How did Tenet spread Russian propaganda? How much did influencers get paid to undermine American democracy? Follow the money with this relationship map.
That was fun! Reading what you wrote, I felt your Tenet-movie-viewing experience . Then you capped things off with that proper finish looping us back to our present reality - a “mindfuck” for sure. Re that film, thx for the tip, insight, and most importantly reminding us what it’s all about — all those things that make living worthwhile thx be to a functioning democracy, and all that jazz!
When I go to hell, as soon as they hand me a cup of hazelnut coffee, they will make me watch Tenet.” 🤣
Nolan annoys me in the way Seth Farland annoys me: obviously brilliant, but masterbating endlessly in their own minds so that to really understand wtf is important to them, we have to work a wee bit harder than is polite, and so it's easier to tune them out. The first and second Batmans were Nolan's only truly excellent films. The 3rd was a cynical BFF money pit. The rest are incomprehensible.
"But Nolan is, by several exploding football fields, the foremost auteur of the “intellectacle,” which combines popcorn-dropping visual ingenuity with all the sedate satisfactions of a medium-grade Sudoku. Within the context of this self-created brand of brainiac entertainment, “Tenet” meets all expectations, except the expectation that it will exceed them. Forgive the circularity of this argument: it’s a side effect of watching the defiantly circular “Tenet.”
Ah! Thanks for elucidating the ineluctable dimness of the light within the enigma. If only I liked Sudoku, but my brain doesn't sort numbers as well as it does the alphabet. Regardless, yes! Eureka! Props for watching it 4 times [(!!!)!x! = 4].
I’m not a fan of movies that deal with psyops. Such as Inception, trying to get into some one’s dreams to change or influence them. Another movie I hated was Tree of Life with Brad Pitt. I won’t watch another Terrence Malik film! lol Yet your summary of the movie sounds intriguing only as it relates to current events. I did enjoy Oppenheimer and agree that it was overly long. Carry on Greg appreciate all that you write including your parody songs!
Thanks, Christine! A lot of these kinds of movies feel hostile to the audience. Like, why is the dialogue so low in the sound mix? There's no rational purpose for it, other than hostility. Life is complex enough without adding unnecessary layers of difficulty.
Greg I reread this piece and thought of a couple of other movies in this genre. Vanilla Sky and Eyes Wide Shut. Also I sometimes wonder if these madmen of the world don’t get their ideas from Hollywood scripts?
My same, old observation: I read news about Russia's propaganda, I want to forward it to people I know who believe it, I want them to see the light, but I know, 100%, they would not read it, and as with my previous attempts, they'd become loudly angry wirh me for sending it. There has to be a way. Powder it and sprinkle it on their breakfast cereal...
Ah, but haven't you heard? Trump Russia is a hoax? Witch hunt? No collusion?
That NYT article saying the FBi sees no Russia connection continues to do its damage. People don't know which media to trust, which makes the Russian "Doppelganger" op, where they try and mimic legit news sites, more dangerous...
Some thoughts, really things to ponder. If the future wipes out the present, is there no future? However, if the future wipes out the past yet the future still exists, did we have a second big bang, growth on steroids? If the future has elements of the past in it, can we actually say the past was wiped out? Is it even possible for the future to be completely different than the past? Future Greg (humor me, meaning the one that exists today) found Tenet to be a much more tolerable, even a liked movie than past Greg (the one existing when son exited stage left after a half hour). Does this justify "But cause comes before effect". Lastly, have I lost my mind? So much better a way to start my week than reading anything about Dipshit 45. Football and tennis on tap for the rest of the day. GO GIANTS! GO TAYLOR!
In the universe of Tenet, there can be multiple versions of ourselves running around at various points in time, which is interesting and mindfucking. Because how can we exist simultaneously with other versions of ourselves? I want to go back to a time where the Giants don't unwatchably stink...
If I'm honest with myself, I love the SPECTACLE of a Nolan film like "Inception" or "Oppenheimer," and in the case of those two films, even the plot line and the execution of it. Even "Interstellar" blew me away, and "Memento" was the OG mindfuck. "The Prestige" is one of the best films I think I've seen in this century. "Tenet" was none of those things for me. The plot is almost incomprehensible, and I normally watch everything with closed captions on, not because I'm hard of hearing, but because there are certain important things that can be missed in a film that advances the plot, like a sotto voce aside, or a sound in the background that closed captioning will generally identify. In "Tenet's" case, I know I've seen the film because I rated it a 3/10 on IMDb, but I have NO recollection of it. At all. I had to have watched it sometime in the past four years, and don't remember a thing. The only Nolan film I've rated lower is "Dunkirk," at a 2/10 because it was simply boring, considering the subject matter it had to work with. I MIGHT give "Tenet" another watch, but I'm going to have to make sure I have almost three hours to waste, and that I'm fully caffeinated.
