is a holding company that owns shares and stocks in a lot of great companies like Coca-Cola and Apple. Berkshire’s stock are not inflated and its assets are liquid. That’s the major difference between a Jeff Bezos and a Bill Gates or Warren Buffet. Berkshire owns companies that pay out dividends and they own these stocks/shares for the long haul. The returns from these companies in a form of profit or dividends can pay for themselves essentially making billions for Berkshire for nothing. Bill Gates owns a lot of stocks that pay dividends on his portfolio, companies like; Waste Management, Canadian National Railway, FedX, Caterpillar, Walmart and a lot others. Bill Gates loves Dividend stocks because they earn him money virtually every day and they pay for themselves, freeing up capital to use for other projects or securing more assets. This is the reason Bill Gates and Warren Buffet can give away billions to charity and still have billions. They are indispensable. The billions they make are not tied to their net worth, it is simply free capital that they can afford to give away. Since 2000, Warren Buffet has given away over $46 Billion to charity making him the world’s most charitable billionaire in the world. While Bill Gates has given away $18 Billion to charity since 2000. I seriously doubt Jeff Bezos has the capability of doing that not because of moral obligations but because it would cripple his net worth. With time, I think he will be able to do that.
The richest man in the world is Bill Gates for the diverse stock he has in his portfolio. Through Berkshire he owns some of the greatest and best companies in the world including Coca- Cola, Apple and Amazon. On his own he owns Stocks that are unmatched by competition standards and yield consistent figures. For example, pundits predict another market crash and maybe it will happen but Bill Gates won’t be affected all that much because of the choice of stocks he has chosen in his portfolio. Even when the stock market crashes, people still need to dispose of garbage – Bill has a Waste Management company. Even when the stock market crashes, people still need to eat – Bill owns Walmart. Even when the stock market crashes, people still need to travel – Bill owns a railway company. Even when the stock market crashes, people still get thirsty and Bill owns a company that packages soft drinks like Coca-Cola. The companies in Bill Gates portfolio have a big competitive advantage. Most of them pay dividends and they are relatively defensive, prone to external forces like the stock market crash. Honestly, I think his the most intelligent businessman ever. The greatest money maker in the world is Warren Buffet – for it is he who makes half of Bill Gates money. Warren Buffet is a freak of nature, someone who understands the business world in its entirety, he is immersed in it, it is first nature to him. He is a practical man who understands human nature and lives in the real world. Warren Buffet is a visionary who invests over the long haul. He dissects companies to the bone before making a decision. He is supremely intelligent, an informed man. A man who makes money for a living. My observations are that Bill Gates is the richest man in the world and that Jeff Bezos is not far out. Jeff Bezos will be the undisputed richest man in the world, his investments and portfolio predicts and suggests that. If the Amazon stock is not overvalued and inflated then he is already that and will never be toppled. On the contrary, maybe Mark Zuckerberg has a chance. Since 2005, he has dominated the internet and how people perceive reality. He is young and has made impressive acquisitions. He will be the one to challenge Jeff Bezos and I think he will win.
Speaking of overvalued and inflated, I think one has to address the elephant in the room, Tesla. During the Covid-19 pandemic it elevated Elon Musk to the helm of the richest people in the world. Elon came from out of nowhere to beat everyone in the top 10. It looks like sustainable energy is finally bearing fruit, Tesla has been doing exceptionally well and are the benchmark for electric vehicles that are a sure thing for the future. Let’s not forget that Elon recently purchased Twitter in its entirety and turned it into a private company. Never mind everything said in this post about the other billionaires; Mark is cute, Bill who and Jeff is a has been – Elon certainly looks to be the man. His wealth is still accumulating in the 200 billions and it is widely forecasted that he will be the world’s first Trillionaire!
I have been a Quentin Tarantino fan all my life. From “Reservoir Dogs” all the way to “Once upon a time in Hollywood”. Admittedly, my first Quentin Tarantino film was “Kill Bill” in 2005. I remember the day like it were yesterday. It was on a Friday and it was playing on M-Net. The next Friday, M-Net would play “Kill Bill: Volume 2”. I watched both of them and my life was changed forever. It was film-making I had not seen before. The visuals blew me away, they were exceptionally great. They had a tendency to linger in your mind long after you had watched the movie. So clearly, I always remembered the “Pussy Wagon” and that epic yellow Bruce Lee jumpsuit that the bride was fighting in. That yellow jumpsuit is so iconic, it is memorable, it is imprinted and permanently engraved in the fabric of film – it is amazing creativity and vision from Quentin Tarantino. The fight on the snow between “Cotton-mouth” and “The Bride”; the atmosphere was so smooth and quiet – it was full of serenity and “Cotton-mouth” was in all-white complimenting the snow. The contrast in that fighting scene is amazing because it ends in blood and death. The anime scene on is something that hasn’t been done in film before. It is so epic! He incorporated Japanese taste and culture into the film. The film is surreal. It is a blend of different traditions and cultures infused into this one craft about revenge. The music, the Samari sword fights, the characters, the gore violence, the awesome dialogues, the authentic creativity and the underlying chaos that manifests itself when you least expect it – Quentin Tarantino knocked “Kill Bill” out the park. “Kill Bill” is cinematic excellence. It is an experience you will never forget. It is supremely entertaining!
