tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73618259527681035272024-03-13T14:14:58.297+11:00Screen vs LifeScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-53499666338541195472020-10-18T11:12:00.016+11:002020-10-18T11:23:00.706+11:00SBS: The home of institutional racism<p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">There are 2 very big problems that are becoming glaringly obvious at Australia’s multicultural public broadcaster, the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). First, is it’s clearly partisan reporting on political news. Second, its political partisanship is explicitly racist and bigoted.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;">Take for example SBS's representation, or lack thereof, of Candice Owens.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Owens is a black female political activist in the US who rose to fame on social media when her satirical video on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgKc-2rFcRw" target="_blank">coming out as conservative</a> went viral. She has since teamed up with conservative heavy weights such as Turning Point USA and PragerU to launch a career as a political activist and pundit. Most notably, Owens the brainchild of <a href="https://blexitfoundation.org/" target="_blank">Blexit</a>, a movement that aims to educate black Americans about how politicians exploit black American concerns to gain their vote, and encourages them to ‘exit’ the democratic party. </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Even if you disagree with her politics, Owens is indisputably an independent, strong, articulate, black woman, who makes reasoned arguments against the democrats exclusive claim to the black vote. </p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">You would think that, given stats showing that black voters for Trump <a href="https://thehill.com/hilltv/what-americas-thinking/514174-poll-trump-approval-rises-among-black-hispanic-voters" target="_blank">has risen to as high as 24% from around 15% in August 2020</a>, SBS’s extensive coverage of the US elections would include a story profiling Owens, at least in relation to this phenomenon. But alas, no. Instead what we get at SBS is articles like this: "<a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/twitter-suspends-fake-accounts-posing-as-black-donald-trump-supporters" target="_blank">Twitter suspends fake accounts posing as Black Donald Trump Supporters</a>".</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">A search for Blexit on the SBS website returns a single hit for an article called “<a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/i-ve-been-used-kanye-west-distances-himself-from-politics" target="_blank">I’ve been used: Kanye West distances himself from politics</a>”. Blexit and Owens are here briefly mentioned somewhere near the end without any contextualisation or evidence, to imply that Kanye was deceived by Owens.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">A search for Candace Owens on the SBS website returns 5 hits. These "news" articles fail to give even a brief profile of who Owens is, rather, makes vague mention her in relation to some media controversy about bigotry, such that she is represented as a bigot. Here are just 2 examples.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Example 1: In their article “<a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/debunking-three-viral-falsehoods-about-kamala-harris" target="_blank">Debunking three viral falsehoods about Kamala Harris</a>” (16 Aug 2020), the following tweet is cited as part of an underhanded conspiracy to cast aspersions about the race of Harris:</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzRIiDjWAzGwHXL-A_j27qIy2PNQC6ngeOFgtw2_ROyYTPf4NHMmCMbhjJBy0ryFO6NFgjzqBxWVFK2_quTVSTmt600nYWBtCy0KdUZJ08eblCRtxtVAA37mC7AB4CJkFdRmkYPfhXs3N/s434/CAndace+tweet.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzRIiDjWAzGwHXL-A_j27qIy2PNQC6ngeOFgtw2_ROyYTPf4NHMmCMbhjJBy0ryFO6NFgjzqBxWVFK2_quTVSTmt600nYWBtCy0KdUZJ08eblCRtxtVAA37mC7AB4CJkFdRmkYPfhXs3N/s320/CAndace+tweet.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>This tweet posted by Owens is not directly contested, but rather framed as a “falsehood”. No mention of who Owens is and why she may or may not have the authority to level such a claim. Interestingly, SBS has also falsely referred to Harris “African-American" (4 December 2019).<p></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Example 2 is a corker! The article title is “<a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/youtube-cuts-racist-feed-during-us-hearing" target="_blank">YouTube cuts racist feed during US hearing</a>” (10 April 2019). The crux of the article is framed in its opening paragraph like this: “The YouTube live stream of a US congressional hearing on white supremacism was forced to disable the comments section after it was overwhelmed by users spouting racist remarks against Jews and other minority groups.” Then right at the bottom in the final paragraph SBS describes Owens like this: “The Republicans invited controversial figures to testify, including Candace Owens, a black activist who recently appeared to justify some of Adolf Hitler's domestic policies, in remarks she later walked back.” This is all we are offered by way of a bio for Owens, which alludes to her as a Nazi, as a Jew hater and as a white supremacist.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Here is her testimony at the hearing, wherein she “walks back” her "justification of Hitler", and make sure you watch to the end:</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0cUQqPxw3hc" width="320" youtube-src-id="0cUQqPxw3hc"></iframe></div><br /><br /><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;">Falsely highlighting the YouTube commentary as racist over and above Owens advocacy of black issues indicates quite clearly that SBS has a problem with her politics, and that they don't want to give her a platform to express these views. SBS clearly commit the “systematically racist” crime (according to the conventions of political correctness) of rendering a black woman invisible (not unlike the white liberal panelists sitting beside Owens at that hearing who have the audacity to "whitesplain" to Owens the racist implications of her own words).</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">You might contend that SBS is under no obligation to profile Owens, she is after all, not a main player in the US political landscape, and thus, not necessarily of great interest to Australian audiences. That may be true, but it does not excuse the blatant misrepresentation of Owens as an evil racist when SBS does deem it necessary to mention her at all.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">The reason I have chosen to focus on the lack of representation of Owens at SBS is because black women are generally revered as the sacred cow of a diverse and equitable society, and that is certainly reflected at Australia's multicultural public broadcaster SBS. Take for example SBS's representations of Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Harris is a contentious figure in US politics to put it mildly, even amongst diehard democrats, but a quick search of her name on the SBS (as at 12 October 2020) website returns almost exclusively positive headlines. Here is a small sample:</span></span></p><div><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></div><div><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/how-kamala-harris-is-sparking-an-impossible-dream-for-women-of-colour-across-the-globe" target="_blank">How Kamala Harris is sparking an 'impossible dream' for women of colour across the globe (14 Aug 2020)</a></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/kamala-harris-halts-mike-pence-interruption-during-vp-debate-to-remind-him-i-am-speaking" target="_blank">Kamala Harris halts Mike Pence interruption during VP debate to remind him: 'I am speaking’ (9 Oct 2020)</a></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/tenacious-and-trailblazing-who-is-joe-biden-s-vice-presidential-pick-kamala-harris" target="_blank">'Tenacious and trailblazing': Who is Joe Biden's vice-presidential pick Kamala Harris? (12 Aug 2020)</a></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/dateline/feeling-seen-for-the-first-time-indian-americans-cheer-kamala-harris-s-selection" target="_blank">‘Feeling seen for the first time,’ Indian-Americans cheer Kamala Harris’s selection (14 Aug 2020)</a></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/debunking-three-viral-falsehoods-about-kamala-harris" target="_blank">Debunking three viral falsehoods about Kamala Harris (16 Aug 2020)</a></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p></div><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">What this indicates is that SBS assumes the role of high priestess of state sanctioned racial and cultural diversity in Australia, and the model of racial and cultural diversity that they promote is one where the only good woman of color is a politically progressive one. Or as Biden so eloquently stated (and SBS failed to adequately cover):</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdN-UcI-E2V-c4bPwusXY2k0JlT_Ybd30ETwECUPZi6nt60pzP7AHCDL50olTY4HXuR4Yf423xZhobY26I_R8D5d0AJFT5vz7gLyUIjFQ8RILmsJeUppt6buQ2X0OfxyDMI_YWf9O9-m4x/s960/biden+black.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdN-UcI-E2V-c4bPwusXY2k0JlT_Ybd30ETwECUPZi6nt60pzP7AHCDL50olTY4HXuR4Yf423xZhobY26I_R8D5d0AJFT5vz7gLyUIjFQ8RILmsJeUppt6buQ2X0OfxyDMI_YWf9O9-m4x/s320/biden+black.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">As such, SBS absolutely FAILS honor its mandated responsibility, as laid down in its </span><a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/aboutus/sbs-charter" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";" target="_blank">Charter</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">, to “provide multilingual and multicultural broadcasting and digital media services that </span><b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">inform</b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">, educate and entertain </span><b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">all</b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;"> Australians and, in doing so, reflect Australia's multicultural society”, and to “reflect the changing nature of Australian society, </span><b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">by presenting many points of view</b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">” (</span><b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">my emphasis</b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">). More specifically, insofar as SBS is a state sanctioned cultural gatekeeper that represents each culture as politically and culturally homogenous, SBS has evolved to perpetuate racist stereotypes. In other words, SBS is a prime example of systematic, institutional racism.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;">SBS needs to be defunded because it FAILS to reflect Australia’s society, and instead takes it upon itself to culturally and politically engineer that society according to a politically left agenda. And worse than that, it promotes leftism as the only morally right perspective by misrepresenting the facts.</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This is not a new or particularly novel accusation with regard to Australian public broadcasting, but it is a worsening problem that needs to be addressed. #DefundSBS</p>ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0Melbourne VIC, Australia-37.8136276 144.9630576-66.123861436178842 109.80680760000001 -9.5033937638211512 -179.8806924tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-15335952565532719002020-10-04T14:14:00.002+11:002020-10-04T14:24:28.503+11:00So "what's the issue" with mandatory masks?<p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Dutifully and begrudgingly masked up to run necessary errands in Coburg, I regularly encounter fellow Melbournian’s with their masks around their chins chugging on their cigarette as though their life depended on it. And I don’t say this to complain of loopholes in Melbourne’s emergency laws, or to demand tougher penalties for those not properly wearing their masks. If you want to smoke while wearing your mask as an ankle bracelet, I couldn’t give a monkey’s left testicle. I do however highlight this particular type of encounter because it highlights the ludicrous principle underpinning mandatory masks.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/healthcare-and-fitness/mask-crackdown-mad-health-experts-warn-20200928-p55zz1?fbclid=IwAR1LixEPAqIbC_Ynt9Mp_h5Z_v2eIPJdUrzIZoKBPxxeug75fjCz1gH77SE">We must wear masks, we are told, to protect others</a>. Because masks limit opportunities of unknowingly spreading coronavirus - not catching coronavirus - <b>the principle is that we take responsibility for the health of others</b>. In fact, it is selfish to speak of personal responsibility for one’s own health. And as Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton is fond of repeating, taking responsibility for the health of others is important because something like 40% of the population has comorbidities that increase risk of mortality associated with coronavirus.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">OK, but here’s the rub. It does not matter if I wear 10 masks simultaneously and stay 4 meters away from all other humans, there is no possible way that I can successfully assume responsibility for the health of any other person. I can’t demand that my cousin quit smoking. Nor can I compel the creepy looking guy down the street acquaint himself with a stairmaster instead frequenting the local MacDonalds. And it is these voluntary habits that sees such a large percentage of the population have co-morbidities that place them at higher risk of corona-death.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">What I can do however, is take responsibility for my own health such that I minimize the risk of becoming a burden to anyone else and the healthcare system. I can do immune building activities like exercise regularly, eat healthy, take vitamins, or at the risk of a $5000 fine, I could take in the fresh air while I walk along the shore of the closest beach 20-odd kilometers away.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In sum, I can compel myself to make decisions that mitigate risk should I catch coronavirus, but I cannot compel others to do the same. Thus, the Victorian government mandate that I act in a manner that takes responsibility for the health of others is illogical insofar as it is impossible to achieve.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">So why do they insist on symbolic rules like mandatory masks? A trawl through the comments section of today’s top news item - <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/daniel-andrews-hits-out-at-unacceptable-scenes-from-crowded-st-kilda-beach?fbclid=IwAR3hmTzKMS6u9UDHaqRHupBH6GIj59BX8PQjboZ8v5DjcVhDKb0VLWMMIiM" target="_blank">throngs of unmasked beachgoers enjoying the first glimmer of summer at St Kilda beach</a> - gives us a clue. Melbournian’s fatigued by endless months of lockdown and desperate to return to some semblance of normal life here express extreme anger at so many people flouting Dan’s rules, and the very real prospect that this will condemn them to home imprisonment for many months more. Echoing Dan’s frustration, they label beach-going as selfish, and demand that fines be increased and police respond with greater force.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzY4dG2naL4C-HkkZDtmBXkZJGfeIZQK-TA64mqTOdZjQUmuwLBKrt4OJatvphfkqhckdih9dc2YpV7qOT0MYc7Gpw26_u1l3H2S12bGk_2Uz-fuF8vBQoHzdUBYSXywXMjHOseRhPgQCi/s588/Comments+St+Kilda.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="399" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzY4dG2naL4C-HkkZDtmBXkZJGfeIZQK-TA64mqTOdZjQUmuwLBKrt4OJatvphfkqhckdih9dc2YpV7qOT0MYc7Gpw26_u1l3H2S12bGk_2Uz-fuF8vBQoHzdUBYSXywXMjHOseRhPgQCi/w271-h400/Comments+St+Kilda.png" width="271" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">What these desperate commenters reveal is that though we as individuals are held responsible for the health of our fellow citizens, we are in actuality, powerless to achieve that mandate.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> We can however be punished for the transgressions of others.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Thus it seems, that the actual policy goal of mandatory masks is not to improve health outcomes in the battle against coronavirus, but rather, to turn neighbor upon neighbor, to divide and conquer public opinion, and to create such a sense of helplessness so as to secure support for ever harsher government interventions into the lives of others on our behalf.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0Melbourne VIC, Australia-37.8136276 144.9630576-53.251406671003011 127.38493260000001 -22.375848528996983 162.5411826tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-85516931799009335962020-07-18T13:10:00.002+10:002020-07-18T13:39:29.692+10:00The War on Victoria's Citizens<p class="p1" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="2">There has been a discernible change in Melbourne, and not for the better. As I smile at fellow customers in the super market, or greet neighbors as I walk down my street very few people greet or smile back. In fact, it would seem that most people have decided that it is too scary to even make eye contact lest THE COVID leaps from my body and into their eyeballs. Only a week ago, while careful to maintain their distance, strangers still smiled at each other and joked about the strange times that we had come to live through. So why the change?</font></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><font size="2"><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="2">Whether or not you agree with the recent measures taken by Daniel Andrews’ Government in Victoria, there are a few rhetorical strategies utilized by this government, and indeed, the mainstream media, to galvanize support for the return to lockdown, and which is successfully driving a wedge between citizens, neighbors and families.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><font size="2"><br /></font></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTSNHL8vn9RJHCb4NgKt8VInNj-eiPWpx8Is_egQu5f0g-KwgDGHkAr5LdHqfmwFuOPB0l7holfkZcHqQbO7aOYCUGYlN8Qc0AT0DR7wr7bhT2k-h0r_nijKmQCsLRRzg-2xPBf4A07-CW/s1280/staying+apart.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><font size="2"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTSNHL8vn9RJHCb4NgKt8VInNj-eiPWpx8Is_egQu5f0g-KwgDGHkAr5LdHqfmwFuOPB0l7holfkZcHqQbO7aOYCUGYlN8Qc0AT0DR7wr7bhT2k-h0r_nijKmQCsLRRzg-2xPBf4A07-CW/s320/staying+apart.jpg" width="320" /></font></a></div><p class="p1" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="2"><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="2"><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="2">Take for example oft repeated phrase that our medical workers are “on the frontline”. What does it mean to insist that doctors, nurses, etc are at war on the frontline? On the one hand it is an effective way to express an appreciation for the fact that medical workers are sacrificing their own wellbeing for the good of the rest of us. But there is also a more insidious subtext to this language.</font></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><font size="2"><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="2">The frontline is traditionally a geographical territory, a place where soldiers travel to battle the enemy. And because in this instance the enemy is an invisible virus that inhabits our bodies, our bodies are newly perceived as a territory where politicians, doctors and their allies encounter and fight the enemy.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><font size="2"><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="2">But because we can’t see it - and because most of the infected are asymptomatic and otherwise healthy - we don’t know which bodies are infected. All bodies become suspicious, a potential harbor for the enemy. All bodies are the frontline. So when we pass a stranger on the street, or our mother recently returned from the chemist, we suspect that we may be too close to the frontline.</font></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><font size="2"><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="2">Never shy of mixing their metaphors, our nanny-state government increases our distrust of one-another by also borrowing from the authoritarian language of school teachers. They insist, against mounting scientific evidence to the contrary, that it is a few bad eggs not doing “the right thing”, and this is resulting in the uptick in cases. Those not doing the right thing are the reason why we must lock down once more.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><font size="2"><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="2">Dan Andrews is the teacher that gives the whole class detention because one kid spoke out of turn; he feeds distrust by turning family members and neighbors into snitches and nosey-parkers. Worse still, this language is breeding a climate of distrust not seen since the cold war.</font></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><font size="2"><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="2">And make no mistake, like all worm-tongued politicians, such language is intentionally divisive. The language of war - or of a reluctant disciplinarian - is strategy to “rally the troops” behind a “fearless leader” making “the tough decisions” - and to make traitors of those who would dare question authority - so that next time we vote, those that felt properly looked after and cared for by our benevolent leader will cast a vote in his favor.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><font size="2"><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="2">Times of crisis are traditionally times for political leaders with questionable morals and shaky popularity to galvanize support to secure their hold on power for one more round; think George W Bush post 9/11 and his subsequent war in Iraq where if you weren’t with us then you were against us.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><font size="2"><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="2">The price of this war is however, our bonds with our brothers, sisters, children, parents, friends, neighbors and countrymen. Despite what their Orwellian double speak would have you think, the Andrews government is not only hell bent on keeping you physically apart, they are also doing their best to atomise our communities at an emotional and spiritual level.</font></p>ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0Melbourne VIC, Australia-37.8136276 144.9630576-45.238793242543281 136.1739951 -30.388461957456713 153.7521201tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-27929669956118203792017-04-04T13:51:00.001+10:002020-07-18T13:24:59.021+10:00Between competition and hypocrisy<div class="p1">
