#Culture Industry Reconsidered

[philosophybits]

Even if its messages were as harmless as they are made out to be — on countless occasions they are obviously not harmless, like the movies which chime in with currently popular hate campaigns against intellectuals by portraying them with the usual stereotypes — the attitudes which the culture industry calls forth are anything but harmless. If an astrologer urges his readers to drive carefully on a particular day, that certainly hurts no one; they will, however, be harmed indeed by the stupefication which lies in the claim that advice which is valid every day and which is therefore idiotic, needs the approval of the stars.

Theodor W. Adorno, "Culture Industry Reconsidered"

[tendermiasma]

I Hope this question won't attract unwanted crowd, I'll try to type it in a way it hopefully will prevent it, but I have a question. As a professional artist, do you have any advice on how to not feel discouraged by A /i g3 ner*a/t3d images? And what to do to protect my art from being stolen? Recently I discovered one person close to me, also an artist, started incorporating that into their works and got into selling stuff assisted by it, and I feel kind of... heartbroken, betrayed? I don't know what to do, it makes me not want to continue the relationship, because this stuff is, in my opinion, actively hurting artists, but on the other hand, I don't want to lose a friend over it. Also, I am afraid that the only way to prevent what I create from being stolen is to not share it online at all, which is also heartbreaking, because one of the biggest part of creating (at least to me) is a form of dialogue with fellow humans, sharing emotions, and interaction between the creator, the art and the audience. I just feel lost. Also, I really admire your art, your skill, and you inspire me in a very profound way, just wanted to say that. Hope you have a good day!

Hi! It's a really shitty situation and I also often feel really doom and gloom about the whole thing. But the reason I keep making art is simple: It is my greatest joy to communicate through art and with every piece I make I continue to assert over and over that my human soul and the expertise that comes with it is a thousand times more valuable than a machine, and even though a lot of people wouldn't give a shit if a person or AI made it, there are always people out there who will care. I just really, really love doing it even while capitalism and our culture of consumption is taking on new and terrible forms. If we stop making art, what's left? Just the machine and nobody to speak up otherwise. Do nothing and lose everything vs keep fighting and something else, something better by some measure happens. Action is always the cure. I'm a big believer in that because I've found it to be true.

We're at a crucial time in the entertainment and arts industries. We all have some measure of power we can use against emerging policies and trends that don't benefit/actively hurt us. The WGA is currently striking in part to make AMPTP reconsider their AI policy of essentially just updating the WGA on the technology's progess annually. Other organized labor in entertainment and visual arts can negotiate anti-AI clauses into their contracts to make it less acceptable as a practice overall. You can use Glaze on your work to confuse AI engines and they just came out with a new version that I hear is a pretty nice jump in how detectable the texture is to your eye in the images.

I'm sorry you're going through that with your friend, though. It's hard and messy and there's no set way to go about it. It all depends on what you value most and what your own moral compass is telling you what you need to do here. Personally if it were a close friend of mine, I would talk to them about it. Depending on how they respond, your decision still might be a hard one or they could make it very easy. They will absolutely tell you how much time you should invest into this. Even if their attitude is clearly signaling that they do not care about you here and that you should move on from the friendship, it's probably still going to be painful and you'll grieve it for a while. Surround yourself with friends who understand how you feel and time will do its thing.

I think you should take comfort in that if you continue with art, this won't be the hardest decision you'll ever have to make. You'll have to make harder ones and will still come out on the other side. Even if you choose not to share your art on the wider internet and keep it as a precious thing among a smaller group of friends, it still has just as much worth and as you go along you will naturally find a balance between risks and reward. Don't forget that speaking out does actually have power in itself. Remember we've been able to bully a few companies into rolling back harmful practices in the past year or so.

I hope that was somewhat helpful. We're all trying to figure this out together and there's always going to be a future for artists as long as we keep pushing back hard. Capitalism takes a mile when you give an inch so it always, always matters to be vocal, spread useful information, use anti-ai apps on your art etc. It takes more energy to stay away from something you really want to do so I'm sure you'll find a way to share your art in the capacity you're comfortable with.

[casteliacityramen]

Munday Lore Post: Threat Assessment - Humanity

Preface:

I have made it my goal to live amongst them, so my perception is understandably biased. That being said, like my last assessment and the ones before this one, I still wholeheartedly believe that humanity should be inducted into the Order of Arceus.

Description:

Humans are bipedal mammals that exhibit anomalous behaviors, bodily functions, and capabilities. Their genetics are a scrambled mess. The average human holds little to no Aura, Psychic Abilities, or Physical Strengths that would put them on par with even the mildest of pokemon.

Their offspring are even born in extremely vulnerable conditions, as opposed to pokemon who have proper time to incubate into functional sapient beings.

Humanity, as a whole, is fragile and anomalous. It's almost as if their existence was a mistake.

If you asked me last assessment, classifying them as pokemon would be erroneous. However, their bodies have been slowly adapting over the past century. More can access latent aura abilities. More psychics are born. Their tolerances to pain and stress are increasing, as well as their inherent physical strength.

Their lower lifespans and fragile nature is nothing but an obstacle to overcome. Their ability to innovate is unmatched, even in comparison to our artificers. If they have a problem, they will brute force their way to a solution, even if some of the results end in certain death. They've built complex tools and machines; flown, swam, and lived through environments they were never meant to be in; and have bested the odds time and time again. It's as fascinating as it is inspiring.

Assessment:

Humanity's ability to cooperate with each other and other pokemon are unparalleled amongst any other pokemon. Arguably, if life was a competition as to see who can build the most complex societies, humanity would come first "by a country mile," as the Unovans call it. I'd argue that it even puts the Order to shame.

Humanity is coming into another renaissance, this time, surrounding culture and cooperation after their previous industrial renaissance. International cooperation is at an all time high, and continuing to rise. This time, I believe that they intend to bring the rest of existence with them on this journey.

Pokemon life, as we know it, is about to become fundamentally different than ever before. Soon, there may even be a time where pokemon can innovate as well as humanity, given that they have the societal structure to no longer worry about basic needs.

It's always been our responsibility, as relfected in The Order's Creed, to guide existence towards enlightenment, but the relationship has been mutual. The Order uses their technology, re-organized multiple times to match their societal structures, and took inspiration from their innovations to create our own.

I believe that Humanity is the overt counterpart to our covert role in history. It's as if they have taken our role as Shepherds, Stewards, Scribes, Artificers, and even Councilors, to guide the world towards peace and enlightenment, and I still stand by this claim after their tumultuous times during and after the Kanto-Johto War. If anything, it's a testament to humanity's inherent cooperative nature that they have only had a full scale conflict every one thousand years.

This will undoubtedly be another contentious decision, but I motion that humanity be inducted into the Order. I believe that humanity will be able to do astronomically more things with Arceus's blessing than we ever can. I ask you all to reconsider your past decisions.

Scribe and Artificer J.

MOTION: DENIED

[sophiebernadotte]

Masterpost: Royal Authors

This is a text version of the original list I curated, which can be found here. The royals are listed chronologically based on their first name (not title). The books are listed with the oldest book first & most recently published book last.

Some of the mentioned people have published books or lent out their names for books as private citizens; this post & the original list only cover royal members & books published under their royal title. This means that some books & some people have been excluded due to not falling under those criteria.

Note: Some of the following links are affiliate links, which means I earn a commission on every purchase. This does not affect the price you pay.

Princess Akiko of Mikasa

Reconsidering early modern Yamato-e: perspectives from Japan, the UK, and the USA (2013)

Japan: Courts and Culture (2020)

Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

The Memoirs of Princess Alice Duchess of Gloucester (1983)

Memories of Ninety Years (1991)

Catherine, Princess of Wales

Hold Still (2021)

Puzzles for Spies: The brand-new puzzle book from GCHQ (2022)

King Charles III

The Old Man of Lochnagar (1980)

Tomorrow is Too Late - A Celebration of Our Wildlife Heritage (1990) (with Sir David Attenborough, among others)

The Prince's Choice: A Personal Selection from Shakespeare by the Prince of Wales (1995)

Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World (2010)

Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World - Children's Edition

One Is Deeply Concerned: The Prince Charles Letters, 1969-2011 (2011)

The Prince's Speech: On the Future of Food (2012)

The list is too long; that man puts his name on literally everything. Check the page for more.

