ArtiFact: Books, Art, Culture

Decolonizing Shakespeare in ”The Tempest” | ArtiFact 53: Keith Jackewicz, Alex Sheremet

In light of decolonization and postcolonial theory, William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” has received new interest. Although Caliban is often thought of as the play’s centerpiece, Prospero remains its best-sketched character, as he has complex relationships and contradictory beliefs. His subjects, Ariel and Caliban, both demand freedom, while the stories told of their unnamed island are only second-hand accounts that feed into Prospero’s own self-conception. In ArtiFact 53, literary critics Alex Sheremet and Keith Jackewicz assess Shakespeare’s mysterious play, touching on questions of decolonization, imperialism, gender roles, Orientalism, Italian politics, and much more.

To get the B Side to this conversation, support us on our Patreon page for patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination

B Side topics: more connections between Shylock and Caliban; how Shakespeare plays with audience expectations; how Shakespeare signals he’s about to write something bad; Alex's falafel over rice; the Daniel Defoe / Robinson Crusoe connection; William Shakespeare vs. Mark Twain; Leo Strauss; how politics had to be occluded in Shakespeare's day; Caliban's god vs. Prospero; the meaning of magic; why didn't Prospero cast the "reason" spell on Caliban; the meaning of reason & logic in the play; why lesser characters are poorly sketched; disappointments with The Tempest; the Harold Bloom problem; how Shakespeare's reach exceeded his grasp; why the Beatles were necessarily overrated; how Shakespeare critics do a disservice to Shakespeare; Joseph Conrad's Henry James phase; Frank Herbert's Dune vs. the Dune 2 videogame universe; how voice acting destroyed game writing; does Israeli society crave images of war crimes; is Israeli targeting journalists; the university hearings on anti-Semitism; Alex goes to a POC-only Palestinian protest; how the Joe Biden coalition is fracturing; the Right is better positioned for 2024-28 than in 2016; Keith boasts of getting Trump's presidency correct

Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV

Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ

Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB

Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo

iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L

Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com

Read Alex’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination

Timestamps:

0:24 – Alex grows taller, Keith shrinks in size; analyzing William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”; no character goes unscathed; ranking “The Tempest” in the Shakespeare pantheon

3:08 – how Keith read all of Shakespeare’s plays over a month; Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth; ranking Romeo and Juliet as tragedy; why Shakespeare’s comedies are often weak; Shakespeare & class politics

9:15 – passage of time in “The Tempest”; Shakespeare overuses plot-driven techniques; some more daring parts in “The Tempest”; Prospero as the absent-minded king; is Prospero blameless; why Prospero was overthrown in Milan; the metaphor of Prospero’s island; Prospero is “The Tempest’s” only character of depth; overthrow & rebellion in the 15th century; Duke of Milan, King of Naples; political logic in Shakespeare’s era

21:03 - Miranda as an archetype; Prospero seems aware of his own flaws; dialogue vs. stage directions; Ariel is having the same argument every month; why early Shakespeare criticism was bad; the implications of Miranda’s virginity

30:42 – dissecting Caliban; Aime Cesaire & The Tempest; Prospero suggests the same punishment for Caliban as to Miranda and Ferdinand; how biological imperatives change; does Prospero have anything without magic; the victors are more or less writing the play; decolonization and postcolonial theory in Shakespeare; why was Sycorax REALLY banished

46:00 – the Algiers Connection; Prospero’s “white magic” is ultimately conflated, and on par with, the Orientalist “black magic”; how Shakespeare makes fun of Gonzalo’s ideas; Caliban’s speeches in “The Tempest”; Prospero has different standards of punishment for identical crimes; Caliban never gets the Shylock / Merchant of Venice treatment; did Shakespeare get bored with The Tempest?

Tags: #shakespeare #decolonization #booktube #postcolonialism

Predicting the Human with Loren Eiseley | ArtiFact 52: Arnold Schroder on ”The Night Country”

Loren Eiseley was a paleontologist more famed for his beautiful writing than for scientific discoveries, a fact that both oppressed and liberated him. In his book, “The Night Country”, Eiseley discusses his childhood exploring underground worlds and compares this with his work as a scientist and writer. He deals with questions such as “the ghost in the machine”, the purpose of civilization and (cultural) evolution, and philosophical evil. Alex Sheremet is joined by radical climate activist Arnold Schroder of the Fight Like An Animal podcast to discuss Loren Eiseley’s text and its implications.

