Reading Journal 2024: A Life of Jesus Author: Shusaku Endo
It is equally as important to assess the target audience of Endo’s biography of Jesus as it is to assess the content, as each becomes a window into the other. Perhaps more important is the ability of this relarionship to allow the book to reach beyond the target audience to a wider world, something that Endo’s body of work has arguably already done.
Who is the target audience? I would say he is speaking to Japenese Christians, helping them to find the language of the Gospel in a way that makes sense to their culture and context. And to Japanese culture, simitaneoulsly using the book to bring the Gospel in a way that will make sense to that cultural context. Endo is very intentional about the lens through which he approaches the text and about locating the appropriate questions and concerns that might arise for his readers.
So what about the content? Endo sets the stage for his approach upfront in the initial chapters, purging some of the baggage of Western obsessions with truth as a kind of empirical fact and allowing the truth of the text to speak into the Japanese focus on narrative and myth. For Endo, it would only be in the West that myth comes to define a distinction between truth and fiction, and thus he fully embraces the broad spectrum of studies (biblical, theological, narrative, historical, textual) that is able to free him to navigate both what the initial readers/writers would have meant/thought in their time, and how that can be reconextualized into Japanese culture for the sake of the Japanese peoples.
One of the outcomes here might be isolating potential readers outside of this cultural context of course. There is a sense in which his commitment to both audience and form/content becomes indebted to his own convictions and his own faith, and certainly how he reasoned(s) towards it in his own life. It is as much a story about what compelled him towards belief as it is an exercise meant to fill what he sees as a gap between a highly westernized Gospel and text and a culture that needs to hear it and encounter it in their own language. Language reaching much more broadly than mere words. Here he leans on those personal connections and preferences, sometimes at the expense of detailing the larger scholarship or even doing the leg work to explain why and how he arrived where he does on given interpretative choices. To be clear, this is an intelligent man who brings a compelling perspective and voice to what would be for many in the West familiar stories. Yet there are points, as there would be for most of us, where he seems to miss some important scholarship along the way. This is partly, I imagine, because he is distinctly interested in that which might apply to his target audience.
What he does do though is establish a strong foundation, and this comes with the expectation that what he has to say will challenge both his audience and those outside of that reach in different ways. For those coming in from the outside, it is an opportunity to have our own bias’ and tendencies deconstructed and equally to get to know how a Japanese person might read and understand the text from their vantage point, and for those within the scope of his audience the Gospel, by its nature, challenges their cultural norms with its counter cultural concern.
One could then call this a deeply layered work. It reads however with a given simplicity at the same time, bringing with it a meditative quality meant to invoke the power of spiritual practice and the sacred text.
It’s the halfway point of 2024, which means time to check in with the year that’s been thus far in film.
There are some notable changes in my top 12 with Ryûsuke Hamaguchis Evil Does Not Exist working its way into my top 5 with its studied moral dilemma and commitment to the form. The emotionally resonant Turtles All The Way Down (Hannah Marks) and Weston Razooli’s whimsical and endearing Riddle of Fire found their way in to the bottom half of my top 12.
And then there were the films About Dry Grasses, The Bikeriders, Civil War, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and Challengers, all titles I wrestled with, each vying for a spot in their own way (I’ll save the ultimate outcome for my list below)
A couple of films that got bumped out of my top 12 that were especially difficult choices: the wonderful and affecting existential crisis that is Sometimes I Think About Dying, the memorable and deeply affecting One Life with an aged turn by the iconic Anthony Hopkins, and the surprisingly emotional journeys in Problemista and The Book of Clarence.
Most notable perhaps is Dune 2 getting bumped off. This is partly because my deep respect for the film and its achievement sits alongside the fact that if is not my favorite genre. But the films at the top of my list that did capture my imagination most fully have been staying strong for the most part.
Before I get to my top 12, a shout out in the animated and horror categories, along with some Honorable Mentions/Hidden Gems.
