lol are you kidding
Go take a look around the Haymarket books offices sometime. Leftism has been a trendy commodified lifestyle already, it's just more relegated to certain geographic areas. And it's been like this since at least 2008.
Although I should point out it's defanged, liberal, academic style leftism that's commodified. Actually endorsing revolution or saying nice things about the USSR? That's still taboo.
I hate how The Last of Us TV show had left baiting where they have a communist small town, but then people carrying out revolution in a city against the military junta are labeled bad guys who do bad things for reasons.
Shouldn't have surprised me considering one of the show runners also directed Chernobyl. While it was a good show from a storytelling and acting standpoint, it was absolutely filled with brainworms about the Soviet Union.
This type of commodified leftism goes back decades. It's just more upfront about the leftism, rather than whitewashing leftwing figures.
The vibe I get is if Americans do it, it's less scary than what foreigners do. Americans did try having little utopian socialist societies out in the wilderness. It's how large swaths of Ohio were settled by whites and it's how the city of Dallas was founded.
Going out into the woods to have a little communal town isn't politically threatening, so that type of leftism gets sold and commodified. You'll also see bands like RATM play at huge festivals. You'll see movies with anticapitalist themes or critiques, like anything by Ken Loach, maybe stuff like the Truman Show or even Barbie or the Lego Movie. But that's as far as it goes, vague feelings. The Matrix movies are some of the highest grossing films of all time and they're commodified backwards and forwards.
I don't see much in the way of making a consumer identity out of genuine Marxism, or any kind of anarchist mutual aid group. No one's selling an identity of doing shelter work. No one's selling an identity of promoting the causes of revolutions in the third world, the average westerner still thinks that makes you insane.
It already is, but it's the watered down version of communism of course. But there's a reason video essayists are getting traditional media gigs now, and there's a reason shows like Succession and Severance are made.
I love lo much how this experience (I won't call it a game) has infused itself so perfectly into the zeitgeist. The racist lorry driver concerned about a 'cultural victory ' lol, YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT MOTHER FUCKER WE WIN
I will be so pissed if, somehow, communism becomes a commodified identity in lifestyle branding
You're probably on to something. It would definitely removed the movement towards socialism. In the short term, that is. The seeds however, the seeds have been planted.
This is the white people spicy of "cooking" about Batman lol.
Lol right? they busted out a 15yo (at least) criticism of the premise of Batman like it's fresh. But i'll actually take it anyway. It's a deep thought for someone and if say 10,000 people make the leap that 'crime is driven by poverty and propagated by the rich' thats lucky for the cause.
I in general agree with this critic of Batman (and superheroes at large) as a comic fan, but this sort of headline is the exact type of "dork making fun of another dork and by doing so become a lame-ass dork and a big fuckin' loser" type of writing I hate. Mostly because it's usually disingenuous and it just drips with a smugness that doesn't seem to be interested in anything. Like a Fan of ABC nerdy thing saying XYZ nerdy thing is childish and stupid or whatever. The type of dork you'd push into a locker as a dork for being a lame-o
.Yes there are a LOT of critiques of comic books and superheroes, and they should be talked about. This one may be accurate even correct it seems so fuckin' lame.
I like the critiques don't get me wrong. In fact that kind of discussion, of the material conditions behind any given art that is created. That shits right up my alley.
Now I'm not a super-informed comic historian, but Batman has changed significantly since the start. I think perhaps Bruce Wayne's character being 'a millionaire playboy) was simply the creators originally trying to explain 'realistically' a character who could afford all these toys and the time and energy to fight crime at night.
The flanderization of his character (maybe power-creep is a better term) that happened to change him over time until he's now a super-genius billionaire both deeply invested in his company and crime fighting. I feel like this is a subtle but very important difference. This plus his cynical distrust of everyone, even other supes, the way Robin is treated as a character, all fascinate me because of how art reflects the artist and the times we live in.
Gonna try to wrap up my ramblepoint with one more story, i recently rewatched star trek TNG. I was absolutely blown away at my reaction to the show vs the first time. So often they avoided violence, preferring the diplomatic solution. This is great but i found myself yelling at the crew for their "naivete". I had, between the years, grown more accustomed to violence, had come to expect it, to want it in my entertainment.
I had to sit down with myself for awhile. I dunno if i for a conclusion, sorry bout that, but thanks for coming with me
Now I'm not a super-informed comic historian, but Batman has changed significantly since the start. I think perhaps Bruce Wayne's character being 'a millionaire playboy) was simply the creators originally trying to explain 'realistically' a character who could afford all these toys and the time and energy to fight crime at night.
Sort of, not really. He was originally rich because he’s loosely based off of Zorro, who was loosely based off the Scarlet Pimpernel and The Count of Monte Cristo, who are rich aristocrats. Being an old-money aristocrat of European descent is kind of important to Batman’s gothic byronian hero thing. If they reimagined him as a nouveau-rich tech bro billionaire it would make the character fundamentally different.
Oooooh that's some tasty brain food, can you tell me where to find more on the characters connection to zorro?
Edit: did a little looking on my own, Batman creators cite zorro as an influence
I had to sit down with myself for awhile. I dunno if i for a conclusion, sorry bout that, but thanks for coming with me
Don't apologize, this is is good stuff here! This is exact type of critique I rock with, it's actually worthwhile and worth thinking about. This is the exact opposite of the
lame-o guy I was referring to, this is good.
Tim Walz making fun of white people tacos gave them permission to have the mildest takes.
This is the first I've heard of this game. Checked out the trailer and closed it when I saw it's a VR game developed by Facebook. What the hell
oh man, I remember the
outrage because Harley got to kill the Bats in that one online co op shooter live service game that released recently that I dont remember the name ofI'm sure those 800 comments are completely reasonable and not at all filled with
that doesn't even remotely look like latex gear, it's not shiny, it's not stretchy, it doesn't make me think of squeaky sounds and slippery textures and muted tactile sensations, but why do i expect that people who resort to kinkshaming understand these things in the first place?
This seems like Enragement Bait for the worst people on the Internet
Is the studio ok? I know they were forced to work on that suicide squad game that didn't do too well
Can't imagine they're too happy having their main series taken from them.
My weekly gaming pod said they didn't even want to make that game but they had to because of a push for "games as a service" that came from above.
Big brain execs at WB think Live Service is the future even though all their attempts at it failed while single player games were successful.
Speak on it!