As for these Russian assets working for the Tennessee-based traitor company, it seems like just the next step in their evolution. Years ago, I watched a few Tim Pool videos and stopped at "a few." His viewpoint was ridiculous, and he seemed like the Millennial Jordan Peterson. Dave Rubin, on the other hand, I watched far more. He did incisive interviews with some newsmakers, asked interesting questions, and had a mostly neutral political stance that I liked. Eventually, when I personally boycotted YouTube in about 2016, he fell off my radar, until now. I've heard various numbers quoted about these people's income, and whether it was $100K per episode or even $100K per month, it didn't occur to these "victims" to ASK where this boatload of money was coming from? That amount of money is obscene! It's orders of magnitude greater than anyone in government, and I'd guess any commentator or pundit in the mainstream media. They actually thought that their stupid little videos were worth that much? No, there is no victimhood here, there is only mindless greed. I read some of the comments on the Reddit thread you posted of Tim Pool's bald head. All of them were from a year ago and they STILL recognized what a psyop he was, even then. I'd like to say I'm disappointed in Dave Rubin, but frankly, it's typical behavior once you fall into the right-wing ecosphere of Russian influence. The light between what Russia wants to inject into our politics, and what MAGA Republicans preach about is getting smaller and smaller. I'd expect more and more of those Russian hats to start showing up in Washington this winter, and maybe Tim Pool will replace his ridiculous beanie with one too. It would at least be more honest.
If you hated it that much the first time, Steve, probably not worth revisiting. I liked it the first time and have gotten more out of it with each subsequent viewing. To me, it has all the good hallmarks of Nolan's movies but minimizes the bad hallmarks. And I love the Washington/Pattinson combo.
I don't know Rubin at all. But I think that someone who DOES have a reputation as even keeled is more valuable than an obvious MAGA shill. Pool got his start at Occupy, so had some far left bona fides at one point. In this case, "selling out" is more than just a beloved rock band signing with a major label. Real harm was done.
I hadn't heard of that movie and it sounds right up my alley, so off I go to find a stream.
Your picture of cap boy confirmed my suspicion. I had a similar story about Liam Clancy, who always wore that cute little Irish cap. Years ago (he must have been about 42) I saw him in a restaurant sans cap. Yep. Of course, I was too busy swooning to care much. It was his voice, not the state of his scalp, that always had me in thrall.
Greg, yes. Tenet is the mindfuckiest movie I have ever seen. I had ten years at MIT preceeded by sci-fi books and movies and stories for another 15 years at least. Plus another 30 years of sci fi in various forms since then.
It's one thing to understand that the movie is travelling both forwards and backwards at the same time, it's another to "live this".
Mind fuck wow. I was able to allow my brain to melt in the second viewing, and even a bit more in the third viewing (#2 and #3 on tv at home, with pause and backup available)
But the interesting thing afterwards is that I could feel my brain had stretched some ! Worth every penny.
It is a film that, for me at least, hits the little tuning fork in my soul. It resonates. I'm not sure why. The actors, the politics. I wonder if it's possible to watch it backwards, if that would make any sense...
How did Tenet spread Russian propaganda? How much did influencers get paid to undermine American democracy? Follow the money with this relationship map.
https://thedemlabs.org/2024/09/05/putin-paid-puppets-spread-russian-propaganda-follow-the-money/
Great work, Deepak. Keep it up!
That was fun! Reading what you wrote, I felt your Tenet-movie-viewing experience . Then you capped things off with that proper finish looping us back to our present reality - a “mindfuck” for sure. Re that film, thx for the tip, insight, and most importantly reminding us what it’s all about — all those things that make living worthwhile thx be to a functioning democracy, and all that jazz!
Thanks so much, Dock. It really is a mindfuck for sure...
When I go to hell, as soon as they hand me a cup of hazelnut coffee, they will make me watch Tenet.” 🤣
Nolan annoys me in the way Seth Farland annoys me: obviously brilliant, but masterbating endlessly in their own minds so that to really understand wtf is important to them, we have to work a wee bit harder than is polite, and so it's easier to tune them out. The first and second Batmans were Nolan's only truly excellent films. The 3rd was a cynical BFF money pit. The rest are incomprehensible.