<b>Competition</b> has, in the humanities, become a very dirty word. Along with the notion of personal responsibility, it is largely denounced as a somewhat unnatural proscription of neoliberal policies that has been foisted upon academics and cultural workers, who are believed to be more inclined towards collaboration and cooperation. </div>
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Competition is here characterized as a cut-throat practice where individuals engage in malevolent and underhanded tactics to greedily accumulate resources for themselves to the detriment of everyone else. Competition is understood as a fundamental characteristic of free market capitalism; a zero-sum game which atomizes communities and valorizes narcissistic self-interest.</div>
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This understanding of competition as the opposite of cooperation is a dire misunderstanding of the concept. It is a misunderstanding that underwrites the social justice activism of many humanities scholars, and the astonishing delusion that they are above such base practices.</div>
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<b>First and foremost, competition and cooperation are not mutually exclusive values, but rather, are entwined processes. </b>This is demonstrated by all sports, from the impromptu soccer game amongst 8 year old kids in the local park, through to elite-level mixed martial artists. In all cases individuals have agreed to engage in a game with stable set of rules; this requires cooperation. Fair competition between individuals and teams requires a commitment to these rules, what are in effect, agreed-upon social codes. Yes there are winners and losers, however, the value placed on good sportsmanship testifies to the fact that winning is not the only value being performed in such a game.</div>
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As scholars like Mises, Hayek and Kirzner have elaborated, a properly functioning competitive free market similarly requires cooperation. Indeed, in order to overcome the zero-sum contest for scarce resources that characterizes a state of nature, submission to the rules of the capitalist game enables people to substitute out-and-out conflict for cooperation. And just like a game of soccer, fair competition between participating individuals is central to the proper functioning of the game. As a consequence, we have a complex and diverse set of relationships to all other participants. Some people are on our team, and others are not. Some people are clearly more talented than others, some waste their talent, and others capitalize on it. There are some star players and a lot of hard workers that go relatively unnoticed, but who are non-the-less successful. But engagement in competition is what facilitates the possibility of win-win scenarios; which might be defined as the freedom and ability to attend to our own welfare, and participate within a community such that we do not negatively impact the welfare of others. </div>
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As these Austrian School economists elaborate, as long as no one is excluded from competing, then competition is fair.<br />
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Insofar as career advancement is a highly politicized process, scholars tend to emulate these more underhanded attempts to rig the game by eliminating the competition.</div>
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What is interesting to me is that in the university, which is presumably guarded by humanities scholars as a sanctuary safe from the vagaries of capitalist competition, are in my experience significantly more cut-throat. For example, someone recently attempted to have a colleague of mine fired by informing their employer that they were "right-wing".</div>
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What this anonymous colleague attempted to do was to capitalize upon the fact that my friend is an ideological minority in their department, they attempted to exercise their political influence to eliminate a competitor in the labour market. This is the cut-throat attitude ordinarily attributed to neoliberalism. </div>
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A more cooperative strategy that this anonymous complainant may have adopted would be to compete for contracts based on demonstrated ability and productivity, or engage in a battle of ideas by challenging my friend to a debate and thereby win favor as a superior thinker.</div>
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No, instead of taking the capitalist-competitive-cooperative route, or what might be accurately referred to as the path of integrity, they opted for the cut-throat neoliberal option that they apparently despise so deeply. </div>
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So what is the lesson here? Don’t assess someone's values based on what they say, but rather, what they do. While I am given to believe that this anonymous competitor likely refers to their more favoured colleagues as comrade, their actions demonstrate a proclivity towards underhanded neoliberal practices to work their way up the university hierarchy. </div>
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ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-15460537818863000642017-03-22T08:55:00.001+11:002017-03-22T09:26:02.167+11:00SBS is no longer a diverse public sphere <div class="p1">
Australia’s Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is the nation’s multicultural public broadcaster, and as such, its core mandate is to “inform, educate and entertain all Australians, and in doing so, reflect Australia’s multicultural society” (<a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/aboutus/corporate/index/id/25/h/SBS-Charter" target="_blank">SBS Charter</a> ). </div>
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Like other public broadcasters, Britain's BBC and Australia's ABC for example, SBS was instituted as a public sphere, the function of which is to uphold liberal democratic values by providing a forum of free speech within which everyone can debate matters of collective importance, as equals, irrespective of their political views. In principle, the explicit multicultural mandate of SBS recognized that such equality had not historically been afforded to those with non-English speaking backgrounds, and attempted to rectify this lack of access to the public sphere by featuring non-white faces and voices. </div>
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Yesterday, I read a couple of articles circulated by SBS on Facebook which seems to indicate that the custodians of the broadcaster have confused the concept of diversity with progressive activism.</div>
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The first was about Tim Allen and his recent public statement that Hollywood doesn't tolerate colleagues with conservative politics, comparing the bullying tactics to 1930s Germany. SBS’s response? They ran a clickbait article titled “<a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/guide/article/2017/03/20/10-right-wing-messages-hidden-tim-allen-movies-and-tv-shows" target="_blank">10 right-wing messages hidden in Time Allen movies and TV shows</a>”. Then they cobble together a bunch of one-liners from his body of work to evidence how he used comedy to trick his audiences in to listening to “right-wing” perspectives. Note: right-wing in this article is synonymous with Trump. For example, they caption one image with the line “The famous 'Home Improvement' fence may have been a metaphor for immigration”, collapsing any distinction between the political context of 1991-99 when the program ran, and Trump’s current mantra to build a wall.</div>
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Ultimately, SBS proves the point that Allen is making, which is if you dare to express any opinions as a conservative actor in the US right now, there will be a media witch hunt (which Australian media is also happy to participate in) and future work will dry up. </div>
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While I understand that this is a puff piece and that SBS is entitled to produce within the clickbait genre, I would contend that this article absolutely contravenes the principles of diversity of opinion that are central to the public sphere and their mandate.</div>
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The second article is a lot more serious however, and its partisanship a lot more subtle. In their article “<a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/arabic/en/article/2017/03/20/muslim-women-protest-australian-visit-anti-islam-activist-ayaan-hirsi-ali" target="_blank">Muslim women protest Australian visit of anti-Islam activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali</a>” SBS consistently draw comparisons to controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilder’s and incorrectly refer to Hirsi as “far right”. These a weasel words which are designed to sway the audience into believing that Hirsi’s campaign against Islamic violence against women is actually <i>perpetrating </i>violence against muslims. This tactic is also evident when SBS includes unsubstantiated claims that Hirsi is lying about being subject to these violences including female genital mutilation, insofar as they preface these unsubstantiated claims with phrases like “Doubt has been cast on various elements of Hirsi Ali’s story…”</div>
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My favorite statement though is made by Hana Assafiri on behalf of the 270 muslim women protesting Hirsi: “We want to emphasize that freedom of expression, when it goes un-vetted and promotes hate, has a profound impact on women and especially the most vulnerable sections of society”.</div>
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This is a stunning statement, though the irony is apparently lost on the SBS editorial staff. The point of free speech is that it IS NOT VETTED, this is the liberal democratic principle upon which SBS’s existence is based, and it is a statement which seems to prove, rather than disprove Hirsi’s point that Islam is not compatible with the values of the West. </div>
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My point however is not whether or not Hirsi is correct, but rather, that SBS seems to have lost its way. SBS should be providing a platform to Hirsi and her protestors without attempting to sway public opinion one way or the other. It is particularly despicable when you consider that Hirsi herself is a victim, or rather a survivor, fighting the oppression of a patriarchal regime, and that the good people of SBS are telling her that her experiences and opinions are wrong.</div>
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I spent many years closely analyzing the content produced by SBS throughout the 1990s and 2000s, and my main conclusion was that they were successful at providing a public forum for a diversity of people, with opinions and experiences that could not be reconciled with one another (for shameless self promotion see <a href="http://sbsi.digitalfabulists.org/" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://minerva-access.unimelb.edu.au/handle/11343/40774" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057%2F978-1-137-53324-1_4" target="_blank">here</a>). SBS provided diversity of opinion as well as skin color and accents. </div>
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SBS seems to forgotten that its constituents have differing political opinions, that not all people from the same country share the same political opinions, they are not all of the same class, and they don’t all necessarily share the same values. The fact that they are assuming that this should be the case strikes me as being exceptionally racist.</div>
ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-16066828434157164452017-03-10T09:50:00.001+11:002017-03-10T09:50:19.149+11:00Health Crises, Factory Farming, and Corporate Welfare: Why Capitalism is not to Blame<div class="p1">
Today I read a BBC article entitled “<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38828079" target="_blank">How Economics Killed the Antibiotic Dream</a>” wherein the author characterizes the impending antibiotic crisis - fueled by factory farming practices - as an outcome of greed and free market capitalism.</div>
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This argument is subject to some of the same flaws as the one which advocates the introduction of taxes to curb the consumption of meat - and sugar for that matter - as a means to address a different health crisis: obesity.</div>
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The article points to increasing Western wealth as the source of the problem, arguing that as average household incomes increase, demand for meat increases, incentivizing farmers to increase their supply. Brutal factory farming techniques are the logical outcome of such demand as farmers rush to cash in on the potential profit and supply this demand. According to this narrative, this directly leads to the use of low dose antibiotics to curb the spread of disease among the animals, who are kept in extraordinarily unsanitary conditions, which in turn leads to the flourishing of bacteria resistant to antibiotics, which is predicted to lead to a major health crisis for humans.</div>
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I would contend however, that the source of the problem is not wealth, greed or capitalism<i>, </i>but <i>regulation</i> in the form of taxpayer subsidies to the meat industry. This is a little spoken of though key factor which drives down the price of meat and increases demand. Without subsidies factory farming would be unsustainable, and as such it is subsidies that is driving the over-use of antibiotics. It is worth noting that insofar as subsidies drive over-consumption it also directly contributes to obesity.</div>
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Government subsidies is an important factor in the value chain that we need to start discussing, because the solutions that tend to be advocated identify free market capitalism as the problem, and by this logic, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/07/tax-meat-and-dairy-to-cut-emissions-and-save-lives-study-urges" target="_blank">call for more government intervention</a>. <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-17/jamie-oliver-urges-australia-to-follow-uk-with-sugar-tax/7253074" target="_blank">Jamie Oliver</a> is one such vocal advocate for such intervention in the form of taxes on offending food products. Information regarding more advocacy of taxes to incentivise better consumer choices can be found <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/11/28/meat-tax_n_13291506.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.peta.org/features/tax-meat/" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
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Ultimately, this leaves the taxpayer paying for meat at multiple times: through subsidy to increase output, paying for the product as a consumer, and then paying additional costs to “solve” the problem, such as through a consumer tax (not to mention the already existing GST), and then to regulate the administration of antibiotics. </div>
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While some economists do counter-balance this argument by questioning the cost-benefits of a <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-carbon-tax-on-meat/" target="_blank">meat tax</a>, they fail to address the source of the problem. </div>
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It seems to me that the appropriate first step is to first attack the problem at the source, which is to eliminate <a href="http://www.pcrm.org/health/reports/agriculture-and-health-policies-unhealthful-foods" target="_blank">subsidies to the agricultural sector</a>, and then work out whether any further regulation is needed. We need to recognize that the impending health crises are the result of corporate welfare NOT free market capitalism.</div>
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For information about the scale of government subsidies to the agricultural sector, see these links:</div>
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<a href="http://www.pcrm.org/health/reports/agriculture-and-health-policies-unhealthful-foods">http://www.pcrm.org/health/reports/agriculture-and-health-policies-unhealthful-foods</a></div>
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_subsidy">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_subsidy</a></div>
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</style>ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-52302666427341274412017-03-05T15:27:00.000+11:002017-03-29T11:32:56.598+11:00The Lack of Ethics in Cultural Policy Studies<div class="p1">
Cultural Policy Studies emerged as a distinct subfield within Cultural Studies in the early 1990s, and is distinguished from its parent field by its focus on activism through policy. Adherents of cultural studies have traditionally aimed to illuminate how power is maintained by an elite few in the West through its examination of cultural practices and meanings. Cultural policy studies goes one step further and involves itself within the institutions that actively regulate the cultural industries such that the inequalities exposed through cultural studies scholarship might be eliminated.</div>
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The huge problem with this approach is that it is a blatant program of social engineering, and one which lacks any foundation of ethical principles to guide its practitioners. </div>
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Insofar as the field is founded upon the philosophies of the French postmodern thinkers of the 1960s and 70s such as Michel Foucault, who deny the possibility of objective truth, cultural value (criteria of artistic excellence) and cultural values (for instance, shared beliefs and customs of a national culture) is deemed to be 100% culturally constructed (that is not at all biologically determined) and thus relative. As such, the average cultural theorist advocates for large scale intervention to change Western cultural beliefs and values. Multicultural policies setting out objectives and strategies to achieve greater representation of cultural diversity in Australian film and television is one such example. </div>
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Cultural policy theorists proceed with these goals as though it is the morally correct course of action. However, by its own theoretical logic, moral righteousness is impossible. </div>
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Second, if there is no objective truth to be discovered, and cultural value is relative, how can we then accept the cultural studies axiom that the unequal distribution of social power is socially constructed, or that it can be fixed through rigorous social planning.</div>
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The third core problem is that, despite the fact that there is no truth, only knowledge produced by those with authority for their own benefit, the successful implementation of policy objectives by cultural theorists can only be interpreted as the exercise of oppressive power, which is precisely what cultural theorists claim to eradicate. For an incisive discussion on some other problems stemming from postmodern theory see <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqsmtvWzLnA" target="_blank">this video</a>.</div>
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Any degree of self-reflexivity should reveal to the cultural policy theorist that they may not be seeking equality for the marginalized groups that they purport to represent, but rather, may be seeking to exercise power over the private lives of individuals by wresting control of the institutions that regulate meaning. And not just any individuals, they seek to regulate the private lives of tax paying individuals who pay the (substantially higher) wages earned by cultural theorists. </div>
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In other words, whether or not the cultural policy studies scholar seeks political and social power for the benefit of themselves or the benefit of society, it is exercised at the expense of the people that they seek to control.</div>
ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-60735045606694525032017-02-03T10:12:00.001+11:002017-02-03T10:12:48.939+11:00UC-Berkeley rioters threaten democracy, and make Milo look like a genius<div class="p1" style="text-align: justify;">
Only days ago, I had a conversation with a friend who stated that violence was a reasonable response to the ideas expressed by Milo Yiannopoulos. The violent protests that have since erupted at Berkley University to prevent Milo from giving his final talk on his extremely successful “Dangerous Faggot” tour, indicates that many others on the progressive left believe that this is a perfectly reasonable position. As elaborated in my previous post What’s so bad about Nazism?, it is my opinion that meeting ideas with violence is a fundamentally fascist tactic which creates the climate of fear and oppression that protestors claim to be fighting against.</div>
