Predictive Programming, Watching movies with a critical eye

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DutchPhil
Predictive programming is a subtle form of psychological conditioning provided by the media to acquaint the public with planned societal changes to be implemented by TPTB. If and when these changes are put through, the public will already be familiarized with them and will accept them as 'natural progressions', as Alan Watt(*) calls it; thus lessening any possible public resistance and commotion. Predictive programming therefore may be considered as a veiled form of preemptive mass manipulation or mind control, courtesy of our puppet masters.
*edit*

DutchPhil
Children of Men (2006)

Thematic and obvious PP elements:
No children are able to be born through all pervasive human infertility.
Fugitives are all over the place, as are civilian arrestees.
Full fledged police state, with the 'posse commitatus' rule nullified (military is used as police force).
Flash mob activity and terrorism abounds. It is mentioned that terroristic attacks are perpetrated by the government, this will promote fear for the government.
Society has seriously degenerated: living standards have gone down the drain (poverty is common place), schools are empty and deserted (at least in the rural area), overpopulation and immigration abounds, presence of military overseen refugee camps, chaotic and discordant populations.
Militant Islam is openly professed in Britain. This theatrical given helps to incite fear for Islam by the public.
Subtle and less obvious PP elements:
Elderly people are mostly senile and robbed of dignity, autonomy and quite unlike being custodians of wisdom accumulated over the years of their long life (which should be more or less the norm).
Subtle hints of medicine use being common place (imagery of pill strips are flashed by).
Hiding behind the unarmed civil population has zero effectiveness for 'terrorists' since both parties are shot to pieces by 'counter-terrorism' armed forces. This helps to stimulate the widening of the trust gap between resistive civil groups and passive compliant groups.

DutchPhil
300 (2006)

The Spartans are fighting an aggressive and overwhelming Persian invader headed by the self-appointed "God-King" Xerxes.

It is instantly clear that the sympathy in the movie lies with the Spartans who are glorified while the Persians are demonised.

The perspective of the movie lies overwhelmingly with the Spartans who, in the movie, declare to be great proponents of social virtues such as freedom, justice, liberty, law and order, reason, and emphatically: hope.

The Persians on the other hand are depicted as mostly faceless, hideous, deformed and barbaric beings headed by a callous and megalomaniacal tyrant.

The identification of the Persians with present day Iran requires not a terribly big stretch of imagination, if only for reasons of geographical coincidence. That the Spartans represent present day USA is not terribly hard to see judging from the laundry list of virtues attributed to the Spartans and which, courtesy of the hypnotic influence of the mass media, are today propagandized to belong to the US as well. The identification of Sparta with the US is further confirmed by the Spartans' battle-cry: HUA, which is US military jargon for heard, understood and acknowledged.

In short, the 'noble' Spartans are, with 'honor and valour', fighting for freedom, justice and all the rest of it, from a 'hideous' and 'subhuman' foreign invader and oppressor.

Now that we've established the parallels between Sparta with the US and Persia with Iran, let's look at the predictive programming elements.
Leonidas, representing Sparta, is fighting a glorious battle for freedom, justice and all the rest of it. By the identification of Sparta with the US, the US is hinted at having the moral upper hand in fighting the 'enemy'.
Persia is demonized, with the bulk of their soldiers being ugly, hideous hardly human looking creatures, or with faces shrouded. This technique serves to minimize the Persians' (thus, Iranians') human character: the Persians/Iranians are monstrous hostile beings who but deserve to be slain like beasts.
The Spartans are brave and noble soldiers, "hard and strong", who never surrender and never retreat. This technique seems to serve to embolden the morale of US troops fighting off 'the enemy'. The creation of "noble" martyrs through brainwashing never changes. :biggrin:
Although the 300 ultimately are defeated and destroyed, they are posthumously glorified as martyrs who sacrificed their lives fighting nobly and honorably for their country. A recruitment drive for fresh US troops perhaps?
After King Leonidas's demise his Queen vows to avenge her husband. And so she does. Perhaps a parallel may occur with newly elected president Hillary Clinton after a US contingent has been destroyed in the middle east by supposedly Iranian forces?

