photo & text by nacrowe
with MUDBITE (FANTAGRAPHICS, 2018) and its two stories "MUD RIVER" and "BUG BITE" find DAVE COOPER's EDDY TABLE character at the center of ABSURD PLOT-LINES and phantasmagorically SEXUALLY-CHARGED imagery that feels like the id run WILD. making sense of both PLOTS seems besides the point as if COOPER is more interested in a sort of anything goes, FREE-ASSOCIATIVE approach to STORYTELLING, where his CHARACTERS are pulled into their deepest urges and oddly unconcerned with the consequences of such ADVENTURISM and SELF-DISCOVERY.
that being said the ILLUSTRATIONS are astonishingly LURID and deliciously DEBASED with a muted palette that RUBANESQUE, PILLOWY FLESHY figures with wide EXPRESSIVE eyes in DREAMY LANDSCAPES that meld into one another. im hesitant to refer to the IMAGERY as DRUG-LIKE but that is more than an apt description of such. in fact the whole EXPERIENCE of consuming MUDBITE feels akin to an ILLOGICAL and HALLUCINATORY MISADVENTURE with NO MEANING embedded or lessons learned. it just starts and ends in a seemingly endless loop of MISCHIEVOUS and consciously PERPLEXING GOBBLEDYGOOK. do i recommend MUDBITE? not really. even for me this publication was a prime example of someone being WEIRD solely for the sake of being WEIRD. its OPAQUE NARRATIVE and LUSCIOUS ILLUSTRATIONS seemed to be a distraction from the fact that NOTHING MEANINGFUL was being communicated. at least i didnt get it. but then maybe i am not the right audience for this. thats probably it.
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photo & text by nacrowe
i thought the premise was INTERESTING: a book that recounted the life narratives of several women who raised sons and daughters that went on to become NOTABLE and INFLUENTIAL musicians. in practice unfortunately it came out a bit INCOHERENT and TEDIOUS, almost like reading a book report.
that is not to say that i have anything against the late VIRGINIA HANLON GROHL, mother of DAVE GROHL of FOO FIGHTERS / NIRVANA fame. like her, i was an high school ENGLISH teacher so inherently i feel a sense of obligation in and of that connection to support my fellow brethren. teaching is an identity and is something i have not been able to shake in the intervening years (this blog included), so i understand intimately that deep need to NURTURE, EDUCATE and ELEVATE others. as such, you can palpably feel the LOVE and EMPATHY that went into creating FROM CRADLE TO STAGE: STORIES FROM THE MOTHERS WHO ROCKED AND RAISED ROCK STARS (SEAL PRESS, 2017) and the intensive process of intelligently relaying the disparate paths of women in raising and unconditionally supporting musicians like MICHAEL STIPE (R.E.M.), MIKE D (BEASTIE BOYS), AMY WINEHOUSE, WARREN HAYES (GOV'T MULE), DR. DRE (N.W.A.), TOM MORELLO (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, AUDIOSLAVE), PHARRELL WILLIAMS (N.E.R.D., THE NEPTUNES), HAIM, ADAM LEVINE (MAROON 5), DAVE MATHEWS, MIRANDA LAMBERT, ZAC BROWN, JOSH GROBAN and KELLY CLARKSON among others. one issue is that the narratives tend to bleed into each other and taken together become a bit PREDICTABLE (i.e. tales of ENERGETIC, RAMBUNCTIOUS kids that discover music or an instrument as a preteen and then become uninterested with formal their studies, yet maintain a near compulsory self-ingrained drive to create and explore music well into high school and beyond). there are variations to this script but those pre-teen years seem to be the through line in the lives of most of these musicians which makes EMOTIONAL and PSYCHOLOGICAL developmental sense. i appreciate how GROHL utilizes her own narrative with her son to anchor down a base narrative to compare all others to. that was a smart organizational device. another issue is that the premise of this book very much downplays the role of fathers and men in the lives of their children. unquestionably women play a gargantuan part in the EMOTIONAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL and INTELLECTUAL development of their children, but men play some role as well. even in ABSENTIA as with the handful of musicians from divorced, single-parent households. i thought it was an COMPELLING choice to at least not pay lip service to the contributions of the fathers that were an ACTIVE part of their child's lives, but then that is outside of the conceit of the book. which is silly in retrospect. i suppose that was beyond GROHL's capacity as a mother to intuitively speak AUTHENTICALLY about being a mother and not a father. i am just point out the UNFORTUNATE omission. far and away my favorite running feature of this book were the TOUCHING vignettes that GROHL wrote about her son that touch on his early years, musical development and later career highlights. these vignettes very much take you behind the scenes on his INCREDIBLE career trajectory from the perspective of his mother and how the choices she made regarding his upbringing and education impacted such, pre and post-fame, during high and low points therein. through such you get the sense that UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, SUPPORT and SECURITY is what she provided to a son that participated in an industry that is notoriously SAVAGE and CUTTHROAT. if anything, this sense of being a one-person support network is a common dominator of all these mothers. somewhere in this book GROHL makes mention of the fact that she has nothing but TRUST and FAITH that teachers will find ways of bridging the curriculum and lesson activities to the varied interests of their students. this was something she took great pride in as an educator. case in point she allowed her students to rap a scene from a SHAKESPEARE play rather than act out the actual lines of the play in class to great aplomb, so much so that decades later she was sent the original handwritten lines of the rap as a gift and token of appreciation. this is undoubtedly a prime example of the MAGIC of the classroom and the potential for TAILORED instruction by a CONFIDENT, ENGAGED educator. what GROHL makes explicit soon after is her lack of TRUST and FAITH in school administrators who are distanced from the classrooms and student populations they are set out to advocate on behalf of. amen sister. the later was my experience in no uncertain terms, which is SAD and UNFORTUNATE. and this is the related bigger point, the fact that our schools are FAILING students whose TALENTS and INTERESTS lay just outside the purvey of the curriculum. many of these mothers had intensely CREATIVE sons and daughters who just got by in school and saw the whole experience as TEDIOUS and a DISTRACTION from their true calling in life. DAVE GROHL didnt fail in his attempt to pass high school. THE EDUCATION SYSTEM FAILED HIM in not being able to support his gifts much like his family did. pointing that SYSTEMATIC FAILURE is such an ASTUTE observation. this was undoubtedly my biggest takeaway from this book, which hitherto such seemed to not have a larger agenda. i should have known and expected such from a seasoned educator and colleague. ye of no FAITH that i am. GROHL in essence managed to neatly sum up all my deep FRUSTRATIONS and HEARTBREAK over the education system in a TIDY little bow. book report, indeed. RIP VIRGINIA HANLON GROHL photo & text by nacrowe
FRENCH cartoonist DAVID B through his HALLUCINATORY and vividly PHANTASMAGORIC drawing style depicts a series of impenetrably PSEUDO-RELIGIOUS, MYTHOLOGICAL ALLEGORIES within the graphic novel THE ARMED GARDEN AND OTHER STORIES (FANTAGRAPHICS, 2011). based loosely on PERSIAN and CENTRAL EUROPEAN TRADITIONS, the narratives within convey man's inability to discern and appreciate matters related to the DIVINE.