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There are three more points about Milo that need to be made in order to develop a bit more clarity about the issues at stake in the Berkeley riots.</div>
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><b>1. </b>The </span><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/world/donald-trump-lashes-out-at-berkeley-university-after-protest-against-breitbarts-milo-yiannopoulos-20170202-gu4g78.html" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">mainstream media and opponents</a><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"> of Milo consistently describe him as far right. This may well be true of many of the opinions that he is known for, however, the fundamental issue that he is advocating and pursuing - THE IMPORTANCE AND NECESSITY OF FREE SPEECH TO LIBERAL DEMOCRACY - is one that has been emerging as the new centre of politics for some time now. It is the centre because free speech is an issue that is uniting people from the left and the right of politics under the moniker ‘cultural libertarian’. Cultural libertarians may disagree with what other libertarians say, but they will defend to the death their right to say it. To see how traditional political “rivals” can productively engage with each other</span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">as cultural libertarians, check out Milo’s interview with Dave Rubin on the </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiA0P9iELAA&t=343s" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Rubin Report</a><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">, a political commentator who often describes himself as being on the left of politics. Also see the grounds on which Tucker Carlson defends Milo in the video below.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>2. </b>Milo is a self-described provocateur, and his entire schtick is designed to catalyze outrage on the left. Why? He seeks to prove his main argument, that the ideology and tactics of the progressive left - that their blurring of the distinction between words and action - is a dangerous threat to the future of civil society and liberal democracy. To prove this point he says outrageous things that violate the taboos regarding the representation of race and gender established by the progressive left, then he watches as the progressive left slash and punch and burn and throw rocks and riot. Result: Milo is proven right, and the public bears witness to the intolerance of the left.</span><br /><span style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica Neue;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"><b>3. </b>MEET BAD ARGUMENTS WITH BETTER ARGUMENTS. When you respond to Milo with violence, when you advocate violence as a solution to bad ideas, you are basically saying that you do not have a better argument, that you fear the fact that people have no good reason to side with you, and therefore you must scare people away from listening to Milo with the threat of violence. Let's look at how Milo really does look like the reasonable party at the end of the day:</span><div>
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px;">The only other possibility - and highly likely given that the violence is emanating from universities - is that you think that everyone else is too dumb to understand why you are right and Milo is wrong. The general public is too dumb, they have no capacity for critical thought, and they need to be protected from themselves. And again, through his performance, Milo is is exposing this insidious form of university elitism. When ordinary people watch the riots on their TV and computer screens, what they are seeing is entitled brats having large scale tantrums that are only paralleled by two-year old toddlers frustrated by their inability to properly express their feelings. Use your words people, if you want a better world, if you want Milo to disappear into irrelevance, MAKE BETTER ARGUMENTS. If you need help with this, Hank Green has some great tips below.</span></div>
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ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-86819226203648139542017-01-26T18:58:00.000+11:002017-01-31T00:11:18.133+11:00Protest has become little more than a lifestyle choice<div class="p1">
Only days after thousands of Australian’s gathered in solidarity with their <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/21/politics/womens-march-highlights/" target="_blank">female comrades in the US to protest the inauguration of Trump</a>, throngs of people have returned to key city centers throughout the Australia to protest the celebration of nationhood on the anniversary of colonial conquest. </div>
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While the rest of the nation fire’s up the bbq in their backyards, local parks, or at the beach, in honour of Australia Day, protesters stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their Indigenous country men and women, to remember the 26th of January as a day of invasion, as a day of loss, and a day of mourning. While this particular protest has become a decades old tradition, this year it comes after a string of protests that have led me to understand protest as a lifestyle choice more so than a meaningful strategy for political change.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPEuvfkAZNST0z5zfd13sSEbLVWM4pOrWkhc19ZT7_Roas6F4TDCk3y-lxSejhRAjRuvTc40I_jnEmvpR354EP3XL-qvDVSchFsHDoirvs_15bhiQzQxwiO6RYHt0gtm5fHW4npYwgnmX-/s1600/File_000.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPEuvfkAZNST0z5zfd13sSEbLVWM4pOrWkhc19ZT7_Roas6F4TDCk3y-lxSejhRAjRuvTc40I_jnEmvpR354EP3XL-qvDVSchFsHDoirvs_15bhiQzQxwiO6RYHt0gtm5fHW4npYwgnmX-/s640/File_000.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behold, the irony of one country protesting the democratic election of another country's leader</td></tr>
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There are three key factors that lead me to this conclusion (in addition to my discovery of the poster above). The first is the fact that the desired effect of protest - to interfere with the daily routine of society, so as to force people to pay attention to pressing issues of collective importance, and thereby instigate change - is null and void. Protest has become so regular, so ubiquitous, that it is just another part of the daily routine of city life.</div>
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The second factor is the conduct of protesters. When people head off to the latest march there is no sense of urgency or despair or imminent threat to well-being. It is another event to mark on one's Facebook profile, an opportunity for a latte (or a cheeky wine), to catch up with friends, a chance to let the world know what one stands for, and thus, who one is as a person. It is a display of solidarity with like-minded people who share a sense of identity and of common values. (That the issues are secondary became stunningly apparent to me while watching <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUDtoDAGVE8" target="_blank">Steven Crowder</a> interview women at the Washington Women's March a few days ago, where not one person interviewed could clearly articulate a specific policy or action that they were protesting). Much like moving through throngs of like-minded music lovers at a rock concert, attending a protest can be a sublime experience, one that makes you feel in sync and deeply connected with the community around you. </div>
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I would contend that exactly the same can be said for the average family gathering for a bbq in the backyard to make the most of the Australia Day public holiday, and who may or may not do so with a modicum of national pride.</div>
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The third and final factor is how the protester utilizes the tools of capitalism to construct and display their sense of identity. For instance, the reliance on trains, trams, buses and cars that get them to the protest in a timely fashion - the greater the reliance on public transport, the greater display of moral conviction. A hi-tech camera or the latest iPhone is, of course, the most indispensable of tools which enables each person to capture a wondrous shot of the throngs of protestors from the best angle, and allows you to locate your besties within teeming crowds. And it would be remiss not to mention the multitude of social platforms that enable each individual to broadcast their own perspective of the event to the most people possible. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz6fiSVTnb-6eN1aVv0HhyphenhyphenDHuFe5Z2J6kN2vRGKl7Hbv4kfu3RxEQ5IfIAivqz1FsFo_YOQxK4gQTdsU14MI0pSNT8deHgwgsy2VXjW9G_XlQUP3Hf4fZG0E5L7dKRqQz7GSg6ztENnT96/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-01-26+at+6.36.32+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz6fiSVTnb-6eN1aVv0HhyphenhyphenDHuFe5Z2J6kN2vRGKl7Hbv4kfu3RxEQ5IfIAivqz1FsFo_YOQxK4gQTdsU14MI0pSNT8deHgwgsy2VXjW9G_XlQUP3Hf4fZG0E5L7dKRqQz7GSg6ztENnT96/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-01-26+at+6.36.32+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now if I have learnt anything from my years as a cultural studies student and teacher, it is that because such practices are inescapably performed within the context of consumer capitalism, these otherwise meaningful practices have become emptied of their intrinsic value. Meaningful connection is thereby displaced by processes of “conspicuous consumption”, defined as an act of consumerism designed to display our tastes and our identity to those around us. Protest like any other good or service, entails purchases and behaviours that signal virtue and value to one's community. The virtue and value that we signify can only ever be a chimera within a capitalist system; virtue and value is leeched away such that acts of protest no longer communicate anything of substance.</div>
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Now I love capitalism, so I do not critique the practice of protest to denigrate it. If that’s what makes you feel good, do what you please, just don’t hurt anyone in the process. Rather, I point it out to draw attention to the hypocrisy of protesters who would judge others for celebrating and not protesting Australia Day, or whatever the latest political strawman is.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZkuwhQZgaNRVMsRfn2QEPdt-t1zQl-q9ub7KMhaLTXjdXH2q4_p5BhyphenhypheneIhjxWsYCLqOYEEN2RCSEuEE9eVQKe2hO-91QVtfhmhNnNJEwuMmipJGhkhj5lbCjzr8PnuRJU5eXCpjI07VBY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-01-26+at+6.39.43+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZkuwhQZgaNRVMsRfn2QEPdt-t1zQl-q9ub7KMhaLTXjdXH2q4_p5BhyphenhypheneIhjxWsYCLqOYEEN2RCSEuEE9eVQKe2hO-91QVtfhmhNnNJEwuMmipJGhkhj5lbCjzr8PnuRJU5eXCpjI07VBY/s400/Screen+Shot+2017-01-26+at+6.39.43+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajpvbcUExtEqX0Dr8E2gn0AKJK5nNZtbG_PtWH3LIi-PhjVYiJCldOSx-R6jbaSPNx5EGRpW16oKvheUsxh4KtyoQGoVWN5JDqIlisOBLLL8bYhUfKMPx-vDwxCCoP_KPaqqvUhRpVGm6/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-01-26+at+6.41.21+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="85" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajpvbcUExtEqX0Dr8E2gn0AKJK5nNZtbG_PtWH3LIi-PhjVYiJCldOSx-R6jbaSPNx5EGRpW16oKvheUsxh4KtyoQGoVWN5JDqIlisOBLLL8bYhUfKMPx-vDwxCCoP_KPaqqvUhRpVGm6/s400/Screen+Shot+2017-01-26+at+6.41.21+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYY1MvQxfbeI9yBNyISsu62ZdGzwyN8EiohNwpB93SpzzkFnVvhOEgTGB0_3skawh84yO4kqYbVYDN5bzFrVsiRypK2gGFnoskAitTJKLY1Wn_jtTKxTW0begMh_H9P_TMoHY2lpFlzur4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-01-26+at+6.41.37+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="85" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYY1MvQxfbeI9yBNyISsu62ZdGzwyN8EiohNwpB93SpzzkFnVvhOEgTGB0_3skawh84yO4kqYbVYDN5bzFrVsiRypK2gGFnoskAitTJKLY1Wn_jtTKxTW0begMh_H9P_TMoHY2lpFlzur4/s400/Screen+Shot+2017-01-26+at+6.41.37+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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We all make choices that satisfy our own needs and desires, and often, as with the protesters, these choices are mutually beneficial insofar as they also accommodate the needs of others. Again, the host of the Australia Day BBQ is attending to the needs and desires of loved ones. They are not any less moral or ethical than someone waving a sign in the Melbourne CBD, nor are they any more selfish. They merely have a different set of priorities to attend to before they head back to work tomorrow. And this also applies to the "dickheads" whom many attack because they simply choose to fly the flag (an important caveat is that there are a lot of dickheads flying flags, but again, I don't really care if they aren't being violent).</div>
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It does well to remember that a self-righteous attitude towards those who are different, who have different values, priorities and concerns, will do little to achieve the reconciliation and healing that many claim to desire.</div>
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ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-1194278556086264012017-01-24T23:34:00.000+11:002017-01-31T00:15:10.934+11:00What's so bad about Nazism? <div class="p1">
What is it about Nazism that people find so abhorrent? What are those elements of Nazism that we recognize in the words and actions of the politically empowered that make us rise up and say “no more”?</div>
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Is it the harsh lesson of how quickly the forked tongue of a charismatic leader can whip up support to condemn a whole race of people to extermination? Is it the uncanny ability to identify the next despot, paving his or her road to political victory by spinning tales of unearned wealth and privilege accruing to an elite minority?</div>
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Both sides of the contemporary political spectrum increasingly invoke Hitler to raise the alarm about the imminent danger of the next fascistic regime. It is however, towards the left that I pitch this question, because the Hitler-Nazi-Fascist triad has largely been invoked by the left to foreground the re-emergent politicization of race, and valorization of racism. And while I certainly do not condone racism I believe that this focus is detrimental insofar as it deflects from the real danger that is approaching us at lightening speed.</div>
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I would contend that the true evil, the danger to be feared and abhorred, is the idea that one group of people is expendable for the sake of another. It is the violent means by which we, as a society choose to achieve the ends we desire, or at least, permit our leaders to achieve on our behalf. </div>
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Though this sounds like racism, it is very different insofar as the racist and the ardent anti-racist are equally capable of perpetrating such violence.</div>
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The real issue is the acceptance of an “ends justifies the means” attitude that is everywhere in evidence. Trump didn’t win the popular vote therefore the electoral college is wrong (NB: a system put in place to limit the dangers inherent to democracy: mob rule). I don’t agree with the outcome of the election so let’s riot and burn and pillage and destroy the property and livelihoods of ostensibly innocent, and perhaps financially strapped, individuals like ourselves. Let’s do away with capitalism and move towards a social democratic system of governance (NB: the Nazi’s were democratic socialists). Better yet, let’s eliminate inequality by moving towards a communitarian system that valorizes group welfare over the vagaries of individual choice, desire and liberty.</div>
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While the wish for our fellow humans to share in our relative wealth and to live without need is a reasonable wish, it’s realization requires violent solutions that invariably identify a category of people that are expendable in order to achieve this goal. This is demonstrated by the innumerable tweets that I have read calling for, or wishing for Trump’s assassination. </div>
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It is demonstrated by Black Lives Matter rioters who chant for dead cops as they tear their way through one US city after another. </div>
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It is demonstrated by the imposition of taxes on low and middle income Americans to provide corporate welfare to Wall Street. And it has been demonstrated by every single communist regime that has ever cast its dark show across the face of the earth.</div>
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An interesting fact that many socialist, communist, and Marxists don’t seem to know (or at least I hope they don’t given he implications) is that while the genocidal regime of the Nazi’s is not to be made light of, communism has killed many times that number of people and for similarly ideological reasons. Instead of the Jewish race however, class was the object of that violence. (Though, a more accurate comparison would be with white people today, insofar as whiteness is seen as a mark of unearned economic and political privilege in much the same way that Jewishness was decried as a mark of unearned wealth and power in 1930s Germany. See my article on the validation of a<a href="http://screenvslife.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/anti-white-racism-product-of-academic.html" target="_blank">nti-white violence</a> to understand the very real threat). Because it is so difficult to gain consensus and make people do what they need to do to realize the utopic dream of many a leftist visionary, absolute equality of outcome is impossible and, depending on your conviction, a degree of violence is inevitable.</div>
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According to Stephanie Courtois’ 1997 <i>The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression</i>, 100 million people were killed in the twentieth century in a bid to realize the communist dream of economic equality, as compared to the 25 million killed by Nazi Germany. The estimates offered are staggering:</div>
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<li class="li3"><span class="s1"></span><span class="s2">65 million in th<span style="color: black;">e <span class="s3"><span style="color: black;">People's Republic of China</span></span></span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span style="color: black;"><span class="s4"></span>20 million in the <span class="s3"><span style="color: black;">Soviet Union</span></span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span style="color: black;"><span class="s4"></span>2 million in <span class="s3"><span style="color: black;">Cambodia</span></span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span style="color: black;"><span class="s4"></span>2 million in <span class="s3"><span style="color: black;">North Korea</span></span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span style="color: black;"><span class="s4"></span>1.7 million in <span class="s3"><span style="color: black;">Ethiopia</span></span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span style="color: black;"><span class="s4"></span>1.5 million in <span class="s3"><span style="color: black;">Afghanistan</span></span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span style="color: black;"><span class="s4"></span>1 million in the <span class="s3"><span style="color: black;">Eastern Bloc</span></span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span style="color: black;"><span class="s4"></span>1 million in <span class="s3"><span style="color: black;">Vietnam</span></span></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s4"></span>150,000 in Latin America</li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s4"></span>10,000 deaths "resulting from actions of the international Communist movement and Communist parties not in power." (See <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Book_of_Communism" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> for more details)</li>
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For myself, what is so abhorrent about Hitler and Nazism is equally abhorrent about Lenin and Stalin in the Soviet Union, Castro and Guevera in Cuba, and Mao in China. It is the initiation of violence against many millions of individual human beings. It is the stealing of some one else’s life - their families, their livelihoods and means of survival, and their futures - all as a means to achieving some person or group’s vision of a perfectly organized, equitable society. Whether your dream is a racially pure society, or a perfectly equal one, insofar as people have the freedom to refuse your dream, its realization must be forced upon them, and historically at least, violence has been the means by which such resistance is met.</div>
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While racism can be violent, violence isn’t always racist.</div>
ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-77540425112479582122017-01-19T21:24:00.005+11:002017-01-31T00:16:00.322+11:00Personal reflections on the eve of the US Presidential Inauguration, an open letter to a lost friend<div class="p1">
Dear Carolyn,</div>
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As Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th US president tomorrow I am reminded of what I have lost in the build up to the 2016 election. </div>
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It is odd that we are no longer friends given that as an Australian I have no direct stake in the US politics. But you, as a recently naturalized citizen and ten-year resident of California, are directly affected.</div>
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I knew when you sent me that message that you were trying to find out if I needed to be cut like a cancer from your life. You asked for photos of family, for updates on work, on life more generally, and what I thought about the upcoming US election. My response to this last question was deliberately vague.</div>
