Once again, PBS Frontline is pushing the journalistic envelope in order to provide pioneering coverage of the war in Afghanistan. Their most recent contribution, entitled "Behind Taliban Lines", is a rare documentation of insurgent life and an ominous snapshot of global jihad. Afghani journalist Najibullah Quraishi spent an unprecedented 10 days within the ranks of an elusive militant cell operating in the north country. It is a rare and unsettling opportunity to follow the footsteps of these men as they travel from guesthouse to guesthouse attempting to plot and execute acts of sabotage on Allied vehicles. Theirs is a makeshift but implacable resistance. Each is prepared for martyrdom and devoutly committed to eliminating the "unbelievers". It should be said, the film does little to alleviate the foreboding sense of futility that continues to haunt this 9-year-old conflict. It is pretty sobering stuff. It is also infuriating.
This posse of self-righteous guerillas seems to traverse the frontier with relative impunity. They live off the local charity of some and prey on the fears of others- it is often hard to distinguish between the two. Sadly, they seem to represent only one tiny head of the large, slippery, seething Hydra that plagues our efforts in the region. Decapitation only feeds the beast. It would seem that the task before us is no less daunting than those of Greek mythology.....but I would not want to attach a false narrative.
There is probably no sight more evocative and mysterious than the human face. In a matter of milliseconds, each peculiar visage supplies our brain with a unique cognitive gestalt that is inundated with cryptic information. A slight tilt of the mouth, a furrow over the eyes, a crook in the nose, or a bump on the chin- every subtle detail, every faint gesture is a precious insight into an elusive foreign psyche.
Taken by Russian photographer Gleb Kosorukov, these images of modern-day Ukrainian coal miners demonstrate the rare power of the portrait to stimulate and engross the subconscious. What exactly do we "see" when we look at such photos? What mental imagery gets churned up each time our gaze falls on another? Perhaps, if we can come to understand how one brief snapshot of reality calls on our cache of memory and emotion, we may begin to unlock some of the latent complexities of our own thought. With extraordinary images such as these, sometimes it is both fun and instructive to explore the mystery further.
First off, the most striking aspect of this image has to be the dramatic irony. Amazingly, it seems totally conceivable that the same shot could have been captured almost 150 years ago with little to no alteration. It invades the mind like a relic from a bygone Age of Man.... an era of titanic industrial might and mass human drudgery. As your eye follows the coal-creased contours, it's hard not to choke on the festering plumes of particulate matter, to hear the metallic whine & clank of primitive manufacturing, or to sense the plight of a back-broken proletariat. Our plucky subject seems to know the bleak prohpecy of Orwell all to well: "If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on the human face- forever."
Yet despite his grim circumstance, his expression projects an unmistakable brand of cheeky bravado- the origins of which we can only hazard a feeble guess. Is it the smirk of Faust after having double-crossed the devil, or just the puckish grin of a coal-cloaked Chesire cat on a long-awaited smoke break? Is he really mining coal, or is he piloting Death back and forth across the river Styx? Is he resurfacing after six-hours work or resurrecting from six-feet under?
For me, the real poignancy lies in a bizarre paradox: as tangibly close as I may feel to this near caricature of blue-collar, black-lung man, and no matter how psychologically suggestive and empathy-encouraging this portrait may be, it embodies a world of experience that I could not be further removed from... and one which I will never approach. Perhaps this is what he's grinning about......
This is a timely new documentary from PBS FRONTLINE entitled Digital Nation. In a nutshell, it explores the vast breadth and depth of the human interaction with cutting-edge media technology and raises some pointed questions about the inevitable (but often elusive) social implications. Just to name a few, some points of interest include 1) the myth of media multi-tasking, 2) gaming and internet "rescue camps" in South Korea, 3) the erosion of memory & literacy 4) the bizarro "World of Warcraft", 5) telecommuting in "Second Life", and 6) the murky ethics of Predator drones and US Army recruitment "arcades".
If anything, the film is a sobering portrait of the present state of the hyperreal. As the speed of such technology is only accerlating, it is with extreme vigilance and introspection that we should engage such titanic, life-altering advances.
