Art, Ideology, Emotion, Spirit

January June, 2015

Love+Fear
Echoes of

Humanity

and Hatred
What Even is
Valentine's Day?
-Aki Gibbons

Russell Brand

Images of the Divine

CIA Torture

(syn)thesis manifesto:
Here at (syn)Thesis, were committed to scouring the undersides of the contemporary
human psyche and rewiring the crossed circuits of over-saturated modern day
ideological constructs.
We acknowledge that we live in an age in which information is suspect to constant
falsification due to its overwhelming quantity.
We acknowledge that we live in an era in which everyone has an overabundance of
thoughts, ideas, impressions, perceptions and opinions.
We endeavour to never hold back in expressing a thought, ideal or opinion, whether
big or small, whether safe or dangerous, whether placed to a name or anonymous.
We seek to explore every possibility, however ugly it may seem.
Furthermore, we regard an idea or opinion as a platform; a precipice which is able to
be explored further, for the betterment of all.
Let us not hold back from reaching into the unknown, let us not sit static in the fear
of what might be, nor what might have been, of the possibility of offending each other.
We are strong, our wonder is eternal, and we are tired of bearing the brunt of a
dilapidated system of repression.
Following is a number of discussions on communications, psychology, ideology, and
social issues.
We hope youll join us on the journey, and share your voice.

2 (syn)THESIS

editorial

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe by Chris Zielecki

Love is what we were born with. Fear is

what we learned here.
Marianne Williamson
The blind spot in your periphery.

THE crew:
EDITOR
Jonathan Payne

CONTENT CO-ORDINATOR
Helena Xavier

Welcome to the first issue of this experimental platform for exploring

thought, art, emotion and energy.

ART DIRECTOR

In this magazine, were hoping to approach radically opposed ideas

and concepts to see if we can attempt to reimagine the problems
posed into new working wholes.

LAYOUT MANAGER

For our maiden voyage, weve decided to focus on the motherload

of all dichotomies: Love and Fear arguably the two most primal
emotions experienced by the human species, and perhaps
the most powerful forces contributing to the ongoing quest of
civilization.
The idea, of course, is not to say that fear is as worthy an ally as
love. Instead, the drive is to see how our ideas of love and fear are
affected by, and at times condensed into, one other.
Why? you might reasonably ask.
Because the challenge today, it seems, lies not in solving predefined
problems so much as looking at ways to come to terms with the
nature of those problems, to test the fundamental precipices upon
which we base our systems of information and modes of understanding the world.
With some effort, we can hope to bring these two seemingly
contradictory forces into focus in a way that will allow us to move
forwards with a full, lucid understanding of our choices and actions.
Live freely, dare to dream.

Jonathan Payne

Jonathan Payne,
Editor, (syn)THESIS Magazine

Core
Copy
Creative Content
Editorial
Design

corecopyau@gmail.com

Alberto Carcetti

Tina Reik

CONTRIBUTORs
Aki Gibbons
Lena Aoyolae

COVER ART
Image: Arab Spring II, Oil on
Canvas by Nir Hod
Logo, Vector Art: Liz Fizz, Little
Sky Design

Disclaimer
As a non-commercial project,
weve tried to limit our selection of media items to those
made by contributors, or pieces
found online distributed under
collective commons licences.
If, however, you see that weve
used a piece of media wrongly,
please contact us at corecopyau@gmail.com and we well
remove it.
Distributed under
Creative Commons
Licence.

(syn)THESIS 3

08
20

14
4 (syn)THESIS

12

18

Dark Valentine

Is Fifty Shades of Grey really the best we can do for

our yearly celebration of the virtues of romance, and
the ongoing quest for eternal love?

hate and humanity

Is the human race defined by a narrative of hatred

and fear? A look at how hatred connotates a fixed
viewpoint towards self-loathing.

CIA Torture

A brief look at the worrying track record of US

detainment and interrogation of prisoners without
fair trial or investigation.

22

Divine Signs

How can we reconcile eache persons unique

image of the divine with the social order with which
we rely to live a peaceful life?

an

sc
ce

o Torto
rr
e

24

a
ll

Fr

08
12
14
18
20

russell Brand

Comic genius, maniacal madman or socially

charged catalyst? What does the comedian have to
offer the world?

22 Clocks Ticking
24 Interstellar
Underwater
26

26
(syn)THESIS 5

You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.
William Faulkner

6 (syn)THESIS

 Whoso loves . .

believes the impossible

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

by Marjan Lazarevski

(syn)THESIS 7

 Lena Aoyoale

Entertainment Politics: Has Brand crossed the line?

