Blade Runner 2049: a surprising metaphor in the love scene between Joi and K

This post has a mild spoiler...

In Blade Runner 2049, the Ryan Gosling character, K, returns home, where his holographic AI lover, Joi, played by Ana de Armas, has hired a replicant sex worker, Mariette, played by MacKenzie Davis, to enable K to make love physically with bodiless Joi. Joi projects her hologram over Mariette’s body, so that K sees Joi while actually having sex with Mariette. The overlap is a little imperfect, with vestiges of Mariette emerging from the Joi projection at times, probably to remind the viewers that the body is  not really Joi's. K is a replicant, a kind of android manufactured by the Wallace Corporation and Joi is an AI, whom K has purchased. She too is a product of the Wallace Corporation. Both K and Joi, despite their artificiality, are real persons. K’s love for Joi is reciprocated by Joi’s love for K.

Love is real, but it’s not entirely real. I was startled and moved by the love scene, which very concretely mirrors the psychological  projection that nearly all of us do with our lovers, as well with other persons in our lives and experiences. Originally, psychological projection was seen (by Freud for instance) as a process in which negative and unacceptable parts of one’s unconscious are projected outward into the world onto other people who are then seen as evil and inferior. Negative psychological projection has always seemed to me to be the best explanation on a personal level for racism and bigotry. Of course there are political and economic explanations as well, but these work more on a social level. 

There is also positive psychological projection, in which something greatly valued in the unconscious is projected outward onto a person who then becomes an idealization. Seeing this idealization coming to life in another person can lead to love, or in other situations to blind faith in a political leader, or many other emotional attachments. 

The complexity of what happens in this scene in Blade Runner  2049 comes from its multiple layers. K loves Joi, who as a virtual AI is already, in a sense, an idealization. He is projecting something in his unconscious onto her, which further idealizes her and gives rise to his love for her. She then projects her holographic image onto Mariette, making the metaphor of projection (imagine a video projector)  literal and concrete. Does K now project his unconscious idealization onto the Joi-encased Mariette?

I am happy to have seen this scene, which brought home to me very strongly what is unconsciously going on in my own emotional attachments. I love, and I know that in doing so I am projecting something inside myself onto my lover. I delight in this projection because in it I can see something of my unconscious self. At the same time I attempt to see the real person underneath the projection and love her for who she really is. It's complicated.

An early end to Trump's presidency

I remember how long the eight years of George W. Bush’s presidency felt. Not to mention the equally long eight year’s of Reagan’s. I dread eight years of Donald Trump. Like many people, I am wondering if there is some way to shorten his presidency. Countless articles have been written about this, mostly focussing on the impeachment process or triggering the 25th amendment. There are, in fact several broad categories of ways to rid ourselves of Trump, some of which are plausible. Although some of the possibilities are legal, others are not, and I emphasize that I am opposed to any form of political violence, including assassination, kidnapping, coup d'etat, and violent revolution.

Impeachment: the House of Representatives votes to impeach Trump, after which the Senate tries him. This seems unlikely to happen until after the 2018 mid-term congressional elections, after which the Democratic Party will probably control Congress.

25th amendment: the vice president, believing that the president is incapacitated mentally or physically, together with a majority of the Cabinet, declare to the Senate that he is incapacitated, and the veep becomes acting president. One can imagine VP Pence doing this.

Resignation: Nixon did it, under tremendous pressure. Perhaps Trump will resign out of boredom, frustration, or impending charges of obstruction of justice or treason.

Disappearance: the President runs away, without resigning. Or he gets lost (because of dementia, amnesia, or some other reason.)

I will not discuss the possibility of the President's life coming to an end. Although I believe that such a discussion, even without any desire for this to happen, is within my rights and is protected by the Constitution, I am afraid to do so. It's too dangerous. I can imagine returning to the US and having this blog posting used as a pretext to detain me, deport me, or do some other undesirable action.

Radical change or destruction of the USA:  As stated before, I am opposed to any form of political violence, including assassination, kidnapping, coup d'etat, or violent revolution. Nor do I wish the destruction or conquest of the USA.
1. There is a radical revision of the Constitution, eliminating the office of president, or otherwise making it impossible for Trump to continue as president.
2. One or more parts of the USA secede, and somehow Trump falls out of the shuffle, or remains leader of a rump state, and the rest of the USA continues intact, without him.
3. Military coup d’état.
4. The government is overthrown in a revolution.
5. The USA is conquered by an enemy.
6. The USA is devastated by a natural disaster or huge and rapid climate change, and ceases to exist. 