all three narratives depict the search for DIVINE PROVIDENCE and esteem as a potent cudgel to be utilized for POWER and INFLUENCE in the physical realm. its hard not to read into such and deduce that with matters of the METAPHYSICAL REALM, our daily struggles and squabbles are beyond MEANINGLESS. DIVINITY and the concept of PARADISE is seen in these narratives to be beyond constraints of space and time, or even earthly bodily forms for that matter. it is a DEGRADATION of sorts to even involve such in our psychodramas related to POWER and INFLUENCE, but that is what the characters repeatedly do to their own peril. the highlight of these graphic novels is not the plot or the subtext of the narrative, but just the INCREDIBLE artwork DAVID B provides that seems to split the difference between ESOTERIC MYSTICISM, ISLAMIC FOLKLORE and more than a little AUBREY BEARDSLEY. it is very much a visual treat, even if the narrative itself feels a bit CLUTTERED and UNFOCUSED in comparison. as a former secondary english teacher i love wading in the pools of OBTUSE references and deliberate OPAQUENESS. but if you dont definitely check out DAVID B's more traditionally written and depicted graphic novel EPILEPTIC (review linked HERE) which is a memoir related to his family's experience living with his older brother's UNCONTROLLABLE and DANGEROUS bouts with epilepsy. that is probably a better starting point than this lovingly depicted yet largely INCOMPREHENSIBLE historical narrative. photo & text by nacrowe
the music business is notoriously BRUTAL and filled with SHARKS and VAN HALEN were no different as articulated by their former manager, the late NOEL E. MONK in his memoir RUNNIN' WITH THE DEVIL: A BACKSTAGE PASS TO THE WILD TIMES, LOUD ROCK, AND THE DOWN AND DIRTY TRUTH BEHIND THE MAKING OF VAN HALEN (DEY STREET, 2017). for all its BAWDY behind-the-scenes detailing of the MORAL DEPRAVITY, CHEMICAL OVERINDULGENCE, SEXUAL DEBAUCHERY and unrestrained EGOMANIA of this INFAMOUS band at their peak, what actually made the book captivating was its LUCID and SOBER depiction of FRAYED INTER-PERSONAL RIVALRIES and business dealings and maneuverings from a management perspective. the running thesis for the book are THE LENGTHS (EMOTIONAL, PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, SPIRITUAL) a competent manager must endure to keep a growing business intact that is paradoxically DETERIORATING as it is expanding. for me that dynamic of having to appease the unappeasable, of having to manage an UNSTOPPABLE FORCE (VAN HALEN) meeting an IMMOVABLE OBJECT (their INSATIABLE GREED, DRUG ABUSE and utter LACK OF LOYALTY), is what makes this memoir so COMPELLING.
im just gonna come out and say that the band fired MONK after the touring cycle for their blockbuster 1984 (WARNER BROS, 1984) album. there was no financial malfeasance or bad career advice on the part of MONK, the band had just decided to find new management utilizing connections through their expanded family network. they effectively cut MONK out of a merchandising operation he spearheaded to expand their revenue and offered him crumbs as a possible booking agent. all in all it was a brazenly COLD and DISRESPECTFUL end to a relationship that saw the band benefit from his renegotiating their contract with WARNER BROS (due to a clerical mistake the he caught) as well as nurturing their remarkable journey from a promising local act from PASADENA to arenas and world stadiums the globe over. MONK's immediate previous gig to VAN HALEN was ironically the infamously doomed SEX PISTOLS' AMERICAN tour. if anything, surviving that TORTUROUS FIASCO of a moving operation intact proved his worth to the brass at WARNER BROS that initially positioned him with VAN HALEN as their touring manager. he effectively taught them the ropes of becoming an effective entity on the road. its just interesting that this FRANKENSTEIN that he nurtured grew to consume him with it. it is hard to take any lessons from this memoir. it was his relationships that he leveraged on their behalf and in the end the band BETRAYED him. BETRAYED his efforts. BETRAYED his loyalty. but that in essence is the gig. it seems COUNTERINTUITIVE that in business one must be able to rely on others while concurrently TRUST NO ONE. but that seems to be the message of RUNNIN' WITH THE DEVIL. DAVID LEE ROTH, ALEX VAN HALEN and EDDIE VAN HALEN come off as supremely TALENTED yet overly PETULANT children with next level NARCISSISM. only bassist MICHAEL ANTHONY comes off with his reputation in tact as a PLEASANT, AGREEABLE person who keeps his indulgences relatively in check and his moral compass somewhat unblemished. goes without saying he got SCREWED OUT OF ROYALTIES by the other three in the process as well, relegating him to a wage earner in the band in spite of his sacrifices and years of service to VAN HALEN. what i learned from this memoir was the INCREDIBLE extent to which both ROTH and the VAN HALEN brothers were irredeemably SELFISH ASSHOLES. that is to say not much since i already had a confirmation bias regarding such going into the book. in business there are seemingly no rules and no moral victories, at least where VAN HALEN is concerned. they make MOTLEY CRUE as depicted in THE DIRT (review linked HERE) come off like a bunch of morally upright choir boys. in odd circuitous way, that group with its legendary EGOMANIA is still a touring entity and its members are still somewhat looking out for the interest of one another in complete contrast to VAN HALEN. who knew? photo & text by nacrowe
the graphic novel EMBROIDERIES (PANTHEON, 2003) by celebrated FRENCH-IRANIAN cartoonist MARJANE SATRAPI sheds insight on the often TABOO and often UNDISCLOSED and UNDISCUSSED SEXUAL ATTITUDES and personal lives of IRANIAN WOMEN. the graphic novel revolves around the remembered gathering of SATRAPI's GRANDMOTHER with her DAUGHTER as well as close friends and relatives, all WOMEN, for an evening samovar tea and PRYING discussion.
