Sunday, February 24, 2008

Sudden madness

The topic of sudden madness seem to be coming up a lot around me these days. An odd coincidence I must say, like a plot setting for some twisted Stephen King novel. Of course, any individual circumstance happening in such light is rather unlikely. Instead, perhaps there is some underlying zeitgeist toward such artificial constructs (containing or centering around the concept of sudden madness/relapse of conventions)?

The facet of madness is drawn on two largely contradicting view point. The first one draws the concept and manifestation of madness in a fearful, but somewhat neutral light. Madness is not an illness of a person per se, but a phase, a type of eschewed viewpoint that may or may not be permanent that nonetheless open the door to a new possibility of the world to the individual/group exposed to the madness. The second one still views the facet of madness in a fearful and primordially feared light, while the intrusive and dangerous aspect of the madness is emphasised. In the first case the madness is treated as a frame of mind, a power that may be controlled or in some way utilized for the benefit of the individual despite its mysterious and unpredictable origin. In the second case the madness is considered as an unexpected and nigh unstoppable catastrophe close to the ancient (and still current in many regions of the world) notion of natural force like storm or related famine.

The most distinct common point shared between the two cases point toward the view of the madness as the unknown and unpredictable in its origin, manifestation, and purpose, its outcomes sometimes destructive and sometimes beneficial according to some whim of the fabric of the world we can only dimly understand.

It is also interesting to note that the concept and practice of sudden madness is used as a bridge between the world of the perceived mundane and the world reflected in an individual's mind, not necessarily dangerous in any way, perhaps even magical and friendly under certain circumstances. Also it must be noted that the sudden cases of madness are always accompanied with some form of intense alienation from the individual's normal environment, real or perceived.

All in all, I consider this to be an interesting presence in the mass media today, worthy of deeper studies.

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