[lbo-talk] Re: Toklien Popularity//Modernization

[Chuck0]

BklynMagus wrote:
> Dear List:
> 
> Two comments I wanted to make about recent posts.
> 
> a) In my opinion, the popularity of the Lord of the Rings movies has to with 1) the quality of the cinematic craft (surface reason) and 2) the clear cut differentiation between good and bad characters (deeper reason).  This binary is very reassuring in present times.  People can also see corollaries between this notion and the world they inhabit now (of course aligning themselves with the "good" characters).  

It's just a damn good movie that is based on some excellent books.


> b) The merits of technology and technological change really depend on the ethical ends one is trying to achieve.  Technology is neutral.  It is the purpose that it is being put to use thaty counts.  To me is the goal is fisrt, equitable distribution of and access to technology.  Secondly, one has to insure that the technology is then used in a compassionate and not destructive way.  Advancement untethered to ethics (which is the general state of the world today) is what causes the deepest problems.

One of the biggest canards about technology is that it is neutral. 
Technology implies a system of social and economic relations. A nuclear 
power plant implies a system of economic exploitation, mass consumption, 
colonization, and everything else required to make a nuclear plant and 
justify its existence.

Chuck0