Favorite Animated Films
The Peasants My most anticipated animated release of 2024, this follow up to the phenomenal Loving Vincent features an often breathtaking visual style that blurs the line between realism and animation, pushing the inventive techniques to a whole other level. A shared production between Poland and Ukraine, it is steeped in a sense of struggle, rich in a cultural expression that includes matters of religion, faith, family, politics. An impressive work and my favorite animated film of the year thus far,
No Dogs or Italians Allowed The only thing better than Italian culture in film would be accenting this culture with personal and intimate stories of Italian life (this is based on the real life story of the Director’s grand parents). Throw in some gorgeous stop motion animation and there was very little that could prevent me from falling for this film. Enjoyed the mix of real world documentary footage intermixed with the animation as well. Gives this a unique flavor.
Inside Out 2 I was ultimately mixed on this undeniable box office success, but that shouldn’t detract from its very real strengths. It ultimately finds that familiar Pixar magic and proves why it needed to exist as a natural progression of the larger story.
Favorite Documtary Films
Four Daughters Four Daughters is a unique docu-drama that blends the documentary elements in an unconventional way. It’s a bit isolating at first as I tried to gain my bearings, but once I found the rhythm I was able to understand what the filmmakers were trying to do. It’s a layered approach designed to really bring you in on the journey itself, creating an atmosphere of complete transparency and vulnerability. The film also hits hard with some unexpected twists and turns, making for a disconcerting but resonant viewing experience. Its designed so that portions will have you laughing before you realize that a given scene is actually not that humorous, or shocked/saddened before you realize the characters are making a joke. I know that my emotions were all over the map in any given moment, which is by design and the mark of what is a really strong film with real world stakes.
Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces Not sure how this would play for people who aren’t a fan of Martin’s standup, but it offers a rare opportunity to see behind the curtain of this iconic figures personal journey. Most of what is here is stuff I had little to no idea about, stuff that plays straight into his film career as well. Does a great job of helping the viewer to get to know who he was, to understand his internal struggles, and to gain insight into his passion for comedy.
I Am Celihe Dion Did not expect this. Really well made. Touching, vulnerable, revealing. And that’s coming from someone who’s only real knowledge of Dion is her most popular songs. It is from the Director of Leave No Trace, so I guess the quality shouldn’t be that surprising.
Blue Angels It is standard stuff, but the material does the heavy lifting. Even if you don’t have much interest in the subject matter, it’s a strong, high flying, polished, tension filled and often thrilling visual exercise
Jim Henson: Idea Man It’s safe and by the numbers as far as docs go, but it’s also a nice tribute to one of great icons of our time.
Top 12 Horror
It has been a solid year for horror, with Caines inventive Late Night With Devil leading the pack.
Its homage to a bygone era of late night television has earned a ton of praise for good reason. Not far behind is the experimental indie I Saw The TV Glow, which caught a number of people off guard with its emotionally grounded metaphor. One of the most unique film experiences you’ll likely have this year.
A pair of creature features involving an infestation of Spiders (Sting and Infested)
A daring and captivating performance by Sydney Sweeney (Immaculate), a daring and energizing reimagining of a classic monster tale (Lisa Frankenstein) and a bonkers situational indie horror drama (The Coffee Table) fill in some of the gaps. Also worth mentioning is the adaptation of The Watchers from M. Nights daughter. It’s a mixed bag, but it is also intriguing to consider as a debut. And Last Stop at Yuma County is a fun, stylish and violent single location original hostage film, while The First Omen remains one of the best shot horror films of 2024 and surprisingly effective as a prequel.
