Cyre2067
The Living Force
I just got back from seeing Iron Man, previously, I was told there was a lot of America - Rah Rah and so I went in kind of expecting a heavy dose a propaganda, however I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I found some similarity in the story to the Work, amazingly enough. Let me clarify and if I'm stuffed full of wishful thinking I'd ask someone to point it out. There were also subtle references to 9-11, which shocked me. Further, (SPOILER START) there was a clear demonstration that the weapons industry profits by selling weapons to both sides of a conflict, and cares little for the human loss of life. (SPOILER END) Lastly, they made references to other icons of the Marvel Universe, and set up sequels as well as potential cross overs for future films.
First, I'd like to discuss aspects of the movie which parallel the Fourth Way, commonly accepted as the teachings (though fragmented) of several author-philosophers, namely Gurdjieff, Mouravieff and Castenda. These men, specifically G - discuss the formation of a 'Magnetic Center' - which can only be accomplished by 'work on the self' including 'intentional suffering' and 'self-observation'. I'm not going to detail these concepts here because they're exceedingly complex and suggest the reader scour the internet for discussion of them. Try here: sott.net (the forum).
In the movie, Tony Stark adventures to Afghanistan to demonstrate a new weapon system, The Jericho Missile, and on his way back is attacked, abducted by rebels, and pierced with shrapnel. He would die, if not for an electromagnet installed into his chest which holds the fragments from progressing into his heart. While the parallel is not exact, I couldn't help but notice his symbolic 'death' and a Magnetic Device installed in the center of his chest. He also builds his suit, his new persona, using only his skills and intuition yielding abilities that allow him to make an impact, to become a superhero. Granted it was sped-up, and The Work can take a lifetime, but the idea (rebuilding yourself) and the results (evolution, becoming more then what you are) are similar, or so I think.
Further, there's a sense of distance between him and his love interest. He remains vigilant, in a sense, not allowing himself to be carried away by his emotional/romantic interest. While Love is essential in the Fourth Way, it is a deeper, more universal Love, thus I write it with a capital L to distinguish it from the more carnal love we see on television and in the lives of those around us. Perhaps you, like I, have even had the benefit of experiencing this love. I'll say this, love, unlike Love, is more chemical then real, and I'll leave it at that.
References to 9-11 were two-fold, and very very subtle. In one of the scenes (trying not to spoil it) Iron Man is caught up in an entanglement with two F-22 Raptors. The media gets wind of the story, and the cover is 'a training exercise' - 'Isn't that what you people always say?' asks Stark. I laughed out loud, since on the morning of 9-11 there was indeed, a very large, very documented training exercise. Perhaps I'm stretching here, but I couldn't help but make the connection. Secondly, at the end of the film, during a press conference Stark very clearly says, "It's one thing to Question the Official Story and another to call me a superhero...." The emphasis was quite clear, and it almost sounded as if he was giving a direction. Again, I'm fallible, so I may have been wishfully thinking here, but that's how it seemed to me.
And this is kind of a SPOILER, so skip this paragraph is you don't want some inside details. Tony's company was selling weapons to both sides of the conflict in Afghanistan, without his knowledge. This sets up the 'bad guy' for the story. It also becomes clear to Tony during the film, and he uses Iron Man to protect those whom his weapons were used against. This reference is obviously true in our world and can be seen in other films, especially Lord of War. There's some other throwaway lines, 'we'd never make a profit if there was peace' (paraphrasing), etc.
Lastly they set the film up beautifully for a sequel, and gave it just the right elements to do cross overs. SPOILER! There was a brief moment when the character who would play War Machine saw the Mach II and (knowing Tony was going into battle) said, "Next Time". There was also mention of Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division or Shield. Shield had some involvement in the Spiderman Universe, The Hulk, and the Fantastic Four - so a cross over is definitely doable.(END SPOILER) That is, assuming Clube & Napier are wrong and we aren't do for some serious comet debris impact in the next few years, in which case the movies won't get to be made. Lookup Tunguska, The Cosmic Winter by V. Clube & B. Napier, or just read this, the rest in the series also very educational.
So in conclusion, I enjoyed the film immensely. Much more then I had expected going into it. I was upset to see a trailer for Adam Sandler movie, in which he plays an ex-Israeli super-counterterrorist, obviously an attempt to sugar-coat a heck of a lot of propaganda. There was one scene where they showed 'Arab terrorists' calling Hezbullah for 'terrorist supplies' - a recorded female voice tells us, "You've reached Hezbullah, for terrorist supplies, press one...." so I'll be skipping that one. Overall Iron Man had it's flaws, but it was entertaining and had plenty of items for those with eyes to see and ears to listen.
