We have seen grassroots political ferment evacuated from philanthropy, leaving Philanthrocapitalism, in which business will save us from its own excesses and injustices without assistance from government, good taste, moral traditions, or the people it saves. Philanthrocapitalism has pretty well been debunked by Michael Edwards', Just Another Emperor. What are we to make, then, of We Are The New Radicals? Julia Moulden, author of a book by that title, is now writing a weekly column for the Huffington Post about how to save the world with love sweet love and without getting your nose broken, risking a stay in some government run Hell Hole, or even getting on a no fly list. It is all pretty much coming up roses in the world of The New Radicals. The cachet of social organizing extruded from venture philanthropy has now been nicely packaged and commodified in its own right.
Hey, hey, we are the Monkees
You know we love to please
A manufactured image
With no philosophies . . .
You say we're manufactured
To that, we all agree
So make your choice and we'll rejoice
In never being free
Hey, hey, we are the Monkees
We've said it all before
The money's in, we're made of tin
We're here to give you more
The money's in, we're made of tin
We're here to give you--
If the above lyrics aren't familiar, you might want to check out The Monkees' feature film, Head. It's a great film--truly one of my all-time favorites--written by Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson before Easy Rider & Five Easy Pieces launched them into superstardom.
The movie's theme is right on point with your post. It's about commodification and the loss of the soul--is it possible to rebel & become free, or are we hopelessly trapped in a big black corporate box?
The movie has a dark satirical take on the question. It's not a kiddie film, but rather, a deliberate subversion of bright-and-shiny commercial imagery--which becomes pretty clear early on, as one of its initial scenes is the aftermath of a five-way with a Monkees groupie, something you never saw on the Saturday morning show.
The first time through the film might seem a little baffling if you're not familiar with its many references, such as the comedy of Lew Lehr or Victor Mature as RCA Victor. On a broader level, it's a satirical existentialist spin on Hope & Crosby's road movies.
Posted by: Jeff Trexler | June 22, 2008 at 04:28 PM
Thanks, Jeff, maybe we can do the film version of "We Are The New Radicals." Maybe Nicholson could be induced to return to his roots and star in it? Or maybe we could get Dennis Hopper, once he finishes his stint with Ameriprise? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eS6isp7Uao The five way with the groupie could be an ad for Viagra, maybe.
Posted by: Phil | June 22, 2008 at 05:14 PM
A TV commercial for Head is one of my earliest, still accessible childhood memories - if are such things as memories, rather than the memory of memories. In wither case, you can count me out/in.
Wither now? Viz Gore, too often people move from the awareness of the movement from awareness to despair, to action, without stopping to realize that awareness is despair, and there is no medium position. They conspire, with the clucking approval of Time, to produce an hallucinated journey from point A to point B, imagining retroactive rest stops, where they would stop to think up projects l'acte like putting "at-risk" youth to work in the redemptively hazardous job of bike messenging. I remember, twenty years ago, weighing the odds, and applying for a foot messenger job instead, and then not even showing up for that. That is a rational decision in a world in which Achilles can never overtake the tortoise. Under those circumstances, I preferred not to deliver.
In this sentence I make non-specific reference to the satirical type called the "self-promoting fruitcake."
Posted by: ikorush sikorsky | June 22, 2008 at 10:41 PM
Yeah, all well and good, but we are out here by The Dumpster, grousing, and Ms. Moulden is doing a weekly gig in the Huffington Post. We may be the Newish Radicals in a way, but we are not making much off it. There has to be some way we can cash in on our acrid discontent.
Posted by: Phil | June 22, 2008 at 10:49 PM
focus it into a beam and create steam?
Posted by: archi | June 23, 2008 at 09:29 AM
Steamed citizens as new energy source, if confined in tight spaces? Seems like a plan.
Posted by: Phil | June 23, 2008 at 01:10 PM