You can also watch this discussion on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4rJV3bZVQQ

Arnold Schroder’s website: https://www.againsttheinternet.com/

Arnold Schroder’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/arnold_schroder

To get the B Side to this conversation, support us on our Patreon page for patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination

B Side topics: the final chapters of Loren Eiseley’s “The Night Country”; Arnold’s experiences with “terrifying” nighttime cattle; subject-object distinction in nighttime experience; Francis Bacon as the Great Synthesizer; mysticism among scientists; scientific research has liberalized stylistically; Loren Eiseley chooses an owl’s life over scientific discovery; how to deal with libertarian moral calculus; Eiseley’s characterization of human beings out of time; “Give me my crown – I have immortal longings in me!”; how Alex might have survived five centuries ago; Eiseley’s most beautiful passages; returning to one’s roots & losses; human integration; Arnold Schroder on Franz Kafka; Kafka vs. Orson Welles (The Trial); what Arnold Schroder learned of from Palestine and the Israel-Hamas war; the erosion of media consensus; chaos, the Internet, & balance of power; did Elon Musk save the world by being an idiot; Hillary Clinton would have prosecuted activists for terrorism; William Nordhaus & the falsification of climate science; the hothouse Earth scenario; why climate scientists aren't allowed to do science; affirmative action; we can't take the Supreme Court seriously; Arnold Schroder's "World Tree Center"

Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV

Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ

Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB

Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo

iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L

Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com

Read Alex’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination

Timestamps:

1:02 – introduction to Loren Eiseley; Arnold Schroder’s “uncanny” relationship with Loren Eiseley’s “The Night Country”; the Robert Lanza connection; the scientist-artist as outsider; the fugitive as archetype; the natural philosopher in 2023

10:04 – Arnold Schroder & the Fight Like An Animal Podcast = natural philosophy; is there an innately special mind; Loren Eiseley’s nostalgia for the night; the book’s foreword as a framing device; privileged experience can disrupt science

24:40 –night & nostalgia; night in human evolution; Arnold Schroder’s encounters with mountain lions

31:13 – concept of evil; how childhood helps define evil; adults wish to explain away injustice; Loren Eiseley’s textual transfiguration; the Rat as character & fulcrum; how intelligence thrives in unexpected niches; human variability; academia increases defensiveness

51:18 – a sardonic rat; the world’s garden; human aesthetics are biologically expensive; how much wealth is necessary for happiness; synthetic biology and algae-based economies

58:55 – the train derelict in Night Country; Loren Eiseley’s use of symbolic statements; how civilization moves, evolves without purpose; extremely long 19th century novels are a regressive tax; the language used for free will and determinism is confused

01:12:50 – Francis Bacon & Loren Eiseley’s conversations with ancients; drawing lessons from history; the attraction to ephemeral novelty; reading, politics, & dopamine addiction; Alex’s dystopian experience with Artificial Intelligence; previewing the Patreon show

Tags: #books #philosophy #science

Ivan Katchanovski on the Future of Ukraine | ArtiFact 51: Alex Sheremet, Ivan Katchanovski

Now that Israel’s invasion of Gaza is center stage, Russia’s war in Ukraine is getting less attention. This has frustrated Zelensky in the midst of bad news. The Ukrainian counteroffensive has failed, and both Ukrainian and Western officials are wondering if negotiations should be the next step. This will require preparing the Ukrainian public for the possibility of a worse peace deal (and less land) than in 2015 and 2022.

In ArtiFact 51, Alex Sheremet is joined by University of Ottawa professor and Ukrainian-Canadian scholar Ivan Katchanovski to discuss the Russia-Ukraine War, the costs to Ukraine, the impact of the war in Gaza, and recent developments in the Maidan massacre.

You can also watch this conversation on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/9GXxQGZ5-YU

To get the B Side to this conversation, support us on Patreon and get patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination

B Side topics: how Russian state media presents Palestine & Palestinians; Russia’s policy in the Middle East; the role of Dmitry Medvedev in Russian politics, propaganda; Medvedev’s Telegram posts; Russia’s might seek more territory; Belarus as a client state; the case of Ivan Bubenchik in Maidan; a Ukrainian law which allows murder?; more Maidan details come to light after the trial; the most common objections to Ivan Katchanovski’s claims; what if Maidan protesters were not in control of every building; how the Svoboda Party provided muscle; Ivan has been to Hotel Ukraina many times; the testimony of hotel staff; the future of Ukraine; de-population, poverty, & the refugee problem; Ukrainian dependence on Western aid; Ukraine should join the European Union; the EU acts like a political/military rather than economic union; can Russia and the United States cultivate an alliance; observing right-wing Russian nationalists

Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV

Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ

Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB

Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo

iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L

Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com

Read Alex Sheremet's (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination


Learn about and contribute to our first film, "From There To There: Bruce Ario, the Minneapolis Poet": https://www.gofundme.com/f/new-film-the-minneapolis-poet-bruce-ario