DutchPhil
28 weeks later

Gory context of the movie:
Society has plunged into a horrendous crisis where some humans were transformed into hostile raving mad creatures after having been infected by some horrible virus (read: biological weapon). They ravage across the land trying to infect, by means of biting or vomiting, all the uninfected humans who come in their way.

Because of the severity of the national emergency situation, the country (UK) has transformed itself into a full blown police state, where the military has totally usurped the task of the police and the rights of the people seem to have been obliterated.

Thematic PP elements:
Surveillance cameras everywhere (at least in downtown areas), with military snipers doing the extra bit of surveillance through their rifle scopes. This programs the public to accept and get used to all the cameras snooping all over the place and the presence of military walking about everywhere and interfering with everyone. The sniper surveillance part seems to serve to instill some extra fear into the public.
There's a mention of a presence of refugee camps and so-called "containment areas" (quarantine areas). This programs to get used to being herded like cattle and to accept living in camps or confined emergency spaces overseen by the military.
Streets are deserted, shops abandoned, lots of garbage, lack of hygiene and thus the city is in a general dystopian mess. Chaotic images like these, seem to instill fear into the public in case a viral epidemic should break out. More programming of futuristic dormant terror on the plates of the public.
Suggested PP elements:
Because of their utter indiscriminate, remorseless and extreme hostility, people sick by viral infection should not only be shunned literally like the plague but also destroyed where-ever and whenever possible. This programs the public, on the basis of fear, to prepare to part from family and loved ones once they get infected and sick. In addition, the communicated severity of the situation helps to generate acute antipathy of the uninfected towards the infected and sick.
Those people infected but who haven't actually became sick should be shunned as well, since they may make one sick through biting or spewing blood-vomit or even simply by kissing. This programs the viewer to prepare to part from friends and loved ones who are infected but who haven't manifested the accompanying disease (yet).
Because the military has difficulty in distinguishing between 'friendlies' (uninfected) and 'targets' (infected), just to be on the safe side the military command decides to open fire on both parties. The public will thus be programmed to keep a distance from the infected even more so lest being confused for a 'target' by trigger happy military marksmen.
I'm less sure about the next one, but here we go - for completeness' sake. The life in the inner city gets totally obliterated by incendiary bombs. This may instill fear into the part of the public living in crowded cities (at least, downtown) during times of crises and emergencies.
Needless to say, the conclusion is that this is a particularly antipathetic movie towards those of us who may get infected by viral agents in the future. Let's hope it will never come this far.

DutchPhil
Soylent Green (1973)
Synopsis:


Thematic PP elements:
The setting of the movie elaborates on a very simple but alarming scenario. Which is, if we're heading for (global) overpopulation this is what will happen to you. So the public are imbued with fear for overpopulation. The distinction between what is overpopulation and what is not overpopulation remains an arbitrary one though. Unfortunately however, as they always do, unquestionably the government will claim the role of decisive arbiter and trust on moral support of the docile and gullible public.

This programs the public, again on the basis of fear, to accept and support governmental future measures aimed at combating and reducing over-population. The 'exemplary' precedent of the country of China comes to mind, in which fear for overpopulation has successfully solidified into the public support of birth restrictive policies.
The Elite are living the good life in totally cordoned off sections from 'the masses'. The discrepancy between the rich and the poor is thus accentuated and leaves the viewer a little more trained to accept the difference one day.
Suggested PP elements:
The movie suggests a general sense of an elevated atmospheric temperature. The correlation of overpopulation with temperature seems evident. This may program the public to accept guilt and responsibility for it being the cause of global warming. As such, the groundwork for public acceptance of a carbon tax has been laid.
Assault of a police officer, even the lesser offensive ones, will get you life in prison, the movie explains. This will train the public to blindly accept the authority of the police, making them literally untouchable.
The rich rental apartments by default seem to come with an inventory prostitute ("furniture"wink. This familiarizes the public with the degrading and dehumanizing capacity a female might serve in the future.
There's a blatant form of 'assisted suicide' instituted for the elderly people. This helps train the public to accept some governmental imposed form of euthanasia, since it is implied that the earth cannot sustain itself with too many humans around.

