i believe that freedom of speech and expression isn’t freedom from consequence if its intention is to spread falsehoods, divisions and hatred, even in culture and art, both of which should by default have a higher level of leverage!
i can't even attempt to make a coherent description of our current culture - start by watching all adam curtis' documentaries and read mark fisher's books - there is so much that is profoundly wrong with our so called western culture! (but it is not all bad, it never is)
culture
Human culture is the prevailing one. Differences are beatiful but minute.
An Alien can't tell the difference between any of these two legged creatures who spend most of the time doing things that make them unhappy. All this pointless arguing about 'us' and 'them' is a matter for Alien PhDs and extensive research and observation by noted intellectuals on their planet, who cannot subdivide them into categories or attributes or features that are distinguishable enough to satisfy Alien scientific method. We make even aliens unhappy...
Culture is about social learning: cultural inheritance occurs when the process of learning from others takes place across age classes and is maintained over a long period of time creating patterns of copying and reproduction of local and wider traditions, which is a common feature of all societies.
Migration and cross culture insemination is beautiful and inevitable part of humanity. Sealing off borders will never work .
recent, current and upcoming events
still messing around with ‘my’ flag
angloalbanianeuropean would be the closest flag if I had to choose one :)
is violence the defining theme of our culture or are we becoming a mix of Brave New World and 1984?
identity
My Albanian identity is like skin. I’ve always worn it.. With other layers. It has stretched and moved in all directions, since I was in my early teens. It aged and acquired tones that I will always wear comfortably but some I will shed. The skin is the largest organ, after all. People with very bad conversation skills think asking someone where they come from is a good start! Well, it isn’t because the answer is not a straightforward one. I feel most comfortable with Pejon and Londoner. Countries are too vague and confusing.. Recently, I said to someone I was Englanian. God knows where that came from but I may keep it. I live seeing people’s reaction when I give a whole speech about where I am from… it’s like a litmus test.. if they change the subject in confusion wishing they had never asked - the conversation ends there. (Usually the next question is ‘what do you do for a living?) bring the bucket!
flag
As it is widely known, I am not a lover of flags. They are trouble. However, as they have become more of a thing recently, I have decided to show you mine coz I’ve seen yours so many times. (Albeit altered and jazzed up with silver and frescos). I am always fair.
british culture
Is unique. It is vibrant, cosmopolitan,open, diverse, creative, very creative, in fact. British art is beautiful and constanly moving and changing. You can hate everything about UK but you will love its culture.
In a country that is so fundamentally fucked up, it is simply astonishing that such brilliance flourishes. Culturally, I am totally British, I think. Not because I am brilliant… onLy because I love and complete.y embrace the culture of this island. It’s probably a bit weird but that’s how it is,… Britain has given some of best artists and trends to the world, not to even mention its brilliant writers, poets, minstrels and witty scoundrels.
masculinities - a strange box to fill
The above is only possible in america. sadly, their infections tend to spread around the world but they never reach the level of poison and stupidity as in america.
who stole the internet?
the speaker's corner. comment is free but facts are not negotiable
I love saying to people I am a socialist... then see the sheer horror on (some) people's faces.. the scenario works much better with Americans. They usually think socialists are liberal child molesters without a job who will nationalise their kitchen! This is due to the relentless right wing narrative they are subjected to since being little children subjected to a relentless and fantastical story of a brave free Christian nation acting as a beacon to the world. It is properly fucked up. In some ways, USA, or big parts of it, are in the Dark Ages.
The same applies to their obsession with Christianity, Guns and Money
The Jesus they believe in in America has nothing to do with the guy who lived in Galilee and Judaea 2000 years ago. Nothing. Nada.
America is NOT a Christian country. It's just American.
Thank God Brits are far more cynical and less susceptible to dogma... Even the loudest Brexiteer has a bit more sense than a traditional Bible bashing, gun carrying, American evangelist. Yanks have a lot of things to go back to school for.