and that talk centers around SEX. at times SALACIOUS, these cascading tales of the physical and emotional disappoints and cultural DOUBLE STANDARDS of being a WOMEN are both SOBERING and INSIGHTFUL. they depict a GENDER SOCIAL LANDSCAPE that doesnt seem much different from WESTERN CULTURE, where woman are still prized for their physical attributes and MEN still hold much INSTITUTIONAL POWER. the title even references the lengths WOMEN will go to reestablish their untouched VIRGINAL state through PAINFUL, INVASIVE surgeries aimed at pleasing their MALE PARTNER, as well as the INTERWOVEN tapestry and mutually SUPPORTIVE network of experience witnessed in this all-FEMALE gathering. though these PERSONAL narratives that the WOMEN share with one another often depict past selves in LESS EMPOWERED circumstances, what they all share in common is a SUBVERSION to GENDER EXPECTATIONS surrounding FIDELITY. often this is shown through a leveraging of their DOMESTIC duties or SEXUAL DOMINANCE over an OLDER, SLUGGISH and wholly INEPT MALE PARTNER. even the ending shows the PATRIARCH of the SATRAPI family pushed back to his room with no input or fight of his behalf in the matter. its an INTERESTING metaphor for the lives of WOMEN in IRANIAN culture that although their public lives are STRICT and PREDETERMINED, the inner dynamics on the home front are not up for discussion. and none of this should be any surprise to anyone. GENDER DYNAMICS are a manifestation of a much larger conversation regarding one's ability to self identify and public express one's INDIVIDUALITY. generations of WOMEN in IRAN brought this state of affairs regarding CONSERVATIVE GENDER RELATIONS and SEXUAL MORES to fruition through either SUBMISSION, COLLABORATION or quiet acquiescence to AUTHORITY. i question whether these closed circles of INTERGENERATIONAL FEMALE networks have the potential to change the state of affairs. such is definitely currently in play in IRAN in the wake of the police custody death of 22 year-old student MAHSA AMINI and the PROTESTS that have followed. interestingly, MEN have joined their ranks. its a dynamic still being played out and the discussions elucidated in EMBROIDERIES definitely seem PRESCIENT to that movement. photo & text by nacrowe
seriously, i should have known better reading anything by NORM MACDONALD.
this "memoir" ironically entitled BASED ON A TRUE STORY: NOT A MEMOIR (RANDOM HOUSE, 2016). comes from none other than MACDONALD, a man whose job description is to DEFY EXPECTATION. can't say it is not an accurate title, since being "based on true story" is an admittance of sorts that what you are about to enter is not entirely factual, true or based in any demonstrative reality that humans encounter on a daily basis. the world of this "memoir" is one that allows MACDONALD to go on a series of inane trips and encounters that have NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING. things like going on a drug fueled bender in LAS VEGAS gambling away life savings to hopefully garner funds for a ranch in MONTANA while reminiscing about how you once took a MAKE-A-WISH patient to CANADA to help him fulfill his dream of stabbing a baby seal between the eyes. and so on. only interspersed between this seemingly random INSANITY are brief asides about SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, meeting CHRIS FARLEY, hosting WEEKEND UPDATE and his film DIRTY WORK (MGM, 1998). and how did he go about securing the much heralded WEEKEND UPDATE gig you may ask? through peddling opiates to show producer LORNE MICHAELS, of course. reading this book is akin to listening to MACDONALD's legendary "moth" joke (embedded below from a celebrated CONAN appearance). in fact, the joke is included in BASED ON A TRUE STORY as being said by a doctor at a hospital before getting into a fight with MACDONALD. this non-memoir is in essence an ENDURANCE TEST. all premise and no punch line or paint. but maybe that is the joke. the joke is on me for spending time and energy to read it expecting anything. and that is why i love MACDONALD. just the fact that he would write a memoir that defied all expectations of the genre. talk about playing the long game. well played sir, well played. you are still missed. RIP NORM MACDONALD photo & text by nacrowe
with an absolute minimum amount of exposition, NORWEGIAN cartoonist LARS FISKE in his mostly wordless graphic novel GROSZ: BERLIN - NEW YORK (FANTAGRAPHICS, 2017) vividly depicts the life and career of noted GERMAN DADAIST painter GEORGE GROSZ in a style that expertly imitates his EXAGGERATED, CARICATURISTIC style. there is a certain NIHILISM to the work of GROSZ, especially that from the 1920s in which he showcased the PSYCHIC, MORAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL and PHYSICAL DAMAGE of the first world war on the collective GERMAN psyche. this was shown through a series of BRUTAL paintings depicting the DEBAUCHED nightlife of the WEIMAR REPUBLIC and all the opportunists, prostitutes and elites that frequented the bars and cabarets.
often compared to MODERNIST GERMAN peers like OTTO DIX and MAX BECKMANN, GROSZ had a harsh SARDONIC tone all his own which seemed to depict humanity as CORRUPTED and easily MANIPULATABLE, almost like DISCARDED marionettes once their value to the war machine has expired. this unbridled ability to hold a mirror to GERMAN society got him fined numerous times during this period, leading him to jump ship to the UNITED STATES in the early 1930s right as the NAZIS came to power. not surprisingly, HITLER had GROSZ's bitterly CAUSTIC paintings confiscated and deemed "degenerate art" alongside EMIL NOLDE, ERNST LUDWIG KIRCHNER, PAUL KLEE, MAX BECKMANN, MARC CHAGALL, OTTO DIX, WASILLY KANDINSKY, JOAN MIRO, OSKAR KOKOSCHKA, FERNAND LEGER and MAX ERNST as well as that of more famous artists like HENRI MATISSE, PABLO PICASSO, EDVARD MUNCH and VINCENT VAN GOGH. what i love about FISKE's style is that it cleverly utilizes GROSZ's style in order to pass JUDGEMENT on his character and life decisions. id argue that this decision places GROSZ as a key part of a much larger tableau of GERMAN society, not separate from it as an outside observer. it seems to suggest that his experiences, perspectives and sense of FRACTURED IDENTITY are an outgrowth of this society that is largely in a state of FLUX. meaning here is fluid and so are the rules that govern society and the relationships that makeup politics and personal relationships. in this book it feels like everything pre-NAZIS is CULTURALLY, SEXUALLY, and ARTISTICALLY up for grabs. almost a year zero mentality that sees the forces that led to the CATASTROPHE of the first great war of being worthy of SCORN and DISMISSAL. but therein lies the problem of what to fill the void with and that is the world depicted in GROSZ: BERLIN - NEW YORK. at least in the early first half of the graphic novel before he moves to NEW YORK. it is quite an achievement that such a dense depiction of such a notable artist was rendered efficiently utilizing such a minimum of words and almost completely through the power of GESTICULATION and TABLEAU. by presenting the multiple perspectives that made such a WARPED, FRAGMENTED reality possible very efficiently showcases the potential of the post war period and how that sense of fluid opportunity also gave way to the unleashing of the DARKEST RECESSES of the human id and our collective susceptibility to such. in the era of boundless GRIEVANCE and digital platforms that monetize such that is the DONALD TRUMP era, GROSZ and his artwork feels all the more RELEVANT and even PRESCIENT, probably more so than in the many decades past the second world war. GROSZ: BERLIN - NEW YORK is definitely worth checking out, especially for fans of MODERNISM and DADAISM or even that of EFFICIENT and thoughtfully executed storytelling constructs. photo & text by nacrowe
throughout her recent memoir FINGERS CROSSED: HOW MUSIC SAVED ME FROM SUCCESS (NINE EIGHT PUBLISHING, 2022), LUSH front-woman and co-songwriter MIKI BERENYI presents a HARROWING personal narrative that frames her career as a CELEBRATED SHOEGAZE icon as one of survival. by definition, the BRITISH SHOEGAZE movement was dreamed up by a cadre of SUPPORTIVE, like-minded musicians that created HAZY, INTROSPECTIVE aural landscapes that seemingly washed over their audience into a mantra-like state of ecstasy. at least that is how i feel when revisiting noteworthy bands from period like SLOWDIVE, CATHERINE WHEEL and MY BLOODY VALENTINE. with LUSH and BERENYI in particular i was just startled by the deep well of TRAUMA, ANXIETY and SUFFERING that rooted her identity and was exorcised through their music. i had always considered their music as DELICATE, EPHEMERAL and optimistically BOUYANT.