Princess Christina, Mrs Magnuson

Days at Drottningholm (2016)

Diana, Princess of Wales

British Sign Language: A Beginner's Guide (1988)

PEOPLE OF THE 90's: In Aid of the Malcolm Sargent Cancer Fund for Children (1995)

Hannah Riddell: An Englishwoman in Japan (1996)

Head Injury: A Practical Guide (1997)

King Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor

Launch! A Life-Boat Book (1932)

A King's Story: The Memoirs of the Duke of Windsor (1951)

The Crown and the People, 1902-1953 (1953)

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent

Jackie Stewart's Principles of Performance Driving (1986)

Australia Bound!: Story of West Country Connections, 1688-1888 (1988)

Deep into Blue Holes: The Story of The Andros Project (1989)

The Institution of Industrial Managers: A History 1931-1991 (1991)

The Story of E. H. Shepard: The Man Who Drew Pooh (2000)

Tribal Odyssey: A Photographic Journey Among Tribes (2000)

Chasin' the Sound: Tales and tunes from the career of Pipe Major Brian B Heriot, Scots Guards (2016)

A Royal Life (2022) (his memoir)

One Crew: The RNLI's Official 200-Year History (2024)

Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother

The Country Life Book of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (1978) (actually by Charles & Godfrey Talbot, not her)

Henrik, Prince Consort

Fit for a Royal Dane: Gastronomic Views and Recipes of Prince Henrik (2002)

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex

Together: Our Community Cookbook (2018)

Princess Michael of Kent

Crowned in a Far Country: Portraits of Eight Royal Brides (1986)

Cupid and the King: Five Royal Paramours (1991)

The Serpent and the Moon: Two Rivals for the Love of a Renaissance King (2004)

A Cheetah's Tale (2017)

Princess Märtha Louise

Why Kings and Queens Don't Wear Crowns (2004)

The Spiritual Password: Learn to Unlock Your Spiritual Power (2014)

Emperor Naruhito

Costume at Castle Howard (1975)

The Thames and I: A Memoir of Two Years at Oxford (1993; 2006; 2019)

Queen Noor

Art of Jordan: Treasures from an Ancient Land (1991)

Landmines and Human Security: International Politics and War's Hidden Legacy

Leadership and the United Nations: The International Leadership Series (2003)

Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life (2003)

Breaking Ground: From Landmines to Grapevines, One Woman's Mission to Heal the World: Transforming Mines to Vines (2020)

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

The Duke of Edinburgh's World Tour 1956-1957 (1957)

Selected Speeches 1948-1955 (1957)

Prince Philip speaks: 1956-1959 (1960)

Environmental Revolution: Speeches on Conservation, 1962-77 (1978)

Men, Machines and Sacred Cows (1984)

Down to Earth: Speeches and Writings of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, on the Relationship of Man With His Environment (1988)

Survival or Extinction: A Christian Attitude to the Environment (1989)

The list is too long. Check the page for more.

Queen Rania

The Sandwich Swap (2010)

Prince William, Prince of Wales

Blown Away: From Drug Dealer to Life Bringer (2022)

Puzzles for Spies: The brand-new puzzle book from GCHQ (2022)

Earthshot: How to Save Our Planet (2021)

The Earthshot Prize: A Handbook for Dreamers and Thinkers: Solutions to Repair our Planet (2023)

(this post & the original list is a work in progress & will be updated whenever "new" books come on my radar)

[bacchant-of-dionysus]

Listen up, anyone considering egg freezing!

As of right now I am curled up with a cup of tea and a heat pack, recovering from surgery. So I thought I’d give you an overview of my experience as a trans man getting my eggs frozen to preserve my fertility before going on testosterone.

Why did I do it?

We never know what the future holds. While I doubt I will detransition, ever want to be pregnant or become infertile, there is a possibility of all three of these things happening. Preserving my eggs means I can still have children, no matter what happens.

I have a beautiful partner who preserved her sperm before starting estrogen three years ago. She only did it at the request of her mother, thinking that being seen as ‘fathering’ her children and watching her partner go through pregnancy instead of her would be too heartbreaking and distressing for her to cope with. She thought she would just adopt. After a couple of years of hormone therapy, she became more comfortable in her body, and is now desiring to have children with a partner - specifically me.

After meeting my girlfriend, I realised it wasn’t that I didn’t want kids; it was that I didn’t want kids alone, and I couldn’t imagine anyone ever loving me enough or loving someone else enough to have children with them. That all changed when I met her. I want to have children with her.

When it comes to adoption, only 1 in every 30 couples looking to adopt gets to adopt a child. This number is even lower for queer couples in my country. It is also now illegal to adopt from many places overseas due to corruption in the adoption industry.

I considered fostering, but after learning about the high rates of Aboriginal children taken from their families and placed in the care of white people, disconnected from culture, country and their people, I was horrified. 2% of the Australian population is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, yet over 40% of kids in foster care are Aboriginal. We are not past the Stolen Generations. Every year we apologise for something we are still actively doing to these kids and their families. I will play no role in that.

There is a part of me that wants biological children. It is present in many people and isn’t something to be ashamed of. Adopted children are absolutely their adoptive parents’ children. But I suppose there’s a part of me that wants my kids to inherit some of the things I love about my partner. I know this sounds selfish, but that is what love does to you sometimes.

Even if I did decide to go down the road to adoption, I don’t believe I am qualified to raise a child with severe trauma. All children who are taken from their families, even for the right reasons, are traumatised. Every child who feels abandoned is traumatised. I am disabled as it is and need help myself. Taking on the responsibility of raising a child who needs specialised support is something I would prefer to avoid if I can. Obviously all pregnancy comes with the chance that your child will have extra needs or accomodations, but I want to give myself the best shot at being a good parent that I can. This means waiting until I am absolutely stable and in a position to raise a child, and giving my child the best shot at being healthy.

What made me consider not doing it?

The dysphoria that the process would bring made me reconsider. I knew I would have to have a period first, then go through a series of hormone shots that simulated early pregnancy. I knew my breasts would get sore and that this may prevent me from binding. I knew that I would become bloated and almost look pregnant. I knew I would have extra estrogen, a hormone I did not want a lot of, running through my body.

The general side effects, disregarding gender dysphoria, were not going to be fun either. Bloating, nausea, soreness, mood swings, increased emotional sensitivity etc are not fun to deal with for anyone.

The likelihood of even finding a surrogate was low. Paid surrogacy is not legal in Australia, so it would have to be what is called ‘altruistic surrogacy’, or someone who chooses to carry the baby without being paid (though their hospital bills are covered by the parents). My best shot at a surrogate at the moment is my own mother, but she is turning sixty this month. Many people I know or who are in my family would be at risk of suffering complications from pregnancy and I absolutely do not want any harm to come to the person who chooses to do this for us.

The scans were an inevitable but horrible reality. These scans, as it turns out, can be done trans abdominally if you push enough and go through doctors until you find someone willing. I did not know this. All my scans were trans vaginal. These scans feel invasive and can be painful, especially if you haven’t experienced penetration before.

A timeline of my experience (with the occasional picture):

Day 1: stopping Slinda.

The first day of my treatment I stopped taking my birth control pill. This had been stopping my periods for over a year.

Day 2-30

I felt horrible. It was like my system was being flooded with poison. I cried. I wanted to kill myself. My dysphoria was terrible. Around day 30 my period finally came, but it was weak and there was never a day of full bleeding. So we started toward the end of my very short cycle.

