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still irrelevant to what i posted.
This Whole Thing Reminds Me Of Racism And Discrimination
- Thread starter samantha3333
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still irrelevant to what i posted.
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I'm not sure, it might be that he's the perfect stalker. I read a decent argument a while back but it escapes me, I'm sorry.
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Theres better stalkers *COUGH*
yetti
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No, non-Japanese movies do not do well at all in Japan, unless you're talking about specifically Hollywood. Which does well everywhere. Believe me in Japan you aren't going to find the latest French, Spanish, Russian, whatever films at your local cinema with any frequency. And again Japanese don't speak foreign languages fluently nor do they know much about the world, as they are isolated and rich and don't need to, like Americans.
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I was talking about Hollywood, the fact they watch movies from two different countries is much better than watching movies from only one country. International movies, and there are great ones, barely make a dent in the American market. It might be the most closed major film market in the world.
They were starting to penetrate ten years ago, with films like Hero, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and Spirited Away doing decently, but that's been on the downturn recently. I'm not sure what changed.
Note that I'm not against Hollywood. For the most part, I'm pro-Hollywood. I think they make many good and many great movies. However, I also think that they span only a subset of great cinema. I personally aspire to be a better cinephile but it's going to be a long journey.
ETA: Even from Hollywood proper, tastes are becoming narrower. Look at the top ten highest films from the 1970s, it was a diverse list, whereas now the lists are dominated by action/scifi/fantasy. They're largely appealing to nerds. I'm a nerd, but even I find the increasing focus on Marvel/StarWars/Transformers/etc to be bizarre. I think that Paramount now has ~14 screenplays for upcoming Transformers movies. Bizarre.
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This is a great post with great actual real life insight.
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@yetti
The way I phrased my post was lacking precision and is thus unfair in paintbrushing Americans rather than too many Americans , etc. I think it's kind of obvious, but perhaps it's not as it's the internet and sometimes people are riled up due to hostilities.
There are plenty of worldly people in the USA. However I still maintain that the median level of worldliness is low enough to be detrimental to social health, and also lower than most other countries.
It is the case that richer, more powerful countries don't need to be as worldly. China for example had a lot of internal legends that it was the center of the world back in the 16th, 17th, 18th centuries. For example they didn't allow the construction of embassies as they didn't recognize the existence of other countries. Another example is that Spain began its decline from superpower to non-power when it expelled the Jews and Muslims in the 15th century. So the USA is doing better than Imperial Spain and China lol. I think that strain of nationalism and provincialism is virtually always harmful. An openness and awareness of other cultures is beneficial, contributes to dynamism, provides an escape from the potential trap of bad ideas, and often works in surprising ways, for example the recent studies that people think more rationally when thinking in a second language. Other countries have had and some still have comparable levels of provincialism, it's not helpful.
I can promise you that I, personally, am not the person I would be if I had never left my Montreal Jewish bubble. I got some help as several members of my family had international interests, for example I remember pouring over photos of Italy after my aunt went to Rome when I was a pre-teen.
The way I phrased my post was lacking precision and is thus unfair in paintbrushing Americans rather than too many Americans , etc. I think it's kind of obvious, but perhaps it's not as it's the internet and sometimes people are riled up due to hostilities.
There are plenty of worldly people in the USA. However I still maintain that the median level of worldliness is low enough to be detrimental to social health, and also lower than most other countries.
It is the case that richer, more powerful countries don't need to be as worldly. China for example had a lot of internal legends that it was the center of the world back in the 16th, 17th, 18th centuries. For example they didn't allow the construction of embassies as they didn't recognize the existence of other countries. Another example is that Spain began its decline from superpower to non-power when it expelled the Jews and Muslims in the 15th century. So the USA is doing better than Imperial Spain and China lol. I think that strain of nationalism and provincialism is virtually always harmful. An openness and awareness of other cultures is beneficial, contributes to dynamism, provides an escape from the potential trap of bad ideas, and often works in surprising ways, for example the recent studies that people think more rationally when thinking in a second language. Other countries have had and some still have comparable levels of provincialism, it's not helpful.
I can promise you that I, personally, am not the person I would be if I had never left my Montreal Jewish bubble. I got some help as several members of my family had international interests, for example I remember pouring over photos of Italy after my aunt went to Rome when I was a pre-teen.
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yetti
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Nice post, first two paragraphs appreciated. I most definitely agree that there are many real benefits to being "worldly", and that America would greatly, absolutely benefit if many of its people were much more so. I just think that it's not a knock on many Americans for not being worldly, it's a result of their location and circumstances and it won't change, and it's constant everywhere.