What I love most about Quentin Tarantino movies is the professionalism. The characters are usually professionals that need to do a job and as such “morality” is exempted in the equation. Every action is justified. Quentin Tarantino doesn’t want you to morally judge his characters. There is no hero in a Quentin Tarantino movie instead he shows you different perspectives of different characters. To communicate this he uses nonlinear storylines and gives the characters in his movies more or less the same screen time. In this way there is neutrality for the professionals who serve as characters in his films. The story on “Reservoir Dogs” follows professional criminals who plan a heist, among them is a police officer who is undercover. The duality of the character of the professional criminal/police officer is the underlying chaos that gives the story its texture and the unpredictability and uncertainty of the plot – it is a texture that gives the story a feeling of “anything can happen”. We also see this type of double-agent play on “Jackie Brown” when a middle-aged flight attendant woman serves as a mole for his criminal boss and also as an informant for the police so that they can apprehend this criminal boss. Jackie Brown strategically plays both parties and in the end, walks away with a lot of money. The duality in the characters of Quentin Tarantino is a common feature in all his films. Again, we see Butch, a promising boxer on the highly acclaimed sophomore movie “Pulp Fiction” win a boxing match despite the fact that he was paid big money to lose. The match was rigged and Butch makes more money from bets. Something that makes his boss big Marcellus Wallace go on a manhunt to catch Butch and kill him. We also see this duality on “Inglorious Basterds”, Django Unchained” and “The Hateful Eight”. These characters are not what they say they are.
Further what makes a Quentin Tarantino movie unpredictable is it’s historical inaccuracies. Quentin Tarantino has a knack for changing historical events and telling his side instead. On “Inglorious Basterds”, the basterds kill Adolf Hitler in the premier of “Nation’s Pride” to end WWII. He over-stimulates the plot and adds his homemade spices. This he does for the sake of the viewer, to entertain and create an experience. He doesn’t mind letting the viewer know that we are watching a movie with characters in it. He is over the top and believes violence creates a better cinematic experience. So, in his movies more often you will see violence just for the sake of violence. Violence with no relevance or use to the plot of the story. A perfect example of this mindless yet entertaining violence can be seen on “Kill Bill” and “Django Unchained”. However, the thing that makes a Quentin Tarantino movie is the dialogue. The dialogues of his characters are unconventional in the sphere of film-making. They are often long, free-flowing and have nothing to do with the plot of the movie. They are entertaining, funny and reference a lot of popular culture as seen on “Pulp Fiction” when we are introduced to Jules and Vincent for the first time in that iconic “Royale with Cheese” dialogue. The opening scene of “Reservoir Dogs” when the professional criminals talk about “Like a virgin” and “Tipping” is the best thing you will ever experience on a movie. In his dialogues, Quentin Tarantino explores social conventions and ideologies – he is provocative, philosophical, engaging, thought-provoking and humorous. At heart, Quentin Tarantino is really a fan of films and movies. He approaches a film with the intent to dazzle and blow you away. He is a genius who can spin anything. This is seen on “Django Unchained” when the slave, flips the script around and becomes the hero who kills evil white men for money. Django also rescues his enslaved wife and literally blows-up the plantation. “Django Unchained” is a perspective we hadn’t seen when it comes to the subject of slavery. It was fresh, daring and exquisite. It was a different narrative, a perspective that was out of the box – it was a typical Quentin Tarantino movie. The characters were all professionals of their trades; a bounty hunter, a seasoned slaver and the house nigga. “Django Unchained” was grand and bold. It incorporated everything Tarantino, it had a Western theme, professionals, double agents, unpredictable and underlying chaos, gore violence, great dialogues and awesome soundtracks.
Quentin Tarantino draws his inspiration from other movies. He states that he copy’s from other movies. From camera angles and techniques to Western stand-offs. To movie sets in other movies to the costumes. His genius comes from the fact that he is obsessed with movies and the subject of film-making. Being obsessed, he incorporates what he loves from other movies to his to elevate them to greatness. All his films generate a cult-like following because of the fresh air they bring to the world. He always seems to resuscitate the film world with every release. The release of “Once upon a time in Hollywood” makes me sad because it’s almost time for him to close the curtains. His next movie will be his last. It’s hard saying goodbye to a legend, to a genius. The world is not ready, I am not ready. I wish we had more time. But it’s fine, at least I have all your movies. They have brought me so much happiness in the past and because they are classics, I have no doubt that they will carry on doing the same in the future. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything Quentin. Thank you for sharing yourself and your genius with the world. Thank you for giving us classics. Thank you for making me love movies. You started everything for me. I know creativity because I saw a Quentin Tarantino movie when I was 9.
antakalipa 