Nattefrost in his Bathtub, Oslo, 2005 - Peter Beste, http://www.stevenkasher.com/html/artistresults.asp?artist=333
I can hypnotize a man without his knowledge or consent into
committing treason against the United States.- Dr. Estabrooks - Chairman of the Department of
Psychology at Colgate University,
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has helped clear rubble and
plant flowers as she visited two housing schemes near Cape Town, South
Africa.
They cleared rubble from the site and planted flowers and a tree.
"This is what I really believe in," she was quoted as saying during the tour. "I
mean, I have travelled literally all over the world and when people
organise themselves and are given the tools and the training to really
empower themselves and their future and build houses and communities,
that's what's lasting."
When one woman asked if Mrs Clinton
wanted to make a contribution she explained she had no money on her,
and turned to Africa envoy Johnnie Carson, who drew a $50 note from his
wallet. "These are good businesswomen," Mrs Clinton said.
--
American Utopias
From the point of view of most Hollywood filmmaking, these utopian
strategies are used to mirror the hegemonic structures found in
society. Instead of imagining an alternate space as a resistance to
dominant society, these films place USA as the utopian space. Such an
argument follows what Jean Baudrillard provocatively argues in his book
America: the US is utopia achieved and because of this, there
are no poor people in USA. ”The have-nots will be condemned to
oblivion, to abandonment, to disappearance pure and simple. […] And
rightly so, since they show such bad taste as to deviate from general
consensus.” (Baudrillard 111). Baudrillard’s argument must of course be
understood as ironic, and as pointing to the ideological erasure of the
poor, rather than a serious argument of no poverty in America.
...
Consider Gattaca (Andrew Niccol 1997) which portrays the
struggle of Vincent who tries to become an astronaut despite being
considered an in-valid, due to his faulty genes. Diagnosed with a life
expectancy of no more than 30 years, Vincent goes on to prove the
system wrong by living longer and becoming an astronaut in spite of the
immediate rejection. However, this does not result in the film
portraying the system as problematic, but simply presenting Vincent as
a heroic figure. Society is not challenged, as Vincent is praised.
Here, the film rejects sympathizing with the in-valids and by extension
those that the in-valid symbolically represent: poor people and people
of color. The film’s conclusion is the individual’s victory over the
system, not the collapse or change of society. The individual succeeds
in spite of the society, but this also indicates that anyone may
succeed, despite the conditions they are born. Matters of race and
class – folded into the image of the in-valids – are rejected as
arguments for one’s situation. The geneticism Vincent faces can still
be conquered, if you work hard enough: no social divide is so large
that it cannot be overcome. While this may seem as a positive thing, it
is also reactionary view which denies the need for change, since “the
talented will overcome”.
(excerpts)
New Mappings (Denmark)
--
ce399 note:
Do you really want to spend the rest of your life on this planet being a "photo-journalist" at Auschwitz?
