The reactionary backlash to media analysis is a natural part of the wider “fascists hate anything intellectual” phenomenon, btw.
Wanting you to ignore the politics of Star Wars comes from the same exact place that wants you to substitute the germ theory of disease with the ‘sickness comes from failure to be a good christian and most people who claim to be sick are just faking anyway’ myth.
They don’t want these complexities to exist, and by talking about them, you make them exist. It’s a form of magical thought. Talking about police brutality wills police brutality into existence. A disruption of the status quo is seen as a disruption of the natural order. The problem they see is that no-one has made those people shut up. That is what they want: someone to come in and make those people shut up and go away, to put things back “where they belong.”
[…]
Their will is a hammer that they are using to beat reality itself into a shape of their choosing, a simple world where reality is exactly what it looks like through their eyes, devoid of complexity, devoid of change, where they are right and their enemies are silent. They are trying to build a flat earth.
this is literally what triumph of the will was referring to. as fascist movements gain power and build their crank coalition, they smooth out the contradictions inherent to making a mass movement out of privileging a minority by elevating magical thinking to a mass social ritual.
total war as practiced by the soviets and allies was an economic program of subordinating productive capacity to national requirements, because the people running the show were fundamentally rational. you did aluminum drives because you needed more planes than refining could provide, you dug victory gardens because farm workers were being drafted, war bonds was understood as a method for the government to finance the war. you made sacrifices because the government outlined what they were for and why they were needed.
total war as envisioned and practiced by the nazis was essentially a spiritual affair. 'wholly mobilizing the populace’ was an obsession, because there was this belief that the material needs of the war effort could be overcome passively by a sufficiently motivated population, one would would dynamically make all necessary sacrifices and thus naturally overcome limitation. they genuinely, genuinely believed that victory was assured against any odds because sufficient willpower would overcome anything.
the nazi obsession with superweapons was a direct manifestation of this; as the war became more dire and it became clear nothing short of a miracle would salvage it, it became the doctrine of the nazi party that this miracle would be manifested by the brilliants and determination of the german people, as missiles and jet engines and radar death rays or whatever, and it was a thing people believed even as artillery shells were coming down on berlin.
this form of thinking recasts everything into a simple binary functioning on a single factor; there is success, which comes from sufficient willpower and belief, and there is failure, which is always the deliberate betrayal of a coward.
and it fucked them constantly. they made non-stop errors predicated on the belief that doing the same thing again but even harder would eventually work because it had to, it only failed the last time because the people who did it were weak-willed. they started the largest war in history because their strategic thinking all eventually boiled down to 'only bitches lose’
you can already see the trump administration doing this exact thing. the shamelessness it enables is how they make early progress; their refusal to back down lets them bully their way through systems that function on norms and mutual agreement, they score victories by doing the kind of shit that every right-thinking person thinks would be too stupid to try, and it convinces them they’re invincible. but sooner or later, they run out of road, and will grind themselves down to nothing trying to smash reality into the shape they desire.
we have to stop them as soon as possible, because they will take us all with them if they can.
had some fun with these! zygarde was done a while ago i just never got around to doing the others til now yveltal is still up there as one of my favourites. awesome bird
Much of Utena’s Japanese cultural context is really hard to access as an outsider. I literally just poked around with a basic search and Wikipedia trawl and found out that Arisugawa & Saionji are both names derived from different ranks of Japanese aristocracy.
Not only that, but during the Meiji restoration and US occupation, nobility were reorganized under the British model, making “Prince” the highest title, just like in Ohtori.
Utena’s basic structure includes the premise of a Japanese world order restructured along the lines of British nobility, and this is shown in aesthetics and the class character of the student council and Ohtori Academy as a whole.
The academic institution itself, with its army and navy based uniforms, has historically been the site of elite cultural production in Japan as well. The way these characters navigate personal, financial, and institutional privilege has much more specific context than I realized as an American viewer. Utena as a text reflects not just patriarchy and race but also cultural imperialism.
