The 32nd law of power, “Play to People’s Fantasies,” is one that holds false hope and abstraction as keys to manipulating the minds of commoners. More often than not, the truth hurts. In a world where destiny is often cruel, bitter, unforgiving, people yearn for digressions, moments wherein dreams shine luminously, not casted to oblivion. Tapping in to the unconscious and bringing forth these images through vague fabrications filled with false promises will allow an individual to gain leverage over the others. Romanticizing, the ability to create something out of nothing, is the key to success in such malevolent endeavor. Like Cypriot Mamugna, an ordinary citizen of Venice who later changed his name to Bragadino. He established a reputation similar that of a god, an alchemist who can sew riches and a savior to a dying community. Venice, as an act of desperation, called him forth and ended up a victim to its own wild imagination. Bragadino fed on this misfortune and lived lavishly until he was disliked hence he left bringing the same deck of cards in search for his next victim. Amidst the shadows of reality, peace and keenness of mind, body and soul will allow an individual to alleviate one’s self to higher echelons of the society through taking advantage of other’s fantasies. But this power of exploitation demands extreme caution and great prudence for although it has aided many, history would tell us that likewise, it has also brought countless to their knees. Such authority, such control strikes fear in the hearts of many. Will anyone so corrupted, so malicious, so thirsty for power sell he/she soul and play with the Devil himself?
-Dexter Tanengsy, II- BS MIS
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29 comments:
I think that this law is played by many people already.
Many do always wanted their "Knight-in-Shining-Armor" to come to their lives. These "knights" people can play to their fantasies so that the fantastic people can be manipulated.
Also, like the illegal recruiters, would promise fantastic lives. In these ways, they can earn from them.
-Jedd Chua Hi 18-O
It is but human nature to fantasize about things. This human nature could also serve as a weakness. It has been played on by a lot of powerful people. Take a look at Marcos. Didn't he trick the people into believing how mighty and powerful he was? Didn't he trick the people into believing that the Philippines would be successful under his reign? But then again, this law, like many others, should not be over-used. Timing is key. Moderation is key.
- Pauline Purugganan, Hi18-N
Every human being desires a utopian world. That is why most of us want to believe in "the afterlife". Yes, romanticizing situations and events can cause people to believe and ultimately, be manipulated easily.
In The Republic of Plato, Socrates said that in order for people to achieve the ideal city, the old Phoenician lie must be told: The gods mixed metals into our souls so that we would be able to function in the city in a such a way that order will be fully realized. This "dream" will lead people to act according to what the city wants and not what they want.
Lexx Aquino
2 AB MA POS
HI18-O
Politicians exemplify this law most.
Every election, they would put on a mask, they would promise different things to different people, like ending poverty, implementing tighter economic policies, etc etc. Their ad campaigns are bold and promising, playing with the public's fantasy of a perfect government.
But when they are finally seated in their position, we really don't get 100%, do we? On some cases, suddenly we realize that it was their gain, not ours.
Miguel Rojas Hi18-O
If one wishes to lead people, he must visualize what the people wish of their community. Although we humans are not perfect beings, we sometimes think of instances wherein everything goes according to what we want to happen, what we foresee. However, it is up to the leader if he would pursue those visions by his people, whether to give them false hope, or choose to be idealistic about his plans.
janine cindy m. santiago
hi18 -n
We see this everyday. Our politicians fill our minds with empty promises of reform and change. Our Church has, in its own way, led us to think that if we behave a certain way and do certain things we will be "saved."
But where is the salvation? Where is the change?
They're beautiful liars. They hide behind the context of envisioning peaceful worlds for us, but really, they're just trying to get us while we're vulnerable. They're putting all these ideas into our heads so they can have their way. They take advantage of our needs to get what they want. Sad but true. And we all thought times have finally changed.
Dyan Garcia, II AB MEC, Hi18 O
And this is why magicians like Ehrich Weiss amaze audiences worldwide, why wizards like Harry Potter overwhelm the muggle world, why defamiliarization plays a role in works of literature, why escapist techniques in art even exist. Theologically speaking, we all are yearning for something that exceeds, transcends the finite world that we live in. We continue to desire to grasp something that we, by our nature, cannot grasp. Thus, we all have our own set of dreams and fantasies and, despite their being otherworldly, we continue to yearn for their actualization anyway. This persistence in yearning is what this rule is pertaining to, and by appealing to that yearning, one can become “the” puppeteer who entertains and at the same time has control over those around him/her. Instant popularity, instant manipulation.
Marcy Leonora Pilar
II - AB MEC
"This persistence in yearning is what this rule is pertaining to, and by appealing to that yearning, one can become “the” puppeteer who entertains and at the same time has control over those around him/her. Instant popularity, instant manipulation."
Hi Marcy, I like your analogy here on puppets. True enough, a puppet show 'tames' all the wild kids in the park by playing to their fantasies, because of all the colors and the shapes.