Narcissistic self-styled messiah or revolutionary catalyst?

whatever your opinion of him its
clear that Russell Brands divisive
character is making waves.
8 (syn)THESIS

fair indication of this is the constant barrage

of media outrage aimed to discredit, defame and deride the character of the comedian-turned-social-activist in an effort to call
into question his possible intentions. These of
course lie alongside a plethora of news items aimed to
applaud his recent call for revolution, thus placing him
at a point of heated contention.
Much of the criticism revolves around Brands celebrity
status (and associated wealth), labelling his support of
working class peoples as hypocritical and indicative of
a veiled attempt to publicise his media persona without
adding anything substantial to the causes he purports
to promote.
Others call his ideology of anti-corporate/
media/government at
odds with his status as
a celebrity alongside
allegations of funding
from large institutions
(see Brands response
to such claims from Rupert Murdochs tabloid,
The Sun).

formal know-how to be a part of the political infrastructure in place; a point that makes his raconteuring and
rabble-rousing difficult, but hardly invalid.
Indeed, some commentators have even suggested that
Brands struggles lie in tandem with certain elements
of the political spectrum in the UK, and feel that given
time, his support for (and collaboration with) such institutions may become more solid.
What he is doing is expressing a critical viewpoint of
modern mass-growth capital culture which, to be fair,
is damn-near impossible to find echoed throughout the
established media channels that proliferate our cultural
landscape. Everyone has the right to
express these kinds
of opinions our
democratic ideals
encourage this
and from my viewpoint Brand does
this with sincerity
and enthusiasm
despite whether or
not (on some level)
he is also promoting
his own self-image,
his book Revolution
(2014), his YouTube
channel The Trews,
his Social Media outlets, and so on.

total revolution of
consciousness and
our entire social,
political and
economic system is
what interests me,
but thats not on the
ballot

Many also like to

note that his lack
of formal education and/or expertise in social matters
make him an inadequate authority and thus inept
to share his opinions in the manner that he does. The claim that because of his celebrity status he should
shut up and enjoy his privilege, expressed by the likes
While I think some of these criticisms are valid to an ex- of Jo from Northern Ireland, a disgruntled Royal Bank of
tent (for instance, we should of course be wary of any Scotland worker (who, to be fair, had to endure a cold
media persona, and scrutinise their voice/intentions lunch) displaced (for an afternoon) by Brands protests
thoroughly) I also feel that they obscure some of the outside of its London office doesnt seem to add anyissues at hand.
thing to the issue except for an a-priori viewpoint on the
social and ethical responsibilities of those with power.
Firstly, I dont agree that anyone should refrain from expressing their opinions based on a lack of expertise. Its true that Brand has more resources at his command
While its fair to say that a person should take care in the than does the under-represented working class groups
way they present their arguments and analyses, such he supports. Its also true that he lives in a state of luxa criticism quickly becomes applicable to the media at ury compared to those he claims to represent. But that
large. One can only be so careful, and in the course of doesnt say anything about why he should or shouldnt
expressing difficult viewpoints there will always remain help those who themselves lack a voice in the public
some who are misrepresented and left marginalised. forum. In fact, a pretty strong argument could be made
Its the ongoing effort to right such wrongs that makes that there is greater responsibility for those in positions
the difference.
of power to lend their voice to the unfortunate and under-represented within a society.
Its also important to note that Brand is not an authority in the issues he discusses, nor does he claim to be. With all this in mind, it becomes far more important to
Indeed, he often responds to his critics by saying that analyse the mans actions rather than his character in
hes an entertainer and is not claiming an authoritative determining whether or not he represents a sincere efknowledge-base, but rather is following a deep-seated fort to tackle issues of austerity and wealth disparity in
drive to face inequality with the means he has at hand. the UK, and the world at large. Certainly in light of his
support for the New Era Housing Estate who recently
Its here that I find the rhetorical dissociation from the won a campaign victory against US investors Westbroestablished political system first expressed in his ok it seems hes doing something right. His recent
guest editorial of the New Statesman to be most video from his YouTube channel (The Trews E215) which
valid. What he seems to be saying is that he lacks the depicts him talking alongside New Era estate organiser
(syn)THESIS 9

Lindsey Garrett certainly seems to depict a state of solidarity and genuine camaraderie in terms of the support he
has shown. In an article penned by Garrett for the Independent she revealed I dont think wed be here now without
Russell Brands support.