Here are my rankings for my top horror thus far in 2024:
1. Late Night With The Devil 2. I Saw The TV Glow 3. The First Omen 4. Exhuma 5. Sting 6. Last Stop at Yuma County 7. Immaculate 8. Infested 9. Abigail 10. The Watchers 11. The Coffee Table 12. Lisa Frankenstein
Hidden Gems/Honorable Mentions
I could certainly shout out multiple larger profile titles that didn’t make my Top 12, including the likes of Furiosa and IF and Monkey Man, but this is a spotlight of some lower profile titles that stood out for me and are highly worth checking out:
The Teachers Lounge One of the most intense and stressful watches of 2024 thus far. The build up is next level Marmalade A low key, entertaining, indie action film that proves to be fun and inventive. First Time Caller Single location thriller that hits above its paygrade in terms of overall execution
In The Land of Saints and Sinners On its own a solid, slow burn Irish thriller that really captures the Irish countryside and its people, its also one of Neesons best films in recent memory
The Moon and Back Lots of wonderful and endearing dynamics at work here. It’s funny, sad quirky, charming, real, adventurous, relatable. It definitely has that low key, no frills indie vibe, but as a debut it’s the creative vision that really shines. Dreamin Wild Big on emotion and soaked in character and music, this story about a middle aged man reckoning with the notion of failed dreams and bItter legacy is as heartfelt as they come Thelma Probably the most fun premise you’ll find this year, leaning into the 90 plus year woman leading an espionage thriller motif with full commitment and gusto. Wild Goat Surf An impressive debut, made all the more worthwhile given its distinct flavor of Canadiana, set along the coastal area of British Columbia. It’s a coming of age film that explores the challenges of growing up in the face of adversity- single parent family, grief, being an outsider.
Lost in Tomorrow A quaint and lovely hidden gem. It feels a bit uncertain in the early going, but once the premise kicks in, following a young girl struggling to fit in at school and at home, it is quite affecting. Freuds Last Session My kind of film. Two diametrically opposed enigmatic true to life icons sparring over philosophy, theology, unlikely friendships and life.
Wicked Little Letters Little this year has been more fun than watching Jessie Buckleys profanity laden, feisty, determined mother persona in Wicked Little Letters. Paired with Olivia Coleman is the icing on the cake. Based on an equally compelling true story. Pratfall If the Before series new defines its own genre, this one is up there with the better homages. Just replace it with a French tourust talking philosophy and life as they wander the New York streets with an insomniac. IO Capitano Harrowing, intense, engaging. It’s about an asylum seekers journey from point A to B, across countries borders and of course sea. It’s really more about the resilience if the human spirit against great adversity Chithha An examination of abuse and trauma, or more specifically the trauma of sexual abuse, that does a lot without leaning into visual representation. As is typical of Indian cinema, the film is concerned for the way such events affect the whole, exploring social dynamics, the impact on families and communities, the nature of responsibility, obligation, forgiveness, and the power of emotions. It creates a complex drama that reaches beyond the act and into the psyche of the aftermath.
Top 12 of 2024 thus far at the halfway point of the year.
And finally, my Top 12 of 2024 thus far at the halfway point of the year.
I noted some of the changes above to my first quarter listings, and I have written about most of these films there and elsewhere in this space. Just to note some of the newcomers.
Riddle of Fire is described as a neo-fairy tale, but it really does defy categorization, albeit while feeling, at the same time, like an impassioned ode to a bygone era of filmmaking. An era where the simple art of imagination and a feeling of adventure are your tools rather than CGI, and where grassroots and no frills storytelling bolstered by natural chemistry between your characters is enough to make a meaningful and memorable film on a very small budget
Turtles All The Way Down was a deeply personal story for me, detailing an intimate struggle with anxiety. It made me feel seen and reflected one of the more emotional viewing experiences of the year.
Evil Does Not Exist is a nuanced examination of a particular moral crisis. It’s big on form, using its visual approach and its score to draw out different emotions and considerations. Technically speaking its one of the most impressive efforts to release this year.
About Dry Grasses. You could say a nearly 3 and half hour run time documenting a gradual spiral into an existential crisis using a script made up primarily of dialigue/conversation doesn’t sound like riveting cinema. Rest assured it is. The fact that it never really resolves its inate grappling with things like hopelessness, despair, isolation and meaninglessness makes it even more engrossing. It is from the Director of Winter Sleep and shares its concern for deep philosophical questions and existential crisis.
Civil War is representing a slot that just as easily could have been taken by Kjngdom of the Planet of the Apes as my other favorite of the bigger blockbusters this year, a film that took me by surprise. Kingdom might sneak back on after a rewatch, as I was really taken with it on a number of levels, but Civil War takes this spot for its visual presence and daring narrative. It makes use of every inch of its made for Imax format, and accomplishes something truly visceral and thought provoking.
The Bikeriders is subtle in its approach, deceptively so, but digging underneath the surface and what I found was a captivating character study that doubles as an exploration of a cultural and societal function. It asks bug questions, and gives us the necessary arcs through which to embody them. The more I think about this film the more I love it.
