That's why I hate bureaucracy, because they're an excuse for people not behaving in a human way towards each other, because there's a law, there's... laws are pieces of papers, they're rules... these things are their to avoid the more complicated relationship that involve, and have to be involved between people. I was, more specifically, just about the idea of paperwork, and forms, and people's lives being reduced to several pages of paper, with their names and their statistics on them. And that's any modern organization or society does that. they try and put the names and numbers on things so that it can all go into the files and computers.
-Terry Gilliam
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1 Samuel 8:1-15
...applies to every government
Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9 Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”
10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. 11 And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. 12 He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. 16 And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. 18 And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”
"Judges" were militia commanders over tribes who otherwise were free to move, commune, and trade as they pleased... they were incorruptible, but being a check and balance against each other was a far sight better than a centralized, census-taking, tax-collecting monopoly on power and violence that comes with a hierarchical authority...
*weren't incorruptible
(Dang disobedient auto-corrupt)
Stoning a murderer to death is "barbaric" now, even more so if he wears a badge.
The suede denim secret police will always come for your uncool niece...
...but least they won't punish her if she's an abomination to the sight of God...
God wanted people to be free, but some Karens messed it all up wanting vengeance for themselves
"I want to speak to the manager..."
"Have your manager call mine, then."
"But I buy steak here all the time!"
"And we throw in the clean dishes and tables for free?"
Waiter, a club soda please.
...THAT soda wasn't from my club!
"Are you now, or have you ever been?" - the androids torturing / interrogating THX 1138 with shock batons (cattle prods)
You are a true believer. Blessings of the state, blessings of the masses. Thou art a subject of the divine. Created in the image of man, by the masses, for the masses.
Let us be thankful we have an occupation to fill. Work hard; increase production, prevent accidents, and be happy. Let us be thankful we have commerce. Buy more. Buy more now. Buy more and be happy. - OMM 0000 ("Jesus") in THX 1138
"a love story filmed on location in the 21st Century"
....a spin-off?
Just wanted to change the dystopian theatre from Brazil to THX 1138
Now take your meds or you will be charged with drug evasion and reckless non-productivity :P
You will be perfectly happy
perfectly happy
perfectly happy
perfectly happy
As with his Star Wars movies, George Lucas updated THX 1138, and it's quite good except for the overdone CGI in the car chase scene.
I suppose I need watch this...
His student film was cr*p...
It's that same student film plot with a larger budget and longer running time. As far as dystopian fiction some of it has aged like milk lol but it's good for some nerdy quotes.
You can tell he basically put Huxley's Brave New World, Orwell's 1984, Logan's Run, and few other dystopian sci-fi reductions of people to spreadsheet fascism in a blender and robbed it of a narration. It's just... weird.
The world of THX 1138 is meta-Brazil, if that makes sense.
He made this one first. His second film was this one remade with a future setting... and an escape.
Ah. Electronic Labyrinth is what he expanded into THX 1138.
In Star Wars, the Empire is the US and the Rebel Alliance are the Vietnamese.
Yeah, George Lucas was hippy dippy lol
...until he made billions
I can't believe anyone ever gave him a job...
Move over Terry... no one hates bureaucracy more than me.
But I fought the Law and the Law won...
You wouldn't know Star Wars was a social commentary about the Vietnam War unless George Lucas told you himself. He kept that quiet for a long time lol
Gert, are you licensed to operate a television set? :P
Gert, are you licensed to operate a television set?
Yes but so far I've managed to dodge window tax!
Bureaucracy breeds Bureaucracy of course, that's one of its most pernicious properties.
When I ran my first restaurant 20 yrs ago the Holy Temperature of heating/reheating food was 70 C. Today it's 75 C. If 70 C was once perfectly OK for 10s of 1000s of catering outlets up and down the land then why did we need to 'upgrade'?
Function creep caused by zealous technocrats/bureaucrats wanting to be seen 'doing the right thing' is what.
Amen! They think they need to eliminate all risks, be it from food poisoning to an economic downturn. But each attempt only increases the risks in the long run and restrict the benefits from what the revised "system" can actually accomplish (be it taste or wealth creation).
Window tax lol. Someone read Bastiat's parody pro-camdlemaker tariff on sunlight and didn't understand they were being mocked.
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