I came across this short but extremely concise and articulate theory behind exterminatory prejudice, written in the wake of the terrible Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh. The article is written by social psychologist Amy Cuddy. She explains how certain high-status minority groups are seen in “cold” and “competent” terms. They’re looked upon negatively, even enviously, because of their success. This situation isn’t dire in times of societal stability or general success, but when things are chaotic, heated, or undergoing a depression - the “cold” and “competent” feelings turn dire and rageful - they’re seen as causing the issues and taking any chance of success away from others. The academics in Cambodia. Jews in post-WWI crushed Germany. Tutsi’s in Rwanda. The list goes on. What’s both odd and additionally horrible to me is that times in America aren’t brutally difficult. They are indeed more politically charged, more hate-filled, but the economy is on the rise for the most part. So the fact that this horrible attack came during a time of relative prosperity is really terrifying. Speech and social environments can be just as potent as economic downturns in regards to stoking violent hate, it seems.
Bushido
Secondary post-thought came to me, as I finished Bushido: Soul of Japan by Inazo Nitobe last night. It’s a fascinating read by a man with a fascinating historical perspective. He became an agricultural / economics student in Japan, and converted to Christianity, before leaving the country to pursue more in-depth studies in America. He eventually went on to have a distinguished academic career across the globe while eventually getting into diplomatic relations. He died in 1933, so had witnessed Japan’s foray into modern imperialism and conquest, and constant government reorganization, but did not witness the beginnings of WWII. At one point he took a leave from teaching at university (some say due to a panic attack) and during his “downtime” and recuperation he wrote a book, Bushido, that ended up becoming a huge hit. He wrote the whole thing in English and basically geared the experience towards white western eyes — every step of the way he finds either Christian or western-historical references and analogies to help “translate” the thinking of Japanese traditions to a contemporary western audience. Nitobe relies most heavily on European Medieval traditions of chivalry and knighthood to compare to Samurai and their code of Bushido. Overall, it’s a good brief overview of the various components and ideals behind Bushido — not at all how or where it came from, or the subtle traditions it created, or contradictions it carries. What’s interesting to me is that he seems to be aware that his western audience assumes they are superior (and thus their own traditions and ideals are superior) to the Japanese (this was a time of immense racism of course, even eugenics) - and so he uses their own hallowed stories and traditions to be turned on their head — to crystallize the beliefs of those stories and then illustrate how the Japanese believe in similar rhetoric, but tenfold more intensely. He also uses his discourse on Bushido to explain certain cultural traits of the Japanese that people, you can tell from his introductions, made fun of or were alienated by at the time. And through his explanations he almost subtly, implicitly concludes that if you did indeed think this trait or practice of the Japanese to be odd or stupid then you were just missing the hallowed meaning behind it. It’s almost as if Nitobe wrote this as a sort of catharsis, or perhaps he respected their racist nationalism and sought to meet them on their terms - it’s hard to say. But either way it’s an interesting historical read and gives a broad definition of Bushido (and an accurate, beautiful prediction as to the future of Bushido as well - at the end). The next read for me will be The Demon’s Sermon on Martial Arts which came out of the time period that truly invented and crystallized Bushido in Japan.
Follow Up
Okay first day on the job was a bit of a false start because it was really just me and the showrunner’s assistant opening up the office and getting the logistics’ train moving. The writers (and rest of the staff) will arrive on Monday when the room will open in earnest. I’ll report back then on everything, but in the meantime will be rushing to complete my latest freelance podcast commissions before things get truly busy… Will look forward to sharing those podcasts when they are complete and on air.
First Day on the New Job
For my future self’s sake, I wanted to record my thoughts here as I start the first day of my second writers’ assistant job. First, I should appreciate that all this happened in 2018 — it’s the year I made the jump into the writers’ room on UNBELIEVABLE in January. It’s the year I got married, in June, right as that room closed - and then went on honeymoon to Portugal. It’s the year I worked entirely full-time writing freelance for the first time (short form scripted for digital, video essays for GammaRay TV, podcasts, and some freelance development & coverage work for a TV company as well). It’s the year I co-wrote a horror feature with a close friend, and his agents + manager submitted it out for consideration (that’s all still pending). It’s the year I wrote my go-to pilot, BIG SKY COUNTY, which helped me decide to leave my previous representation and search for a new team. That pilot also helped get me meetings around town, through the use of the connections I made while I worked at Miramax. I participated in the NYC @ Midnight speed writing competition (and will continue to do so this year into the next), and also wrote a new short story that’s getting consideration at a few journals — the first rejection it received came coupled with some great words of encouragement. I’m also generally proud to have seen a ton of new movies and read many new books - and written about them here. It’s been a busy year and since my knee-jerk tendency (as is the case with many writers) is to downplay, self-deprecate, and anxiously nudge oneself to have gotten more done and try harder for the future - I wanted to give breath to the other side of the mind. I will try harder, of course, always trying harder — but I will also take stock and appreciate what’s been accomplished as well.