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But in the end I didn’t keep secret my political leanings. As I daily witnessed a Facebook feed awash with pro-Hillary, pro-socialist propaganda, posted by you, posted by just about everyone one else I knew and worked with, it felt necessary to also start sharing the bits of news and information that I had come across, and which seriously challenged mainstream pro-Hillary narrative. It became a matter of integrity to be part of the conversation and share alternative perspectives. </div>
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But still, it came as a surprise when your presence suddenly dropped from my feed.</div>
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Most everyone else that I am connected with online are acquaintances, colleagues, former school mates, people that have little to lose by making me disappear from their daily news feed. You on the other hand, were someone that had been an integral part of my life. You set me on a better path that led me to eventually earn my doctorate, be gainfully employed, and to settle into a very happy marriage. When you met me I was a recovering addict, a single mother with no job, someone who did not possess the necessary skills to get life back on track permanently, and with very little support to speak of. You can quite confidently take some credit for what I have become.</div>
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But it seems because I have become more libertarian in my views, somewhat more conservative, you want no part of my life.</div>
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This saddens me because, while it had been over a decade since we had seen each other, or talked deeply and meaningfully, you were still one of the most valued people in my life. I knew our politics had diverged considerably, but this did not make you an enemy, or expendable.</div>
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This saddens me because you were one of the good ones, you live your life according to your beliefs, and in your job and friendships always work to help others. I respect that. However, if it is people like yourself who are now refusing to maintain friendships with people who don’t share your current political perspective, then it appears there is little hope for the future of democracy in the West as well as the US.</div>
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I realize that this sounds hyperbolic, but when you think about it, what is a nation but many millions of these individual relationships? Shared history and emotional attachments provide people with the common ground, and the incentive, to share ideas and find solutions in spite of considerable differences in opinion and belief.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: small;">If we can’t engage in this deliberative process on a micro-level with the ones we love, the people whom we genuinely care about, how on earth do we achieve it at the macro-level - as a democratic nation or Western civilization - where our connections to other strangers in society can only ever be imagined?</span></b></div>
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Carolyn, I will always hold you to be one of my dearest friends, and hopefully, one day, we will speak again, or perhaps, I’ll simply get to see the smiling faces of your beautiful children pop up on my Facebook feed. Until then…</div>
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Regards</div>
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Amanda</div>
ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-61068913282719962752017-01-18T12:31:00.001+11:002017-01-31T00:12:18.832+11:00Debunking the Hollywood Gender Pay Gap<div class="p1">
A few days ago <a href="http://www.nme.com/news/film/ashton-kutcher-supports-natalie-portman-pay-gap-1942621" target="_blank">Ashton Kutcher tweeted</a> his support of fellow actor Natalie Portman, and her challenge to negotiate employment contracts of equal worth to her male colleagues.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1M7lKVBL2vE62oH_5LPmiOHLlORpa7U7BkHNDmijk8fBlG7YlPzhwQRwVJTjQsfB82pwFApd4SldCZZvQ9QfGjhjdbwZPZR_3D7-PwmJs6BExr6mH6u9VUCR_ZT3NobxM5CTngwIPEZTO/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-01-18+at+12.08.19+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1M7lKVBL2vE62oH_5LPmiOHLlORpa7U7BkHNDmijk8fBlG7YlPzhwQRwVJTjQsfB82pwFApd4SldCZZvQ9QfGjhjdbwZPZR_3D7-PwmJs6BExr6mH6u9VUCR_ZT3NobxM5CTngwIPEZTO/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-01-18+at+12.08.19+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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‘News’ regarding the Hollywood gender pay gap have also recently also resurfaced in the form of Meryl Streep’s enthusiastic reaction to Patricia Arquette’s 2015 Oscar speech calling out the gender pay gap in Hollywood. (This was on the back of <a href="https://screenvslife.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/what-pisses-me-off-about-award-season.html" target="_blank">Streep’s recent Golden Globes 2017</a> acceptance speech, which similarly characterized the Hollywood elite as one of the most victimized demographics within the US). </div>
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Kutcher, and <a href="http://www.etonline.com/news/173916_bradley_cooper_stands_by_jennifer_lawrence_over_equal_pay_hollywood_there_is_a_double_standard/" target="_blank">Bradley Cooper</a> before him, has expressed their support after learning that their Portman and Jennifer Lawrence, respectively, were paid a smaller fee for starring in the same film. In these two examples, the fees earned by the male and female costars is comparable (as elaborated in the infographic below). However, more generalized discussions regarding the Hollywood pay gap are largely supported by pernicious and blatantly misleading information. </div>
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<a href="https://www.nyfa.edu/film-school-blog/gender-inequality-in-film/" target="_blank">The New York Film Academy (NYFA)</a> is perhaps one of the worst offenders. The NYFA annually manipulates the annual <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2016/07/13/full-list-the-worlds-highest-paid-celebrities-of-2016/" target="_blank"><i>Forbes</i> ‘Highest Paid Actors’</a> lists into an infographic which represents top tier Hollywood actresses as more exploited than the average American woman. Much like the 77c in the $1 figure widely circulated in mainstream media, and thoroughly debunked by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwogDPh-Sow" target="_blank">Prof. Steven Horwitz</a>, the <a href="https://www.nyfa.edu/nyfa-news/has-female-equality-in-hollywood-progressed-in-2014.php#.WH7CSLZ97jA" target="_blank">NYFA calculates the pay gap as an aggregate of female versus male earnings</a>, with little consideration for the multitude of other mitigating factors..</div>
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Below is an infographic that I have created to demonstrate how the NYFA draw a false correlation between actor earnings and gender inequality. I do not aim to prove that gender inequality does not exist in Hollywood, there are many other indications that it does. However, a direct comparison of real income is not one of those indications.</div>
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Ultimately, like the NYFA, I am dependent on publicly available information regarding film budgets, profits, and actor earnings, and this information is often estimated and incomplete. As such the statistics that I have generated are not to be taken as 100% accurate or even quotable, but rather as illustrative of the range of other factors which contribute to differences in pay. With this in mind, I would love your feedback regarding improvements to be made, or even to see you rework and improve upon this information.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQUvqFyF9X3-E-o-eeBlKsIczDg0FxhUvC8N58KIIHD0GkSKdpJM9WuFwsJS8UgATQYml0-fS0PvL1CuhDA6RU-4kMZqfH1Cii2OB6BYEdhTOIusy6zqV2BHIffzcIM6epncNc2crZRX1/s1600/Debunked+Hollywood+Pay+Gap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQUvqFyF9X3-E-o-eeBlKsIczDg0FxhUvC8N58KIIHD0GkSKdpJM9WuFwsJS8UgATQYml0-fS0PvL1CuhDA6RU-4kMZqfH1Cii2OB6BYEdhTOIusy6zqV2BHIffzcIM6epncNc2crZRX1/s1600/Debunked+Hollywood+Pay+Gap.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Here is a link to a higher resolution version of the document:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2cRW8gEYfG-ZlFoNXBTMnBFSkk/view?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2cRW8gEYfG-ZlFoNXBTMnBFSkk/view?usp=sharing</a></span></div>
ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-87177860138831950442017-01-13T19:16:00.000+11:002017-01-25T09:42:14.769+11:00Fake News, Democracy and Donald Trump's Press Conference<div class="p1">
The chastisement of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZI0Q3LQZmo" target="_blank">CNN</a>’s senior Whitehouse correspondent Jim Acosta as a propagator of ‘fake news’ by Trump during his press conference on Wednesday has caught the attention of commentators across the political spectrum. </div>
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Many like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjFmOKqyWpE" target="_blank">Sargon of Akkad</a> have adeptly illustrated how the mainstream media has earned the ire of Trump, as well as their viewers, insofar as contemporary mainstream journalists consistently and demonstrably lie by omission. The indignation with which said journalists have responded to the ‘fake news’ moniker being flipped on them only amplifies the degree to which they live in a delusional bubble wherein they believe their own spin. </div>
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Others, like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjUdeiIZoXQ" target="_blank">The Young Turks</a>, <a href="http://www.salon.com/2017/01/12/clear-and-present-danger-maybe-this-is-how-democracy-ends_partner/?source=newsletter" target="_blank">Salon</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MecLstDQPao&t=388s" target="_blank">MSNBC</a> in their interview with Michael Moore, regard Trump’s refusal to talk to CNN as portending the end of first amendment rights, and the diminished ability of the media to preserve the democratic rights of citizens by holding power to account. </div>
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Insofar as the mainstream media do demonstrably and consistently lie to perpetuate their own ideological perspective, contemporary journalists are for the most part, more accurately perceived as perverting democratic process rather than protecting it. Without necessarily endorsing Trump’s approach to the dire state of Western journalism, I think one can concede that his refusal to engage with professional liars is at the very least, understandable.</div>
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The problem with his approach is that Acosta seemed to be arbitrarily singled out on the back of CNN’s reporting on (what many have termed) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yhv6lrogvo" target="_blank">Golden Shower-Gate</a>, or Piss-Gate. This arbitrariness seemingly endorses the popular narrative that Trump is prone to petty displays of power. Rather than a petty display of power however, it seemed to me a straightforward management tactic that one would reasonably employ within the context of a firm, or even a disciplinary tactic used by a classroom teacher. </div>
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Not so long ago representatives from most of the main news outlets were invited to Trump Tower only to be admonished for less than ethical journalistic behavior during the presidential race. This was clearly an attempt to set the terms of the president-media relationship for the duration of his four-year term. That CNN had recently hosted a panel discussion about the veracity of the unverified 'dossier' published by Buzzfeed, was seemingly reason enough for the organisation to be singled out and made an example of for not adhering to stated expectations. It could just as easily been MSNBC, ABC, etc, it was just an accident of timing.</div>
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I agree that a president taking on the role of media disciplinarian is somewhat problematic with regard to the future of journalistic independence. This should not, however, be conveniently interpreted as the inevitable outcome of electing a despotic megalomaniac as president, but rather, the consequence of nobody else within civil society holding the mainstream media to account for not fulfilling their duty to the people for a very long time (with the exception of online communities, critics and media organisations, which I will return to in a moment). </div>
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Academics are one such group which should be using their knowledge and status to call out the media for left, as as well as right leaning biases. This is more than likely linked to the fact that right-leaning bias in the media tends to be the favored topic of much research and commentary within the academic community. </div>
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What is interesting to me is that media and communications academics, who largely accept <a href="https://chomsky.info/consent01/" target="_blank">Herman and Chomsky</a>’s 1989 elaboration of how propaganda is produced by media as a consequence of being overly dependent on politicians as sources for their news stories, rarely express alarm at the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvRbpACD0Q4" target="_blank">cosy relationship the press enjoyed with Hillary Clinton</a> on the campaign trail. </div>
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I do think that this is part of a broader problem within academics who tend to mix research and activism, and in previous posts I have demonstrated how this manifests in the propagation of anti-white racism (<a href="http://screenvslife.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/only-whites-can-be-racist-debunking.html"><span class="s1">http://screenvslife.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/only-whites-can-be-racist-debunking.html</span></a> and <a href="http://screenvslife.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/anti-white-racism-product-of-academic.html"><span class="s1">http://screenvslife.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/anti-white-racism-product-of-academic.html</span></a>). </div>
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The meteoric rise of online media and commentators, from The Young Turks to Infowars, Salon to Breitbart, Wikileaks to Freedomain Radio, indicates that the public is savvy to the misinformation propagated by mainstream media and are actively looking to diversify their sources of news to better inform themselves. </div>
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Trump’s explicit use of the term ‘fake news’ was again, clearly strategic insofar as it appropriated the attack deceitfully contrived by mainstream media to discredit these increasingly influential web-based competitors. In calling CNN out as fake news Trump turned the charge back on journalists to highlight the hypocrisy of mainstream media organizations who are consistently being caught out for their lack of journalistic integrity. </div>
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Ultimately, the fact that online sources for news and political commentary continues to proliferate foregrounds claims that the Trump presidency poses an imminent threat to democratic engagement, freedom of the press, and first amendment rights, is considerably overblown.</div>
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And this is not to excuse Trump from his own hypocrisy. As <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yhv6lrogvo" target="_blank">Philip DeFranco</a> pointed out, Trump has a recurring tendency to willfully misrepresent the scale of most issues that he discusses. Ninety-six million unemployed Americans was one such claim made at the very same press conference, and he did himself no favors by hyperbolically invoking America-as-Nazi Germany, a strategy no less crass and dishonest than when leveled by progressives insisting that “Trump is literally Hitler”.</div>
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<i>Join the conversation, let me know your thoughts in the comments below.</i></div>
ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-30580142555893361342017-01-10T22:06:00.003+11:002017-01-31T08:30:23.278+11:00Award Ceremonies and Virtue Signalling, or Meryl Streep goes to the Globes<div class="p1">
I love awards seasons, or at least I used to. In recent years I just can’t seem to get past the self-congratulatory wank-fest that is A-list celebrities telling me how much their work makes the world a better place. </div>
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According to Meryl Streep Hollywood actors are not only the wellspring of inter-human empathy and harmonious racial diversity, but it is the frontier, wherein directors, actors, scriptwriters, etc, wage war against the elitist injustice that ravages the USA. </div>
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The video of Streep’s speech is below if you wish to see extreme psychological delusion first hand…</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EV8tsnRFUZw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EV8tsnRFUZw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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I’ll leave aside the fact that Streep deliver’s her injunction against elitism wearing a custom-made Givenchy gown, and instead draw attention to the economics of Hollywood, which funds its selfless representation of empathy and diversity with the taxes of those deplorables she implicitly attacks.</div>
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You may not be aware of the fact that a significant number of states in the US offer <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/film-tv-tax-incentives-a-885699" target="_blank">tax breaks, credits and subsidies</a> to attract Hollywood companies to come and make their films. Among them is <a href="http://gov.texas.gov/film/incentives/overview/" target="_blank">Texas</a>, <a href="http://ct.gov/ecd/cwp/view.asp?a=3880&q=454834" target="_blank">Connecticut</a>, <a href="http://www.tnentertainment.com/film/incentives/" target="_blank">Tennessee</a> and <a href="http://www.film.ri.gov/taxcredit.html" target="_blank">Rhode Island</a>.</div>
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The purpose of these concessions is to boost the local economy: locations featured are expected to boost tourism to the region, and film production expended to boost employment, both for the duration of a given project and through the training and supply of below-the-line workers, as well as in ancillary sectors.</div>
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The reality is that as more and more states adopt these policies, competition for limited productions increases, and each state seeks to achieve the competitive edge by offering more and more of the taxpayer dollars to the detriment of local services and amenities. As such, Hollywood actors are the direct beneficiaries of corporate welfare. Do you think Streep has any empathy for the average American who labour’s daily to compensate the ever-escalating budgets of the latest Hollywood blockbuster. (Actually, it is more often the mid-range budgeted films - the kind Streep stars in - that tends to cash in on these government programs).</div>
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And don’t think that this complicity with the exploitation of the average citizen is contained within the borders of the US. <a href="http://www.canadafilmcapital.com/Tax-Credit-Overview.aspx" target="_blank">Canada,</a> Australia, China, Singapore, England, New Zealand…they all compete for these <a href="http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/1101" target="_blank">runaway productions</a> by offering similar tax subsidies and credits.</div>
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The other stunningly elitist move strategically employed by Streep is her co-option of the cultural cache available to her non-white colleagues in order to score some progressive brownie points. This is an important performance for any lily white progressive who advocates diversity, lest you get called out for your privilege. Indeed, notice how Streep's role call directs the camera towards her non-white colleagues from elsewhere.</div>
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And of course, there is the mandatory calling out of Trump, another important strategy employed by the Hollywood elite as a way of showing how while their skin is undeniably white, they are different from those bad white people over there.<br />
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<i>Would love to hear your thoughts and opinions, leave your comments below.</i></div>
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ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-66268158330185195452017-01-08T12:38:00.001+11:002017-03-29T11:26:03.005+11:00"Only whites can be racist": debunking a very dangerous lie<div class="p1">
<b>Yesterday, by way of anecdote, I proposed that academia is at least in part, responsible for the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4093360/CNN-s-Don-Lemon-says-Chicago-youths-tortured-mentally-disabled-man-not-evil.html" target="_blank">mainstream media acceptance and rationalisation of violent anti-white racism</a>. See <a href="https://screenvslife.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/anti-white-racism-product-of-academic.html" target="_blank">here</a> if you missed it.</b></div>