Hazelnut coffee is gross. Nutella is not.
Does this mean you are a marmite fan?
hahahaha! Um, no.
The NYT review sums this up nicely:
"But Nolan is, by several exploding football fields, the foremost auteur of the “intellectacle,” which combines popcorn-dropping visual ingenuity with all the sedate satisfactions of a medium-grade Sudoku. Within the context of this self-created brand of brainiac entertainment, “Tenet” meets all expectations, except the expectation that it will exceed them. Forgive the circularity of this argument: it’s a side effect of watching the defiantly circular “Tenet.”
Ah! Thanks for elucidating the ineluctable dimness of the light within the enigma. If only I liked Sudoku, but my brain doesn't sort numbers as well as it does the alphabet. Regardless, yes! Eureka! Props for watching it 4 times [(!!!)!x! = 4].
I’m not a fan of movies that deal with psyops. Such as Inception, trying to get into some one’s dreams to change or influence them. Another movie I hated was Tree of Life with Brad Pitt. I won’t watch another Terrence Malik film! lol Yet your summary of the movie sounds intriguing only as it relates to current events. I did enjoy Oppenheimer and agree that it was overly long. Carry on Greg appreciate all that you write including your parody songs!
I liked Tree of Life.
But then I'm just an 84 year old retired street cop with no formal education. Next time around I'll try and graduate higher than last in my class.
I'll go get a dvd of Tenet today and give it a go.
Do we know if Valdimir watched the movie?
Thanks Greg.
Good scribbling
...and yet you're smarter than most people out there, lack of formal education or not.
Curious what you think of Tenet...
And good question re: Putin. I don't know anything about his entertainment habits. He seems artless to me.
Thanks, Christine! A lot of these kinds of movies feel hostile to the audience. Like, why is the dialogue so low in the sound mix? There's no rational purpose for it, other than hostility. Life is complex enough without adding unnecessary layers of difficulty.
Greg I reread this piece and thought of a couple of other movies in this genre. Vanilla Sky and Eyes Wide Shut. Also I sometimes wonder if these madmen of the world don’t get their ideas from Hollywood scripts?
A man's reach must exceed his grasp or what's a Meta for?
[rimshot]
"ponderous and pretentious." Thank you.
As he says in the film, what happened happened.
My same, old observation: I read news about Russia's propaganda, I want to forward it to people I know who believe it, I want them to see the light, but I know, 100%, they would not read it, and as with my previous attempts, they'd become loudly angry wirh me for sending it. There has to be a way. Powder it and sprinkle it on their breakfast cereal...
Ah, but haven't you heard? Trump Russia is a hoax? Witch hunt? No collusion?
That NYT article saying the FBi sees no Russia connection continues to do its damage. People don't know which media to trust, which makes the Russian "Doppelganger" op, where they try and mimic legit news sites, more dangerous...
Some thoughts, really things to ponder. If the future wipes out the present, is there no future? However, if the future wipes out the past yet the future still exists, did we have a second big bang, growth on steroids? If the future has elements of the past in it, can we actually say the past was wiped out? Is it even possible for the future to be completely different than the past? Future Greg (humor me, meaning the one that exists today) found Tenet to be a much more tolerable, even a liked movie than past Greg (the one existing when son exited stage left after a half hour). Does this justify "But cause comes before effect". Lastly, have I lost my mind? So much better a way to start my week than reading anything about Dipshit 45. Football and tennis on tap for the rest of the day. GO GIANTS! GO TAYLOR!
In the universe of Tenet, there can be multiple versions of ourselves running around at various points in time, which is interesting and mindfucking. Because how can we exist simultaneously with other versions of ourselves? I want to go back to a time where the Giants don't unwatchably stink...
Ps, forgot to say, loved the final paragraph!
Great words ole man.
Kick a hole in the TV.
Football is a Felony
The way the Giants played yesterday it sure is...
Thank you!
I spent 2 weeks in Bryson City when I backpacked from Arizona to DC.
Part of my stay was with Proffesor Richard Ellison and Artist Elizabeth Ellison.
Was meant foe Bill Serle
Great column.
I had "Memories of the Future" after reading, Dakotah the Return of the Future.
When dealing with time travel stories, it’s best to suspend belief in what you THINK you know about time. Just go with the flow and enjoy the ride.
Or not.