Reading Journal 2024: The One and Only Bob Author: Katherine Applegate
The One and Only Ivan is an all timer for me, so I had been reticent about picking up its sequel, which then turned into a trilogy. What inspired me to finally take the plunge was the recent release of a fourth and final book in the series.
The One and Only Bob picks up right where the last book left off, naturally narrowing in on one of its key characters, Bob, a mid size dog with his own way of seeing the world in the aftermath of the events captured in Ivan. Thus it progresses the narrative, just from a different point of view, and the way it ends sets the stage to do the same for Ruby in the third book.
Bob doesn’t have the emotional brevity of Ivan, but we do get a stronger dose of humor and action. It does pause from time to time to reflect on the bigger questions regarding life and death and relationship and art and meaning and existence that the series is interested in, which does anchor it within the same kind of ethos and purpose, there is just less of it and it’s not the real driving force, for better for for worse.
What it retains though is a strong sense of character and relatability. And the humor and action do at least compliment the strengths of the original.
Left me eager to get back into this world and its story with affectionate and loveable Ruby.
Reading Journal 2024: Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder Author: Salman Rushdie
On one level this book makes me a kindred mind with Rushdie. I love the way he uses the different events and experiences to draw out his life story as a cohesive and meaning making narrative. I love how he uses the specificity of the knife as both a literal and metaphorical device. I love how he can’t help but think simultaneously along functional, philosophical and theological lines.
I love how unapologetically he owns his cynism while also appealing to the larger forces of love that guide and draw his life.
On another level we couldn’t be more different, particularly where he uses his story as a prooftext for the non-existence of God, the childishness and foolishness of religion, and a treaties for the new atheist. Given how willing he is to ridicule practices such as people finding God in the stories of their life, it seems a bit hypocritical to use his own tragic story to argue for the foolishness of God as an idea.
And perhaps this is where my experience with this book is most readily defined. If I was really drawn to the imagination and artistry of his approach, I felt a bit duped by the superficial polemic. There is a rather lengthy segment of this book where he draws out an imagined conversation with his assailant that captures this most poignantly. It’s a fascinating and vulnerable experiment, working through as it does his own trauma. It is also wholly predictable at the same time, using the trauma to prop up a superficial caricature of religion as a whole.
This will preach to the new atheist agenda, to be sure, but it’s not exactly intellectually faithful as a polemic.
It should be said here at the same time that his trauma is legitimate, and what happened to him tragic. There’s no question about that. What he has to say as an atheist writing in a culture which he feels has diminished and caricatures his sense of personhood is a story worth telling, and in the context of the knife it makes for good storytelling too. However, as a personal meditation it’s just hard not to see the agenda behind it all. As a personal meditation it gets lost in the rhetoric and the polemic.
I think what makes the whole thing that much more interesting, and perhaps problematic, is that he depends on sensationalism to drive his points. It feels deeply inconsistent, for example, to speak of love the way he does as though it has some given, transcendent power, or to speak of the power of art as embodying and revealing the mystery of our existence, when at the same time he is arguing for a day and a time where such illusions would give way to the age of science, reason and truth. It doesn’t help that his cynicsm does at times tread into egotism, propping up his life as exhibit A, as though to say, hey, look at how my story allowed me to face a tragedy and still walk away believing that God does not exist. If I can do it, so can you.
All that said, I still actually found this to be quite engaging, and even at times inspired. I might not share his conclusions, but there is a lot that I share in language and interest, and I appreciated that. If i had one wish though, it’s that he would have fleshed out a bit more clearly what the controversy behind The Satanic Verses was, a book that comes up a few times as an important part of his story. If for readers like me who are unfamiliar with what it is and why it was so controversial. He does note that he wants to leave that book, or the experiences surrounding it, behind, even though the events of the attack ended up dragging it back to the surface. That might be why it appears so vague and undefined in his book. Writing a bit more about it would have helped to give and shape some greater context for his story.
