Shortcut Culture and Magic
Over in my regular journal
shamanicmerf, I posted an entry on shortcut culture. It was a brief look into how many industries in our culture abuse the frustrations of the average person and promise to get them what they want right now, and how that shortcut paradigm is severely damaging our culture.
After posting this draft, I sat down to watch a movie. Surprisingly, I still haven't seen Lost in Translation, with Bill Murray. And I still haven't. I didn't make it through the previews. One of the previews was for a film called Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I've seen it. It was great, and it's a perfect example of that shortcut culture I was talking about. The doctor in the film asks the question, "Why let the memories of a painful relationship weigh on you when I can completely erase the memories of it completely?"
Seeing this preview, and thinking about it in terms of the essay I had just written sparked a new thought. How would a magical culture be affected by instant gratification paradigms?
Of course, the answers to that depend heavily on other questions. Where does magic come from and how does it work? What does it cost? Blood? Money? Emotion? Pain? Sweat? Time? What sort of world has magic? What sort of people can truly master it? What sorts of quick-fixes can magic provide?
Let's take a simple example. Suppose a world like our own, but one where Heaven, Hell, Angels and Demons are all real. (Yes, it's awfully cliché. That's the point. If it's a cliché, then more people are on the same page as me.) In such a world, one of the big pushers of shortcut solutions would be demons. They can offer quick-fix solutions to all sorts of problems through the use of demonic magic. Bigger house, faster car, more willing girlfriend, bigger dick, etc etc etc... But then there's the cost. The whole "deal with the devil" scenario has been done... to death.
But let's ask this. Can you make a deal with an angel? What can an angel offer, and what would it want as payment? Supposedly, a demon takes your soul (what it does with it is anyone's guess...), but what would an angel want? And what sorts of long-term solutions do they offer? How do you find them? Do they offer guarantees?
Or, here's another question. Can you make a deal with a ghost? What if ghosts are a third party, a sort of lost people trapped in neither Heaven nor Hell with magics of their own to offer? What can they do for you? What would they ask for? Can they get you into bed with that hot blond if only you let them share your body while you do her? Can they possess that bank manager long enough to get him to forgive that loan you're behind on if only you avenge their murder? Better yet, what if they can only be freed from the prison of their existence if someone takes their place? What if the shortcuts they offer are designed to trick you into switching places? Maybe you become the ghost and they get your body. It takes identity theft to a new level.
Let's try a different scheme. Language. Language is really a complex set of symbols and structural rules designed to communicate meaning. It is invariably shaped by reality and the perceptions of reality. What if there was a special language, though? What if reality and perception were influenced by a certain language? All you would have to do is learn the symbols and the rules and you could do nearly anything. Of course, the problem is that languages take a lot of time, effort, and discipline to learn, especially one as complex as this one would have to be. Hell, with this one, you'd probably have to be conjugating your nouns! It would take a lifetime to learn how to use it properly.
But what if there was someone who claimed they could teach you a few simple phrases to get you the things you need right now? What if someone sold you a few simple phrases or such that would accomplish the simple things you need? What would you pay to learn the magical phrase to seduce the person you desire? What would a fast-and-easy language instruction program for this look like? What if Berlitz could promise to teach you this language as easily as it can promise to teach you French or Spanish? What would happen if you got the pronunciation or spelling wrong? Hell, this gives the phrase "lost in translation" a whole new meaning.
What about a world where magic comes from food? What would fast food do for - or, more importantly, TO - you?
What if magic power came from sexual abstinence?
... or from adrenaline?
...or from the tears of virgins?
Each of these ideas imply a price to pay for strong magics and how someone could take advantage of the average person's unwillingness or inability to pay the price themselves. They also imply dangers. What if virgins were rounded up and forced to cry for their valuable tears? How quickly would you be willing to hop into bed with a stranger? How hard would you work to be desirable so you could find someone willing to take your dangerous virginity? How do you define virginity? If it's simply an unbroken hymen, a broomhandle would solve the problem just a little to easily for our purposes.
