I just ended up a talk with a friend who has always been passive towards many issues.Especially issues from a social character that do not concern him directly.But the more i talk to him the more i can hear sayings like:Fuck the system! Capitalism is slavery! Art for freedom! Consumerist cunts! Silence no longer! and so on...Oh yes,in fact ,Che Guevara is his personal idol but he is against saying it loudly because "one should not have idols" So he likes to say that he just appreciates the work of Che(and i actually find this as something very smart but then it seems to me that we are running away from a witch ,who in fact stoped by to drink water and does not chase us for such a long time ago but still ,we run away as if it does) He also likes to listen to Bob Marley because he is the voice of peace and freedom,according to him.I will not go to an extend where i will comment the work and ideas that Che Guevara or Marley followed although to be honest i really do not appreciate(at least not fully) them since they are either "kill the enemy" or 'let's get together and feel alright'.
Few days ago i heard" the revolution as a pop product" and that somehow it became fashionable to be/look/sound rebelious.Now,the question is:Who actually made the revolution so popular because i still remember my father telling me that he really liked to listen to Sex Pistols but usually his mates will ask him if everything is alright with him(with derogatory tone) so he would do it only when nobody can see him.
I somehow feel that we live in society in which the anti- system rethorics only cause pro -system outcomes.
I will not explain how this happened,although i can not help myself and mention Lakoff and his theory on "Mutal univision" and his example of "Don't think of an elephant"(But for this ,i will write more in some of my next posts)
Faced with all the global crises(especially the economic one) and knowing from the previous experience in the past,the guards of the capitalist system(marketing agencies,film industry and so on) knew that there will be attempts for bringing down the system,expression of the revolt against the system,revolutions, so they (the system guards) offered a plan:a plan of neutralising the revolt by making it popular,thus superficial,a revlot on the surface.In other words:IF YOU CAN'T BEAT THEM,JOIN THEM.
The pop industry useS the revolution as a fashion trend.For example the pop industry used Curt Cobain and his revolt against the life and the system for its own and for the current system profit and they sold it as a T-Shirt,as CD and other products that only bring money to the system .The rebelious super hero who criticize the system in fact maintains the system since criticising the system by the model offered by the pop culture(of course only superficially- because saying Fuck the system! does not change much if there are no real arguments and no real actions) is presented as popular and so it just helps the system maintains itself.So practically the 'learned by heart' rebeliousness against the system ,help the system benefits.
The revolution is becoming a pop culture.So nobody is mainstream today and everyone is alternative.And the ones who want to be alternative say that the alternative is mainstream so they decide to be alternative of the alternative.Alternative,mainstream,alternative,alternative...Mon Deux,i have a headache!And it all goes in hell! Since it seems that being alternative became value itself and nothing deep and nothing more.The revolution is commodificated-commoditized. And it is all paradox.Comodified to that extand that the system sells(something that it is supposed to be against the system) it as its own product and focuses the people not on essential questions such a "social changes" but to individual image/reputation and that is how we are more concerned if we are mainstream than about what is going on and how can we change the system that produces structural every day violence.
And just a small Facebook session of pictures of protests and 'rebelious' quotes make one even more confident about their 'rebeliousness'.But now wander.It is Facebook-the best makrketing tool of the capitalism.
So,I was listening to my friend who was complaining how even the alternative became mainstream and when i aked him:Ok but why dont you just fuck all of this,which seems to me to be closed circle of who is alternative and who is rebelious and why don't you just do something for the things you believe without labeling it as alternative or rebelious and he said :Oh come on,i don't want to be just like everyone else who is protesting.Protest for this,protest for that.I am done with it.
And actually this made me think very much.He seems rebelious,but then what he lacks?And on the way home I realized:Solidarity! This is what he lack.Solidarity and social responsability.Those are the mottives,the driving force that make us think ,criticise,act.If he had this he would not stay at home critisizing everything and everyone but take the responsability and face the problems.And this is exactly the difference between the revolution as pop product and the real revolution that brings changes.
So let's face it,it is trendy to be rebelious,but it is not trendy to act/think rebeliously.The guys,who point Che as idol do not follow the ideas,the actions of Che Guevara,they follow the image of Che Guevara and wear a T-shirt with his image..So, we live in ostensible ,imaginary world of revolution.And so we think there is revolution going on.And so that is how we stay calm,because there is revolution-at least we think so.But the question is:where is and what kind of revolution?We do not have revolutioners,because what the nowadays 'critical pop thinkers' lack is the feeling of solidarity,social responsability because if they had them and felt them the social frustration would lead them to take action.Those are the foremost elements of the real revolution.Of course it is not the only ones.
I somehow feel that we live in the paradox of "Fight club" life style.We tend to become fight clubers.
A movie that was casted in the studio of 20th Centary Fox and paradoxixally enough that presents alternative ,sub cultures as a way to be out of the system.I do not want to criticise this movie because i am really not introduced in cinematography but when i saw this movie i remember the though in my head: how can such a violent reality that in fact does not awake any kind of critical thinking but most probably just spreads out some kind of violent passivity and runing away be an alternative?
So let's go out of our clubs,shall we?
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