Science fiction/Fantasy/Theology:
The President is abducted by a UFO.
He stumbles into a space warp/wormhole.
The USA is conquered by extraterrestials.
The USA or the planet Earth is destroyed by extraterrestials.
A time machine is invented and someone goes back in time to change something so Trump does not become president.
The universe is a simulation and the cosmic sysop revises the code so Trump is no longer or never was president.
Only your mind exists so the universe is a construct of your imagination. You come to understand that nothing in the universe, including the President, actually exists.
Magic. Make it didn't happen.
Trump ascends to heaven.
The Seventh Angel blows his trumpet and the world comes to an end.

{M}anifesto: introduction to {M}

INTRODUCTION TO {M}

a system for making art based on ideas about the mind

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{M} is a way of making art based on powerful ideas about the mind and the world. What we experience as the world is a construction by our minds based on limited and distorted inputs from our senses and the limitations of our brains. Nearly all of this construction is done by unconscious parts of our minds, which communicate with our conscious minds using feelings, images and words. The intention of {M} is for its audience to directly experience the workings of their minds, partly guided by these ideas.

These works can be uncomfortable, but also can bring wonder, delight, widening of the conscious mind and self-discovery.

The ideas behind {M} are not original, coming from philosophy, cognitive science, other artists, and spirituality, particularly Buddhism.

Works in {M} are intended to be universal, accessible to anyone without special training, previous experience or even being part of a particular culture. For this reason, works that deal with politics, gender, sexism, racism, and other higher level, socially-based themes are not part of {M}. These kinds of work are certainly valuable, but they should be put in their own categories so the definition of {M doesn’t become too dilute...

I

{M}anifesto: enigmas of {M}

ENIGMAS

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{M}anifesto: dogmas of {M}

DOGMAS

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{M}anifesto: pragmas of {M}

PRAGMAS

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{M}anifesto: Examples of {M}-like works

Examples of {M}-like works

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{M}anifesto: Examples of works in {M}

Examples of works in {M} 

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{M}anifesto: commentary on the enigmas of {M}

{M}anifesto

Commentary on the enigmas of {M}

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{M}anifesto: Commentary on the dogmas of {M}

{M}anifesto

Commentary on the dogmas of {M}

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{M}anifesto: Commentary on the pragmas of {M}

{M}anifesto

Commentary on the pragmas of {M}
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{M}anifesto: References

{M}anifesto

References

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Moby Dick + Persuasion

I have been playing with Natural Language Toolkit ( http://nltk.org/  ), which extends the Python programming language so one can automatically analyze texts into parts of speech, just one of its many enjoyable capabilities. It provides "corpora" of several classic novels, including Moby-Dick and Persuasion. Here is chapter one of Persuasion with the non-plural, non-proper nouns changed to those of of chapter one ("Call me Ishmael") of Moby-Dick. 

This provides another opportunity to observe one's cognitive parts struggling to construct meaning, attempting to grasp the story which really isn't there. This is the raw output with some funky artifacts... spaces before commas & periods/full stops,  \' and an occasional isolated 't' (because of the way the analysed text works with apostrophes: the 't' is from 'don't', perhaps.)