Timestamps:

1:28 – introducing Ivan Katchanovski, professor at University of Ottawa

4:08 – the conflict in Gaza will have consequences for the Ukraine War; comparing the Palestine and Ukraine conflicts; why Barack Obama didn’t want to arm Ukraine; AIPAC vs. Ukraine; Russia pivots to Palestine

8:14 – Russia & Obama; the Israel-Ukraine relationship; Zelensky trying to turn Ukraine “into the new Israel”; Zelensky’s anti-democratic reforms; 

19:51 – was Ukraine pressured into its 2023 counter-offensive; how Zelensky gets conflated with “Ukraine” & Ukrainian opinion; Ukraine as an abused proxy; why Russia was presented as weak; fissures in the war narrative cropped up as early as summer 2022

30:40 – sanctions don’t have the intended effect; Ukraine’s PR battles in Bakhmut and Mariupol; tensions between Zelensky, Zaluzhny, and other generals; Ukraine might engage in political prosecutions; was Zaluzhny’s aide involved in an assassination attempt?

46:12 – grenades & pomegranates; the status of the Ukraine war; Putin’s possible behavior in 2024; how bad statistics were used to sell a proxy war; are the witnesses to the March/April 2022 negotiations credible; the Boris Johnson angle

1:02:02 – re-visiting the Maidan Massacre; Ivan Katchanovski’s claims vs. police involvement in protester killings; why the Maidan trial dragged out for a decade; destroyed evidence; the exclusion of most ballistic analyses; the New York Times model from 2018

1:27:00 – previewing the Patron show; Ivan Katchanovski’s upcoming book on Maidan and the roots of Russia/Ukraine War

Tags: #russiaukrainewar #politics #ukrainewar

Making GREAT Independent Films On A Budget | ArtiFact 50: Joel Parrish, Alex Sheremet

Although there’s often a desire for big, Hollywood films, having too many resources, and too much polish, contradicts the mission of art. Independent films can be shot with minimal equipment and lend themselves to bigger, bolder ideas in a smaller package. In ArtiFact 50, Alex Sheremet and Joel Parrish reflect on shooting their first film, “From There to There: Bruce Ario, The Minneapolis Poet”. Topics covered: film and audio equipment, cinematography, production and post-production, finding interviews, and the practical as well as theoretical foundations of filmmaking.

You can also watch this conversation on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/u4hX_OSyWs4

To get the full conversation, support us on Patreon and get patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination

Read more and contribute to the film here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/new-film-the-minneapolis-poet-bruce-ario

Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV

Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ

Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB

Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo

iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L

Joel Parrish’s poetry and photography: https://poeticimport.com

Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com

Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination

Timestamps:

0:00 – the excitement of guerrilla filmmaking

1:36 – the final night of our Minneapolis trip; splitting camera responsibilities; over-scheduling yet still getting everything done; how capturing footage helps define the screenplay; Robbinsdale in Minneapolis; managing sixteen hour days

13:52 – the final night in Minneapolis; nighttime guerrilla filmmaking; accidental imagery & footage; Alex finds some bud; shooting without a plan; every alley has something that can be captured; Joel hops on a city bus and captures video & conversation; checking off a checklist vs. improv filmmaking

22:06 – how shooting a film altered Alex’s perception of watching movies; paying attention to cinematography; Alex’s thoughts on the 1995 hip-hop vampire film, The Addiction; how text styles on the screen can become quite dated; avoiding dated, faddish aesthetics; long vs. short takes; making a well-produced film on a budget using today’s software & equipment

31:20 – the post-production process; how we went from an informational, “good” documentary, to something far more ambitious; going through our equipment: a Canon M50 with an additional lens; DaVinci Resolve for film & color grading; capturing deep nighttime grain; SSD storage for keeping all files in 1 place; Zoom Podtrak P4 for an XLR connection to Audio-Technica’s lavalier microphone & AT2005 mics; Hollywood vs. anti-Hollywood aesthetics; Joel’s professional setup, cameras, GoPro, and audio equipment; getting the most out of any camera at a discount; GAS: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

53:50 – the pre-planning stages for an independent film; why a documentary is a great first movie; the importance of split responsibilities

FOR PATRONS: Joel’s planning stages for the film; acquiring interviews; the perils of overplanning; reducing the amount of equipment; Joel praises Alex as an interviewer; returning to Minneapolis: catching segregated neighborhoods, visiting other parks, 5-minute interviews with locals; capturing Minneapolis footage vs. footage from other cities; frozen falls; some wonderful descriptions of nature in Bruce Ario’s “Cityboy”

