I remember having to pause in the middle, because I'd read Anthony Hope not long previously and apparently two old-timey aristocratic guys in one montI remember having to pause in the middle, because I'd read Anthony Hope not long previously and apparently two old-timey aristocratic guys in one month is a bit much for me; but I loved the concept, the humour, and most of the author's musings. A pleasant journey (or rather two) overall....more
**spoiler alert** It is not the job of artists to give the audience what the audience want. If the audience knew what they needed, then they wouldn’t **spoiler alert** It is not the job of artists to give the audience what the audience want. If the audience knew what they needed, then they wouldn’t be the audience. They would be the artist. It is the job of artists to give the audience what they need. – Alan Moore
I read this book in a sort of breathless rush: it's dense and full of information, but also fizzles with energy. Occasionally (but very rarely), this can create the impression of skimming over the surface of a topic; mostly it feels like being carried along by a rapid stream. I think it will lend itself very well to a slower re-read now that I am familiar with the main thrust of tge argument.
Haringsma analyses a widely-maligned (and beloved by a small but devoted group of fans) episode Love & Monsters – a fourth-wall breaking look at Doctor Who fandom that most people remember only because of one small sex joke. The primary critical lens used to analyse it are Bertold Brecht's concept of dialectical theatre and Viktor Shklovsky's theory of estrangement on one hand – creative approaches that alienate the audience, drawing attention to the fictionality of what they experience – and fandom studies on the other. In this approach, Love & Monsters is a look at both oppressive and liberatory fandom practices; a look that is conflicted and possibly compromised (since it's produced by people in a position of power, with creative and financial control over Doctor Who) that could galvanise the fans to take creative ownership of the text. Haringsma is perhaps the perfect person to talk about this given his writings in fan anthologies and Doctor Who spin-off media – you can certainly feel that he is full of enthusiasm for fan works and wants to empower other fans to express themselves in this way as well.
The Brechtian angle was what fascinated me the most in the book. I think that at its best the Black Archive series works as a two-way torch: it uses theoretical concepts to shine a light on Doctor Who, but it also uses Doctor Who to introduce readers to schools of thought they weren't previously familiar with. Shklovsky is a mainstay of university lit theory courses and I had a passing familiarity with 'estrangement', but now I want to delve deeper into his writings; Brecht is very new to me. I found his conceptualisation of dialectical theatre very instructive and potentially useful for creative practice (there is a side-by-side comparison of features of dialectical and traditional, or dramatic theatre that I will be going back to). Occasionally, and that was particularly interesting, this framework introduced at the very start suggested answers to questions that Haringsma leaves open-ended in the course of the book. I'm thinking in particular of why the audience didn't seem to warm to LI'N'DA as a positive depiction of fandom – I felt there was a clash between their depiction as straightforward audience-identification figures and the alienating techniques of dialectical theatre, a sort of inverse of the reaction to Brecht's The Threepenny Opera that led to his writing The Threepenny Novel.
A section of the book is devoted to matters of representation and inclusivity. Haringsma provides a good overview of the problems surrounding the infamous 'blowjob joke' while rightfully pointing out that the heated reaction against it serves as a demonstration of the prejudice and stigma surrounding the sexuality of people with disabilities. Analysis of Elton and Ursula as queer figures was likewise fascinating, though I agree that even if the intention was there, it doesn't quite come across in the episode. It's wrapped in too many layers of metaphor.
The most interesting insight in this regard was for me the analysis of the racial components in the design of Absorbaloff. I hadn't encountered this reading before, and while it probably wasn't intended by the production team (or the child who originally designed Absorbaloff for the Blue Peter competition), it's a useful reminder for creators to be careful when designing fantastical monsters. It's very easy to fall into racial caricatures. If there was a missed aspect to this analysis, I'd say it's fatness – I think it's a significant component of what makes Absorbaloff grotesque (and that's an important category in Haringsma's analysis of the monster), and indeed something of a recurring thread in some of the Davies era most recognisable monsters (Slitheen and Adipose), but how those elements play into a widespread fatphobic prejudice is not mentioned at all.
Overall, though, it's a stellar book, analysing an episode I love with depth, enthusiasm, and nuance that I think it absolutely deserves, while also bringing in very interesting and fruitful critical tools. If you loved Love & Monsters, you owe it to yourself to read this book and find even more to appreciate it. If you hated Love & Monsters – why not read it to try and see if there isn't something to love in it after all?...more
A history of the twentieth century focusing not on politics, but on the ideas that shaped that period – and that might shape our own era.
This book wasA history of the twentieth century focusing not on politics, but on the ideas that shaped that period – and that might shape our own era.
This book was not as revelatory to me as the KLF book by the same author. A lot of the individual stories and people mentioned in particular chapters are fairly well-known.
