Well, Actually …

WHEN YOU ASSUME

T.K. McNeil

Snap judgements are part of human nature. As author and lay philosopher Malcolm Gladwell pointed out in his breakout book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking snap judgments are a powerful element in society both for good and for ill. Related to this phenomena is the idea of assumptions. Generally considered to be on the negative side, assumptions, while a natural human reflex, has warnings against it. An assumption itself rooted in the fact assumptions have a tendency to be incorrect. Particularly those based on no evidence other than hearsay. Part of the reason that propaganda works so well as a political tool.

Much has been made about the death of the gate-keeper in the internet age. One of the unforeseen consequences of this shift being the loss of both fact-checking and quality control. Anyone can publish anything and it is up to the audience to decide whether they believe it or not. A difficult task at the best of times, particularly if it is a subject in which one has little expertise. Which is why legitimate content producers often go out of their way to state their experience and credentials, so the audience has some idea of who the content creator is and from what perspective they are speaking. When this is not done, either well enough or at all, is when things can get a bit dicy.

An example of potentially unwarranted hate and accusation is the YouTuber known as Teal Swan. A personage of such oblique background it is not clear if Teal Swan is her given name, she is a producer of what can best be described as “self-help” content. A descriptor which is not negative in and of itself, despite its tenancy to evoke images of bean bags, unitards and psychobabble. Compounding this in Teal Swan’s case is that some of her videos are on spiritualist topics. A situation which has lead to all sorts of accusations being flung at her, “con artist” and “cult leader” being among the most extreme.

It is easy to see why people might think this way. Not only does Teal Swan sometimes speak in terms dismissed as “woo-woo” by many, she also claims powers and experiences that are thought to have been long ago “debunked”. The operative phrase being “thought to be.” The majority of definitive statements made about science and the nature of reality are made by what can most charitably be described as science enthusiasts. Few credible scientists would ever speak in definitive terms of “proven” and “disproven”, let alone “debunked”.

Extra-Sensory Perception (ESP) is just the most recent of the formerly laughable concepts to have been given scientific support. Recent testing has shown so-called “empathic reading” to have a basis in scientific concepts and be testable in a lab setting. In terms a scientist wouldn’t laugh at, everything on earth gives off some sort of energy resonance. In the case of humans the frequency is such that it is imperceptible to many. There are, however, a minority, current estimates stand at roughly 2% of the human population, who are tuned in such a way as to perceive them to varying degrees. A perception which gives the “empath” the ability to get a sense of another person’s emotional state as well as their general state of mind. It can also lead to accurate predictions to what will happen to the person in the short term. While not what most people might think of as ESP this is mostly an issue of definition. ESP really just refers to a sense or perception beyond the five natural human senses. Teal Swan claims to have ESP among other assorted “paranormal” powers such as clairvoyance. While the jury is still out on many of them, the fact that she could very well have a form of ESP, there is certainly no evidence that she does not, at least calls into question the accusations based on the now faulty assumption that no such powers exist.

The accusations of being a con artist as well as charges of being a cult leader, while the most serious are also the easiest to disprove. By definition a con artist is someone who fraudulently gains money for no value in return. The majority of Teal Swan’s output is in the form of free YouTube videos. She makes money from them but this is not directly from the viewers but rather the pay-per-click, popularity measure used in the new social media structure. She also has books and seminars for which she charges but has also been known to make her books available for free download and post live footage of her seminars for free online. The only ones who pay are those who want direct access to the source and freely choose to pay for it because the free content has been of some benefit to them.

The “cult leader” charge is the least understandable. For starters, the word “cult” is not particularly negative. It simply refers to a relatively small, usually self-selected group, existing outside the societal mainstream. There are not even always leaders in the traditional sense. What people seem to mean in the case of Teal Swan is that she is both the leader of a religious cult and that this alleged religious cult is dangerous. Except not all cults are religious and not all religious cults are dangerous, traditionalist Mennonites and the Amish falling within this definition. Two things common to the majority of cults are an established structure and some sort of unifying factor such a name (Branch Davidians, Heaven’s Gate etc). Teal Swan has none of this. She has a YouTube channel and a personal website staffed by paid employees, as well as a loosely knit international group of fans and supporters. Even the descriptor “spiritual leader” is misleading. Despite the spiritualist nature of some of her content it is not all based on this, other of her work being based in established psychology and has never actually claimed to be a spiritual leader, guru or anything of the sort. The closet thing she gets to as self-description is a “personal transformation revolutionary”, which is not in itself spiritualist and could apply to any manner of spiritual, intellectual or psychological approaches and techniques.

