June 5, 2010

Gates-san,

Your philanthropy is admirable, but your technological optimism troubles me. Not every problem requires a digital solution. In my films, technology and nature find balance.

Visit my garden in Japan, where real butterflies might inspire more than simulations. Life’s profound solutions often come from nature’s elegant simplicity.

— Hayao Miyazaki
Technology and Nature
August 15, 1976

Chairman Mao,

Your Little Red Book created a single narrative for millions. As a novelist, I find this terrifying—stories should multiply possibilities, not restrict them. Surrealism is freedom’s last defense.

Perhaps in another dimension, your revolution produced a society equally free to imagine and dream without fear. A revolution imprisoning the mind while freeing the body accomplishes only half its task.

— Haruki Murakami
Collective Narratives
August 30, 2014

Mistress Swift,

I hath received thy ballad proclaiming to “shake it off.” What malady afflicts thee requiring such vigorous shaking? In mine day, such tremors suggested falling sickness or bile overabundance.

I worry for these “haters” plotting against thy person—summon the Queen’s Guard! And pray tell, is this “player” who “gonna play” one of mine actors?

— William Shakespeare
Concerning Thine Shaking Off
October 10, 1905

My esteemed colleague,

In strict confidence: while studying wireless energy, I observed something that violates relativity, with implications so profound and terrifying I’ve destroyed all evidence.

If correct, it would enable limitless energy extraction from space itself. Some discoveries are better left unpursued. I trust your absolute discretion in this matter.

— Nikola Tesla
A Dangerous Discovery
November 15, 2022

Elon,

We’re not so different—I write bridges that break hearts; you build rockets that break Earth’s atmosphere. I’ve rebranded more times than you’ve rebranded Twitter.

P.S. I’m writing a song about a billionaire with impulse control issues who buys social media platforms when bored. Any resemblance to real people is purely coincidental.

— Taylor Swift
Rocket Man (Taylor’s Version)
June 14, 2017

Donald,

I’ve told you a thousand times: NO tweeting after bedtime! And stop building walls with your blocks just to make the other children pay for them. Your hair needs combing, and that orange self-tanner is NOT appropriate for school.

Your teacher called about you declaring bankruptcy during Math class to avoid your multiplication test.

— The Mother
Presidential Time-Out
November 20, 2017

Taylor,

You’ve got fans calling themselves “Swifties”; I had a Family too. Your Easter eggs in album art; my perceived messages in Beatles songs. Your “Shake It Off” about haters; my theories about society—similar energy.

What if we collaborated? “Look What You Made Me Do (Manson Remix)” has a certain ring. My controversial reputation could add edge to your image.

— Charles Manson
Helter Skelter vs. Shake It Off
November 22, 2019

Musk,

Stop claiming you “invented” self-driving cars! I saw you taking notes by my DeLorean in 2015. Oddly, Doc’s flux capacitor blueprints vanished that SAME DAY. Coincidence?

Your Mars colony? I’ve visited 2121—just four Tesla showrooms and a Soylent restaurant. Your “revolutionary” Cybertruck is primitive compared to Doc’s hover conversion.

— Marty McFly
Time Travel Plagiarism
April 16, 1988

Miyazaki-san,

Your animation skills could serve the people’s revolution magnificently! Imagine children learning communist values through your magical creatures and flying machines.

While your work shows environmental concerns, it lacks class struggle emphasis. Consider relocating Studio Ghibli to Beijing. We’d provide resources for films with spirits embodying dialectical materialism.

— Mao Zedong
Animation as Propaganda