How to with John Wilson (2020–…): Season 2, Episode 5 - How to Remember Your Dreams - full transcript
After years of rooting his life in non-fiction, John drifts from the world of rational thought in hopes of finally remembering his dreams.
♪ ♪
John Wilson:
Hey, New York.
Waking life is filled
with a lot of exciting stuff.
But every night when
the Sandman tucks you into bed,
you exit the world
of rational thought
and begin to dream.
If life is like
a basketball game,
then dreams are kind of
like the halftime show.
All the players leave
the court, and you're left
with a strange performance
that nobody asked for,
but, uh, you get anyway.
It's always fascinating because
it's a window into a world
that you don't
usually get to see.
I haven't been able to remember
my dreams for a while now,
and I feel like
I'm missing out.
My nights are more
like a skating rink
where the Zamboni
quietly repairs the ice,
leaving it smooth and blank
before I wake up
in the morning.
Scientists say
that the average person
has around four dreams a night.
So, you know they gotta
be in there somewhere.
I'm not even sure if
they would even be useful
if I could access them.
But, once something is
backed up long enough,
it can start to cause
problems you didn't expect.
And once you figure out how
to get things moving again,
all that good stuff
in your head could
finally come rushing out and
fill your world
with inspiration.
So, instead of wasting half
your life in a deep sleep,
it's time to unlock
your midnight potential
and finally figure out
how to remember
all those sweet, sweet dreams.
Supposedly, the first
thing you gotta do
is keep a pen
and paper by the bed,
so that you can get
in the habit of writing
everything down
the moment you wake up.
Even if you draw a blank,
you can just write down,
"nothing to report,"
and before you know it,
you'll begin to recall
little fragments.
Everything's really
hazy at first.
You remember vague
shapes and colors,
but, after a while,
the content becomes
much more clearly defined.
♪ ♪
Sometimes, you dream
that you're flying.
Or that you move into
a strange new neighborhood
just slightly out of town.
Sometimes, you dream
that you're being pursued
in a high-speed chase.
Or that you have to complete
a strange challenge
you don't understand.
You're not sure
what any of it means,
but maybe you could discover
some kind of practical use
for all this raw material.
So, who's, who's that
you got there?
Inventor:
This is Foxy.
Very happy, jolly dog
who loves people.
-Wilson: Cool. Okay.
-Inventor: Who's that?
Who's that?
So, one night when I went
to sleep, I had a dream.
I was in the park
with my nephews,
and we were walking with the dog
that I had just gotten.
And I looked down,
and the leash actually
had split into two.
So, my nephew was holding one,
and then I was holding one.
And it's just kind of
an "ah-ha" moment in the dream.
So, I woke up, started
drawing some sketches.
Um, then I started pretty
much reaching out
to some manufacturers,
and it all took off from there.
Wilson:
You think your dog knows
that it's being controlled
by two people?
Inventor: She loves it.
She loves all the attention.
Just increases
the conversation with people
when they're walking.
So now, people can communicate
a little more, like,
"Let's go here,
let's go there."
And everybody gets to
enjoy the experience.
Wilson: This is nice.
I will say the biggest
hurdle was the name.
Wilson:
Well, why was the name hard?
The name was hard
because, unfortunately,
the word "love" has kinda
been over-sexualized,
and just making it
a Love Leash,
people had different ideas
about it when I was--
especially when I was
reaching out to find people
to shrink-wrap the box
and different things like that.
They were curious
about what it is, um.
- Wilson: Oh, did they
think this was a sex toy?
- Yeah.
I had the dream.
I stuck with it.
I believed in it.
I had faith,
and I just moved forward.
I think anybody
can really do it.
Wilson:
Do you ever have dreams that
you wish you could forget?
A few.
A few.
Wilson:
So, take a look in
your dream journal to see
if there's anything in there
that people might wanna buy.
You did have a dream
that involved
some sort of portable
copy machine.
But, when you tried
to draw a prototype,
it didn't seem very practical,
and it actually turns out
that they kind of invented
something like that already.
So if you can't
think of a product,
maybe the value of your
dreams is in understanding
what they can tell you
about yourself.
Your brain always
seems to be suggesting
strange things to you.
And a lot of the time,
it's not even stuff
you knew you wanted.
This happens to you a lot
in real life, too.
And there must be a reason you
keep seeing images like this.
The idea behind
targeted ads is, you know,
you're not being force-fed
a bunch of irrelevant junk
that you don't want.
You know, you think back
to when you used to get
these giant catalogs
of just crap that
you didn't want.
You'd get delivered
all these ads,
like on TV that had
nothing to do with you.
So, the idea is,
of course, the right one
where they want
to deliver things that
are relevant to you.
Wilson:
Okay, so this is kind of
the interface you use
-to create an ad on Facebook?
-Advertiser 1: Yeah.
Advertiser 2:
Correct. We can create
some audiences here.
Wilson:
Relationship status...
Ov-over six million
people are widowed?
-Advertiser 1: Yep.
-Advertiser 2: Mm.
Wilson:
Wow. Is that pork?
Advertiser 2:
Yeah, presumably.
What we developed
and we received the patent on
is the ability to see
a person going on a site,
what they were actually
looking at, their intent.
Wilson:
Do you think like with all these
data points, you might know
like a user better than
they know themselves?