On balance, Teal Swan can be described as a councillor in the the most charitable of terms and motivational speaker in the worst and even this is not all that negative. Like many things there is a spectrum. On one end is what most people think of when they hear the term motivational speaker. The Tony Robbins’s style semi-con artists selling products and concepts of vauge value at high prices with great enthusiasm. On the other extreme is someone like Dr. Daniel Amin. A research neurologist who, while also given to the occasional instances of hyperbole, has years of research data and actual brain-scans to back up everything he says and does not charge for his semi-regular appearances on pubic television. Of these two extremes Teal Swan is much closer to the Dr. Amin end.

While her educational background is one of the many things not known about her past, Teal Swan’s approach is very similar to the one started by the accredited psychiatrist and Freud defector Carl Jung, himself not immune to a touch of spiritualism. Jung’s concepts were carried forward and expanded on by the likes of Alfred Adler, both of these intellectual titans putting the emphasis on personal responsibility and motivation. This approach is particularly clear for Teal Swan in her videos about the negative effects of pornography, the roots of sexual fetishes and what she calls “healing sexuality”. She does not say anything directly contradicted by available evidence and in no way presents any of the suggestions she makes as a cure all. “Like”, “help” and “try” being major repeating themes. As in “I would like to help you try” and “I would like for you to try this method and see if it helps.” Not exactly the words of a religious fanatic or someone trying to sell snake oil.

Dents In The Armour

T.K. McNeil

Often, something is deemed either ‘good’ or it is ‘bad’ in terms of criticism. Occasionally the term ‘mediocre’ will come up but not very much and while meant to be essentially neutral still sounds insulting. Sometime in the the 1980’s a notion came up, specifically in relation to movies, of being “so bad it’s good”. Distinct from spoofs, which are trying to be stupid and bad as a means of humour, “so bad it’s good” refers to efforts that are meant in all seriousness but end up through various personal, creative and/or budget limitations looking comical. At times being mistaken for intentional parodies. It is not really possible to pinpoint exactly when this notion came about or who was the first to use the term but the general sense of it emerged around the 1981 film Evil Dead. Conceived and intended a basic but honest Horror film, the special-effects ended up looking so fake and cheesy and the acting so hammy and goofy, many in the cast being amateurs guided by a first-time director, that audiences took it as a Comedy. Though he was initially somewhat upset by his attempt at a scary movie being seen as joke, it did so well that filmmaker Sam Raimi intentionally worked humour into the next two films in the series Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. Films that, along with John Landis’s An American Werewolf In London, helped to start the Horror-Comedy sub-genre audiences know now. Two other examples of movies so awful they still manage to work are Troll 2 and Tommy Wiseau’s The Room. Meant as a Horror and a Romantic-Drama respectively, both of these films failed so spectacularly in their chosen genres they work as particularly venomous parodies of them and have still managed to garner long-term, international audiences. There have even been films made about them. A documentary in the case of Troll 2 and what amounts to a biopic of Wiseau called The Disaster Artist based on a non-fiction book of the same name.

If something can be so bad it is good, effectively switching genres without really meaning to, is it also possible for something to be so good it is bad? A film that is so well written, so perfectly acted, so effectively told that it ends up not leaving much of an impression. Not because it is not innovative or interesting but because it is so perfect and polished that the audience cannot really engage with it because it does not reflect their reality.

There is nothing wrong with the film Sebastiane on a technical level. The acting is good, the locations authentic, the cinematography lush and beautiful, the lines are even delivered in Latin with English subtitles as befitting the setting in ancient Rome. The problem is not one of execution but intent. Sebastiane is very much a ‘Gay Film’.

Directed by the legendary British Filmmaker Derek Jarman during his mid-‘70’s rebellious phase, no punches are pulled in either irreverence or eroticism and the film was mostly aimed at a gay audience or an anti-gay audience. As the reviewer Kyle Kallgren pointed out, those who are not gay men, straight women, or homophobic and thereby neither offended nor aroused by the imagery, are likely to simply be bored by the film. It is a similar case with a film like The Majestic, Jim Carrey’s first serious attempt at Drama. Everything works as well as anyone can expect. It is not flawed enough to be criticized as a bad movie. Though it is also not good enough to be as inspirational as it would clearly like to be, because the audience cannot identify with it or relate it to their own lives.