Tags: #film #art #artist

What The Al-Ahli Gaza Hospital Bombing Really Meant | ArtiFact 49: Alex Sheremet, Keith Jackewicz

The IDF is accused of bombing the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza. As a result, both Israelis and Palestinians have staked their reputations on the responsible party. Yet this would already be the 35th hospital strike in Gaza since 2008, while fully half of Gaza’s medical infrastructure had been leveled in Cast Lead and again in Protective Edge. In this video, political commentators Alex Sheremet and Keith Jackewicz deal with the fallout of the Hamas attack in Gaza, the Israeli counteroffensive, the meaning of the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital strike, Palestine’s history, and Joe Biden’s increasing lack of credibility in America and abroad. They also discuss Alex’s essay on the topic and Keith’s own essay on “asbestos capitalism”.

You can also watch this conversation on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5lCjNGDb7k

To get the B Side to this conversation, support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/automachination

B Side Topics: when Alex forced Keith to carry water gallons home; water-wars & over-stimulation; politics of de-growth; if you want Alex in the Marxist revolution, keep your grubby hands off of his bananas; wastefulness in the healthcare system; Putin’s military vs. social & educational spending; why sanctions have not crippled Russia; Ukraine youth paramilitary camps; Crimea & Russia’s first-use nuclear doctrine; the Supreme Court forced Israel to allow a Gazan to leave for medical treatment; white guilt is counter-productive but points to a positive historical development; Alex’s process of writing his Gaza essay; how skeptics of the War on Terror became Israel apologists; the subtle shift in calling Hamas’s terrorism “war crimes” alongside Israel’s own; most “human shields” allegations are false; why Leftists have a messaging problem; realpolitik in Israel-Palestine; how Joe Biden’s wars might come back to haunt him in 2024; polling problems & unfavourability; Keith’s impressions of the new Ceylan film, “About Dry Grasses”

Alex Sheremet’s essay on the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital bombing: https://www.automachination.com/israel-identity-gaza-hospital-attack/

We are working on a film on the late, great Minneapolis poet, Bruce Ario. Read more and contribute to the film here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/new-film-the-minneapolis-poet-bruce-ario

Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV

Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ

Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB

Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo

iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L

Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com

Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination

Timestamps:

1:54 – framing the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion; analyzing the Hamas attack of October 7; the gradual breakdown of the IDF; does Hamas want a Stalingrad

9:13 – Alex’s essay on the implications of Al-Ahli Hospital; why Israelis (and Palestinians) have hinged so much on the outcome; Keith’s essay on Asbestos Capitalism; Israel prefers to engage via airstrikes than IDF ground incursions; how “impersonal wars” & Israeli airstrikes create plausible deniability for high body counts; Israeli vs. Russian war crimes; Joe Biden is tying his hands with unpopular wars

20:21 – how Gaza & the Ukraine War shows limits of American unity; Israeli propaganda tries to connect Jews & Judaism with unpopular state actions; Jewish anti-Zionism; Keith’s experiences at a pro-Palestine rally; Keith: a dialectical attraction to Judaism; how Judaism has been subsumed by a colonial project

31:06 – Edward Said’s essay on the Oslo Accords: The Morning After; how the media changed from anti-PLO to pro-PLO; signing away Palestinian rights for positive media coverage; Oslo & settlement acceleration; assessing Yasser Arafat; Israel & the Arab world thinks of Palestinians as a millstone around the neck; how Palestinian lives are counted as less worthy

45:41 – Palestine’s ethnic cleansing is no different from 1000s of other groups in history; AIPAC is the NRA for liberals; Netanyahu should have become irrelevant after 2003; Netanyahu’s direct cash transfers to Hamas; how the response to Hamas’s 2006 election destroyed all possibility of democracy in Palestine; Gaza as a testing ground for fascism

59:22 – the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital attack in Gaza; how the attack has become so symbolic for both Palestinians & Israelis; the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh; Israel’s massacre of the 2018 Gaza protesters; no, the pro-Palestinian side does not rest on the culpability for the Al-Ahli outcome; how Netanyahu mouthpiece Hananya Haftali accidentally revealed Israeli’s propaganda machine

01:22:29 – Israel keeps delaying its ground offensive; Israel has nothing else politically except Netanyahu; Ariel Sharon’s cynical reasons for Gaza withdrawal; Ehud Olmert’s pathetic two-state solution peace plan; how Joe Biden continued Trump’s foreign policy

Tags: #gaza #israel #freepalestine #politics

Frank Whaley’s ”The Jimmy Show” Is So Underrated | ArtiFact 48

Taking great influence from Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy", Frank Whaley's underrated character portrait, "The Jimmy Show", was attacked by critics and filmgoers upon release, and is mostly forgotten now. In ArtiFact 48, critics Jessica Schneider, Ethan Pinch, Alex Sheremet, and Ezekiel Yu break down the film’s strengths and weaknesses while putting it in the wider context of American comedy and stand-up routines.