Reading Journal 2024: The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality Author: Amanda Montell
Near the end of the book the author reflects on the current state of AI, calling back to a menial exercise she did one day out of boredom when she asked AI to describe the difference between its greatest value and humanity’s greatest value. In response, AI cites its greatest value as reason, while humanity’s greatest value is love. The author, whom takes a hard and cynical stance on the idea that AI can ever become truly humanlike, wonders in relationship to humanity, why not both? This provides a nice summary of what she was trying to accomplish in the book as a whole, arguing not for a denial of our penchant for irrationality, but in acceptance of it, seeing it as a tool of reason rather than a means for harm.
At the beginning of the book, author Amanda Montell describes the magical part of the book’s title as an ancient and necessary aspect of human nature, while the overthinking part of the title is a largely modern problem birthed by the enlightenment. This becomes important for knowing how to parse out when and how magical thinking, which can qualify as our penchant for irrationality, emerges as a potential tool for navigating this world in a healthy way. In recognizing that we all have these same operating tendencies, no matter how educated or smart (and sometimes more so when we are educated and smart, precisely because it leads us to believe that we aren’t irrational selves), it can foster empathy for others and ourselves in our common pursuit of what is true. And it is that empathy that can help protect against the human tendency to create necessary villains, to see and think in sharp binaries, and to get hyper focused on the negative and the problems. Precisely because nearly all of this is relational defined and built on a common concern for the truth. What’s important there is that truth can’t be reduced to one simple thing, which modernity has largely tried to do. Rather what we distinguish beteern is not truth as true or false, but as good or harm, which of course requires defintion.
The book is built around what feels like a collection of essays on different ideas, so it does feel a bit scattered. Much of it is a mix of social reflection and surface level social science, probably leaning more towards the former. Which isn’t bad, it’s just a particular approach that will work for some and not others.
I did find it interesting to try and hold her own conclusions up to the working assumptions she establishes in the book. For example, at one point she talks about the basic observational truth that while we can measure a certain kind of progress (technological, moral, science, social, civilization, medicine), we can also note that this progress has not resulted in greater and more happiness. Leaving one with the very real conundrum of not really knowing where all this progress is then leading or for. She roots an answer to part of this problem in magical thinking. We have an established penchant for seeing our time as worse than all the times before it, which leaves us with very little imagination for the future. In some ways it just results in a cyclical self fulfilling prophecy. One of the ways we cope with this is by leaning on nostalgia. We romanticize the past precisely because our memories are built to forget and filter out the negative so as to be happy and fulfilled. This qualifies as magical thinking. When looking at the present we intuitively long for a simpler time, even if that time wasn’t actually simpler. It is simply a time that memory has been able to process and recast, something we can even do for times before our time.
Given the assumptions of the author, this sort of irrationality should not be feared or disregarded in favor of overthinking. The function, even if its built on something that is technically not true, has a purpose and a reason, and we can develop the ability to use this belief to perhaps motivate us towards building towards a simpler future, one where our memories are capable of filtering out the mess and reimagining the good. If all we have is overthinking (reason), it effectively binds us to the bad by its nature.
What’s interesting to me is how this rests on the problem being an inherently modern one. Overthinking is a problem of reason, not magic, even as reason addresses the problem of magic. Overthinking actually makes us more irrational, making us vulnerable to things, like cults, which seems to be her favorite topic of discussion, that can actually harm us.
Much of this travels similar lines as Smith’s book Irrationality: The Dark Side of Reason, which is a much better treatment of the idea. But the idea is I think important for anyone parsing through the limits and shortcomings of the enlightenment project. Part of what makes Smith’s book a stronger overall thesis is that, unlike Montell, he doesn’t presuppose certain underlying values or truths. I haven’t read her book “Cultish”, but I suspect much of her assumed worldview comes from her own past experience with cults. Thus magical thinking is given the very clear boundaries of its functional and material source while maintaining a belief in certain unarguable truths. She argues at one point that this is simply a conflict and incongruity (allowing ourselves to believe in something false so as to build a healthier and better future in reality) that we must be willing to bear and carry as rational creatures. Where this challenges some of her conclusions is when she acrmtually needs to lean on hard and fast value claims. Perhaps AI is more right than even she wants to admit.