One of the greatest strengths of the T.V. Series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which still enjoys a large and loyal fan-base 15 years after its cancellation, was its willingness to take risks and ability to do a lot with a little. It never shied away from making the characters look silly or realistically flawed and stretched a T.V. budget to try and fit feature film level ambitions. Sometimes there were cracks and stumbles but this does not seem to have hampered the overall effect and may have even endeared some. There were several instances of comedy and mixes of genre, both successful and not so much, that often ended up making the characters look silly but also all the more human and relatable. No small task when 90% of the primary characters have some sort of mystical of supernatural aspect to them. This is, after all, the the series that did an hour-long mini-Musical, “Once More With Feeling” (6.7). A project which almost no one was sure about, even the show’s creator Joss Whedon, conceding that he might “stink up the universe” in the attempt. The episode turned out to be one of the most beloved of the series, going on to inspire stage productions based on it, as well as movie theatre-based sing-along parties.

Nobody, with the possible exception of Uwe Boll, wants to make bad work. Even those who set out to be silly and poke fun want to do it well. Trying to be too perfect however, can come with a different set of problems, possibly disengaging with the audience if it comes across as too perfect. There is is something to be said for escapism but even Star Wars, Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia have their fair share of human foibles mixed in. Rather than reaching for perfection, it is probably better for creators to do the best they can while also being able to laugh at themselves and not afraid to have a few dents in their armour.

People All the Way Down

T.K. McNeil

“Society” is one of the most potent concepts in human language. Whether it is used to refer generally to the society in which one lives or a specific, often historical, example. While there has been much thought and debate about its particular aspects, as the invention if the disciplines of anthropology and sociology attests, there has been little inquiry into the root causes at the base of society and the inherent meaning diving it all. There has certainly been rebellion. For every establishment there has been an opposite movement, to paraphrase Newton. Even those who say the offer a new vision are often working within the system of the old one. Offering, at most, reforms to the existing model as opposed to a genuine alternative to it. A shake-up of the meaning behind society itself. This is because there is no such underlaying meaning to begin with. It has become fashionable to refer to things as “just a social construct”, usually in order to discredit or dismiss them. This is, paradoxically, both ignorant and correct. The concept of society itself is a social construct. A word that was wholly invented, as all words are, by humans to describe and categorize a concept. In this case the system of institutions, traditions and conventions by which we organize ourselves. Institutions, traditions and conventions which are themselves invented, often arbitrarily. Society exists because people agree that it does and it either serves their interest to keep going along with the invented societal diktats or it would go too much against their interests to openly oppose and defy them.

This is, of course, no true of everyone in every society but has been enough to keep many societies going for decades if not centuries. The reason we know this to be the case being the the rarified moments in which the majority of the population change their minds in unison and en masse. A recent example of this being the literal removal from his office of the Serbian president and war criminal Slobodan Milosevic. No military coup, a group of citizens just set off from their village one day, headed for the capital to have it out with their head of state. As they passed though the villages, towns and cities along the way others joined them until there were was a sea people at the door of the leader’s residence, in what was basically the world’s largest citizen’s arrest. An event with at least some roots in the winter of 1989 in what was then East Germany. Now considered to be one of the most successful and brutal of the european totalitarian regimes in history the over-night destruction of a significant part of the Berlin Wall and the effective reunification of the Soviet-controlled East the the democratic West is still a stunning example of the will of the people trumping the ambivalence of government and the institutions of society. You can only push people so far before they show up with sledge-hammers.

Is there, then, any value to social traditions and conventions? Yes, to argue that there is no value at all would be to fall into the trap of nihilism and the philosophy I am endeavouring to outline is a form of absurdism. There is a type of value to be found in social structures as they exist. Though, rather than being inherent and common to all individuals, as many absolutists like to claim, this value is practical in its use and subjective to the needs of the individual. An idea that can be somewhat depressing. There is a particular attraction to the notion of a completely logical system that is applicable to all and can make everyone happy. Sadly, humans are not a wholly logical, or predictable, species and cannot realistically be expected to live in, let alone create, such a system. However with this realization also comes a type of freedom. Rather than strictures to be blindly accepted or dismissed, social conventions and values become options form which to choose. Does this leave room for religion? Yes, at least as far as organized religion is one of the major institutions of many societies. Unlike the traditional absurdism of Camus which had at its core the presumption of a godless universe, there is no particular reason to do away with religion either as an institution. It really does not matter in the present instance, the ineffable questions of existence being just that.

Capital G

T.K. McNeil

Despite the occasional in-fighting and a few long-standing feuds (Punk versus Metal anyone?), many subcultures have more similarities than differences. Not too surprising considering most came about as a way to find an alternative to the banality and grind of “mainstream” culture. Two groups of travellers whose paths have crossed the most are the tribes of Goth and Geek.