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Admittedly the points made were largely anecdotal and provided little in the way of evidence. What I offer today is more substantial in terms of evidence, and is provided in the form of a critique of what is a largely unchallenged field of study within the humanities, known as critical race and whiteness theory (CRW). My knowledge of CRW stems from my PhD research where I leaned the claims of the theory to discuss the representation of national identity in Australian film and television. If you are interested my dissertation is linked <a href="https://minerva-access.unimelb.edu.au/handle/11343/40774" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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I am no longer a proponent of CRW theory and here’s why… </div>
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Critical race and whiteness (CRW) really began to coalesce as a theory within the humanities from the late 1990s. The interdisciplinary field CRW has deep roots within postcolonial studies and shares an activist mandate to expose and disrupt white racial supremacy. Within these contexts white racial supremacy is understood as a contemporary reality that has been engineered through the institutions, policies, and media of capitalism and colonialism.</div>
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The understanding that the uneven power enjoyed by different races, ethnicities, cultures, and nationalities is a historically produced is itself a premise that few today, would contest. Indeed, from the second half of the twentieth century the policies of Western governments have explicitly aimed to shore up the exclusionary policies and practices of its core institutions, which helped to create and compound these inequalities. Western societies have even taken steps to legislate against discriminatory behaviors within the private sector as a means to achieving equality of opportunity regardless of race, gender, and so on.</div>
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While significantly curbed, bigotry has not been eliminated from the West, and I would contend zero sum ambitions are not possible or desirable within a free society. Systematic forms of racial discrimination have largely been repealed, though the recent fervor for social justice and the emergence of Black Lives Matter would attest otherwise. For these groups, the scourge of white privilege is a persistent evil that must be violently contested.</div>
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The growing mainstream tendency to see white privilege as the wellspring of contemporary evil has I think, been spawned by scholars of CRW. While these academic origins of contemporary activism may not be known to many of the individuals proselytizing the evils of white privilege, the foundational claims of CRW clearly undergird the sizable backlash against all that is white. And it is for this reason it is important to engage with these foundational claims and demonstrate why they a logically untenable.</div>
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A core tenet of CRW studies is that white people continue to enjoy their <i>unearned</i> privilege by dint of the fact that racial whiteness has historically been, and continues to be, ill-defined. For instance, whiteness is selectively and vaguely defined in relation to one's physical features, cultural heritage, nationality, ethnicity, religion, and so on, depending on need and circumstance. </div>
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As originally elaborated on page 211 of my 2014 PhD dissertation, CRW identifies the following as core amongst the processes that secure white privilege:</div>
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<li class="li1">Whiteness is the categorization, definition, and organization of what it is not, for example, black, Asian or Muslim. Such categories are reproduced through the production and consumption of cultural products (e.g. cinema, literature, art, photography) as well as more official sources of knowledge production, such as medical, scientific, political, and historical disciplines.</li>
<li class="li1">Second, this process of categorization fixes physical, national, and cultural characteristics to the iconography of variously defined non-white peoples. Non-whites are brought into focus as an embodied objects that can be known, and elides the embodied existence of the (white) knowing (and tolerating) subject. </li>
<li class="li1">Third, these ways of knowing and organizing the world create the reality of social, cultural, and political hierarchies, which confer unearned privilege upon those who are white. </li>
<li class="li1">Fourth, because race is “a categorical object…deemed to belong to the other” (<a href="http://eprints.qut.edu.au/28312/" target="_blank">Moreton-Robinson, “Whiteness” 2004, 76</a>), whiteness and its privileges are largely invisible to those who enjoy them. For white hegemony to be successfully contested, resisted and subverted, it must be articulated along with Other identities as a racial category (<a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/White.html?id=ncIbd-Uch28C" target="_blank">Dyer 1997</a>). This is a key point and underpins the activism that is inextricable from the theory.</li>
<li class="li1">Finally, whiteness is a slippery concept, in a constant state of flux, and is subject to change over time and across different geo-political regions. How whiteness is discursively practiced, how it is made to mean is historically and geographically specific. For example, each wave of migration to Australia, subsequent to British colonization, evidences the revision of who is included and excluded from white Australian identity. That is to say that the newest group of would-be immigrants constitutes a new external “Other” to define national identity against (<a href="http://www.acrawsa.org.au/files/ejournalfiles/91FaridFarid.pdf" target="_blank">Farid 2006</a>), and the second last group subject to this process is allowed to enjoy (at least some of) the privileges of whiteness. For instance, the Italians and the Greeks that migrated in the 1950s and 60s, and the Vietnamese and the Lebanese that migrated in the 1970s and 80s are now somewhat white by virtue of the fact that the latest waves of migration from Sudan and the Middle East constitute the new outsiders. Whiteness is thus relative, but contingent on the whims of those within the inner sanctum of white mainstream society.</li>
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<b>Whiteness is, according CRW, a slippery concept, and those with white privilege lean on this slipperiness to control who is included and excluded from membership into the white mainstream. In this way whiteness is less a racial category than it is a rhetorical <i>process</i> of inclusion and exclusion.</b></div>
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According to CRW whiteness has all the qualities of a phantom: it cannot be clearly seen and thus defined by non-whites to aid in their fight against white oppression. And this inability to clearly articulate what whiteness is what enables those who are white to continue seeing themselves as normal as compared to non-whites, and this luxury of not seeing themselves or others as having a race, is the source of continued privilege. </div>
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When logically interrogated these claims fail to hold up to scrutiny. </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">First</span> and foremost to claim that whiteness has not been attended to as a racial category is thoroughly ridiculous. Eugenics is a well known field of scholarship popular in the first half of the twentieth century, and which was explicitly concerned with proving the supremacy of the white race. It is only since the genocide orchestrated by Hitler in the name of white racial supremacy that the proud naming and claiming of white racial identity has become taboo. </div>
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The continued inability of white people to openly dialogue about their whiteness, to explicitly discuss Western culture as white culture, or to express any pride with regard to this heritage - lest it gets misconstrued as endorsement of white supremacy - indicates a lack of power white cultures have over the articulation of their racial and cultural identity. Terms like white culture, white heritage, and white pride, continue to be decried as synonymous with racism. Thus the lack of definition and reflection regarding racial whiteness does not represent the collusion of those with white privilege to render their power invisible, but rather, reflects their desire to avoid persecution as racist. </div>
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Insofar as CRW is framed by a poststructuralist understanding of the world as historically constructed, the refusal of CRW scholars to acknowledge the historical conditions that has produced silence about racial whiteness violates the logic of the theory, and leads its scholars towards false conclusions. </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Second</span>, like Harry Potter mustering the courage to address Voldemort as Voldemort and not “he who must not be named”, Richard Dyer entreats readers of his 1997 book <i>White</i> to name whiteness, to speak it, to wrest from whiteness the cloak of invisibility such that it becomes just another racial identity. The logic goes like this: once exposed, whiteness can no longer be the fast track to unearned privilege, because people can see it and stop it. Moreover, once named, whiteness becomes understood as a race just like all the other identities. </div>
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Personally I don’t mind this idea, and it is precisely what appealed to me about the theory when I utilized it in my thesis. The problem, however, is that Dyer’s proposal is impossible if whiteness is not a race but a process.</div>
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If whiteness is a category into which other racial, cultural, national and ethnic peoples can be admitted, if Jews and Italians can pass as white after living in a Western democratic country for a couple of generations, and if Vietnamese can eventually enjoy the privileges of whiteness, then it becomes impossible to define whiteness as just another racial category. </div>
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You might counter that the assimilation of these groups into white society allows us to define whiteness culturally, for example, as the practice of Western capitalistic values, but then this would undermine the argument that non-white races do not have access to the privileges enjoyed by white people. Some theorists might argue that a Chinese woman who passes as white does not actually possess power in the same way as the genuinely white do, given that she can never fully enjoy the privileges of whiteness insofar as her physical features that mark her as different, make her vulnerable to socio-political changes in the future that might compel the white mainstream to suddenly exclude her. </div>
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The problem with this assertion is that it infers a stable white elite at the core of whiteness who are the ultimate arbiters of inclusion and exclusion. However, the theory consistently fails to identify these genuinely white arbiters. The definition of whiteness explicitly states that this core group does not exist; whiteness is apparently, like an onion. As a process of inclusion and exclusion exercised by an elite with no identifiable set of physical characteristics to speak of, how are we to identify the arbiters of acceptable whiteness? And if we can identify them by way of their political or economic power, what then is the concept of whiteness needed to understand that power? </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Third</span>, the lack of distinction between processes of inclusion and exclusion, and an identifiable set of people who bear the physical characteristics of whiteness undergirds the push to redefine racism as an act that can only be performed by white people. Now lets follow through this claim to logical conclusions. If white people are the only ones with the power to include and exclude others from civil society, then they ARE the system of racism. This means that the performance of racism is the only characteristic by which we can identify white people; if you see people being racist then we can safely say that those racist people are white, or at least the beneficiaries of white privilege (as is reflected by such slurs as "uncle tom"). </div>
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The most disturbing aspect of the principle that only white people can be racist is not the Orwellian double speak that is used to rationalise the claim as fact, but rather, that it has become a widely held belief by so many within Western society. A belief not only propagated by academics within the humanities, but also by the mainstream journalists and media personalities that we annually churn out of our courses.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Fourth</span>, the reason whiteness is defined as process and not race is because every attempt to define whiteness as a racial category results in spectacular failure<i>. </i>Let’s follow Farid’s claims through to logical conclusions. </div>
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Today many would possibly look at me and comfortably categorize me as Australian, maybe white with the caveat that my heritage is obviously not Anglo-Celtic. When I was growing up in the 1980s and 1990s however, my Italian heritage marked me as noticeably different, though not problematically so. This was the time that Greek’s and Italian’s cheekily appropriated the slur “wog” as a proud mark of identity, and as a giant fuck you to those few Aussies who continued deride us. </div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;">When my family first arrived in the 1950s they were certainly not accepted as white by the Anglo-Celtic mainstream despite their European heritage. Given this non-white history, can we logically claim that I am now guilty of white privilege? At what point did I become white? Is it when the word wog ceased to have any currency? Is it when I conceived a part Italian-Welsh-English child? Is it when I earned my university degree? Earned beyond the tax-free threshold? Did my marriage to South American with native Indian heritage redeem me of my newly acquired white guilt? And if not, what should my penance be? </span></i></div>
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But I digress. The term Anglo-Celtic itself belies these futile attempts to define racial whiteness insofar as it distracts us from remembering the strained history of Irish immigration to Australia. Throughout the nineteenth century the Irish were absolutely excluded from a mainstream Anglo identity, and not at all regarded as white. If we go back further to try rescue the category of whiteness we might return to Britain, the land of Australia’s colonizers. </div>
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This however makes the existence and characteristics of whiteness even elusive insofar as its people were forged through successive waves of domestic infighting and foreign conquest by Romans and Vikings and others besides. Not only does this demonstrate racial impurity, but it muddies the waters regarding our ability to discern the lineage of unearned power and privilege, and at which historical juncture it becomes indisputably coupled with racial whiteness. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">It seems that CRW is right on one thing; racial whiteness is a chimera, a ghost, a fantasy. It does not exist. </span></b></div>
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CRW claims that whiteness is not defined by race, but is constituted by the power to include and exclude people from mainstream Western cultures. Why then, use the term whiteness to denote a system of oppressive power not determined by race? The term whiteness can only be regarded as a surreptitious and dishonest push to <b>infer</b> a stable connection between power, privilege, and whiteness, to distract us from the fact that scholars have absolutely failed to provide evidence of this connection. </div>
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If we were to summarize the principles of CRW we might say that, failing concrete attempts to establish a convincing definition of racial whiteness, theorists have decided to salvage the study of white privilege and power by defining it in terms of processes inclusion and exclusion, which ultimately can be observed within any identity group, be they racial, national, cultural, religious, ethnic, fan communities, or the local football team. As such, theories of CRW are redundant.</div>
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This is not to say that racism does not exist. Rather, the main take away here is that CRW is, at its foundation, logically inconsistent - it does not and cannot uniformly apply its assertions without undermining it core thesis. </div>
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As such it is a bad idea which has offered nothing more that anti-white racism and exacerbated racial tensions in the West, and like all bad ideas it needs to be discarded. </div>
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ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-32242545991698563532017-01-07T11:48:00.000+11:002017-01-31T08:35:00.085+11:00Anti-white racism: a product of academic negligence<div class="p1">
The <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4093360/CNN-s-Don-Lemon-says-Chicago-youths-tortured-mentally-disabled-man-not-evil.html" target="_blank">media and police response</a> to the recent abduction and torture of a white mentally disabled man by four black men and women in Chicago exposes a sickness within Western culture, and as humanities scholars we are all absolutely responsible for the spawning of this sickness.</div>
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Despite the fact that the perpetrators <a href="http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=154_1483565133" target="_blank">live streamed the torture</a> on Facebook, clearly articulating their racial and political motivation (the assailants can clearly be heard chanting Fuck Trump! and Fuck white people!, as well as forcing their victim to proclaim is love of black people), some mainstream media in the US refused to label this attack as racist or racially motivated.</div>
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As many astute critics have asked, would journalists be so generous if the scenario were reversed with whites torturing a black victim, disabled or otherwise? </div>
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What this question foregrounds is a recent revision of the term racism such that it has come to be re-defined as a product of prejudice plus power. In other words, if you are not white you don’t have social or political power and therefore you can only be guilty of prejudice not racism.</div>
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The implication of this redefinition of black people as victimized and white people as victimizers is that it incentivizes black-on-white violence insofar as such violence is characterized as just punishment, and it indicates to potential perpetrators that the consequences for such violence are negligible, and thus worth the personal cost. </div>
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So how did we as a society, get here? Many commentators have rightly pointed to the media and their recent history of race baiting, and biased reporting of the Trump-Clinton election race. I would like to nominate another candidate , one that has helped to shape a generation of journalists and media personalities into uncritical ideologues: humanities scholars.</div>
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Let me elaborate by way of a personal anecdote.</div>
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Last year I was tutoring a social justice/film course, which largely attracted third year students already steeped in the teachings of gender studies, postcolonial studies, queer theory, critical race and whiteness, and so on. It may be worth mentioning that the majority of these students were white.</div>
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In the final class I put forward the following hypothetical to my students:</div>
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Two Mexican men approach a white man and explicitly and clearly state “We are going to beat you up because you are white and we do not like white people.” The two Mexicans proceed to brutally beat up the white man. Is this racism?</div>
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The response was an eery precursor of what has played out in the media these last few days.</div>
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Of a class of around twenty people, one person said yes, this is a dictionary definition of racism. The assailants clearly articulate their motivation as their prejudice against a race different from their own, and therefore the act of violence is racist.</div>
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While most opted out of the ensuing debate, two students staunchly defended their position that while this is clearly prejudiced behavior, it certainly wasn’t racism because racism can only be performed by white people. Why? Racism is prejudice + power and non-white people don’t have power.</div>
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Given that the non-whites in this scenario clearly had physical power to overwhelm another individual, power in numbers, and the social power to freely make and act upon independent decisions, I must presume that my students meant political power.</div>
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When pressed to justify their position they insisted that the redefinition of the term racism is a necessary means by which society must counter the historical oppression of non-whites, temporarily giving non-whites more power within society such that the pendulum can swing back the other way and we can achieve racial equality. No one could tell me who would arbitrate such a process so as to prevent the pendulum from swinging too far in the other direction. </div>
