Our brains evolved to tell stories before they evolved to speak.
This has fundamental implications for our susceptibility to communication in the networked age.
On October 21, there was a tragic shooting on the New Mexico set of the film Rust. The TL:DR is that Alec Baldwin accidentally fired a prop gun that had live ammunition inside. This resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured the director Joel Souza. That’s the basics of what happened. The full story is a bit more complicated.
The investigation is still ongoing, but recent facts have come out that paint a very damning picture. Rust was a film conceived of and produced by Baldwin. Now Baldwin has dabbled in producing since 1994, but hasn’t had any notable success. The project was low budget for modern Hollywood standards, and was considered an independent film. This meant they didn’t have a studio backing the project and instead funding came from individuals. And none of these individuals had much if any experience making movies.
This might explain why there was another big problem with the Rust production. There was a culture of complacency around firearms. Cast and crew would regularly take the prop guns, load them with live ammo, and shoot cans off set. Before October 21st, There were 3 accidental misfires where prop guns were thought to be empty. Several crew members complained to producers about the lack of gun safety.
To add another layer to this tragedy, most of the crew walked off set the day before the accident. I’ve written before about IATSE and their negotiations and possible strike. Well this is a clear example of what they were fighting for. Crew workers had to drive 50 miles to and from set every day. This is after spending 12-13 hours working in the harsh sun. The day of the shooting, members of IATSE packed up and left set. At least one producer forced them to leave. New non-union workers were brought on to replace them. 6 hours later Hutchins was shot.
Oh, and the Assistant Director who gave Baldwin the gun was fired from a set in 2019 after he mishandled a prop gun which misfired and injured someone.
As I said before, the investigation is still ongoing. Hutchins death was a tragedy and an accident. But it was a highly preventable one. And now everyone is scrambling to control the Narrative.
The New Mexico Governor is saying that if the film industry doesn’t set stricter regulations to ensure set safety, then the state will. IATSE is blaming the producers and non-union workers who were present. They called the replacement of union with non-union “inexcusable”. In response, the remaining producers have issued a statement that they were “in good standing with all major production unions and guilds”. Then you have the California State Senator calling for the ban of all live ammunition on theatrical productions.
Everyone is trying to add their own two cents and put their spin on it. Placing blame, deflecting blame, and trying to get their 15 minutes of fame. Because the cat’s out of the bag. Film sets are incredibly unsafe and people can die. Now it’s time to see what the investigation finds and which narrative spin comes out on top.
— Harper Hunt | October 29, 2021|
They made a deal! IATSE was able to reach an agreement with studios and networks just 24 hours before the strike would have gone into effect. Now the deal must be sent to IATSE members for approval. If the majority of IATSE members don’t vote in favor of ratification, the strike is back on. While IATSE was able to get better pay across the board and better working conditions, a lot of members feel it’s not enough.
Meanwhile. A strike did happen somewhere else. At John Deere, more than 10,000 employees walked out of 14 facilities. This is an active strike that’s been going on for over a week now. And I haven’t heard much about it. I’ve heard a lot about the IATSE negotiations from friends, trade journals, and main news coverage. And that was about a potential strike. I’m finding out about an actual strike a week after it started.
John Deere didn’t have missionaries to bring their strike to the public’s attention. IATSE had celebrities like Jane Fonda and Seth Rogen posting in favor of the negotiations. They used the full power of Hollywood to get mass attention. I know what the IATSE strike would involve. I know who would be affected, what they want, and what the ramifications would be. All this with very little effort on my part. I didn’t have to seek out much information and when I did there were dozens of media sources covering it. The John Deere workers don’t have that luxury.
Without a proper Missionary they are waiting for people to notice. And the only people who are, are people already affected by the strike. Most news outlets aren’t covering the story or aren’t giving it the same weight and attention IATSE got weeks before they entered negotiations. Without a face to put on the story, it just doesn’t get the same attention.
— Harper Hunt | October 21, 2021|
If you hadn’t heard about the potential IATSE strike allow me to catch you up to speed. IATSE is the much needed abbreviation for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. They’re the thousands of people who make movies and television. All those names in the credits, that’s them.
And they’ve had enough. The crew works horrible hours with no breaks. Imagine your call time to work was 6am. But you have to wake up at 4am to get there in time and set up. Then work continues non stop until 9pm. Go home, get some sleep, and do it all again the next day. That’s not counting overtime. And the pay is not worth it.