Once again, Stewart and O'Reilly sit down for a jovial and gentlemanly conversation. If there's anyone on the "left" who needs to teach a clinic on managing O'Reilly's on-camera persona, it's Jon Stewart. The only problem is that it's not really a talent one can impart to others. Without question, he is the undisputed master of sword-and-shield debate. In his case, exploiting the unique power of humor to placate and disarm an adversary before delivering shrewd points of argument. O'Reilly needs to feel in constant control of the conversation, and Stewart dances back-and-forth over this requirement like James Brown in a third encore.
As it is a favorite topic of this blog, I also love to see Stewart press the issue of narrative.
Here's the full, unedited interview which, of course, was only made available online:
For an excellent discussion of the recent Supreme Court case, I highly suggest listening to this Bill Moyers interview. He sits down with the attorneys from both sides for an intelligent and civil debate. (Part II also includes good back and forth between both sides)
If you waited patiently until the 45th min of the President’s speech last night, you were privileged to catch a glimpse of the pathetically cavalier attitude with which Washington regards campaign finance reform. The paragraph of lip service Obama allotted to the Court’s recent landmark decision expressed the same sense of gravity and urgency one would exhibit in taking a late afternoon nap. Let’s just hit the snooze button and hope we don’t sleep through dinner. Personally, I think the occasion called for more William Jennings Bryan and less Rip Van Winkle.
But so it goes....the Supreme Court’s ruling is just another contentious round in the age-old grudge-match between Liberty & Equality. And once again, the all-seducing narcotic of "freedom" has foiled reasonable measures to ensure a semblance of fairness in the political process. Under the guise of protecting free speech, the majority opinion was an unmistakable victory for the well-financed establishment. My only question is: why the public outrage?? Shouldn’t the average citizen expect a windfall of "trickle-down" democratic justice? Isn't what's good for the plutocracy good for everyone? I’m pretty sure that Monsanto and Exxon will have my best interest in mind when they start planning their election season propaganda campaign. I’m also quite sure that progressive candidates don’t need to fear crippling media reprisals should they take policy stances in conflict with business.
In all seriousness, it was only a matter of time before corporate henchmen were able to dismantle the modest gains of campaign finance reformers. The ugly marriage between money and politics is far too co-dependent for any lasting partition. The principled few who are brave (or crazy) enough to stand in the way of this grotesque confluence risk suffering the following education of Network's Howard Beale:
The bottom line is that this trend is nothing new. This Court's ruling is just the most recent application of "laissez-faire" political philosophy- but it's clear the contagion is spreading beyond the sphere of economics. It's another manifestation of the epic quest to undo every rational constraint on the corrupting potential of highly concentrated wealth. According to our esteemed judiciary, multi-national corporations do not have enough political voice. Forget their legions of lobbyists. Forget the fact that their ad dollars underwrite (and therefore unduly influence) most outlets of mass communication. Let's tip the scales a bit more.
This is not to imply that the American business community is either monolithic or inherently evil in their political posture. Of course, they're not. However, they are all unified in at least one respect: their unending pursuit for profit. What's wrong with a tidy profit? Absolutely nothing, in and of itself. The problem begins when the institutional constructs that maintain a logical distance between commercial and social life are completely eroded; when quarterly earnings are exalted above all other social and democratic considerations; when behemoth conglomerates entirely removed from the long term welfare of citizen and country are allowed to penetrate and overwhelm every facet of human life. It is the moment where we forfeit our collective humanity and become faceless, interchangeable consumers conditioned to worship our wants over our needs. We become a culture awash in hollow, commodified diversions where the illusion of "freedom" and fulfillment are promised, but only a gilded poverty is delivered:
(This ad is brilliant.)
It sounds like an Orwellian farce, but is it that much further from the present? Just how far down the rabbit hole are we? We already live in a media-saturated world funded almost entirely through corporate patronage- where news is sold as entertainment and politics is presented as sport or scandal. Should we really expect progress when we're trapped in a perverse paradigm that breeds ignorance and compromises truth for the sake of ratings???..... Welcome to the Society of the Spectacle.
Given the rising tide of American political ennui, these videos should come in extremely handy. In fact, the wunderkinder over at "The Onion" placed this one in their "Most Vital" category. Genius, as always.
By the way, the male anchor in their "Today Now!" series is scary good.
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