Anna Kornbluh discusses her book 'Immediacy Or, The Style of Too Late Capitalism' with the hosts. They talk about mediation, negative aspects, Van Gogh experiences, Sartre, Žižek's film work, and the end of futurity. The conversation explores immediacy in art, society, and literature, as well as societal fragmentation through action and contemplation.
First-person narratives limit societal understanding and diverse perspectives.
Auto-fiction prioritizes immediacy and market demands over structural depth in writing.
Emphasis on immediacy in art and culture hinders collective action towards critical global issues.
Deep dives
The Shift to First-Person Narrative and Loss of Collectivity in Fiction
The current trend in the Anglophone canon towards majority first-person narratives in contemporary novels represents a significant departure from the traditional third-person narratives. This shift undermines the rich potential for exploring shared experiences and abstract thinking. The essence of first-person narratives reduces complexities and limits the ability to comprehend societal values or diverse perspectives, losing the nuanced understanding and broad representation that third-person narratives offer.
Auto-Fiction and Emphasis on Immediacy
The rise of auto-fiction, emphasizing immediate self-expression and truth, reflects broader industrial conditions and constraints within the creative writing realm. This trend prioritizes personal charisma and cuts the structural depth of traditional fiction, favoring self-manifestation over fictional creation. Auto-fiction aligns with the current economic pressures on writers, intertwining artistic expression with market demands and individual branding.
Intervention, Immediacy, and Climate Change
The emphasis on immediacy in artistic expressions and cultural trends mirrors a societal hesitation towards intervention, particularly in monumental challenges like climate change. The rejection of complexity and mediation often leads to a sense of helplessness and inaction, reinforcing a belief that rapid, direct solutions are unattainable or futile. This approach overlooks the importance of incremental actions and collective efforts in addressing critical global issues.
The Impact of Technology on Ecological Politics
Technological advancements like same-day shipping and cloud services have intensified carboniferous circulation, raising concerns about their ecological implications. The focus is on evaluating the expressivity and ecological consequences of rapid information and goods transfer rather than hastily embracing such strategies. There's a call to move away from fragmented tactical approaches to more strategic interventions that involve coordination at micro-community levels.
Reconsidering Immediacy in Technology and Art
Immediacy in technology and art offers intense experiences, with technology catering to immediate desires and fantasies. However, concerns arise about the industrial structures behind these pleasurable experiences and their alignment with capitalist values. The discussion delves into the challenges of traversing the enjoyment provided by technologies like Neuralink and the responsibility to critically assess the pleasures offered, ensuring an understanding of their industrial underpinnings and implications for subjectivity.
This week, the fellas are back with Anna Kornbluh. When we spoke with Alenka Zupančič recently, she told us we should interview Anna about her new book Immediacy Or, The style of Too Late Capitalism. So we did!
We’re talking mediation, the negative, Van Gogh immersive experiences, Sartre, Žižek’s early work on film, and the end of futurity.
Enjoy!
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