How sight
has become the best way to manipulate masses
It is
undeniable that today, sight has become the first of our 5 senses. Continually
stimulated, it has the strongest influence on our behavior.
Vision can
represent up to 90% of our perceptions, and a large portion of the brain is
dedicated to the processing of the millions of pictures we are exposed to
everyday. Therefore, it is not surprising that the oppressors invest so much
time and money in movies and video clips.
The modern man
goes from one screen to another: from computer at work to computer at home, to
the tactile screen of a mobile phone to the GPS of a car, ending up in front of
the TV, until critical consciousness has totally left his body.
The total
number of hours we spend in front of a screen is alarming : 8 hours for an
adult, nearly 10 hours for a student (18 – 24) These young people watch the smallest amount of live TV of
any age group (three and a half hours a day), but they watch the most online
video (5.5 minutes a day). Source : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/business/media/27adco.html
Being 24
myself, here comes my point: watching online videos allows you a much more
larger number of possibilities. Therefore, the younger generation is given a
larger choice of programs, including more extreme videos that are part of the
internet, where every possible desire finds its response. From sexuality to
violence, most of young men “have seen it all”.
Identification
: an obstacle to Consciousness
The problem is
the difference between “seeing and doing” and the critical question of
consciousness. As Shi Zu Freddie Lee stated “all they really do is watch people
doing things”. When you are a young person developing your identity, you mostly
identify with a subject: most frequently a famous sports player, a singer, an
actor or an athlete. Let’s face it : there are very few leaders and an infinite
number of followers. The internet allows you to collect data on this person,
and tabloids will let you know anything of his private life. You will feel closer
to him, to the point where your ego (the ideal representation one has of
himself) will be very close to him/her. Therefore one part of you (the
unconscious, egoistic part) will assume that you can do the same. This results
in a false sense of superiority towards real people.
The scene I
depict is nothing new: how many out of shape crawling couch potatoes can you
hear on a game day?
The Master/
Disciple relationship in a dead end?
Therefore,
when a young man walks into a dojo, he has seen bricks breaking, gun shooting,
online murders. He might even identify with steroid-injected athletes in a cage
destroying the people in front of them. He assumes he already knows a lot about
martial arts styles and fighting. What works and what doesn’t. He is here to
pay only for what he wants in a merchant/customer relationship that doesn’t fit
with the martial arts. His teacher or master (the title is rarely accepted as
it is a sign of submission), compared to the best gymnasts or fighters in the
world seems very petty. He might have 20 or 30 years of experience he doesn’t
look so strong after all.
Our goal, as
martial artists, is to help these people getting over the fake wall of
illusions and to enter reality, developing mind, body and spirit. At first it
will be hard for one to realize his own weakness. But with courage, progress
will start to show and the one who was once an arrogant boy may become a wise
man. As an artist, he will then be able to express his own visions and
creativity.
Not to post
pictures of how great we are on the internet, but for a better self-image of
himself and humanity.
Todai Ling
