TITANS, AVATAR: RECENT ENLIGHTENING FILMS

Prof. Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Magandang hapon! Good afternoon!

I just watched the recent showing of the new version of Clash of the Titans. The movie was as mind-boggling and enchanting as another film shown some couples of months back: Avatar. It is indubitably worth my watch.

Let me share some notes about both films, with the beginning words that they are among those few movies that are truly enlightening. By enlightening, I mean they transport us almost instantly to the realm of the transcendent, there to immerse a bit with our Higher Mind and the environs of the higher dimensions.

Needless to say, the film enables us to engage in deeper reflections about the meanings of the archetypal symbols shown before us. Our Higher Mind knows, for instance, that Zeus signifies the creative or ideational element in life, a meaning that our lower mind could only feebly comprehend.

The film industry is part of the culture industry, and as our noblesse thinkers of the day have shared to us—note Foucault, Habermas, Adorno, Marcuse, Said, for instance—the same industry has been instrumental as social control mechanism. Movies are not meant to enlighten, but rather intended to entertain and keep us glued within the world that is owned and controlled by few oligarchic families.

Hollywood films, being the prototype industry block, are particularly aimed at gaining profits for the film makers. They are so commercialized that they suffer content-wise. Horror movies are particularly fear-inducing and fragmentary of the psyche, intensify paranoia, and instantly add grey dense energies to our chakras or energy centers.

Enlightening films are indeed few, such as Avatar and Clash of the Titans or simply Titans. Not only do they entertain and educate, they also elevate. That effect makes them altogether contributory to the grand project of human evolutionary ascent.

For a social reformer, Avatar and Titans depict the epochal desire of marginal classes and sectors to demolish asymmetry in relationships and liberate the same groups from oppression.

The planetary natives in Avatar could be viewed as today’s indigenous peoples whose struggle against oppression by mainstream, urban, industrial populations was justly depicted in the film. The same natives could also mean 3^rd World peoples who have been struggling against imperialism, colonialism, and fascistic domination by industrial powers.

The Titans could be viewed as oligarchic overlords, both landlords and capitalists, who have been subordinating middle and lower classes into their power enclaves. Mankind’s clash with the Titans symbolizes the epical drama of the age-old struggle of mankind against these overlords who are in power economically, culturally, and politically till these days.

To a mystic, the Titans film depicts the birthing of the universes—father universe first, son universes next, human universes last—and the breeding of humans by the creator beings (Titans). The Fall of Man, symbolized by the clash of men against gods, is likewise depicted.

Titans also subtly depicts the birthing of many worlds—collectively signified by ‘humans’—across the universe. Some worlds evolved faster (i.e. symbolized by Perseus, Io, and Andromeda evolved ahead) than others (e.g. Earthlings/Terrans, Maldekians) that lagged behind, while within a world some humans evolved faster than others.

Zeus (root word: Dyaus Pitar or sky fathers) signifies the creative element.  Hades signifies the Anti-Universe that incidentally physicists are beginning to discover. Any community that immerses in the creative element (Zeus) will live prosperity and harmony, while a community that immerses in Anti-Universe (Hades) will be transmogrified to demonic monstrosity (Karkens that signifies  Draconians or reptilian humanoids of Draco).

Perseus signifies the liberating warrior force of Plaeades civilization, while Pegasus signifies the hyper-space technology then evolving. Io signifies the priests of the interplanetary Order of Melchizedek, whose counsels are as precious as God’s words. Warriors and Priests work in synergy, as signified by the mutual esteem and love between Perseus and Io.

Princess Andromeda signifies the Andromeda galaxy civilization, which could have been invaded by Draco in antiquity—symbolized by Andromeda being sacrificed before the Karkens. Plaeadians were actually bred by the Andromedans, so Perseus’ saving of Andromeda is a sublime expression of filial love and debt of gratitude of the Plaeadians to their parent race (Andromedans).

Medusa signifies a high knowledge related to life science that could neutralize or thwart a superior yet gross force of humanoid Reptilians. The death of Hades in Perseus’ hands signifies the neutralization of the Anti-Universe at a particular juncture in antiquity, thus saving many human worlds (planets) from infection and transmogrification into demonic monstrosities.