Nevertheless, lots of interesting bits of information here, even if it is a base treatment of its ideas. I liked the section where she dissects and deconstructs the whole self help for well being craze, where everyone and anyone magically becomes a health guru based on magical thinking. I like too how she goes out of her way to blur lines between what we might call extremism and our everyday thinking and function. We are all far more irrational than we think, and we all are equally indebted to our biases and often untold assumptions, and the more educated we become the more blind we often become to this. I also found it interesting how she makes a link between believing and belonging, showing how the push and pull between these two things is precisely the place where we find it most difficult to change our minds when confronted with facts or truths that push back on our conceptions of reality. If challenging what we percieve to be harmful truths leaves us isolated, we ultimately bind ourselves to these challenges by formulating beliefs that then can lead to a new community. Which is of course where the binaries and the oppositions and the tendency for overthinking emerges, and likewise our resistance to being challenged as supposed educated beings. The author is only willing to push this reasoning so far when it comes to her own worldview, but I do think it’s a fascinating idea to consider.
Overall I thought this was decent, if a bit underwhelming. Probably would work better with people to discuss it with, I’m sure, as each chapter kind of has it’s own thesis and argument. But interesting as a solo effort all the same.
Film Journal 2024: The First Omen Directed by Arkasha Stevenson
Wish I had gotten out to see this in theaters. A visually rich and patiently drawn prequel that effectively utilizes setting and atmosphere to elevate the story. Yes, it’s a slow burn, but its smart and effective in how it utilizes that to the benefit of building atmosphere and tone. It’s less scary than it is immersive and unsettling by intention.
A worthy predecessor that deserves to be seen by more people.
In his book titled Imagined Places: Journey’s into Literary America, Micheal Pearson talks about how people have two basic conceptions of place- the place in which we can live, and the place in which our imaginations are drawn precisely because of the ways in which the place we imagine contrasts with the place in which we live. For Micheal Pearson we need both:
“Everybody has their ideal landscape and an antithetical landscape as well, a place that the person is drawn toward. It’s a place, he feels, that fascinates and startles with the difference from our own home ground. There’s a positive and a negative pole.”
For me, it is prairie and ocean/river. Living technically 10 blocks from the Red River is a microcosm of living 3,000 kilometers from the ocean. The 70 km drive from Winnipeg to Lake Winnipeg a slightly bigger microcosm. All manifest this basic tension in their own way. One roots us, one draws us, and inbetween these places we find perspective
Film Journal 2024: The Watchers Ishana Night Shyamalan
Where it stumbles a bit in its execution, as an exercise in vision and potential The Watchers proves a worthy effort as a debut.
Part of the challenge for Ishana Night Shyamalan is finding ways to reign in what is a large and complex mythology underlying the story. You can feel this most acutely in the first half of the film when, following a beautifully shot and intensely captured opening sequence, the plot starts to move forward at a rapid fire pace. So fast in fact that it is difficult to keep up with where the story is going, what the story is doing, and how we even got to where we are at certain and sharp narrative turns.
There is a point though where it starts to settle in, and once a half point twist fills in the details with more clarity Shyamalan is able to then begin to explore a bit more of her cinematic vision and exercise some of her strengths as a filmmaker.
It is clear that she is good at thinking big. This is less the high concept approach of her father and more of a modern mythological approach, revelling in the ability to explore the intersection between that ancient story telling device and deep humanistic concern. The ending leaves no doubt that she can give big ideas a real and personal application.
The characters aren’t as fleshed out as I would have liked, even with Fanning giving a decently strong turn as the lead, but they all are given an important place in the story in their own way. The sound work and the visual approach is perhaps even more impressive, both being drawn with a careful and intimate touch.
Definitely left me wanting to see more from this young Director, and excited to see how she grows into her own beyond her father’s shadow. In fact, she effectively drew me into this story enough to go out and buy the book right after I left the theater. I’m really curious to see what her adaptive choices were.
Reading Journal 2024: Matter and Memory Author: Henri Bergson
A tough read, although altogether fascinating and challenging. The toughness comes in wading through the thought process. The ideas are poignant and profound, but also at times frustratingly allusive in both their nature and their argumentation.
