fear

I’ve been seeing trailers for the upcoming movie, “White Noise,” and while the premise appeals to me, I have no interest in the way the story has been developed; at least, I have no interest in what the trailers tell me the movie is about. Granted, I’ve not read a script or even anything more than a two-sentence synopsis outlining “White Noise” as a “supsense/horror” movie.

“White Noise” appears to be based on a phenomenon called Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP), in which the voices of deceased persons can be recorded. But this blog entry isn’t so much about the movie, or about EVP, which I don’t even know much about (for more information, visit The American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomenon); rather, I’d like to discuss fear.

The filmmakers could have chosen to craft a story about loved ones reaching across the life-death divide to heal past hurts, to offer reassurance to the grieving, to send messages of love, and to come to closure and forgiveness. EVP could have been used as the starting point for an uplifting and inspiring story. It probably wouldn’t have sold as many movie tickets as a suspenseful thriller, but it could have had a profoundly positive impact on moviegoers and, by default, on the world at large.

But instead of raising energy, “White Noise” appears to focus on the darker downward spiral, pandering to more sinister energies. Even if the movie does turn out to have a hopeful message in the end, it is still relying upon fear to sell tickets and to push the story along.

Why does this bother me? Here’s why:

Our emotions have energy. You can feel it in your body, in every fiber of your being. There’s a big difference between happiness and depression, between excitement and rage. And these energies can be quite contagious. It feels good to be around other people who are feeling good — just take a look at the dynamics of a good party. No one wants a “wet blanket” at that party, because being around people who are feeling low can be “a real downer.” Our own emotional states can be easily influenced, and those energies can be reaped.

There are forces in this world — individuals, corporations, etc. — that feed off of the fear of others. This is what makes a dictatorship possible, what congeals the “mob mentality”, and what makes it easy to push something like the Patriot Act through Congress. People give up their own power when they are afraid. When afraid, we are vulnerable and easily influenced. When fear is packaged so nicely for us — as in a horror movie or an international holy war against an unseen enemy — we become attracted to, sometimes even addicted to, the grand drama of that kind of anguish, the highs and lows that are possible. Feeling afraid can be a thrilling, exciting experience — which is why people keep buying plastic sheeting and duct tape, and why horror movies and thrillers can really rake in the big bucks. We end up yearning for the manipulation, even paying good money to be frightened, because we see it as entertainment. Barbara Marciniak details this brilliantly in “The Bringers of the Dawn.”

Who benefits, in the end, from that fear? It’s not you and me.

When you’re standing in the ticket line at the theatre, waiting to see this week’s new horror movie, think for moment. You’re about to spend money you earned to pay someone to frighten you. Maybe that’s okay with you. But think about how this extends beyond the movie megaplex. Advertisers routinely frighten you into buying their products: “Buy our security system, or your home will be destroyed! Buy our clothes, or you won’t be cool! Buy our drug, or your liver will collapse! Buy our soda, or you won’t have any fun! Buy our skin cream, or you’ll look like an old hag and no one will love you!” Hate groups use fear to swell their ranks and further their agendas: “Join us, or the homos, immigrants, and atheists will take over the schools and infect the children!” And governments have a long history of using fear to manipulate entire populations.

(Except for that one young man who stared down the tanks in Tiananmen Square….)

Sure, some people might come away from “White Noise” with a genuine interest in the positive aspects of EVP or with a larger, more open minded view of the world. But I’m guessing that most will walk out of the theatre satisfied with being terrified by just another horror movie, just another opportunity for a major entertainment corporation to make millions of dollars off of scaring the bejesus out of people…. when for a few million less, they could have helped make the world a better place.

Isn’t your time — and your money — more valuable than that? Isn’t your own energy more precious? Life is too short to let other people push you around.

Posted in news, thoughts from the spiral.

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