Yes, because
they're actually...
You're doing it behind
the firewall, right?
You're doing it in private.
So, it's very different,
subconsciously,
what you do and
the patterns that you take
versus what you
say you actually do.
Wilson:
Is like the targeted
ad industry,
is that a really
lucrative industry?
Yeah, it definitely is.
If you pan around
to the other side,
I have five cars on order,
and only have three spots.
Something like this is
half a million dollars
-just for the garage.
-Wilson: Wow.
And then another
100,000 in the lifts
and all the other things that
you have to put behind it, so...
Even the lifts, they're great,
but just to get to a car,
you have to move one out,
bring it down,
bring the other one up.
-Wilson: Oh yeah.
-It's not the worst problem,
but I'd love to go subterranean.
Wilson:
Oh my god!
-Makes all the right
noises, feels right.
-Wilson: Holy shit.
-Yeah.
-It's just really
an amazing drive.
-Wilson: Let me
put on my seatbelt.
-That's a good idea.
Wilson:
I totally forgot.
♪ ♪
Wilson:
It seems like the stuff
in your dreams might be
the most honest expression
of all your deepest desires.
And maybe you should act
on them once in a while.
Maybe you should
finally purchase
that object you've
been dreaming about,
or maybe invest in something.
Something big.
And if you keep
having stress dreams
about fighting
with your partner,
you might try to settle
things in real life.
But this might lead to
an even bigger argument
where they tell you that
you make everything
about yourself,
and they want someone
who's ready to commit.
And that's just not
the kind of person you are.
You beg them to give
you a second chance,
but they ultimately decide
to break it off for good.
So, you end up just sitting
around your apartment,
watching a bunch of television
and feeling sorry for yourself,
which eventually transitions
into a full-blown
identity crisis.
So, you start exercising
and reconnecting
with old friends
and taking up
brand new hobbies
that you never would've
considered before.
And after a while,
you begin to feel
like the best version
of yourself.
And none of this
would have happened
if you didn't listen
to your dreams.
♪ ♪
Unfortunately, some dreams
are really hard to understand,
and you can't always tell
what kind of direction
they're trying to give you.
You had one dream recently
where you walk into
a laundromat in
your neighborhood.
But when you get in there,
instead of washing machines
lining the walls,
it's all stoves, and
people are cooking instead
of washing their clothes.
That was pretty much it,
and you're not really
sure what it says
about you or your desires.
You try to talk to a handful of
people about what it can mean.
I walk around the city,
and I find, like,
it's like a laundromat,
but there's no washing
machines in it.
But, everyone seemed
kind of uninterested
and wanted to move on
to the next subject
as quickly as possible.
There's no washing
machines inside.
-It's just stoves inside,
and everyone's cooking.
-Yeah.
Wilson:
And when people did engage,
all they wanted to do was
tell you about their dreams,
which you also
found uninteresting
and had a hard time
connecting with.
I-- I was just sitting on
the side of a bank,
and the moon was out,
and it was relatively
cool and, um...
I was just in another landscape.
I'm flying a plane,
or just flying,
or para-gliding,
or in a hot air balloon,
or lost in space.
Like, flinging through space.
This is actually the earlier
part of the dream,
where more of the creatures
-were still up on
the, on the roof.
-Wilson: Uh-huh.
And, uh, and there were
a few humanoids like this,
although most of them
were, generically,
what things looked like.
Wilson:
You felt kind of bad
for your lack of interest,
but maybe there's
a logical reason for it.
♪ ♪
When someone describes
a dream to you,
they're asking you to
care about something
that never actually happened.
You can try to grasp
onto little details
that you can relate to,
but in order to appreciate it,
you need to be willing
to immerse yourself
in a fantasy world,
and maybe that's just not
the kind of person you are.
♪ ♪
Back when I was growing up,
my friends would play
Dungeons and Dragons
all the time.
I always wanted to join,
but they wouldn't let me
because they said
I wouldn't take it seriously.
I was ejected from paradise,
and I completely
rejected fantasy
from there on out.
I started to only read
books about real stuff
and became obsessed
with the authenticity
of documentary filmmaking.
When I watched fiction stuff,
I could never
suspend my disbelief
and fully immerse myself
in the world.
I even got frustrated
when dream sequences
would interrupt
the plot of a show,
even though it was all
completely made up
to begin with.
And while everyone else
was going to Comic-Con,
I started going
on court TV shows to
fill the void
that was left behind.
-Judge Milian: Okay, John,
what is your last name?
-Wilson.
-Judge Milian: Mr. Wilson,
how old are you?
-I'm 16.
This obsession lasted
well into adulthood,
but it started to take a toll
on a lot of my relationships.
Judge Acker:
Mr. Wilson, you're
a videographer?
-I'm a freelance filmmaker.
-Judge Acker: Well,
Mr. Freelance Filmmaker,
you're suing the defendant
for $2,000 because,
according to your complaint,
he hired you to do some
freelance filmmaking,
-and then he didn't pay you!
-Yeah.
I won a few thousand
dollars over the years,
but mostly all I did was
just make enemies.
I think it's a victory for
freelancers everywhere.
He was just trying to
take advantage of me.
All he was trying to
do was get that money.
I think that's
a moronic thing to say.
And I kind of wish
I could find value
in the stuff
we make up in our heads.