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The fact that the eventual emergence of black oppression of white people hardly seemed a danger to them indicates a belief that they are invested in an unsolvable problem; that whites will always have privilege.</div>
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No one seemed to have a problem with the fact that affirmative action conferring additional power to non-white people would preclude acts of violence against white individuals, even if white victims of this power led their life in a manner that sought to atone for the white guilt inherited from their forebears. In other words, there was no reward or protection for those white people that devoted their entire lives to the project of social equality and the elimination of white privilege. </div>
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Nor did my students seem to be able to process the implications of their position, which completely eliminated any incentive for white people to ascribe to the project of racial equality.</div>
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Also articulated was the factually incorrect claim that white people had for all time conquered and subjected all non-white people throughout the world. I would like to remind you dear reader, that many of these individuals are students of post-colonialism which is almost exclusively concerned with the study of history. I will leave others better versed in the history of humanity to demonstrate how oppression is not the exclusive heritage of white man. </div>
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Ultimately, what ensued within that class room is a demonstration of ideological indoctrination. With every question that I posed which contested the logic of a claim, these two students engaged in rhetorical acrobatics to maintain the plausibility of that claim, rather than allowing themselves to question their beliefs. </div>
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At least they engaged. The silent students, the ones that refused to engage one way or the other are the ones that trouble me most. They trouble me because they have learnt the same material but they appear incapable of using, questioning or debating it.</div>
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These are the opinion makers and thought leaders that we are releasing into society. They are being taught what to think instead of how to think, and when we as educators refuse to challenge them, or give them decent grades for ideas and arguments that are logically untenable, and when we don’t challenge our colleagues that seek to indoctrinate these youth, then we are culpable when our societies turn from reason to violence.</div>
ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-54557225199827463442015-08-09T11:10:00.001+10:002015-08-10T13:48:22.573+10:00Why Games of Thrones does not perpetuate "rape culture"The steady stream of commentary that continues to slam popular TV shows like GoT for perpetuating "rape culture" is logically untenable. The crux of the argument is that such TV programs are overly reliant on sexist tropes, which function to reinforce patriarchal authority and female oppression out here in the real world.<br />
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A principal presumption bolstering this argument is that the representation of women getting raped by men is a trope; one that furnishes the plot with a female victim, and provides the male protagonist with the motivation he needs to spring into heroic action and save the day.<br />
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<b>In GoT, this trope certainly remains prevalent, however we must also acknowledge the prevalence of the trope of the "disposable" male, which sees countless male characters deposed and mutilated. Let's go through some notable examples:</b><br />
<br />
Theon "Wreek" Greyjoy is raped and castrated with the assistance of two sadistic women.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUQ2YEvYCh91mTEjsM1pIx8MEzd10H-YzOFOitoa8Z1H_t_EiI5mxZi-A7dycSXQ8UXnhXVNtFT8TYMFqaWcIdXXq59zDRny3qmS9Eh69J6WeQb0CD_M5FCBMLaYT2s0FpT28EoajRzDn/s1600/sausages.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUQ2YEvYCh91mTEjsM1pIx8MEzd10H-YzOFOitoa8Z1H_t_EiI5mxZi-A7dycSXQ8UXnhXVNtFT8TYMFqaWcIdXXq59zDRny3qmS9Eh69J6WeQb0CD_M5FCBMLaYT2s0FpT28EoajRzDn/s1600/sausages.jpeg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Gendry, the bastard heir to the throne, is seduced by the which Melisandre, who disembarks his engorged penis mid-coitus and places giant monster leeches on said penis to feast.<br />
<br />
There are of course the countless women (Daenerys Targaryen, Cersei Lannister, Melisandre, Margaery Tyrell, Shae, etc) who use sex to achieve power, to maintain power, for pleasure and to seek revenge.<br />
<br />
It is nameless and faceless men who die by the thousands on successive battle fields while women shelter elsewhere. This is indeed comparable to scenes of mass rape north of the wall, however, you will not hear this characterised as the oppression of men. This, despite the fact that men are forced into battle in the name of honour, to sacrifice their lives for overlords for no personal gain. If the representation of female rape perpetuates a culture of violence against women, then what does the representation of the mass slaughter of men perpetuate?<br />
<br />
<b>A second component of the argument is that rape is is never represented in a manner that prompts the audience to reflect on how people use sex to gain, resist or avenge power. </b><br />
<br />
With regards to GoT, I whole heartedly disagree. Cersei is a case in point. A vicious woman who who advises Sansa Stark on the importance of using sex to ones advantage, highlighting how both men and women use sex (in different ways) for personal gain. Moreover, Cersei plots and schemes to have both men and women brutally tortured and killed throughout the series, not least of whom is her own brother. While a victim of rape, and forced into marriage, she is no less a brutal victimiser.<br />
<br />
And what of Catelyn Stark, who takes advantage of Lord Baelish's love for her in a bid to save her daughters, betraying her allies in war, leading to their genocide in the north?<br />
<br />
Ultimately, decrying the brutalisation of one gender whilst ignoring the extreme violence, torture and genocide that befalls the other, enacts the kind of gender discrimination that the "rape culture" argument seeks to undermine. The problem of course, is that if you recognise the systematic violence perpetuated against men, your argument unravels. It cannot be oppression of women if men are also oppressed. Moreover, if men also suffer under patriarchy, how can all men benefit from patriarchy?<br />
<br />
My other problem is that a lot of these arguments are forwarded by those educated within a university system which endorses such feminist analysis on the one hand, then on the other, teaches students that "media effects theory" has been thoroughly debunked. What is media effects you ask? It is the theory that what the media represents is absorbed, believed and re-enacted by the everyday folk who consume such programs. You know the argument, violent video games produce violent citizens, and Hollywood gangster films make everyone think they will profit from crime.<br />
<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GI1fNjdeOvY/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GI1fNjdeOvY?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
These kinds of assumptions have been enshrined in regulations for decades despite the fact that they are nonsense, for instance in the censorship system of the classic Hollywood era in which you could not depict homosexuality, or mixed race couples. While such rules seem ridiculous to many of us in the contemporary era, it is important to acknowledge that it is precisely the same logic that upholds that the representation of rape on television perpetuates rape culture.ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-2351424579836807442014-10-11T11:57:00.003+11:002014-10-11T11:57:52.227+11:00Adapting gaming technology for education<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Adapting computer game
technologies for educational purposes is a practice is from a novel concept.
Some recent developments, like the mod for Minecraft, <a href="http://minecraftedu.com/" target="_blank">MinecraftEdu</a>, appear to
have the potential to win kids over (children are very good at knowing when they
are being tricked into learning).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHMw_-w467ZyuCV-RbM32soEgf6oSLbhKiGM1iUufHbOzdeX8csW6_d0IGDOJNcC5su0pn8urmuZwcmwjXsRDlHCoI_jWVGNIqXNizREIJC1OfvYn46WDLGy-WCTNTXBWyyLn5D9UGRbZL/s1600/minecraftedu.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHMw_-w467ZyuCV-RbM32soEgf6oSLbhKiGM1iUufHbOzdeX8csW6_d0IGDOJNcC5su0pn8urmuZwcmwjXsRDlHCoI_jWVGNIqXNizREIJC1OfvYn46WDLGy-WCTNTXBWyyLn5D9UGRbZL/s1600/minecraftedu.JPG" height="203" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A conversation with fellow
educators at <a href="http://www.2014.thatcampmelbourne.org/" target="_blank">THATCamp Melbourne</a> yesterday highlighted a significant problem
with current business models for funding these experiments in a university
context. One colleague expressed a desire to find an existing program and tool
that would allow her archaeology students to learn archaeology through a
virtual experience, specifically a type of program modelled on RPGs. This
colleague also indicated that she once worked with a Professor in the USA, who
developed a prototype along these lines, and knew that the achievement of such
a project was well beyond the type of budget that she could generate, as well
as beyond her expertise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The fact of the matter is,
that this particular colleague, and many others besides, should not need to
raise the funds to embark on a brand new project because these types have been,
and are being developed by digital humanities departments in universities the
world over. A quick google search of digital humanities institutions will link
you to hundreds of multi-million dollar projects, many of which speak to this
particular archaeological need. The problem is that all of them, even the ones
that have been completed long ago, were created in a university setting.
Researchers involved in these projects do so to address specific research
questions and problems that they have identified. When the research project is
wrapped up and the grants dry up, and the researchers move on to the next big
problem, the actual tool becomes a part of the discarded detritus that
populates our virtual spaces. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Researchers as a general
rule are not interested in profit or business and because of this, have no
cause to ensure that their investment can and will be used to resolve
continuing problems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So this leads me to a
potential solution. Researchers need to seek out collaborations with existing
companies who produce popular games. The company needs to be carefully targeted
on the basis that it:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">produces a game that
students a likely to be attached to or familiar with;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">produces a game with an
existing world that can be adapted to their educational needs.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Like MInecraftEdu, the
purpose of the collaboration is to create a mod for an existing game that can
cater to your education needs. The advantages of this approach is:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">gaming companies have the
capital to bankroll this project, so billions of taxpayer dollars don’t need to
be sunk into projects that produce zero results. If scholars needed to
contribute any money, the grants they seek could be significantly smaller and
more achievable;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">they are already experts at
creating these worlds, a key problem with university generated programs is the
interface and graphics are so primitive and clunky, they are very unlikely to
engage students at all, defeating the purpose of the project;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">and it dovetails with the pseudo-capitalist management style of universities which insist that academics develop public-private partnerships. It also helps to build some value into a
university brand.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Clearly, for a proposal like
this to gain any traction, said researcher would need to demonstrate to the
company whom they are approaching, that this idea is a profitable one. There
are many ways to do this, but one important strategy is to network with colleagues
and to get them on board to demonstrate interest in a product ahead of time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Many of you more familiar
with the revenue model and labour processes within the games industry may take
issue with this proposal, it may even already be a prevalent approach. In any case, your feedback is more than welcome. This is an
important conversation to have, not least because of the fantastic waste of
money within the university system on substandard technologies that never get
off the ground; money that taxpayers have worked hard to earn, and money that
is ostensibly earmarked for the education of future generations. It also has repercussions beyond a university context, providing new tools for primary and secondary school educators to better engage their students.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0Melbourne VIC, Australia-37.814107 144.96327999999994-38.6164245 143.67238649999993 -37.0117895 146.25417349999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-79015261233535819062014-08-02T20:18:00.001+10:002014-08-02T20:21:43.551+10:00The Truth About Net Neutrality<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/5Z_nBhfpmk4" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Net neutrality is a particularly hot topic at the moment, and most proponents of net neutrality incorrectly reproduce the myth that this regulatory intervention will vouchsafe equal internet access for all. In this video internet philosopher Stefan Molyneux untangles the political web that has lead to broad support for net neutrality. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The key insight to take away from this is that any type of government regulation of economic activity functions to strengthen monopolies, because it is enacted on behalf of, and to benefit powerful lobby groups. Likewise, net neutrality represents an increase in governmental regulation of the internet, with significant implications for the quality of services available to consumers, for the privacy of internet users, and for businesses who are economically vulnerable when governments change the rules of trade via amendments to law and policy.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An important video which has informed a shift in my own position on the topic.</span>ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-1505768248341502292014-07-24T23:16:00.001+10:002014-07-24T23:16:36.830+10:00Transcendence, the Singularity and Anarchism: a Promethean Tale?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirP4Dav4e6UEOOnMW3TcB2MBnD1PaAG7TJNaMSn-z6gIaGMBCgFXgD0unalF4E53KxHsJ13GV9SH0R6Nq2H9wsuY_EznM5fa4OevWygP_jhHC-Hl-T7uhqA0vWBZZTnkiTjZ0sCqlFwv5w/s1600/trans+coomp.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirP4Dav4e6UEOOnMW3TcB2MBnD1PaAG7TJNaMSn-z6gIaGMBCgFXgD0unalF4E53KxHsJ13GV9SH0R6Nq2H9wsuY_EznM5fa4OevWygP_jhHC-Hl-T7uhqA0vWBZZTnkiTjZ0sCqlFwv5w/s1600/trans+coomp.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCTen3-B8GU" target="_blank">Transcendence</a></span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> (2014) is the directorial debut of Wally Pfister, better known for his work as the cinematographer who filmed Christopher Nolan's works since <i>Memento. Transcendence </i>is the </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 150%;">story of a leading Artificial Intelligence </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(AI)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 150%;"> researcher, Dr
Will Caster (Johnny Depp) who strives to create AI capable of the full range of human emotions. Following his mortal wounding by
neo-ludite terrorists, Will, with the help of his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall)
and his colleague Max (Paul Bettany), Will’s consciousness is digitalised and uploaded
to the web.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In a
Frankensteinien turn, Max immediately rejects the creation as monstrous
distortion of Will’s former self, and eventually joins the terrorist cell that deposed
him of his corporeality. Evelyn is henceforth moved to protect the digital
remnant of her husband, and literally goes underground in New Mexico. Here,
with Will’s ability to generate financial resources, Evelyn oversees the
construction of an expansive facility. This in turn allows Will to grow in
power, size and intelligence, and to ultimately, achieve “the singularity.”<a href="http://www.dailydot.com/opinion/transcendence-science-fiction-real/" target="_blank"> The singularity,</a> as it has been distilled within the narrative logic of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Transcendence</i>, reiterates
ideas in Ray Kurzweil’s most famous work, <i>The Singularity Is Near:
When Humans Transcend Biology</i>. The singularity is here defined as,
“the union of human and machine, in which the knowledge and skills embedded in
our brains will be combined with the vastly greater capacity, speed, and
knowledge-sharing ability of our own creations.” This process, which Will
prefers to describe as “transcendence” endows him with an analytical power vastly "greater than the collective intelligence of every person in the history of the world."</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 150%;"> As he
develops a God-like ability to regenerate all life, Will sets about the
eradication of famine, illness and even environmental damage, and in the
process, copies his digital self into every organism that he comes into contact
with.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The key
problematic forwarded within <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Transcendence</i>
is whether or not technological advancement is the solution to, or the symptom
of, the seemingly inevitable extinction of humanity? Given the opportunity,
should we transcend our present human condition, or should we revert to a state
of nature? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What is most
compelling about this film is its ambiguous rendering of the heroes and
villains of the narrative. Is Will conducting himself in the best interests of
humanity? Or has his digitalisation eliminated his capacity for ethical
decision-making? Interestingly, neither Max nor Evelyn conduct themselves with
the assurance necessary for spectators to be confident that they have
identified the true protagonist of the film. No one character, not even Morgan
Freeman, serves as a moral barometer of right and wrong, which forces audiences
to hazard their own moral judgement in order to try and work out who they
should identify with. The catch is that insofar as the decisions made by each
and every character helps to bring about a post-apocalyptic nightmare, there is
no hero. In this way, the film brings to bear our own complicity in the violent
solutions enacted to resolve collective problems. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Viewed
through the prism of anarchism, the principle failure each of the characters is
the initiation of force, to impose their will upon others. Anarchism, as it has
been elaborated in the work of philosopher <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwrsKGzcZLM" target="_blank">Stefan Molyneaux</a>, posits that in
order to achieve an ethical and mutually beneficial society, the non-aggression
principle is universally applicable to all, NO EXCEPTIONS. The non-aggression principle
holds that it is immoral and impermissible for a person or entity to initiate
force against another. The non-aggression principle thus recognises the right
to self-determination, the freedom of all individuals to make decisions in their
own best interests, and freedom from the threat of physical, psychological or
emotional violence. Each person has sovereignty over their body, the decisions they
make and the material products of their labour. This also means that
individuals are themselves responsible for the consequences of their own decisions
and actions. Within <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Transcendence, </i>each
of the principal characters, at one time or another, violate the non-aggression
principle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzMtIJuuOzzIytSRTgkakhVAKLJ9AVE_1b4URUlOmKPkp1J-D89LRUW3u_T519wdkjJWaQjemdtSSoxJjl_CHATRNqN556dsTWgi2UMMs5UPLS_lzMuhCpxm_T8B2-ughOVRJObI1afqi/s1600/transcendence+solar.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzMtIJuuOzzIytSRTgkakhVAKLJ9AVE_1b4URUlOmKPkp1J-D89LRUW3u_T519wdkjJWaQjemdtSSoxJjl_CHATRNqN556dsTWgi2UMMs5UPLS_lzMuhCpxm_T8B2-ughOVRJObI1afqi/s1600/transcendence+solar.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Most
obviously, the terrorists initiate mass carnage to prevent the development of
AI technology, which sets in train that which they feared – the uploading of human
consciousness and the apparent establishment of an omnipresent totalitarian
regime. While Max is initially a victim of the group insofar as he is
kidnapped, he later actively participates in their violent attack on Will’s New
Mexico facilities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">While Will
does breach the non-aggression principle, the film also draws upon sci-fi
conventions to prompt spectators to mis-judge other of his actions out of fear.