Where the value of Higgs’ account lies, to me, is in the lines he draws between the particular points of his accounts. In the end, he presents a convincing and very interesting argument that the twentieth century was about removing the previous foundations on which our assumptions about the world rested (such as empires or Newtonian physics), creating a multitude of perspectives, which was coupled with the rise of individualism. And then the most interesting part might have been the final chapter, which suggests what might come next, now that the disadvantages of individualism showed themselves....more
A fascinating journey through the secret history of Britain in search of an identity alternative to the rising English nationalism.
The book was publisA fascinating journey through the secret history of Britain in search of an identity alternative to the rising English nationalism.
The book was published in 2017 and read today it seems perhaps a tad too optimistic. But its insights resonated with me strongly and there’s lots of valuable stuff inside....more
A great book that mixes non-fiction, memoir, short stories, comics, and lots of other stuff in order to describe the Hackney Marshes. It really expandA great book that mixes non-fiction, memoir, short stories, comics, and lots of other stuff in order to describe the Hackney Marshes. It really expanded my thinking about place writing and offered quite a few surprises, making me go: “wait, what?! You’re allowed to do that in this kind of book?!”
A very worthwhile read if you’re interested in psychogeography. After reading I am especially tempted to make my own attempt at soundchronicity (a walk with music turned down low, so that it blends with the sounds of your surroundings and created new impressions)....more
I love Stewart Lee's comedy: absurdist, meta-fictional, but not shying away from political and social problems. His newspaper columns represent a perfI love Stewart Lee's comedy: absurdist, meta-fictional, but not shying away from political and social problems. His newspaper columns represent a perfect blend of current concerns and whimsy: Lee comments on events from the last few years, but smashes the column form with other genres of literature, particularly fiction. If you'f like to read a piece on reactions to climate change as an omnipotent, world-devouring, Galactus-like being - this is a book for you. As a Britophile, I particularly loved his English Gothic pieces, like "A pyre of burning hate in a pagan, polluted England" - also available at the Guardian website).
Some of the columns are a bit too of-their time, some really show that they were written under constrains of deadlines, but at their best - like, for example, "A passport to my lovely garden? Dream on, you wretched souls" - they are dazzling displays of cutting wit and righteous anger....more
Since the book is now available to buy in full version (i.e. with additional essays), I’m expanding my review a bit.
Note: I read some of the essays inSince the book is now available to buy in full version (i.e. with additional essays), I’m expanding my review a bit.
Note: I read some of the essays in early versions.
Neoreaction a Basilisk is an incisive and funny look at various strands of the alt-right and some adjacent topics (like TERFs), that at the same time asks questions about the strategies the left should adopt in the face of reactionary backlash and the spectre of the climate change-caused crisis (or possibly extinction).
The main essay is an analysis of three thinkers that were influential in neoreactionary circles: Nick Land, Mencious Moldbug, and Eliezer Yudkowsky, but its second half becomes the cornerstone of Sandifer’s own proposals of what to do in the face of the fact that “we are fucked”, stressing, among other things, the radical potential of empathy.
The second one deals with Gamergate, starting with Sandifer’s sometime nemesis, Vox Day, and tracing the lies that became the foundation of this movement.
“Theses on a President” is a psychogeographic look at Trump, looking at where he grew up and how he made his fortune, and through that it becomes a cosmic horror story of a man who sacrificed his humanity for the appearance of power. This (along with John Higgs’ book on KLF) is one of the best examples of a genre I like to call “occult biography”, but it can also be read as a great lovecraftian story.
The essay on Austrian School (co-written with Jack Graham) offers a Marxist analysis and rebuke of libertarian thought, demonstrating how limited their conception of freedom really is. It’s a great read even before the authors bring up Erich Fromm.
The essays about lizard people might be my least favourite, probably because the nominal subject matter lacks the urgency of the rest of the collection, but it’s still very good and offers some interesting insight into the mentality of conspiracy theorists.
The TERF essay, on the other hand, might be my favourite. It offers an interesting explanation of why trans rights became such a focal point (and a point of contention) for the general movement for minority rights, points to the history of trans activism that the gay rights movement frequently tries to suppress, and then reaches for the writings of one of the trans-exclusionary radical feminists, Mary Daly, to show why transness is a vital category for leftist thinking in general.
The closing essay focuses on Peter Thiel and serves as a summation of the books argument against the alt-right.
Overall, it’s worth a read even if you’re not necessarily keen on delving into all the horrors that surround us (who could blame you?). Sandifer’s book is very, very funny, offers convincing take-downs of the ideas and people it takes on, and the constructs its own ideas about what we should do about all that, offering a glimmer of grim hope. We will be back; they can’t bury us forever....more
The great essays were really great, but a lot of them took the form of “I was an LGBT teenager watching Doctor Who” and, while well written, lacked thThe great essays were really great, but a lot of them took the form of “I was an LGBT teenager watching Doctor Who” and, while well written, lacked the critical insight into the series that I was hoping for....more
Loading...