Style

Cosplay is one area in which the twain to do meet. Mainstream characters such as Dr. Strange, John Constantine and Death (as according to Neil Gaiman) and more underground characters such as Eric Draven and Hopey Glass know no real distinction between the Geek and the Goth sets. Also, if one were to stand Romantigoth of the female persuasion along with one of her sisters in the Ren Faire world, aside from color scheme, the overall similarities are rather striking.

Comic Books

Long considered a strong-hold of the Geeky set comic books, in both single-issue and ‘graphic novel’ incarnation (the difference being one of length and binding rather than content) have had Goth-friendly content, if not always a Goth fan base, some titles actually predating the established origins of the Goth scene from the ashes of Original Punk in the late-1970s/early-1980s. The clearest overlap is the original series of The Crow created by James O’Barr. The stark black and white rendering of the series similar to that of Cerebus the Aarvark, the longest-running independent comic book in history with a monthly publishing schedule going from December of 1977 to March of 2004. The Crow is also a contemporary of the series Love and Rockets by Gilbert and Jamie Hernandez. An odd, random little series that was popular with Geeks, Punks and Goths alike, to the point that it gave the name to the band Daniel Ash and David J formed after the initial disintegration of Bauhaus following the departure of Peter Murphy in 1983.

One would also be gravely remiss not to mention that glorious, classic, “comic book for intellectuals” by the honorary Goth and self-confessed Geek Neil Gaiman. One of the best and most expansive stories to be printed in English in the 20^th century and the work that bridges the gap between Goth and Geek better than any since Lord Byron.

Music

While Geek culture was mostly founded as a literary subculture, based largely on the science fiction and fantasy stories of the 1950s, though with blips going back as far as the 1930s, Goth, at least in its current format (I am well aware of Byron and both Shelleys) grew out of a musical movement, tracing its origins back to the Death Rock branch of the Post-Punk tree before striking out on its own. Though even here, in Goth’s largely uncontested territory, there are elements of Geek. One of the earliest overlaps can be found in the English band The Smiths. Generally regarded as “Lonely Boy Music”, a euphemism for the stereotypical Geeky virgin, there are definite similarities in the guitar styles of Johnny Marr and The Cure’s Robert Smith, at times even using nearly identical models of hollow-body electric guitar: Marr a Gibson ES-355 and Smith a Gibson Chet Atkins Country Gentleman and an Epiphone (subsidiary of Gibson) EA-250. There are also lyrical themes that appear in the work of The Smiths that would more than likely resonate in the Goth community. Songs like “Cemetery Gates” and “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable now”. The former of which is fairly heavy on references to the Romantic Poets. Not to mention a general sharing of priorities. While the Goth community has always been generally accepting of homosexuals, The Smiths are responsible for “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”, long considered a gay anthem. The similarities are such that there has actually been a, rather humorous, decades long dispute between Smith and Morrissey about which of them deserves the crown of Melancholy King of the 80s (aside from the fact that The Cure kept releasing albums into the 2000s).

A good deal less ambiguous is the work of Aurelio Voltaire. A fixture of the New York Goth scene since the early-1990s, the author, artist and, most of all, touring musician, likes a good dose of Geek with his Goth. A taste which he clearly demonstrated with his EP Banned on Vulcan and the title of the singles “Human

Nature” about Mr. Spock trying to dear with falling in love from the EP Heart-Shaped Wound and his distinctly sci-fi themed 2012 album Bi-Trektual. Outside of these diversions, even his usual body of work Aurelio Voltaire includes a goodly amount of rather esoteric musical elements mostly known to, shall we say, ‘enthusiasts’ of such. Particularly early-19^th century European cabaret, Bertolt Brecht being a clear spiritual ancestor for tracks such as “The Straight Razor Cabaret” and “The Cat House Tragedy” from the 2011 self-released album Riding A Black Unicorn Down the Side of An Erupting Volcano While Drinking from a Chalice Filled With the Laughter of Small Children. Which sounds like a particularly epic and complex RPG roll.

Role-Playing Games

Another bit of culture once associated with Geekdom going back to the early days of Dungeons and Dragons in 1974, the granddaddy of RPGs upon which all others are based both table-top and live-action, later decades saw the development of more distinctly dark titles such as Vampire the Masquerade and just about everything White Wolf has published, especially the MAGE titles. Both Vampire and MAGE, not to mention MAGIC: The Gathering, being popular with Geeks and Goths alike, many games, campaigns and tournaments being made up of both sets. Truly a triumph of cross-cultural communication and cohesion.

Which Witch?