But, as you continue
to record your dreams,
they just...
seem to get scarier.
And instead of providing
you with nice thoughts
that stick with you
throughout the day,
every evening
begins to feel like
an eight-hour nightmare
that you just can't
find a way to turn off.
And one day, when you
left your dream journal
on-- open on the table,
your girlfriend walked by
and read about a dream
that you had about an ex.
She got really upset,
and it kind of led
to a big argument.
You told her it didn't matter
because it wasn't real,
but she still felt otherwise.
Maybe it's not a good idea
to try to remember your dreams
because once you bring
your subconscious
into the real world,
it could do real harm
to someone you love.
And maybe you should just
go back to your comfort zone
before you do
any more damage.
Whenever you wanna relax,
you like to turn on AM radio.
Your favorite station
is 1010 WINS
because it's all facts,
all the time.
And for nonfiction lovers,
it can feel like
settling into a warm bath.
Darius Radzius:
There are signs here
to remind people
not to feed the goats.
They appear to have
plenty to eat.
-Darius Radzius, 1010 WINS,
at Riverside Park.
-Ad: Are you missing teeth?
Wilson:
You were always
really curious about
how the sausage was made there,
so you decide to contact them,
and they, they
miraculously agreed
to let you come by
and check everything out.
If anything could snap
you back into reality,
this would be the place.
Announcer:
All news, all the time.
This is 1010 WINS.
Good afternoon!
88 degrees,
mostly sunny skies at 2:00.
I'm Larry Mullins,
and here's what's happening.
On the Upper East Side,
they had a 20-foot
crater open up,
devouring part of 89th between
York and East End Avenue,
and freaked a lot of people out.
On Long Island,
was she trying out a scene
from "Silence of
the Lambs" or what?
They've arrested a lady in,
uh, on multiple charges
after they say
she sank her chops
into a responding officer,
Hannibal Lecter-style.
A warning about the raccoons
in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.
Cops there say
a number of the animals
have been acting strangely,
appearing agitated,
even screaming
in some cases.
They've already
euthanized 15 raccoons
who are now being
tested for rabies.
No reports of any attacks,
but they're telling people
to stay away from these animals.
Wilson:
It was cool to see how
the whole place functioned,
but no matter how pure
you thought this place was,
you started to notice how
often the facts were diluted
with other kinds
of strange messages.
In three, two, one.
An orthopedic surgeon can
replace a damaged joint,
but they can't replace time.
That's why you need a surgeon
who's close to home.
Do it right. Here.
Visit RW-- Sorry.
- I would pick it up from,
"Do it right. Here."
- Okay.
Some people think
a store-bought doorbell camera
is going to protect them,
but it won't.
All that provides
is a front-row seat
into somebody breaking
into your home.
Call 833-933-SAFE
for your free doorbell camera
and free home.
"And free home"?
Oh, there's something.
And free home security system.
Call now, 833-933...
-Sorry.
-Okay, let me do that
line from your screen.
Push it over this way a little.
I can't see that all
the way the hell over there.
Wilson:
You spent the next few
hours just hanging out,
trying to enjoy
the rest of the broadcast,
but without any plot
or narrative
to keep your attention,
the same stories
just started getting
exhausting after a while.
Another huge sinkhole is
causing a traffic nightmare
right now on
the Upper East Side.
We'll take you there live.
A possible rabies
epidemic among raccoons.
A Long Island woman
is under arrest
for an alleged
Hannibal Lecter-like
assault on a police officer.
As for Metallica,
the band announcing
tasting sessions for
their blackened whiskey.
Wilson:
You don't know why you
thought a place like this
would make you happy.
And after a while,
it was clear
that you had overstayed
your welcome.
What is cough?
Reporter:
Let's say, for example,
you needed to cough.
-'Cause I just like, you know...
-Wilson: Um...
Wilson: Okay. I was
just getting you--
-Wilson: Alright, thanks.
-Reporter: Good evening,
or good afternoon,
I should say to you.
What a horrible afternoon
that's gonna stretch
into a bad evening...
Wilson:
So, before you caused
any more trouble,
you decide to finally
take the hint
and see yourself out for good.
♪ ♪
Maybe nonfiction
isn't all it's
cracked up to be
because it can be unhealthy
to only see the world
from one perspective.
And maybe it's okay
to take a break
from that once in a while.
You never really
got into comic books,
but you were walking
by one of those stores
and thought that maybe now
was a good time
to give it a shot.
You hadn't heard of any of
these characters before,
and you aren't sure
which one you'd
even want to get to know.
But then as you were
looking around,
you saw one of the customers
reading a comic
that you actually
sort of recognized.
It was based on
that movie "Avatar."
So, in terms of
the Extended Universe,
what's going on right now,
this one takes place
immediately after the movie.
Wilson:
Are you a fan of
"Avatar" at all?
I just-- I'm not...
I like James Cameron,
but I just don't get
"Avatar" for some reason.
Fan:
I definitely recommend
checking out the website
if you, if you--
because we have like
a whole community online.
We try to keep
it pretty active
because Kelutral is
up-and-coming.
It's constantly growing.
Wilson:
You haven't seen
"Avatar" since 2009.
