Category: Media & Social

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What the Russian revolution would have looked like on social media

Project1917

I was recently asked to think of ideas for a video game. Project1917 has potential. I love the way the history of the revolution unfolds, with contemporary comment and breaking news, organised into a Twitter style timeline.

It’s an engaging way to understand the history of the revolution. It also has the potential to explore alternative histories. What happens when you change something? We could end up with a vast array of alternate histories.

It makes me think of Len Dayton’s SS-GB, postulating a United Kingdom occupied by Nazi Germany during World War Two.

There’s also Alan Moore’s comic book Watchmen, speculating an alternative history emerging from the discovery of superheroes in the 1940s. Their presence allows the United States to win the Vietnam War, changing the political landscape of the United States.

The thing that’s interesting about both these examples is the way they use changed historical events to fuel a drama. There is something to be explored in taking real historical events, adding or subtracting an element, and dramatising the outcome.

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Propaganda of privilege

It’s interesting to me that Jim Waterson and Peter Walker give Theresa May the last word, summoning the mythic notion of the media as an impartial force, speaking truth to power, the “bedrock of our democracy”.

I do not always enjoy reading what the media in my country writes about me. But I will defend their right to say it – for the independence of our media is one of my country’s greatest achievements. And it is the bedrock of our democracy.

Theresa May – September 2018
The Guardian

The media has and will always be the “propaganda of privilege”. The media chooses what we discussed, how that discussion is framed, and who has the last word. Having the last word is important. It bestows authority, allowing the comments to sit with an audience, letting that point of view be the “truth”.

This notion, pushed by journalists, that the media speaks truth to power is laughable. The media speaks to like minded people. It is nothing more than the post-show show, a propaganda vehicle for the main attraction, a Big Brother’s Bit on the Side to main show Big Brother, a fluffer on the set of a porno, there to keep the actors aroused.

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How the lesbian gaze changed cinema

This from Anna Smith in The Guardian, should make you think.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/aug/10/oral-sex-and-no-scissoring-how-the-lesbian-gaze-changed-cinema
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Celebrating the centenary of the great Ida Lupino

https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/ida-lupino-director

If this is of interest, you may also like this from “You Must Remember This – EP.#9: The Many Loves of Howard Hughes, Part 2: The Many Loves of Ida Lupino.“

You Must Remember This Podcast is always worth a listen. You can find the podcasts website here.

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Facebook scandal ‘hit 87 million users’

I wish I could say I’m shocked, but I’m not. Facebook improperly shared the personal details of 87 million people with Cambridge Analytica.

BBC News
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Edgar Wright interviews Steven Spielberg about Duel

Empire Online

“DUEL was 50% planning and 50% panic.”

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Writer for feature film

This was posted today on Mandy.

Type: Film (LB)

Location: London

Salary: No Pay £100

Duration: ASAP shooting in July

We are looking for a writer for a feature film being shot in July. The team have put together an outline and character breakdown so we are looking for a talented writer with strong structure skills to join the team.

The story is about a Sri Lankan rickshaw driver who drives a stripper home, shot in real time. Knowledge of globalisation is a plus.

The team is made of industry professionals collaborating to take the feature to festivals. We have very strong industry links and have a production company so everything can be done in house. This is a no budget production, no one will be getting paid but the writer will receive a back end percentage on the film and £100 as we know it is a big job.

We are open to all levels of writers but would like to see some sample scripts, have a reference (film school is fine) and meet you in person before confirming.

We would like to have a first draft by 1st June and final draft by 15th July.

Not entirely sure what to make of this. I’d be interested to see what the rest of the world thinks of “the writer will receive a back end percentage on the film and £100 as we know it is a big job”.

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The ever-so slightly patronising coverage of Jeremy Corbyn

I, like many, was horrified by the recent election result which brought another Conservative government to power. The day after the election someone asked me if I was disappointed. National Health Service gone. Affordable housing gone. Welfare gone. As far as I can tell austerity is an excuse to dismantle the welfare state, and I can’t believe people voted for the worst version of it. Too right I was disappointed.

The person who asked the question replied to my predictions with the ever-so slightly patronising “we’ll see”. This from someone who has never really had it tough. I don’t mean “can’t decide which holiday to go on” tough. I mean “can’t feed your kids” tough. How do I know they’ve never had it tough? I once overheard them, in a conversation about how hard it is to find somewhere to live in London, say “I just pick up the phone, tell them how much I earn, and they give me what I want”.

That’s not unusual, it presumes because others haven’t achieved financial success they’re weak or lazy. This attitude is all too common. It’s a soulless attitude that takes no account of personal circumstances, or the hardships most people go though just to survive. In short, it’s an egocentric view of the world, at the core of a model of rampant self-interest, this nation was infected with since Thatcher.

For me it’s an attitude implicit in the ever-so slightly patronising coverage of Jeremy Corbyn. I, like most people, had never heard of Jeremy Corbyn before the recent Labour leadership campaign, but I keep finding things that make me say “this guy is interesting”. He seems to be offering a genuine, straight talking, alternative to rampant self-interest at the core of the current social and political landscape, an attitude that puts the values and interests of the very few at the top of this vast pyramid scheme we call capitalism.

This is just a small example of what I mean when I say “the ever-so slightly patronising coverage of Jeremy Corbyn”.