Help
Sign In
bruce willis
November 2009 
Surrogates: Another Look At the Modern Day Ego
Posted on Sep 27th, 2009
by 
Jim
Jim
The latest Bruce Willis flick called Surrogates came out this Friday, and lately, I seem to be in a groove for finding revelation via the silver screen. I won't say that this blog compares to the profundity that I came to after watching (500) Days of Summer, but it was an interesting look into another area of life.
In the movie, everyone stays at home while they let their surrogates interact in every day life. Surrogates are the latest Hollywood cyborg creations, and they accentuate what our society has decided are the most beautiful assets: flawless skin, thin/athletic bodies, full-heads of hair, you get the picture. Of course the people--the real humans behind the surrogates--are scarred, fat, hairy, bald, etc. But people--especially accentuated by Willis's wife--can no longer deal with who they really are. So, they hide behind these surrogates and let them do and be all the things that they're afraid to be.
The Latest Ego Creation
Of course, if you really think about it, this is already happening only we do this through our egos. We create certain sides of our selves that we consider acceptable to the world and then try to live within those walls. We're also doing it like crazy with all these online social accounts. It's always interesting to meet someone that you met on Facebook, Gaia, or elsewhere; who they end up being in person is often dramatically different than who they portray through their profile.
Some times when I'm at the gym, I'll see a gal or guy just murdering themselves on the treadmill or some weight lift. They're not enjoying it; they're trying to fit into the box that they've created for themselves. It's tough to watch because you can see how bad they are rejecting who they are in the moment, hoping to be something else.
I think it's important to emphasize that they--or we--have created these boxes. It's nice to blame society--a big ambiguous term that really points at no one. But the daily truth is that its our own minds and egos telling us to be a certain way over and over. Most of the rest of the world really doesn't care most of the time.
The Practice of Vulnerability
Now I'm not saying that you can go run naked through work and you won't get noticed. At that point, you're most likely reacting to ego as opposed to truly finding out who you are behind your surrogate. It's a little bit of work to figure that out if you haven't been authentic to yourself in awhile, and it's going to feel very vulnerable, which unfortunately has become a bad thing and a thing that has been abused by other less kind surrogates/egos. But some times you gotta take the lumps if you want to get to the truth of yourself. And ultimately, this is your life, and you get to live it this one time in this particular shape and form. Do you want to sit it out on the sidelines while your surrogate runs around on its automated program? Or do you want to shed the old structures and find out what it's like to truly live?
In the movie, everyone stays at home while they let their surrogates interact in every day life. Surrogates are the latest Hollywood cyborg creations, and they accentuate what our society has decided are the most beautiful assets: flawless skin, thin/athletic bodies, full-heads of hair, you get the picture. Of course the people--the real humans behind the surrogates--are scarred, fat, hairy, bald, etc. But people--especially accentuated by Willis's wife--can no longer deal with who they really are. So, they hide behind these surrogates and let them do and be all the things that they're afraid to be.
The Latest Ego Creation
Of course, if you really think about it, this is already happening only we do this through our egos. We create certain sides of our selves that we consider acceptable to the world and then try to live within those walls. We're also doing it like crazy with all these online social accounts. It's always interesting to meet someone that you met on Facebook, Gaia, or elsewhere; who they end up being in person is often dramatically different than who they portray through their profile.
Some times when I'm at the gym, I'll see a gal or guy just murdering themselves on the treadmill or some weight lift. They're not enjoying it; they're trying to fit into the box that they've created for themselves. It's tough to watch because you can see how bad they are rejecting who they are in the moment, hoping to be something else.
I think it's important to emphasize that they--or we--have created these boxes. It's nice to blame society--a big ambiguous term that really points at no one. But the daily truth is that its our own minds and egos telling us to be a certain way over and over. Most of the rest of the world really doesn't care most of the time.
The Practice of Vulnerability
Now I'm not saying that you can go run naked through work and you won't get noticed. At that point, you're most likely reacting to ego as opposed to truly finding out who you are behind your surrogate. It's a little bit of work to figure that out if you haven't been authentic to yourself in awhile, and it's going to feel very vulnerable, which unfortunately has become a bad thing and a thing that has been abused by other less kind surrogates/egos. But some times you gotta take the lumps if you want to get to the truth of yourself. And ultimately, this is your life, and you get to live it this one time in this particular shape and form. Do you want to sit it out on the sidelines while your surrogate runs around on its automated program? Or do you want to shed the old structures and find out what it's like to truly live?
Access: Public
Wow! Another great blog! :)