The purpose however is clear- “This book affirms the reality of spirit and the reality of matter and tries to determine the relationship of one to the other by the study of a definite example, that of memory.” This attempt to reconcile platonic ideals with aristotelian realism becomes the essential pattern, and it depends on both distinguishing each idea while at the same time seeing them as operating in relationship to each other. Here he puts forth a mutually existing pure perception and pure memory.
This is where I think it gets difficult to fully grasp. The author is clearly critiquing modernism and its hard and fast allegiance to enlightenment thought. However, this critique comes through acknowledging that the existence of pure perception actually roots memory in realism, while pure memory roots perception in idealism. Perception emerges from the flow of memory, thus being made of a composite of progressive actions as we exist in relarionshop to the world around us.
It becomes a fallacy to say that memory is a materialist function, and equally a fallacy to say that perception is not a spiritual function, precisely because these two ideas are interrelated and dependent on the other. The more we see them operating together the greater our perception of reality becomes.
I am deeply interested in the subject of memory, so I really appreciated how he approaches this subject as a blend of science and philosophy. He doubles down on perception as an active word, meaning it is formed as we act in the world, or through necessary movement. Without movement there would be no perception precisely because there would be no memory. It is on this basis that he looks to establish that memory is not simply something that is trapped in a brain, as though it is a series of snapshots being stored until they are accessed. Memory perception exists as a summation of movement/activity, and thus as reality. Perception pulls memory down into the functional reality of Aristotle’s concern while memory pulls perception upwards into the Platonic ideals, ultimately giving us what we call reality, something that is neither realism or idealism, both pure ideas in their own right, but something truer to itself when it is opposing such dualism.
I’m butchering the brevity of the books lengthy passages and exposition, but from what I gathered these were some of its more essential conclusions. Because movement and image are not opposed but mutually dependent, this must change our perception of reality, or our perception of perception to put it more aptly. Living, or true reality is what he calls a “continuity of becoming”. Perception can only ever be a distinguishing of the beginning to the end, a movement. And in the center of this movement is a body. A body situated between the matter that influenced it and that which it is has influence on. It is human interaction with these two competing forces, which is responsive in its nature, that holds consciousness in its grip as the characteristic note of the present, pulling realism and idealism together as it acts/functions.
To cease to act would be to cease to be conscience, and to cease to be conscience would be to cease to exist. It is this flow of conscious action that we can call spirit. Consciousness illuminates the past in relationship to the future, proving that the past must exist/survive for the present to exist. We, by nature of conscious awareness, are interested in the unfolding of time precisely in this manner, not necessarily the whole, but the unfolding depends on the existence of the whole.
If it hasn’t been made aware yet, this is why this is a tough read. I would wager even my understandings here, for as much as I am trying to articulate it with integrity, is not yet quite grasping the ideas. But that’s the beauty of such a process- it ruminates, and as it does I trust it continues to bring clarity, because I do think this is important stuff.
Reading Journal 2024: Brewtown Tales: More Stories from Milwaukee and Beyond Author: John Gurda
Bought this on my visit to Milwauke this past summer, and it didn’t disappoint. I was interested in learning about the character of the city as I was fascinated by its story and its uniqueness as a midsize city center existing in the shadow of its much more prominent southern neighbor (Chicago). It is designed so that you can start anywhere and pick up anywhere, serving as collection of essays that travel through the different parts of the city and through his own personal family history. But it is also able to be read as a cohesive story that moves through time and development.
Given that I had visited many of the neighborhoods and got a decent sense of its city structure and geographical shape, it was both helpful and fun to be able to read and imagine those spaces’ development. I’m a sucker for a good story, and the author is a good storyteller, helping the different quirks and flavors come alive.
You not only get to see its innovations, but you also get to hear about the would have/could have/should have beens on the historical stage. Loved the transformation of the waterfront, its storied relationship with the railroad, its history with bikes and bike infrastructure, and its fascination with drama and its dark history. The city that it has become seems to see itself formed from the early divide that the river and its central bridge created, choosing to lean into that ethos of being a mix of dark and lawless underbelly and smart, innovative culture.
Looking forward to returning for another visit with greater awareness in tow.
The Stories of my Life 