Reheated (8)

For newcomers, three more items from the archives.

Artists for Gaia.

Escaping gas, high drama and The Great Symbolic Bench.

“The wind was so strong that the mission would have failed immediately, the bench would be blown off the iceberg in no time. Around 8 in the evening we gave up... I started to feel that my project was gaining a different, and maybe stronger, meaning... And maybe the bench was an excuse and didn’t need to be left out on the ice at all.”

Much Tutting, Bluster. 

James Bond is insufficiently emasculated, unlike Theo Hobson.

It seems to me that a huge part of Bond’s appeal, as a character and a franchise, is precisely the rejection of many PC assumptions and their petty, emasculating tenor. Unlike many Guardian writers, Bond isn’t prone to disabling fits of quasi-Marxist handwringing. And nor is his boss, ‘M’, played by a pleasingly firm Judy Dench - hardly a “flimsy thing who needs hard male mastery.”

Ray Gun Patriarchy.

On Bidisha’s Planet Diversity all science fiction will be made to conform.

The claim that the world of science fiction is inordinately populated by “homophobic white male straight writers” and “woman-hating racists” – none of whom are named - sits uneasily with the author’s admission that science fiction fandom is noted for its breadth and inclusivity and a propensity for discussing “sex, race, whatever.” Nor is it entirely consonant with her own extended list of suitably inclusive authors. Indeed, so extensive is this list, and so numerous are the writers and characters unfairly omitted from it, one might suppose the author of this article is intent on disproving her own premise.

Or poke about in the greatest hits.

Comments

[dw]

"I think the real victims of the Bond cult are men, who are impelled by a vile peer-pressure to worship at the shrine of this lethal lothario… The fact is that James Bond's sexual career does real harm to the male psyche… I seriously believe that Bond is a big factor in the sexual malfunction of our times; the difficulty we have finding life-long partners, and the normalisation of pornography."

Hahahaha. Classic Guardian. It's the Daily Mail for lefties.

[David]

dw,

“Classic Guardian.”

It is, I think, symbolic of the paper’s broader tone. When I think of Bond, what comes to mind is amusingly hyperbolical cinema and a character that appeals to a sense of heroism, justice and adventure. Only in the Guardian could these things be denounced as “a nasty, cowardly part of us that ought to have been killed off long ago.”

[Spruance]

Their disgust can only explained as coming from people knowing nothing of what they are writing about. And then they seem to be so jealous!

[Chris S]

Well, Bond DOES go into foreign countries/Evil genius lairs and *interferes* with their activities. He should be celebrating the diversity of these nations and if the evil genius does wipe out large swaths of humanity in an attempt to creat a new utopia, well, eggs and omlets and such. Plus he really shouldn't be flying around to these places so much, I mean his carbon footprint must be shocking. Can't he just use a bike or public transit? And his Martinis? Are they fair trade?

Yes, Bond is a dinosaur. Shame on him.

[sackcloth and ashes]

I would have thought the average Guardianista would have been quite pleased with 'Quantum of Solace' (if it had been a bit less violent and more carbon-neutral). After all, the plot features a wicked international capitalist corporation working in cahoots with the CIA to steal Bolivia's most vital natural resource.

Oh, I almost forgot Theo. Bond doesn't cop off with the female lead at the end. So there's nothing there to upset you, you fucking gelding.

[AC1]

"coincidentally" Quantum is the name of George Soros's fund...

[sackcloth and ashes]

Wow. Wheels within wheels ...

[Spiny Norman]

Did Goldfinger, err... I meen, George Soros put up the funds to make the flick?

[TDK]

Tomorrow Never Dies surely appealed to Guardian readers with its subtle plot involving a media tycoon who creates tomorrow's news.

[Karen M]

What's not to like?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPmJ73XRlUs

[Steve]

Hard to understand the Grauniad's dislike of Bond. He has a gun and shoots people casually, just like Che did. He jets round the world, just like climatechange junkies do. He drinks, just like all those Dear Leaders do while their peasants toil. He has sex with women... er, okay. Got me there...

Yes, I can see why he is hated now.

[David]

The combination of pretentious self-loathing and self-congratulation is comical and repellent. I get the impression Mr Hobson has dutifully reduced himself to a resentful, conflicted, self-disgusted wreck and therefore resents even fictional reminders of how much that’s cost him. Maybe announcing his PC enlightenment is some kind of compensation, albeit one that reveals more than he intended.

[Tom Foster]

Bidisha's at it again in the Guardian today. Talking about 'Women' she says:

'We suffer the most discrimination, violence, abuse and exploitation in the world. We are denied education and freedom of movement in some cultures. In all cultures we are denied justice. We do the hardest, most relentless work, the work that requires both physical tenacity and concentration and is, not coincidentally, unpaid or underpaid. We are the teachers, the mothers, the cleaners, the housekeepers, the carers, the nurses, the activists, the administrators – often in addition to our day jobs.'

Assuming there's some truth to her Wikipedia entry, compare and contrast:

'Bidisha was educated at the private school Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls, followed by St Edmund Hall at the University of Oxford and at the London School of Economics, where she gained an MSc in Moral and Political Philosophy and Economic History.'

and…

'At 14 she was involved in the Riot Grrl feminist arts movement, producing a fanzine, Grrlpride. She began writing professionally for arts magazines such as i-D, Dazed and Confused and the NME at the age of 15,[4] and in 1995, aged 16, she signed a lucrative book deal with HarperCollins.'

and…

'Bidisha's second novel, the thriller Too Fast to Live, was published when she was 21, and her third book, Venetian Masters, a travel memoir, was published in February 2008. In between these two books she built a career as an arts critic, social and political affairs columnist and commentator in print, radio and television. She was a contributing editor of the feminist magazine Sibyl and the style magazine 2nd Generation.'

