OUCH! is an exploration into our collective past and uncertain future. It juxtaposes childhood helplessness with adult sociopolitical complexities, aligning nostalgia with the fear of the future and the unknown we all felt as children. The threat of a nuclear holocaust did not die with the Cold War, and the fact remains that around 12,000 nuclear weapons still exist in furtive government stockpiles across the planet. In statistical terms, we're living through one of the most peaceful periods in human history, but a shaky stalemate maintained by the threat of man-made cataclysm is not peace. In 1983, the Soviet nuclear early warning system Oko reported the launch of several intercontinental ballistic missiles directed at Russia from the US. It is a comforting thought to think that decades of R&D since then are maybe making us safer from such risks; however, our overwhelming dependence on increasingly complex technology will have consequences that are impossible to foresee. There is no fear greater than the total destruction of society. Every day, most of us will wake up assuming that the next 24 hours will be predictable and within our control. The reality is that the outcome of humanity is in the grip of a small handful of despots and private-interest groups. The truly sobering element is that there is no way to back out of this tension. In 1991, Ukraine started a massive campaign of nuclear disarmament that was completed in 2001. While lauded for being the most progressive policy on disarmament then or since, it has allowed the country to be the subject of unfettered Russian aggression with no clear exit strategy. Every day, in some way or another, we wake up with guns being held to the heads of every man, woman, and child on Earth. The grave we've dug for ourselves out of panic and nationalism is one that can only be filled with the innocent dead, and the corpses we'll leave will have no one left to cover them. This is not sensationalist fearmongering. This idea should be frightening. It should be on everyone's minds. My meta-narrative about this art piece is fiction, but the underlying story is a nightmare waiting to come true. We might whitewash nuclear war as a faraway improbability--Cold War fears now baked into a nostalgic fever dream and romanticized in popular media--but no matter where or when hellfire rains down on Earth, the scenario plays out the same way each time. I based the narrative on realistic academic playbooks on the aftermath of a nuclear war and sidelined Cold War documentaries of yesteryear. The weapons that drew first blood in WWIII were lies. A sufficiently provocative or appealing idea metastasizes into our collective narrative, regardless of its credibility or internal consistency. A lie cannot be controlled and will persist in the company of the truth. People want to feel validated and find meaning, and in the face of something fantastic there are a plenty of those who will refuse to look at the mundane reality. I wish that people would stop being desensitized to existential threats just because we've been hearing about them for decades. My wish is to honor those who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by refusing to forget our greatest historical tragedies. I wish that more people would see my nightmare as a possibility that could happen any second of any day for the rest of time. I do not claim to represent any entity. I'm just one person sharing the planet with everyone else. The fear that rises in your throat when you're forced to look at the horrors of war should make you realize the pettiness of human disagreement. We are being actively manipulated and radicalized so that our collective psychic energy can be proverbially channeled in support of a worldwide military industrial complex. There is no solution. There is no way to unbake this cake. The only thing we can do is live one day at a time in constant awareness that human conflict has the potential to completely extinguish life on Earth.
I am going to go out on a limb here and thank you for this. As you must clearly be the mind behind this...experience. Threads crushed me as a kid when i saw it in the 80s and it has lived rent free in my head ever since.
Awesome project. Great restoration. Thank you for sharing! Even though it would be cool to find the artist, I love the mystery and ambiguity of it being anonymous.
That’s what I was just about to say! Aug 17 2024 and it gets the Ukraine war right wtf - not like the world didn’t suspect it but still. That’s some amazing work you did there
I hope you preserve this. I have a feeling there's more to the story. I feel like you haven't heard the last of this. EDIT::: I just noticed that the speech to text bit really messed up my comment and I didn't catch. Fixed now
OUCH! is an exploration into our collective past and uncertain future. It juxtaposes childhood helplessness with adult sociopolitical complexities, aligning nostalgia with the fear of the future and the unknown we all felt as children. The threat of a nuclear holocaust did not die with the Cold War, and the fact remains that around 12,000 nuclear weapons still exist in furtive government stockpiles across the planet. In statistical terms, we're living through one of the most peaceful periods in human history, but a shaky stalemate maintained by the threat of man-made cataclysm is not peace. In 1983, the Soviet nuclear early warning system Oko reported the launch of several intercontinental ballistic missiles directed at Russia from the US. It is a comforting thought to think that decades of R&D since then are maybe making us safer from such risks; however, our overwhelming dependence on increasingly complex technology will have consequences that are impossible to foresee.
