Being Creative

In a world overrun by war, terrorism, financial insecurity and fraud, one of the biggest casualties, along with innocent lives, tends to be human creativity. In my mind, this is a profound tragedy—almost as great as the loss of innocent life.

Sooner or later, all of us reach the end of the road and confront our own mortality. In my mind, the single greatest validation of one's existence in the face of death is the answer to this question:

When one considers all the self-serving, negative, dishonest, vengeful, exploitative, hateful or destructive actions that all of us commit in the course of a lifetime—to varying degrees, some more so than others—how many of us can lay claim to a single act of true creativity—a single action or accomplishment that is honestly, genuinely, truthfully, selflessly creative or productive, one that is both inspired and inspiring, that uplifts the human soul rather than destroys human lives—however modest or ephemeral that action may be?

I think that what makes the great urban cultural centers of the world remarkable—be it New York, Paris, London, Los Angeles or Mumbai, India—is the fact that their thriving, cosmopolitan arts and cultural scenes and entertainment industries place actual value on human creativity. True, these industries can only too often be inordinately competitive and even outright exploitative, stifling the very creativity that fuels them—but compare that to other parts of the world where the norm often seems to be hatred, murder, religious fundamentalism, ethnic cleansing, violence, genocide, terror, tyranny, enslavement, financial corruption and widespread chaos.

I noted previously that human creativity is one of the major casualties in the face of calamity or catastrophe, but that isn't necessarily always the case. Sometimes the very opposite is true—tragedy and catastrophe can sometimes actually stimulate creativity in an odd, inverse way. Very often, being creative and self-expressive is a powerful way for some people to cope with difficult times. For others, coming face-to-face with one's mortality can force one to reassess one's priorities in life and reconsider what's really important, thereby inspiring creativity and productivity in the face of violence, terror, murder and financial collapse or fraud.

Horizon Cybermedia is committed to furthering the cause of human creativity, whatever the circumstances may be. Check out our ongoing online film series, Exploration with Uday Gunjikar, at our website http://www.explorationtheseries.com and stay tuned for much more new and, hopefully, both inspired and inspiring content to come in the near future.

Wishing you the very best,

Uday Gunjikar,
Founder and CEO,
Horizon Cybermedia, Inc.

Fear and Ignorance

As mankind stands at the threshold of the 21st century, never before in history has it been clearer that our biggest challenge for the future is dealing with the age-old problems of fear and ignorance. Never before in history have we had the sort of communications and information technology that potentially allows humanity permanently to do away with fear and ignorance, spreading enlightenment and understanding to the darkest, most God-forsaken corners of the earth. And never before in history have the forces of fear and ignorance, in the form of fundamentalism, extremism, fanaticism and religious terrorism, posed a more direct threat to the future of humanity.

F.D.R.'s inspired words, uttered in the heart of the Great Depression, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself," have never been more relevant than today. Truly, we are plagued by nothing else than our fears and our ignorance. These regressive forces have been apparent in the past as primitive ritualism, superstition, shamanism, and the tendency to fear the unknown. Most primitive cultures had a “shaman”—a figure of mystery and terror who wielded authority in the society based on their ability to intimidate the rest of the populace and keep them psychologically enslaved, in a state of primitive fear of the unknown characterized by superstition, misogyny and xenophobia. As primitive society matured into urban civilization, the shaman potentially faced extinction as his ability to control society through intimidation was severely compromised by the perpetuation of education and technology.

In modern times, while shamanism is no longer a reality, the role of the shaman, namely that of the terrifying mystic who wields a position of authority based on the intimidation of the ignorant masses, is invariably assumed by figures of religious fundamentalism and extremism. This tendency is most evident in backward, regressive Islamic states such as Iran and Pakistan—cultures in which figures of religious authority are, very often, supreme, and which thrive on religious bigotry, misogyny, and the suppression of individual rights and freedoms. Regressive cultures such as these invariably feel threatened by their progressive, democratic neighbors, like India, which have historically been major centers of culture and commerce and are now growing technological hubs. As such, these backward, regressive, failing societies whose very existence is threatened by the advance of technology and the perpetuation of enlightenment, tend to respond with cowardly acts of terror and violence, striking out at urban progress in a desperate bid to legitimize their own failing existence.

