History and Multiplicity
In order to have a real movement, a revolution, it’s necessary to consider the things which will make this revolution what it is. What is the philosophy of the movement? What is the aesthetic of the movement? What are the common issues or themes of the movement?
Perhaps we could better understand the aspects of this movement by considering other movements, such as the Civil Rights movement, the Feminist movement, Dadaism, Modernism, or Jazz. All of these things are rather different, but they were all incredibly influential in their own right. How do we go about recreating that momentum, that influence, that drive in our search for our own revolution?
It’s easy to say “let’s do something new”, and it is something altogether different to actually do something new. Who are we to think that we are original in our thoughts or beliefs? Who are we to say that what we are doing has never been done before, that our message is one that no one has heard? Nothing under the sun is new.
So if it is impossible for us to do something entirely new, what can we do? It’s easy to say forget it. It’s all been done, so that leaves us with nothing to do. And this is something I’ve heard from a lot of people. The Civil Rights movement already addressed racism, so we can’t do that. The feminism of the 60’s already addressed women’s rights, so we can’t do that. The problem with this kind of thinking is twofold. Firstly, problems like sexism and racism are still around, and must still be addressed. But secondly, and more importantly, by focusing on only one issue we would be limiting ourselves in the scope of our movement.
So I believe that rather than trying to focus on only one thing, it would be best for our approach to be one that encompasses everything. Instead of looking at the world through one narrow lens, we should try to consider all aspects. The movement must be one which encompasses social issues such as racism, sexism, classism, censorship, and various other issues. The movement must embrace history, it must be aware of multiple viewpoints, multiple philosophical arguments. As someone I asked once said: The next revolution must be multicultural.
For me, this concept of multiplicity translates into an aesthetic, which allows me to create art (as mythicalbyrd wrote about). As a filmmaker, specifically, I have a vision of an aesthetic which does not follow any particular genre or style, but rather is a combination of many genres and styles, as an attempt to show reality for what it is. I’m not entirely sure how to articulate this concept, as it is still new to me and I haven’t completely figured it out myself. But it’s there. I feel like something is on the tip of my tongue and the lips of others. Something big that is going to come about, something for which we don’t yet have a name.
Perhaps we could better understand the aspects of this movement by considering other movements, such as the Civil Rights movement, the Feminist movement, Dadaism, Modernism, or Jazz. All of these things are rather different, but they were all incredibly influential in their own right. How do we go about recreating that momentum, that influence, that drive in our search for our own revolution?
It’s easy to say “let’s do something new”, and it is something altogether different to actually do something new. Who are we to think that we are original in our thoughts or beliefs? Who are we to say that what we are doing has never been done before, that our message is one that no one has heard? Nothing under the sun is new.
So if it is impossible for us to do something entirely new, what can we do? It’s easy to say forget it. It’s all been done, so that leaves us with nothing to do. And this is something I’ve heard from a lot of people. The Civil Rights movement already addressed racism, so we can’t do that. The feminism of the 60’s already addressed women’s rights, so we can’t do that. The problem with this kind of thinking is twofold. Firstly, problems like sexism and racism are still around, and must still be addressed. But secondly, and more importantly, by focusing on only one issue we would be limiting ourselves in the scope of our movement.
So I believe that rather than trying to focus on only one thing, it would be best for our approach to be one that encompasses everything. Instead of looking at the world through one narrow lens, we should try to consider all aspects. The movement must be one which encompasses social issues such as racism, sexism, classism, censorship, and various other issues. The movement must embrace history, it must be aware of multiple viewpoints, multiple philosophical arguments. As someone I asked once said: The next revolution must be multicultural.
For me, this concept of multiplicity translates into an aesthetic, which allows me to create art (as mythicalbyrd wrote about). As a filmmaker, specifically, I have a vision of an aesthetic which does not follow any particular genre or style, but rather is a combination of many genres and styles, as an attempt to show reality for what it is. I’m not entirely sure how to articulate this concept, as it is still new to me and I haven’t completely figured it out myself. But it’s there. I feel like something is on the tip of my tongue and the lips of others. Something big that is going to come about, something for which we don’t yet have a name.
posted at 12:49 PM
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