Novara FM: Critical Theorists Hate This One Weird Trick w/ Anna Kornbluh
Mar 21, 2024
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The podcast delves into the effects of immediacy in contemporary society, touching on topics like front-facing cinematography in streaming shows, parasociality in content creation, attributing agency to AI models, practicing circling for interpersonal connection, and navigating immediacy in climate change activism.
Immediacy shapes contemporary cultural responses to capitalism, emphasizing homogeneity and affective connections.
Technological advancements drive hyper-personalization, raising concerns about algorithmic culture and limiting critical engagement.
Rushing creativity without essential knowledge risks dystopian outcomes, stressing the need for societal processing and shared experiences.
Deep dives
The Concept of Mediation and Its Role in Society
Mediation, an essential concept in philosophy, encompasses the representation of social activities. It involves narrating stories or creating images to interpret systems or conflicts. Mediation also influences how individuals comprehend their surroundings through cultural and economic frameworks. Capitalism shapes everyday life through mediation, evident in our interactions influenced by economic forces.
Immediacy in Late Capitalism and Its Aesthetic Impact
Immediacy has become a defining feature of late capitalism, driven by rapid circulation and instant access. This compels artists and consumers towards a seamless, personalized, and fluid experience. The shift towards immediacy reflects the cultural response to underproduction and stagnation in the economy. Immediacy emphasizes homogeneity, sincerity, and affective connections, contrasting the postmodern aesthetic of detachment and pastiche.
Technology, Immediacy, and the Consumption of Personalized Content
Technological advancements, such as AI and video synthesis tools like Sora, are reshaping the consumption of personalized content. The desire for immediate gratification and personalized experiences raises concerns about an algorithmically driven culture. This trend towards hyper-personalized content creation poses an intellectual, aesthetic, and economic challenge, potentially limiting critical engagement and deep meaningful connections in an overly mediated world.
The Dangers of Immediate Creativity
The episode explores the dangers of seeking immediate gratification in creative endeavors without putting in the necessary work or expertise. It criticizes the fantasy of bypassing knowledge and skill acquisition, highlighting the importance of social processing, relationality, and structured learning in creative processes. The podcast warns against the dystopian consequences of embracing a vision of creativity devoid of societal and labor-related elements, emphasizing the need for depth, complexity, and shared experiences in artistic expressions.
Navigating Immediacy in the Climate Crisis
The podcast delves into the implications of immediacy in addressing urgent global issues like climate change. It discusses the sense of urgency and severity associated with climate crisis, highlighting the need for immediate action while cautioning against fatalistic attitudes. The episode emphasizes the importance of diverse strategies, solidarity, and collaborative efforts in combating environmental challenges, rejecting purely hedonistic or resigned responses. It calls for a nuanced approach that combines critical thinking, categorization, and scaled interventions to navigate the complexities of contemporary environmental and political dilemmas.
We’re living in a world of hurry and shortcuts, of intimacy on tap and just-in-time production. Immediacy, according to Anna Kornbluh, is the link between flow-states and Fleabag, between food delivery apps and a mistrust of political systems. She joins Richard Hames to explain the thinking behind her new book – Immediacy: Or, The Style […]
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