DutchPhil
The Kingdom (2007)


This is what I wrote earlier on this movie:



This is what looks to be an 'official' synopsis:



Thematic PP elements:
A terroristic attack has been launched against American "guest workers" (?) somewhere in Saudi Arabia. Paranoia's everywhere after the attack, both the feds and saudis are constantly on the edge by their anticipation of new terroristic attacks. This of course is the whole intention of terror, by definition: it's to scare the living daylights out of the public and pictures like these serve that purpose well.
The mainstream media condoned doctrine of the phantom terrorist leader is once again shamelessly propagated as there is a comparison of the terrorist responsible for the attack, Abu Hamza, with Osama bin Laden, the much media touted elusive terrorist leader.
The FBI leader is black, which seems to be a bit of a black crowd pleaser to me (non racially inspired observation on my part).
Of course, the FBI magically manages to dodge all bullets shot at them while they in turn wreak havoc on the assailants, killing most of them. This helps to perpetuate the false belief that American blood is more invulnerable than that of Arabs, thus facilitating easier Army recruitment among naive and unsuspecting young Americans.
Specific PP elements:
In one of the opening scenes there's this little boy, the son of the FBI team leader, playing with a toy replica of a fighter helicopter. This is slightly suggestive to a young audience to want to do the same, thus closing the distance between children and the military.
The depiction of pissed off and mourning surviving US victims emphasizes the calousness of the terrorist attack. The attachment of Islam with the attack serves to demonize Islam in general unfortunately and never for the entire duration of this superficial movie it is asked once where the terrorists obtained their equipment or who or what trained them. Thus the public is further alienated from, and antagonized towards, Islam.
In one of the closing scenes we witness a young Muslim terrorist wannabe repeating the words his dying father whispered to him before succumbing: "Don't fear them, my child. We are going to kill them all." Of course, this helps to drive the wedge between the West and the (middle) East further and exacerbates the flawed and superficial perception Americans have of Arabs as being potential terrorists. Regarding the instillment of fear for and aggression towards Islam the movie could hardly have ended any better.

DutchPhil
Johnny Mnemonic (1995)



The movie welcomes the viewer with the following scrolling message:


Thus already leaving the viewer with an impression that those people who have "wet-wired" brain implants have some kind of elevated status of speciality compared to those who don't.

Thematic PP elements:
All around police state "doom and gloom" kind of setting in a littery kind of environment. Throughout the entire duration of the movie the atmosphere is dark and dreary and moments with daylight are only experienced when the main character reminisces times gone past, way gone past. This may familiarize the viewer with the depressing nature of the times that lay ahead of us.
The moments Johnny does his downloading/uploading thing through his brain implant are accompanied by flashy and colorful computer generated images and graphics, there's some cartoon figures involved. This impresses the viewer with the obvious notion that brain implants are cool, trendy and flashy. There's also a sense or suggestion of excitement transmitted by the straining JM character to the viewer. The more excitement experienced by the JM character the more the viewer, typically craving for more excitement, will be attracted to its perceived cause, i.e. the brain chip.

As an aside, this is also the reason why Hollywood tries to "up the sales" of violence by blending images of violence with that of sex, IMO.
Then there were a couple of interesting suggestive phrases uttered in the movie:
At one time JM goes: "I want to get online, I need a computer". Since the sympathy of movie lies with JM this helps to communicate a sense of urgency for the viewer to do the same, and that is precisely what they want.
There's a reference to a one Dr. Alcom, "All computer". Thus wedding the association of man and computer even more.

DutchPhil
The Invasion (2007)


A virulent virus from outer space is threatening our very existence. Infected humans transform into callous and vicious robotic beings seemingly having the sole intention of working to infect the remaining uninfected humans. Quite the original movie theme, huh? Not....