Now the IATSE is ready to strike. They’re looking for a few things. One is better pay that accurately reflects the work done for streaming services. Technically shows produced for streaming services like Hulu and Netflix don’t count as a series and workers don’t get the higher pay that entails. So Stranger Things and The Handmaiden’s Tale are TV enough to win Emmys, but not to pay their crew.
IATSE is in the sixth day of talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers right now. They hope to come to a resolution, but they also have picket signs ready. And if the strike does happen, Hollywood is in trouble.
Remember how all the movies and shows from 2008 were super delayed, short, and just really bad? That’s because of the writers strike. Now imagine if it’s not just the writers. It’s the lighting tech. The cinematographer. The grip. The boom mic guy. If they go on strike Hollywood is shut down.
The IATSE expects to reach an agreement within days. But just in case, don’t hold your breath for Season 2 of Emily in Paris.
— Harper Hunt | October 12, 2021|
The Activist is an upcoming reality show that really shouldn’t have made it past the “there are no bad ideas” stage of development. It’s the most tone deaf, disconnected concept I’ve ever seen.
The basic idea is that the show will feature six activists from around the world and follow them as they “compete in missions, media stunts, digital campaigns and community events”. Think Shark Tank meets The Apprentice. Contestants will be judged on how much social media engagement they receive, and the grand prize is an opportunity to attend the G20 Summit in Rome.
Yeah.
Contestants will be judged not by quality of their work but by the quality of their Instagram captions.
The show and its marketing campaign present this very shallow idea of supporting activism and getting them mainstream attention. But the show isn’t prepared to follow through on helping create change. The prize isn’t money or manpower. It’s a chance to beg powerful people to pretend to care.
At its core, this show is not about activism and social change. It’s about social media attention. Just look at the judges! Usher, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Julianne Hough have no experience in activism aside from Instagram posts and speaking at charity events. They’re not leaders of change. They’re mid-level celebrities who wouldn’t be out of place judging The Masked Singer.
The show has been justly lambasted on social media as literally everyone has a problem with the premise. It’s been called “performance activism personified” and it is. It’s encouraging participants and viewers to see activism not as something meant to enact change, but a way to get attention. It sets a standard that successful activism isn’t making change, it’s getting likes and views. It ignores the small, boring, and thankless work that is done on a grassroots level. The work we need to see more of.
We don’t need more beautiful people talking about how they use metal straws to save the sea turtles. We need more people who are willing to do the work. This show isn’t doing anything to help anyone and I, for one, will not be watching.
— Harper Hunt | September 16, 2021|
Yesterday, the 20th anniversary of 9/11, I read and heard several mainstream references to “the Widening Gyre”. It makes sense that yesterday would spur that sort of Narrative connection, as the juxtaposition of the political images and texts from then and now is breathtaking. It’s amazing (and obvious), how polarized we’ve become over the past two decades.
But at this point – where the Widening Gyre is not happening but has already occurred – I think what we’re seeing is the Widened Gyre, where everything is autotuned to the poles of the gyre, including references to the Widening Gyre itself!
Case in point, on Twitter I am now routinely criticized for “contributing” to the Widening Gyre if I don’t engage in perfunctory political whataboutism on any topic that has a political dimension … which is to say ALL topics.
What is the Widened Gyre?
Yesterday, the most recent former president of the United States gave a paid speech to Moonies and then made a paid appearance at a sham boxing match where 58-year-old Evander Holyfield was knocked out in 90 seconds.
On 9/11.
And it will change no one’s politically polarized views. Not his supporters. Not his detractors. No one.
The Widened Gyre is a VERY stable equilibrium.
— Ben Hunt | September 12, 2021|
The cure for the cancer of gun culture and police culture is not to be found in reform laws around guns and police, but in reform ideas around culture, ideas that create a new dimension of American society that rejects LARPing and LARPers alike.
Inflation
What made Bitcoin special is nearly lost, and what remains is a false and constructed narrative that exists in service to Wall Street and Washington rather than in resistance.
The Bitcoin narrative must be renewed. And that will change everything.
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Crypto
Recent Notes
Chapter 5: The Axe that Never Was
Our brains evolved to tell stories before they evolved to speak.
This has fundamental implications for our susceptibility to communication in the networked age.
Chapter 4: Out of Eden
If we care about the influence of social networks on our minds, why are we talking about bipedalism and the 8 million year cycle of co-evolution it kicked off?
Because it defined how our young were parented, how we taught them, and what they were exposed to. Because it changed how our symbolic brains evolved.