Day 1 of hormone shots:

I went to the pharmacy with my partner and a kind lady explained everything we needed to know about the injections I was going to take. We were given three types of medication: overleap, orgalutran and a trigger shot. The overleap stimulated the follicles, causing them to swell. The orgalutran prevented the eggs from being released. The trigger shot was to release the eggs. I took my first dose of overleap that evening, then again at 10am the next morning. I took overleap at 10am each morning for around 30 days. I started on a dose of 75mls, as I was young, healthy and fertile, and they didn’t want to risk OHSS (ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome).

Day 7:

By now I was feeling pretty awful. The stabs weren’t too bad, but they stung occasionally. My partner injected them for me. I had started the orgalutran by this point. I had my first scan, which I had to travel an hour and a half for. The doctor doing the scan was male and not particularly sensitive to my situation. I shut down and cried afterwards and wouldn’t have sex for a week following due to severe genital dysphoria.

Day 14:

I had my second scan. This time it was with another male doctor who was much more gentle and kinder than the first one. I felt far more comfortable with him. The eggs still weren’t big enough.

Day 18:

I had my third scan, which was with the same nice man as before. I got the bad news via a phone call: my eggs weren’t responding to the medication, and they thought I should call off the shots and start again next cycle. There was no way in hell I was doing that, so I asked for another option. They said they could increase the dose of Overleap to 150mls. I thought about it for a while, and spoke with my mum, dad and partner for their opinions. In the end, I decided to double the dose and push on. They said in that case I would need to come down to be scanned by my main doctor, who worked in a city four hours from my home town.

Day 21:

we drove four hours to the city. By this time I was extremely bloated. We managed to do some nice things, like go out for dinner with my parents and try out a bagel place. I bought myself a new sweater, a wooden vest, and some fun socks.

Day 23:

My doctor scanned me for the fourth time. The eggs were responding well to the medication, but only two were big enough to retrieve. She thought I should wait another week and come down again, and hopefully they should be able to retrieve at least five eggs. She clearly thought we should start the whole thing over again because ‘I can do better than that’, but I was adamant that if this failed, I wasn’t trying again.

Day 27:

I began to question again whether any of this was worth it. I just wanted to end the process and move on with my life. I didn’t realise how close I was to the finish line. Every moment felt like hell. I was bloated and emotional and sore and I just wanted it to end.

Day 29:

We drove to the city again. This time we didn’t do anything fun. My girlfriend had to pull over halfway there and get picked up by my mum. She was exhausted and hadn’t been sleeping well from the whole process.

Day 30:

I was scanned by the doctor again. This time, it was immediately clear that my ovaries looked different. She counted ten on one side and didn’t bother to count the other side. I was ready for surgery the next day.

Day 31:

I went to the day hospital at 7:45am. My girlfriend wasn’t allowed in the waiting room with me due to Covid, so I was alone. As I was filling out my sheet, I noticed my gender had been marked as female. I asked if they needed my biological sex or my gender. As it turns out, it didn’t matter at all. I wondered why they bothered to ask if it was irrelevant.

In the nurse’s notes, a handwritten sentence was bolted with pink highlighter: ‘REFER TO AS MR [surname].’ I was glad they were trying, especially considering how gendered the surgery itself was.

I got changed into my cap and gown and a pair of grippy orange socks that I got to keep.

I then waited until the anaesthetist came to speak with me. He was slightly odd and a little abrasive, but I ignored this and made sure not to mention that my dad was an anaesthetist too. I felt like that would probably get us off on the wrong foot.

In the operating theatre, there was the same pop music playing as everywhere else in the hospital. The anaesthetist put a needle in he vein of my elbow, which I believe contained propofol. This wasn’t a general anaesthetic, just heavy sedation. They put an oxygen mask on my face. The last thing I remember was one of the doctors attaching a brace like prop for my legs to sit on. I don’t remember actually putting my legs on it.

It felt like no time had passed when I woke up. I assumed I was still in theatre until I was told otherwise. I vaguely remember having a weird sex dream. My dad tells me this is the propofol. My nose itched. The nurse laughed and blamed the fentanyl.

I was unusually chatty and bright, but my stomach hurt. They gave me some endone. This took the edge off.

They gave me a large triple choc cookie, some tea, and a glass of water. The first thing they told me was that hey managed to retrieve 28 eggs. I was ecstatic. I texted my girlfriend, mum and dad immediately.

Later, they told me that of those 28 eggs, 15 were mature enough to freeze and 3 more were almost mature enough and had been frozen too. I had essentially done two egg collections in one, and was at risk of OHSS. My girlfriend picked me up and drove us to the accomodation.

Day 31-33

Over these past few days I’ve been sore. It’s difficult to move without hurting my belly and lower abdomen. I’m still very bloated. The surgery itself had consisted of guiding a needle through the vaginal wall and retrieving the follicles from the ovaries, which were drained, and the eggs collected. The actual surgery site didn’t really hurt at all and there was minimal bleeding. The real pain is coming from where my swollen ovaries have been messed around, poked and prodded. They are also pressing on my bladder and uterus, so passing urine, gas and bowel movements can be painful. It also hurts to use my abdominal muscles for adjusting my position, laughing, hiccuping, yawning etc. I have to walk with slow, short steps.

Was it worth it?

Yes. Now that it’s over and i never have to do it again, I can safely say I am relieved to have preserved my fertility. Now I can move forward with my life: I’m seeing my hormone doctor on the 10th of may, who will prescribe me a low dose of testosterone gel. I can’t wait.

I would recommend preserving fertility if you can before medical transition. You never know what your future self might want, and self care is all about having compassion for your future self, even if it means sacrificing your comfort in the present.

Whatever you choose to do or whatever reason you are undergoing egg collection, know that you are doing something harrowing and brave.

After I have had my children (which will be a number of years in the future) I plan to donate the remainder of my eggs to those who need them on their own fertility journey. Knowing I’ve helped another couple or single parent build a family is compensation enough for what I’ve been through.

[notfspurejam]

Mark Gatiss: It's staggering that local authorities are cutting the arts

OCT 9, 2023 BY GEMMA NETTLE

Mark Gatiss. Photo: Eivind Hansen

Mark Gatiss has said he is “staggered” to see local authorities cutting funding to the arts, labelling it “mad” when it is “such a huge part” of the economy.

The actor, writer and director was speaking at the UK Theatre Awards, where he was awarded Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre.

He said: “It’s a wonderful thing to be able to come here and celebrate and enjoy ourselves but equally it’s sending an important message to the industry at large.

“It’s desperate. I went to drama school with a grant from my local authority and all these things have gone.”

Most recently, Hampshire County Council has considered a 50% cut to arts funding due to budget shortfalls and has been urged to reconsider by the Hampshire Cultural Trust.

Meanwhile, arts organisations in Bristol are dealing with a funding delay that has gone without explanation since October last year.

...

Gatiss said he was shocked to see local authorities turning to the arts for their cuts.

“It always staggers me that it comes so low down on the [priority] list when the arts literally got us through Covid,” he said. “It’s been a battle like this for donkey’s years, but it seems particularly mad to me now that it is clearly obviously a huge part of the economy.

“If you stripped away every piece of tinsel from it and just go: ‘This makes a fucking shed-load of money’, that should be the strap line.”

Gatiss continued: “Newcastle announced a 100% cut in their arts funding [in 2012], and then they gave in and it was only about 75%, which is also catastrophic.

“It’s a soft option because they’re always relying on a network of parents and families who will go: ‘We need to give people a reminder that culture is vital.’”

Gatiss also expressed concern about cuts to arts in education, explaining that parents and teachers were having to take matters into their own hands.

He said he had heard of a teacher who, “of his own volition”, had started organising public speaking and drama classes for pupils who he thought needed it most.

He added: “They’re all blossoming, now they’ve joined a choir, they’ve been singing with the BBC singers, all these wonderful things.