Ill admit that at the heart of Brands viewpoints, there

emerges at times a worrying sense of hyper-drama and
shit-stirring that serves to over-simplify complicated issues.
But at heart, and from the passion evident in his interviews
and media pieces, I think the entertainer is doing what he
can to cross the line between a social amusement, and
Added to this is the ongoing mediation of a dissenting someone who is using his notoriety to make a real even
viewpoint that puts Brand in a hot-box of ridicule and anger if at times inevitably confused difference in the world.
from those who
seem to have the
To cry insincerity at
most to lose from
someone who apthese battles on
pears to be facing
the streets. And
issues of inequality
while I do not
and giving them sinagree with his
cere and dedicated
sentiment that
attention seems
we should give
bitter and unfair,
up entirely on the
especially when the
system in place
detractors leave it
(which over a
to character-smearlong period has
ing and empty
landed many vicrhetorics to do
tories for socialist
their work for them.
reform even
Such is the plight of
if at present it
anyone who wishlooks to be steeres to stand up for,
ing in a tyranniand give voice to,
cal direction), I
something they bedo understand
lieve in, at least in
the position of
our current media
apathy towards
setting.
the current political climate that
Apart from anything
Brand appeals to.
else, its amazing
If such an appeal
to be watching
to think outside
as Brands efforts
the framework
seem to catalyse
of the status-quo
the present instimanages to turn
tutions into action,
a few heads and reach a few jaded youths (and god forbid and for that he has my respect, even if he doesnt have my
get a few follows for his Twitter account) then who am I to complete (non) vote.
criticise?

The transition is from a paradigm of competition and domination to one of symbiosis

and cooperation, from greed
to altruism. It begins with the
realization of our shared responsibility for the future of
the earth, and our inherent
unity with each other and with
all of life.

10 (syn)THESIS

PHILOPHOBIA:
fear of emotional attachment;
fear of being in, or falling in love.

by ButterflySha

This Valentines Day, I will...

a) Spend copious amounts of money on status symbols
to prove my love to another who may or may not be
compelled to do the same for me.
b) Wallow in abject cynicism and self-disgust to hide
my state of loneliness.
c) Sign myself into contractual slavery in a desperate
attempt to cover up my growing fear of responsibility
in an increasingly hostile world, or...
d) Recognise that the only way to achieve true love on
earth is to approach myself and those around me with
a balanced state of respect, mutual understanding, and
willingness to recognise the unrecognisable.

(syn)THESIS 11

Fifty Shades of

SAME
Photo by Nikamatto on Wikimwdia commons

Tina Reik

12 (syn)THESIS

 within this story - an aspect which I find to be frustrating, and more than a little infuriating. Instead of a genuine struggle for a deeper connection, were struck with
an old tale of female weakness and male dominance.

Ideology

n Valentines day this year, Fifty Shades of

Grey brought home a huge box-office return
of an estimated $85 million over the holiday
weekend. For an R-rating movie, this is almost unheard of. Its confusing to think of a
modern tale of bondange and helplessness as the go-to
romance movie of the year: is this indicative of something other than creative marketing?

If anything, I think its this call-back to old models of

weak and dependent forms of the feminine that really
betrays the true essence of Fifty Shades: its story hinges
itself on the back of old-world models of patriarchy and
capital, and further, flies in the face of countless generations of strong women who have fought to release
themselves from such dilapidated grand-narratives. It
hints at the interesting fear/love nature of romantic relations and the power struggles inherent therein, but after
setting the premise, it reverts into pulp fiction.

