Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dallas the Phallus on May 2, 2009 at 1:16pm

Too funny. Those old shows are a riot. I just watched Attack of the 50-Foot Woman this month.

Yes, I think you are right about how the religous memebots work. That is exactly how it happens.

Permalink Reply by Darrel Ray on May 2, 2009 at 4:03pm

Richard: Great film, I totally forgot about it. In my book I site the Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but this one is equally relevant to the religious memeplex.

Permalink Reply by Richard Goscicki on May 2, 2009 at 8:21pm

Thanks Darrel. Here's what we do: Let's produce a TV sitcom show called "Membots from Mars" depicting the silly things religious people do, like wearing relics (bones) around their neck,
flagellating themselves, telling strangers their most intimate thoughts, or lighting a candle and saying prayers over it. We can squeeze in the show between The Partridge Family and I Love Lucy.

Permalink Reply by George on May 5, 2009 at 3:30am

That's interesting - once I did a metaphorical sketch depicting a meme as a giant blob with tentacles connecting people. Maybe I'll clean it up and post it.

The theme of Invaders from Mars pops up from time to time in Sci-fi/ fantasy:
John Carpenter's the Thing
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
The Exorcist
Several episodes from various Star Trek series
- I'm sure there's more.

Permalink Reply by Richard Goscicki on May 5, 2009 at 8:57am

Funny you should mention the Body Snatchers, Darrel Ray made the same connection in an earlier comment. Darrel has some thought-provoking videos on Hypnosis on Youtube.

I'm glad I'm not the only one conceptualizing memplexes in such vivid terms. Meme complexes are like tumorous parasites that take over the mental apparatus of the host. I'd love to get up in front of my local Baptist churches (they're all over the place here in Florida) and do a PowerPoint demonstration of memeplex dictatorship of the mind. I think one of the reasons memetics hasn't "taken off" is because billions of people don't relish the idea that they are mere slaves of a ruthless, SELFISH tumor that has commandeered their mind.

I'd love to see their faces when that sinister, mousy, slimy head starts pointing his tentacles with its unique version of remote control—from a fish bowl yet.

Permalink Reply by Richard Goscicki on July 24, 2009 at 10:09am

Hey, George. Thanks for the comment but I really gotta tell you that the original The Thing is a clasic and Carpenter's isn't in that league. I saw it around five times over the years. What an irony that the actor who played the thing wound up being Matt Dillon on the old Gunsmoke show. It was made right after WWII and caught a lot of the fear prevalent at the time. My teachers were telling me to duck under my desk in case of an atomic bomb. No bull.