TRAVIS SIMPSON "LLC"
TAMPA, FLORIDA

With figures like that, it becomes fairly difficult to deny the fact that we are in the midst of a cultural transformation. An optimist might even suggest that we may be beginning to experience a revolution of consciousness. A pessimist would indicate that we’re probably just collectively coming to terms with the reality that there is nothing worth watching on television. I find it hard to argue with either point. As is usually the case with significant phenomena, there is certainly more than one factor at work in the function of this change. If we can assert that traditional structures of television viewing have ceased to offer a fructifying identificatory resource to the culture, what is most interesting to think about is: what happens next? The 2.5 million viewers who have tuned out over the past year join a vast populous of culturati carving out new senses of self in the modern media matrix, simultaneously patching together the most logical forms of meaning making and waiting for someone or something to make sense of it all. If necessity is the mother of invention, in this mild crisis/celebration of cultural chaos, what technologies will we turn to next to make sense of our lives in the contemporary world? With figures like that, it becomes fairly difficult to deny the fact that we are in the midst of a cultural transformation. An optimist might even suggest that we may be beginning to experience a revolution of consciousness. A pessimist would indicate that we’re probably just collectively coming to terms with the reality that there is nothing worth watching on television. I find it hard to argue with either point. As is usually the case with significant phenomena, there is certainly more than one factor at work in the function of this change. If we can assert that traditional structures of television viewing have ceased to offer a fructifying identificatory resource to the culture, what is most interesting to think about is: what happens next? The 2.5 million viewers who have tuned out over the past year join a vast populous of culturati carving out new senses of self in the modern media matrix, simultaneously patching together the most logical forms of meaning making and waiting for someone or something to make sense of it all. If necessity is the mother of invention, in this mild crisis/celebration of cultural chaos, what technologies will we turn to next to make sense of our lives in the contemporary world? Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about what compassion means; and what it means to live in a culture of political correctness, where being liberal is not so much a political philosophy as it is a fashion. What does it mean to have concern for other people’s well being? Is that a fair summary of compassion? Perhaps the more poignant question: How does one best go about living in a way that promotes well being? That, to me, is the real question of compassion. To my mind, we are all compassionate at our center. The difference — between individuals, families, communities, political parties and nation states — is not whether or not we should be compassionate, but how we should go about expressing our compassion. I’m currently working on a short documentary project that, in many ways, is all about compassion. Our team leader is, at his nature, a good person; our client is a non-profit that was created, presumably, to carry out compassionate goals; and as a result, our subject matter and work product is entirely geared towards promoting the goal of broader compassion in the world. But I still can’t help but be skeptical about the methodology. Living it up close, in the experience itself, nothing about the work we’re doing is compassionate. In many ways, in fact, it feels exploitative. When you are approached by a homeless person on the street and asked for change, and you give that person change, and you walk away feeling like you’ve done something good — if you’re being truly honest with yourself, how much of your sense of well being about giving is about you reaffirming your position in relation to homelessness and being homeless? Are you feeling good because you helped this person? Or are you feeling good because you have reiterated to yourself that you are someone who really cares about homelessness — someone who has the privilege to care about homelessness — someone who is himself not homeless? In fact, isn’t the act of giving a homeless person some change more about how you think about yourself and not how you think about homelessness? Do you really think your five bucks is going a long way to helping that person out? As we walked, my crew kept looking back in dismay. But frankly, this guy was the most entertaining part of my day, and my 20 minutes of meaningless conversation with him was more rewarding than a whole day making an attempt at a compassionate documentary about finding hope in otherwise unmentionable areas of urban deprivation. As we laid back many paces, and were stranded across the street from my team, they peered back in disdain and my new friend said: “You see, they looking at you now; if you don’t get to work they gon’ start treating you like a nigga’”! Orlando smiled the biggest smile and said, “you see, I like you, man, I like you.” I have to say, that compliment made me feel better than any amount of change I could have given any homeless dude on the street. And when I finally had to walk back into the cafe to meet my friends, Orlando decided it was against his interest to follow us any further, but before he walked away, he gave me daps and said, “hey, thanks for the company.”