But, from what you remember,
it was about a guy
in a wheelchair
who uploads his consciousness
into a tall, agile creature
that lives in some kind of
jungle paradise
where they even speak
their own language
and make love by
attaching their
ponytails together.
The people of Earth were
trying to extract resources
from the "Avatar" planet,
and after a bunch of
fighting and stuff,
the main guy decides to
stay in his avatar body
with all the other
avatars in this utopia
and never go back to Earth.
You remember feeling really
emotional after watching it,
which is more than any fantasy
had made you feel in a while.
And maybe if you spent time
with other fans of the movie,
you'd get a better idea
of why you felt that way.
The guy from
the comic store told you
that they, um,
were having an event
up at a conference
room in Midtown.
They decorated the place with
a bunch of stuff from the movie
or maybe inspired by it.
You saw it twice
in theaters?
I never go to see movies
more than once in a theater.
- How many times did you see it?
- Five times.
Wilson:
After a while, they started
to say a bunch of stuff
that you didn't
really understand.
Wilson:
And you quickly realize that
it was actually
the language from the movie,
which they all spoke fluently.
The reason that the adjective
has to be next to the word
that it describes is because
of that flexible word order.
So, if it was on this side,
it would be...
-Fan 1: Okay, this scene
works so much better in 3D.
-Fan 2: Right?
Fan 3:
Here's the thing. This is
one of the only kiss scenes
in any movie with any CGI
that's actually very, um...
-Fan 4: Believable.
-Fan 3: Yeah,
it's very believable.
Wilson:
And after watching the film,
they sat around talking about
how the world of Avatar
has impacted their lives.
I saw it the first two times
in theaters, and I was like,
this is one of the best
movies I've ever seen.
I like, love this movie.
Every time I've
watched it after,
I had-- I would always
hit about a week or two
-of a really deep depression.
-Fan 1: It feels like,
wow, like, this is so beautiful,
and it also, also just
feels impossible.
Like, this can never be.
That's where the hopelessness
component comes from.
Fan 4:
For me, the post-Avatar
depression hit hard
because I had this
serial track record
of just trying to escape
my reality, and,
uh, it--
"Avatar" provided
that escapism in a way
that I had never really
experienced before.
If you could lay down tonight,
and wake up tomorrow
as a Na'vi on Pandora...
-Heck yes!
-...would you take that?
Absolutely.
Closely tied with
escapism is the idea
that it is just an escape.
Like, at the end of the day,
you have to come
back to reality.
And so there, there
are those out there
who feel like the film
enables ableism,
in that the main character
is able to escape his
disability, you know,
and have this,
this perfect body.
If you're disabled,
and you say
you wouldn't take that
opportunity if given to it,
you're lying.
-Because as someone
who struggles...
-Yep.
with hearing, and I have
some brain damage and such
caused by being
struck by a car,
-I would 100% be
in that link unit.
-Mm-hmm.
I just couldn't see my life
going anywhere,
and I was honestly
experiencing
a lot of suicidal ideation,
and I just started talking
to some of the people
on Learn Na'vi,
and I said...
"I can't see my life
going anywhere.
"I want to be an artist.
I want to do all these things.
"I have stories that I want
to share with the world,
but I just can't see
it ever happening."
And that's when...
Alensi contacted me,
and he said,
"Hey, man, you need
somebody to talk to."
And I was like,
"Talking never helps."
And I talked anyways.
Alensi:
For about a month or two.
For about
a month or two, yeah.
And he said, "Say the word,
and I'll come get you."
And...
that was the most
selfless thing
that I'd ever heard anybody say.
And...
you know, I said,
"Okay, come get me."
And since then, he has
brought me in as, you know,
he's, he's been the father
that I've always wanted.
-And, uh...
-Mm-hmm.
Ultimately,
it comes from a desire
to want something better.
-Fans: Mm-hmm.
-But, just because
we have that desire,
I think it drives us
to make the world
-that we live in
a better place.
-Yeah.
♪ ♪
Wilson:
When you live in the real
world for long enough,
it can start to feel
like you need to escape.
And maybe you do need
a bit of fantasy
to make things here
on Earth more bearable.
Is there like a lot of,
like, "Avatar" erotica?
-Fan 1: Surprisingly, no.
-Fan 2: If you know
where to look...
There is a fair amount.
-The amount of
quality stuff...
-Fan 2: Quality.
is very little!
And if one of us is
gonna bring it up,
it might as well be
the only female in the group.
♪ ♪
Wilson:
If you only think about
stuff that already exists,
then the world you live in
will never change.
So, even if you don't think
your dreams are that important,
there's always a good chance
that you had them for a reason.
And so long as you find
the right way to share them,
you might be able to bring
other people together
in ways you never expected.
I don't know nobody
that got this shit!
-You're a genius, man!
-That's a fact.
Yeah, you're a genius,
in the hood with it!
I've been out here for 43 years,
and it took,
it took this guy,
this fuckin' guy,
to come to the hood
with some genius shit!
-Good fuckin' job, bro.
-Wilson: Thank you, man.
I'm not the only one
that dig it.
A lot of people dig it.
-They just ain't got the balls
to come and let you know.
-Wilson: Ah, thanks, man.
-I'm letting you know.
-Wilson: Well, spread the word
-that this idea is out there.
-Nah, this is it. This is it.
-This is big, bro.
You're onto something big.