Guardian writers do love that 'We', don't they?

[Anna]

"Guardian writers do love that 'We', don't they?"

She's embracing The Other.

[JuliaM]

" In all cultures we are denied justice. "

Huh..?

[JuliaM]

And 'the hardest, most relentless work'?

Has she never watched any of those documentaries about deep sea trawler crews, loggers, or ice road truckers on Sky?

[Anna]

A blinder from the CIF comments...

"There is more than one sort of feminism represented at the Guardian. It isn't just Bidisha's take with her particularly Oxford education informed take on women's oppression. There is Laurie Penny's (Oxford educated) young, socialist feminism, for instance. Or there is Tanya Gold's (Merton College, Oxford.) shit-stirring Daily Mailite form of feminism. Or Catherine Bennet's (Hertford College, Oxford) more measured aproach. Say what you want about the Guardian's aproach to feminist journalism people, but be fair, they really do try to represent a plurality of Oxford University opinion. And after all, if you want to find women with real experience of oppression, where could be better than Oxford?"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/01/ceri-thomas-today-women-row?showallcomments=true#CommentKey:2dc9aa88-f5d4-43b8-9194-1f574a08dc2f

[Spiny Norman]

Oh look, another AGW true believer, James Lovelock, puts his inner fascist on display:

"One of the main obstructions to meaningful action is "modern democracy", he added. "Even the best democracies agree that when a major war approaches, democracy must be put on hold for the time being. I have a feeling that climate change may be an issue as severe as a war. It may be necessary to put democracy on hold for a while."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/mar/29/james-lovelock-climate-change

Really? Which "best democracies" were those that "put democracy on hold" during the little dustup between 1939 and 1945? Germany, maybe? Russia, perhaps...?

[sackcloth and ashes]

'Even the best democracies agree that when a major war approaches, democracy must be put on hold for the time being. I have a feeling that climate change may be an issue as severe as a war. It may be necessary to put democracy on hold for a while.'

Let's test that proposition against the facts, shall we?

USA during WWII: FDR still had to deal with the electoral cycle (standing for re-election in 1944) despite the war.

UK during WWII: A general election is delayed until July 1945 (the previous one being ten years earlier). But by-elections are still held, and Churchill does actually face a vote of no confidence in July 1942. Chamberlain himself lost office as a result of a parliamentary vote of no-confidence over two years later.

And the score is ...

Lovelock: 0. Historical record: 2.

'In all cultures we are denied justice'.

Strangely enough, the most mysogynistic society on the planet in recent years was that of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Which is why the Guardianistas are solidly behind the NATO-led effort to defeat the Taliban insurgency ... erm ... oopps

[David]

What’s interesting about Lovelock – who’s always struck me as confused and rather foolish – is that he admits this:

“The great climate science centres around the world are more than well aware how weak their science is... It’s almost naive, scientifically speaking, to think we can give relatively accurate predictions for future climate. There are so many unknowns that it’s wrong to do it.”

And yet he still says this:

“We need a more authoritative world. We’ve become a sort of cheeky, egalitarian world where everyone can have their say... You’ve got to have a few people with authority who you trust who are running it... It may be necessary to put democracy on hold for a while.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2010/mar/29/james-lovelock

Naturally, the Guardian piece breezes over the tension between the first statement and the second.

[rjmadden]

David, thanks for reposting these. I'm still laughing at the comments. "Bidisha! [jazz hands!]" :D

Why does The Guardian employ so many people with such ridiculous opinions?

[David]

rjmadden,

“Why does The Guardian employ so many people with such ridiculous opinions?”

Ridiculous opinions crop up everywhere, obviously, but it’s true the Guardian seems to feature them in an unusually high concentration. I could only guess why that is, though I do have my suspicions.

Reading the pieces by Theo Hobson and Bidisha, I’m not even sure the opinions being aired are the authors’ own, if you see what I mean. They don’t ring true as something they thought up for themselves, however badly, having looked at the world as it actually is. They sound more like opinions that were bought off the rack, memorised in chunks, then dutifully regurgitated. Maybe those are the opinions Bidisha and Mr Hobson feel they ought to have. Or ought to be seen having.

And maybe that’s relevant.

[WTP]

“Why does The Guardian employ so many people with such ridiculous opinions?”

I fear the sad answer to that is that we have created a civilization so exceedingly wealthy and so beyond anything that has come before it, such people are becoming the new normal. When elements of past societies became this "ridiculous" they were left alone to rot and die. We, otoh, encourage them to breed and feed them when they can't feed themselves. I know it's a tired analogy but the Roman Empire was able to creak along for a couple centuries with raving lunatics in charge until it reached a point of no return. Fortunately for most of them, they probably lacked the foresight to see the end coming. Unlike this poor monkey:

http://tinyurl.com/yz7woto

ok, that was depressing...I've tried looking at pictures of cute kittens in coffee cups, but it's not helping...Maybe I'll try that banana mask video or the Rachael Welch space dance one...