Stimulants

[Jimmy Pierce]

So tonight is a Friday night. For a lot of people it's a night of entertaiment. Others it's a night of relaxation. Some it's work, social gatherings, a time between you and your significant other (and that's as far as as I'll go with that!). Me. I shut off the computer (typing this on my phone), already watched a film, played video games. I have no need to call anyone, (perhaps only to pad my loneliness, haha), so I feel left with nothing. So I find myself thinking how much the human mind needs a stimulant. Something to keep the human's attention so they feel some sort of satifaction. It's amazing how important a stimulant is. This entire forum is built on stimulants. I feel as though I have to find something to satify my craving for satisfaction. I'm sure we've all imagined a world without computers, movies, music, entertainment. These things are here to stimulate our minds. To allow us to feel some sort of satifaction within ourselves. Without them, we could simply be wondering what to do with ourselves. Anyone ever experienced this? Did you find a "cure" for it that did not involve a stimulant? Now I'm not posting to vent my current experience. I'm simply amazed by the feeling and thought and am looking for a constructive debate on the idea of a stimulant. This is a deep discussion, perhaps too deep for this kind of forum, but we all interact with something to stimulate ourselves.

 

[MattinSTL]

I tried to open this discussion seriously, but I didn't want to do it with assumptions that may be off-putting.

To debate stimulus... depends on the perception of the person feeling the need for stimulus... and what "stimulus" is. One person may mean that they need to be working on something for the satisfaction of accomplishing it... and another person may not be able to stop playing COD Black Ops. My attempt to explain the need for stimulus is entirely different depending on which of those people I'm talking to.

The guy playing video games all night is addicted to what he perceives as an enjoyable use of his time, that's more interesting then his/her normal life.

So maybe I'd need a little more perspective on the angle you're coming from. One person's need for a stimulant... and/or a particular KIND of stimulant... will be totally different then another.

I'm saying this as I realize I stayed up later then I should have... and now I'm going to take off my favorite headphones and try to fall asleep... if I sat here listening to music all night... I could easily stay up, and not even go to bed... because I think I'm relating to your point, but I'm not sure how big you're making the topic.

 

[Cassius]

It's a vague idea. A lot of times video games get to a point where they become mindless; for me, that's when I turn them off. I like the story, the way it's told, the challenge, the thought that goes into. Mostly. There are times I just like left and right clicking on monsters until they go away in a spectacular show. Same with movies, there are totally different levels. But what I'm most interested in is your social comments at the beginning. People are a massive stimulant. Friends, family, romance, all of it. There was a time when I lost a lot of those. Due to an unfortunate situation I was only able to see my girlfriend and rare and stressful occasions, and due to my being overwhelmed and underconfident my production crew sort of fell apart. A lot of my friendships had already fallen apart, again due to things I can clearly trace to myself or my situation, and the rest sort of faded. At that point I could no longer create. I still had all of my technical knowledge on cameras and lighting and editing, so forth, but I didn't care. I stopped playing music because, though I knew how the instruments worked, I felt no need to play anything in particular. I thought I could just keep doing, but without the people, the friends and associates, I had nothing.

What keeps my mind going are challenges, stress and extensive responsibility. Those are things that drive a lot of people to drink, but without them I feel like I'm not accomplishing anything. So if I had no films to watch or games to play (close to it now, I haven't found any I care enough for to pay that much), I have a website to design, budgetary projections to write out, marketing plans to consider, photo galleries to update, potential clients to contact, current clients to work with, so forth. So I don't get bored; instead, I overburden myself, which it ends up is how it needs to be.

I know I went a little off topic there, but I think it fits.

 

[Jimmy Pierce]

I really believed that my "unusual" subject matter would have been completely ignored. But I am happy to see that this one did get responses. Stimulants are what allows me to extend my abilities as a film maker and at the same time keep me employed. Nothing offensive at all. I am entirely open to all opinions, because the idea is probably the most important part of everything that allows us to create content and the audience to want it.

I guess I'll have to control this topic somehow. Perhaps try to understand the need for a stimulant and whether we can function without one. I'll start with the question your brought up. What is a stimulant to you?

 

[MattinSTL]

I put stimulants in categories, but I think I understand the sentiment of your question.

A movie has got to be really good (in my OWN opinion) for me to not get frustrated at the time I'm spending (wasting) watching it... so, a movie that really gets me can be a great stimulant... inspiring me and making me love the idea of film making as a sole source of income... but it's far more often that I feel trapped in a theater, wanting to walk out, because I'm so bored with the concept, execution, over the top computer FX, or the obvious direction the story is going. Then the only stimulus is my own frustration building. On that note, when I see all the insanely good computer graphics wrapping around an uninspired story... I feel like I'm stuck listening to a doddering old man blather on... as he figures an occasional piece of candy will keep me from leaving before he's done talking AT me.

Video games can be similar for me... (not gonna' spend my day with the mario bros)... with the exception of the amazing games that started years ago, with Doom3... all the way up to the current COD. I could get hooked on those and have to fight the desire to get that going in my house now... because it would cut my productivity by 75%.

For this conversation I guess I'd put aside "reactionary" stimulants... i.e. "great food" can be a good stimulant... especially something exotic or spicy... but anything like that, even sex (again, regardless of exotic or spicy)... is mostly related to the pursuit of the (however many it is) base needs to be mentally and physically healthy.

I've said this a thousand times, but I think people are happiest when their abilities are reasonably matched with the challenges life gives them. Being able to rise above what you thought you could do is immensely satisfying, but failing at something you thought you could easily do can be devastating. This is going to sound like a PC answer to your idea, but when I'm working I do the best job I possibly can and take pride in giving it 100%... and when I'm not working (professionally) I tend to look for other "jobs" to do... even if it's just around the house. I come up with something unusual for a project... like a paver patio, or finishing the garage, or stuff like that. Before I had a house I would do videos for people that I knew would never have something like that any other way (videos for charitable organizations, or people who I thought were interesting yet under-appreciated).

I do my best to make a positive difference in somebody's life every single day... even if it's only in my own life.

Looking for something to do (especially creatively)... finding it... figuring out how to do it... and then seeing that project through to the end... is my single favorite stimulus, because it makes me feel purpose through creativity, productivity, and being different then the "ordinary joe" who doesn't do anything that shows personality or a perspective on life. I.E. I'm not the type to look for stimulants that won't actually change anything... which is why I said I've consciously avoided games that I have a weakness for.

Basically... for me... the best stimulant is something that gets my brain going... but isn't simply a distraction from boredom.

 

[Jimmy Pierce]

Anyone else have a contribution?

I think at the beginning, I had only a vague idea of where I was going, but I think it's shaping into something. Yes, stimulants like food or sex should be put aside. We are only speaking in terms of stimulants of entertainment and creation of entertainment, whether it has some sort of multilayered psychological message attached to it like "why we are on Earth" or a simple message like "love triumphs". How does it work for the content creator? Well, the common thought I suppose is they have some sort of attachment to it in relation to themselves. I did a documentary on a 1920s building because, in relation to myself, I have an interest in that time period, as well as the the transcending time periods the building survived through. Also, the challenge of doing a documentary, and at the time, I did not think it would eventually become feature length, and the challenge of doing a documentary in itself, an interest to me, because I had learned so many skills prior to that time that I had developed, and initially wanted to stretch my arms.