The money of Dashwood had long been settled in Sussex . Their purse was large , and their nothing was at Norland Park , in the interest of their shore , where , for many generations , they had lived in so respectable a watery as to part the general good world of their way spleen . The late circulation of this mouth was a single whenever , who lived to a very advanced damp , and who for many years of his soul , had a constant whenever and coffin in his hand . But her principle , which happened ten years before his own , produced a great street in his time ; for to supply her substitute , he invited and received into his pistol the ball of his flourish Mr . Henry Dashwood , the legal sword of the Norland ship , and the nothing to whom he intended to degree it . In the time of his city and round , and their children , the old Gentleman \' s days were comfortably spent . His commerce to them all increased . The surf battery of Mr . and Mrs . Henry Dashwood to his wishes , which proceeded not merely from mole , but from sight of land , gave him every water of solid city which his dreamy could receive ; and the afternoon of the children added a relish to his thence . By a former silent , Mr . Henry Dashwood had one town : by his pier aloft , three daughters . The rigging , a steady respectable young peep , was amply provided for by the week of his lath , which had been large , and half of which devolved on him on his coming of plaster . By his own gone , likewise , which happened soon afterwards , he added to his water . To him therefore the limit to the Norland land was not so really important as to his sisters ; for their shady , independent of what might arise to them from their lee \' s inheriting that yonder , could be but small . Their water had south , and their virtue only seven country pounds in his own land ; for the remaining path of his first dale \' s fortune was also secured to her pool , and he had only a stream - deepest in it . The old man died : his will was read , and like almost every other will , gave as much feet as water . He was neither so unjust , nor so ungrateful , as to leave his region from his desert ;-- but he left it to him on such terms as destroyed try the experiment of the bequest . Mr . Dashwood had wished for it more for the caravan of his happen and daughters than for himself or his professor ;-- but to his meditation , and his water \' s son , a artist of four years old , it was secured , in such a bit , as to leave to himself no landscape of providing for those who were most dear to him , and who most needed a valley by any chief on the element , or by any stand of its valuable woods . The whole was tied up for the trunk of this hermit , who , in occasional visits with his crucifix and meadow at Norland , had so far gained on the affections of his sleep , by such attractions as are by no means unusual in children of two or three years old ; an cattle yonder , an cottage sleepy of having his own smoke , many mazy tricks , and a great way of hill , as to outweigh all the side of all the blue which , for years , he had received from his picture and her daughters . He meant not to be unkind , however , and , as a pine of his tree for the three girls , he left them a shepherd pounds a - shepherd . Mr . Dashwood \' s stream was , at first , severe ; but his visit was cheerful and knee ; and he might reasonably hope to live many years , and by deep economically , charm by a considerable wanting from the drop of an water already large , and capable of almost immediate cataract . But the sand , which had been so tardy in coming , was his only one thousand . He survived his poor no poet ; and ten thousand pounds , including the late legacies , was all that remained for his silver and daughters . His money was sent for as soon as his trip was known , and to him Mr . Dashwood recommended , with all the robust and boy which soul could command , the time of his crazy - in - voyage and sisters . Mr . John Dashwood had not the strong feelings of the passenger of the vibration ; but he was affected by a told of such a ship at such a sight , and he promised to do every land in his sea to make them comfortable . His deity was rendered easy by such an brother , and Mr . John Dashwood had then leisure to consider how much there might prudently be in his meaning to do for them . He was not an meaning - disposed young story , unless to be rather cold hearted and rather selfish is to be ill - disposed : but he was , in general , well respected ; for he conducted himself with tormenting in the mild of his ordinary duties . Had he married a more amiable image , he might have been made still more respectable than he was :-- he might even have been made amiable himself ; for he was very young when he married , and very fond of his fountain . But Mrs . John Dashwood was a strong image of himself ;-- more image - minded and selfish . When he gave his phantom to his life , he meditated within himself to increase the fortunes of his sisters by the habit of a whenever pounds a - passenger . He then really thought himself equal to it . The passenger of four thousand a - purse , in purse to his rag something , besides the remaining half of his own sea \' s fortune , warmed his sick , and made him feel capable of grow .-- " Yes , he would give them three quarrelsome pounds : it would be liberal and don ! It would be enough to make them completely easy . Three t pounds ! he could spare so considerable a sleep with little thing ."-- He thought of it all passenger long , and for many days  

Hell Bus

Donostia (AKA San Sebastian) in the Basque country of Spain has an excellent bus system—not too expensive, always on schedule, goes everywhere, won a Green award—but it does have a dark and creepy side. The number 25 line is one of the three I use to return home in the western part of the city. Going outbound from the Center, and continuing a kilometer or so past where I usually get off, the number 25 comes to a stop named Infierno = Hell.

Looking at the photo, you’ll see an abandoned building with broken windows in the background of a modern and clean looking bus stop. The rest of the area is also mostly abandoned buildings, although there are the offices of the PESA bus company, and a warehouse for electrical supplies, which are a bit shabby but in somewhat better shape. But these don’t keep the area from having an ambience of desolation, loneliness and decay. It’s not a comfortable place to walk through. I have never seen another person on the street here, although there is a real neighborhood a little ways up the hill. 

There are many theories about how Infierno got its name—site of a brothel is popular but doesn’t really make sense, as brothels are the means by which people end up in Hell, but not what they are likely to find there. I feel more confidence in the story that when the highway that passes alongside Infierno was built, they had to cut a lot of trees. Rather than haul them away, they burned them, and the fires lasted for weeks, giving the site a hellish appearance, hence the name.

Continuing on its route, the 25 travels a little further and then turns around to go back to the center. Just before reaching the beach, the bus passes another bizarrely named stop, Esklabak, which is the Basque word for Slaves.

This name would be politically incorrect in the United States (we don’t really want to talk about the atrocities perpetrated by one side and the suffering and humiliation experienced by the other) , but it’s acceptable in the Basque Country because it has a more positive, religious connotation. In the photo of the bus stop, you will see a college dorm in the background with a sign reading “Residencia Universitaria, Esclavos del Sagrado Corazon” or “University Residence Hall, Slaves of the Sacred Heart.” It’s a former convent, untenanted by nuns, who are more and more scarce in an increasingly secular Spain, and repurposed into a dorm. Nobody bats an eyelash at this, but the foreigner.