“The trouble is [teachers are having to step in themselves] because there’s nothing in the school anymore. The problem is that the arts always feel like a soft option.”

On his win at the UK Theatre Awards, Gatiss said he was “very touched”.

“It’s very important and particularly through Covid to keep the message strong about it being an ecosystem,” he said.

“What people see in the West End is the culmination of many people’s careers reaching a high point. There’s nothing without that ecosystem and the evolution of those skills and talents.

“It’s like anything, if you starve these areas, they don’t grow.”

[tothosewhoyearnforit]

Do you agree with Doja Cat’s response to fans? How do you feel about K-pop’s exploitation of parasocial relationship, fanservice and obsessive fan culture? Should more celebrities come out with more statements like this?

i think her reaction is justified for sure. you really cannot demand THAT much of a person who barely knows you. if you were on her end, you'd feel the same too.

in kpop, i think the exploitation is what makes the industry so successful. the idols are more in touch with the fans and some even know them on nearly personal levels (those who go for every fansign or video call). there's a reason why terms like gf material or bf material exist and i get it. but sometimes i think this exploitation goes a bit too far to the point some fans literally claim the idols as their own.

it's not only in kpop for sure. i know chinese idols have obsessive fans as well.

but whether the celebrities decide to voice out their discontent is entirely up to them. it makes them lose a portion of their fame, definitely. i like how most kpop idols take a more silent approach of "disappearing" honestly. it's a more indirect way of saying that they can't take it anymore but it still gives them their much needed privacy.

honestly, i never really thought much about how obsessed i am with the interaction between the idols and us as the viewers until the ditto mv by nwjns. the meaning behind it honestly made me step back a bit and reconsider my feelings toward kpop in general.

[gothicprep]

have u ever listened to maintenance phase - in my experience they actually do their due diligence in terms of researching things and they do a really fantastic job of debunking and deconstructing diet culture bullshit

i won't lie, i've avoided maintenance phase for two reasons – the fact that i find this subject matter really draining, and the fact that i have a pretty low opinion of michael hobbes as a journalist.

when hobbes was still working on the "you're wrong about" podcast, he and sarah, whose last name i can't remember for the life of me, did an episode on stephen jiminez's "the book of matt". if you haven't heard of it or read it, it's a product of a 13 year long investigative journalistic effort into matthew shepard's murder, which is thought of as an early instance of a homophobic hate crime in the US attracting a lot of media coverage. bill clinton flew out to wyoming for this one. jiminez was reporting on this in the 90s because he wanted to make a documentary special, but stuck around after catching onto how fishy this version of events was. spoiler alert, through very convincing evidence, he concluded that this was a drug-related murder.

jiminez is also a gay man, and it feels silly that i feel this is necessary to point out, but you need to know that this isn't a case of some straight dude being dismissive of anti-gay violence. but the way hobbes framed this on the episode grossed me out a bit. i'm paraphrasing, but his reaction was something like, "well, who cares if this isn't true? we got some good legal protections out of it." and it just got under my skin that a journalist would be so dismissive of the facts of a case. you can say that you feel conflicted about how legal wins came out of this, while also noting that jumping to conclusions is bad reporting practice. we have something in this country called "the first amendment," which means you can admit that something is a mixed bag and not be arrested for that, which is pretty cool.

and there are my reservations about the topic of diet culture broadly. i think diet culture is mean-spirited, noxious, and judgmental. i also feel a bit clammy when people hardline in their arguments against it to the point where they inadvertently play defense for big agro and food colonialism. a lot of it operates on western bias, and i want to yell, "surely you can't think that what happened with nauru is morally excusable?" but it never comes up. it blackpills you a lot when you realize that an island nation was stripped bare to mine phosphate – ironically, a crucial ingredient in many fertilizers – and is sold junk "meat" like mutton flaps and turkey tails because you can't farm on coral that's stripped bare.

the wellness industry is awful, but the food industry is too. like i said, i've avoided this podcast, but if they manage to be equal opportunity haters, i may reconsider my snap judgment.

[belle-keys]

Ngl your review of yellowface really made me not want to read it and has made me sort of reconsider my opinion on rfk. I mean, I certainly don't want to say POC are at a disadvantage in the publishing industry (because I don't have the necessary information to either prove or disprove that claim nor the time to acquire it) but in her particular case I find it hard to believe that discrimination is really notable, if there is any? Rich people who've had the privilege of being educated at the best of schools are hardly someone agencies are likely to do 'dirty', usually that's something reserved for people with less resources imo. This isn't to say I'm against rfk, I liked tpw and have bought Babel, it's only that I've seen how privileged rich guys are regardless of race, and how usually they get away with a lot (in my school a black guy got away with assaulting girls because his dad was filthy rich). Just like, yk, white rich people. So it's strange that Athena is made to be a victim (I think?) and the paragon of POC being done dirty when she was probably so incredibly privileged.

This isn't a snipe at rfk's writing abilities, wealth/academic privileges (if that's a word), etc. She's obviously incredibly intelligent, and I don't know her personally to impose any sort of moral judgement on her person, but yeah.

Also, you said she was criticised for speaking over mainland Chinese voices? Would you mind telling me why?

Okay, so regarding your first points about rich POC not really suffering from discrimination in various industries: that's actually not true. No matter how rich a person of colour is, if you're in America or a predominantly-white Western culture, wealth helps you, sure, but it doesn't actually put a dent in white supremacy. Wealthy POC most definitely have an advantage over poor POC, and maybe (on the individual level) over some white people, but on the systemic level, the wealth doesn't actually prevent publishers from discriminating against them in a notable way on a racial and an ethnic basis. There are publishing diversity quotas and micro-aggressions and subtle racism and all sorts of awful things that happen to wealthier POC in white industries such mainstream publishing. I wanna #eattherich and that includes classist and billionaire POC (looking at Rishi Sunak) (and from my West Indian perspective, anyway), but the novel isn't entirely about wealth and Kuang actually does a good job at explaining how racism still severely affected Athena despite her wealth and success. I'm no expert on the stratification of race and class as it pertains specifically to America, but in giving the concept an intersectional outlook, I imagine that white supremacy still is harmful to rich POC. I have no idea what her personal, individual experience is like either in terms of her publishing journey, to talk about it in a quantifiable way at least. But she published TPW at 22 when she graduated, so. But I digress, cus that isn't even the point of Yellowface, tbh.

It's just that I'm still basically steeped in weird feelings about it, because it just lacks refinement right now. It feels like an enraged diary entry and not in the good way. Mind you, 3.5 stars is a very high rating, but I still can't get the few aspects about the book that I had an issue with out of my mind. (See: my review, for those of you who haven't read it).

As for the whole criticism about speaking over mainland Chinese people, it's a long-running discourse about diasporic authors profiting off of the suffering of persons from the "motherland" in the name of representation. It's not a topic specific to Kuang at all, but she's been mentioned in this conversation several times (online at least). And at least one other Yellowface ARC reviewer brought it up too on GR. The debate goes like: "What do you as a privately-educated and successful diasporic person know about the suffering of the people in a land across the world that you are most definitely disconnected from? Why should you be seen as any 'voice' in matters there, those that don't and won't ever affect you anyway?". Again, not anything specific to RFK at all, not at all, but she's been invoked in this discussion multiple times, and then fricking Juniper Hayward uses this same exact rhetoric to justify being generally evil and racist and a bitch. It's awkward. (See: another review on Yellowface that mentions these things).

[notwiselybuttoowell]

…According to moral standards of the Enlightenment, the sophistication of one’s own education and manners should be reflected in the refinement of material possessions. Maintaining a smooth and lush lawn therefore signalled virtue, since it affirmed the essential role that discipline plays in the mastering of life itself.