What is it about this story of a confused and weakwilled woman entering into a contractual agreement
subjecting herself to the brutal dominion of a wealthy,
socially unhinged, male that has enthralled the imagination of such a mainstream audience? On the face of
it, much of the buzz surrounding the novels popularity
seemed to stem back to the idea that this was a new
form of romance, combining the disparate poles of love Sure, we all have guilty pleasures and wild desires.
Sometimes these fly in the very face of our explicit ethand fear into a working whole.
ical codes. Sometimes we gorge on foods we know we
The BDSM premise of such stories, however, is nothing shouldnt or take the easy option out when we know
new. Pick up any number of Mills & Boon titles and youll that we could work a little harder to make the world
find (at the very least) undertones of a fragile, wilting a better place. In a similar
sense of femininity that is begging, body and soul, for sense, we can understand
a strong, decisive masculine figure that rises above the that some might find some
common minutiae of social constructs and radically measure of excitement in
transforms her world with as much kicking and scream- the premise of being carried away into the world of
ing as one can imagine.
the powerful, even if as a
In fact, the whole premise sounds surprisingly like any passive object without real
number of embedded gender combinations passed human qualities. But its imon throughout the ages: a weak female, confused and portant to understand the
tired of her humdrum life brushes with a powerful male reasons behind the outcry
force and is hypnotised like a moth to a flame. Her love to such a film being made
and celebrated so explicmakes her weak.
itly.
Furthermore, the depiction of BDSM in the text hinges
on the stuff of rape fantasies and snuff films shunned Of course it is fantastic
by (healthy) practitioners of the dark side of romance, that this is a film which has
who while embracing the idea of pushing ones limits broken through the collec instead espouse to a model of mutual play based on tive psyche and brought
understanding between consenting adults. Its here that the combined talents of
the subject matter of Fifty Shades begins to restructure three amazingly committed
women into the limelight
itself into a sick kind of manipulation.
(director Sam Taylor-Johnson, writer Kelly Marcel and
But in todays world, a world in which were so focussed author of the novel, E.L. James). But the fact that it took
on working as hard as humanly possible to keep our- a one-dimensional softcore production to make this
selves above a rising poverty line, a world that glorifies happen is almost too much of an insult to bare.
competition and individual transcendence of the herd
above any sense of community, its perhaps unsurpris- For all its worth and despite its box-office popularity
ing that some take comfort in a tale of surrender in the film itself plays out like a quick-gimmick cheap-trick
which a meek anti-hero gives in to the age-old pres- sexcapade into the world of BDSM, and is lacking in a
convincing storyline or permissible dialogue. The idea
sures of a patriarchal control-structure.
that its grimy kink mise-en-scne is new or even enticing
Perhaps this view is a little unfair though, a little too is not entirely accurate, nor is it true that it is representreactionary: it could alternatively (or even simultane- ative of much that is interesting about the darker side of
ously?) be read as a story depicting the transformation romance. But sometimes the cheap fantasy sells.
of the modern privileged elite into a caricature of humanity in which the values of control, intimidation and I can live with that, after all I value our social commitmanipulation are pushed to their extreme, resulting in ment to artistic freedom and Im hesitant to say that
any story is in and of itself immoral, or just shouldnt
something distinctly (and frighteningly) inhuman.
be made. But I also want to make sure I know what Im
Either way, whats clear is that the genuine struggle of buying into this Valentines day.
mutual respect and co-dependence between females
and males is distorted and almost completely ignored

(syn)THESIS 13

 Jonathan Payne

14 (syn)THESIS

A Nazi about to shoot the last Jew left alive in Vinica, Ukraine. Photo: Library of Congress

Recognising Hatred for the

Weakness that it is

What makes groups like the

Ku Klux Klan or the Taliban so prone to destructive
forms of behaviour?

t would seem that there are a few key

differences that separate the human species from non-human animals. Advanced
self-consciousness (the mediation of our
instincts) is arguably the prime of these
differences. Along with this remarkable capacity emerges the development of complex
emotional states. From a perfunctory analysis,
its undeniable that a large range of these
emotional states arise from the recognition of
a tendency to feel one way or another under
specific circumstances in this way, many of
the emotions weve come to rely upon seem
wildly obsolete when viewed from outside the
context of human nature. One of the most interesting yet worrying of these emotional
states is hatred.
Try to think of a lion or an orangutang hating another organism. It doesnt really work,
right? It seems absurd, if only because we can
see how little a non-human animal has to gain
from cultivating such intense feelings towards
other groups or individuals. While it might be
fair to say that a lion has built up a complicated relationship with another of his pride
even one in which competitive behaviours are
pushed to the point of savagery there lacks
a point of fixed awareness to such a relationship. This form of competition seems rather
more natural than what wed associate with a
form of hatred per se.

Psyche

What then does the human animal gain from

this unhealthy disposition towards the other?
When viewed objectively it seems that much
like other species humans have very little to
gain from this emotion. So why do we (all of
us) continue to succumb to this strange, outmoded form of social energy?

tred seems to be a fixation of sorts towards

something which an agency sees as having
some determined effect on itself and its
general modus operandi. In the case of hatred, it is a fixation on something one sees
as being detrimental to themselves in a radical and intense manner. We could also reasonably say that hatred is a misunderstandThroughout various stages of history some of ing between the ego (or self-identification)
the worst and most inhumane aspects of our of an individual and an outside element with
civilisation have come to fruition via means which it is forced to relate.
of the tumultuous impact of mass hatred
from the Christian inquisitions, to Nazi death We must distinguish here the difference
camps, hatred is a force which is both perva- between a dislike and a hatred towards
sive and exponential in terms of the hysteri- something. Having a dislike for various ascal effects it can cause. Today were seeing pects of existence seems inevitable. Even a
some of the after affects of hatred seeping out Zen Master has preferences. All organisms
onto the surface layers of our society. Racial dislike going without food or being denied
attacks in the US by police against African the chance to mate, and yet it seems inadAmericans have dichotomised entire states, equate to say that the wolf hates the idea
and have the world scrutinising the worrying of starvation, or her prey, or even her comaspects of certain sections of American An- petitors, although that might be the closest
glo Saxon culture. The recent Taliban attacks she comes to the complex emotional state
killing 132 school children are a testament to in question.
the damaging effects, and outright stupidity of
hatred, by which it is reasoned that the killing Hatred seems intrinsically different from a
of innocents will aid in the abetting of further mere dislike in that it requires a continued
murders.
state of attention towards some outside
element of an agents reality. Such intense
But what is hatred? Where does it stem from? aversion requires a recognition of a fixed elAlong with other complex emotional states ement the being who hates believes that
(envy, anxiety and love to name a few), ha- they know the object of their hatred, and in
(syn)THESIS 15

An ongoing dedication to the ideology of us vs. them.