You can also watch this discussion on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D28Ib8L1BQk&

If you’d like the B Side to this conversation on Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy, become a YouTube member or join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/automachination

B Side topics: Alex hides & tricks everybody; soy tag vs. Brooklyn-style manhunt in the 1990s; Jessica and Alex indulge; one never stops cringing at Martin Scorsese’s King of Comedy; Rupert Pupkin is the perfect name; Travis Bickle; Zeke watches King of Comedy for the first time; Rupert Pupkin vs. Jimmy; Robert DeNiro is intentionally made less sexy; Martin Scorsese’s diversity as a filmmaker; unique imagery and symbolism in The King of Comedy; Rupert Pupkin is not less talented than those around him; “my name is Rupert: it may not mean a lot to you, but it means a lot to me”; leveraging fame; reality vs. fantasy/day-dream in the film’s ending; comparing to Sidney Lumet’s “Network”; the role of sexual grotesque in Scorsese, Woody Allen, & Robert Altman; why Rupert is animated in his renditions, but placid in his fantasies; is King of Comedy an artistic dead-end; comparing to Scorsese’s “After Hours” & male sexual psychology; King of Comedy in the Scorsese pantheon; Scorsese’s Shutter Island as a low point in his career; no point for Gangs of New York to exist; Bresson’s style was forged from personal needs; Andrei Tarkovsky & Ingmar Bergman; Martin Scorsese’s scriptwriters; & news, politics, Gaza, Israel, Hamas, Tony Blinken gets in trouble on Babi Yar, & much more…

Jessica Schneider’s review of Frank Whaley’s The Jimmy Show: https://www.automachination.com/underrated-gem-frank-whaley-jimmy-show-2001/

We are working on a film on the late, great Minneapolis poet, Bruce Ario. Read more and contribute to the film here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/new-film-the-minneapolis-poet-bruce-ario

Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV

Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ

Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB

Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo

iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L

Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com

Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination

Timestamps:

0:00 – introducing Frank Whaley’s The Jimmy Show; links with Martin Scorsese’s King of Comedy

2:40 – why Jessica wanted to review the film; fan expectations vs. artistic reality; portrait of a failure; even the descriptions of the film are wrong; Ray vs. Jimmy: who is the better person; Zeke on how Jimmy’s character creates a ceiling for the film; Ethan Hawke

9:27 – Ethan expresses distrust for Realist Cinema; is The Jimmy Show a comedy or a portrait of a comic character; the dynamic between Jimmy and his grandmother; tender vs. unlikeable moments; why the film is neither satire nor tragedy; the importance of the film’s title to its meaning; the Mike Leigh connection

19:10 – Alex on why Jimmy fails to read the room; how his classist humor gets him into trouble; failures of internalization; the Al Bundy / Married With Children connection; what makes the divorce scene so well-written; Jimmy’s character arc sees her become decisive & firm, while Jimmy doesn’t grow much

28:25 – Ethan: this is a very American film; fame for the sake of fame; Frank Whaley’s use of time can be quite arresting; is Jimmy a worthwhile character; Ethan pushes back against our praise for the film

38:20 – Ethan: isn’t EVERYTHING the Jimmy Show, the Alex Show, the Ethan Show?; the nature of motivated reasoning; people wish to be recognized, but for what?; the Milli Vanilli connection; Taylor Swift’s blandness IS the point; why Eugene O’ Neill didn’t sell out; revisiting Mike Leigh films

49:34 – does the ending “serve Jimmy right”; the nature of comedy; Ethan on American-style standup comedy & machismo

Tags: #films #review #comedy

How The Black Panthers Changed My Life | ArtiFact 47: Eldridge Cleaver’s ”Soul on Ice”

Two years after the creation of the Black Panther Party, Eldridge Cleaver’s prison writings were published as SOUL ON ICE. He became the party’s Minister of Information, but would soon have a falling out with Huey P. Newton over tactics and ideology. In ArtiFact #47, authors Alex Sheremet and Keith Jackewicz break down the text, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses, as Alex explains why it was so critical for his own intellectual development in high school.