What I mean is this. As I said I have lived and worked all over the world, more than 20 years of travel and work all over Asia, Central Asia, Europe, the US. What I have found, and it is consistent everywhere, is that there are only two things that make a person, a town, a people worldly: financial need, or geographic proximity that makes it impossible to avoid. For example, some of the most fluent speakers of English as a second language I have ever met were living in the Central Asian steppe. These people had never been to a foreign country, non even seen an ocean. But mastery of English for them means a job at a western owned oil field as a translator or interpreter, and that means a salary maybe 10+ times what they'd normally earn. So they'd do everything they could do the learn the language, using Beatles cassette tapes, old Soviet textbooks, whatever. Financial need. Or take people in Eastern Europe twenty years ago, pre-internet and pre-ability to travel and work. Anyway, I found that they knew all about their neighbors. With so many occupations, invasions, and such close borders, how couldn't they! Poles, Czechs, Hungarians, Russians, Germans, they spoke authoritatively about each other, even if some of the stereotypes were skewed etc., they knew a lot. Proximity.
Now take your average Joe or Masaki in Arkansas or outside any big city in Japan. Sure, Masaki will watch Batman, but he will likely not understand a single word of the movie. He'll listen to it translated into Japanese or read the subtitles, eat popcorn, and go back to his very Japanese life. He also likely doesn't know a single foreigner and may go for weeks without even seeing a non-Japanese. So why does he need English or any other language besides Japanese? He can work for a company without knowing English (and in fact it may actually be preferred that he DOESN'T know it. ), he has no need to ever travel, and he'll never use it in conversation. Our friend Joe has got the same situation, need wise and proximity wise. So... I think it's inevitable and unavoidable and really no fault of people in this situation that they do not become global, and at the same time I don't really credit people with wisdom for ending up more global as it's most likely a result of need or proximity, not some enlightened desire to learn more. This is obviously not true in every case, including yours as you described, but I think it usually is.
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Please do. Amazing movie.
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One could classify Prestige, Inception, and Interstellar as a trilogy. They have a lot in common and there's a sequence between them. All three deal with issues of creativity, genius, and are metaphors for the filmmaking process.
I never looked at it that way.
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I got accepted in NYU's MS program and may have to move there in August.
Maybe we can hang out sometime. I was there for my third time today and would like to go again. My cousin and I went to the lower east side for a few hours, he says he likes the area as it's more authentic, it's less populated by hipsters, and chains like Zara's, H&M, and Apple. I have *a lot* more to see.
Congratulations on being accepted into an elite program in an elite subject. This is a great opportunity for you and I hope you get to meet some interesting people. You'll also be surrounded by beautiful women every day, not in the CS program (lol) but in New York City.
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I feel as if every achievment is not worth it when you're gonna be repulsive and bald in a few years whats the point
Thanks! I am really excited. Not 100% sure if I will accept the offer though as I also got in University of Texas, Dallas which is substantially cheaper. But like you said, NYU is a top tier university and getting MS from there will certainly give a big boost to my career. Companies like Google, Facebook and Microsoft directly recruit students on campus. Plus the prospect of meeting all the beautiful women on and off campus is enticing. I remember seeing a few East European women while taking a walk in Manhattan a few years ago. You pretty much never see that in Oklahoma. Also, Ocean City is only four hours away. It will be nice to drive down there and party on weekends.
Definitely. I will let you know if I end up moving there.
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Obviously geographic need and necessity help a lot. They go a long way and creative an incentive. However, so do non-inevitable cultural and education practices. People in Scandinavian countries, for example, routinely learn 3 or more languages, they don't need to learn 3, learning 2 would be enough. The education system does seem more rational in those countries, they also have healthier school lunches, and they don't have much homework until later ages. Those are social choices. Economic fundamentals remain but social factors and good policy making can still torque probabilities.
From a google search:
only 36 percent of Americans hold a valid passport, according to the State Department, compared to 60 percent of passport-holding Canadians and 75 percent for Brits and Aussies.
The fact that Japanese are insular as well is not an apology for this. Japan has a lot of issues as well. They were on the verge of supwerpower status in 1990, respected international scholars were writing books predicting another Pearl Harbour, now they are nowhere near that.
Watching foreign films with subtitles, or dubbed, still counts as watching foreign films. It's a piece of art from a culture separate from your own and thus there's a good shot that it will have different biases and different markers. Could a Japanese creative team create Batman? No, it's very American, similarly to how an American is unlikely to create Godzilla, as it's a metaphor for Hiroshima.
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Achieve first and then determine if it's worth it for you. Right now you are speculating on baseless assumptions. Guys like @shookwun and @Dante92 have many insecurities too and ask them how would they feel if they didn't have their career in order. You are too young to realize how big an impact a career makes on ones psyche. If you are 35 and have selling burgers at McDonalds for your career, you will know what I mean.
For me having a high income allows me to purse various hobbies. I don't have to think twice about taking a flight to Europe and party there for a week. Or take a flight to India to see my family. I don't really own fancy car as I am not into them. But I do like living in nice apartment in good neighborhood and wear nice clothes. Also, my income allows me to send money to my father every month which gives me great satisfaction. My father supported me all his life. He paid for my college and everything. Now that he is retired, it's my responsibility to take care of him.
I urge all the young guys to TAKE CARE of your careers. It matters a lot. You will really feel it's impact in your mid thirties. Don't allow your depression about balding ruin everything.