These are the kinds of thoughts that run through my head when I get an idea. I'm not normal. ;)
shamanicmerf, I posted an entry on shortcut culture. It was a brief look into how many industries in our culture abuse the frustrations of the average person and promise to get them what they want right now, and how that shortcut paradigm is severely damaging our culture.
After posting this draft, I sat down to watch a movie. Surprisingly, I still haven't seen Lost in Translation, with Bill Murray. And I still haven't. I didn't make it through the previews. One of the previews was for a film called Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I've seen it. It was great, and it's a perfect example of that shortcut culture I was talking about. The doctor in the film asks the question, "Why let the memories of a painful relationship weigh on you when I can completely erase the memories of it completely?"
Seeing this preview, and thinking about it in terms of the essay I had just written sparked a new thought. How would a magical culture be affected by instant gratification paradigms?
Of course, the answers to that depend heavily on other questions. Where does magic come from and how does it work? What does it cost? Blood? Money? Emotion? Pain? Sweat? Time? What sort of world has magic? What sort of people can truly master it? What sorts of quick-fixes can magic provide?
Let's take a simple example. Suppose a world like our own, but one where Heaven, Hell, Angels and Demons are all real. (Yes, it's awfully cliché. That's the point. If it's a cliché, then more people are on the same page as me.) In such a world, one of the big pushers of shortcut solutions would be demons. They can offer quick-fix solutions to all sorts of problems through the use of demonic magic. Bigger house, faster car, more willing girlfriend, bigger dick, etc etc etc... But then there's the cost. The whole "deal with the devil" scenario has been done... to death.
But let's ask this. Can you make a deal with an angel? What can an angel offer, and what would it want as payment? Supposedly, a demon takes your soul (what it does with it is anyone's guess...), but what would an angel want? And what sorts of long-term solutions do they offer? How do you find them? Do they offer guarantees?
Or, here's another question. Can you make a deal with a ghost? What if ghosts are a third party, a sort of lost people trapped in neither Heaven nor Hell with magics of their own to offer? What can they do for you? What would they ask for? Can they get you into bed with that hot blond if only you let them share your body while you do her? Can they possess that bank manager long enough to get him to forgive that loan you're behind on if only you avenge their murder? Better yet, what if they can only be freed from the prison of their existence if someone takes their place? What if the shortcuts they offer are designed to trick you into switching places? Maybe you become the ghost and they get your body. It takes identity theft to a new level.
Let's try a different scheme. Language. Language is really a complex set of symbols and structural rules designed to communicate meaning. It is invariably shaped by reality and the perceptions of reality. What if there was a special language, though? What if reality and perception were influenced by a certain language? All you would have to do is learn the symbols and the rules and you could do nearly anything. Of course, the problem is that languages take a lot of time, effort, and discipline to learn, especially one as complex as this one would have to be. Hell, with this one, you'd probably have to be conjugating your nouns! It would take a lifetime to learn how to use it properly.
But what if there was someone who claimed they could teach you a few simple phrases to get you the things you need right now? What if someone sold you a few simple phrases or such that would accomplish the simple things you need? What would you pay to learn the magical phrase to seduce the person you desire? What would a fast-and-easy language instruction program for this look like? What if Berlitz could promise to teach you this language as easily as it can promise to teach you French or Spanish? What would happen if you got the pronunciation or spelling wrong? Hell, this gives the phrase "lost in translation" a whole new meaning.
What about a world where magic comes from food? What would fast food do for - or, more importantly, TO - you?
What if magic power came from sexual abstinence?
... or from adrenaline?
...or from the tears of virgins?
Each of these ideas imply a price to pay for strong magics and how someone could take advantage of the average person's unwillingness or inability to pay the price themselves. They also imply dangers. What if virgins were rounded up and forced to cry for their valuable tears? How quickly would you be willing to hop into bed with a stranger? How hard would you work to be desirable so you could find someone willing to take your dangerous virginity? How do you define virginity? If it's simply an unbroken hymen, a broomhandle would solve the problem just a little to easily for our purposes.
These are the kinds of thoughts that run through my head when I get an idea. I'm not normal. ;)