without diving deep into the details, BERENYI had a DIFFICULT childhood mired by the psychological and physical traumas of DIVORCE, growing up BIRACIAL (HUNGARIAN/JAPANESE) to non-native parents in ENGLAND and repeated SEXUAL ABUSE at the hand of her grandmother. that whole section of the book is amongst the most BRUTAL and TRAGIC i have come across in any memoir by a musician. it reminded me of a book i read over a decade ago called NIGHT FALLS FAST: UNDERSTANDING SUICIDE (VINTAGE, 2000) by KAY REDFIELD JAMISON of JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY which at the heart of it was about trauma. long story short, for those that experience childhood sexual trauma longterm effects include asexuality as well as chronic PROMISCUITY. both are about the need for physical CONTROL and COMFORT. this phenomena was explored pretty explicitly in the GREGG ARAKI's film MYSTERIOUS SKIN (DESPERATE PICTURES, 2004). so it came as no surprise that BERENYI throughout he years of fame was caught in that cycle. she had been effectively abandoned by her parents who parked her in private schools while they pursued their careers elsewhere. what i found so intriguing about FINGERS CROSSED was her ability given such trauma to endure a career as a public entertainer with all the slings and arrows that come with it. especially as a female musician during a musical era (BRITPOP) in ENGLAND that lionized LAD CULTURE and MISOGYNY as a lazy past time akin to football. i dont know how navigating those waters and the messages by sent about her status werent internalized and calcified into a negative self image. i just get the sense that BERENYI has an intestinal fortitude beyond us normal mortal beings. especially as she got older with the gender DOUBLE-STANDARDS at play, the whole charade feels downright MASOCHISTIC in nature. i did appreciate her description of the INTERNAL dynamics between her bandmates, especially the CONTENTIOUS creative interplay with gifted songwriter EMMA ANDERSON, and the relationship of the band with the greater SHOEGAZE and 4AD RECORDS scene, but to me the central gambit of this memoir was BERENYI's struggle to secure LOVE, AFFECTION, CONNECTION and a sense of FAMILY, however IMPERFECT. LUSH obviously seemed to be one attempt at such. its nice to know that she found such in her CHILDREN and a STABLE relationship with a SUPPORTIVE partner. fingers crossed. this was one of the better written memoirs ive come across in recent years and wholeheartedly recommend it even if you are not interested in SHOEGAZE, INDIE ROCK, BRITPOP or ALTERNATIVE ROCK. its a startlingly COMPELLING story about SURVIVAL in the face of UNSPEAKABLE TRAUMA. photo & text by nacrowe
through an eloquently told and LOVINGLY depicted generations old family narrative about her great-uncle during pre-revolution IRAN, CHICKEN WITH PLUMS (PANTHEON, 2009) by FRENCH-PERSIAN author / cartoonist MARJANE SATRAPI is an extended meditation about the DELICATE relationship between ART and SUFFERING.
NASSER ALI is a TAR musician of note whose life was DERAILED by his INABILITY to secure a desired marriage due to his would-be bride's family qualms about his profession. out of duty to his family he agreed to a LOVELESS marriage of which he felt no sense of KINSHIP or RESPONSIBILITY and after his wife destroys his TAR he wishes only to DIE. there is an interesting parallel with his mother, who years earlier was held back by DEATH by NASSER's constant praying for her SURVIVAL. after being asked to stop praying on her behalf and let her go, as well as continue playing music outside her window, DEATH is utilized as a form of DEEP COMPASSION. the music that soothed her through the process was informed by this closely felt sense of LOSS but also EMPATHY towards her condition. when NASSER himself seeks DEATH in a SIMILAR manner there is no sense of COMPASSION or EMPATHY, but instead a deep reservoir of SELFISHNESS and SELF-PITY. its interesting that his master tutor when training to master the TAR catches on to his LOVELORN SUFFERING and that his career, reputation and GLORY as a musician was based on such an INTIMATE sense of IRREDEEMABLE LOSS and CONSTANT MISERY. the destruction of his INSTRUMENT is in essence the loss of his IDENTITY, which itself was just the collected remnants of an UNREQUITED LOVE. its all quite TRAGIC and quite MOVING. i should also give mention to the POWER of SATRAPI's images which are heavily inked-out in a strict monochrome palette that simultaneously exudes a SEVERE tone of austerity as well as intimates a sense of lyrical mystery. its both MINIMALIST and highly EXPRESSIVE and really uplifts the POWERFUL narrative themes of surrounding the COMPLICATED nature of LOVE, FAMILY and DUTY to a preternatural extent. its a masterclass in STORYTELLING and comes off as a deeply felt coming to terms with a family TRAUMA generations old but as relevant to the current moment as it was back then before society was effectively shut down after the ISLAMIC REVOLUTION. CHICKEN WITH PLUMS is required reading in my opinion. photo & text by nacrowe
i used to love teaching this book.
