#Tenet The major problem I had with Tenet was not the complexities of the concepts, but how the characters weren't characters in themselves and merely existed just to serve the purpose of giving the audience an exposition of the ideas and rules of the world.

The very fact of a film, be it Tenet or any, being an espionage, sci-fi thriller subsumes the justification that characters need not be as emotionally deep as they are in art-house films thus rendering any sort of expectation to form an emotional connect with the characters…
…null; but I expect the film to flourish of its capacities and techniques otherwise which is what the previous films of Nolan did, at least until Inception.
Tenet from the very first go feels jarringly cut and leaves no room for the characters to develop and indulges in exposition dump in every other scene.
It makes the film-watching experience a puzzle-solving task that we are left at times wondering whether to watch the present scene or process what has just been seen.
The Airplane crashing sequence, from a different point of view, after using the turnstile was some of the best a blockbuster cinema had offered thus far. What made it great was the room that it gave for the audience to notice it.
But the finale felt like a dump that projected more the interest of Nolan with high-end military equipment than actually being a final piece that was supposed to make the previous missions look pale in comparison.
As said before, the most of the problems I had with Tenet was with basic storytelling, and not with the handling of high-end concepts of physics. Nolan sure does work around archetypal characters to set up his highly-sophisticated sci-fi ideas.
But a stereotypic Russian who wants to blow up the world is outright comic that it makes Civil war, an exceptionally well-made espionage thriller, which it really is by the way.
The rest of the arguments as to how the film becomes better with the second-watch, or how more things look well-rounded, are just a console to our heart which did not get the experience it expected to get. At the end, the whole of Tenet is not better than the sum of its parts.

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Every single public defender. Every single day.


Bail arguments, motions, oral arguments, hearings. Judges don’t know, follow, or care about the law. Prosecutors are willing to take advantage of it. And mandatory minimums, withheld evidence, & pretrial detention coerces people to plead before trial. When theres a jury. A shot.

But defenders still fight. And still win. Most times wins aren’t “Justice.” It’s power of repetition of argument in front of same judges. Introducing those in power to the people they oppress. Not just a RAP sheet or words on a page. Defenders make it harder to be brutal & cruel.

I worked as a public defender at an office as well resourced as any in the country. Social workers, team of investigators, a reentry team, support staff, specialist attorneys in immigration, housing, education, family. Relatively low caseloads (80-100). And yet still injustice.

Most think that balancing the scales of justice means more funding for defenders. Thats part of it. Enough a attorneys to actually be at bail hearings. Wrap around services to be able to help people trapped in the system end up better off in their communities. Lower caseloads.

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1/ Here’s a list of conversational frameworks I’ve picked up that have been helpful.

Please add your own.

2/ The Magic Question: "What would need to be true for you


3/ On evaluating where someone’s head is at regarding a topic they are being wishy-washy about or delaying.

“Gun to the head—what would you decide now?”

“Fast forward 6 months after your sabbatical--how would you decide: what criteria is most important to you?”

4/ Other Q’s re: decisions:

“Putting aside a list of pros/cons, what’s the *one* reason you’re doing this?” “Why is that the most important reason?”

“What’s end-game here?”

“What does success look like in a world where you pick that path?”

5/ When listening, after empathizing, and wanting to help them make their own decisions without imposing your world view:

“What would the best version of yourself do”?