-Wilson: Cool. Alright.
♪ ♪
This is John Wilson.
Thank-- thank you
for watching.
♪ ♪
John Wilson:
Hey, New York.
Waking life is filled
with a lot of exciting stuff.
But every night when
the Sandman tucks you into bed,
you exit the world
of rational thought
and begin to dream.
If life is like
a basketball game,
then dreams are kind of
like the halftime show.
All the players leave
the court, and you're left
with a strange performance
that nobody asked for,
but, uh, you get anyway.
It's always fascinating because
it's a window into a world
that you don't
usually get to see.
I haven't been able to remember
my dreams for a while now,
and I feel like
I'm missing out.
My nights are more
like a skating rink
where the Zamboni
quietly repairs the ice,
leaving it smooth and blank
before I wake up
in the morning.
Scientists say
that the average person
has around four dreams a night.
So, you know they gotta
be in there somewhere.
I'm not even sure if
they would even be useful
if I could access them.
But, once something is
backed up long enough,
it can start to cause
problems you didn't expect.
And once you figure out how
to get things moving again,
all that good stuff
in your head could
finally come rushing out and
fill your world
with inspiration.
So, instead of wasting half
your life in a deep sleep,
it's time to unlock
your midnight potential
and finally figure out
how to remember
all those sweet, sweet dreams.
Supposedly, the first
thing you gotta do
is keep a pen
and paper by the bed,
so that you can get
in the habit of writing
everything down
the moment you wake up.
Even if you draw a blank,
you can just write down,
"nothing to report,"
and before you know it,
you'll begin to recall
little fragments.
Everything's really
hazy at first.
You remember vague
shapes and colors,
but, after a while,
the content becomes
much more clearly defined.
♪ ♪
Sometimes, you dream
that you're flying.
Or that you move into
a strange new neighborhood
just slightly out of town.
Sometimes, you dream
that you're being pursued
in a high-speed chase.
Or that you have to complete
a strange challenge
you don't understand.
You're not sure
what any of it means,
but maybe you could discover
some kind of practical use
for all this raw material.
So, who's, who's that
you got there?
Inventor:
This is Foxy.
Very happy, jolly dog
who loves people.
-Wilson: Cool. Okay.
-Inventor: Who's that?
Who's that?
So, one night when I went
to sleep, I had a dream.
I was in the park
with my nephews,
and we were walking with the dog
that I had just gotten.
And I looked down,
and the leash actually
had split into two.
So, my nephew was holding one,
and then I was holding one.
And it's just kind of
an "ah-ha" moment in the dream.
So, I woke up, started
drawing some sketches.
Um, then I started pretty
much reaching out
to some manufacturers,
and it all took off from there.
Wilson:
You think your dog knows
that it's being controlled
by two people?
Inventor: She loves it.
She loves all the attention.
Just increases
the conversation with people
when they're walking.
So now, people can communicate
a little more, like,
"Let's go here,
let's go there."
And everybody gets to
enjoy the experience.
Wilson: This is nice.
I will say the biggest
hurdle was the name.
Wilson:
Well, why was the name hard?
The name was hard
because, unfortunately,
the word "love" has kinda
been over-sexualized,
and just making it
a Love Leash,
people had different ideas
about it when I was--
especially when I was
reaching out to find people
to shrink-wrap the box
and different things like that.
They were curious
about what it is, um.
- Wilson: Oh, did they
think this was a sex toy?
- Yeah.
I had the dream.
I stuck with it.
I believed in it.
I had faith,
and I just moved forward.
I think anybody
can really do it.
Wilson:
Do you ever have dreams that
you wish you could forget?
A few.
A few.
Wilson:
So, take a look in
your dream journal to see
if there's anything in there
that people might wanna buy.
You did have a dream
that involved
some sort of portable
copy machine.
But, when you tried
to draw a prototype,
it didn't seem very practical,
and it actually turns out
that they kind of invented
something like that already.
So if you can't
think of a product,
maybe the value of your
dreams is in understanding
what they can tell you
about yourself.
Your brain always
seems to be suggesting
strange things to you.
And a lot of the time,
it's not even stuff
you knew you wanted.
This happens to you a lot
in real life, too.
And there must be a reason you
keep seeing images like this.
The idea behind
targeted ads is, you know,
you're not being force-fed
a bunch of irrelevant junk
that you don't want.
You know, you think back
to when you used to get
these giant catalogs
of just crap that
you didn't want.
You'd get delivered
all these ads,
like on TV that had
nothing to do with you.
So, the idea is,
of course, the right one
where they want
to deliver things that
are relevant to you.
Wilson:
Okay, so this is kind of
the interface you use
-to create an ad on Facebook?
-Advertiser 1: Yeah.
Advertiser 2:
Correct. We can create
some audiences here.
Wilson:
Relationship status...
Ov-over six million
people are widowed?
-Advertiser 1: Yep.
-Advertiser 2: Mm.
Wilson:
Wow. Is that pork?
Advertiser 2:
Yeah, presumably.
What we developed
and we received the patent on
is the ability to see
a person going on a site,
what they were actually
looking at, their intent.
Wilson:
Do you think like with all these
data points, you might know
like a user better than
they know themselves?
Yes, because
they're actually...
You're doing it behind
the firewall, right?
You're doing it in private.