THE OUTSIDERS (VIKING, 1967) by S.E. HINTON was a YA text particularly well-suited for initiating PRODUCTIVE dialogues with middle school students about the topic of ECONOMIC INEQUALITY. by definition my students were WEALTHY as the school they attended was able to hire a foreigner like me to traverse halfway across the globe to teach them. but what was interesting was how they initially self-identified themselves as being a member of the POOR and UNDERPRIVILEGED OUTCAST class of students in the novel, not the RICH ELITE. without fail that dynamic persisted regardless of the geographic context i found myself in, whether i taught THE OUTSIDERS in VENEZUELA or even MYANMAR. maybe that observation says something about the nature of kids at that age, when they are awkwardly leaving one developmental stage and entering another. it was always fun to debate them and having them come to the conclusion that they were, in fact, the WEALTHY kids, not the OUTCASTS. more than that, being part of said PRIVILEGED status came with responsibility and a sense of empathy for those in more unfortunate economic circumstances. normally LAZY teachers will utilize this novel as an opportunity to introduce kids to 1950s GREASER CULTURE and have them dress in poodle skirts and white shirt and jeans getups. i found that beyond SUPERFICIAL and essentially a wasted opportunity. sadly that was how i was taught the book in grade six in NIGERIA. dont get me wrong, i adore DOO WOP and ROCKABILLY as much as the next person, but what makes this book such a unique treasure is its INNATE capacity to make us examine our own INHERITED SOCIETAL BLINDSPOTS. at its core this book is about "otherness" and how one becomes the "other" in an "us versus them" mentality. in VENEZUELA you had the CHAVISTAS and the OPPOSITION politically duking it out, cutting families in half and not speaking to one another in many cases. in MYANMAR you had the ULTRA-CONSERVATIVE BUDDHIST nationalists and the small MUSLIM population they effectively were DELIBERATELY ETHNIC CLEANSING during my stay. having kids decipher and closely examine their own INHERITED prejudices is a DANGEROUS thing, but i'd argue its a discussion worth having. and that conversation has REAL VALUE. arguably now more than ever. i can only imagine what teaching it now in the UNITED STATES is like. then again, maybe that is why educators stay surface level and stick to the poodle skirts. much safer that way, but nothing learned or gained either. again, i adored teaching this THE OUTSIDERS for the opportunities it provided in fostering INTENSE but REWARDING discussions that i learned quite a bit from my students about their CULTURE and vice versa. the 1983 FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA movie adaptation is GARBAGE though. sorry not sorry. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
i found the documentary WARREN ELLIS: CAPTURED GHOSTS (SEQUART, 2012) about the NOTORIOUS BRITISH graphic novel writer to be quite a bore. my interest for watching this film came from reading his work in TRANSMETROPOLITAN (VERTIGO, 1997-2002), RED (WILDSTORM, 2003-2004), and THE AUTHORITY (WILDSTORM, 1999), all three are INTENSE, THOUGHTFUL comic book series that utilize TRANSGRESSIVE scenarios as a means of prodding the reader's sense of HUMAN DECENCY. in essence, WARREN ELLIS is producing MODERN ALLEGORIES and MORALITY PLAYS, utilizing familiar narrative forms while pushing them to their ethical limits. in contrast with his creative work, which i found to be quite CONTEMPLATIVE and entirely THOUGHT-PROVOKING, this documentary which follows him basking in his own TIRESOME attempts at SELF-MYTHOLOGY just came off TRITE and BANAL. to be perfectly honest, i had a difficult time staying awake throughout.
it is important to state that this film came out years before reports of SEXUAL COERCION allegations were brought on by multiple women in the summer of 2020. since then he has been something of a PARIAH within the industry and has effectively been BLACKLISTED in the wake of said claims. i think this documentary is interesting in how it presents a REVERED cultural figure and the lengths to which peers and acolytes rationalize and contextualize aggressively DEVIANT and unapologetically DEBASED behavior. i found the BRAZENNESS of these justifications by lackeys to be pretty SHOCKING, even in the wake of DONALD TRUMP. its a situation entirely reminiscent of MARILYN MANSON and how his public and private persona fed into one another and led to his DOWNFALL, which likewise included SEXUAL COERCION as well as false-imprisonment and grooming allegations. none of it felt like a surprise in that an army of misguided apologists attempted to justify such as part of his art in some VILE and absolutely WARPED perspective. its truly BIZARRE in that you even have JOSS WHEDON (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, TOY STORY, THE AVENGERS) expressing opinions on said behavior, himself someone in just a few short years after the recording of this film will be publicly alleged to have utilized his authority on set to coerce sexual favors from subordinates. just proves the power of celebrity and the gender power imbalance that is still very much a feature of western society, despite our attempts to point fingers at other parts of the globe. it should be noted that ELLIS has since come out and apologized from what reports i could gather, but the documentary i am interested in would be the 2022 version of his personal narrative, not this 2012 version. especially given the nature of his work and the SAD legacy of his personal choices, he may be an ideal candidate to eloquently shed light and poignant insight into the CORROSIVE mindset of TOXIC MASCULINITY and the societal structures that encourage such to metastasize and flourish. or not. photo & text by nacrowe
i first became aware of artist JAY HOWELL via his CRUDE yet singularly EVOCATIVE CLASSIC TALES animations for VANS where prominent athletes and musicians recount extreme events from their lives. basically everyone from KEITH MORRIS (CIRCLE JERKS / OFF! / BLACK FLAG), ANDERSON .PAAK, DARRYL JENNIFER (BAD BRAINS) and ROBERT TRUJILLO (SUICIDAL TENDENCIES / OZZY OSBOURNE / METALLICA) to SCOTTY CRANMER, ELIJAH BERLE, JEFF GROSSO, TONY ALVA, GEOFF ROWLEY, CHRISTIAN HOSOI and so on. what i loved about these figures was how DISFIGURED and CREEPY they were, with flapping stick limbs and bulging facial expressions these GROTESQUE humanoids felt like the perfect avatars for athletes and musicians that live outside the normal guardrails of society, both physical and moral.
so of course i sought out his equally MAKESHIFT zine anthology PUNK'S GIT CUT (LAST GASP, 2015) just to get a sense of where this dude is coming from. and for that effort i am still quite lost because this publication defies definition. most of his graphic work is HASTILY-CONCEIVED SHARPIE notes of nonsensical scenarios meant to prod and titillate with references to UNUSUAL methods of SELF-HARM, SEX and BODILY FUNCTIONS. id say it was SOPHOMORIC in nature if the actual drawings werent so damn PRIMITIVE and RAW. if anything those drawings convey an ANARCHIC sense of PATHOS and PERSPECTIVE that far outruns the text that contextualizes them. in HOWELL's rudimentary work i see nods and echoes of work by another NOTORIOUS CALIFORNIA artist in RAYMOND PETTIBON, who similarly takes delight in the IMMEDIATE and RANDOM juxtapositions of image and text. my favorite section of this anthology is "THE DARK WAVE" narrative about a BLACK METAL singer tripping balls during a concert and then running into a forest graveyard and ultimately surfing a coffin before aliens presumably accost him in the ocean. just the LAWLESS humor, ABSURDITY and the just plain RANDOMNESS of it all was thoroughly enjoying. i look forward to seeking out his other more recent publications. definitely check out the work of JAY HOWELL. its hard to believe this dude has done work for NICKELODEON for children's programing. nothing more INSIDIOUS then that i guess, then again i was raised on PEE-WEE'S PLAYHOUSE so who knows. photo & text by nacrowe
it is difficult to not read PAUL AUSTER's fantastically ABSURDIST novel MR. VERTIGO (VIKING, 1994) and not come away with understanding that it is a complicated ALLEGORY for the AMERICAN DREAM set in the milieu of the MIDWEST (complete with references to baseball, gangsterism, the KKK, roadside attractions and circus life) in the first half of the twentieth century. narrated in first person through the eyes of WALTER CLAIBORNE RAWLEY, we see his journey from a discarded juvenile delinquent from the wrong side of the tracks in ST. LOUIS through a most UNUSUAL life journey that sees him transition from a levitating act as WALT THE WONDER BOY through turns as a gangster, night club owner, factory worker and ultimately a small business owner.
