succession + the onion 2 (part one)
hey did you know that uhh
- i. the monster's body is a cultural body
- ii. the monster always escapes
- iii. the monster is the harbinger of category crisis
- iv. the monster dwells at the gates of difference
- v. the monster polices the borders of the possible
- vi. fear of the monster is really a kind of desire
- vii. the monster stands at the threshold… of becoming
oh shit i didn't expect this to actually get notes lmao
these are all direct quotes from jeffrey jerome cohen's "monster culture (seven theses)" (full pdf linked) i highly encourage you to read it yourself!
that said, while i think cohen's writing is evocative, it can be a little dense, so while i'm here, here's my capsule summary (you can also hear me talk about this in the first episode of my podcast) (listen to @ghostswerepeopletoo)
- i. the monster's body is a cultural body - The monster is a work of fiction to be analyzed through tools of literary and sociological theory.
- ii. the monster always escapes - As long as the cultural fear from which the monster stems persists, the monster will reappear in retellings, reimaginings, and sequels.
- iii. the monster is the harbinger of category crisis - Monsters defy binaries and challenge easy comprehension or categorization.
- iv. the monster dwells at the gates of difference - The monster represents the Other.
- v. the monster polices the borders of the possible - Tales of the monster exist to discourage unacceptable or taboo behaviors.
- vi. fear of the monster is really a kind of desire - Subjects can vicariously participate in the disruption of the social order through the monster.
- vii. the monster stands at the threshold… of becoming - Within the monster we find information about the self.
I wish to survive long enough to someday see the end of the 2016 election
its been over six years since i wrote this for the love of god please
This is blowing up, and from the tags way too many people seem to imagine my conception of ‘the 2016 election’ = trump is around. That is a part of it of course, very tragic his head wasn’t exploded, but I would like to clarify that ‘the 2016 election’ is also an era characterized by ‘democrats are owed your votes by default you stupid ungrateful slobs’
That’s why I replied that I wanted the 1992 election to end, because that’s when the Democrats decided that what the public really wanted more than any other possible combination was a right-wing Democrat, and they’ve been running them ever since on the justification that, hey, Clinton won (but always ignoring that exit polls showed that if Perot hadn’t run the most successful third-party campaign in decades, Bush would have won reelection instead).
i need all of you to understand if this is your first or even your second election: some of us have been through this with the Democratic party time and time and time and time and time and time again. every election is another version of what you are seeing play out in front of you. Obama was supposed to be the change candidate. we have been sold countless lies and platitudes, told that we must hold our nose and vote for the lesser evil, some of us now for 20~ years. it’s starting to feel like maybe help isn’t on the way.
MTV Video Music Awards Posters, 1999
Britney Spears as Violetta Valéry (La Traviata, Giuseppe Verdi) Janet Jackson as Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare in Egitto G. F. Händel) Chris Rock as Rigoletto (Rigoletto, Giuseppe Verdi) Ozzy Osbourne as Pagliacci (Pagliacci, Ruggero Leoncavallo) David Bowie as Mephistopheles (Faust, J. W. Goethe) Madonna as Norma (Norma, Vincenzo Bellini)
Photography: Mark Seliger / David LaChapelle (Madonna)
« The obsessive fear of the Americans is that the lights might go out. […] In the tower blocks the empty offices remain lit. On the freeways, in broad daylight, the cars keep all their headlights on. In Palms Ave., Venice, California, a little grocery store […] leaves its orange and green neon sign flashing all night, into the void. And this is not to mention the television, with its 24-hour schedules, often to be seen functioning like an hallucination in the empty rooms of houses or vacant hotel rooms […].
There is nothing more mysterious than a TV set left on in an empty room. […] It is as if another planet is communicating with you. Suddenly the TV reveals itself for what it really is: a video of another world, ultimately addressed to no one at all, delivering its images indifferently […].
In short, in America the arrival of night-time or periods of rest cannot be accepted, nor can the Americans bear to see the technological process halted. Everything has to be working all the time, there has to be no let-up in man’s artificial power, and the intermittent character of natural cycles (the seasons, day and night, heat and cold) has to be replaced by a functional continuum that is sometimes absurd […].
You may seek to explain this in terms of fear […]. The skylines lit up at dead of night, the air-conditioning systems cooling empty hotels in the desert and artificial light in the middle of the day all have something both demented and admirable about them. The mindless luxury of a rich civilization, and yet of a civilization perhaps as scared to see the lights go out as was the hunter in his primitive night. »
— Jean Baudrillard, America
"the world isn't kind" ok??? Much more importantly are you?????
"the world isnt kind" skill issue. I am
Not to be serious on a silly post but also this is basically my entire philosophy on life and the human experience.
It is 100% my belief that if you are not being kind and doing your best to take care of yourself, the people around you, and those you love, that you are wasting this opportunity of life and love.
Because it’s true! The world is not kind, but that shouldn’t matter. You CAN be kind, and is that choice not the most important?
I believe in humanity’s ability to love and care for one another, I believe that the cooperation we see between people during times of crisis is the best version of us we can be. Very often they don’t know each other, all they know is that they are in this together!
If I have the ability to be kind? You bet your ass I’m going to be the kindest motherfucker I can be.
Love humans.
Love yourself.
Take care of your communities.
sometimes i remember who mulder and scully are and i'm like oh my god
ppl who fancast miles as a hot 20 year old with abs when he’s described as a 30 year old stoner and his appearance is often compared to a scruffy bear with a wild beard. cowards.
Emily Henry novels!
beach read / people we me meet on vacation / book lovers / happy place / funny story
throwing a grenade and then immediately throwing myself on top of it to save everyone
i completely miss the grenade and everyone in the room dies including me
Democrat political strategy
Why is it so hard to grasp that they aren’t trying to save anyone.
There are detailed diatribes written by educated experts in their fields on how to, step by step, fix climate change, poor education, homelessness, poverty, declining public health, declining birthrates, weak economic standing, amd international relations. Budgeted, costed, planned. Just needs the ok from the powerful.
And dems get power. And then what.
i'd rather be drinking hot apple cider than be chased by a massive spider
"im gonna kill myself" [remembers that suicide jokes scare my loved ones] "and im taking you with me!"