Intentional Investor #19: Yuri Khodjamirian
Join host Matt Zeigler as he interviews Yuri Khodjamirian, Chief Investment Officer at Tema ETFs, in this captivating episode of The Intentional Investor. From his early years during the collapse of the Soviet Union to building innovative investment products today, Yuri shares his remarkable journey through the world of finance and entrepreneurship.
Chapter 3: Caliban’s Garden
Man’s road to becoming a storyteller began with a single step.
That step kicked off millions of years of co-evolution of the human brain, society, language – and our relationship with story.
Chapter 2: What is Story?
There are a lot of ways to define a “story.”
But to understand how story interacts with human consciousness requires us to be more specific.
Intentional Investor #18: Jason Buck
In this fascinating conversation, Matt Zeigler sits down with Jason Buck, co-founder of Mutiny Fund, to explore the unexpected intersections between entrepreneurship, risk management, and personal development. From selling mixtapes in rural Michigan to developing real estate in Charleston and ultimately founding an innovative investment firm, Jason’s journey challenges conventional wisdom about success and risk-taking.
Chapter 1: Overhearing Ourselves
Shakespeare invented the human by inventing a device which spoke the language of consciousness:
Story.
Introduction: David Bowie’s Alien
David Bowie was right.
Social networks aren’t a tool. They are an alien force that transforms human consciousness.
Making Sense of Markets in a Post Election World | Grant Williams and Ben Hunt
Matt Zeigler is joined by Ben Hunt and Grant Williams for a candid discussion of the 2024 post-election landscape and its implications for markets. The guests explore how trust, or lack thereof, shapes both political and market narratives, examining the transformation of capital markets into what they describe as a “political utility” where “number go up” has become the prevailing faith.
I Think Representative Democracy is a Good Idea and We Should Give It a Try
I am 60 years old.
I am a (very) patriotic American.
I have never felt represented by any elected official.
Never.
Cursed Knowledge #30: The Road to Hell
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. But how often does that actually happen? Why do good intentions go so wrong? And what makes it so difficult to course correct? Those are the questions explored by Harper Hunt and Rusty Guinn in this episode of Cursed Knowledge.
Intentional Investor #17: Jared Dillian
In this episode of The Intentional Investor, host Matt Zeigler sits down with Jared Dillian – former Lehman Brothers trader, acclaimed newsletter writer, and author – for a captivating conversation about the unexpected paths that shape a life’s work. From his early days as a Coast Guard officer to becoming a Wall Street trader, and ultimately finding his voice as a writer, Dillian shares candid insights about his journey.
Walking Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is a young city chock full of kids. They are everywhere, and they bring a positive energy, warmth, and joy that no amount of adult diversions — no amount of bars, casinos, exceptional cuisine, and museums — can replicate, because nothing warms the heart like a big smile from a tiny face.
I, Nazgûl
Being clear-eyed and full-hearted doesn’t mean being passive, weak, or silent.
It means resisting every effort to supplant our autonomy of mind with symbols of identity, no matter the source.
Intentional Investor #16: Remi Tetot
Join host Matt Ziegler as he sits down with Remy Tetot, the mind behind The Mad King newsletter and former co-founder of Real Vision, for a fascinating journey through the intersection of technology, finance, and personal growth. From washing dishes in Spain to revolutionizing financial media with Real Vision, Remy shares his remarkable story of constant reinvention. Learn how he transformed from a self-taught coder into a macro analyst under Raoul Pal’s mentorship, helped build Real Vision from the ground up, and navigated both spectacular successes and humbling failures in the crypto markets.
Apocalypse Always
Extreme language during election season isn’t anything new.
But this time it really is different. Our response must be different, too.
The Open Window
Creating two tightly bounded political extremes is NOT opening the Overton Window.
It just adds a second, equally closed window behind which all of our worst ideas can and will fester.
Remembering the Face of Your Father
For the past 28 years, since the death of my father, I’ve been hearing a steady tick-tock in my head.
How do we tell our stories to our children and our children’s children before it’s too late? Before we pass as all humans must pass?
Generative AI is a communion machine.
Intentional Investor #15: Brent Donnelly
In this episode of The Intentional Investor, host Matt Zeigler interviews Brent Donnelly, a veteran forex trader, financial writer, and mentor. Brent shares his fascinating journey from aspiring journalist to Wall Street trader, and how he eventually combined his love for writing and finance.
Cursed Knowledge #29: Allergies
Allergies. We either have them or know some one who does. Ranging from life threatening to mildly irritating, they’re one of life’s constant annoyances. And they’re getting worse. We have more allergies now than ever before. Rusty Guinn joins Cursed Knowledge to talk about why allergies are more common, and if there’s anything we can do about it.