When you show something attractive to a person, it also 'tames' them, so you can do whatever you want with them. :D
I've noticed that some people connected this law to political leaders and their blank promises. Let's digress a bit from the law and try to look at the current situation of country. Oil prices have gone up, rice prices have ballooned amidst some efforts of easing the inflation of basic commodities. But if we try to assess things, this is real. This has shown everything that is wrong about our country, most practiculary our government. Pro or Anti GMA, let's put things aside. Like any Philippine president, Arroyo promised lots of things - economic stability, technological advances. They make captivating speeches yet the main problem lies there. People are too blinded to see that these said promises are sadly unattainable. Like a drug, they only give us a sense of relief for a short time. It was announced that poverty line in our country has eased in the GMA administration but is it really. Back then, the ratio of dollar to pesos was low but still there were price inflation. How much more now that oil shortage continues to dictate the world market and the dollar has steadily regain its hold? What next?
Dexter Tanengsy
Hi18-N
i think that people are easily swayed, its natural and it comes with the need for something better. A person still has the decision first and foremost to accept to be manipulated or not. Yes, i agree " extreme caution" must be exhibited. We must be aware of history that many have been swayed by this. Who knows, our fantasies are not really the reality for us.
-Luigi Ramirez 074172
II AB IS HI18-O
Everyone follows this law whether they are aware of it or not. It's so easy to believe in something you want to be true. Yes I agree politicians are a perfect example of those who uphold this law the most, and lucky for some of them they are able to get away with it.
Face it, we're all each others victims one way or another. It's how the human world works.
-Bianca Michaela Bes Hi 18-O
"A person still has the decision first and foremost to accept to be manipulated or not." - luis2593
Well most of time, people are not aware that they are already being manipulated. If a person is skilled in making people believe something that is not true, then it would be very hard to resist his appeals.
Lexx Aquino
2 AB-MA POS
HI18-O
Two words: MASS MEDIA
Mass Media is a great example for this law. Its used to make millions and billions of money and it works because of one cruel fact: it eats at the gullibility of the people. Being Filipinos, we are a gullible people. Coat words with sugary promises of better things to come and we will surely eat at it like an ant colony to a puddle of spilled caramel
Alexius, got it ryt!
Playing to peoples’ fantasies has been a way of living in business industry since yesterdays. Several companies have engaged into constructing perfect images of their products and let the buyers deceived from the given illusions (take note of the word: LET). Some of the examples are the numerous commercial ads in television and billboards particularly the cellular networks which have introduced the “unlimited texting.” The word unlimited would be best defined as “no end.” But to think, there is an indicated time when the load would be expired. So why is it called unlimited? That is because the companies seek to create the fantasy of using the networks’ load without an end for consumers to enjoy, which is very deceiving. It is their means of earning and people accept them numbly as they play such role in the said fantasy.
: Joanne Atienza N
playing to people's fantasies, like other things, both has its ups and downs. one downside of this is that the more you decieve the people you choose to decieve, the more you will be pulled down by this deception in the future. i agree with joanne that businesses have lived off with this rules. you see ads in tvs and newspapers, even in billboards, airline promotions like 99 pesos a seat, naturally people would believe this and call up the agency that was giving this promo only to find out that on top of the 99 pesos ou still have to pay a number of fees like terminal fees or what not. only these companies should be more careful with misinforming their customers because there's already a law that states that before the merchant of a certain thing sells something, he/she must tell the buyer what problems may arise with regards to the product failure to do so and the customer may sue the merchant.
Nastashja Melevo
II BSLM
HI18O
i like alexius' idea, not his example though. i wouldnt want to accept the fact that filipino's a simple gullible, therefore implying that we don't think critically. filipinos are a smart people. and its not like filipinos are the only one's that bite mass media's lure. people all over the world succumb to the images and ideals mass media feeds us. filipinos just adhere to the lovely images they show us because we have no sense of self identity us being the people who were dominated over by colonizers in the past centuries, giving justice to the saying that "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."
this law is pretty /and sadistic. manipulation of the people in order to gain power, their votes and hearts. it is however, very effective but, cruel and laughable all at the same time.
While I personally think that this law is rather manipulative, I think playing with people's fantasies, and acting in accordance to their fantasies is necessary to one's rise to power. As long as one is seen as favorable to many, one is favored over others; in turn, giving you power and control over people.
But we should ask ourselves: is it ethically right to just keep manipulating people?
....And people aren't entirely airheads. This strategy can actually backfire. Hahaha.
