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I'm watching The Dark Crystal netflix series and, because I've watched the movie, and know how things end up for the Gelflings, it makes it very hard and sad to watch, but it also raises an interesting moral and philosophical question, and I find myself wondering if maybe a lot of sorrow and death could have been avoided if they all just listened to Chamberlain.

So here I want to pose a hypothetical and philosophical question to you:

If you alone had the decision to choose, and only could choose one or the other, would you rather allow your species to live peaceful happy lives blissfully unaware of the fact that a few hundred of you feed a stronger species every year, as long as your species gets to live on, unaware that they're all just...cattle? Or would you fight the oppression even though it will inexplicably mean your species' extinction completely?

Which would you pick?

LadyAlyxandrea 8 Sep 4
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22 comments

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5

I broke my back and have been bedridden for 2 months, so I have too much time to think. This has been on my mind and I know it sounds crazy. Im stuck in China and it’s so polluted and overcrowded. I was wondering if my back doesn’t heal what do I do. If I would take my own life it would mean one less person in the world taking up the worlds resources. Im almost 63 so I’ve lived the majority of my healthy years. But what about my wife and family? If the world could compensate them for my saving the planet some of its resources then it would be a win win. Then I thought if on the other end if you compensate women for not having children that also saves the planet from pollution and overpopulation. None of this would be mandatory but for some this would be beneficial. Maybe with a little compensation a woman could choose to get an education and then if she chose to have children it would be later in life.I’ve been reading a lot about saving the planet and it sounds to me like it will take everybody doing something to save this planet. The simple idea of planting trees everywhere would help a lot and any new ideas would be good. This is not a suicide note because my back is getting better! Where else can you say this kind of shit! Sometimes crazy ideas are good!

I chose to not have children. Where's my reward? Lol

3

Due to the real predicament that most of us are in, we are the cattle.

3

Hardly anyone is answering your question.
I’d fight until my last breath.

2

We ARE already living this scenario. Cattle, blissfully unaware for the most part that our government regard the status quo as inept and disposable in the name of whatever use they see fit. The alternative? 3rd world lifestyle? War at home, revolution? We could join together and restart it all, but just like the gelflings we can't put aside our perspective differences or agree on anything long enough to concert any effort as such. So remaining in the matrix remains the prudent and only option for a somewhat comfortable existence.

2

I haven't seen this series or movies, but it seems like a obvious choice. You should pay the tributary, and maybe eventually you can fight back if you develop some kind resistance. If you have power and say over which members of your society are to be offered as tribute you could easily turn this into something politically or socially beneficial. For example, you could only offer criminals or political opponents, then you wouldn't have to maintain the reality a secret.

2

I'd been hesitating to watch exactly because I'd seen the movie, and was wondering if they'd varied the equation at all? Obviously I wouldn't do something that I knew would result in extinction, but would I risk extinction if my species MAY escape it's role as cattle? Yes, I think I would.

I agree, well put.

The series is the events that lead up to jen and Kira saving the crystal. There's a few minor differences but for the majority it keeps with the movies lore well and strong. The story is moving and touching but it does have an air of futility if you've watched the movie because in the movie you know Jen and Kira are the last gelflings and the skeksies drained and killed the entire race before them. You find yourself whispering "please please go a different path from the future of the movie"

@LadyAlyxandrea Ah, well,I guess I understand bringing it back without exploring different paths, but it makes me sad even to think of it, let alone knowing while watching it. Thank you for the synopsis. But even with sadness, I think I'll watch it anyway.

1

One persons freedom fighter is another's terrorist.
The same moral dilemma was illustrated in the Matrix series as well.

I would contend that this type of dilemma isn't fiction we're living in such a time now. 9 years and counting until the heat death of our biosphere becomes unavoidable. The corrupt and powerful of the last seven generations are to blame for our destruction and they will do nothing to change it, nay they will defend it to their graves.

I have no doubt that some will survive no matter what, but I am greatly saddened that so many (even now) will have starved to death because of privilege and greed of the select few of the last "great" boomers.

1

Which pill?

Take them both and let them fight it out in my gut.

@resserts
Haha, that’s pretty funny!

@resserts I have gastroparesis so it'll take about a week and a half to find out haha

Which one gets me in bed with Keanu Reeves?

1

The sacrifice of a few hundred would be nothing. Hundreds of thousands die every day.

1

If one is unaware of anything, then it has no bearing on anything. For all we know that is exactly how things are. Ignorance is bliss.

1

Viva LA Resistance

0

If my species is going to face certain doom in a revolt I would have to say I would choose option one.

Gawd Level 5 Oct 6, 2019
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I would choose the first option to sustain my species. It would seem to be pretty illogical to condemn my whole species of 7-8 billion for a few hundred of them. The interesting question would be, who gets sacrificed? Answers might change depending on that when emotion for people you care about comes into the picture. It's like the other philosophical question about the train running on one track going towards 1 person you care about and diverting it to another set of tracks to kill 5 people that you don't know. What choice would you make?

There might be a higher species doing this to us right now and we have no idea about it.

0

Bit if a redundant question when the gelflings refuse to kill . Waving your sword about shouting whilst your allies die at your feet is a bit stupid you ask me

0

Fighty McStabbington. We raised cattle on our farm and they were pretty willing participants in the whole circle of life thing. We treated them well up until the killing and eating part. But they didn't have the awareness that we were totally fucking them over. Kinda fucked up if you think about it....