Innocents die when nations find themselves backed into a corner.

Stop the cultivation of a primal mindset of domination and intimidation.

16 (syn)THESIS

this respect are not open to the potential fallibility of

their own subjective position in relation to an objective
reality. The victim of hatred suffers a repetition of emotional reactions to an assumed situation (thing, place,
behaviour, object, person) dialectically past and present that has become (for the most part) unconscious,
and which in turn changes the way the hate-ridden individual relates to their world. In a sense, the object of
hatred is often more related to the individual who hates
rather than the external world in which they live. People
who hate, we might say, hate themselves as much as
anything else.
A healthy individual is one who is able to pool their resources into living a life which is open to complex situations and problems as they arise. This becomes much
harder for the individual who is committed whether
consciously or otherwise towards the destruction or
dissolution of something outside of themselves. A man
who hates women, for instance, will undoubtedly have
trouble relating to the rest of a society in which gender differences are approached through mediation and
self-restriction. Such a man will struggle with his own
ideas relating to women and to society in general, and
will likely suffer from an emerging sense of dissonance;
an alienation from those surrounding him. Rather than
being open to learning new ways to deal with unique
problems, such a man is fixed in regard to some prior
assumption which has been left unresolved and often
ignored. Whether such fixation leads to a conscious
outlash or a life lived in quiet confusion and suspicion
is anyones guess.
Its not hard to see how this bears relation to destruction.
Groups like the KKK fixate upon communal feelings of fear
that are encouraged and passed along between group

members in an effort to maintain a sense of cohesion in

relation to a particular outside element. Theyre driven
only by a shared sense of weakness. They hate the other, those who are radically different in terms of history
and ideology from themselves foreigners, homosexuals, non-Christians etc. because those are the shadows
of fear that are the easiest and most convenient to design
in order to maintain groups of individuals like themselves.
When the Taliban attacks groups supporting the education
of children, its because theyre lashing out in a wave of
reactionary violence. They are incapable of dealing with a
situation in a manner which we would describe as human.
And the whole of humanity suffers.
It is clear to see that hatred does nothing for our social
situation besides disrupting and distorting the underlying
sense of connection that life-forms need in order to continue living together in harmony. If were honest, we need
to accept that, on some levels, we all act on these primal
emotions from time to time. The Taliban would not (at least
to the same extent) be attacking others if they lived in a
world that didnt perpetuate violence. The KKK might gain
some intelligence if more people would come forward and
talk to them reasonably, rationally and without the negative emotion that is attached to their ideology. The Nazi
party would not have gained its insane foothold had the
sanctions of the Versailles treaty not left a broken country
to pay $132 billion dollars in reparations.
Whats required is not a quixotic message of love thy
neighbour, even if s/he is a psychopath, but rather vigilance balanced with understanding. Compassion balanced
with stoicism. And a well constructed understanding of
hatred which when viewed through the context of the
animal mindset, is indistinguishable from an infantile
fear.

a mentality of

is killing us
(syn)THESIS 17

CIA Tor
Interrog
Manipu
Psychological
torture
breeds falsity and
perpetuates the
sense of
terror it
seeks to
prevent.
18 (syn)THESIS

ohn Brennan, current director of the CIA, used

the term enhanced interrogation techniques
to describe the agencys treatment of detained terror suspects in his public response
to the harrowing report released December,
2014 detailing the intelligence units use of illegal
practices in black sites throughout the world.
This semantic delineation seeks to nullify the severity of the practices revealed in CIA documents which
included waterboarding and extended periods of sensory and sleep deprivation, among other brutal and
humiliating techniques imposed upon the prisoner
population. EIT sounds so technical, so formal, as if
implemented as part of an advanced procedure well
thought out and executed to precise standards.
But the procedures which were considered acts
of torture by human rights lawyers as well as current President of the United States, Barack Obama
seemed rather to be executed with a wild sense of
abandon and justified only by a growing hyperbolic sense of fervour surrounding the potential threats
posed by individuals to the security of the US and its
allies.