reblog with shadowplayproductions’ commentary:
#Akio specifically projects a westernized (and even more specifically Americanized) standard of masculinity
#and i think isolation from culture is another interesting point because ohtori is all about isolation and preventing solidarity
#theres also room for readings on saionji as a character clowning on japanese nationalism brand toxic masculinity a la mishima
#tbh in general ohtori speaks to a lot of ww2 fascism and nationalism era japan
#which also touted false ideas of revolution and the images of past revolutions to legitimize itself! #i think this is all more understandable when you learn most of the staff grew up during the progressive social upheaval of 1960s japan
ICE is coming to a city near you: things you should know from a tumblrina on the ground in the twin cities
i know i am usually pretty hehe haha on this app and here to generally mess around and have fun about television however, the circumstances of the last few weeks in my city and state have been truly so dire that it feels impossible to even pretend like that is an option right now. and i like to help so here is what i know:
yesterday, january 12th, border patrol commander greg bovino gave a very weird interview to the minnesota CBS affiliate WCCO, in which he lied repeatedly but importantly noted that once they “[get] bad things off the streets, we’re off to the next city.” we have seen increased immigration enforcement since day 1 of the new trump administration with many cities pushing back against operations already but, as what has been highly reported, nothing as large as the scale of the current operation in MN. plus with the pushback they have received here, these freak individuals will certainly have new motivation to incite violence wherever they go. use this as a little cheat sheet to prepare yourself for when it is your turn or, to jump in to the action rn and help out our immigrant communities in MN.
WHAT MN IS DOING TO PROTECT OUR NEIGHBORS
following ICE vehicles, observing their arrests and interactions with the public <- this is obviously not without risk. many people are being harassed, physicallyinjured, tear gassed & pepper sprayed, arrested, and as we know, killed when doing this. however, it is still the most useful tactic in intervening with these operations.
donating, collecting, and distributing food & household necessities for vulnerable families so they don’t have to leave their home. there are some incredible operations going on in the twin cities and the surrounding suburbs in order to get this done. if you want to help minnesotans i’d recommend looking into the work of places like smitten kitten, wrecktangle pizza, the immigrant defense network, MIRAC, and MN ice watch. if i were in a vulnerable city (aka blue state) i’d start thinking about groups, organizations, churches etc in your area that could run similar networks and prepare stockpiling donations.
businesses are operating with reduced (or even fully closed) hours to protect patrons and staff. many havesigns in their storefront windows indicating that ICE can not enter. the one i linked is from etsy however organizations in your area will likely have them for free.
finding out which hotels (usually near a major airport) agents are staying at and protesting all night long being loud as fuck. + boycotting these hotels in the future
3D printing whistles! using these whistles in order to alert when ICE is near.
notes for VULNERABLE/UNDOCUMENTED PEOPLE and their families
get an action plan in place. i know it sucks to talk and think about. i know it is unfair but figure out worst case scenarios and what to do in them. even if you’ve been here for decades and have felt relatively safe in that time, i do suggest communicating with family and making a plan regardless.
for PROTECTING MINORS: in minnesota we have something called a delegation of parental authority (DOPA). this is a notarized legal document that delegates the authority and care of minor for one year if their parent or legal guardian can not. i would highly suggest looking into the steps of declaring parental authority in your own state and starting the process asap. (it is relatively easy here in mn! you just need to have one parent present to sign the document and get it notarized)
prepare as best you can for time off work, a lot of time spent in the house. get little stuff done like tabs for your car renewed, any insurance issues taken care of, doctor’s appointments done etc. start talking with your church or immigrant organizations in your area about getting supplies delivered to your home when needed.
PEOPLE WANT TO HELP! they really do. i know it is so fucking terrifying but there are so many people who do want the best for everyone in their community. if you need help please ask for it.
other general notes: they’re arresting literally anyone in MN, citizen or not. they’re harassing kids at school (minneapolis schools have allowed for children to learn from home until february 12th). they’re arresting people at work. it does not matter. a lot of people here are carrying their passports and other documentation to avoid this. you don’t have to give anyone your identification even when asked but unfortunately many who refuse have been met with violence. they’re going into hospitals, homes, schools, businesses and they don’t have warrants. of course know your rights but be aware they really don’t give a fuck. they’re arresting first and asking questions later.
most importantly people working for ICE and border patrol have something deeply wrong with them. they’re disgusting, immoral people whose “work” will be a stain on their lives and this country until the end of time. and i can not stress this enough, they are so fucking stupid. they are not stronger than us. they are not smarter than us. they are not more righteous or justified in any of their actions and eventually the day will come that their most prized leader turns on them, dies, or both. they will never be forgiven.
with that i leave you with two videos of agents eating shit on the ice that i can’t stop watching. fucking pussies.