Dracula Video Essay
Follow-Up to Latour
I had a quick correspondence with my dad about this article, and he made the good point that people refuse to believe facts when it suits them, either emotionally (they cannot deal with the notion that their actions are going to push the world over the brink) or because of economic self-interest of course… As he said, they deny facts selectively. And when there are leaders in charge who do the same, they can get away with it more blatantly and encourage others to do so as they see fit. So, though Latour’s efforts may help, they cannot combat the active denial of scientific methods. As my father put it, in our country the only practical solution is to elect new leaders. So, I guess we’ll see about that in the coming week for midterms…
Latour and the Instability of Science
I don’t have any extended (or meandering) thoughts for today, so instead I wanted to link to a fascinating, in-depth NYT article here - on philosopher Bruno Latour, “the Post-Truth Philosopher.”
It’s a deep dive into the history, personality, and effects of this man who critically examined the ways that scientific processes have evolved, and culture has reacted to that evolution. It seems like, at first, his work helped turn a critical eye on the self-assured higher status of scientists so that they could understand their own shortcomings and the political and social networks that they operate in - same as everyone else. Now it seems he needs to fight a defensive crusade in order to protect the veracity of the findings of scientists, especially climate scientists, against a rising tide of people who believe all science is either wrong or subjective and able to be dismissed. There’s a deeper character story here, I think, but I can’t access it at the moment. At the very least, it’s a fascinating and relevant intellectual recounting that helped me understand, on some level, how society may gotten to the point where large swaths of the population can consciously dismiss facts.
My first video essay - complete!
Hope you enjoy! :)
How Much to Write
Well, tentatively, some great news — I just got a new job! I’ll post more about it when it becomes more official, and after I learn how much of it must be kept under wraps, but it’s a great one to land… big sci-fi, great elements involved, will be a huge learning opportunity. As I record this here, I can’t help but start thinking about my rule for myself: to write one post here a day. To keep the writing muscles from atrophying, to record my thoughts as a useful journal of sorts for later… It will be difficult to do so when this job starts in earnest, no doubt it will be demanding. Will it still be valuable to write a post a day, even when I’m in a room of veteran writers - soaking up their wisdom like a sponge? I think so, it’s a different sort of self-learning, or just a self-awareness - to write out my thoughts once a day. So, I’ll try to keep it going as best I can. For the days I occasionally miss, I will try to make up for in following days. At the very least, I’ll record my observations of the show’s first weeks as we go…
Enjoying Just Getting the Interview
Working in the entertainment industry, no matter who you, affects your philosophy on work alongside your career goals. For me, it’s really changed my outlook from wanting to positively manifest things and working hard towards specific, concrete goals into adopting a more relaxed perspective — appreciating how much is really out of my control while also appreciating the good work I can do within those restraints. Beyond that, I don’t stake all my hopes and expectations on one particular type of goal (I must sell this exact script, I must get this sort of job next) — and now I keep my mind open to all sorts of opportunities. It may “waste” time when I pursue and learn more about jobs that turn out to be not for me, but I’d rather learn more and stress less ultimately. With all that said, I’m realizing that one needs to take time to appreciate the little accomplishments - no matter how abstract. For me, this is that I got myself an interview for a writers’ assistant job. It was on a very high-caliber show with great talent attached on all fronts and a writer I was totally psyched to meet in person in the interview. I may not get the job. That outcome is completely out of my control now. But, I hustled to get my resume to the production company via a connection I worked hard to maintain from many jobs back. And once the resume was in, I quickly (if not frantically) got every good TV connection I had made to put recommendations in. No doubt it was this influx of recs that actually got me in the room for the interview, and that orchestrated effort is worth savoring in hindsight. I hope I get the job, but that’s as far as I’ll let my thoughts wander on that topic — lest it gets obsessive, tiring, and pointless throughout. Better to focus on something new, something I can control and create.