Furthermore, this prolonged system of interrogation

seemingly contradicts the CIAs former judgement
that inhumane physical or psychological techniques
are counterproductive because they do not produce
intelligence and will probably result in false answers, which it expressed to US Congress in 1989.
In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks of 2001,
public opinion propelled itself into a whirlwind of
knee-jerk reaction, at once explosive and incendiary
favouring a quick reaction over careful investigation. George W. Bushs declaration of war in Afghanistan was met with broad public support and media
outlets seemed ready to condemn the entire nation
which surrounded Al-Qaeda to a destructive fate.
Public opinion regarding the invasion of Afghanistan,
as well as the entirety of the ongoing War on Terror
(now dubbed the Overseas Contingency Operation
by President Obama) has waned considerably since
then, following 13 long years of unstable inhabitations, swathes of military and civilian casualties and
lies regarding hypothetical WMDs.
It is through the eyes of hindsight that we must look
firmly at this travesty of rational life; the severity of

the techniques utilised by the CIA should be of grave which we claim to legitimise invasions of supposedly
concern to anyone who lives and breathes on this dangerous, militant nations, and through which we
seek to gain the moral high-ground over states that bruplanet.
talise and dehumanise their citizens.
Such severity can not be overstated when we consider that 34 percent of the 119 known CIA detainees It cheapens the word of the individuals and parties that
produced no intelligence reports, or when we con- praised the war mentality, and pushed for a complete
sider the imprisonment of detainees such as Dilawar disregard of restrictive measures in the wake of death
of Yakubi, a taxi driver handed over to authorities by and terror, favouring instead a might is right mindset in
Afghan militants who died after 5 days of brutal treat- response to a difficult geopolitical situation.
ment at the hands of interrogators (Taxi to the Dark
Out of the whole endeavour theres only really one
Side, 2007).
thing that really makes sense: that a militant mindset
Were left to consider, of course, how many other lost will continue to breed enemies of the free life, despite
souls found their way into the hands of torturers for whether we label those who engage in such mindsets
no reason other than being in the wrong place at the as terrorists or simply officials doing their jobs.
wrong time. How do we live with this great injustice,
which invariably creates the hatred its purported to If you dont want to see your children growing up in a
stamp out? Which leads to what Dr. Alfred McCoy (au- world where torture is institutionalised, let the people
thor of A Question of Torture, 2006) calls a darkly representing you know that you categorically oppose
erotic sense of empowerment in the eyes of those the inhumane treatment of any persons, be they prisonwho are asked to undertake the role of the torturer? ers or otherwise.
Its inevitable that these inhuman acts, although carried
out in secret, change the nature of the social reality we
strive to uphold. It perverts our sense of justice with

World

rture:
gation+
ulation

(syn)THESIs 19

Spirit
faith+reality

we all live with our own interpretations of the divine

t might easily be said that if your idea

of god can be mocked, you have not
achieved a true understanding of the
concept.

On the face of it, this critique can sound particularly condescending. But I think that at
the end of the day, this stands as the true
downfall of the position espoused by extremism (of all kinds).
What makes a religion? What makes a religious position? From my perspective it
comes down to holding dear a sense of paradox, a sense that something is so, when it
cannot possibly be proven in the material
sense.
The bridge between this metaphysical
stance and the material world is infinitely
complicated and in constant need of renewed thought.
Simply put, what makes a group of people
believe the same thing is often a linguistic
avowal to believe in (and to know) the same
(materially) impossible things.
What we are seeing today then (carrying on
20 (syn)THESIS

from this model), is a group who claims to or an overarching sense of fear or hatred
represent the state of an entire faith who as- towards the groups that criminals appear to
serts dominance in representing that entire represent.
faiths belief structure.
When groups such as this (or any group
of people who claim authority over the
unknowable) assert dominance, whether
psychologically (by claiming to represent
the ideas of others and threatening to harm
those who believe otherwise) or physically (by gunning down or blowing up those
who appear to mock/oppose said truths or
those who lie outside of its lines of inclusion)
they show the weakness of their own belief
structure to achieve the perfect ideal.

Free emotion is for the personal realm, careful stoicism for the social. The most rational
approach (I believe) is to understand that at
their core, all organisms desire most strongly
to live without constant threat from outside
forces. To allow other people the freedom
and security to reach their own conclusions
is to allow them to achieve this ideal.

So we might instead say that if your Ultimate

Ideal includes the proposition that others
should behave or think in the same way that
you do, then your concept may (for who am I
Of course its difficult to point fingers only to say for certain?) not have reached its final
at certain groups without realising the ex- destination.
tent to which everyone does this (although
thankfully most do it in a non-violent fash- Spirit should be a place of personal empowion, at least in the explicit sense).
erment. Dont let those who claim superioriOur task is to understand how our own versions of paradoxical, metaphysical thinking
give rise to such tensions, without giving in
to a sense of guilt for the crimes of others,

ty in any matter cloud this for yourself.

