I've been thinking about this a lot lately in regards to art as well. There's this idea that it's desirable, or even possible, to discuss things like music, film, tv, and video games without saying something about the cultural and political realities in which they're created and, like... no? - ThreadSky

12tone.nebula.tv • 18 days ago

I've been thinking about this a lot lately in regards to art as well. There's this idea that it's desirable, or even possible, to discuss things like music, film, tv, and video games without saying something about the cultural and political realities in which they're created and, like... no?

Reposted from 🌈Dr. Frizzle, Allyship for Frogs, Witches

Had an interesting discussion in my SciComm class about how “trying to stick to facts” is, in fact, bias—that choosing to not engage is, actually, a choice

most ethical dilemmas are defined by the moment when choosing to refrain from acting has consequences worse than choosing which action to take

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n00dl3m4n.bsky.social•18 days ago

I think the question that needs to be asked is why would someone not want you to discuss the politics at the core of a piece of music? Imagine trying to talk about Killing in the Name without any mention of politics? IMO to not discuss it is in itself a tacit agreement that it is above criticism.

valerynorth.bsky.social•18 days ago

Like, the album notes on just about every classical (in the broad sense) recording I've bought has some kind of discussion on what the cultural and/or political landscape was at the time the composer was writing the piece.
If it's expected on "historical" music, why not popular music today?

12tone.nebula.tv•18 days ago

It's easy to think of "getting political" as explicitly commenting on current political issues, and by that metric I am largely "apolitical", but the music we love is made through conversations with systems of power, and pretending those systems don't affect the art is analytical malpractice.

12tone.nebula.tv•18 days ago

This comes up in my work in a million little ways. To pick just one extremely obvious example, I talk a lot about classic rock. Despite being heavily "inspired" by the Black American blues tradition, most of the biggest names in classic rock are white men. This is not a coincidence.

12tone.nebula.tv•18 days ago

I make choices about when to engage with facts like that and when to let the video be about something else, but it's not just the times where I say something that count as political choices. If anything, those are the more neutral ones, even if they're the ones I get in trouble for.

12tone.nebula.tv•18 days ago

The point is, I spend a lot of time thinking about how to handle the political realities that shape the works I analyze, and if your favorite media analysts aren't, they're doing a disservice to both you and the art itself. A lack of intentionality or self-awareness is not a lack of bias.

12tone.nebula.tv•18 days ago

I should also note that nothing in this thread should be construed as me claiming that I always get it right. If I'm being honest with myself, I'd say, more often than not, I probably get it wrong. But I will never hide behind the argument that it's "just music": I respect music too much for that.

brimaxian.bsky.social•18 days ago

"Getting it wrong" or "right" is itself being intellectually curious enough to engage. I'd rather be wrong than dismissive; the learning is supposed to be the good part. And here we are, where merely choosing (to be willing) to learn is the political choice.

mystoragebench.bsky.social•18 days ago

But I also don't root for losing the forest for the trees you found while on acid, so there's some of a dilemma.

12tone.nebula.tv•18 days ago

Oh, certainly. I'm not saying one can't choose to approach an analysis through lenses that don't prioritize the political context of the work. I do it all the time. I'm just saying that's still a choice.

mystoragebench.bsky.social•18 days ago

Love a trudge through political lenses and inference, if it feels like steps ahead in the kind of journey I'd go on with a piece. Also spent a lot of time on all the social media platforms, being perplexed by people's diatribes. I tend to think of analysis as polarised, rather than just commendable.

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