So, it's very different,
subconsciously,
what you do and
the patterns that you take
versus what you
say you actually do.
Wilson:
Is like the targeted
ad industry,
is that a really
lucrative industry?
Yeah, it definitely is.
If you pan around
to the other side,
I have five cars on order,
and only have three spots.
Something like this is
half a million dollars
-just for the garage.
-Wilson: Wow.
And then another
100,000 in the lifts
and all the other things that
you have to put behind it, so...
Even the lifts, they're great,
but just to get to a car,
you have to move one out,
bring it down,
bring the other one up.
-Wilson: Oh yeah.
-It's not the worst problem,
but I'd love to go subterranean.
Wilson:
Oh my god!
-Makes all the right
noises, feels right.
-Wilson: Holy shit.
-Yeah.
-It's just really
an amazing drive.
-Wilson: Let me
put on my seatbelt.
-That's a good idea.
Wilson:
I totally forgot.
♪ ♪
Wilson:
It seems like the stuff
in your dreams might be
the most honest expression
of all your deepest desires.
And maybe you should act
on them once in a while.
Maybe you should
finally purchase
that object you've
been dreaming about,
or maybe invest in something.
Something big.
And if you keep
having stress dreams
about fighting
with your partner,
you might try to settle
things in real life.
But this might lead to
an even bigger argument
where they tell you that
you make everything
about yourself,
and they want someone
who's ready to commit.
And that's just not
the kind of person you are.
You beg them to give
you a second chance,
but they ultimately decide
to break it off for good.
So, you end up just sitting
around your apartment,
watching a bunch of television
and feeling sorry for yourself,
which eventually transitions
into a full-blown
identity crisis.
So, you start exercising
and reconnecting
with old friends
and taking up
brand new hobbies
that you never would've
considered before.
And after a while,
you begin to feel
like the best version
of yourself.
And none of this
would have happened
if you didn't listen
to your dreams.
♪ ♪
Unfortunately, some dreams
are really hard to understand,
and you can't always tell
what kind of direction
they're trying to give you.
You had one dream recently
where you walk into
a laundromat in
your neighborhood.
But when you get in there,
instead of washing machines
lining the walls,
it's all stoves, and
people are cooking instead
of washing their clothes.
That was pretty much it,
and you're not really
sure what it says
about you or your desires.
You try to talk to a handful of
people about what it can mean.
I walk around the city,
and I find, like,
it's like a laundromat,
but there's no washing
machines in it.
But, everyone seemed
kind of uninterested
and wanted to move on
to the next subject
as quickly as possible.
There's no washing
machines inside.
-It's just stoves inside,
and everyone's cooking.
-Yeah.
Wilson:
And when people did engage,
all they wanted to do was
tell you about their dreams,
which you also
found uninteresting
and had a hard time
connecting with.
I-- I was just sitting on
the side of a bank,
and the moon was out,
and it was relatively
cool and, um...
I was just in another landscape.
I'm flying a plane,
or just flying,
or para-gliding,
or in a hot air balloon,
or lost in space.
Like, flinging through space.
This is actually the earlier
part of the dream,
where more of the creatures
-were still up on
the, on the roof.
-Wilson: Uh-huh.
And, uh, and there were
a few humanoids like this,
although most of them
were, generically,
what things looked like.
Wilson:
You felt kind of bad
for your lack of interest,
but maybe there's
a logical reason for it.
♪ ♪
When someone describes
a dream to you,
they're asking you to
care about something
that never actually happened.
You can try to grasp
onto little details
that you can relate to,
but in order to appreciate it,
you need to be willing
to immerse yourself
in a fantasy world,
and maybe that's just not
the kind of person you are.
♪ ♪
Back when I was growing up,
my friends would play
Dungeons and Dragons
all the time.
I always wanted to join,
but they wouldn't let me
because they said
I wouldn't take it seriously.
I was ejected from paradise,
and I completely
rejected fantasy
from there on out.
I started to only read
books about real stuff
and became obsessed
with the authenticity
of documentary filmmaking.
When I watched fiction stuff,
I could never
suspend my disbelief
and fully immerse myself
in the world.
I even got frustrated
when dream sequences
would interrupt
the plot of a show,
even though it was all
completely made up
to begin with.
And while everyone else
was going to Comic-Con,
I started going
on court TV shows to
fill the void
that was left behind.
-Judge Milian: Okay, John,
what is your last name?
-Wilson.
-Judge Milian: Mr. Wilson,
how old are you?
-I'm 16.
This obsession lasted
well into adulthood,
but it started to take a toll
on a lot of my relationships.
Judge Acker:
Mr. Wilson, you're
a videographer?
-I'm a freelance filmmaker.
-Judge Acker: Well,
Mr. Freelance Filmmaker,
you're suing the defendant
for $2,000 because,
according to your complaint,
he hired you to do some
freelance filmmaking,
-and then he didn't pay you!
-Yeah.
I won a few thousand
dollars over the years,
but mostly all I did was
just make enemies.
I think it's a victory for
freelancers everywhere.
He was just trying to
take advantage of me.
All he was trying to
do was get that money.
I think that's
a moronic thing to say.
And I kind of wish
I could find value
in the stuff
we make up in our heads.
But, as you continue
to record your dreams,
they just...
seem to get scarier.