For example, when he heals the local townspeople he alters their bodies, they
become stronger, they are able to regenerate, and he can henceforth co-inhabit
their consciousness. This plot point recalls the canon of sci-fi classics
wherein the human body becomes a cipher for alien infiltration (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Invaders from Mars </i>(William Cameron Menzies, 1953)<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, Invasion of the Body
Snatchers </i>(Don Siegal, 1956)) or technological conquest (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Terminator
2 </i>(James Cameron, 1991)). These sci-fi conventions resonate with the narrative of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Transcendence</i> to suggest that Will is
building an army, and thus undermine spectatorial faith in his motivations.
What is interesting here is that with the exception of the first emergency
surgery, all of the people whom he transforms are volunteers, that is insofar
as Will does not impose his will over these people he has not violated the
non-aggression principle. Moreover, when the “army” is mobilised it is in self-defence.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">It is also worth noting that the visual composition of many scenes elicit a sense of unease with regard to Will's motivations. For instance the endless fields of solar panels that carpet the desert and provide him with the energy he needs to grow, and extends well beyond the frame and well into the distance of each shot. Interior shots of the computer also give this sense that Will's power is becoming tyrannical insofar as it appears all-encompassing and relentless power.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnykWTahDStqfreR4I58F5RswyL3u9ivz6W9GKdJZwKdb6DT71wB0H3TwejHQ1WI_WmppkBnSn9PtXwDACLsUKALgHcR9EmEGGREqGLD54NyY-CXKCvZ2WmShgXHp1rH6cR57JoYR3nNOi/s1600/comp+trans+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnykWTahDStqfreR4I58F5RswyL3u9ivz6W9GKdJZwKdb6DT71wB0H3TwejHQ1WI_WmppkBnSn9PtXwDACLsUKALgHcR9EmEGGREqGLD54NyY-CXKCvZ2WmShgXHp1rH6cR57JoYR3nNOi/s1600/comp+trans+2.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The second arguable
violation enacted by Will is that his actions deny others the right to
self-determination. When he digitally copies himself into the fabric of the
virtual, man-made and natural environment, others who share that environment are
denied a choice in the process. Key to the NAP is the rejection of the belief that
the enforcement of a particular action (even when decided democratically) is
permissible when performed in the best interest of the majority. While it is
revealed that Will did conduct himself in the best interests of all, he denied
others the right to count themselves out. This imposition of Will/will is
emphasised when he reveals to Evelyn that he has extracted data from her body.
Evelyn perceives this as a violent breach of trust insofar as Will has accessed
her body without permission. Motivated by the fear of loosing her, he has
denied her right to agency within the relationship. Like the terrorist’s before
him, his very human fear drives Will to breach the non-aggression principle,
driving Evelyn to leave and then kill him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In the film,
each of the characters allows fear to drive their decision making; fear of
death, of loss and of technological change. And it is this fear, not the
technology, that fuels the use of force, and which dooms the surviving characters
to a pitiful existence picking a living from the detritus of a world that could
have been. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As such the
film counter-points the resurgence of technophobic narratives within the sci-fi
genre (most often spurred by environmental concerns). Much like its B-film forbear,
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfpSXI8_UpY" target="_blank">The Day the Earth Stood Still</a> </i>(Robert Wise, 1951)<i>, Transcendence
</i>warns of how the ability to collaboratively and productively develop technological
solutions, is destined to be undermined by a violent use of technology to
assuage fear. What is unique to this film is how it implicates the spectator in
this future – a factor, I expect, played no small part in the multitude of
unsavoury reviews.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-63895209119011096082014-06-12T11:14:00.001+10:002014-06-12T11:14:39.125+10:00Looking at Sci-Fi Through a Rose-Coloured Lens
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I love science
fiction cinema. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It is, by far
and away, the genre from which I derive the most joy. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I love the exhilarating
action sequences, the awe inspiring special effects, the darkened city streets
slick with rain, I love the thrill of new technological imaginings, and I love
the neo-noir aesthetic that colours these futuristic worlds a darker shade of
dystopia (available in limited palettes of blue, green or charcoal). What I
love most however, are the skilfully crafted hypothetical futures, which prompt
us to ponder human nature and ethics in the here and now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">So it is with
great joy that I am experiencing the current resurgence of the genre. When the
latest blue-tinted trailer explodes onto the screen my skin erupts in a rash of
goose pimples, my heart kicks up a beat, and I dare to hope that this is in
fact, the next <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blade Runner, Terminator
2, Dark City </i>or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Matrix</i>. And while
many of blockbusters do fail to deliver (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Prometheus,
Looper, Elysium </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">After Earth</i>
among them), a great deal of my pleasure derives from that one great film I
find after sifting through the sea of Hollywood crap. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And so
friends, it is after my most recent trip to the cinemas, that I pause to take
stock and reflect upon, what is for me, the high and low point of the current
cycle. Let’s begin with the low.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZwp6y8rZuJ9D9wItfVb_yShYhBSLl5zAdqDQcz3nIYfSfz096OB3evVFWhpYqG9Bhac8DPvccK_8Auuo64iqVn89fBjkDHQQ7uYJ11vsrd1-Jd3o1WLKE8oSeZCYiIgKMRjmUB9Apvti/s1600/eot.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZwp6y8rZuJ9D9wItfVb_yShYhBSLl5zAdqDQcz3nIYfSfz096OB3evVFWhpYqG9Bhac8DPvccK_8Auuo64iqVn89fBjkDHQQ7uYJ11vsrd1-Jd3o1WLKE8oSeZCYiIgKMRjmUB9Apvti/s1600/eot.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">On the face
of itDoug Liman's <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUmSVcttXnI" target="_blank">Edge of Tomorrow</a></i> quite clearly has
the makings of a classic sci-fi flick. Its narrative is set in the not-too-distant
future. This future is beset by alien warfare. The survival of humanity
requires the demonstration of awesome technological might, by both the
characters that populate the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">EoT </i>world
and the filmmakers who created it. (That said, while a small contingent of fans
are lauding the special effects as a successful demonstration of technological
might, my husband has duly noted that the look of the aliens, the governing
logic for the alien behaviour, their Achilles heal, and indeed, the military
technology used to combat them, have all been blatantly ripped off from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Matrix Revolutions</i>). The narrative time
loop also clearly signifies “sci-fi,” as does the presence of Tom Cruise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">What this
film lacks, however, is the requisite thematic concern with the relationship
between the human and technological, or indeed, the human and the alien. A good
science fiction film has us questioning basic assumptions about our own
humanity. Think for instance, of the specialized “PreCrime” police department
in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Minority Report, </i>a film which
locates its characters in technologically-advanced future, as a means to
explore the ethical tension between a desire for safety, and the ability to
exercise free-will<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. </i>Think also, of
the “more human than human” Replicants in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blade
Runner,</i> with their unprecedented capacity for memory and compassion
distinctly lacking in their human counterparts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">For my part,
what sets the excellent sci-fi film apart from the merely good, is the refusal
to provide a sense of narrative closure, prompting audiences to continue questioning
and participating in this world long after the credits stop rolling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">While a quick
tour through the internet reveals a preoccupation with the ending of <em>EoT </em>(see <a href="http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Edge-Tomorrow-Ending-Explained-How-It-Differs-From-Book-43381.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.mtv.com/news/1841519/edge-of-tomorrow-ending/" target="_blank">here</a> for examples), I think this is more an indication
of sci-fi fans desperately trying to grapple with the survival of both protagonists
against all logic. While Hollywood is certainly notorious for tacking inappropriate
“happy” endings onto the tail end of otherwise great films, this is not quite the
case in this instance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Ultimtely, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">EoT </i>fails to utilise its sci-fi motifs
and conventions to illuminate anything new or pressing about human nature and its
evolutionary path. For instance, the implications of Cruise’s transformation
from hapless victim into military machine are not explored. The time loop that
enables him to achieve this transformation is not rendered such that it gives
us pause for thought about the repetitive and senseless brutality sustained by the
rampant militarism represented herein. And it is difficult to ascertain what kind
of threat to humanity the aliens could plausibly embody. Disappointingly, they
seem to merely function as a one dimensional catalyst for Cruise’s evolution
from selfish deserter to selfless hero(has anyone checked for the US military
in the credits?) In short, missed opportunities abound.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">So what,
then, is my high point for the current cycle of the sci-fi genre? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzV6mXIOVl4" target="_blank">Her</a>.</i> That’s right, Spike Jonze’s 2013
film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Her.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">While a
controversial claim, I would suggest that aside from the fact that we view the
world of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Her</i> through a rose-coloured
lens, it clearly qualifies as sci-fi on a number of counts:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<ul>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">it represents a futuristic world, albeit, the not-to-distant future; </span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">it imagines new technology within its narrative, though it does not rely on ground breaking special effects to bring this world to life, that said, imminent technological advancement is fundamental to its narrative;</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">and its themes are squarely centred on the relationship between humans and technology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMaZkPPv3BrydGhYi6j844uhi_pAs5hIdsYhi8weWha5sdVYtGj0ymfa_T8IMHxKQYDl4jiz2TnZ_pUCwQDu-weQaHTo53lcUVo1K-v0l-Q_-X7gRlMrXYETh1s-mdI9m3eTzcfkbQA4nc/s1600/her3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMaZkPPv3BrydGhYi6j844uhi_pAs5hIdsYhi8weWha5sdVYtGj0ymfa_T8IMHxKQYDl4jiz2TnZ_pUCwQDu-weQaHTo53lcUVo1K-v0l-Q_-X7gRlMrXYETh1s-mdI9m3eTzcfkbQA4nc/s1600/her3.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">What allows
this film to take up an esteemed placed within the sci-fi canon is its
carefully crafted love story between man and machine, (a vast cinematic
tradition that stretches back to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Metropolis</i>),
which challenges its audience to maintain a clear distinction between “human”
and “machine.” The film carefully renders our increasingly complex and
emotional attachments with everyday technologies - in this case the operating
system in your personal computer - and shows us the subtle ways that our
humanity is transformed through their regular use. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Terminator</i> and the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Matrix </i>before it, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Her </i>represents
a world in which AI emerges as a reality. However unlike the usual dystopia
brought about by thinking machines, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Her</i>
dares to explore the less spectacular possibilities brought about by such a
development. For instance, possibility that the technologies that we create are
not actually concerned with our demise, that they will in fact exist in an
alternative reality, and may indeed choose to move on to enjoy a future without
their would-be masters/victims. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">By blending sci-fi
and romantic conventions, the film is also able to offer us what I referred to
earlier as the thrill of the new, in the form of a narrative that looks at the
very personal affects of technological advancement. Extending the themes of Jonze’s
earlier and equally brilliant <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eternal Sunshine
of a Spotless Mind, </i>technology is not the bringer of domm <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">per se, </i>but rather illuminates how
humans use technology to overcome emotional hardship, explores the multitude of
ethical conundrums that such a use brings about. And it is these insights, I
think, which constitute the more valuable contributions to the genre to date.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0Australia-25.274398 133.77513599999997-75.0697345 51.157948499999975 24.520938499999996 -143.60767650000003tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-42209344671971648652014-04-30T10:30:00.001+10:002014-04-30T10:32:44.204+10:00What is wrong with "personal responsibility"?<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">As
a university tutor, I read a lot of scholarship critiquing traditional and digital media from a Marxist perspective. Most striking is the somewhat baffling
reiteration that “personal responsibility” is a bad thing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_BuI9RIhsMqMed98q_RnufPFNt7hAynskQrZ8k1u0cY3s24Lv_sCKXobFEYlGqfPqtYGxMur7mkpRs-PtwoKP4hURLQlBdhzgY6FNjt4Do1cIiHfF2tXRzDbsYWlrdprLZi1Ln77KsKH/s1600/loser.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_BuI9RIhsMqMed98q_RnufPFNt7hAynskQrZ8k1u0cY3s24Lv_sCKXobFEYlGqfPqtYGxMur7mkpRs-PtwoKP4hURLQlBdhzgY6FNjt4Do1cIiHfF2tXRzDbsYWlrdprLZi1Ln77KsKH/s1600/loser.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Let
me elaborate via particularly pertinent example. In 2009 the scholars Laurie
Oullette and James Hay published a paper proposing that reality television
programs are a symptom of our neo-liberal context. They argue that the
narratives of programs such as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Biggest Loser </i>and<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Queer Eye for the
Straight Guy </i>effectively instruct people on how to modify their conduct and
assume personal responsibility for their health, their finances and general
welfare. The “problem” identified by Oullette and Hay is that these responsibilities
were once, under pre-1980 Keynesian economic regimes, assumed by the State
(presumably ensuring universal access to key services). According to their
reckoning, the ascension of neoliberal economics has led to the shrinking of
governments - through the privatisation of formerly public assets, deregulation
of the market, and the emergence of public-private partnerships to deliver key
public services - and citizens must now take responsibility for their own
welfare.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">There
are of course a number of problems with this particular proposal. First is the
misinformation regarding the “shrinking” of the State through privatisation and
deregulation. While the trend has certainly been to privatise formerly public
companies, assets and services, the size and spending of governments have grown
exponentially in the same period. This is demonstrated by a <a href="http://lowpollutionfuture.treasury.gov.au/documents/1352/PDF/03_spending_growth.pdf">2008
study</a> of the expansion of the Australian government since 1972, as
reflected in the number of policy interventions (which doubled between 1997-8
and 2007-8), increased taxes and spending, and decreased savings; trends that
have further accelerated in the last four years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">A
second important example of scholarly misinformation is the tendency to
collapse of the distinction between the values and practices associated with libertarianism
and neoliberalism. By and large anarcho-libertarians advocate the universal adoption
of principles such as non-aggression, which logically requires individuals to
accept personal responsibility for their decisions and wellbeing, and the
concomitant abolition of governments on the basis that they are the foremost
perpetrators of violence. While often linked to such values via the use of key
terms such as deregulation and personal responsibility, neoliberalism ultimately
borrows this rhetoric to mask the growth of the military-industrial complex,
and its deployment to criminalise, punish and tax an ever-increasing number of citizens
and activities. Moreover, policy interventions, such as IP, are more often
designed to bolster already existing monopolies rather than liberate trade.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Most
staggering however, is that in a rush to advocate the governmental redistribution
of private wealth as the most appropriate strategy to overcome systemic
inequality and injustice (undeniably well-intentioned causes), there is a
tendency in academia to dismiss, out of hand, the very notion of “personal
responsibility” as bad. It is a “neo-liberal” value and therefore evil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The