Beneath the lawn lies a stratification of intricate ideological and ecological problems that over time have become naturalised. In practice, a lawn is hard to maintain. It is perennially thirsty. Fertilisers and weedkillers pollute and poison. Mowers and blowers are costly, noisy and damaging to the environment. And, crucially, lawns are the grave of biodiversity. Wildlife has little to feed on and nowhere to hide.

As climate change provides dramatic proof of our unsustainable relationship with nature, artificial turf has become a popular alternative to grass in countries that now routinely experience severe droughts. However, laying green plastic carpets made of recycled car tires over already compromised ecosystems is far from the kind of solution we need. It is becoming apparent that the lawn is a manifestation of our deep disconnect with nature: the materialisation of our lack of understanding, or care, for the complex relationships woven across plants, soil and our cultural histories.

Just as during the Enlightenment art instilled our love affair with the lawn, today’s artists are determined to untangle the complex aesthetic, ideological and ecological knots that keep our passion for mown grass alive despite mounting evidence that we’d be better off without it.

Martin Roth’s installations of Persian carpets sown with grass seeds question our desire to control nature on the grounds of our cultural conceptions and, ultimately, to disregard the natural ebbs and flows that characterise organic life. In different but related ways, Amsterdam-based artist Diana Scherer grows grass roots into patterned moulds to challenge the nature/culture dichotomy. “What does the term “natural” mean in the Anthropocene?” the artist asks through her installations and photographs. Scherer’s work reveals grasses as complex organisms whose networked existence is defined by time and space in ways that often remain invisible to us.

Pointing to ecological sustainability, in 1997 Lois Weinbergerplanted a meadow of plants that grew freely among disused train tracks in Kassel, Germany. Almost two decades later, Australian artist Linda Tegg grew a meadow of native grasses and other indigenous plants outside the State Library Victoria in Melbourne. Her project attracted wildlife to an otherwise sterile, paved urban area and envisioned a landscape in which ecological and cultural balance are two sides of the same coin.

Artists are also inviting us to rethink our relationship with the lawn from the ground up by prioritising biology over aesthetics. In Revival Field Mel Chin filled a swath of land with grasses and other plants to test their ability to absorb pollutants from soil compromised by industrial activities. In a similar vein, Frances Whitehead’s Slow Cleanup project, which ran between 2008 and 2012 in Chicago, enlisted the help of plants to regenerate the polluted soil around abandoned gas stations. Petroleum and other pollutants can be absorbed by soil microbes attracted to phenols and sugars exuded by the roots of some plants. Rather than simply providing recreational spaces, Whitehead’s new urban gardens actively engaged communities to learn about plants and ecology.

Whether addressing the implicit meaning of lawn aesthetics, foregrounding the complexity of plant life, inviting us to reconsider the importance of biodiversity in our gardens, or educating us about the regenerative properties of plants, artists (often in collaboration with scientists) have sparked our curiosity and, most importantly, demonstrated that our responsibility to care for our gardens extends beyond the wellbeing of our families. The pollinators, the water, the soil, the air, and the invisible networks of fungi and bacteria that support life on this planet matter now more than ever. No garden is too small to make a difference; it’s never too late to rewild.

Thumbnail image of Linda Tegg's Grasslands, more artists are discussed in the link.

[hathorik]

Rundown on the vocabulary of oppression - Ideology and Diplomacy

In the face of current events™, some of my students felt lost and confused and one of them asked me to help them understand what words such as fascism, nazism, antisemitism and zionism mean. My guess is they're not the only people feeling that way. So let's take a look at all those words being thrown around and what their actual meaning is.

This is gonna be a long post so all the material is going under the cut. I will, once again, be very serious about my sources and use Wikipedia because come the fuck on it's right THERE.

Fascism: far-right authoritarian nationalist political ideology, often suppressing any democratic aspect from political life (be it through forbidding all but one party or reducing the number and political range of parties available to make sure the result of any election will only further the political ideology and its goals). It entails a strong militarism, forceful suppression of political opponents, violent repression of protests and social struggles, and often has roots in racism (or simply white supremacy) to reinforce the nationalist aspect. Historical examples of fascism justified themselves through their ultimate goal to create a perfect society for perfect people; nowadays the blunt racist übermensch-creating ideas are a little too old-fashioned and we can reconsider the workings, ideological tennets and goals of fascism in a globalized neo-liberal world (tldr: protecting the people in power and reinforcing oppression of everyone else).

Nazism: German-flavored fascism created by an obscure Austrian painter. Despite it originating from "National Socialism", there is nothing social about Nazism; that was a PR stunt to bring in the communist voters after a strong communism diabolisation campaign. The idea was that a natural hierarchy or races existed and at the top of them was the mythical Aryan race the German people were supposedly the descendants of and that the farther a population strayed from the Aryan race ideal, the lower it was in the race hierarchy with, at the very bottom, Jews. Because why not, antisemitism was trendy in the 30's. They were however not the only targets of the Nazi movement and Nazis up to today's neo-nazi groups will indiscriminately attack all kinds of people they judge undesirable in their perfect society; foreigners, people from so-called "inferior races", queers, neurodivergent people, disabled people and so on.

Racism: discrimination and prejudice against people based on their race or ethnicity, be it social or enforced by a state and its laws (Apartheid). It relies on two ideological basis: good old xenophobia (discrimination and prejudice against foreigners) and the nazi race hierarchy theory (which itself rests on eugenics, which were very popular in the US in the 20's). It leads to direct actions or discriminative measures against people perceived as inferior or undesirable, the inaction of legal authorities when those happen and serves as basis to ideas such as Supremacy.

White supremacy: the eugenics-based idea that North-Western Europeans and their descendants ("White" people) are superior to all other races/ethnicities/cultures/civilisations on Earth because they happened to develop technologies earlier and to have a clearly understood (to them) progression from idealized Ancient Civilisations to perfect "modern societies" (industrialized oppression-based capitalism). The whole thing being backed by religious ideas to make it even smoother. Reality is that Europe just had a very nice climate, plenty of easily available resources which boosted its development and a whole bunch of Intellectuals™ to affirm that yes they were superior and therefore meant to Reign Supreme on the Earth. Today, White supremacy can be seen in violent groups and institutions such as the Aryan Brotherhood, the United States Government and the Israeli military.

Minority: theoretically, a minority is a group of people within a population which finds itself in so small numbers they end up never getting their voices heard through democratic processes. The truth is that gerrymandering and state-enforced measures (such as Apartheid or race-targeted police brutality) make the demographic aspect irrelevant and really the people in power make the populations they don't like minorities in order to dismiss them or diabolise them even more easily. Think about "immigrants", "arabs", "pedophiles" (when referring to queer people) and so on. You must have stumbled upon it at some point.

Jewishness: to be Jewish, aka to belong to a matriarcal bloodline which can be retraced to the original 13 tribes of Israel. Jewishness is an easy target (see: antisemitism) because it affirms itself and its existence through both cultural/religious aspects and an admitted racial aspect. Following an important diaspora, Jewish people can be found in almost every country and within almost every culture; there are Jewish people of color and Arab Jews. Which is a problem to some (see: Zionism).

Antisemitism: Jew-targeted racism. Mostly found in non-Jews, there is however such a thing as "auto-antisemitism" which is antisemitism perpetrated by Jews upon Jews (See: Association of German National Jews, aka "Jews for Hitler"), be it as self-loathing of one's own Jewishness (Karl Marx and Henry Kissinger were examples of this) or as a way to distinguish between "good" and "bad" jews. Historically, antisemitism was first motivated by the old "They killed Jesus" argument and their often immigrant status, but in more recent times ideas such as Jews being parasites feeding on the societies of "good people" (the Aryan race, for Nazi Germany) or the fact that some Jews ended up in pretty important positions of power (see: Rothschild Family) gave traction to plenty of conspiracy theories, which only got backed by the rise of Zionism and the creation of the State of Israel, which is why antisemitism is often brought up whenever criticism of its policies and actions are made.

