A fantastic example of simulacra.
Perhaps the most powerful and obvious example of simulacra in our lives is that of “make-up”, in the widest possible sense of the word. To change your body and appearance to look like someone else who in turn is a copy, and a distorted copy at that, of someone else. It’s difficult […]
I have been away in Wales for the past week or so, hence the even later than usual update. One of the things that struck me while I was there was the “beach/surf culture”, and this made me think about “culture” in general. Or perhaps more specifically, being part of a “group”, either physically as […]
Century of the self
This is an absolutely fantastic BBC series from 2002 about psychology and propaganda over the past hundred years or so. It has been mentioned a lot on Pop Occulture, and other places. The BBC has their own page about it (just text, no video):
Adam Curtis’ acclaimed series examines the rise of the […]
Busy time has more or less ended so hopefully I’ll have the updates up a bit more frequently in future.
I was listening to the radio a couple of days ago and heard this lady ring in complaining about the effects of rock music on the “Youth of today”. Her arguments were laughable, including “no-one has […]
What does wealth and security give us? If you look at the people who get depressed, or moan about all their problems, they are not always the worst off people, but often the better off. At school, a lot of the people who became depressives were people from “stable” (or at least richer) homes, and […]
In an interview with Gilbert in Hermann Göring’s (the Nazi) jail cell during the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials (18 April 1946)
Göring: “…But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist […]
Brutality is respected. The people need wholesome fear. They want to fear something. They want someone to frighten them and make them shudderingly submissive. Why babble about brutality and get indignant about tortures? The masses want them. They need something that will give them the thrill of horror. - Ernst Röhm
Agree?
In modern society you only […]