5/14 (Sat) Fight monsters & become a monster (Host: David Jr.)

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David Jr.
Vice President
文章: 257
註冊時間: 週二 8月 19, 2003 12:07 am
來自: Lonely Planet
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5/14 (Sat) Fight monsters & become a monster (Host: David Jr.)

文章 David Jr. »

Hello Yoyos,

I was recently fascinated by a quote by Friedrich Nietzsche (尼采) so I think we can discuss about this quote on session one. On session two we will extend the topic to a superhero Batman's "No-Kill" rule. Hope you like it.

Session One:
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. - Friedrich Nietzsche
圖檔

Session Two:
We are going to talk about a superhero Batman's "No-Kill" rule. The topic is not about the Batman movie or comics but his unique principle when tackling bad guys or monsters. It helps if you watched any Batman movie, but it's also fine if you know nothing about Batman. You just need to know that this superhero won't intentionally take a human life by his own hands. And regardless of the exceptions, he's mostly adhered to that rule over the past 80 years in the comics.

Reference Reading Material if you do have time, plenty of time.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes ... 573f7822eb

Discussion questions for session 1:
1. How do you interpret this quote?
2. What did Nietzsche mean by monsters and the abyss? Can we recognize or find the monsters or abyss in our lives?
3. Have you had or heard of personal experience of becoming a monster (a metaphor), or gazing long into an abyss? What is it like?

Discussion questions for session 2:
1. Please google online. What kind of superhero is Batman? What superpower does he have?
2. How hard is it for a superhero (any superhero) not to kill? Do we expect or even hope superhero to kill? Why Batman choose not to kill (most of time)?
3. Do you think Batman might bear some responsibility for the murders committed by his enemies, since he keeps refusing to kill them despite knowing they will eventually escape and commit more murders?
4. If you were Batman, what policy would you hold?

Agenda:
3:45 ~ 4:00pm Greetings & Free Talk / Ordering Beverage or Meal / Getting Newcomer’s Information
4:00 ~ 4:10pm Opening Remarks / Newcomer’s Self-introduction / Grouping
(Session I)
4:10 ~ 4:50pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
4:50 ~ 5:10pm Summarization (20 mins)
5:10 ~ 5:15pm Regrouping / Instruction Giving / Taking a 10 Minutes Break (Intermission)
(Session II)
5:15 ~ 5:55pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
6:00 ~ 6:20pm Summarization (20 mins)
6:20 ~ 6:30pm Concluding Remarks / Announcements

Meeting Date: As shown on the Subject Line
Meeting Time: 4:00pm – 6:30pm

On-site meeting:
Meeting Venue: 丹堤咖啡 Dante Coffee (Minimum Order $80)
Address: 台北市濟南路三段25號[MAP]-捷運忠孝新生站3號出口步行3分鐘

Online meeting:
Zoom meeting ID: 88548972682
Password: 784362
Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88548972682
#YoyoEnglishClub

Important Notes:
1. We advise participants to print out the discussion questions and bring them to the meeting for reference. As for the supporting articles, feel free to print them out, as well, according to your preference.
2. We suggest that participants read the articles and think about the questions in advance.
3. Newcomers should prepare a two-to-three minute self-introduction in English to deliver when called upon by the host before the start of the discussion. The host may also ask you to give brief feedback about the meeting at the conclusion of the meeting.
4. We conduct the entire meeting in English. All participants should have at least moderate English-conversation skills and be able to articulate your ideas for each discussion question.
5. We welcome newcomers and other guests to attend the meetings and join the discussion freely for three times (including on-site and online meetings). After that, we hope you will consider becoming a YoYo English Club member. We charge a NT$1000 lifetime membership fee.
Remember all what your mom has told you, and do the opposite.
Iris Wu
YOYO member
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註冊時間: 週二 5月 20, 2014 4:33 pm

Re: 5/14 (Sat) Fight monsters & become a monster (Host: David Jr.)

文章 Iris Wu »

Why does Batman choose to maintain “No kill” rule?
If I just answer the question casually, I would say it’s all commercial. Without heavy bloody scenes and violent content, a film can be more inclusive in terms of audience, for example, more female audience and youngsters.
Secondly, it’s easier to carry the story onto the next episode/film if the villains do not die. The story can continue evolving with the same set of characters and the faithful fans would follow to see their superheroes keep fighting the “good fights”.

As not being a big fan of superhero movies, I was too “rational” when watching Batman. I just saw their commercial and entertaining purposes, but when this meeting put the two topics together, I guess it’s an interesting connection. The common premise is that when justice is not on our side and injustice seems to prevail, we tend to take the “law” into our own hands. We want revenge; we think we are “fighting monsters”. Batman is a presenter of that.

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.”
How to keep fighting the good fights? How to keep a cool head when you possess the superpower to destroy the “monsters” in your definition and on your own terms? Batman has his No Kill rule to keep his imperturbable equanimity, but what do we have when we are seeking revenge? Are we able to see if we are not as evil as our monsters?
Kooper
YOYO member
文章: 2725
註冊時間: 週三 4月 11, 2007 11:40 pm

Re: 5/14 (Sat) Fight monsters & become a monster (Host: David Jr.)

文章 Kooper »

Abyss can mean setbacks and struggles that we are suffering in life. If we give the lion’s share of our focus to them and wallow in self-pity, it is likely that we become full of negativity and constantly radiate negative thoughts and energy. That will eventually drive away people who could possibly help and all the potential luck, creating a vicious circle and keeping us further trapped in misfortune. Gazing into an abyss and letting the abyss gaze back into us is an happens to explain how the law of attraction works.
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Rock
YOYO member
文章: 2162
註冊時間: 週三 10月 31, 2007 9:03 am

Re: 5/14 (Sat) Fight monsters & become a monster (Host: David Jr.)

文章 Rock »

I read it from reddit,

https://www.reddit.com/r/quotes/comment ... t/cmd3f10/

Q: Can someone share their interpretation of how the first part of the quote is relevent to the second and vice versa.

A: By fighting monsters, you would be constantly exposing yourself to the dark side of nature. Just the evils of the world basically. The abyss is like the darkness that represents all those evils. So by fighting monsters you are constantly staring the abyss in the face. It staring back, is the evils trying to corrupt you, thereby turning you into a monster.

One of my favorite uses of this is Batman is fighting another dimension's batman. The other batman is a super villain. The good Batman says the difference between them is that when they both stared into the abyss (seeing their parents die) the bad batman flinched. Meaning he allowed it to corrupt him.
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
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