Comments on: planet earth http://www.exicarus.com/2007/07/19/planet-earth/ living Ephesians 2:1-4 in Lexington KY Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:59:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Keren http://www.exicarus.com/2007/07/19/planet-earth/#comment-94 Keren Wed, 25 Jul 2007 21:14:27 +0000 http://www.exicarus.com/2007/07/19/planet-earth/#comment-94 Baudrillard and his Wikipedia-summarized theories are absolutely fascinating. Somehow he managed to study the questions that seem to pop in my head 100 times a day, and he seems to answer those little questions like, “Why is it so hard for me to resist the call of the Starbucks siren?” However, based on the group of people Dan hangs out with (mostly undesirable to be sure), the speaker’s sentiment does not likely line up with the idea that the world we live in has been replaced by a copy world, and I seriously doubt the speaker is one for whom simulated stimuli has supplanted the original object. Appreciating/praising a copy doesn’t mean you allow that media to replace the original, does it? (My questions really are questions and not necessarily prompts.) “This looks more real than real” seems to be referring to the fact that, well, it is. High-speed photography allows us to see real things that without technology, we would never see. If I was in “that place,” a whale jumping out of the water would be immediate and my eyes would not be able to catch the detail that slow motion allows. Nor would I be able to watch a parasite grow out of an ant’s head over a series of several days. So, if the original object doesn’t physically exist in a way the speaker can experience, can it really be superseded? Whale’s one-second leap out of the water seen by the naked eye: Wow. There is a God. High-definition 30-second slow-motion whale leap: Wow. There is a God. That was “cooler.” As Baudrillard said, hyperreality is, “the simulation of something which never really existed.” By saying, it is “more real than real,” the speaker proves he has an understanding of what is real and what is artificial, and that he appreciates what Planet Earth was able to achieve. Moving on to Baudrillard’s idea that meaning is self-referential … I’m glad I have a 45-minute drive home. P.S. After viewing Planet Earth, I do not agree with the speaker’s conclusion about what is more “cool.” P.S.S. Does anyone have a better word for cool? No, Paris, not hot. Baudrillard and his Wikipedia-summarized theories are absolutely fascinating. Somehow he managed to study the questions that seem to pop in my head 100 times a day, and he seems to answer those little questions like, “Why is it so hard for me to resist the call of the Starbucks siren?”

However, based on the group of people Dan hangs out with (mostly undesirable to be sure), the speaker’s sentiment does not likely line up with the idea that the world we live in has been replaced by a copy world, and I seriously doubt the speaker is one for whom simulated stimuli has supplanted the original object. Appreciating/praising a copy doesn’t mean you allow that media to replace the original, does it? (My questions really are questions and not necessarily prompts.)

“This looks more real than real” seems to be referring to the fact that, well, it is. High-speed photography allows us to see real things that without technology, we would never see. If I was in “that place,” a whale jumping out of the water would be immediate and my eyes would not be able to catch the detail that slow motion allows. Nor would I be able to watch a parasite grow out of an ant’s head over a series of several days. So, if the original object doesn’t physically exist in a way the speaker can experience, can it really be superseded?

Whale’s one-second leap out of the water seen by the naked eye: Wow. There is a God.

High-definition 30-second slow-motion whale leap: Wow. There is a God. That was “cooler.”

As Baudrillard said, hyperreality is, “the simulation of something which never really existed.”

By saying, it is “more real than real,” the speaker proves he has an understanding of what is real and what is artificial, and that he appreciates what Planet Earth was able to achieve.

Moving on to Baudrillard’s idea that meaning is self-referential … I’m glad I have a 45-minute drive home.

P.S. After viewing Planet Earth, I do not agree with the speaker’s conclusion about what is more “cool.”