The death of Hades is also prophetic in that it signifies a future state where the influence of the Anti-Universe on Earth and the Milky Way sector where we belong, will finally be ended. This happens as the universe ascends by a dimension higher comes 2012 A.D.

From a social reformer’s view, Hades’ death signifies the end of oligarchism and oppression of men by fellow men. This view converges with the mystical view, in that planetary ascension will in fact put an end to ancient systems based on polarity principle and Anti-Universe influence, thus ending oligarchism and the money economy.

So, Fellows on Earth, you can choose to perceive the enlightening films through the prism of whatever perspective or paradigm you’d want to view them. I’m gladdened at least that you watched these films, found time for reflections and enchantment.

[Philippines, 10 April 2010. See also: http://erlefraynebrightworld.wordpress.com, https://unladtau.wordpress.com, http://erleargonza.blogspot.com.]

ZAIBATSU GLOBALIZATION ‘VOODOO ECONOMICS’ BOWING OUT

Erle Frayne Argonza

Magandang hapon! Good afternoon!

 

Let me share to you at this moment some notes regarding the ‘globalization’ experiment and the flawed policies that sustained it. There has been much ballyhoo about the global economy’s integration, over the last three (3) decades, as having been carved out supposedly by the Anglo-Saxon policy architects, using Thatcher & Reagan as the face for the ‘neo-liberal’ policy regime they installed.

 

Little do peoples across the globe, including experts who are so mired in their own parochial perspectives, know that the liberalization of country economies has a great deal to do with the Zaibatsu offensive. The West should better accept the facts: that their technocrats and policy shapers have run out of fresh ideas since the 1970s onwards (i.e. mentally bankrupt), a gap that they filled up by looking up to Japan and the NICs (newly industrializing countries) for copycat purposes.

 

Reaganomics, as neo-liberal policies of ‘privatization’ was dubbed (Thatcher of the UK preceded Reagan by a year), is as voodoo as one can get, seductive as any enchanting mantra-resonating principle can be, and was indeed potent in erasing the vestiges of the Regulated Economics doctrines that preceded the era. In the emerging markets, they were dubbed as ‘structural adjustment policies’ or SAPs, were imposed by the IMF-World Bank Group on debtor nations, and can be summed up as follows:

 

·        Core principles: Privatization, Liberalization, Deregulation

·        Subsidiary Principles: Tax reforms, trade liberalization, free floating exchange rates, diminished state subsidies for welfare, increased utility prices (revenue generation)

·        Governance Principle: Decentralization (local government autonomy)

 

Such policy reform measures, as far as developing countries or DCs were concerned, came in as very harsh, cruel ‘austerity measures’ imposed by the IMF. We citizens from the ‘margins’ can never forget these measures, the pauperization that they effected, the dislocation of marginal producers, the decline of health services and rise of morbidity rates, and so on. In the Philippines, our very own capital goods industries were either delayed or un-implementable (such as integrated steel), as the money allocated for their purposes simply dried as dictated by the World Bank.

 

But there’s another set of policy architecture that wasn’t Anglo-Saxon, and didn’t receive their inspiration from the classicists (Smith, Ricardo) and the monetarists (Friedman, Hayek). This set of liberalization policies came from Zaibatsu country, and were crafted by Japanese technocrats. Not only policies, but also institutions were addressed by them, giving rise to the globalized economy that we have today.

Chief among those technocrats was Kenichi Ohmae, who in the 1980s was a think-tank executive. Further down the line were many other technocrats, who were organically linked to the Zaibatsus (landlord-industrialist-financier oligarchs), taking up cudgels for Ohmae.

Globalization, as one better realize, was never meant as any ‘win/win’ formula for nation-states in the arena of international trade as the liberal thinkers came to defend it later. It was outright a strategy to pre-position Zaibatsu corporate interests outside of Japan, notably the U.S. and European markets.  

At that time of conceptualization, Zaibatsus have already efficaciously penetrated the Asian markets, and had leveraged their investments’ entry via aid and technical knowledge diffusion (including sponsoring Developing Country scholars in Japanese universities & special institutes). The old doctrine of ‘Asia Co-prosperity sphere’ was finally won, without firing a shot this time (unlike Imperial Japan era expansionism).