Sigh....🤔

0

That's a hard one for sure, I mean personally I value knowledge over everything, but to have the knowledge that your cattle or the whole race is too be slaughtered would definitely put a negative spin on it all. I mean I'd rather fight for freedom. Then again if we did fight we get slaughtered completely is a lose lose situation

0

it's all fiction darling, not real

It's psychology and philosophy.

It doesn't matter if the story is fiction, what matters is it gets people thinking and asking questions. It incites curiosity into morality and the human condition. The instinct to fight or thrive.

If the fact that the story these intrigues and questions came from is fiction makes them irrelevant, then how many scientific advancements and discoveries do you think we wouldn't have today if it weren't for pieces of fiction inspiring minds to think?

And please do not call me darling while condescending to me.

@LadyAlyxandrea ok, no darling, no condescention intended, but it is still a fictional series with puppets, I didn't say irrelevant, you did. Certainly one can think about the plot and get inspirations from it, my post didn't imply that either, also a product of your own assumptions. My post was aimed at making you realize that the hard to watch, the sadness and the death that you do mention, are all caused by puppets, fictional, not real. Knock yourself out discussing and philisophizing all you want about the plot of a movie, it's your prerrogative. But at the end, that's all it is, a movie with a nice storyline with Jim Henson's puppets, which I did enjoy watching. Some parts were sad, some funny, some over the top, an overall nice production, but no matter how much you want to think about it, philosophize about it, psychoanalize it, the fact remains that it is still fictional and not real.

@Donotbelieve I said no darling no condescending, after she requested it. What about your attitude? You exude a lot of maturity and intelligence, right? Please!

@Donotbelieve and you are not being rude, I didn't use any expletives by the way, you did, nice lady.

@Donotbelieve If my original 6 words post was deemed as condescending of course I can apologize to Lady Alexandria, and in fact to clear things up, I hereby formally apologize to her for a post that was never intended to be condescending, the use of the word darling was not to be condescending but a friendly dissension, she seemed distressed by the script, she herself said it made her sad. Anyway, the second comment I made was also not intended to offend, perhaps the way it was worded might have sound condescending again, but when I wrote "ok, no darling" it was to accept what she requested, not to use the word darling. But I think people might have read it as if there was a comma, which there wasn't, and I see why it was misconstrued, had I written "ok, no, darling" then that would have been condescending, anyway, despite assumptions of mysoginistic behavior and childishness, I wish peole would open their minds to dissenting comments, if we all expect to post something and then find that everybody agrees with what you post, I don't think this site would have lasted this long. My original 6 word comment was just to make the point that a movie is just a movie, of course one can be moved by movies, I have cried in movies, laughed, cheered, etcetera, but at the end I understand that it is a movie. fiction is fiction, and reality is reality, yes, I know we all are impacted by fiction, just not everybody at the degree some others are. I try to keep my comments civil, I do not insult people or demean people, and only use off color language to attack those I despise, like our current POTUS or the religious hypocrites, ohterwise none of my comments use expletives, some are in support and others in disagreement, hopefully people can discuss their differences without insults whenever someone is in disagreement or in contention of what one posts, I think we all would benefit by defending your point of view without recurring to name calling, honest conversations using arguments and not insults or innuendos. Anyway, those are my two cents. My deepest apologies again to Lady Alexandria for inadvertedly sounding condescending.Similarly, the I reaffirm my original thoughts because I had a different point of view.

@Seeker3CO i saw your post, the issue is much more complicated, I can see some similarities of the situation in America but there are many other facts that don't fit the mold, theoretically we could get rid of many of these oppressors through our vote, it is tough, specially with Citizens United, but not impossible.

@Mofo1953 I just don't understand why you need to tell me in the same breath that I can't be saddened by the fate of fictional characters while at the same time the stories are moving.

The entire point of stories are to illicit empathy and emotion and my emotions are valid regardless if the characters are fictional.

@LadyAlyxandrea I never told you not to get sad, please show me where? I even said that "Some parts were sad, some funny, some over the top, an overall nice production," Who said that your emotions are not valid? You are putting words that I never said in my mouth. The comment about a movie is just a movie doesn't mean you cannot be moved by it, cry or cheer along with it, who am I to tell you how to react to a film? I would not even pretend to insinuate that. My original post said that the series "is fiction, not real." Because if I am wrong, and the series is actually real and not fictional, I will stand corrected. I can't stop anyone to feel the way that person wants to feel, and in fact I specifically said it is your prerrogative to feel however you want to feel and do whatever you want to do, at the end my point is the one it has always been, it is just a movie, period.

@Mofo1953 but why even bring it up? Where did I ever imply it was real? What point do you make by stating it as if I weren't already aware? All it does is make it seem like you're just condescending or mocking me for having emotions regarding a story and it's characters. I never once even suggested I was in a strange delusion where I believed this ACTUALLY happened.

Why would you even need to clarify it?

@LadyAlyxandrea i don't know, perhaps the overly serious tone of your first paragraph?

0

"She went down swingin'
Like Glenn Miller
Yeah, she went down swingin'
Like Tommy Dorsey
Yeah, she went down swingin'
Like Sammy Davis
She went down swingin'
Like Sonny Liston"

0

Hmmm, pay the price. Read about the Terror era of the French Revolution. Sometimes a life cost is worth it. Stalin put it as utilitarian, needs of the many...
Then one must myself into the position of, What if it was my daughter who was chosen to go to save us? But then it is for the greater good....

Stalin? Darn I thought it was Spock in "The Wrath of Khan"

the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one

0

There is no way to know what is the greater good with the given information.

0

I haven’t seen it but extinction is out of the question. Very sad though!

0

Looking forward to seeing it!

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