The war on French culture was a war on artists, homosexuals, and intellectuals. Like European or Russian anti-semitic campaigns it was carried out in barely concealed code.
Generals and secret policemen hate intellectuals. High culture is an obvious target for neofascists, and in the U.S. we always have a ready supply of Babbitts to rouse. It's not quite "shoot everyone with glasses" yet; it's been sufficient so far to discredit scientists and academics.
The thrust of American business for the last 30 years has been towards cheaper and nastier things sold to more and more people with higher and higher profit margins. The failure of craft you mention is symptomatic of the way we make money here.
Science is now "junk science"; literature is for old women and sissies; art is an immoral plot carried out by suspect elites; and even good food is suspiciously Continental, even Gallic. We're on the verge.
Klosterman would make an excellent Minister for Youth Culture in a post-modern fascist state. It really doesn't matter if they're kicking people's kidneys out at the police station if I have my XBox and my Crunch Gators, does it?
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Irony is the bridge between idealism and collaboration.
Date: 2005-07-28 07:59 am (UTC)Generals and secret policemen hate intellectuals. High culture is an obvious target for neofascists, and in the U.S. we always have a ready supply of Babbitts to rouse. It's not quite "shoot everyone with glasses" yet; it's been sufficient so far to discredit scientists and academics.
The thrust of American business for the last 30 years has been towards cheaper and nastier things sold to more and more people with higher and higher profit margins. The failure of craft you mention is symptomatic of the way we make money here.
Science is now "junk science"; literature is for old women and sissies; art is an immoral plot carried out by suspect elites; and even good food is suspiciously Continental, even Gallic. We're on the verge.
Klosterman would make an excellent Minister for Youth Culture in a post-modern fascist state. It really doesn't matter if they're kicking people's kidneys out at the police station if I have my XBox and my Crunch Gators, does it?