You can also watch this conversation on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1DCNP2uYMo

If you found this video useful, support us on Patreon and get the B Side to this conversation: https://www.patreon.com/automachination

B Side Topics: re-visiting James Baldwin; why don’t political writers care about good prose; varieties of bad conservative & liberal writing; African American leftist writing tends to be self-Orientalizing; art has become an arm of ideology, parasocial relationships; terrible art-objects (“The Sound of Freedom”) and ciphers (“Try That In A Small Town”); the implosion of Ibram X. Kendi; his valorization of ignorance and refusing to read; Ibram X. Kendi doesn’t get Shakespeare’s “Othello” and “The Tempest”; Christopher Rufo runs victory laps; Boston University’s racial problems; COVID in 2023: no tracking, vaccination is disorganized, no funds for long COVID & the nature of endemic disease; most Americans are not compliant with vaccine uptake; blood clots & COVID; Chapo Trap House & their fanbase; the practical ramifications of day-to-day climate change; waking up to storms; Pittsburgh & the Amtrak experience; Ukraine/Russia developments; why did Biden box himself in by selling the war as a Russia-US proxy; Nikki Haley vs. Joe Biden; the salience of Roe v. Wade; Republicans will likely adopt Trump’s abortion strategy; Zelensky & Minsk II

We are working on a film on the late, great Minneapolis poet, Bruce Ario. Read more and contribute to the film here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/new-film-the-minneapolis-poet-bruce-ario

Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV

Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ

Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB

Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo

iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L

Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com

Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination

Timestamps:

0:00 – a white kid sits at the black table

1:30 – introducing Eldridge Cleaver’s classic Black Panther text, “Soul on Ice”; how the book totally changed Alex’s life in high school; Keith: Cleaver has more lyrical dexterity than most leftist writing; the homophobia

9:00 – Malcolm X’s autobiography vs. Eldridge Cleaver; thresholds of transformation; Ras Kass’s 1996 rap album, “Soul on Ice”; contrasts with Huey P. Newton’s “Revolutionary Suicide”; homophobia & social conservatism in the radical left; the RCP’s Bob Avakian; Aleksandr Dugin’s style of fascism

19:25 – why the Black Panthers presented as a black nationalist group despite being Marxist-Leninists; how Donald Trump’s election shattered Keith’s understanding of the world; why the United States government feared the Black Panthers; hecklers in the Nation of Islam; the New Black Panther Party; armed patrols in California; overreaction within geopolitical rivalry; liberalism & the erosion of rights; 2007’s Stop the Madrassa; America’s change of opinions on Islam, immigrants; Alex: why Richard Spencer, et al was a dying gasp in 2016-2017

38:50 – Eldridge Cleaver’s obsession with poseur whites; Norman Mailer & “The White Negro”; a terrible passage from Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road”; masculine novelists & insecure violence; cultural appropriation discourse is now passe; how diversity & integration teaches everyone; Alex’s experiences in a majority-black high school; how Alex was transformed by Countee Cullen & Harlem Renaissance poetry; black America faces steeper consequences for *everything*

52:08 – respect vs. fetishization; collectivization & sociability in black America; Eldridge Cleaver’s attacks on James Baldwin; Eldridge Cleaver might have been a closeted bisexual; Cleaver fails to understand high art; assessing Giovanni’s Room; defending James Baldwin’s comments on Richard Wright; Cleaver’s upbringing & psychology damaged his chances of becoming a great author; the worst chapter in Soul on Ice

01:19:42 – Eldridge Cleaver’s love letters are surprisingly well-handled; Alex’s favorite chapter in Soul on Ice; Cleaver knew how to sketch and characterize; Cleaver’s writerly tricks in his Old Lazarus chapter; how sexual imbalances fuel resentment; black objectification; comparisons to Bela Tarr’s The Turin Horse

01:42:05 – Patreon show preview; Eldridge Cleaver’s latter biography; his falling out with Beverly Axelrod; Soul on Fire was a terrible follow-up; Keith: how There Will Be Blood & Ratatouille changed my life

Tags: #politics #books #blackpanther

Norman Finkelstein on the IMPLOSION of Ibram X Kendi | ArtiFact 46

Ibram X Kendi (born Henry Rogers) is an "antiracist scholar" who is now under investigation by Boston University due to alleged mismanagement of the Center for Antiracist Research. In ArtiFact #46, Holocaust scholar Norman Finkelstein breaks down the allegations, as well as his responses to Ibram X. Kendi's scholarly writing in "Stamped from the Beginning" and "How to be an Antiracist". He concludes that, besides his alleged administrative fraud, Kendi is an intellectual hoaxer who has more in common with the Right than with the Left.

