Neoliberal economics is killing the arts
By Tim Lutton, originally published by Red Pepper May 28, 2024
"...As a society, we must resist art-as-capital, where it is reduced to pure exchange value in a market of commodities. There, any politically-charged and counter-hegemonic content is rendered powerless, constituted as a stable harmonisation of the dominant socio-political order and drowning out all contradictions.
...In the present era, the tendency towards total marketisation of artistic production accompanies perpetual austerity and an atomised rentier economy that is shrinking public and social life. Without a rupture from neoliberal capitalism in general, the means to make new, generative and disruptive art disappears, and much else that is meaningful in our lives will follow after. The rest is silence."
The Chinese government has started a new social-media crackdown, this time targeting conspicuous displays of wealth. In April, the country's internet regulator announced a campaign against influencers who “create a ‘wealth-flaunting’ persona, deliberately showcasing a luxurious life built on money, in order to attract followers and traffic.” Wealth-flaunters are now being removed from platforms like Douyin, the equivalent of TikTok. The move comes as China is experiencing an economic slowdown. Here's more from NBC.
After the 2016 election, brands became activists in weird and wonderful ways. "Burger King championed net neutrality; a frozen-meat brand soliloquized about the perils of disinformation on social media; on January 6, Axe body spray declared its faith in the 'peaceful transition of power'," writes Vox's Michael Serazio. The political landscape today is as fraught as then and the world is picking sides. But brand-land is silent. What gives?
Our Moon: How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are by Rebecca Boyle, 2024
Acclaimed journalist Rebecca Boyle takes readers on a dazzling tour to reveal the intimate role that our 4.51-billion-year-old companion has played in our biological and cultural evolution.
The Japan Times interviewed me for a May 27, 2024 article on #bilingual#education (1st picture).
While the newspaper article is for paying subscribers, the reporter Eric Margolis agreed that the publication Bilingual Japan of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (#JALT) #Bilingualism SIG may publish the full interview. After that issue comes out next month, I will make the article available in research repositories.
The article is subtitled "Japan wants its next generation to be fluent in English. Culture and economic inequality stand in the way." What it means by #culture getting in the way is treated in my answer as to why the #English level in #Japan is relatively low (2nd picture).
The conclusion quotes part of my response to the common opinion that #foreign#languages are not needed in Japan (3rd picture). My complete answer also predicts that the increasing influx of foreign #tourists and #residents will change that complacent attitude.
Sociology professor Christopher T. Conner started looking into the QAnon movement four years ago, but his research soon broadened into all kinds of conspiracy theorists, from race scientists to New Age spiritualists. He writes for @TheConversationUS about why people are susceptible and how politicians and influential figures take advantage of them. Do you have conspiracy theorists in your life (if you don't know any, maybe it's you 👀)?
Previously: Daniel Chacón's latest short story collection, The Last Philosopher in Texas, shows how fiction and superstition often mix with reality in the lives of many Chicanos. https://www.texasobserver.org/the-chicano-time-traveler/
In Hoi An, Vietnam, this charming street is adorned with vibrant red silk lanterns that cast a warm, inviting glow on the rustic yellow walls. The scene captures the essence of traditional Vietnamese culture, offering a serene and enchanting ambiance under the night sky.
Canada: Depuis 2022, un gros cube blanc est érigé sur le boulevard du Carrefour, à Gatineau. Il s’agit du nouvel Édifice d’entreposage et de préservation de #Bibliothèque et #Archives#Canada.
Regarder un docu TV sur le "chevalier au dragon", Ségurant, une des figures de la légende de la Table Ronde, longtemps resté dans l'ombre.
"...c'est au pays de Galles...."
PAYS'D GALLES INDÉPENDANT !
MuM
Hé ho ! Calme toi !
Heu oui... désolé... j'ai eu envie de gueuler ça ! Whaaa ça fait du bien !
Les fafs en mode "Le traffic de drogue c'est les arabes !"
Ha bin on leur a donné le mode d'emploi en organisant un commerce massif d'opium en provenance de Chine et de l'Indochine... on parle centaines de tonnes, à destination locale mais aussi de métropole, d'Australie, des USA.... et les recettes entraient dans les compte de l'Ètat...jusqu'en 1945.
Cocktail bars in Mexico City, Tijuana, Guadalajara and beyond are proving why Mexico is slinging some of the best drinks in the business. "It's essential to celebrate native Mexican ingredients, and incorporate them into modern mixology," says Fabiola Padilla, owner and beverage director at Bekeb, a rooftop bar in San Miguel de Allende. Mexico is no longer just tequila and mezcal. Read about its rise in the cocktail scene, from Food and Wine: https://flip.it/.on.-n #Culture#Travel#Mexico#Cocktails
Lady Gaga finally released the long-awaited “Chromatica Ball” film on Saturday, delivering a performance that was “as bonkers, brash, and unabashedly pop as the ‘Chromatica’ album that inspired it.” The film was shot in front of 52,000 people in Los Angeles back in 2022. Entertainment Weekly has all the details. https://flip.it/QNh7M- #Culture#Entertainment#Music#LadyGaga
Memorial Day Cookout Playlist, Signs You're Trapped in a 'Sitcom Marriage,' Black Miss Nevada Reunites With Mother After 44 Years, LaMelo Ball's Driving Troubles and More From the Week in Culture
It’s a funny word, “schmooze.” It comes from the Yiddish, shmuesn, and before that from Hebrew, approximately shemuoth, according to my Webster’s.
Leo Rosten, in The Joys of #Yiddish, says it refers to a “friendly, gossipy, prolonged, heart-to-heart talk.” No other word, he avers, “conveys ‘heart-to-heart chit-chat’ as warmly.”