Monthly Archives: October 2010
Just Imagine The Possibilities
John Lennon asked us to “imagine all the people living life in peace”. Now imagine the possibilities if each person learned to express that same peace within themselves. Sooner or later, all people would enjoy true peace. It would spread like wildfire!
Possibilities are something that each being hopes for. Each human, each animal and each tree that is growing. All of living creatures and entities somehow imagine possibilities. But, do they imagine the worst or the best outcome?
Animals expect love. They also crave affection and hope, but always to be loved. Trees hope to grow high, up into the sky, spreading their branches wherever they can, much to the chagrin of some homeowners! But when it comes to humans, it seems we have a different inclination. Do we imagine the best outcome, the best possibility? Or do we tend to envision the worst of the ‘what if’ scenario? Continue reading
Movie Psychics: Villains, Freaks, Heroes
Psychics and mediums in the movies are traditionally depicted as shrewd, flaky or simply evil. To this day it remains the exception to the rule to find a decent film or television show that genuine psychics will be able to relate to. Very few films in the archives offer a reasonably authentic representation of the ordinary psychic’s true life experiences.
The range of stereotypical stock characters in film is almost never-ending: from the typical dumb blondes and computer-hacking geeks, to corrupt Catholic priests, zany black cops, Las Vegas mobsters, flamboyant gay men, conspiring politicians, sex-obsessed teenagers and bombastic corporate executives with fat cigars.
Of course, psychics and mediums also make the perfect stereotype. We are ideal to be cast in the role of the satanic villain, or merely as an odd source of comic relief. For example, Whoopi Goldberg’s madcap portrayal of Oda Mae Brown, the fraudulent medium in Ghost (1990), was so well-received after the film’s release that she won a Golden Globe for her hilarious antics, as well as an Academy Award!
Hollywood relies on these stereotypes to increase box office success. Portraying misrepresented characters in a one-dimensional manner has a much wider audience appeal. Sadly, it also leads to ignorance, misconception, prejudice and discrimination. Continue reading