Lovers don't finally meet somewhere..

They're in each other all along.
Rumi

(syn)THESIs 21

They want us to believe that the

clocks are still ticking....
Universal Surveillance
Individualised Competition
Mediated Hysteria
Reliance on Old-Worlf Sources of energy
Financial States

22 (syn)THESIS

Lets make sure they know that

ours have stopped for good.
Revitalising Communities
Responsible Socialisation
Embracing Renewable Energies
Internet Freedom
Meditation & Spiritual Revolution

by James Vaughan

(syn)THESIs 23

Interstellar

24 (syn)THESIS

Film

Brimming
with
the
combined
vivacIty of a Space Epic and the emotional
inversions
of
a
disaster
movie,
Interstellar achieves a triumphant
vision of the soul; its limits and
extrusions
within
the
space-time
continuum.
Jonathan Payne FireSight Media

n this latest film written by the Nolan

brothers (Jonathan and Christopher) Matthew McConaughey plays Cooper, a former engineer and fighter pilot living as a
farmer on a dying world some ways in our
future. He resides and works on his corn farm
(corn being the only crop able to survive the
incessant dust storms that plague the earth),
struggling to feed his two children a son and
a daughter and their ageing grandparent.
The society in which they exist is far removed
from our own. Military power has been abolished and schools train children either for scientific pursuit or farming, both in an effort to
combat the worlds ongoing food crisis. The
hills are covered with corn fields, and dust
covers everything.
Coop struggles with echoes of the life he once
led and the prospects of a grim future for his
children. As his son, Tom (played by Timothe
Chalamet at 15 years old and Casey Affleck
in his older version) is set to follow his father
as a farmer, his daughter Murph (Mackenzie
Foy at 10 years, Jessica Chastain as an adult,
and finally Ellen Burstyn as a senior) faces her
own anachronistic challenges: in her insatiable search for knowledge shes faced with inconsistencies between her experience of the
world and the abridged versions of learning
they teach in schools.

ship and sets themselves off into the great

black of the night, a few inches of steel separating them from billions of lightyears of annihilation.

realm of recent sci-fi films such as Gravity (2013)

as well as in mind of classic films such as Stanley
Kubricks seminal epic 2001: A Space Odyssey
(1968), director Christopher Nolan manages to
take what Kubrick started and create something
This heroic quest takes him and his fellow wholly fresh and original out of the structure of
its civilisational thesis. In this way, Nolans work
cosmonauts on a journey of incredible sacristands more as an elaboration on such works
fice and emotional suffering as they traverse
rather than as a simple post-script.
desolate worlds, the relative time dilations of
black holes, and long lost wanderers facing the Interstellars story is nuanced to the degree that
eternity of existence on their lonesome. As the its hard to pinpoint an exact message behind
audience is taken along on this journey, whats the film. While it clearly asks us to engage in
affected most strongly is the sheer unlikeliness the ongoing political struggle of our time: to
almost impossibility of life anywhere in the wrestle with the environmental and climate impacts made by the human race on our planet, it
universe, whether on Earth or otherwise.
doesnt give an explicit answer on how to solve
The wonderful cinematography of Interstellar these issues in any pragmatic sense, but rathis often largely desolate and denoting the in- er opens up an emotional spectrum of human
herent fragility of life. And while this adds to mortality and need that brings a new light to the
issue, and charges it with an earth-shattering
the emotional severity of the situation of its
sense of significance.
narrative, its visuals remain spectacular to the
last, effacing a sense of wonder and possibili- Along with McConaughey; Anne Hathaway,
ty existent within the cosmos, even amongst a Michael Cain, Matt Damon and Mackenzie Foy
growing sense of urgency.
round out the cast of outstanding performers
that give the film a feeling of sincerity: frail, yet
Prevalent in the thematic journey of the film is overly human. Also worth a mention was Nolan
the cyclic nature of love, and the the inconsist- and Nolans involvement with Kip Thorne, a theencies of simple cause-and-effect versions of oretical physicist who advised on much of the
time. Through the exposition and contrast of effects depicted (huge planetary tidal waves,
these two ideals, the film manages to take on the effects of black holes on neighbouring planets and the universal effects of gravity, to name
a panoramic view of the human race and its efa few) giving the entire ordeal a strangely adforts of civilisation the ways weve succeeded missible feeling of hyper-reality.
and failed as a species.
Some great ideas are presented in this emoAlthough ending on a refreshingly optimistic tional space bazaar, and science fiction wonder.
note, the film is drawn out in its long emotional The movie is worth checking out even if only for
spaces of psychological isolation and material its amazingly confronting yet beautiful imdesolation. The heartache caused by the split in agery, but if you engage with the whole packtheir home structure is felt throughout the en- age, Im sure youll find much else to amaze and
tire film and lasts a lifetime for the characters. inspire. 8.5/10 stars.

