Individualism, competition, escapism...

[Slightly updated/edited January 12]. The American director Courtney Hunt in an interview about her film ”Frozen River” said something in the style that:

“The big companies think stories like this one are too depressing. Instead products are produced attracting a big audience. Seen to what sort of films that sell best the American movie visitor prefer warnography rather than realistic descriptions of life, especially if they have a gloomy note.

There’s a strong movement of individualism; that we are all separate isles who can manage without ever asking each other or the authorities for help [False Power – denial of needs?]. I think we are going to become over flown with detached fiction, by the fantasy’s escapism.

It sounds hard, but I welcome an economic crisis. I hope it will give us a necessary understanding. It isn’t worth aiming at becoming rich to whatever prize and with all means, and it isn’t shameful being poor.”

Loud thinking: Does it has to be either/or? Can we be both individuals AND cooperate? Can we be both independent AND dependent? Can we be needing and other times not needing? Sometimes strong and other times weak? Does the one exclude the other? And if it does, why does it? Where are the roots?

Is this about contempt for weakness? Looking down on and despising weakness? Looking down on the not so perfect? What is perfectionism about?

Addition: See Miller on societal denial and traditional moral. And the reader's letter on her web stating that all physicians have been traumatized, first by their first caregivers and then during their education... Why they have reached this goal (this profession, with all which follows with it)...

I get so upset over the state of the affairs in the world and not least in our society so I don't find words, neither spoken nor written!!! But I write and talk nevertheless, though many times with blushing cheeks, over my language... Not over things like swearwords though, but over how I express things, and don't find the proper words or expressions...

Positive thinking...

[Slightly updated in the text April 7] See ”Has Oprah become a televangelist” where it for instance stands:

“For some time Oprah Winfrey has been drifting further and further out to the fringes of ‘New Age’ philosophy, which is strewn with ‘self-help’ claims[översållad med 'självhjälpsanspråk']. And her fans have faithfully [troget eller tillitsfullt] followed the star without much meaningful critical thinking, somewhat like cult members enamored with [förälskade i] a self-styled messianic leader.

Oprah’s ongoing spiritual odyssey last year included a revelation [gudomlig uppenbarelse] called ‘'The Secret’ [see the video above. At the linked site it stood about gratitude? Tacksamhet in Swedish] /.../, a DVD concocted [hopkokad] by Rhonda Byrne, a former Australian television and film producer.

Ms. Byrne’s supposed spiritual breakthrough [förmodade andliga genombrott] consisted of little more than a synthesis of existing ‘positive thinking’ theories based largely upon what is called the ‘law of attraction [when I read about the law of attraction at wikipedia in the link I came to think of a phenomenon here in Sweden which I have blogged about recently om my other blog, people are made personally responsible for their situation. And of course people are, to a certain degree, but this claim is severely misused I think, and I am reacting against this. And see my earlier postings on positive thinking, especially the oldest?]’ essentially you get what you want if you wish hard enough for it.

Skeptic Magazine reporter Michael Shermer labeled Byrne’s bromides ‘incredibly materialistic and narcissistic…magical thinking…’ [otroligt materialistiska och narcissistiska ... magiska tänkande],

But there is a rather dark flip side to the ‘law of attraction’ through its apparent indictment [uppenbar anklagelse] of those that somehow are blamed for attracting negative things [anklagade för att dra till sig negativa saker].

John Norcross, a psychologist and professor at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania who researches self-help books stated within a news report,

'So that would mean that if you’re poor, you have somehow earned it by your thinking, If you’ve been sexually abused, you’d be surprised to hear that someway, you’re responsible for that…Cancer victims. Sexual assault victims. Holocaust victims. They’re responsible? The book is riddled with these destructive falsehoods,’ [Så detta skulle betyda att om du var fattig, så har du på något sätt förtjänat detta genom ditt tänkande, om du har blivit utsatt för sexuella övergrepp skulle du bli förvånad att höra att du på något sätt är ansvarig för detta... Offer för cancer. Offer för sexuella övergrepp. Offer för Förintelsen. De är ansvariga? Boken är genomdränkt med dessa destruktiva lögner (min snabba amatöröversättning)].

Norcross concluded."

Also see how people get cured against phobias below.