This trend is only the latest phase in an age-old problem. As long as there have been regressive forces that thrive on fear and ignorance, whether it be in the form of primitive superstition or religious fundamentalism or fanatical extremism, they have invariably, often violently, opposed the progress of education and enlightenment. Never before in human history has there been a greater promise for the total eradication of fear and ignorance from the face of the earth through the widespread proliferation of communications and information technology in the form of the Internet and networked mobile devices. And never before in history has there been a greater threat to modern society posed by terrorism sponsored by fundamentalist and extremist religious groups rooted in regressive, backward societies clinging to obsolete doctrines and dogmas that seek to perpetuate religious authoritarianism, misogyny and xenophobia.

I guess, ultimately, the choice is ours—do we succumb to our irrational fears and negate the promise of modern understanding and technological advancement to work towards a better educated, more progressive society, or do we resist these fears and the forces of terror that seek to destabilize and undo us? Horizon Cybermedia is wholeheartedly committed to the causes of progressiveness and modernism and to opposing the forces of primitivism, fear and ignorance. Check out our website at http://www.explorationtheseries.com for continually updating content dedicated to promoting understanding between cultures and societies and overcoming the destructive forces of fear and ignorance that threaten to divide and enslave us.

Wishing you the very best,

Uday Gunjikar,
Founder and CEO,
Horizon Cybermedia, Inc.

A Sick Joke?

Is mass murder on the part of deranged psychopaths some perverse attempt at humor? In our mass media culture, where do we draw the line between reality and entertainment? When the 9/11 terror attacks happened, they seemed to be surreal, almost as if they were a movie. It took some time for the shocking reality of the events to sink in. To this day, there are fringe groups who suggest that the terror attacks were staged by the US government to promote a right-wing agenda. In my mind, it appears that the overwhelming shock of these events might have thrown some people off the deep end, desensitizing them to violence to such a degree that they have achieved a state of complete denial. Such a frame of mind borders on the level of psychotic madness, as depicted in the character of the “Joker” in the recent Batman film, The Dark Knight. That, in my mind, is potentially as dangerous as the psychosis of the raving lunatics who commit such sickening acts of terror and violence.

As news events unfold, the response is often sheer incredulity at their seeming absurdity. In an age of YouTube videos that go for cheap laughs by turning violence and mayhem into Chaplinesque slapstick comedy, sometimes, the response to shocking violence and terror is to throw the observer off the deep end, to respond with amused apathy at the horrific plight of innocents. Indeed, sometimes the news appears to be as insanely ridiculous as some cheap slapstick comedy—the trampling to death of enthusiastic customers at a Black Friday stampede appears to be laughable when observed from the safe distance of a YouTube video clip, but it completely negates the very real tragedy of the people involved. To laugh at such an event, however absurd it might seem, is to make light of the tragedy of the loss of life and to experience a sense of apathy at the plight of those who suffer. Sometimes, of course, the absurdity of circumstances is such that the only possible response is laughter, but there has to be a line—otherwise, the upshot is nothing less than psychosis stemming from denial and apathy—the same sort of psychosis that characterizes the perpetrators of terrorist acts, though, perhaps, to a different degree.

Horizon Cybermedia is committed to staying balanced and humane in insane times. In an age in which violence and entertainment are all too often indistinguishable, threatening throw humanity off the deep end and into the madness of The Joker in the Batman films, Horizon Cybermedia is about keeping one's head screwed on straight and promoting an appreciation of art, humanity and an empathy for one's fellowman.

Wishing you the very best,

Uday Gunjikar,
Founder and CEO,
Horizon Cybermedia, Inc.