In case ya hadn't noticed, I'm writing for a larger audience, the rest here is just for this forum. I wanted to post it here, because I'm basically not 'Keeping Silent'. Then again, I'm also not really going into detail, just giving some basics out to elucidate the parallels I saw in the movie, so I figured it would be okay to post on my blog & newsvine, digg, etc. Bad idea? I leave that up to y'all. I can always remove the references to the fourth way before posting it elsewhere, and I did want y'all to read those parts anyway. Lemme know what ya think.
First, I'd like to discuss aspects of the movie which parallel the Fourth Way, commonly accepted as the teachings (though fragmented) of several author-philosophers, namely Gurdjieff, Mouravieff and Castenda. These men, specifically G - discuss the formation of a 'Magnetic Center' - which can only be accomplished by 'work on the self' including 'intentional suffering' and 'self-observation'. I'm not going to detail these concepts here because they're exceedingly complex and suggest the reader scour the internet for discussion of them. Try here: sott.net (the forum).
In the movie, Tony Stark adventures to Afghanistan to demonstrate a new weapon system, The Jericho Missile, and on his way back is attacked, abducted by rebels, and pierced with shrapnel. He would die, if not for an electromagnet installed into his chest which holds the fragments from progressing into his heart. While the parallel is not exact, I couldn't help but notice his symbolic 'death' and a Magnetic Device installed in the center of his chest. He also builds his suit, his new persona, using only his skills and intuition yielding abilities that allow him to make an impact, to become a superhero. Granted it was sped-up, and The Work can take a lifetime, but the idea (rebuilding yourself) and the results (evolution, becoming more then what you are) are similar, or so I think.
Further, there's a sense of distance between him and his love interest. He remains vigilant, in a sense, not allowing himself to be carried away by his emotional/romantic interest. While Love is essential in the Fourth Way, it is a deeper, more universal Love, thus I write it with a capital L to distinguish it from the more carnal love we see on television and in the lives of those around us. Perhaps you, like I, have even had the benefit of experiencing this love. I'll say this, love, unlike Love, is more chemical then real, and I'll leave it at that.
References to 9-11 were two-fold, and very very subtle. In one of the scenes (trying not to spoil it) Iron Man is caught up in an entanglement with two F-22 Raptors. The media gets wind of the story, and the cover is 'a training exercise' - 'Isn't that what you people always say?' asks Stark. I laughed out loud, since on the morning of 9-11 there was indeed, a very large, very documented training exercise. Perhaps I'm stretching here, but I couldn't help but make the connection. Secondly, at the end of the film, during a press conference Stark very clearly says, "It's one thing to Question the Official Story and another to call me a superhero...." The emphasis was quite clear, and it almost sounded as if he was giving a direction. Again, I'm fallible, so I may have been wishfully thinking here, but that's how it seemed to me.
And this is kind of a SPOILER, so skip this paragraph is you don't want some inside details. Tony's company was selling weapons to both sides of the conflict in Afghanistan, without his knowledge. This sets up the 'bad guy' for the story. It also becomes clear to Tony during the film, and he uses Iron Man to protect those whom his weapons were used against. This reference is obviously true in our world and can be seen in other films, especially Lord of War. There's some other throwaway lines, 'we'd never make a profit if there was peace' (paraphrasing), etc.
Lastly they set the film up beautifully for a sequel, and gave it just the right elements to do cross overs. SPOILER! There was a brief moment when the character who would play War Machine saw the Mach II and (knowing Tony was going into battle) said, "Next Time". There was also mention of Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division or Shield. Shield had some involvement in the Spiderman Universe, The Hulk, and the Fantastic Four - so a cross over is definitely doable.(END SPOILER) That is, assuming Clube & Napier are wrong and we aren't do for some serious comet debris impact in the next few years, in which case the movies won't get to be made. Lookup Tunguska, The Cosmic Winter by V. Clube & B. Napier, or just read this, the rest in the series also very educational.
So in conclusion, I enjoyed the film immensely. Much more then I had expected going into it. I was upset to see a trailer for Adam Sandler movie, in which he plays an ex-Israeli super-counterterrorist, obviously an attempt to sugar-coat a heck of a lot of propaganda. There was one scene where they showed 'Arab terrorists' calling Hezbullah for 'terrorist supplies' - a recorded female voice tells us, "You've reached Hezbullah, for terrorist supplies, press one...." so I'll be skipping that one. Overall Iron Man had it's flaws, but it was entertaining and had plenty of items for those with eyes to see and ears to listen.
In case ya hadn't noticed, I'm writing for a larger audience, the rest here is just for this forum. I wanted to post it here, because I'm basically not 'Keeping Silent'. Then again, I'm also not really going into detail, just giving some basics out to elucidate the parallels I saw in the movie, so I figured it would be okay to post on my blog & newsvine, digg, etc. Bad idea? I leave that up to y'all. I can always remove the references to the fourth way before posting it elsewhere, and I did want y'all to read those parts anyway. Lemme know what ya think.
