But there have always been anomalies, films that use slower, more cumbersome methods to contemplate reality.
One of the greatest of Muslim theologians, a Sufi, Ibn 'Arabi (d. 1240), wrote that the contemplation of God is possible, indeed enhanced, through the human form: When man contemplates the Reality in woman he beholds God.
It can be miserable to contemplate the reality of having less, or of earning a living outside the not-always-real-world of government.
In "Our Daily Bread" Mr. Geyrhalter wants us not only to look at the world we have made with care and with consideration, but also to contemplate a reality newly visible that is all too easy to ignore and just as impossible to look away from.
Why politicians and the media were loth to contemplate the reality of Peter's encounters with the entire Haringey safeguarding system, and so keen to vilify a handful of social workers and (in the words of a high court judge) "scapegoat" Shoesmith is examined in impressive detail by professor Ray Jones in a new book The Story of Baby P (for which I have written a foreword).
And as I'm forced to contemplate this reality while breaking my fast, now you know why my head hurts.
No one has had the chance to cast a ballot for him yet, but if he starts actually winning primaries, the GOP will have to contemplate a reality where the face of their party is bright orange and topped by insane hair.
Those who are deliberately ignoring Donald Trump's lack of business ethics, failure at statesmanlike carriage, questionable international connections, lack of respect for women and people of color, and determined fiscal obliqueness in favor of his being the Republican Who Will Reverse Roe vs. Wade should contemplate this reality.
(What next? Harley-Davidson snapped up by the Vietnamese?) But that's just until you contemplate the realities of modern China, and the nouveau riche in the growing suburbs, setting down lawn furniture inside gated complexes of villas, shopping at big-box stores and driving luxury cars.
In the wake of the devastating visit of Hurricane Sandy to our shores -- and the action of federal, state and local governments to help people rebuild lives and get communities back on their feet -- it is more than a hypothetical exercise to contemplate the realities of governing after next week's presidential election.
