Supercriticalism

I don’t believe in what I believe ...

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Politically perverted

“Spy” (Russian: Шпион, translit. Shpion) is a 2012 Russian spy film, an adaptation of Boris Akunin's novel “The Spy Novel” (Шпионский роман). The movie is set in the year 1941, months before the German invasion of Russia. The two protagonists, security police officers Dorin and Oktyabrsky, are hunting a German spy in Moscow. They believe their success might reveal Hitler's plans and the exact date of invasion (Wikipedia).

I watched the movie in German (German title: “Iron Spy - Spionage für Anfänger”). To my great astonishment, the film not only praises Stalin’s gruesome secret police officer Beria, it also propagates brutal torture as a legitimate way of gaining information from the enemy. Whereas in Western spy movies the ‘good guys’ are those exposed to torture by ‘bad guys’, in this Russian James Bond version it’s the ‘good guys’ who practice the most brutal kind of torture to protect their fatherland (or motherland). It’s most likely true that ‘being determines consciousness’ (Marx), but semblance plays an important role in shaping the social being and the resulting consciousness. Thus, a culture which praises humanity and condemns brutality is more likely to produce individuals who believe in and follow human rights principles. 

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Lack of humour in Russian comedies

In my online search for good comedies, I came across a few Russian ones, from the Soviet- and post-Soviet era. With great interest I began to watch the films, but unfortunately after 10-20 minutes watching each of the movies I had to stop, for the humour was not funny at all, at least not for people used to a Western style of humour. 

Good humour is a product of critical thinking, of viewing the self and everything around us from a critical angle and with skepticism. Watching those Russian comedies was a sad experience for me, as I felt the deep impact of 70 years totalitarian communism on the Russian society and psyche. 

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The Struggle of Man against Technology

The struggle of man against technology is much more demanding than the struggle of man against nature …

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