P.S.S. Does anyone have a better word for cool? No, Paris, not hot.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.exicarus.com/2007/07/19/planet-earth/#comment-85 Anonymous Fri, 20 Jul 2007 21:39:59 +0000 http://www.exicarus.com/2007/07/19/planet-earth/#comment-85 "The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are all around Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Fire goes before Him and burns up His adversaries all around. His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the LORD of all the earth. The heavens proclaim His righteousness and all the peoples see His glory. All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; worship Him, all you gods!" -Psalm 97: 1-7 “The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are all around Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Fire goes before Him and burns up His adversaries all around. His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the LORD of all the earth. The heavens proclaim His righteousness and all the peoples see His glory. All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; worship Him, all you gods!”
-Psalm 97: 1-7

]]> By: Bjorn http://www.exicarus.com/2007/07/19/planet-earth/#comment-84 Bjorn Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:50:11 +0000 http://www.exicarus.com/2007/07/19/planet-earth/#comment-84 "<i>I was stunned by the amazing camera shots and high definition images. As one of my friends said, “this looks more real than real. If I went to that place it wouldn’t look nearly as cool.</i>" There is an extremely French postmodern (hey, wait, stay with me here) philosopher named Baudrilliard who writes about exactly the sentiment your friend expresses here. The paper for which he's probably best known is <a href="http://www.egs.edu/faculty/baudrillard/baudrillard-simulacra-and-simulations.html" rel="nofollow">Simulacra and Simulation</a>. It's translated from a philosophers french though, so it's extremely painful to read. Wikipedia has <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baudrillard#Simulacra_and_Simulation" rel="nofollow">a decent summary</a> though. As far as evolution goes, I won't bother in hashing out the same old arguments (not for you, anyway). Others, however, may be interested in the <a href="http://www.talkorigins.org/" rel="nofollow">Talk.Origins</a> newsgroup archive, which has excellent material from a diverse range of contributors. “I was stunned by the amazing camera shots and high definition images. As one of my friends said, “this looks more real than real. If I went to that place it wouldn’t look nearly as cool.”

There is an extremely French postmodern (hey, wait, stay with me here) philosopher named Baudrilliard who writes about exactly the sentiment your friend expresses here. The paper for which he’s probably best known is Simulacra and Simulation. It’s translated from a philosophers french though, so it’s extremely painful to read. Wikipedia has a decent summary though.

As far as evolution goes, I won’t bother in hashing out the same old arguments (not for you, anyway). Others, however, may be interested in the Talk.Origins newsgroup archive, which has excellent material from a diverse range of contributors.

]]> By: Ben H. http://www.exicarus.com/2007/07/19/planet-earth/#comment-80 Ben H. Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:08:50 +0000 http://www.exicarus.com/2007/07/19/planet-earth/#comment-80 Last night, while you were watching Planet Earth, I was trapsing around dowtown Chicago amid enormous crowds of hipsters flocking to Millenium Park to see the Decemberists. I was praying in the Spirit in an attempt to see the throngs as Jesus sees them. The thought that came to me was that creation waits with groaning for the manifestion of the sons of God. I am sure that among these lost flocks walk those in whom the unlimited potential of the kingdom of God lies in eager expectation. It was humid and there was a fog that hemmed in the skyline. I felt that under the sewer grates and above the high rises hovers a spirit of longing. I wondered how often any of these people looked up from the concrete. Then I praised God for the remnant and the true wheat among the crowds and weeds in the field of rocks. Come Lord Jesus. Last night, while you were watching Planet Earth, I was trapsing around dowtown Chicago amid enormous crowds of hipsters flocking to Millenium Park to see the Decemberists. I was praying in the Spirit in an attempt to see the throngs as Jesus sees them. The thought that came to me was that creation waits with groaning for the manifestion of the sons of God. I am sure that among these lost flocks walk those in whom the unlimited potential of the kingdom of God lies in eager expectation. It was humid and there was a fog that hemmed in the skyline. I felt that under the sewer grates and above the high rises hovers a spirit of longing. I wondered how often any of these people looked up from the concrete.
Then I praised God for the remnant and the true wheat among the crowds and weeds in the field of rocks. Come Lord Jesus.

]]> By: Stephen http://www.exicarus.com/2007/07/19/planet-earth/#comment-79 Stephen Thu, 19 Jul 2007 15:19:15 +0000 http://www.exicarus.com/2007/07/19/planet-earth/#comment-79 <p>Great Post. That was an amazing movie. I think we all should spend more time in God's creation.</p> Great Post. That was an amazing movie. I think we all should spend more time in God’s creation.

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