http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhqvAsAS42I&feature=watch_response_rev
Thought this sounded like a nice idea and I hope others do it.
Here's my contribution.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvl-HDG69Rc&feature=watch_response
Jokes don't defeat the state alone, especially when done in private. Private spaces are a given part of any totalitarian system, in the Soviet Union it was always informally referred to as "the kitchen table." Miloscz talks a great deal about how in a socialist system, people learn to compartmentalize, showing obedience to the state in public and fearful resistance in private. It's only when it is shown that the state is weak in public that it begins to crumble. Where joking does work to undermine the state is where people find a way to express them publicly that flaunts the state's authority. Take for instance, the Necro-Realists in Leningrad during the 80s. They were a group of performance artists that performed ludicrous stunts, often dressing up as zombies while doing it, in public spaces. They accepted the penalties against them, for instance loss of good jobs, loss of place in university, reduced access to food and goods, and jail time and still continued to put on their acts. It wasn't so much the humor that allowed for the success of the Necro-Realists as using humor in a way that let them find a chink in the armor of the totalitarian state. Its flaunting state power publicly that exposes the state's lack of legitimacy. The police simply did not know how to deal with them, as their actions weren't overtly political or anti-soviet, and yet still completely mocked the idea of a state ruling their lives. Take also Paul Reubens and the Yippies actions during their HUAC hearing, arguably the final nail in that committee's coffin. There are other examples besides humor. Take for instance the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia which was largely driven by public readings of the works of Vaclav Havel. Or the Solidarity Movement in Poland which was driven in a large part by drama, and play acting, or the revolution in Romania which focused around the Church and featured folk music as a rallying symbol. All that is required to bring down a totalitarian state is to find a crack in the armor, a place where you can express yourself without fear of reprisal and from there you can bust the system open. Unfortunately, none of that can be done while working in private. Joking in private serves to acknowledge the power of the state. So if you have a joke that you think can take the system down, you have to tell in publicly and loudly.
Another thing to consider is that the United States and the Soviet states have completely different cultures and values. The U.S. values pluralism and free expression. So much so that subversive thought becomes marketable and marketed. George Carlin may have said some very subversive things, but how much of a danger to the system was he really, when he was being paid by HBO and put on national television? Hippie culture lost its subversive power the moment Sachs 5th Avenue began carrying Hippie clothing lines. Jon Stewart can make all the jokes he wants about Obama and Bush, but he collects a paycheck, and works for a network. It's clear that Stewart isn't going to lead a revolution anytime soon, since Congressmen feel comfortable enough to go on his show. So how can it be a revolution if you're telling jokes and the government is ignoring you? How can it be a revolution if you're telling jokes, and being paid hefty sums to do so on stage? So in order to "bring down the system" you would have to find a way to attack the system in a way that they could not co-opt or suppress. That leaves out violence and most every form of public demonstration I can imagine.
I always thought the state was the joke.
Only that it had guns and could shoot you if it wanted to.
AHPMB: Having made these points, is there any way you can think to protest, be subversive, invoke revolution etc. successfully without being co-opted?
He could make a deal with LaGuardia Airport, You can't get funnier and subversive at the same time than that.
Quote from: valvatica on April 20, 2010, 12:32:04 PM
AHPMB: Having made these points, is there any way you can think to protest, be subversive, invoke revolution etc. successfully without being co-opted?
Honestly, no I can't. I don't think a system that has a free market of ideas can be destroyed through that kind of protest. However, what you can do is target specific aspects of it that are repressive. Again I point to the Yippies actions against HUAC. In that case they revealed the Committee to be essentially toothless through humor. Anytime the government acts in an authoritarian way, it can be countered in this fashion, but its incredibly difficult to sustain a movement after the immediate, over authoritarian threat has receded. But as far as taking the system as a whole down through humor, I don't see it. For a counter-movement to be successful it has to survive in the market of ideas long enough for a significant minority to take notice, and by that time it's already largely been commercialized and in most cases rendered impotent. Look at how successful the Republican Party has been at co-opting the Tea Party movement and you see what I mean. Sarah Palin was already mugging the cameras before the Tea Party guys even had a coherent message.