And instead of providing
you with nice thoughts
that stick with you
throughout the day,
every evening
begins to feel like
an eight-hour nightmare
that you just can't
find a way to turn off.
And one day, when you
left your dream journal
on-- open on the table,
your girlfriend walked by
and read about a dream
that you had about an ex.
She got really upset,
and it kind of led
to a big argument.
You told her it didn't matter
because it wasn't real,
but she still felt otherwise.
Maybe it's not a good idea
to try to remember your dreams
because once you bring
your subconscious
into the real world,
it could do real harm
to someone you love.
And maybe you should just
go back to your comfort zone
before you do
any more damage.
Whenever you wanna relax,
you like to turn on AM radio.
Your favorite station
is 1010 WINS
because it's all facts,
all the time.
And for nonfiction lovers,
it can feel like
settling into a warm bath.
Darius Radzius:
There are signs here
to remind people
not to feed the goats.
They appear to have
plenty to eat.
-Darius Radzius, 1010 WINS,
at Riverside Park.
-Ad: Are you missing teeth?
Wilson:
You were always
really curious about
how the sausage was made there,
so you decide to contact them,
and they, they
miraculously agreed
to let you come by
and check everything out.
If anything could snap
you back into reality,
this would be the place.
Announcer:
All news, all the time.
This is 1010 WINS.
Good afternoon!
88 degrees,
mostly sunny skies at 2:00.
I'm Larry Mullins,
and here's what's happening.
On the Upper East Side,
they had a 20-foot
crater open up,
devouring part of 89th between
York and East End Avenue,
and freaked a lot of people out.
On Long Island,
was she trying out a scene
from "Silence of
the Lambs" or what?
They've arrested a lady in,
uh, on multiple charges
after they say
she sank her chops
into a responding officer,
Hannibal Lecter-style.
A warning about the raccoons
in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.
Cops there say
a number of the animals
have been acting strangely,
appearing agitated,
even screaming
in some cases.
They've already
euthanized 15 raccoons
who are now being
tested for rabies.
No reports of any attacks,
but they're telling people
to stay away from these animals.
Wilson:
It was cool to see how
the whole place functioned,
but no matter how pure
you thought this place was,
you started to notice how
often the facts were diluted
with other kinds
of strange messages.
In three, two, one.
An orthopedic surgeon can
replace a damaged joint,
but they can't replace time.
That's why you need a surgeon
who's close to home.
Do it right. Here.
Visit RW-- Sorry.
- I would pick it up from,
"Do it right. Here."
- Okay.
Some people think
a store-bought doorbell camera
is going to protect them,
but it won't.
All that provides
is a front-row seat
into somebody breaking
into your home.
Call 833-933-SAFE
for your free doorbell camera
and free home.
"And free home"?
Oh, there's something.
And free home security system.
Call now, 833-933...
-Sorry.
-Okay, let me do that
line from your screen.
Push it over this way a little.
I can't see that all
the way the hell over there.
Wilson:
You spent the next few
hours just hanging out,
trying to enjoy
the rest of the broadcast,
but without any plot
or narrative
to keep your attention,
the same stories
just started getting
exhausting after a while.
Another huge sinkhole is
causing a traffic nightmare
right now on
the Upper East Side.
We'll take you there live.
A possible rabies
epidemic among raccoons.
A Long Island woman
is under arrest
for an alleged
Hannibal Lecter-like
assault on a police officer.
As for Metallica,
the band announcing
tasting sessions for
their blackened whiskey.
Wilson:
You don't know why you
thought a place like this
would make you happy.
And after a while,
it was clear
that you had overstayed
your welcome.
What is cough?
Reporter:
Let's say, for example,
you needed to cough.
-'Cause I just like, you know...
-Wilson: Um...
Wilson: Okay. I was
just getting you--
-Wilson: Alright, thanks.
-Reporter: Good evening,
or good afternoon,
I should say to you.
What a horrible afternoon
that's gonna stretch
into a bad evening...
Wilson:
So, before you caused
any more trouble,
you decide to finally
take the hint
and see yourself out for good.
♪ ♪
Maybe nonfiction
isn't all it's
cracked up to be
because it can be unhealthy
to only see the world
from one perspective.
And maybe it's okay
to take a break
from that once in a while.
You never really
got into comic books,
but you were walking
by one of those stores
and thought that maybe now
was a good time
to give it a shot.
You hadn't heard of any of
these characters before,
and you aren't sure
which one you'd
even want to get to know.
But then as you were
looking around,
you saw one of the customers
reading a comic
that you actually
sort of recognized.
It was based on
that movie "Avatar."
So, in terms of
the Extended Universe,
what's going on right now,
this one takes place
immediately after the movie.
Wilson:
Are you a fan of
"Avatar" at all?
I just-- I'm not...
I like James Cameron,
but I just don't get
"Avatar" for some reason.
Fan:
I definitely recommend
checking out the website
if you, if you--
because we have like
a whole community online.
We try to keep
it pretty active
because Kelutral is
up-and-coming.
It's constantly growing.
Wilson:
You haven't seen
"Avatar" since 2009.
But, from what you remember,
it was about a guy
in a wheelchair
who uploads his consciousness
into a tall, agile creature
that lives in some kind of
jungle paradise
where they even speak
their own language
and make love by
attaching their
ponytails together.