Originally, the term "Semitic" on which the word is based designated "Arabs, Jews, Akkadians, and Phoenicians"; it has now been reduced to Jewish populations only.

Zionism: ideology born around the 1820's according to which the territory of the "Promised Land" (then: Palestine) had to be returned to the exiled Jewish population and a Jewish ethno-state be created there. Early on, acquisition of Palestinian land by wealthy Jewish families was the first ways of expression of Zionism, but after the Second World War the horrors of concentration camps were used as an argument by Zionists to ask for the creation of the state of Israel. Today, Zionism refers to the defense of the State of Israel, its policies and its legitimacy, as well as the existence of an "ideal Jewish population"; thus Zionists reject non-white Jewish populations and do no shy away from affirming their racism or comparing themselves to Nazis in a positive way. Zionism can be considered as the a flavor of Jewish Fascism.

Colonialism: derived from White Supremacy, colonialism is the ideology affirming that White people have the moral imperative to conquer the Earth, subjugate local "barbarian" or "savage" populations and bring them "civilization"; this resulted in countless genocides, forced conversion to Christianity and theft of land and natural resources from native populations, as well as settling of White people on said stolen land. Canada, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Australia and Israel are examples of modern, still existing Colonial Nations, and all still enforce oppression of native populations in varying degrees, the worst being genocidal campaigns and apartheid laws.

Imperialism: practice of maintaining or extending power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultural imperialism). Imperialism focuses on establishing or maintaining hegemony and a more or less formal empire. While related to the concepts of colonialism, imperialism is a distinct concept that can apply to other forms of expansion and many forms of government. For example, the US interventionism in the Middle East (Gulf wars of 90-91 and 2003 onward) and its backing of Israel's expansion are imperialist measures, as well as the veto power of China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States over the UN.

[brostateexam]

Chiamaka, a former product manager at a Nigerian cryptocurrency startup, has sworn off digital currencies. The 22-year-old has weathered a layoff and lost savings worth 4,603,500 naira ($9,900) after the collapse of FTX in November 2022. She now works for a corporate finance company in Lagos, earning a salary that is 45% lower than her previous job.

“I used to be bullish on crypto because I believed it could liberate Africans financially,” Chiamaka, who asked to be identified by a pseudonym as she was concerned about breaching her contract with her current employer, told Rest of World. “Instead, it has managed to do the opposite so far … at least to me and a few of my friends.”

Chiamaka is among the tens of millions of Africans who bought into the cryptocurrency frenzy over the last few years. According to one estimate in mid-2022, around 53 million Africans owned crypto — 16.5% of the total global crypto users. Nigeria led with over 22 million users, ranking fourth globally. Blockchain startups and businesses on the continent raised $474 million in 2022, a 429% increase from the previous year, according to the African Blockchain Report. Young African creatives also became major proponents of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), taking inspiration from pop culture and the continent’s history. Several decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), touted as the next big thing, emerged across Africa.

Now, however, much of this buzz seems to be a thing of the past. “People sparingly talk about NFTs and DAOs,” Olabinjo Adeniran, a marketing manager in the blockchain industry, told Rest of World. “You can’t just draw a monkey and sell it for a thousand dollars anymore … As for DAOs, many had no use case. The obsession with launching tokens makes them fall under the speculative side of crypto, which is dead.”

[beardedmrbean]

he candidate for Prime Minister of "We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB) Acad. Nikolay Denkov returned to President Rumen Radev the completed second exploratory mandate to form a government.

Nikolay Denkov and the candidate for Prime Minister of GERB-SDS, Mariya Gabriel, will be Prime Ministers on a rotating basis - during the first nine months of the administration, Acad. Denkov will be Prime Minister, and Gabriel - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. After that, again for nine months, the Prime Minister will be Mariya Gabriel, and Acad. Nikolay Denkov will be the Deputy Prime Minister.

On Friday, "We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" and GERB-SDS officially presented the names of the ministers in the draft cabinet for the second term.

The proposed Council of Ministers is composed of:

Nikolay Denkov - rotating prime minister for the first nine months

Mariya Gabriel – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, rotating Prime Minister for the second nine months

Asen Vassilev – Minister of Finance

Kalin Stoyanov - Minister of Internal Affairs

Todor Tagarev - Minister of Defense

Julian Popov - Minister of Environment and Water and Chairman of the Advisory Council for the European Green Deal

Rumen Radev - Minister of Energy

Andrey Tsekov - Minister of Regional Development and Public Works

Kiril Vatev - Minister of Agriculture and Food

Bogdan Bogdanov - Minister of Economy and Industry

Milena Stoycheva - Minister of Innovation and Growth

Ivanka Shalapatova - Minister of Labor and Social Policy

Atanas Slavov - Minister of Justice

Prof. Galin Tsokov - Minister of Education and Science

Krastyu Krastev – Minister of Culture

Georgi Gvozdeikov - Minister of Transport and Communications

Prof. Hristo Hinkov - Minister of Health

Zaritsa Dinkova - Minister of Tourism

Alexander Yolovski - Minister of e-Government

Dimitar Iliev - Minister of Youth and Sports

On May 29, President Rumen Radev handed over the second exploratory mandate for forming a government to the WCC-DB candidate for Prime Minister Acad. Nikolay Denkov. Then the head of state called on WCC-DB to reconsider the expediency of this mandate, which, according to him, has already been discredited. A few days later in Ankara, where he attended the inauguration ceremony of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Rumen Radev expressed hope that the next regular government would follow the course set by the caretaker cabinet.

Nikolay Denkov: We all need to calm the situation down so that people know that the cabinet, the National Assembly and the presidential institution work together

"I think we all need to calm the situation so that people know that the cabinet, the National Assembly and the presidential institution are working together so that the country can develop for the benefit of people and businesses". This was said by the Prime Minister candidate from "We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" Nikolay Denkov.

"What we expect is that you issue a decree, it will be voted on in the National Assembly, if it gathers a majority, and then we will smoothly transfer power, as required by the Constitution", Denkov pointed out

"As soon as possible, I will issue a decree to submit your proposal to the National Assembly, where it will be voted on by the people's elected representatives," said the Head of State, Rumen Radev.

"Bulgaria needs institutions and politicians who are actually led by the Bulgarian people, who work for security, justice and against corruption, as expected by all respectable Bulgarian citizens. To strengthen the sovereignty of the country and work to deepen our European integration", said Radev.

"In the shortest possible time, a normal budget should be created, without this absurd deficit, and it should reflect the current situation". This is what the nominee for Prime Minister told journalists after returning the completed second mandate to form a government.

If today the president issues a decree to form a government, I will call a meeting of the parliament tomorrow, said Rosen Zhelyazkov

"If the president issues a decree today, I will call a meeting tomorrow". This was stated by the speaker of the National Assembly, Rosen Zhelyazkov, to journalists on the sidelines of the parliament.

"The procedure is simple - the candidate for prime minister is introduced, and he presents the candidates for ministers and the structure of the cabinet", Zhelyazkov said. According to him, the prime minister-candidate can make a political address and declaration or present the cabinet's priorities, after which there is an opportunity for a debate and the votes are held - for the prime minister, for the structure of the cabinet and for the staff, specified Zhelyazkov.

When asked if he is optimistic that the regular cabinet will be supported in the plenary hall, the speaker of the National Assembly said that it has a declared political majority. Zhelyazkov expressed hope that the future regular government will be more successful than the last one in the past two years.

"I think that we have been waiting for a regular government for a long time, so the convening of an extraordinary meeting is justified", Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Nikola Minchev also commented to journalists on the sidelines of the parliament.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

What are your thoughts on that chairman asking BTS to reconsider? I had to google what Hallyu means cause im just here to listen to some songs, dance a lil, go to work and stuff. I don’t really understand what’s happening. Do you think they can reconsider cause it’s a public ask? Didnt know a group taking a break would cause all that.