In the 1980s, the clamor for mooring investments and trade in the Western markets became ever stronger. The offensive tactic adapted was rather two-pronged, which made the new voodoo mantra even more potent:

·        On the micro-level, permeate other markets with new concepts such as ‘Theory Z’ (decentralized authority, see W. Ouichi), total quality management or TQM, new tools for strategic planning, mergers and de-mergers. Till these days, the tools are considered sacrosanct in all sectors of society, including the Catholic Church that now uses ‘bottom-up’ planning added to strategic planning (my observations done in 2001-02 in a California diocese).

 

·        On the macro-level, blend  the Reagan-Thatcher ‘structural adjustments’ with the ‘globalization’ doctrine. The Zaibatsu technocrats fanned out across the globe, some of whom were positioned inside international bodies, and sweetened liberalization via a supposedly ‘win/win’ growth strategy for participating countries. This brilliant blending, which Western thinkers didn’t perceive at all as any subtle tactic by a predatory class (Zaibatsu), soon caught up fire and became buzz word for nigh three decades.  

Before long, the Japan Inc. was being bandied across the globe as worth any country’s emulation. Southeast Asia and Korea went for it. Even the former presidents of the USA admired the Japanese Inc. doctrine of renewed private initiatives and shift from macro- to micro-economics as stabilization and growth measure. Bill Clinton of the USA spoke so fondly of ‘globalization’ like some captive fan of an economic icon, and moved to negotiate the NAFTA.

Little do unsuspecting, gullible peoples across the planet, more so the policy experts of the West, realize that the Japanese voodoo economics was largely intended to permit Zaibatsu investments to breed and morph inside their economies. Using merger and buy-in tactics, the Zaibatsu agents made it appear that their sponsors came in for benign purposes or so. If there is any group in the world today that is enjoying its last laugh, it is the Japanese militarists of the past, who finally saw the success of their nation’s offensives and the decline of the West via ‘organized chaos’.

Around 1994, the magic of the Japan Inc. began to cramble. Recession came, and before long many banks and investment houses were catching fire. That was the origin of the bankrupt and immoral Bush-Paulson ‘bailout’, which began with the ‘crisis management’ tactic in Japan to save ailing banks and financial institutions. Eventually, Zaibatsu technocrats were forced to revive the Western tool of ‘interest rates’ intervention, to the extent of bringing down interest rates to zero percent and sustaining it there for many years.

There also came that moment, in the late 1990s through 2006, when Zaibatsu financiers suddenly were so awash with funds (liquidities), at a time when Western economies reached low growths. The ‘yen initiative’ package was therefore conceptualized as another last-ditch voodoo tactic, which was implemented by loaning out large funds at zero or low interest, which Western financiers than re-loaned at profitable interest rates. Many such funds reached the USA& EU realty subprime mortgage markets, to recall. Again, note the seemingly benign nature of the financial gesture.

Just as when the realty markets were beginning to sneeze in America, the last voodoo measure was pulled out. The ‘crisis management’ was already folded up earlier, as Japan’s economic growth was propelled up anew by the Asian markets notably China’s. Just as when USA & EU needed the Zaibatsu loans very badly, and ditto for portfolio investments, they were pulled out, thus ensuring the crash of both economies.

Japananese voodoo economics is now bowing out, as the compass of policy initiatives at present is pointing to the reconstruction of macro-economic, New Deal type measures intended to attack problems both on short-term (bail out on productive sectors) and long-term basis (induce physical economy rather than predatory finance). But the withdrawal of the voodoo regime is not being done without witnessing its catastrophic results.

That’s surely tragic for the West or North. I wonder how Zaibatsus & technocrats perceive peoples outside their borders: whether they regard the latter as human beings worth co-partnering with, or as hungry lizards that must subsist on crumbs of investments & finance from Japan that have been buttressed by enormous tons of gold acquired through production and plunder of occupied lands, across the 2,000 years of Japan’s existence from kingdom to nation.

Honestly, I don’t know the answer. But if the Zaibatsus are receiving flaks from outside their borders, it wouldn’t be a surprise. There are no more borders for Zaibatsus by the way, just an entire planet with seamless web, cocooned in all corners by their corporate money.  

[Writ 14 November 2008, Quezon City, MetroManila]