5. ‘On Being’ (Podcast with Daniel Kahneman)

SUMMARIES & NOTES ON SOME OF THE READINGS,
LECTURES, PODCASTS, LISTENINGS, ETC

b- blab bla
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(not complete and not in the right order)

> “HOW TO READ DONALD DUCK”
> Chile, 1971, book-length essay by Ariel Dorfman and Armand Mattelart that critiques Disney comics from a Marxist point of view as capitalist propaganda for American corporate and cultural imperialism.

- imperialistic ideology (& propaganda?)
- through (children’s) comic books
- THESIS: DD is not only a reflection of the prevailing ideology at the time (capitalism), but that they are also aware of this, and are active agents in spreading the ideology (!)
- Disney colonizes the everyday world, at hand of ordinary man and his common problems, rather than fantasy world that needs to be saved (like fe marvel/dc)
- leads to the acceptance of particular ideas about capital, the developed countries' relationship with the Third World, gender roles, etc.
EXAMPLES:
~ nobody has fathers or sons (only uncles, nephews, etc) -> no hierarchic order, except the one given by the amount of money and wealth possessed, no solidarity, only thing left is crude competition
~ necessity to have a stroke of luck for social mobility (regardless of the effort or intelligence involved)
~ the lack of ability of the native tribes to manage their wealth
- racist themes and stereotypes are common in both Disney comics and movies, some movies were changed, censored, or include sensitivity warnings

- happened with the first Kuifje (Tintin) comic too (anti soviet propaganda)
~ Tintin in the Land of the Soviets (1929/30)
~ Hergé later expressed embarrassment at the crudeness of the work. As he began to redraw his earlier Adventures in second, colour versions from 1942 onward, he decided against doing so for Land of the Soviets; it was the only completed Tintin story that Hergé did not reproduce in colour.
~ Hergé had continued The Adventures of Tintin with Tintin in the Congo (1931)
~ became increasingly controversial for both its racist colonial attitude toward Congolese people and for its glorification of big-game hunting. Accordingly, attempts were made in Belgium, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States to either ban the work or restrict its availability to children.


- makes me think of the US/CIA Bin Laden doll (“designed to terrify the children of the Middle East so much that they would be permanently put off from joining Islamist groups.”) - (“heat-sensitive paint used on the doll's face. When children played with the doll, the heat from their hands would activate the paint, and change Osama into a terrifying green-eyed, red-faced demon, with black markings all over his face.”)

- (considering own project) Kozarac (magazines and radio) being at the center of Prijedor’s anti serb propaganda [[research on whether there was propaganda directed to children back then as well?]]

19. on ‘The Architecture of Staged Realities’ @ het Nieuwe Instituut:

> RAZZ SPIDER-MAN
> 2021 by Y.M.P, Rotterdam

- FLOW (initiative in favor of young Dutch Rotterdammers with artistic ambitions) [Deblokada]
- symbol of revolt in Rdam South
- pro more diversity in the cultural sector
- theater shows, festivals, a library, workshops, exhibitions, ...
- the head of FLOW started it after a psychosis, following a dark, drug fueled time in his life
- pro more attention for mental health

> “GUN SHOTS”
> music video, 2019, by Zwart Licht

- hand drawn animation depicting racist concepts and figures like Zwarte Piet, Red Necks, Terrorists, Nazi symbols, Trump, KKK, Baphomet (?), Police (depicted demonic), Mickey Mouse, J. Edgar Hoover, PVV/Mark Rutte

✤ xx

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