Eric Andres
Section N
sadistic but effective. Fantasies motivate people and achieve goals. but using them to manipulate to achieve your own goal/s is/are sadistic, abusing your power over people. UNLESS, the people want to achieve the same goal for themselves and others' sake :D
-Don Faylon Hi18 N
As it has been mentioned in previous comments, politicians apply this law every campaign period. Yes, they do tell us a lot of things about themselves -- their dreams for the country, their worries, their plans -- and all other pieces of information that seem to mesh with the common good. A common observation by the Filipino, though, is that after they have been elected, it's as if they forget who voted them into their positions. In a way, the forget the Filipino people and revert back to their own selfish interests.
What we don't understand is that this brand of hypocrisy is inherent in politics. This kind of manufacturing illusions, of creating masks to separate reality from public spectacle, cannot be separated from any relation of power. Hypocrisy -- playing to people's fantasies by powerful political leaders, for example, is necessary in generating and defending the common good.
Pia Angela J. Maske
II AB-MA Political Science
Hi 18, Section O
Law 33: Discover Each Man's Thumbscrew
I watched this episode of some sci-fi series called firefly(ok sorry nerd) it's basically a story of the lives of a band of space smugglers.
anyway.
one episode, showed one of the characters, the gun-toting-outlaw-bearded guy, finding himself back to his home colony/planet, where he was hailed a hero by the slave population of the planet.
he even had monuments built in his image. He supposedly dropped a large crate filled with large amounts of money to one of the backwater towns in the colony. after which he was viewed as the ultimate philanthropist, or a very very generous robin hood character.
but in reality, he stole that crate of money, and in running away from his prosecutors, he was simply forced to abandon his loot and save his life.
in seeing that people actually are willing to die to protect him, Jayne(i think?) couldn't accept and understand why the people could be so blind.
anyway XD
one of the characters said something very important.
"any man who had a statue built to remember him by, must have been some kind of asshole or another.
In the end, it never was about you, or what you've done.
It's about what they need. The people needed a hero. They needed something to believe in"
and i think. That this philosophy is the ultimate application of this law.
I don't believe that a man such as Ramses the Great truly believed in his heart that the vast Hitite forces that ambushed him could be vanquished. and yet. For the sake of his men, he had to build up the fact that they could conquer this force.
The same goes with the great King Leonidas at Thermopylae. any sane person would see that only death awaited the Spartans in that bloody battle. And yet as their King, Leonidas must constantly propagate the air of invinciblity and inexhaustible courage.
It's not about what is real.
It's about what the people need to believe. We could all use a fantasy right now.
The Filipino people, need hope. No matter what reality may say. It's about getting them to believe in something they need to beliebe in.
Mark Bantayan
Hi18 N
(crap i always forget)
yup. intice people to ones advantage. this way the presence of ones ambition should not be noticable
VINCE SUELTO
The unconscious has many to offer, which includes things that we cannot even fathom in this world. If anyone can make these unattainable things seem like arms length away, he can win the hearts of the people. Like in Rome, what matters is not the law. In fact there wasn't any absolute law except things which pertains to gaining the favor of the people. When you have the people by your side, you are powerful.
Dexter Tanengsy, Hi18-N
This law somewhat is related to what Law 43 (Work in the Hearts and Minds of People) says. Playing to people’s fantasies looks like a way to “work in the hearts and minds of people.”
Although this law can work as what Dexter said and has been ‘played by a lot of people already’ as what Jedd said, I don’t think that playing into people’s fantasies is right. I mean it’s implying that one should say or promise things that other people would want to hear to hear, even to the point that what one says are lies or is already compromising what is right, and by doing so, win them over and get more or stay in power. I think that a person who does this is a person with no integrity.
Also, I think this law shows us how humans can be so deceitful in so great an extent just to get power for themselves.
Kira Gochuico
HI 18 N
Please comment on: LAW 17
Manipulation is one way of getting power and this law is one way of manipulating them. You look for what they want. Use it against them. Make them want to need you. Stall the time and make them do your every will. Just be sure to keep your distance.
Alan Mamonluk
Hi18-O
The world is sadly deteriorating. Flip on the TV and watch the news, for every five or six (I counted haha) bad news, there is only one good news. “Prices are skyrocketing”, “a district in Manila caught on fire”, “Earthquake: 1000 killed”, “Government scandal, again”, etc etc etc. Sometimes, as hard as it is to accept, we just want to be lied to.
Because of this, we treasure all the optimism in the world. We treasure being told that “we still have a chance (through a certain leader’s leadership)”, or “we can turn this around (through a certain leader’s leadership)” even if we know that it’s highly unlikely (I’m not saying that we don’t have a chance to improve as a country, on the contrary, I believe that our country is fully capable of achieving greatness; but I’m only saying that we won’t achieve it in the timeframe that our politicians promise). Even if our politicians are giving us false hopes (and sometimes we are aware of this), we need all the hope we can get in this harsh world.
So the question is: would you rather live in blissful ignorance or accept painful reality?
It may sound wrong, but I’d prefer the former.
Patrick Reyes Hi18O
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