MI-5 vs. 24 (memes vs. archetypes)
*Hemidactylus*
(FoxTV) since its first season, perhaps missing only one show. Keifer
Sutherland does a good job portraying counterterrorism agent Jack
Bauer through this series and a new season will soon dawn upon us. I
can't believe they keep this stuff fresh and exciting, but they
manage.
I noticed when shopping for DVD's that there's a similar series to 24
that airs in Britain called "Spooks". The US title for this series is
"MI-5". It's funny how titles change when they travel across the great
pond. I have not seen this show, but wonder what similarities it holds
to 24. Would these similarities have memetic aspects in that one show
influenced the other? There's another similar series which has aired
on the cable pay network Showtime called "Sleeper Cell" so it seems
this counterrrorism stuff has become really popular.
One could explore archetypal themes too perhaps, like of the hero on
his journey and others. And at least in 24, the hero Bauer has
transformed and suffered much along the way as a tragic hero perhaps.
His character development has suffered though, as we only get vague
glimpses of his Delta Force past in Europe. They could flesh that out
some more perhaps. And stop getting us involved in supporting
charcters only to have them offed in the span of a couple episodes if
they are lucky ;-) But Jack has become much darker and more ruthless
in recent seasons, especially after his stint in China. He's always
been expedient and not above bending the rules. Remember the episode
where he asks for a hacksaw?
Or beyond archetypes, maybe after the tragic terrorist events that
have struck Western countries over the past 7 years, we have developed
a complex hat is triggered by the themes of these shows. The content
of the shows could constellate around this complex (or set of
complexes) and embed it (them) deeper into our psyches. There are of
course strong emotional aspects involved, fear and anger being just
two. Bewilderment and uncertainity about the future are also
important.
"Sleeper Cell" seemed to have some aspects that were better than 24,
if nothing more than being on cable and thus being able to get away
with a lot more. But 24 has pushed the envelope as much as possible on
a broadcast network.
Well maybe the great minds of alt.psychology.jung and alt.memetics can
converge or at least become meaningfully coincident and hash out the
rising genre of counterrorirism shows. Perhaps placed together on the
same thread the *recent* signal-to-noise ratio of both groups can
improve.
*Hemidactylus*
>
[snip}
I think it would be good to keep this crossposted to liven up the
discussion in both newsgroups, which could use cross-fertilization and
the infusion of differing viewpoints and backgrounds. And even if
anyone posts a passing comment or a sneeze, this would serve to keep
the thread queued above the cyclic fusilade of monotonous threads
resulting from mass postings from a single source and drown that stuff
out...if you know what I mean. There's strength in numbers.
The_Sage
>Date written: Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:20:41 -0800 (PST)
>MsgID:<044e8476-c028-4510...@e23g2000prf.googlegroups.com>
>One could explore archetypal themes too perhaps, like of the hero on
>his journey and others.
>Or beyond archetypes, maybe after the tragic terrorist events that
>have struck Western countries over the past 7 years, we have developed
>a complex hat is triggered by the themes of these shows. The content
>of the shows could constellate around this complex (or set of
>complexes) and embed it (them) deeper into our psyches. There are of
>course strong emotional aspects involved, fear and anger being just
>two. Bewilderment and uncertainity about the future are also
>important.
Yes, it could be overcompensation for the failed hero in all of us. Our best and
brightest have failed to prevent the low-tech and third world terrorists from
making spetacular attacks on us, nor have our heroes been able to stem the flow
of terrorism, so to ease our poor damaged egos, we make films that portray us as
being able to adeptly defeat the terrorists using cunning and skill.
>Well maybe the great minds of alt.psychology.jung and alt.memetics can
>converge or at least become meaningfully coincident and hash out the
>rising genre of counterrorirism shows. Perhaps placed together on the
>same thread the *recent* signal-to-noise ratio of both groups can
>improve.
I predict memes will, once again, fail to provide any insight into this
phenomenom. That is because, unlike Jungian psychology, the theory of memes has
not gained acceptance as an independent academic discipline. It is a well
developed philosophy that has no use outside of the discussion of them, i.e. --
even after twenty years of existence, the theory of memes has provided no
applications or cures. Meme theory also lacks rigor: are memes an infection or a
symbiosis? Do memes need a cure or are we unable to live without them? Did memes
evolve or were they created? What was the very first meme?
The Sage
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http://members.cox.net/the.sage/index.htm
[The current anthropomorphic global warming nonsense is
based on] "inherently untrustworthy climate models, similar
to those that cannot accurately forecast the weather a week
from now" -- Dr. Richard Lindzen
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