what i found interesting is that the constant throughout this ATYPICAL narrative is the consistency of PERSPECTIVE with WALT. he remains PRACTICAL throughout. he does not become fazed by the work needed to gain flight as a child as taught by his trainer, caretaker and surrogate father MASTER YEHUDI, nor does he become particularly overwhelmed by being kidnapped or the DEATH of loved ones. when he transitions into the CHICAGO underworld and works his way up, that as well seems to be more about SURVIVAL than any MORAL IMPERATIVE on his part. i wonder if AUSTER was attempting to say something about the MATURITY of the UNITED STATES during this same period in which we pretty much transcended our EUROPEAN forefathers and took hold of the century ECONOMICALLY, POLITICALLY and CULTURALLY on a global scale beginning in earnest after WORLD WAR II. unlike the nations that played a part in our birth, we have no deep history or entrenched set of ideals that have been past down for centuries. our ETHOS is mainly one of UTILITARIANISM, of finding whatever works and suits our needs. at the end of the narrative, WALT doesnt attempt to justify his choices. he merely just states that such are what they are. and maybe that is what the AMERICAN DREAM was all along, an excuse to just succeed on your own terms, choose your own adventure. by whatever means necessary and damn the consequences or externalities on anyone around you. i found this book to be quite BLEAK and NIHILISTIC in its implications despite its setting and trappings of classic AMERICANA. if anything, the seeming lack of moral guardrails works both ways but that wreaking aftertaste of moral DEBASEMENT doesnt seem to subside. WALT as an old man isnt diminished or uplifted by his former glories, he merely just survived them. maybe as a nation that is the best we can hope for. photo & text by nacrowe
STANLEY DONWOOD's graphic novel BAD ISLAND (W.W. NORTON COMPANY, 2020) is a POIGNANT MEDITATION on the cyclical nature of life and the ENDURING capacity for the PLANET to survive and continue on unabated. it should be mentioned from the outset that there is NO TEXT throughout, only STARK, highly EXPRESSIONISTIC black-and-white graphic representations of an ISLAND and its contents over time from the ETERNAL OMNISCIENT PERSPECTIVE of the SEA. dinosaurs rise and fall as well as humans and their ability to conquer NATURE and develop TECHNOLOGY which ultimately does them in as well through POLLUTION and NUCLEAR APOCALYPSE. but the SEA rolls on and the PERSPECTIVE of the graphic novel recedes into the SEA just as the ISLAND came into view from the SEA at the outset.
i very much appreciate the MINIMALIST conceit of this graphic novel which allows the viewer to project themselves into the narrative unabated by LANGUAGE. there is a certain AUTHENTICITY and PURITY of vision by pulling everything back to its most basic elements. im always taken aback when advocates speak about the SURVIVAL of the PLANET being at stake with climate change since the EARTH will carry on regardless and ultimately heal itself after humanity, its whether life as we know it will carry on with it. essentially it is our SURVIVAL that is at stake, not the PLANET's. and from what i gather from BAD ISLAND's narrative, such is one takeaway from the graphic novel with its MYSTERIOUS PERSPECTIVE departing as it entered the narrative as some third entity unaffected by the TRIALS and TRIBULATIONS of the ISLAND's inhabitants over time. it merely passively observes and then silently carries on. one point of interest are these ghostly sprite-looking shadow figures amongst the TREES throughout the history of the narrative, from the dinosaurs through humanity. are they harbingers of our COLLECTIVE DEMISE or eternal inhabitants likewise observing life on the ISLAND? is our PERSPECTIVE as the reader one of these likewise STILL, INAUDIBLE, UNKNOWABLE figures? DEATH comes with being alive and humanity will ultimately END much as the dinosaurs did, but is doing such prematurely by our own hand INEVITABLE? is that the cost of our capacity to construct TECHNOLOGIES that force magnify our PHYSICAL and MORAL LIMITATIONS? i love how BAD ISLAND presents more questions than it answers, which is the mark of any COMPELLING piece of art and this WORDLESS narrative has stuck with me long after my initial consumption of it. i feel strongly that DONWOOD has presented a uniquely intriguing story that transcends LANGUAGE, culture, geography and political persuasion. this should be required reading for everyone and most definitely is worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
in the modern age of streaming and platforms like SPOTIFY there is now incontrovertible proof that HIP HOP is the leading cultural force and has been for more than a generation. one aspect of driving culture results in an outsized influence over economic trends and makes such the focus of the INVESTMENT CLASS seeking to monetize relationships through ENDORSEMENTS, PARTNERSHIPS and INNUMERABLE PRODUCTS. according to ABC NEWS, conservative estimates have HIP HOP generating $10 billion a year in annual revenue. in today's environment, the idea of a PHARRELL WILLIAMS signature shoe line rather than that of an athlete is nothing particularly out of the ordinary. as JAY-Z once adroitly quipped on the KANYE WEST track "DIAMONDS FROM SIERRA LEONE (REMIX)" off of LATE REGISTRATION (DEF JAM / ROC-A-FELLA, 2005), "im not a businessman, im a business, man."
but that was not always the case. THE BIG PAYBACK: THE HISTORY OF THE BUSINESS OF HIP-HOP (NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY, 2011) examines the HUMBLE BEGINNINGS of how rap established itself as a culture and then as a business throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s. these were AMOEBIC INCREMENTAL steps that saw NYC community parties in the park evolve into late hour terrestrial radio programs to small business record label entrepreneurship and so on. what is REMARKABLE is the extent to which major players and gate keepers at every turn were reticent to be involved due to an UNPROVEN track record that was largely based on SYSTEMATIC RACISM. looking back the immense untapped market throughout the early period is OBVIOUS, but it took to time for CORPORATE AMERICA to understand and buy-in. case in point from the book is the example of COCA-COLA who were reserved about associating its main brand with a black athlete, so they took their side product in SPRITE (who at the time was a secondary market competitor to 7-UP) and ran a campaign with recent LOS ANGELES LAKER phenomenon KOBE BRYANT. it was massively successful and the continued relationship between SPRITE and black rappers/athletes continues unabated to present. my favorite example of BLACK ENTREPRENEURSHIP and gaming the system from THE BIG PAYBACK is the WU-TANG CLAN, who signed a record as a collective to LOUD RECORDS but had a clause in their contract that such did not cover individual members. this allowed members to sign with different label such as METHOD MAN with DEF JAM, OL' DIRTY BASTARD with ELEKTRA, GHOSTFACE KILLAH with EPIC, GZA with WARNER BROS, RAEKWON with RCA and so on. that effectively meant that the whole industry had a piece of the WU-TANG CLAN pie and collectively promoted it accordingly. just incredibly business savvy and genius in a manner that THE CLASH and countless ROCK N ROLL bands ripped-off by extended, exploitative contracts would probably be crying and seething with jealousy over. another thread in this book is the extent to which BLACK ENTREPRENEURSHIP was underpinned by another UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY GROUP that saw their ARTISTIC and ECONOMIC POTENTIAL and nurtured such. for generations there has been much interplay and mutual support between the black and jewish communities, especially in NYC going back to JAZZ age. from producers like RICK RUBIN (BEASTIE BOYS, LL COOL J, RUN-DMC, JAY-Z, EMINEM, KANYE WEST) to managers and executives like STEVE RIFKIND (MOBB DEEP, BIG PUN, WU-TANG CLAN, DAVID BANNER), there is a deep mutual admiration and partnership at play that is largely UNHERALDED and UNSPOKEN. such a relationship makes the anti-semitism from KANYE WEST, NICK CANNON, JAY-Z, 21 SAVAGE and even going way back to SCARFACE, ICE CUBE and PUBLIC ENEMY's PROFESSOR GRIFF a bizarre aberration that denies the SUPPORTIVE, MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL nature of such. its hard to stomach especially after reading this book. if you are interesting in the business and economic underpinnings of HIP HOP and how a culture infiltrated and dominated the mainstream from seemingly nowhere than THE BIG PAYBACK is well-worth investigation. i found it FASCINATING, having read it years before my current path pursuing an MBA. it goes to show that if marketed well, CORPORATE AMERICA will follow suit on any LUCRATIVE opportunity no matter how OUTRAGEOUS or seemingly UNPROVEN. HIP HOP is a case in point. photo & text by nacrowe
YOU ARE THERE (FANTAGRAPHICS, 2009) is a KIM THOMPSON english translation of the deeply SATIRICAL FRENCH serial ICI MEME, which was a legendary 1978 collaboration between notable FRENCH illustrators JACQUES TARDI (IT WAS THE WAR OF THE TRENCHES) and JEAN-CLAUDE FOREST (BARBARELLA). it is often credited with spearheading the modern EUROPEAN graphic novel movement in the 1980s.