The people of Earth were
trying to extract resources
from the "Avatar" planet,
and after a bunch of
fighting and stuff,
the main guy decides to
stay in his avatar body
with all the other
avatars in this utopia
and never go back to Earth.
You remember feeling really
emotional after watching it,
which is more than any fantasy
had made you feel in a while.
And maybe if you spent time
with other fans of the movie,
you'd get a better idea
of why you felt that way.
The guy from
the comic store told you
that they, um,
were having an event
up at a conference
room in Midtown.
They decorated the place with
a bunch of stuff from the movie
or maybe inspired by it.
You saw it twice
in theaters?
I never go to see movies
more than once in a theater.
- How many times did you see it?
- Five times.
Wilson:
After a while, they started
to say a bunch of stuff
that you didn't
really understand.
Wilson:
And you quickly realize that
it was actually
the language from the movie,
which they all spoke fluently.
The reason that the adjective
has to be next to the word
that it describes is because
of that flexible word order.
So, if it was on this side,
it would be...
-Fan 1: Okay, this scene
works so much better in 3D.
-Fan 2: Right?
Fan 3:
Here's the thing. This is
one of the only kiss scenes
in any movie with any CGI
that's actually very, um...
-Fan 4: Believable.
-Fan 3: Yeah,
it's very believable.
Wilson:
And after watching the film,
they sat around talking about
how the world of Avatar
has impacted their lives.
I saw it the first two times
in theaters, and I was like,
this is one of the best
movies I've ever seen.
I like, love this movie.
Every time I've
watched it after,
I had-- I would always
hit about a week or two
-of a really deep depression.
-Fan 1: It feels like,
wow, like, this is so beautiful,
and it also, also just
feels impossible.
Like, this can never be.
That's where the hopelessness
component comes from.
Fan 4:
For me, the post-Avatar
depression hit hard
because I had this
serial track record
of just trying to escape
my reality, and,
uh, it--
"Avatar" provided
that escapism in a way
that I had never really
experienced before.
If you could lay down tonight,
and wake up tomorrow
as a Na'vi on Pandora...
-Heck yes!
-...would you take that?
Absolutely.
Closely tied with
escapism is the idea
that it is just an escape.
Like, at the end of the day,
you have to come
back to reality.
And so there, there
are those out there
who feel like the film
enables ableism,
in that the main character
is able to escape his
disability, you know,
and have this,
this perfect body.
If you're disabled,
and you say
you wouldn't take that
opportunity if given to it,
you're lying.
-Because as someone
who struggles...
-Yep.
with hearing, and I have
some brain damage and such
caused by being
struck by a car,
-I would 100% be
in that link unit.
-Mm-hmm.
I just couldn't see my life
going anywhere,
and I was honestly
experiencing
a lot of suicidal ideation,
and I just started talking
to some of the people
on Learn Na'vi,
and I said...
"I can't see my life
going anywhere.
"I want to be an artist.
I want to do all these things.
"I have stories that I want
to share with the world,
but I just can't see
it ever happening."
And that's when...
Alensi contacted me,
and he said,
"Hey, man, you need
somebody to talk to."
And I was like,
"Talking never helps."
And I talked anyways.
Alensi:
For about a month or two.
For about
a month or two, yeah.
And he said, "Say the word,
and I'll come get you."
And...
that was the most
selfless thing
that I'd ever heard anybody say.
And...
you know, I said,
"Okay, come get me."
And since then, he has
brought me in as, you know,
he's, he's been the father
that I've always wanted.
-And, uh...
-Mm-hmm.
Ultimately,
it comes from a desire
to want something better.
-Fans: Mm-hmm.
-But, just because
we have that desire,
I think it drives us
to make the world
-that we live in
a better place.
-Yeah.
♪ ♪
Wilson:
When you live in the real
world for long enough,
it can start to feel
like you need to escape.
And maybe you do need
a bit of fantasy
to make things here
on Earth more bearable.
Is there like a lot of,
like, "Avatar" erotica?
-Fan 1: Surprisingly, no.
-Fan 2: If you know
where to look...
There is a fair amount.
-The amount of
quality stuff...
-Fan 2: Quality.
is very little!
And if one of us is
gonna bring it up,
it might as well be
the only female in the group.
♪ ♪
Wilson:
If you only think about
stuff that already exists,
then the world you live in
will never change.
So, even if you don't think
your dreams are that important,
there's always a good chance
that you had them for a reason.
And so long as you find
the right way to share them,
you might be able to bring
other people together
in ways you never expected.
I don't know nobody
that got this shit!
-You're a genius, man!
-That's a fact.
Yeah, you're a genius,
in the hood with it!
I've been out here for 43 years,
and it took,
it took this guy,
this fuckin' guy,
to come to the hood
with some genius shit!
-Good fuckin' job, bro.
-Wilson: Thank you, man.
I'm not the only one
that dig it.
A lot of people dig it.
-They just ain't got the balls
to come and let you know.
-Wilson: Ah, thanks, man.
-I'm letting you know.
-Wilson: Well, spread the word
-that this idea is out there.
-Nah, this is it. This is it.
-This is big, bro.
You're onto something big.
-Wilson: Cool. Alright.
♪ ♪
This is John Wilson.
Thank-- thank you
for watching.
♪ ♪