(Why is there no audio books for this goddamn book I CAN'T REMEMBER BIG BLOCKS OF TEXT MY BRAIN CAN'T DO THIS SHIT- ahem...)
This is sort of a tangent, but I really want to talk about the quiz that is at the beginning of this first chapter in the book. I think it's interesting that the author took a quick about what type of art collective you are, and then offers ways to protest or how to begin protesting. Just the idea of a quiz existing like that, and the starting quote being related to a "trojan horse". " 'Maybe the Trojan Horse was the first activist artwork. Based on Subversion on the one hand and empowerment on the other.' ". Imagine if this quiz had been a trojan horse as well. Like the nature of this quiz is to share what collective you are, but what if it told the author otherwise? Directed to author to a different type of activism. Instead of British African diaspora or women's rights, but how Abortion is wrong, how drag-queens shouldn't be in schools, how differently could this have gone for this book? It still acts as a Trojan horse, but to empower the right people.
I just think it's interesting that the author chose to talk about a quiz as the opening of the first chapter of the book. I'm trying so hard not to analyze this like it's a book essay lol. So back to the point with a secondary quote.
"Just as emphatic is the surge of activism taking place 'outside' the art world's intuitional boundaries... from Ferguson, Missouri... and Palestine, a spectacular protest aesthetic is present everywhere in plain sight. Meanwhile, monuments commemorating white supremacy and colonialism are defaced, demolished and tagged with the names of Black, brown, and poor citizens murdered by the police and military. "
I wanted to use the whole text but it would have been too big. But every bit of it is important. Before this quote, the author mentions that the way protesting has turned is completely different from like 40 or 50 years ago. Telling how different views change when problems resolve. Looking up what protests were going on back in the 1980s and 70s, I discovered that they were protesting problems we still have. Civil Rights. But in a different way. Today, more black people work in the same places as white people do, more women are entering and improving men dominated spaces. They focused a lot on inner conflicts, and not outside world issues. They could barely reach people on the other half of the world. They knew nothing. A lot of internal conflict was resolved with internal protesting. But today's age is not focusing on inner conflict, or at least not solely inner conflict. We are focused on outer conflict. What is happening around the world. Inadvertently, the global companies and powers have given us the power to see other worlds and the states they are in and be furious about it. We now see the suffering of other places in the world. The older generation does not care, they were conditioned by the government to trust them, that they have no power. "Why should we do anything?" "Why is it my problem?" I just don't want to know." They want to stay ignorant and do nothing because that's how they used to deal with conflict. The Silent Generation will be complacent, ignorant, and compliant. Looking out for themselves because they couldn't do anything else back then.
But this generation doesn't see it that way. Generation Z does not see the world that way. "Why should we do anything?" "Because people are suffering and are calling on us for help." "Why is it my problem?" "Because you can't see why it is a problem." "I just don't want to know." "Then you're allowing it to continue.". This Generation grew up on these protests. This generation were made to study it, to learn it, to write about it, to listen to it. Through so much media and how it's pushed we were taught to fight the oppressive and help those who are oppressed. Avatar: The Last Air Bender. The central theme of the characters is to unite the 4 nations, even though one of the nations is oppression them, controlling them. Even though some of the nations have become cold and turned their backs on their fellow oppressed. How a small movement, a small amount of people, 1 person, can change the world and unite people. Undertale, the consequences of violence, and how kindness and determination can push for change. Attack on Titan, fight for your freedom, even when all hope seems lost. Star Vs. The Forces of Evil, Power can corrupt people and societies. Zootopia, you can be whatever you want to be. The Persona Franchise, Zelda, Early Pokemon, Resident Evil, Halo, Subnautica, God of War, Death Stranding, Little Nightmares, Miraculous ladybug, Stranger Things, and this is literally only SOME of them. THIS is what we grew up with. The messages we were given. The lessons we were taught. The whole message? ANYBODY can save the world, and even if you have no power, you can overcome anything. You can save people. No matter who you are. These things have taught is empathy, kindness, care for each other. So when we see war, we see suffering, we see oppression. We will speak up. We will talk about it. We will cause a worldwide uproar. We have the power to do so with technology. We can organize worldwide rallies, world wild protests. Even if they do not listen, we will keep screaming until someone does and acts.
We will suffer because they are suffering. We will bring it to their front door if they refuse to see it on the screen. We will fight them in their own courthouse. We will not allow for this oppression.
This Generation will be the fall of our government, and I think it'll be for the better.
.... I don't think I did this assignment right-
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