the narrative deals with the PECULIAR protagonist ARTHUR THERE, who ODDLY lives on the INTECONNECTED walls that divide the land of his ancestors. generations before they have had it stolen by the antecedents of the current landowners and the unusual arrangement is that THERE opens the gates that give these families access to their properties. in return he charges a small toll for the effort. a consistent theme throughout includes the INTERACTION that borders on PLAY in HUMAN CONNECTION and ISOLATION. THERE by definition provides access and CONNECTION for the inhabitants of the region but he himself is situated ALONE OUTSIDE SOCIETY. he is paradoxically an inert gas as well as an enzyme at the same time, figuratively. THERE is in the middle of a lawsuit over his stolen lands which ABSURDLY finds the region caught up in a national PSYCHODRAMA/POWER STRUGGLE by a leader with low poll numbers before an ELECTION. since technically the land THERE controls is its own self-determined state, this POLITICIAN seeks to reinstate him as a ploy to rally voters to support him. its an ABSURD plot with ABSURD characters, many of whom i am glancing over, but at the heart is a FATALISTIC, almost EXISTENTIAL, view of the FRAILTY and IMPOTENCY of humans to AFFECT CHANGE in the world. ABSTRACT concepts like DEATH, LOVE, JUSTICE, MONEY, COMMUNITY and even HEALTH are seen as distractions that dont provide meaning in a cosmos that has no rhyme or reason to it, even for a CONFUSED, HALF-MAD protagonist. the whims of HISTORY is seen as a wave that carries us all with it and we have no capacity to alter or fundamentally affect change in any meaningful manner beyond the fringes. this DIRE perspective feels incredibly OF-THE-MOMENT given the FRAIL STATE of global democracy (ala JANUARY 6TH INSURRECTION), threatened nuclear war (with RUSSIA) and the collapse of trust in the AMERICAN JUDICIAL SYSTEM given the recent DOBBS V. JACKSON WOMEN'S HEALTH ORGANIZATION decision. i feel like THERE. i escape to my own REALITY. that is probably why i read books at the rate i do. i think its hard not read this graphic novel and think about the gatekeepers to our own INTERACTIONS with each other (SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, POLITICIANS, INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS) and their own AGENDA in that exchange. photo & text by nacrowe
im always taken by how much of my understanding of LITERATURE, ART and MUSIC is a result of my SOCIAL INTERACTIONS over the years. whether that be through family, friends, coworkers or brief acquaintances over the years; in essence my appreciation of such is a direct consequence of a SOCIALIZING CONTEXT at a certain period in my life.
in my estimation, ROLLING STONE editor ROB SHEFFIELD in his memoir LOVE IS A MIX TAPE: LIFE AND LOSS, ONE SONG AT A TIME (CROWN, 2007) is very much about that personal and largely intractable ritual of MUSIC being socially contextualized and identified with those around us whom we cherish the most. in his case, MUSIC is the tie that binds him to the MEMORY of his late wife RENEE. and initially while going through stages of GRIEF that connection with all of its INTRICATE CODED INTIMACIES and unspoken acknowledgements was absolutely SUFFOCATING. MUSIC, new and old, were reminders of a LOST POTENTIAL. a MISSED OPPORTUNITY to foster a deeper connection. its quite the TRAUMATIC narrative and makes one consider what MUSIC is attached to people in your life right now and how such would be TRANSFORMED once that loved one has passed on. ultimately SHEFFIELD moves out of the rural VIRGINIA college town of CHARLOTTESVILLE for BROOKLYN and discovers new sounds and makes new CONNECTIONS while not forgetting his past, but acknowledging these past BITTERSWEET MUSIAL attachments. which is something is his wife would have wanted. i always felt that with MUSIC a big part of the cycle is the listening experience. artists create MUSIC, but the listener by the very act of consuming it, in fact transforms it. the listener creates meaning through appreciating a sound. SHEFFIELD argues that love is a mixtape and is that but a TACTILE artifact with a NEW TRACK-LISTING, a NEW ORDER, a NEW MEANING. human attachment and LOVE is as much about that narrative we curate in our hearts and minds related to those we cherish as it is about the actual events themselves. each of us individual create our own meaning. its nice that SHEFFIELD at the closing of the memoir decided to leave his heart open to new events as well, allowing that process of LIVING, PROCESSING and CONNECTING to continue. photo & text by nacrowe
the informative graphic novel HYPER-CAPITALISM (THE NEW PRESS, 2018) by cartoonist LARRY GONICK and PSYCHOLOGY professor TIM KASSER is essentially an exhaustive breakdown of the extent to which INTRINSIC VALUES (such as appeals to SOCIAL JUSTICE, CREATIVITY, connection to NATURE / COMMUNITY) are INCOMPATIBLE with the prevailing ethos of the modern corporate system we all inhabit. this graphic novel very much gets at the heart of what makes MODERN CAPITALISM such a PERNICIOUS threat to GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY efforts as well as the stability of communities and the general well-being of its inhabitants. corporations in particular are terrible neighbors who, by design, have an insatiable need to seek and ultimately leverage various COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES (regarding RESOURCES, LABOR, TECHNOLOGY, etc.) in order to appease shareholders and exploit stakeholders in the process. the drawings are targeted and delineate numerous complicated strategies, postures and procedures (with regards to the culpability of the CONSUMER, GOVERNMENT, LEGAL SYSTEM and BUSINESS OWNERS) in a succinct and efficient manner. the effectiveness of these panels is pretty staggering and is really a testament to how talented and knowledgable both GONICK and KASSER are as a team.