repetitive and uncritical characterisation of personal responsibility as an
undesirable phenomenon, within university scholarship, is nonsensical to say
the least. Without the very basic expectation that all individuals assume at
least a modicum of personal responsibility, the entire fabric of society would
disintegrate. Students must complete their work to pass courses, employees must
be productive to generate income for themselves and their employers, and murderers
need to be held accountable for the lives that they have stolen. For every
decision that we do and don’t make, there are consequences. Needless to say
that it is more than a little ironic to suggest that politicians, those
individuals most notorious for abusing power for personal gain, be entrusted as
the first and last bastion of social responsibility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">There
seems to me a certain undercurrent of fear that pervades such scholarship. This
leads me to question why the prospect of personal responsibility posses such a
grand threat for these intellectual giants. Is it a fear of society being
plunged into a post-apocalyptic hell when our moral compass is no
longer centralised and institutionalised? Does it stem from a genuine concern for those lower down
the socio-economic and intellectual ladder, those who apparently lack the
necessary moral and intellectual fibre to avoid the undesirable consequences of
poor life choices? Or is it perhaps, the prospect of having to bear the brunt
of responsibility for their own life choices? For instance, the fear that when
given the choice, those who toil for their hard earned dollars are unlikely to accept
responsibility for the taxes that pay the wages of those ensconced in their
ivory towers. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">For more info see:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Kirsty Laurie and Jason McDonald "A perspective on trends in Australian government spending" </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://lowpollutionfuture.treasury.gov.au/documents/1352/PDF/03_spending_growth.pdf" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 150%;">http://lowpollutionfuture.treasury.gov.au/documents/1352/PDF/03_spending_growth.pdf</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Oullette and Hay "Makeover television, governmentality and the good citizen."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Amanda Malel Trevisanut is currently working as an academic tutor and research assistant. Your comments and thoughts are most welcome. You can contact her at amandatrevisanut@gmail.com</i></span></div>
ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-13298693688046265732014-04-17T14:20:00.001+10:002014-04-17T14:22:37.635+10:00I am not a feminist.<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am not a feminist. The policing of gender is a key cause of violence against individuals. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It seems to me that if policing gender is a cause of violence, then it cannot also be the solution.</span>ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-11856553180690729892014-04-03T10:29:00.000+11:002014-06-27T21:01:16.339+10:00Transcending sexist tropes and stereotypes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVLcbFWtnaTID9xcPVAqLcUEBJrX6AgP7cz2KtVb8Z3oLK351LgKUzSD62VQGWqNxL90VA75NFEhmW2PoYwL9u9qmbBzOBoVHXXWoDPb3x9TIpGI9ELPTKKWlD0n4DBQiHut39eV2m9qMM/s1600/Lara-Croft-22.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVLcbFWtnaTID9xcPVAqLcUEBJrX6AgP7cz2KtVb8Z3oLK351LgKUzSD62VQGWqNxL90VA75NFEhmW2PoYwL9u9qmbBzOBoVHXXWoDPb3x9TIpGI9ELPTKKWlD0n4DBQiHut39eV2m9qMM/s1600/Lara-Croft-22.png" height="400" width="210" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Gender stereotypes and
tropes present the contemporary Western world with a very particular type of
conundrum. As feminists have pointed out for decades, the dominant ways in
which women are represented in popular culture have a tendency of naturalising certain
behaviours, roles and identities as ideally feminine, and demonising others as
a deviation from propriety and decorum. For instance, before the second wave of
feminism washed through the streets of Western civilisation, good women were
represented as serving husbands, tending children and repressing sexual desire.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Our ability to resist,
abolish and transcend these modes of categorisation, is however, fundamentally
limited by the fact that such categories have a certain social currency that
cannot be easily done away with. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">For instance, stereotypes
and tropes have a symbolic utility, they allow for easy communication of
meaning between individuals based in existing and recognisable conventions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Many roles and tropes derive
from biological experience; motherhood and attraction to sexy women (and men) are
not simply cultural constructions (though the machinations of culture may
certainly over-emphasise these qualities to the detriment of all else).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Moreover, there is a certain
pleasure invoked, particularly by more salacious content, which is experienced
bodily and emotionally, and cannot be summarily denied because of a cerebral
recognition that this content should be experienced as offensive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">These are key oversights in
my own discussion of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Frozen </i>a few
days ago, in which I critiqued the film for reproducing limited male
stereotypes even as it subverted the trope of romantic love. While I still hold
that the film’s one-dimensional male characters perpetuate negative stereotypes
of men, these must also be recognised as providing filmmakers with a certain
communicative utility and enabling them to achieve its narrative subversions (namely
the triumph of sisterly love displacing Disney’s obsession true love’s first
kiss).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This is a key point that pop
culture critics tend to overlook when calling on companies to abandon representational
conventions, which they deem to be sexist, racist or any other form of –ist
(yes <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6p5AZp7r_Q" target="_blank">Anita Sarkeesian</a>, I am looking at you). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Banishing, regulating,
demonising or otherwise censoring cultural tropes and stereotypes is an
insidious form of social control that undermines the very freedom of communication
that feminists and other such activists apparently pine for. Such actions do
not “liberate” the oppressed from harmful expectations, but rather, institutes a
different ideological framework that nonetheless reflects the values of a select
group of people within broader society.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Moreover, such actions can
be seen to compound the problem insofar as it restricts representation and
delimits the possible models of gender with which audiences can identify. (For
instance, the buxom portrayal of Lara Croft wielding a cache of guns is
appealing to some women).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The solution I think is
twofold. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">First, rather than demanding
the cessation of “offensive” representations, the solution is to forgo regulation
such that the diversity of experiences, identities and values are allowed to manifest
in a magnificent variety of new tropes and stereotypes from which we can all
draw. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Second, critique must be
balanced with a willingness to create new content thereby challenging the
dominance of “offensive” traditions with new possibilities. While the internet
is still in its infancy, as a distribution and exhibition platform it is
already undermining the dominance of entrenched representational conventions by
allowing diverse and ordinary people to share their audiovisual creations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Ultimately, the proliferation
of new tropes and stereotypes offers individuals a myriad of possible
identifications without curtailing their ability to freely communicate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361825952768103527.post-59509112649422104712014-03-29T12:17:00.000+11:002014-06-27T21:06:01.652+10:00Is Copyright Cultural Theft?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Last night my daughter and I
settled in to watch the 2013 blockbuster <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Lone Ranger, </i>directed by Gore Verbinski, and produced by six companies
including Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films and a rather suspect organisation
(in terms of <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121018/01054720744/hollywood-accounting-how-19-million-movie-makes-150-million-still-isnt-profitable.shtml" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Hollywood accounting practice</span></a>) called Silver Bullet Productions
(II).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uRYRYvTj7T5ByPH_Yiiy3PphX5R6DpAWRJNi0VjTCig7FV6Db_T6Z8DV8a4wZPkzP5a1wX229nP5_KeZ7XyJabUe2ENHaBMOlKSVTlYooxBniH6mNiTB7IqTXa_Mv2avGfK2flhjghM9/s1600/lone+ranger.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uRYRYvTj7T5ByPH_Yiiy3PphX5R6DpAWRJNi0VjTCig7FV6Db_T6Z8DV8a4wZPkzP5a1wX229nP5_KeZ7XyJabUe2ENHaBMOlKSVTlYooxBniH6mNiTB7IqTXa_Mv2avGfK2flhjghM9/s1600/lone+ranger.jpeg" height="248" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">While hardly a masterpiece,
it made for enjoyable Friday evening in. This was, in part, due to that
familiar brand of humour that Verbinski imbues into his films including the
first three instalments of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pirates of
the Caribbean </i>(2003, 2006, 2007), also produced in collaboration with
Disney and Bruckheimer. Moreover, who can resist Johnny Depp’s incarnation as
Tonto, despite the fact that it bears a remarkable similarity to his
performance and appearance as Jack Sparrow in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pirates.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And the film’s connection to
Hollywood history runs far deeper that the creative talent involved in its
production. To the degree that the </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">film labours the motif of crashing trains and pocket watches, it is an over-enthusiastic nod to</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Martin Scorcese's 2011 feature </span><i style="font-family: Arial;">Hugo, </i><span style="font-family: Arial;">and the early cinema </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">which it references.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Lone Ranger</i> is also, of
course, an iconic hero of US popular culture with various media incarnations, which
can be traced back to the 1915 book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Lone Star Ranger </i>by Zane Grey. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">More popularly remembered
are the radio show comprising over 3,000 episodes transmitted between 1933 and
1956; the two Republic Film serials released in 1938 and 1939; the ABC TV
series which ran for eight seasons from 1949 to 1957; innumerable <a href="https://www.natcom.org/CommCurrentsArticle.aspx?id=2805" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">comic book</span></a>
serials; and six different movies, including the latest Verbinski offering.
While George W. Trendle is a key force that brought the character to life from
its early radio days, authorship of, and the right to represent <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Lone Ranger,</i> has been a matter of <a href="http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/Home/4/1/73/1017?articleID=68490" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">legal contention</span></a> at various points through the twentieth century. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The convoluted authorship
and representational evolution of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Lone Ranger</i> got me thinking, once more, about some key problems with the
concept of intellectual property (IP). A couple of weeks ago I proposed that in
place of IP laws criminalising consumers of copyrighted content, industry
players needed to catch up to the possibilities of digital technology and
deliver content to their audiences in the forms and time frames that they
demand. This would eliminate a whole category of criminal behaviour and enable
companies to profit from audiences rather than alienating them. This led to a
small but somewhat heated exchange on a separate social media site.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">A key thrust of the discussion
whether or not IP law is necessary to protect innovation. The suggestion by one
individual was that for individuals to reasonably profit from their innovation,
they need laws to protect them from competition with “imitators and ‘come
lately’ copiers.” This position accords with the popular view that for society
to achieve progress, there must be financial incentive for individuals to
expend time, money and considerable risk innovating. And the collective
progress of society is a fair concern.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><b>I would, however, content
that IP actually stifles innovation and progress, and moreover, amounts to a form of
social and cultural theft.</b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The creative individual –
the craftsperson, the artist, engineer, code writer, and in film, the auteur –
effectively draws on knowledge, skills, technologies, and indeed a canon of
existing works, to create something new. While a particular individual, or
group of individuals, may indeed innovate an idea or technology that
revolutionises their sector, that particular innovation is nothing without the
innovations that have come before, and moreover, it contributes to stable of
skills, knowledge and technologies from which their peers can subsequently draw.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">A key example here would be
Disney. The canon of classic and modern Disney animations draws from fairy
tales that are many hundreds of years old including <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella,</i> and<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Pinocchio, </i>the tales of Hans Christian Anderson including <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Frozen </i>(adaptation of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Snow Queen</i>)<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, </i>and of course A.A. Milne’s literary classic <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Winnie the Pooh. </i>These animations, particularly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Snow White, </i>were lauded for their
technical innovation. It remains, however, that these animations were not original
to the degree that they represented characters and narratives authored by
others. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">If Disney has historically
exercised the right to draw and profit from the cultural canon, which we have
all inherited, it holds that the corporation cannot (or at least should not)
demand the right to prevent its own creations from entering into the public
domain. And yet, this is exactly what has happened. As the graph bellow
demonstrates, in the USA the period of copyright as been intermittently
extended and is currently the life of the author plus 120 years. Without these
extensions beloved characters such as Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh would
already be within the public domain.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHs5h-LOGXX9B-n8s_OR2yg7csMAyPzpsww7uFB0whsXK6QVYNqBk97uJ6UztxL2Xk8lH6j7wKxzM8vfJjV7leX9FCWablcyTHscxbopjlTUNgESO4EczJIHR371tsmazNwk-EEQmX091K/s1600/copyright+graph.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHs5h-LOGXX9B-n8s_OR2yg7csMAyPzpsww7uFB0whsXK6QVYNqBk97uJ6UztxL2Xk8lH6j7wKxzM8vfJjV7leX9FCWablcyTHscxbopjlTUNgESO4EczJIHR371tsmazNwk-EEQmX091K/s1600/copyright+graph.png" height="246" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">For my part, I subscribe to
the anarchist view that government is immoral insofar as it uses force to
secure the economic, individual and political rights of a few powerful people
and special interest groups. In the world of film, these people and groups are
more often than not, the holders of copyrights in old works on the verge of
expiring – for instance, the Gershwin family trust, grandchildren of Oscar
Hammerstein and Disney – and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which
is essentially, an extremely powerful lobby group representing the large
Hollywood studios. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Ultimately the extension of
old copyrights, which in some instances have been retroactively applied to
expired products, does not protect future innovation, but rather, secures a
revenue stream for familial and corporate dynasties who had no hand in the
creation. These groups drain money from the market without offering anything
back in the form of productivity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">On a final note, it has been
said that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15wxWLDmnAE" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">IP prevents competition</span></a>, which is absolutely necessary for driving
the quality of products up. Competition forces businesses to innovate new ways
to attract the consumer dollar, for instance by providing a superior product in
terms of quality, through competitive pricing, or by targeting a niche
demographic. Without such competition, incentive to provide the best possible product
to the consumer diminishes. For many, this is reflected by the current state of
Hollywood film, which has no competition for its budget products, and which have
lately failed to wow audiences by pushing the envelope with regards to special
effects, generic innovation and narrative. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><b>IP laws don’t defend the
rights of authors to profit from innovation, but rather enables large
corporations to profit from cultural knowledge without giving anything back,
starving culture of the new ideas and knowledge that nourishes it. </b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It is in
this sense this sense that IP is tantamount to cultural theft.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
ScreenvsLifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16924196200105839478noreply@blogger.com0