Word The Cat

Comic book intellectual and new media theorist Douglas Rushkoff calls for an electronic renaissance (as opposed to a revolution) based on participatory culture. by this he means a new dimensionality on a par with the european renaissance’s re-figuring of the earth as round and the changes to authorship that the invention of the printing press brought on:

“Perhaps the most valuable idea to plant now, into the post-renaissance society of tomorrow, is the very notion of renaissance itself. Interactivity, both as an allegory for a healthier relationship to cultural programming, and as an allegory for a healthier relationship to cultural programming, and as an actual implementation of a widely accessible authoring technology, reduces our dependence on fixed narratives while giving us the tools and courage to develop narratives together. The birth of interactive technology has allowed for a sudden change of state. We have witnessed altogether the wizard behind the curtain. We can all see, for this moment anyway, how so very much of what we have perceived of as reality is, in fact, merely social construction. More importantly, we have gained the ability to enact such wizardry ourselves.” (2003: 39)

Stephen Duncombe (in a 2 / part interview) discusses the idea of a participatory ‘ethical’ spectacle (narrative) in which everyone is aware of the illusiory nature of the political information they receive by virtue of their role in creating it.

“Ethical spectacle fools no one. It is at its best when it is obvious what it is: just a spectacle. Like the architecture of Las Vegas or the campy performance of pro wrestling, one can also stage spectacles that don’t pretend to be reality but wear their constructed nature on their sleeve. They are spectacles which present themselves as spectacles. As such, these dreams performed become, in their own way, real. Illusion may be a necessary part of politics but delusion need not be.”

…historically…

“The brilliance of FDR is that he and his New Deal administration, like King and his fellow organizers, recognized the necessity of spectacle in politics. Because of this they worked hard to re-imagine spectacle in a way that could fit progressive, democratic ends. The 1920s were an era much like our own in its worship of celebrity: a mediated world of movie stars on the silver screen and sports heroes in the new photo-tabloids. But instead of merely condemning this state of affairs, New Deal artists and administrators re-imagined it, using photographs sponsored by the Farm Securities Agency and murals painted by artists of the Works Progress Administration to recognize and display a different sort of American: the dust bowl farmer, the southern share cropper, the factory worker, the rootless migrant. By creating these counter-spectacles they tried to turn the public gaze from stars to everyday (albeit romanticized) people, essentially redefining “The People” in the popular imagination. Make no mistake, this was a deeply political move, as valorizing everyday people was essential for garnering political support for New Deal political and economic programs.”

Some spectacles live longer than others – the rootlessness poverty creates became the aesthetic of choice for post-war US counter culture – now Bruce Springsteen can afford a blue platinum collar singing about old tom joad.

Rooseveltica from Willie Eason, recorded in the late 90s in a Florida church:

Wilie Eason – Franklin D. Roosevelt, A Poor Man’s Friend 256k 11mb

what i find most telling about this whole topic is how much people are obsessed with narrative (participatory, ethical, non-european/eurocentric, simultaneously occuring). forwards to evolutionary leaps, mckenna renaissance and the graph of novelty? watch me crank dat anti-linear counter-discourse.

PLP – Watch Me Crank That Roosevelt 160k 6.6mb