Hector A. Ruiz

MBA, Project Manager, Tennis Player, Musician, and Author of "How to Destroy a Country"

Month: February 2020

Star Wars: The Indoctrinating Cult

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On February 21, 2020

In General

This last weekend, I re-watched Star Wars (the original 1977 film) for the 4395th time, and what a wonderful movie it is. Is it a masterpiece comparable to Godfather, Citizen Kane or One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s nest in terms of script, acting, and directing? No, and not by a long shot. But it’s an extremely competent movie that has been able to stand the test of time thanks to the fantasy world it created and its memorable characters. After watching it, I was so in awe that I decided to watch the entire original trilogy and came up with the same conclusion. Then, I decided to re-watch the prequel trilogy, you know… to give them sort of like a second chance, and oh my…

I remember that back in 1997 when word was out that George Lucas was doing a prequel trilogy, the first thought that came up in my mind was: “This sounds like a great idea… financially speaking. Now from an artistic point of view… I’m
not quite sure.” I never wasted any money watching Episode I or II on theaters, because I pretty much realized that by me spending any money on them would be complying and condoning the production of these terrible movies, a logic that was confirmed after I would eventually see them. I’ve never really cared for George Lucas as a filmmaker and I never really understood the need of playing with the Star Wars universe other than to milk the franchise for everything that is worth it and more, and of course, dividing the Star Wars fan base even further. You see, before the prequels, there were two types of people: 1) people who liked Star Wars, and 2) people who didn’t care about Star Wars. Now there are four types of people: 1) people who like the original Star Wars and dislike the prequels, 2) people who still don’t care about Star Wars, 3) people who don’t care about Star Wars but still go see it in theaters because they didn’t have anything else to do or because their sons made them go see it, and… 4) people who blindly follow Star Wars and believe everything produced about Star Wars is the best thing ever since the invention of the printed press.
What caused this? Sadly, mediocrity.

People who criticize the prequels (and now the sequel trilogy) argue that money destroyed the magic of Star Wars, because of the millions of Dollars these movies make. Their logic is that Star Wars went from being a product that came out from a group of rogue rebels in the 70s who were against the system, to becoming this new product from those same people who became part of the system. I disagree with this logic, because there are several
examples of blockbusters that have made millions, while still being great movies, including the original Star Wars. A poor choice for the director’s seat, a sloppy script and terrible casting and acting performances are to blame for
Star Wars falling from grace in terms of quality, not of revenue. An extremely efficient marketing plan that realized loyalty plus consumerism equals hundreds of millions in profits are to point for Star Wars’ unbelievable success at the box office. Why? Because as long as people keep paying money for movie tickets and toys, this movies will keep on going. It’s simple math: Star Wars’ success comes from the regular movie goers + the faithful cult-loving Star Wars hardcore fans. Simply add the numbers of people who go see Black Panther with the number people who are loyal to Star Wars. Financially, it’s a no-brainer recipe for success.

Artistically, the result is a considerable percentage of the population receiving constant political and social indoctrination from a universe that isn’t even close to our reality. Nowadays Star Wars has become an outlet to voice political problems, social injustices and dozens of topics that shouldn’t be part of a fantasy science fiction film. People are taught to repeat and follow, rather than being taught to think and create, period.

That’s is why I now refer to Star Wars as The Indoctrinating Cult.

HR

Covid-19

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On February 11, 2020

In General

I’ve been reading the recent news about this virus that is currently spreading fairly quickly across a few provinces in China, the Corona Virus 19. One of my co-workers has family in one of the cities that is under a lock down policy and from what he mentioned, the restrictions regarding travelling and even commuting in the city are pretty tight.

I’ve always talked with my friends who work in the healthcare industry about how humanity has gone to great lengths to evolve industries and technology, still has been lagging -if I may- in healthcare development. It kind of reminds me of how much money and resources were invested into the fraudulent company Theranos, and their useless technology. I wonder how much advancement could physicians and biologists make in their field, had that money absorbed by Theranos, been invested into true scientific research laboratories in order to develop vaccines and treatments for aggressive viruses such as this Covid-19 one.

Instead, what I’m wondering is what will happen to us living in the United States if a pandemic of similar proportions to the one currently spreading in China, would hit us, especially in such a highly-populated area as New York. Would be face similar lock downs and quarantine procedures as they do? Who knows.

Prepare for the worst and expect the best…

HR

Chernobyl

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On February 1, 2020

In General

I came across this wonderful series on a recent flight I took and since the seat’s TV screen is not quite the most comfortable way to watch audiovisual material, I decided to re-watch it at home to have a better appreciation of the series.

Without jumping in the political discussion of left vs. right, democrats vs. republicans, Team Jen vs. Team Angelina, this is a series that everyone should see in order to understand how poor leadership and how unqualified people in high positions can cause major disasters in society. This is something that has happened throughout the entire history of the human race and sadly I must say, that most likely it will keep happening for quite some time. I hope that one day, someone will finally realize the tremendous negative consequences that having a bad leader, a bad CEO, a bad General Manager, a bad Governor or a bad President, has to a company or a country. I really hope that playing politics as a professional skill one day finally ends, and connections and butt-kissing will finally come to an end, and that mediocre leaders managing capable smart employees realize they should step down and let somebody else who actually is qualified, run the business or the country.

I have been lucky that during my professional career I haven’t really ran into these type of corporate profiles. It has only happened twice when I was working in Venezuela. Fortunately, it has never happened to me in the US, Spain, Mexico, Czech Republic or Colombia, though I’m quite sure there
may be a lot of people who have had this issue. Anyway, what I always wondered when I saw those people was the fact that they really, truly believed they were good managers. I remember thinking: “Geez, this guy really thinks he’s good at what he does. How disconnected is he from reality?” Something similar must have gone through the minds of the workers at Chernobyl during the failed safety procedure test they were running that led to the explosion, and through the mind of Professor Legasov, when he met the Soviet Cabinet in Moscow. The series also shows the deep corruption of the communist system
in the USSR, as well as the unbelievable brainwash that took place in the soviet society.

There is a bit of fiction in the series as it’s pretty much the norm in most productions, but they don’t take anything away from the reality of the situation, the management of the crisis, and the factors that took place during the accident and in the days that followed.

Highly recommended.

HR

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