After a strange anomaly plagues his daughter,

Coop is engaged to undertake a mission into
deep space through a wormhole to another
galaxy in an effort to find a planet suitable
for colonisation. Seeing this as the only tenable
future for his family (and for the human race),
Coop risks his life on Earth to undertake this
mission, knowing fully well that he may never
return. The crew packs themselves into a tiny While most certainly created within the visual

(syn)THESIS 25

Underwater
We meet at our reserved
room, this time at a different hotel. Once
a year for nearly ten years weve met. This
is the first time weve changed our meeting
placefor reasons I dont understand you
want to meet at a spot on the other end of the
city. Not our usual part of town.

completely still and I have no way of knowing where you

are in your silence. Then I feel something, a stirring in
the upper left corner of where I guess is the ceiling. Like
a deep, slow current of monochromatic water. The darkness shifts in slow motion waves so there is no longer
complete blackness but rather gradations of it, moving
across my field of vision.

Its a small business hotel across the street from

a grey park with unused swings and uninhabited benches. The entire street has an abandoned feel. The hotel has been left behind by
time, its dim lobby and plain dcor seemingly
unchanged for decades. Our room is on the fifth
floor. I arrive first.

The movement swells closer until its in front of

me, then surrounding me. All around, the shifting of something in the deep. The deep what?

I turn the key in the lock and enter a room empty

of furniture, except for a chair standing in the
middle. A plain wood straight-back chair. There is
no bed, no dresser, no prints on the walls. I look
through the window facing the park. A child is sitting on the swings, but he doesnt swing. He sits,
holding the chains of the swing, legs dangling,
staring off at nothing. I watch him, waiting for him
to move, until I hear the door open.
You enter the room with just the trace of a smile. I
step towards you, but instead of greeting me you
say, Why dont you sit down?
I suppress a smirk. I decide to comply with your
games without question just to see where we
take it. I sit on the chair. As soon as I sit, the
lights go out and the room goes dark as if with
a switch. But its a darkness beyond ordinary
darkness. Its as if all light from the outside world
has been sealed out.
A small, nervous laugh comes out of me. I try to
lift a hand to my eyesfor a terrifying moment
it occurs to me that Ive lost my sight. But I find I
cant move, as if my wrists and ankles have been
bound to the chair. Panic floods my veins like cold
water.
What are you doing? I ask. This isnt funny.
Its not meant to be funny. Your voice is filled
with a terrifying calm. Just sit still and pay attention.
I stop trying to move and strain to detect any
movement or light in the dark. Youve become
26 (syn)THESIS

Water.
Im underwater. These are creatures that have
dwelled here since before time, before humanity.
Where we all come from, before consciousness
as we know it.
Now the terror has shifted from the unknown
to the known. The mystery isnt whats taking
place anymore, but rather who or what I am:
how am I part of this shadow realm?
The movement comes closer along with
a sense of drifting downwards, deeper,
beyond imagining or tolerance. Im
entrenched here now in this subterranean world of primal forces,
of existence beyond the realm of
reason. The creatures range in
size from massive forms of cold
flesh, the size of houses, to small,
flitting organisms darting between
currents of shadow and darkness.
They entrench me, swimming
around and around and around,
crushing closer to me, barely
discernible from each other in
the deep gloom: a morass of
dark energy.
Sweat is covering my body, or
what I recall as my body. I start
sensing your presence now, not
very far from me at all, observing. I dont know how much time
passes before I can force words
from my mouth or what I think
are words but a strained cry
comes out, a hoarse yelp. Still you
say nothing. I know were far from
done. Were going deeper.

Fiction
We go so far back that the crush of timelessness is
unbearable. The excruciating loneliness of an aquatic
netherworld where there is nowhere to go but onward
in the darkness. No choice, no determination, just part
of the endless cycle of being. The grief comes from
remembering my choices from another life. The remaining kernel of my mind clinging to the memory
of what I used to be or will be smothered by
forces beyond my control.
If I had tears left I would be drowning in them.
Finally, through eons of paralyzing torment, your
words reach me.
This is what loving you is like.

by Sundaram Ramaswamy

Aki Gibbons
Scent of a City,
March 2, 2015

(syn)THESIS 27

28 (syn)THESIS

by azrasta

Image
(syn)THESIS 29

digital art by Stephanie Burg @ L0ST_G1RL

If were the total sum of our

Emotional connections...

Then nobody dies

alone.

in the next issue of (syn)THESIS:

Information + Alienation
30 (syn)THESIS