Well, first of all, I thought it was odd that the chairwoman said that the Hallyu wave will cease to exist. Yes, BTS brings a lot of economic and cultural capital into South Korea, but Hallyu is not made just of BTS or K-Pop. It's an export of Korean entertainment which includes pop culture, k-dramas, movies and music and it did not start with BTS. K-Pop more or less got where it is today because of the 1997 Asian financial crisis when the Korean Government funded the entertainment industry so they could pay back a huge IMF loan. Hallyu is an economic policy.

I think the statement released by the Korea's Singer Association is a bit of a cry for help, but it comes too late, it's too demanding and it doesn't make sense. BTS, no matter what, still had to take a break because of the enlistment. Of course, not promoting as a group affected the Hybe stocks and scared the investors because they bought their shares with the promise that BTS as a group will bring the money, which it did. 80% of profits come from BTS. But that can't last forever. This is a political and economic conflict in which for now, politics won and my guess is, as much as important BTS is culturally and the profit they bring, the country can rely financially on other enterprises which were there before BTS got big and will still be there after.

South Korea's music industry will be fine. They still contribute to the country's economy and other entertainment areas as well. This is just an adjustment period and a bit of desperation, but the world isn't ending. BTS doesn't hold in their hands the entire economic power of South Korea, let's be real.

[scaredbi]

'He's White?' Rhetorical Crossover in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis

Along with the larger American public’s social consciousness of Black issues comes a concerted effort to reconsider the crossover of Black rhetoric and Black art to white rhetoric and white art. A primary figure in this debate is Elvis Presley, as some of his more famous songs, such as “Hound Dog”, were originally recorded by Black singers. In fairness to Presley, many oversimplify his place in the crossover, placing the blame on him while ignoring the role of his manager, Thomas Andrew Parker, and the broader, racist standards of the industry. Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis depicts the role of Parker in tandem with the anti-Black pressures of music consumerism from the fifties onto the seventies. Although, like many biopics, the film softens the reality of Elvis’ life, including the detrimental effects of the crossover on Black musicians and rhetoric, Luhrmann’s expressivist depiction of historical events allows for a contrast between Black art and Elvis’ translation to a white audience that visually illustrates the nuanced process of rhetorical crossover. 

The very concept of “rhetorical crossover” is adapted from the concept of musical crossover. In Cedric Burrows’ Rhetorical Crossover: The Black Presence in White Culture, Burrows defines this crossover as “the movement of the Black rhetorical presence…from the African American community to the white community” (19). Before giving this distinct definition, he explains that the word “crossover” has its own meaning in African American rhetoric as “the music of an African American artist moved from a primarily African American audience to a primarily white one” (19). What is important to note in this definition is the focus on the audience, rather than the creator. While the creator’s race often correlates with the audience, it is not always the case. Elvis’ covers of Black music would not be a crossover if there wasn’t an emphasis on his white audience. Elvis does not have a determination over his audience. His management had this determination, which is illustrated by the film in Parker’s first experience with Elvis’ music. 

While there are a few introductions to Elvis, both as a concept and a person, the most notable is Colonel’s first interaction with his music. During a conversation with his client, Hank Snow, where they discuss finding a compelling opening act,  Parker overhears Presley’s rendition of “That’s All Right” over the radio. Parker notices the song is from a Black-owned record company, but Hank’s son informs Parker that the singer is a white man. Upon the utterance of “he’s white”, Parker becomes entranced with the song. The volume overtakes the conversation in the scene. Parker inches nearer to a car, with the song booming from the radio. Parker repeats the words “he’s white” before a transition to the next scene, wherein Parker witnesses the sexual influence Elvis has over the audience (Luhrmann).

The statement at the center of the scene allows the audience to understand Parker’s marketing strategies. He is dismissive of the song when he assumes the singer is Black. His reasoning is not based on personal hatred. He notes that the audience would not be compelled by a Black singer, with the implication that they may even be upset by a Black singer. When he is informed on the race of the singer, his attitude changes. He considers the implications, with the scene implying that he is focusing on the song to consider the ramifications of its amplification. However, when he comes back to the statement, “he’s white”, it becomes declarative. In this utterance, his cane, with a clown figure on the top, is next to his head, reminding us of his connections between performance and the Carnival. The visual combines with his realization to tell us that he will allow Elvis to perform because he is offering a taboo experience to the white audience which becomes acceptable because of his race. This reflects the Carnival’s tendency to invite culturally modest audience members to enact upon their carnal inhibitions.

Opposition to “race music” by the racist, white population was not only in the notion that the songs held supposedly anti-white ideals, but it was tied to white fears of racial integration, which was tied to sexual fears of non-white people. The fear of racial integration has multiple origin points, but perhaps the most relevant to the Jim Crow South, where Elvis grew up and began his career, is the history of American eugenics. Despite its initial popularity in Europe, eugenics became a popular ideology in the Deep South, which focused on societal segregation of mentally and physically disabled people, but the language of eugenics was adapted in order to legitimize legal attempts at sexual segregation for all people with “presumed dysgenic traits” (Dikötter 471). Although the flood of eugenics support was in the 20s, the majority of Elvis’ audience and his detractors would have grown up with eugenics as a culturally ingrained concept which colored their view of Black people and rhetoric. Thus, Black music performed by a white musical act would be an invitation to the forbidden culture. Because Elvis’ skin does not match the rhetoric of the music, the audiences could convince themselves that they were partaking in an appropriate venue for their curiosity of Black music. Elvis himself even played into that curiosity, by dancing in a sexual nature that reflects the fear of Black sexuality. 

The Carnival appeals to multiple desires of the audience, but it specifically appeals to sexual desires and desires of abundance. Often conservative societies will have festivals in order to celebrate the success of their cultural traditions. In being able to have abundance to utilize, the citizens feel encouraged to indulge in the behaviors they are otherwise encouraged to act against. In Fables of Abundance, Lears posits that the existence of the Carnival and Cockaigne, a fictional imagined land of abundance which is thought of as a never-ending Carnival,  implied “an inversion of established hierarchies: the degradation of the pretentious and powerful, the celebration of the most despised earthly creatures and bodily functions” (22). 

Elvis allows the audience to celebrate the same overt sexuality which the white audiences feared by performing in a white space and in a white body. The white fear of Black sexuality in white music often meant a fear of the movement of Black performers. Sexuality itself was feared due to fundamentalist Christian values. Chastity and abstinence is considered a primal moral value in this image of America. Elvis’ dancing was an introduction to sexuality within music, and thus against those values. Although he was not scantily clad, nor overtly discussing the act of sex, he would thrust his hips to accentuate his penis, although his clothes fully covered his member. Combined with his translation of Black music, his act became an escape for white teenagers, primarily white teen girls. The forbidden aspect of music was still taboo through Elvis’ act, but Elvis’ mainstream acceptance combined with the Colonel’s marketing strategies, which portrayed him as an all-American musical act, allowed for a Carnivalesque suspension of morals. 

This suspension does not mean that all members of the society were accepting of the crossover. While we do not see any resistance from Black characters in the film, there is a focus on the backlash Elvis received from racist, white, Southern politicians. The audience is taken into the conflict between the crossover and the politicians in two pivotal scenes. In the first, a politician walks in on his children watching Elvis perform on the Ed Sullivan show. Once he notices Elvis’ signature dance, he berates the performance, seemingly utilizing an anti-Black slur. The scene cuts out before the word is uttered. The second scene is the Russwood Park performance. Elvis has been told by the Colonel that he must restrain himself in order to avoid government censorship. He finds that he cannot bring himself to perform without exploring the music with his body. Elvis’ pelvic thrusts are intercut with a political rally wherein the Southern politicians call for an end to racial integration (Luhrmann). The editing between the two actions and Elvis’ concerned facial expressions then imply that his usage of Black music and his transgressive use of sexuality is a protest against racist policies. White rhetorical use of Black rhetoric becomes revolutionary to the white audience, rather than being seen as a distilled version of Black rhetoric. 

