Radical black feminist writer and activist Audre Lorde found productive potential in anger. According to Lester Olson, in his article "Anger among allies": “Lorde distinguished between anger and hatred, and she salvaged the former as potentially useful and generative” (p. 287). Lorde’s distinction between anger and hatred is developed in a quote from her remarks: … Continue reading Thoughts on polemics, Audre Lorde, and Do the Right Thing
Tag: film
Zagreb, Croatia: a travelogue – Part 1
I’m not sure what I expected Croatia to be like. I knew about the Dalmatian coast, renowned for its natural beauty and Mediterranean character. It’s the most visited part of the country, having been a tourist hotspot for decades for precisely those reasons. I knew about the Istria region, where residents of the seaside towns … Continue reading Zagreb, Croatia: a travelogue – Part 1
Wound Culture and Public Space: Mark Seltzer’s concept of the pathological public sphere
Mark Seltzer: Serial Killers (II): The Pathological Public Sphere Critical Inquiry, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Autumn, 1995), pp. 122-149 Seltzer’s essay on serial killers and the pathological public sphere immediately calls J.G. Ballard to mind. Eventually Seltzer does cite Ballard, but it is in reference to Ballard’s Atrocity Exhibition, a selection that renders the author’s omission … Continue reading Wound Culture and Public Space: Mark Seltzer’s concept of the pathological public sphere
Ender’s Game analyzed, the Stanley Parable explored, Political Economy of zombies, semiotics of Twitter, much more
It's been a long time since the last update (what happened to October?), so this post is extra long in an attempt to catch up. I haven't seen the new Ender's Game movie, but this review by abbeyotis at Cyborgology calls the film "a lean and contemporary plunge into questions of morality mediated by technology": … Continue reading Ender’s Game analyzed, the Stanley Parable explored, Political Economy of zombies, semiotics of Twitter, much more
Inside Korea’s gaming culture, virtual worlds and economic modeling, Hollywood’s Summer of Doom continues, and more
I've long been fascinated by the gaming culture in South Korea, and Tom Massey has written a great feature piece for Eurogamer titled Seoul Caliber: Inside Korea's Gaming Culture. From this westerner's perspective, having never visited Korea, the article reads almost more like cyberpunk fiction than games journalism: Not quite as ubiquitous, but still extremely common, are PC Bangs: … Continue reading Inside Korea’s gaming culture, virtual worlds and economic modeling, Hollywood’s Summer of Doom continues, and more
Videodrome turns 30
David Cronenberg's Videodrome premiered in February 1983. To mark the 30th anniversary of the film's release, Cyborgology co-founder Nathan Jurgenson reflects on the New Flesh in relation to contemporary social media: Videodrome’s depiction of techno-body synthesis is, to be sure, intense; Cronenberg has the unusual talent of making violent, disgusting, and erotic things seem even … Continue reading Videodrome turns 30
Warren Ellis on violent fiction, death of the Western, Leatherface as model vegan
Slate writer Forrest Wickman was recently shocked to discover that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre functions as pro-vegetarian propaganda. Wickman writes that Chainsaw Massacre is "the last movie you'd expect" to be pro-vegetarian, but I thought this had been the general reading of the movie for years. I recall a reviewer's blurb on my video copy … Continue reading Warren Ellis on violent fiction, death of the Western, Leatherface as model vegan
Zimmerman media coverage, remediation in Game of Thrones, Scorcese on reading cinema, and much more
William Saletan at Slate shows how media coverage has misrepresented Juror B29's comments on the Zimmerman trial verdict:The reports are based on an ABC News interview with Juror B29, the sole nonwhite juror. She has identified herself only by her first name, Maddy. She’s been framed as the woman who was bullied out of voting … Continue reading Zimmerman media coverage, remediation in Game of Thrones, Scorcese on reading cinema, and much more
The Ideology of Scarface, Community as PoMo masterpiece, Present Shock reviewed, etc.
I posted a video from the PBS Idea Channel on Baudrilliard and hyperreality a while back, and hadn’t kept up with the channel since. I recently came across a couple of their other videos and enjoyed them enough to want to share. This video assesses the TV show Community as a postmodern masterpiece: And in … Continue reading The Ideology of Scarface, Community as PoMo masterpiece, Present Shock reviewed, etc.
Next-gen gaming with Oculus Rift, McLuhan on surveillance state, Rushkoff on viral media
Brian Phillips at Grantland thinks spy movies present a fantasy of tourism: The spy is the ideal tourist because he represents an inner self perfectly contained within an outer self that is adapted to any possible location or circumstance. Travel can broaden him by the width of a new sexual conquest, but for the most … Continue reading Next-gen gaming with Oculus Rift, McLuhan on surveillance state, Rushkoff on viral media