T.K. McNeil

What comes to mind when you hear, or read, the word “pagan”? Long the subject of fascination, conjecture and fear, pagans are one the most maligned and misunderstood groups of people, becoming a cultural short-hand for otherness if not outright evil. From the Salem Witch Trials to the Cult Scares of the late 1980s and early 1990s, those who have not towed the established theological line have had some very strange, and very dubious, things said about them.

More of a general descriptor than a group identifier, the term pagan generally refers to a belief system that has veneration of the natural world as a central tenant of their theology. Some have a deity or deities such as Wicca, with whom many of the others are mistakenly equated. Others, such as Druids, are straight-up “nature worshipers”. It is also important to point out that, at least in the Western context, nearly all modern pagan practitioners are part of a movement of cultural revivalists, or “neo-pagans”, restarting a traditional belief system that was over taken by one of the more dominant cultural forces at some point in history. As Catholicism did in the ancient Norse and Celtic worlds. This is not to suggest, as many have tried, that paganism is in some way directly opposed to or the enemy of monotheism. This assumption being one of the main reasons for paganism’s shadowy reputation.

There is actually very little overlap between pagan and monotheistic belief systems and those that are parallel are more similar than contentious. The main source of discord tends to originate with the commandment about having other gods. Except that the wording is “thou shall have no gods before me”. Not “thou shall have no gods except me.” There is actually nothing in either paganism or monotheism that directly prevents someone from holding both beliefs. Examples of people who have done this include T.S. Eliot, Blase Pascal and Sir Isaac Newtown, none of them stupid or evil men, all of whom subscribed to belief systems that combined monotheism with elements of veneration for the natural world.

A term which tends to be used in conjunction with paganism, rightly or wrongly, is “occult”. According to various dictionaries, occult is a fairly specific term referring to non-monotheistic belief system which has either as its basis or as a major part of its structure, magic-based rituals or practices. The number of pagan belief systems that have occult factors as part of their tradition is relatively low. Even in terms of magical practices, often referred to of spell-casting, a bit of context is needed. Even the most devout, practicing Wiccan will openly admit that there is no such thing as zapping someone and making them fall in love with you. It does not work that way. What can be done is an “attraction potion.” A compound of natural elements including water and spices, to create a particular smell designed to trigger a pheromone response.

Something much closer to chemistry or herbalism than literal sorcery. It should also be mentioned that despite a common misconception, even held by some Wiccans, not all Wiccans practice Witchcraft. Wicca, the fastest growing of the neo-pagan religions, particularly in the UK, is a specific pagan belief-system with its own traditions, rituals, strictures, tenants and deities. Witchcraft is a magical practice encompassing many different, sometimes over-lapping systems and has been used in various countries and cultures in myriad forms over a matter of centuries.

Something of a touchy subject in the pagan community is the assumption of sexual promiscuity and required ritual nudity. Ritual nudity, known as going skyclad, is not common to all pagan belief systems, tending to be limited to those with an occult element such as Wicca, particularly those who practice the “green” form of witchcraft, who believe that they derive their power directly from nature, particularly the forest. Though even in this situation it is a matter of individual choice and is not done in a sexual context, the purpose being to form a closer connection to the natural level, as well as the natural elements being worked with in the context of the ritual.

Almost any reference to paganism, though particularly those in the negative sense, feature either a pentagram (a drawn image) or a pentacle (a physical object). While the pentagram is a major symbol for many occult pagan belief systems, Wicca in particular, the symbol has become inextricably associated with evil, even though the real history of the pentagram is both long and complicated. Dating back to ancient Greece, the exact meaning varies quite a bit depending on time period and geographic region. In terms of the West it has symbolized every thing from the five limbs (arms, legs, head) to the five senses and the five wounds of Christ. In the context of Western pagan revivalism, the pentagram is used as a religious symbol, similar to the cross and the Star of David. The demonization of the pentagram is no different in essence than the bastardization of the Eastern symbol for good fortune and well-being by extended association with the German National Socialists.

The elephant trumpeting in the corner of the room can no longer be ignored and needs to, finally, be addressed. As is likely clear by now, the assumptions conflating paganism with devil worship are greatly overblown if not outright fraudulent. There is no real analog for Satan in pre-Christian pagan traditions. Not even the Greek Lord of the Underworld Hades, despite constant attempts to conflate him with Satan. There are also several elements of philosophy that distance satanism from other pagan traditions. Many Western occult pagan traditions have the “Rule of Three”. In essence the idea is that anything that is put put into the universe will come back three-fold. So, if one does evil they will live with evil three-fold. Basically, a Satanist is someone who has been raised in the monotheist tradition, believed in it all and decided: “I think I’ll go with the other guy.”