This is not to say that Luhrmann is unethical for portraying Elvis’ music as revolutionary. Elvis’ performances did have an important impact not only on music’s integration of sexuality, but on the larger sexual revolution. His usage of Black music even had the potential to translate the messages of some songs. However, the film only wishes to explore Elvis’ relationship to Black culture and the Colonel’s exploitation of that relationship and it ignores the important perspectives of those Black musicians. The film ultimately is a maximalist exploration of the political impact of his iconography, however, in Luhrmann’s fascination with excess, the consequences of Elvis’ fame on the Black community goes uncovered. Thus, the film represents only the white reaction to the rhetorical change, keeping the crossover intact.  

Elvis, as a figure, as a person, and as a musician, was a pioneer of rhetorical crossover. He took inspiration from the Black culture he grew up with, which was explicitly tied to poor white Southern culture. If he had control over his marketing, it is possible that he would’ve put more credit to the Black musicians he translated. For now, we know the Carnivalesque techniques of the Colonel and his general knowledge of the audience was a primary reason for the crossover within Elvis’ music. Elvis was a musical sensation, not entirely due to his own talent, but because the Colonel knew how to turn Black music into a Carnival ride. He just needed a white body to act as a music box.

Works Cited

Burrows, Cedric D. “Introduction: Too Black, Too Strong: The Black Rhetorical 

Presence.” Rhetorical Crossover: The Black Presence in White Culture, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2020, pp. 3–21. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv17nn00m.5. Accessed 13 Oct. 2022.

Dikötter, Frank. “Race Culture: Recent Perspectives on the History of Eugenics.” The American 

Historical Review, vol. 103, no. 2, 1998, pp. 467–78. JSTOR, 

https://doi.org/10.2307/2649776. Accessed 16 Oct. 2022.

Elvis. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, performances by Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, and Olivia 

DeJonge, Warner Brothers, 2022. 

Lears, Jackson. Fables of Abundance: A Cultural History of Advertising in America, New York, 

Basic Books, 1995.

[sckielic]

CFP: New Perspectives on the Metal Gear Solid Series

Hi, everyone! There is a call for chapters available for established or emerging scholars or writers who are interested in contributing an original essay for a volume of collected critical essays in the Metal Gear Solid series.

Here is the official link to the CFP: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2022/08/07/new-perspectives-on-the-metal-gear-solid-series

New Perspectives on the Metal Gear Solid Series

deadline for submissions: December 1, 2022

Editors: Steven Kielich and Chris Hall

contact email: metalgearsolidvolume@gmail.com

Call for Chapter Proposals: New Perspectives on the Metal Gear Solid Series (edited collection)

Editors: Steven Kielich (University at Buffalo) and Chris Hall (University of the Ozarks)

In 2015, Hideo Kojima and his company Kojima Productions split from Konami after the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Kojima’s departure from Konami marked an unfortunate, but understandable, end to the Metal Gear Solid series. Now, in this “post-Phantom Pain” era, it has become both possible and essential to make a retrospective study of the critically, commercially, and culturally resonant series that was Metal Gear Solid.

The games of Metal Gear Solid pioneered and popularized the stealth video game genre, effortlessly combining cinematic style with innovative gameplay, changing the very fabric of the video game industry. Additionally, the series has retained broad cultural import. From Metal Gear Solid 2’s postmodern, techno-paranoiac take on the digitization of our world, to the deadly language-borne virus threatening to liquidate entire nations in Metal Gear Solid V, each game in the series continues to possess a cutting-edge pertinence to our daily lives. With the series’ conclusion still recently behind us, and its themes more relevant than ever, we have at present a crucial opportunity to consider and reconsider the cultural, historical, political, philosophical, and aesthetic impact of the canonical Metal Gear Solid games.

Coming amid the 35th and 25th anniversaries of Metal Gear (1987) and Metal Gear Solid (1998), this collection welcomes abstract proposals for original contributions from emerging and established scholars. Successful proposals will approach the games of the Metal Gear Solid franchise through a variety of lenses and frameworks. Essays that respond to and extend existing Metal Gear Solid scholarship and criticism in new directions are welcome, as are those that carve out entirely new territory. This collection will serve as exegesis of and critical companion to the series by not only celebrating and critiquing these games, but critically interrogating them.

While each entry in the series has been the subject of spirited debate and critique both within and outside of academia, the series itself has yet to be considered as a whole through a rigorously curated, book-length edited collection. This volume will be the first collection of critical inquiries into the Metal Gear Solid series. Essays should take an interdisciplinary approach in moving to elucidate or complicate the impact of the series. By offering scholars the opportunity to approach the series from new perspectives, contributions will necessarily come from a diverse range of disciplinary and methodological approaches, including but not limited to:

(Subversion of) player expectations, player/personal agency, autonomy, and interactivity

Studies that consider the role of violence, rape, torture, trauma, and memory throughout the series

Studies that consider the series’ approach to gender and sexuality: (hyper)masculinity, femininity, and queerness/feminist or eco-feminist readings of the series

The human and the posthuman; Deleuze’s nonrepresentational philosophy (becoming-animal; becoming-machine; becoming-other)

Essays that consider technology, embodiment, prostheses, and/or possession

Science and medicine: innovation, mechanization, aging, disability, and healing

Bioethics, technoethics, and the (a/im)morality of genetic modification

Essays that analyze neurotechnology (nanomachines; codecs; A.I.; virtual reality) in the series and its potential links with contemporary issues/premises (e.g. Neuralink)

Psychoanalytic/philosophical approaches to the series’ narratives or characters

Analyses of the series’ villains and their motivations

Analyses of the series’ female characters and their motivations

The cinematic, literary, philosophical, musical or historical influences of the series

The presence and importance of the supernatural and magic, dreams and nightmares

Ecocritical approaches: ecology, ecosystems, nature preservation, or character/nature relationships

Race/racism in/of the series: African racial dynamics; whiteness; racialized life

Pedagogies and teaching through the series / approaches to teaching Metal Gear Solid

Critical theory and cultural studies approaches (colonial, imperial, postcolonial)

War and warfare: political readings, including analysis of biopolitics, international relations, terrorism, militarization and war, and nuclear proliferation

Game worlds: narratologies, geographies, topographies

Sound and haptics: hearing, seeing, sensing, and feeling

Studies that account for the material engagements of the series’ game design, art, and promotion, especially Yoji Shinkawa’s art

The topics featured in this call invite scholars to consider a wide range of possibilities as they critically investigate and analyze the canonical entries to the Metal Gear Solidseries: Metal Gear Solid (1998); Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001); Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004); Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008); Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (2010); Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (2014); and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015). Authors are welcome to include non-canonical titles in the series, but these should not be their primary focus. The essays that are received from this call will be reviewed and assembled by the editors so as to provide the most cohesive and well-rounded arrangement of critical work. The volume is aimed at a scholarly audience while still being as accessible as possible to fans and enthusiasts of the Metal Gear Solid games.

Please submit a 300-500 word abstract of your proposed chapter contribution and a brief CV including complete contact information by December 1st, 2022 to Steven Kielich and Chris Hall at metalgearsolidvolume@gmail.com. Authors are welcome to reach out to Steven Kielich (sckielic@buffalo.edu) or Chris Hall (chall@ozarks.edu) directly with any inquiries, but please do not submit abstracts, CVs, or contact information to the editors’ .edu emails.

Full chapters of accepted proposals will be between 5,000-8,000 words and will likely be due late April 2023 after signing a contract with a publisher. This collection is currently under consideration with McFarland & Co. for their Studies in Gaming series, edited by Matthew Wilhelm Kapell, and has received considerable interest from the press.

Note that acceptance of a proposed abstract does not guarantee the acceptance of the full chapter into the completed volume.

Please share this link and CFP to anyone who you think might be interested in writing about Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid series!