Idiocracy shattered my delusional optimism for the future.
the truth machine made me realize that i never have to lie again
tales of symphonia taught me that trusting everyone you meet is not as stupid a decision as it looks
and simulacra and simulation taught me that no one needs to lie in order to fool you
lots of learning about what it means to tell the truth
It didn’t change my thoughts on the whole world, but the way demons are depicted in the anime Frieren changed the way I think about entities that use language for manipulation rather than communication: Their words are weapons. And assuming sincereness in any of them is dangerous. Immediate blocking is more appropriate than wasting time with them.
Mornings in Jenin. Growing up as a child of refugees, it was difficult to fully grasp the horrors of Israeli violence against Palestinians, my parents shielded us from the worst they witnessed, only telling us of the good memories before they were forced to leave. This book helped shape who I am today, motivated me to learn the truth, and exposed me to a whole world of non colonial literature, both fiction and non. And while it is a story of fiction, it is based on the reality of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, ongoing for 78 years now.
The two fictional courtroom dramas that changed the course of my life (eventually persuading me I wanted to become a lawyer and make sure the system works towards justice) were A Few Good Men and To Kill a Mockingbird.
And even though that’s have seemed kinda bleak on the justice front in the big seats of power in the US (in the three branches of government), there’s still a million tiny ways to improve things locally, including in day to day interactions with others. So I still draw some inspiration from those ideals.
D-D-D-Dark Souls 3. A great resource for the depressed.
You wanna know more? Go play the game. It’s very good. :3
Pff. You can’t just imply that anyone will understand a story by playing a fromsoft game.
Oh no! I did not mean to imply that. Let me try again:
“Dark Souls 3 is a great resource for people with depressio due to it’s core game play loop. Wanna find out why exactly? Go and play it >:)”
Phew. That could have been catastrophic. Thanks for pointing that out.
Whew!
Redwall - I didn’t realize when I was reading the series but looking back now they absolutely instilled in me the knowledge that I could stand up to those in power despite being weaker or smaller. Those books lead to me rebelling against my abusive parents and striking out on my own. I shed their conservative views and hatred. All because a mouse and his friends stood up to a rat.
I’ve got more but this one probably had the largest impact on how I think overall in the long term.
People have already mentioned Foundation, Stranger in a Strange Land, Discworld, Gurren Lagann, and Hitchhiker’s Guide, so I’ll add The Illuminatus Trilogy. It taught me a lot about how organizations tend to shake out, among other things.
Robert Anton Wilson had a certain genius for distilling so many slivers of truth embedded in conspiracy, paradigms, altered states of consciousness, personal and group psychology, systems, etc. After theTrilogy I readPrometheus Rising and that book blew my young little mind.
I make a habit of buying and gifting Illuminatus and Prometheus Rising whenever I find them for cheap
Stormlight Archive/Oathbringer.
Journey Before Destination.
Huge Spoiler for Book 3
The most important words a man can say are, “I will do better.” These are not the most important words any man can say. I am a man, and they are what I needed to say.
The ancient code of the Knights Radiant says “journey before destination.” Some may call it a simple platitude, but it is far more. A journey will have pain and failure. It is not only the steps forward that we must accept. It is the stumbles. the trials. The knowledge that we will fail. That we hurt those around us.
But if we stop, if we accept the person we are when we fall, the journey ends.
That failure becomes our destination.
To love the journey is to accept no such end. I have found, through painful experience, that the most important step a person can take is always the next one.
I’ve had more than too many life threatening events. Along with family, therapy, proactive steps to improve my life, I took to heart “life before death”. When I would be in a bad mental/emotional place, that was a strong mantra to help me get back on track. Thank you, Brandon Sanderson.
The entire Knight’s Radiant First Ideal is great. This book and aspect in particular really spoke to me :)
In his Discworld novels, Sir Terry Pratchett gave me a love for humanity. He’s so good at writing, but especially at characterization. The people he writes are just so human, and for me, it increased my empathy for people overall.
Also, even though I’m an atheist, after having grown up fundie Southern Baptist, I’d like to think that if the spiritual and supernatural exist, that it works somewhat along Discworldian lines. Certainly there are two Deaths that I wouldn’t mind meeting: The Discworld Death, and the Sandman Death (Neil Gaiman).
But it was with Pratchett’s help that I’ve come to believe that there are no good people and no bad people. Just people, and all the choices they make. Which in some ways makes “evil people” more terrifying, because I believe they make those choices. But it’s also heartening: People can choose to be better.
The principles expressed in the novels helped me change my views on what’s important: I think the most important thing you can do is to make others’ lives a little better, if you can. Huge projects like social safety nets, but even making a stranger laugh for a moment and brightening their day.
This life is all we get, and anything that makes it better is the main thing that’s worth anything at all.
Sounds weird, but Ascendance of a bookworm and time. Use to work agile and doing things quick, then I read bookworm and the tiny gremlin who wanted to do things quick and now, and the consequences for doing so.
Now I give as much time as I can/need for anything and everything. And I now start getting annoyed when family says they’re dropping in. Like dude, give me time to prepare, like 2-4 days heads up so I can clean, get more food and properly welcome you.
Anything Monty Python. Also, Gravity’s Rainbow.
Dogma helped me see how absurd religion, specifically Catholicism, was and helped be begin to untangle what it all meant for me, a hyper-religious teenager at the time.
Masters of the Universe.
Fisto really gave me a lot to think about when it comes to cultivating useful skills.
The Watchmen
Presumably Alan Moore’s ‘Watchmen’ (no The), solid work, but not world changing IMO. ‘V for Vendetta’ is probably more what we need right now.
To be explicit, not invalidating your opinion, just stating my own.
Also Firefly is awesome, just did my usual rewatch
Ah yeah, messed up the title. I’m not saying watchmen is what we need, but the way it points to evil and asks “where’s the line?” Really changed my perspective on the notion. The way that veidt creates an ultimate villain for the world to rally against, and in only that are we able to put our differences aside is humbling. Then throwing Rorschachs immutable sense of justice into the mix, only for him to collapse into it and make his choice, (leaving it vague for spoilers, seriously read it) left me speechless.
Oh, I’ve read it (both), they toned it down for the movie. It’s solid work, and I can see where you’re coming from. Guess I’d gotten there philosophically before I read it, but I can see it shaking things up if you hadn’t.
I surmised you had read it but I wanted to encourage the potential passerby who hadn’t
Worthy activity, if it wasn’t already obvious dear passerby, I concur, well worth it.
🎶 Alan Moore, knows the score.
I’d be surprised to see it published now, but it was British and published in the Thatcher years (as was V for Vendetta), freedom of the press hadn’t been so diluted, or maybe it was just obscure then. Isn’t now.