Predictive programming elements:
The CDC (Center for Disease Control) is crucial in the attempt to alleviate the alien viral epidemic and is in no time engaged in trying to find an anti-viral cure in the form of inoculations, the no-questions-asked remedy in the movie. Therefore, it's quite the unabashed white-wash advertisement campaign for vaccines, which is meant to make the public feel comfortable towards taking vaccines should the 'occasion' arise to do so.

At the end of the movie, vaccines are widely administered to, of course, successfully counteract and squelch the vicious and pernicious alien viral epidemic. Quite cannily the word vaccines is verbally pronounced while the word solutions appears written on the screen. Therefore thus by wedding the two concepts in the eye of the viewer, the public is once again lured into believing the benign and life-saving qualities vaccines bring with them on application.
In the movie it is quite soon discovered that the infected can be tricked into refraining assaulting those who remain uninfected if the latter abstain from showing emotion (towards the infected). By shutting themselves off from emotions, including all positive ones - such as compassion, towards the infected this will help widen the gap between the diseased and the healthy in the public's eye.
All the the work in trying to find a cure to the viral infection is being carried out at Fort Dietrich. This shameless act of propaganda may help to offset the effect of any bad allegations that this military laboratory has received in the mind of the public in that it is actually involved in creating viruses - such as the AIDS virus. Another PR attempt to white-wash the extent of a bad reputation in the public's eye.
In the movie the police turn out to be just as receptive for infection as the other normal civilian groups. The military however, the movie likes us to believe, seems to be quite impervious to infection. Therefore, should a viral crisis be imposed on society the police should be trusted much less so than the military. This scenario helps to familiarize the public with a martial law situation in which the military has usurped the role of the police and entice them to accept this as desirable.
The movie ends with the main character - Nicole Kidman, recalling the thought-provoking words somebody else spoke to her earlier in the movie:
"In the right situation we're all capable of the most terrible crimes. Imagine a world where this was not so, where every crisis did not result in a new atrocity, where every newspaper is not full of war and violence. This is to imagine a world where human beings cease to be human."
This deliberate act of recollection is remarkable and is therefore likely to serve a purpose. I conjecture that it may serve to subtly acquaint the public with the idea that ordinary humans are to blame for all the bloodshed in the world and that the only way to put an end to it is to stop us being human, i.e. to force us to accept modifications that take away those qualities which make us human (brain-chip).

DutchPhil
Shoot em Up (2007)


Another shameless example of a high octane action movie that absolutely glorifies the gun. Guns blazing and bullet whizzing by everywhere and all the time...

Predictive programming elements:
The main character, sarcastically referred to as "Mr Hero" (Clive Owen) by his nemesis, succeeds to magically evade all the many bullets shot at him by the hordes of 'bad guys', while successfully 'decommissioning' most of them by his routinely immaculate returning fire. The obvious mantra being: the bad guys lose and get whacked while the good guys survive and win. The image of the tormented but sympathetic good guy fused with the image of invincibility is once again brutishly forced on the probably young and gullible viewing public, thus serving as potential recruitment material for the armed "good guy" forces.
All throughout the movie, Mr Hero sturdily maintains a cool and emotionless head (and face). It's too bad though that the viewing public may one day get a chance to mimic what they've seen in this and so many other brainless action movies and adopt this borderline psychopathic behavior not only in the line of fire - where given the circumstances it's more or less useful, but also in everyday life - where it's not so useful.
At more occasions than one, images of violence and sex are happily wedded together. By doing so the perception of violence gets an extra dimension of excitement and it literally stands to become sexy. Thus the attractiveness of violence is boosted by having it blend in with sexual images. This all too often applied media technique of psychological driving works wonders for army recruitment purposes but unfortunately doesn't exactly bode well for the integrity of a stable and serene society.
In the last batch of scenes, Mr Hero magically erects and commands several remote controlled shooting contraptions which enable him to take out his assailants with the minimum of effort and risk to own bodily harm. I'd venture to say that this scenario is to familiarize the target audience, being young potential military recruits, with remote controlled warfare, in which jeopardy to the safety of the shooters is significantly reduced while making the act of killing much easier and more anonymous to do. By the same token, I'm quite convinced that the video game industry serves the same purpose.

Impediment
I dont have the words.


Closing.

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