There is no fear greater than the total destruction of society. Every day, most of us will wake up assuming that the next 24 hours will be predictable and within our control. The reality is that the outcome of humanity is in the grip of a small handful of despots and private-interest groups. The truly sobering element is that there is no way to back out of this tension. In 1991, Ukraine started a massive campaign of nuclear disarmament that was completed in 2001. While lauded for being the most progressive policy on disarmament then or since, it has allowed the country to be the subject of unfettered Russian aggression with no clear exit strategy.
Every day, in some way or another, we wake up with guns being held to the heads of every man, woman, and child on Earth. The grave we've dug for ourselves out of panic and nationalism is one that can only be filled with the innocent dead, and the corpses we'll leave will have no one left to cover them. This is not sensationalist fearmongering. This idea should be frightening. It should be on everyone's minds. My meta-narrative about this art piece is fiction, but the underlying story is a nightmare waiting to come true. We might whitewash nuclear war as a faraway improbability--Cold War fears now baked into a nostalgic fever dream and romanticized in popular media--but no matter where or when hellfire rains down on Earth, the scenario plays out the same way each time. I based the narrative on realistic academic playbooks on the aftermath of a nuclear war and sidelined Cold War documentaries of yesteryear.
The weapons that drew first blood in WWIII were lies. A sufficiently provocative or appealing idea metastasizes into our collective narrative, regardless of its credibility or internal consistency. A lie cannot be controlled and will persist in the company of the truth. People want to feel validated and find meaning, and in the face of something fantastic there are a plenty of those who will refuse to look at the mundane reality.
I wish that people would stop being desensitized to existential threats just because we've been hearing about them for decades. My wish is to honor those who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by refusing to forget our greatest historical tragedies. I wish that more people would see my nightmare as a possibility that could happen any second of any day for the rest of time. I do not claim to represent any entity. I'm just one person sharing the planet with everyone else. The fear that rises in your throat when you're forced to look at the horrors of war should make you realize the pettiness of human disagreement. We are being actively manipulated and radicalized so that our collective psychic energy can be proverbially channeled in support of a worldwide military industrial complex.
There is no solution. There is no way to unbake this cake. The only thing we can do is live one day at a time in constant awareness that human conflict has the potential to completely extinguish life on Earth.
Saw this from Reddit good job
Me too lol
Beautiful. Fantastic. Smart. Precise. Relevant. Fun. Frightening.
I am going to go out on a limb here and thank you for this. As you must clearly be the mind behind this...experience.
Threads crushed me as a kid when i saw it in the 80s and it has lived rent free in my head ever since.
Awesome project. Great restoration. Thank you for sharing! Even though it would be cool to find the artist, I love the mystery and ambiguity of it being anonymous.
17th August, huh? Well, we'll see...
If this was made 10 years ago it is eerilie on course to be completely true........
That’s what I was just about to say! Aug 17 2024 and it gets the Ukraine war right wtf - not like the world didn’t suspect it but still. That’s some amazing work you did there
This is such a cool idea, also extremely disturbing. Great job!
18:20 The 'uh oh' moment.
So cool. Should just be proud you took this from start to finish 🎉
good job, maybe Nexpo would be interested in this too
Looks like something out of Gemini Home Entertainment. Creepy stuff
I've been thinking about this, lately. . .
This was really great
Exquisite. This will get a million views eventually.
Old terminal with a good coder brings me back to " Playing a Game" , or "Judgement Day".
Bravo good work!
11:47 this point of demonstration looks like ARC GIS. Game time scenarios look like funny 😊
This was cool!
Could it have been a Bill Viola project?
Is this a ARG?
Your voice sounds like the same voice used to narrate the SCP videos on UA-cam. And in that reminded me of SCP-079
I could have sworn IBM stood for International Business Machines, not Intercontinental.
Yup
Intercontinental ballistic machines?
Aren't Galileo satellites new? The oldest one being launch in 2005. Nevermind this is super recent lol.
I hope you preserve this. I have a feeling there's more to the story. I feel like you haven't heard the last of this.
EDIT::: I just noticed that the speech to text bit really messed up my comment and I didn't catch. Fixed now
shepard's tone detected 18:23 +
If nothing happens Aug 17th ima be real disappointed blud
really wierd
"missingno" reference is incredibly not spooky. Odd of you to say you found this and not that you made it, which either you or your friend did.