but its all so DEPRESSING and just OVERWHELMING. such is why the pair decided to have write a second section of the book that outlined how various practices (at both the consumer and business level) can ward off the DESTRUCTIVE elements of CAPITALISM and reinvigorate communities and social congruity. making purchases (and long-term investments) based on HUMANISTIC VALUES and participating in local communal efforts (FARMER'S MARKETS, TIME BANKS, LIBRARIES, etc.) keeps the immense influence and power of capital at the local level. and that is basically they key to transforming what the author refers to as "HYPER-CAPITALISM", you have to alter it from the inside out. by changing how you interact with the system you are in essence transforming it to something that is more HUMANISTIC and in line with INTRINSIC VALUES that better everyone. or so that is the central thesis. i feel that MATERIALISM will not change and that people will forever be mindlessly subject to the GREEDY, PERNICIOUS whims of coordinated corporate ADVERTISING, LOBBYING and LEGAL efforts. i dont see a communal change in our CONSCIOUSNESS as AMERICANS, which is essentially built on RACIST, MATERIALISTIC and unapologetically NARCISSISTIC framework devoted to the idea of the INDIVIDUAL. the antidote to this DEVASTATING situation is a seemingly QUIXOTIC dream that i share but dont see coming true. we are doomed. our individual and collective desires are doing us in. photo & text by nacrowe
there is something distinctly AMERICAN about EXTREME RELIGIOSITY. maybe it comes from our collective unabated allegiance and piety towards MARKET CAPITALISM and the need for all of us as individuals to assume and attest our own INDIVIDUALITY and SUPERIORITY over the herd. i can remember as a PEACE CORPS volunteer in ALBANIA the lengths to which other volunteers consciously separated themselves from those they sought to "assist." they were often CONFUSED why they were not thanked for their SELFLESS efforts by their new neighbors. it is that need for status and lack of EMPATHY that i'd argue makes us SUSCEPTIBLE to FANATICAL CHARLATANS and POWER / MONEY-HUNGRRY HUCKSTERS, both in terms of RELIGIOUS and POLITICAL CULTS (cough, cough, DONALD TRUMP).
in the comprehensive graphic novel AMERICAN CULTS (SILVER SPROCKET, 2021), edited by ROBYN CHAPMAN, there is an EXHAUSTIVE array of testimonials and narratives from over 20 cartoonists surrounding various DOMESTIC RELIGIOUS CULTS ranging from the benign (SUFISM REORIENTED, ONEIDA, THE SOURCE FAMILY, THE SULLIVANIANS) to the infamous (THE MANSON FAMILY, HEAVEN'S GATE, CHILDREN OF GOD, SYNANON, THE BRANCH DAVIDIANS, ORTHODOX JUDAISM, THE PEOPLE'S TEMPLE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT aka "JONESTOWN", CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT FOR LIVE aka "MOVE", THE FUNDAMENTALIST CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS and NXIVM). seemingly what they all have in common is the need to supplant the individual's need for an independent identity with that of a community ethic modeled on a CHARISMATIC leader, whether that be DAVID KORESH, KEITH RANIERE, JIM JONES, CHARLES MANSON, WARREN JEFFS, DAVID BERG, JOHN NOYES or MARSHALL APPLEWHITE. sometimes this new group ethic espouses COMPATIBLE VALUES with that of AMERICAN society at large, so the group is largely BENIGN. but most of the examples explored in this collection showcase when a new set of RETROGRADE value systems are implemented and the untold DAMAGE such creates, not only on members and their children, but the larger communities they inhabit. one interesting aspect of how these CULTS flourish is through a LAUNDERING of their reputation, especially initially, with regards to local political and business interests. its pretty interesting to know that HARVEY MILK and ROSALYNN CARTER endorsed JIM JONES at some point, likewise the DALAI LAMA with regards to KEITH RANIERE. the CULPABILITY of the broader community in allowing cultural loopholes whereby these insects burrow and later flourish into caustic colonies that threaten the larger body politic seems to be a narrative as old as the founding of our country, which itself was initiated by CALVINISTS and CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALISTS with BACKWARDS views on RACE, GENDER and the ENVIRONMENT. especially in a post-TRUMP (or perhaps pre-TRUMP's return) world there is an understanding of the DANGERS that come with HUCKSTERISM that plays on our COLLECTIVE FEARS and BASE INSTINCTS. and yet it continues on unabated. having lived overseas for many years i questioned whether it was something about being AMERICAN that made us so VULNERABLE to such. now im convinced our ISOLATION, ARROGANCE and NAIVETE about world affairs leaves us distinctly susceptible to such outright FRAUD and CHARLATANISM. and we seem to celebrate it. photo & text by nacrowe
during my teaching days i absolutely loved teaching LORD OF THE FLIES (FABER AND FABER, 1954) by BRITISH author WILLIAM GOLDING. this was due in large part to its highly SUBVERSIVE core message surrounding how AUTHORITY is rooted in CULTURE.
you have these children that are marooned on an island after some unspecified world-ending event and what happens from there is INTRIGUING. you would think that this SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON-esque premise would result in a colonialist fever dream whereby 'CIVILIZATION' is established where there once was 'NOTHING.' the idea that in our ANTHROPOCENTRIC conception of reality, NATURE is something to be tamed and made SUBMISSIVE to our own designs and needs. in short order among the new inhabitants a SOCIAL ORDER is quickly established among, with a HIERARCHY based on BRUTE FORCE and an arbitrarily divined and ever-evolving set of RITUALS (i.e. "THE CONCH"). it is difficult to read and not quickly discern that GOLDING is not merely describing a set of list children in a deserted tropical locale, but rather the story of CIVILIZATION. how SYSTEMS OF POWER are established and maintained. what is ingeniously presented is a DARK FANTASY of innocents effectively being CORRUPTED by the eternal forces of GREED, STATUS and POWER that have motivated humans through time immemorial. the implication of such is that these motivations are part of HUMAN NATURE and that CULTURE cannot elevate us above such. in fact CULTURE may be the root of the problem as it is rooted in HUMAN NATURE. even in a vacuum, new RITUALS and HIERARCHAL STRUCTURES will emerge and over time we will SUBJUGATE NATURE and our peers in a never ending climb to ascend atop that greasy pole. it really is an amazing thought experiment since many people have the idea of escaping society. what they dont realize is that they cant separate themselves from CIVILIZATION. it is a part of your SELF-CONCEPT, your IDENTITY, even when stripping it or deny its affect, you are still interacting with the concept. furthermore, if you were successful in extricating yourself physically to a foreign 'BARREN' land, you would only be effectively spreading 'CIVILIZATION' to a new locale. LIKE A VIRUS. it is quite a DARK CYCLE to consider and something I always find intriguing to think about and investigate. all that in a novel normally taught in middle school. again, i always loved teaching LORD OF THE FLIES. it allowed for potent discussions about the NATURE OF CIVILIZATION and our individual role in supporting or supplanting such en masse. these themes are arguably more resonant now with our current domestic political situation than at any time in living memory. |
NICHOLAS ARCHIVES
May 2024
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