Gaslighting

Currently Listening: No Women, No Cry, Mr. Bob Marley

Gaslighting

An interesting word, and an insightful definition. I try to avoid referencing Wikipedia, but I find this definition fitting. I came across this word after looking into Wes Anderson's work. Think of this word and definition in terms of your relationship with the media and maybe even in your personal relationships.

Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse. It involves an increasing frequency of systematically withholding factual information from, and/or providing false information to the subject, having the gradual effect of making the victim anxious, confused, and less able to trust his or her own memory and perception. A variation of gaslighting, used as a form of harassment, is to SUBTLY alter aspects of a victim's environment, thereby upsetting his or her peace of mind, and sense of security, etc.


The term was coined from the 1940 film Gaslight and its 1944 remake in which changes in gas light levels are experienced several times by the main character. The classic example in the film is the character Gregory using the gas lamps in the attic, causing the rest of the lamps in the house to dim slightly; when Paula played by Ingrid Bergman comments on the lights' dimming, she is told she is imagining things. Paula believes herself alone in the house when the dimming occurs, unaware that Gregory has entered the attic from the house next door. The sinister interpretation of the change in light levels is part of a larger pattern of deception to which the character Paula is subjected.

This technique is also supposed to have been used by the Manson Family during their "creepy crawler" burglaries during which nothing was stolen, but furniture in the house was rearranged.

A Second Life, A Second Chance

Finished Reading: Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
Currently Listening: The Rolling Stones, Paint it Black


A new life can be a second life, and could also be a second chance to get things right. But with second chances and a reincarnation of life, what naturally arises is a whole realm of uncertainty. Questions begin to rise-- is this life actually real? Is this mentally and physically healthy? Will things change now? Or maybe the past life was actually better? Whatever this new life is, it's here, real or not, this Second Life is virtual and is located over There.

Virtual Worlds are on a rise, a place where interactivity takes form in the shape of typed conversations, broken voices, shared fantasies, creations, economics, and adventures-- all of course in the virtual form. Some say it's here to stay and that it will be an economic power house since Fortune 500 companies have invested, but others like myself, just say it's a trend.

Wanting to unplug from the web as much as possible, things naturally came the opposite as I was forced into a virtual world and discovered it as a new medium of communication. And being in the communication business, my goal and 15 others were to create an Environmental Outpost located in There.com. Our theme was taking on the task of generating awareness about Electronic Waste, an issue often ignored or "greenwashed" to the public.



My Graphic located in the University of There


So what I discovered was our E-WASTES, our TV's, Cell-Phones, and other electronic junk are being shipped over to China, Congo, India, and the Philippines so poorer people can dismantle them improperly damaging themselves and the environment. I guess what makes me think, (something I hate now being a 7 year undergrad) is how a virtual campaign would solve anything. Similar to most issues I have taken on in the past from Racism, Sexism, Environmental Justice courtesy of WALC, Freeing Political Prisoners, and Stopping Unjust Wars...

I find that creating the message just isn't enough anymore, and I'm starting to find that relaying a message through-- a video, a photo, a word, a graphic, and not seeing a change of any sort can be very disheartening. I just hope that virtual worlds, which is slowly generating a real economic structure, and an academic environment will somehow make a real impact in real life.

*Is it too strange to think that the reincarnated virtual versions of people will somehow make a positive difference in the real world?*