There's a line in there to that effect; something like, "Don't think it, FEEL it."
If I'm honest with myself, I love the SPECTACLE of a Nolan film like "Inception" or "Oppenheimer," and in the case of those two films, even the plot line and the execution of it. Even "Interstellar" blew me away, and "Memento" was the OG mindfuck. "The Prestige" is one of the best films I think I've seen in this century. "Tenet" was none of those things for me. The plot is almost incomprehensible, and I normally watch everything with closed captions on, not because I'm hard of hearing, but because there are certain important things that can be missed in a film that advances the plot, like a sotto voce aside, or a sound in the background that closed captioning will generally identify. In "Tenet's" case, I know I've seen the film because I rated it a 3/10 on IMDb, but I have NO recollection of it. At all. I had to have watched it sometime in the past four years, and don't remember a thing. The only Nolan film I've rated lower is "Dunkirk," at a 2/10 because it was simply boring, considering the subject matter it had to work with. I MIGHT give "Tenet" another watch, but I'm going to have to make sure I have almost three hours to waste, and that I'm fully caffeinated.
As for these Russian assets working for the Tennessee-based traitor company, it seems like just the next step in their evolution. Years ago, I watched a few Tim Pool videos and stopped at "a few." His viewpoint was ridiculous, and he seemed like the Millennial Jordan Peterson. Dave Rubin, on the other hand, I watched far more. He did incisive interviews with some newsmakers, asked interesting questions, and had a mostly neutral political stance that I liked. Eventually, when I personally boycotted YouTube in about 2016, he fell off my radar, until now. I've heard various numbers quoted about these people's income, and whether it was $100K per episode or even $100K per month, it didn't occur to these "victims" to ASK where this boatload of money was coming from? That amount of money is obscene! It's orders of magnitude greater than anyone in government, and I'd guess any commentator or pundit in the mainstream media. They actually thought that their stupid little videos were worth that much? No, there is no victimhood here, there is only mindless greed. I read some of the comments on the Reddit thread you posted of Tim Pool's bald head. All of them were from a year ago and they STILL recognized what a psyop he was, even then. I'd like to say I'm disappointed in Dave Rubin, but frankly, it's typical behavior once you fall into the right-wing ecosphere of Russian influence. The light between what Russia wants to inject into our politics, and what MAGA Republicans preach about is getting smaller and smaller. I'd expect more and more of those Russian hats to start showing up in Washington this winter, and maybe Tim Pool will replace his ridiculous beanie with one too. It would at least be more honest.
If you hated it that much the first time, Steve, probably not worth revisiting. I liked it the first time and have gotten more out of it with each subsequent viewing. To me, it has all the good hallmarks of Nolan's movies but minimizes the bad hallmarks. And I love the Washington/Pattinson combo.
I don't know Rubin at all. But I think that someone who DOES have a reputation as even keeled is more valuable than an obvious MAGA shill. Pool got his start at Occupy, so had some far left bona fides at one point. In this case, "selling out" is more than just a beloved rock band signing with a major label. Real harm was done.
We are not going back! Well, at least not this year. Time travel does mess with my mind.
We are going back and forward all at once, Earl! ; )
Copenhagen
I forgot all about that! I have to watch it...
I hadn't heard of that movie and it sounds right up my alley, so off I go to find a stream.
Your picture of cap boy confirmed my suspicion. I had a similar story about Liam Clancy, who always wore that cute little Irish cap. Years ago (he must have been about 42) I saw him in a restaurant sans cap. Yep. Of course, I was too busy swooning to care much. It was his voice, not the state of his scalp, that always had me in thrall.
Very curious to see what you think of the movie, Susan, if you wind up watching it. Turn on the subtitles!
Greg, yes. Tenet is the mindfuckiest movie I have ever seen. I had ten years at MIT preceeded by sci-fi books and movies and stories for another 15 years at least. Plus another 30 years of sci fi in various forms since then.
It's one thing to understand that the movie is travelling both forwards and backwards at the same time, it's another to "live this".
Mind fuck wow. I was able to allow my brain to melt in the second viewing, and even a bit more in the third viewing (#2 and #3 on tv at home, with pause and backup available)
But the interesting thing afterwards is that I could feel my brain had stretched some ! Worth every penny.
It is a film that, for me at least, hits the little tuning fork in my soul. It resonates. I'm not sure why. The actors, the politics. I wonder if it's possible to watch it backwards, if that would make any sense...
Try and then let us know ! Hahaahaaaaa