You can also watch this discussion on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/ieU2HCGpCSY

Buy Norman Finkelstein’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Heretical-Thoughts-Identity-Politics-Academic/dp/B0BSJXB7WN/

Norman Finkelstein’s website: https://www.normanfinkelstein.com

If you found this video useful, support us on Patreon and get patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination

We are working on a film on the late, great Minneapolis poet, Bruce Ario. Read more and contribute to the film here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/new-film-the-minneapolis-poet-bruce-ario

Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV

Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ

Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB

Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo

iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L

Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com

Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination

Timestamps:

01:47 – introduction; the implosion of Ibram X. Kendi's antiracist center at Boston University; Norman Finkelstein distinguishes Kendi the scholar vs. Kendi the administrator; Ibram X. Kendi's celebrity encouraged a total lack of oversight; the Center for Antiracist Research was a vehicle of Kendi's books; Kendi's output vs. Noam Chomsky’s; How To Be An Antiracist Baby; the mystery of Ibram X. Kendi's celebrity

18:09 – Norman Finkelstein dissects Ibram X. Kendi’s “Stamped from the Beginning”; does Ibram X. Kendi’s exercise of “racist, not racist” for 100s of pages add up to anything; why Norman Finkelstein does not use the word “fascist” as an insult; the question of Abraham Lincoln’s racism; goodness vs. greatness in human beings; Teddy Roosevelt’s racism towards Native Americans

30:00 – Paul Sweezy’s apologia for Stalin & Stalinism; Alex: why my great-grandmother LOVED Stalin; Alex on the perceived political legitimacy of Stalin, Putin, and Xi Jinping; Norman Finkelstein reads his favorite quote from Abraham Lincoln

41:40 – Norman Finkelstein on Martin Luther King, Jr.; Alex on arguing with Nazis and white nationalists as an adolescent; the one useful thing Ibram X. Kendi should have done; Norman Finkelstein on upper-crust, racist friends from the 1970s; sports and intelligence; the racism of William Shockley and James Watson; prejudice & property values; why fighting race science intellectually does not work; Norman Finkelstein’s advice on how to break anti-black racial stereotypes

57:17 – Norman Finkelstein denies accusations of elitism; the implosion of Democracy Now! & Amy Goodman; tackling Ibram X. Kendi’s “How To Be An Antiracist”; the appearance of “Smurf”, Kendi’s high school friend “so black that he’s blue”; Ibram X. Kendi insists on structural racism, yet shies away from obvious, everyday examples of such; some howlers from “How To Be An Antiracist”; previewing our coming conversation on the Supreme Court affirmative action decision

Tags: #politics #identity #normanfinkelstein

Dreamscapes In Scorsese’s ”Taxi Driver” | ArtiFact #45: Laura Woods, Jessica Schneider

Universally heralded as an American classic, Martin Scorsese’s TAXI DRIVER (Robert DeNiro, Jodie Foster) deserves its reputation for nuance and the subtle ways in which its thematic, cinematic, and psychological elements cohere. Paul Schrader’s script allows for everything from understated racial critique, to a realistic depiction of how entanglements are made and broken, to the role of loneliness and purposelessness in the modern world. This is partly done by way of a dreamscape, which has enough plausible deniability to still feel "real".

In ArtiFact #45, Alex Sheremet is joined by Irish poet Laura Woods and poet, novelist, and film critic Jessica Schneider to offer fresh insight into Martin Scorsese’s seminal film and the psychology of its protagonist, Travis Bickle.

You can also watch this conversation on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8u7n9uTexs

To get the B Side to this conversation, support us on Patreon and get Patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination

B Side topics: Jessica on Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ”; Jessica physically acts out “demon children”; Laura on Gerard Manley Hopkins; guilt and art; Alex “wanders off”; reading John Donne; social services & abortion politics in Ireland; Tanizaki’s “Some Prefer Nettles”; Laura on COVID politics in Ireland; on modern Russian music & the Soviet bard tradition; American meddling in Russia’s elections; translating Russian poetry; & much more

Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV

Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ

Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB

Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo

iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L

Jessica Schneider’s essay on Taxi Driver: https://www.automachination.com/mindful-loneliness-martin-scorseses-taxi-driver-1976/

Dan Schneider's essay on Taxi Driver and Travis Bickle: http://www.cosmoetica.com/B928-DES721.htm

Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination

Timestamps:

0:00 – thematic coherence in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver; Travis Bickle’s arbitrary attachments of value; Betty’s rejection quickens Travis Bickle’s psychotic break; the function of The Wizard character; choice vs. determinism

5:58 – racial hang-ups in Taxi Driver; the Alka-Seltzer scene & its "dream thug"; the beating of a dead robber might be Travis Bickle's own fantasy; Paul Schrader's original script called for black actors to play the film’s pimps and johns; Charles Palantine vs. Robert Altman's Hal Philip Walker (Nashville)

