THOUGHT CRIMES
SHADES of George Orwell and his dystopian futurist novel, 1984, that date having already passed into history, with thoughtcrimes moving from speculative literature to the movies with the adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s novel, MINORITY REPORT. What’s next? Legislation against the use of discriminatory pronouns in thought or dream?
What this brings up for me is the issue of how much control needs to be exerted to counter extremism and weaponization today? Where is the flaw that so desperately needs correction? Is it evolutionary (survival of the fittest)? Is it neurobiological (the traumatic learning pathway)? Psychological (the need to justify action to rid guilt)? Social (where popularity currently outweighs logic, reasoning and science) or the “new military thinking” where battles are fought, won and lost in the mind? Or maybe just a special thought police dedicated to keeping everyone’s thoughts in line with current cultural norms, whatever they my be, honoring the eons old axiom, “The winners write history.”
More to the point, however, is the need for a basic definition of what a thoughtcrime or even crime in general is, and whether thought without action should take preventative precedence over blatant criminal actions. And what to DO about thoughtcrimes? Electroconvulsive therapy? Lobotomization? Drugs? Prison time? An acquaintance suggested a more practical course: jailing all male adolescents until they turn 40.
As an actor, I’ve had to consider the meaning of thoughtcrime in terms of “getting into” a character role. As an author, I’ve had to consider whether fiction, especially historical fiction, is a thoughtcrime. Or, as one author suggested, a REAL crime against humanity. Go figure. Or, go think. Or, go berserk and read THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aigno 2020) by Raymond Gaynor.
The Edge of Madness
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859
#DanielSJanik #RaymondGaynor #TheEdgeOfMadness #ThoughtCrimes #thought #future #Orwell #1984 #dystopian #book #movie #film #MinorityReport #PhilipKDick #futuring #scifi #ScienceFiction #ScienceFuturing #SciFu #future #extremism #weaponization #lobotomy #drugs #prison #actor #acting #author #writing #fiction #Aignos #Savant
What this brings up for me is the issue of how much control needs to be exerted to counter extremism and weaponization today? Where is the flaw that so desperately needs correction? Is it evolutionary (survival of the fittest)? Is it neurobiological (the traumatic learning pathway)? Psychological (the need to justify action to rid guilt)? Social (where popularity currently outweighs logic, reasoning and science) or the “new military thinking” where battles are fought, won and lost in the mind? Or maybe just a special thought police dedicated to keeping everyone’s thoughts in line with current cultural norms, whatever they my be, honoring the eons old axiom, “The winners write history.”
More to the point, however, is the need for a basic definition of what a thoughtcrime or even crime in general is, and whether thought without action should take preventative precedence over blatant criminal actions. And what to DO about thoughtcrimes? Electroconvulsive therapy? Lobotomization? Drugs? Prison time? An acquaintance suggested a more practical course: jailing all male adolescents until they turn 40.
As an actor, I’ve had to consider the meaning of thoughtcrime in terms of “getting into” a character role. As an author, I’ve had to consider whether fiction, especially historical fiction, is a thoughtcrime. Or, as one author suggested, a REAL crime against humanity. Go figure. Or, go think. Or, go berserk and read THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aigno 2020) by Raymond Gaynor.
The Edge of Madness
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859
#DanielSJanik #RaymondGaynor #TheEdgeOfMadness #ThoughtCrimes #thought #future #Orwell #1984 #dystopian #book #movie #film #MinorityReport #PhilipKDick #futuring #scifi #ScienceFiction #ScienceFuturing #SciFu #future #extremism #weaponization #lobotomy #drugs #prison #actor #acting #author #writing #fiction #Aignos #Savant
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