So do we.. so does everyone. Everyday is a school day but especially so in the mighty US of A
culture wars
This has become our new space for all kinds truly deplorable people and ideas to vent their right wing rhetoric, which is getting uglier and uglier. It is ironic that it contains the word ‘culture’ because there is nothing cultured about it.. Sadly, there is such a wedge between opposing tribes emerging from all over the woodwork!! The kind of bile that comes out against people who are targeted by all kinds of right wing bloggers, YouTubers, TikTok performers sis both unbelievable and very worrying. Ruthless politicians assisted by social media know exactly how to flare up basic instincts of large amounts of people by oversimplification, fear and blame! Trump, Bolsonaro, Johnson, Modi, and the rest of populist so called leaders are the main culprits, stoking up divisions not seen in living memory.
The scariest thing in all this is that their supporters don’t care about the lies… they are happy because it ‘upsets the left’.. How do you argue with someone like that??
has greyson perry become the mary berry of british art?
woke simply means hope for a kinder world. It’s about time we had a logo we can wear with pride. my little contribution.
Britain, Britain, Britain! Who really knows what it is... ?
A masterpiece of a masterpiece - this production of MacBeth should be made compulsory to watch by law. It’s brilliant.
manufacturing desire is the prevailing culture that spread from usa like the plague.
postmodernist culture … a culture that allows twisting of facts and perceptions to the point when the original idea is totally lost in a cycle of embellished copies
Has it all become a spectacle ?
A retreat from politics to being spectators on a ‘culture of abundance ? Personal empowerment has become the main ideology that suits neoliberal power structures.
Has this brought our relationships to a spectator level. I.e, we can share reality by looking at something together, which will become the stuff that connects us as mere spectators?
Isn’t it total madness that most devout Christians don’t know that Jesus did not and would not consider himself a Christian? He wasn’t a Communist or a Hippy either but probably was closer to those chaps than to typical Christian worshiper who blindly follows the church dogma without ever asking this very simple question: what would Jesus say to this circus that is organised religion. Muslims and Jews are equally just as bad at asking difficult questions but no one outdoes Christianity in its very elaborate theology with accompanying Christology that is the foundation of the longest running show on earth. Jews and Muslims don’t come even close. They are generally too scared of a vengeful God to dare ask too many questions ;)
a world of hyper real chosen to provoke in the ‘correct’ way.
Extinction Beckons by Mike Nelson
- a great evocative set of installations as an elegy of Thatcherist Britain, particularly poignant to people of a certain age who lived and loved in UK on the last 40 years.. highly recommended but but not on a weekend as crowds of sons and daughters of a dying ideology queue to be immersed in the story of a country under duress. :)
CLOSE
Totally fantastic. Not sure why the lofty Guardian of our thinking gave it four stars.. It's grear piece of cinema to show how complicated growing up is for boys... then roles switch and life generally becomes more difficult for women in adulthood... emphasis on generally.. bring a lot of tissue. You'll need it.
the art of disruption is perhaps all we have left to stop monsters like Trump, Putin and Netanyahu, etc., from twisting reality? what else CAN we do except fight lies and ugliness with beauty and truth?
TRUMP - normalising the grotesque or making america totally stupid?
chaos
Kaos is a superb take on Greek mythology and its relevance to the modern world, that is increasingly becoming chaotic, bizarre and heartless! Maybe it was always like that but we were spared of the bombardment of daily feeds of alternative versions of reality, depending on what we like or don't like!
I don't think it was intentional but a neutotic Zeus, with his pants in a constant twist living in his kitchy palace looks and behaves so much like Trump - America's would-be god of chaos and destruction?
A must watch (Netflix) ... familiarity with the Greek Pantheon and mythology helps but it not necessary!
End of culture in the so called West? Can we conceptualise anything truly new again or has the future been cancelled and replaced with a hazy mish mash of 20th century culture and aesthetics?
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