11:48 – Travis Bickle's "misguided earnestness"; his romantic impulses are impulsive, yet his critiques tend to be "correct" purely by coincidence; analyzing a scene where some children harass Travis Bickle

19:20 – empathy & character relatability; Dan Schneider's assessment of Travis Bickle’s psychology; the world’s current default state of loneliness

26:00 – Travis Bickle's conservative values; the humor + empathy of Travis feeling repulsed by immorality; the Mike Leigh connection; a Woody Allen + Annie Hall connection; how Travis enters & leaves lucidity; incels & White Knight psychology; even a scumbag pimp like Matthew (Sport) “sees” Travis Bickle’s lack of social adjustment

36:24 – how cognizant is Travis Bickle of his situation?; Travis's family vs. Jodie Foster's family; was there abuse at home?; neglected Martin Scorsese films; Paul Schrader produced a weak script for 'Light Sleeper'; how Taxi Driver predicted Jordan B. Peterson types; Roger Ebert on Martin Scorsese

51:46 – Travis Bickle: “I believe someone should become a person like other people”; underlying profundity vs. crass profundity; confession time: Alex Sheremet just can’t get through Mishima’s “Spring Snow”; Mishima’s "Temple of the Golden Pavilion"; why Murakami (mostly) sucks; Lars von Trier is Ingmar Bergman without the depth

Tags: #cinema #psychology #taxidriver

Norman Finkelstein On Race, Class, & Robin DiAngelo’s Fraud | ArtiFact #44

In the last few decades, political correctness has divided Americans and reduced their ability to embark on a real political project. According to Holocaust and Israel/Palestine scholar Norman Finkelstein, Robin DiAngelo and Ibram X. Kendi are representatives of race-based fraud, downplaying the role of class, culture, and more in order to sell books and corporate workshops.

In ArtiFact #44, Norman Finkelstein and Alex Sheremet discuss the class-based critique formulated in Finkelstein’s latest book, “I’ll Burn That Bridge When I Get To It”, as well as questions of criminal justice and criminal justice reform. The text covers political correctness, academic freedom, class politics, cancel culture, Roe v. Wade and other Supreme Court decisions, W.E.B. DuBois, Frederick Douglass, and more.

You can also watch this discussion on the automachination YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/csWQhC40DDM

Buy Norman Finkelstein’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Heretical-Thoughts-Identity-Politics-Academic/dp/B0BSJXB7WN/

Norman Finkelstein’s website: https://www.normanfinkelstein.com

If you found this video useful, support us on Patreon and get patron-only content: https://www.patreon.com/automachination

Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xw2M4D

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3wLpqEV

Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3dSQXxJ

Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/2SVJIxB

Podbean: https://bit.ly/3yzLuUo

iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L

Read more from the automachination universe: https://automachination.com

Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/automachination

Timestamps:

0:00 – race, class, and the criminal justice system

1:26 – introducing Norman Finkelstein’s “I’ll Burn That Bridge When I Get To It”; is there a biological basis for race and racism; Finkelstein explains why he rejects the salience of race and IQ; Robert Trivers and Mihalis Yannakakis; Finkelstein’s experience with his African American students

12:56 – Alex Sheremet’s experience with desegregation; ethnicity from Belarus to Brooklyn; how proximity creates understanding; Robin DiAngelo’s bait-and-switch in “White Fragility”

16:34 – “White Fragility is the worst book written on any subject ever”; Norman Finkelstein on structural racism; racial representation vs. culture; Asian representation & the Tiger Mom; Finkelstein on Ketanji Brown Jackson & the Affirmative Action decision; W.E.B. DuBois; cultural disparities are a constant; why the American legal process is grounds for revolution; class forces one into plea bargains

30:16 – racism and the criminal justice system; how class defines the criminal justice experience; Norman Finkelstein’s arrests and legal experiences

37:54 – gender disparities in male/female sentencing for identical crimes; the need for a material/cultural analysis; basketball courts are material and cultural; Norman Finkelstein wasted too much time watching television; early childhood years are fundamental for development; Frederick Douglass

44:54 – Robin DiAngelo’s authoritarian version of antiracism; liberalism & authoritarianism; the silliness of “interrupting racism”; developing a thicker skin; anti-Semitic comments directed at Norman Finkelstein; African American passivity in “White Fragility”; have classical studies been hijacked?

56:42 – Alex Sheremet and Norman Finkelstein make a series of “wild surmises” about Robin DiAngelo’s psychology; the Glenn Loury problem – personal background should make you “know better”; Robin DiAngelo as a “sick Karen”; teasing our future conversation on Ibram X. Kendi

Tags: #politics #justice #iq #normanfinkelstein #woke #race