There’s a comrade on Twitter, a youngster, who is an extremely, extremely dedicated reader of theory, who is repulsed by fictional and entertainment media on account of it almost universally being created by and harboring bourgeois-ridden thoughts, while also fearing it on account of it being counter-insurgency much like TVs were used to pacify and distract black prisoners in San Quentin from revolutionary action.
This caused me to have self-reflection. Should she be an example to follow? Should we forsake or move towards forsaking all media consumption aside from theory as she does lest we waste our time on commodities that many of the people we fight for have don’t have the privilege of enjoying? For we still have much work ahead of us. Indeed, I have seen for myself people mellowing out after fighting politically online and then focusing more on their hobbies (for better or worse, of course, many of them held poor political positions and were better off silent). But to her, her hobbies and politics are one in the same. It’s all she does, and she claims to not get burnout. She condemns the use of distractions to disengage for the sake of mental health for to her, theory and being engaged with politics sustains hers. And she has the exact mental disorders I do (as far as I’m aware). Even acknowledging the both of us grew up under different circumstances, I can’t help but feel an inferiority complex towards her. Perhaps that’s some sort of main character syndrome, the same that drives me to speak at length about my experiences here. But life, especially organization, isn’t a one-person show. I know this, that I can’t be her, and that she can’t be, say, Xi Jinping, but we each have our role to play.
I’m just wondering if I wasted my life. I’ve been playing video games since I was little and thus I thought and focused on them and other fantasy content at the expense of schoolwork that I found uninteresting and rote no matter how badly I was shamed and beaten by the school and my parents for neglecting it. I think back and wonder if I was ruined. This is a phenomenon she fears had affected her generation as she keeps becoming frustrated by her peer’s inabilities to focus on anything. Given all the circumstances, this was of course the only way my life could have gone, but now I wonder if I should really attempt to forsake all my fictional media, all the ties I’ve made with people based on it, to try to consume yet more theory in the hopes that I’ll eventually be repulsed by fiction and I’ll be able to joyfully commit to theory full time as she does. I’m taking a break from media and committing to theory for the time being but I admit, though I’m able to enjoy the theory, the process still has me fearful and sad. Withdrawal symptoms, perhaps? I think about what I can do even if I’m able to be extremely well-versed in theory. As I said, our upbringing are different. She’s able to operate in a big city full of potential comrades, whereas I live in a rural, deserted area where I can’t easily leave and thus I’d have limited ability to spread communism or organize. I also wonder, even if I somehow commit to such a path if she and I won’t actually end up eventually burning out after all. What do you think? Should we stigmatize and caution against consumption of fiction or entertainment?
Following up some comments given it’s been said I’m pessimistic.
I tend to see it as realism checking run-away revolutionary optimism which I think is necessary as if you keep telling yourself you’ll get a pony year after year and year after year it doesn’t happen you risk losing any hope at all and just checking out of that idea entirely which is something that does happen. I live in the imperial core. I’d love to see the revolution, I’d love to see it next year but I have to be realistic and hope I can temper the expectations and thinking of comrades to see the world not as they wish it to be steadily rushing towards revolution but a more complex situation. The hope burns eternal in us but we have a duty to our comrades to while being rosy also be pragmatic and honest about the world in our analysis and not get too far ahead of ourselves in rosy predictions, to temper them with not so rosy possibilities and keep an open mind about how things are unfolding and what it means.
Also in getting back to the original post there is media through the years that’s less fascist and openly reactionary. Take Star Trek up through The Next Generation (I’d start there in fact, 60s show is weird about women and a few other things) at least which can be read as a hopeful post scarcity communist civilization. Even things like DS9 and Voyager aren’t totally bad though they started the shows decline into capitalist realism with the gambling and fiat currency being commonly used. Lower Decks (despite having some love letters to stuff I consider capitalist degeneration series after the 90s) is fairly upbeat and watchable. They even had an episode fighting some capitalists on a new post-scarcity planet (though it was of course liberal coded with the resolution). Things like Andor despite being on the surface Star Wars slop have a solid story of resistance against a strong, reactionary empire. There are many movies that can be read positively as well even if many of them are engaging in recouperation.
I’d think there’s an upside. The longer it takes for revolution to occur here, the better prepared the rest of the world may be for it. Socialist forces will be much better developed abroad. Actually, those phenomena are inseparable, it’s also as the US loses its ability to interfere with socialist development abroad that it will be more vulnerable to revolution. Such conditions, being more isolated from the rest of the world, would better foster revolutionary spirit, especially in people more confident in the examples abroad to follow, and their desire to link with the rest of the socialist world.
I understand not wanting to get carried away. We make fun of people for saying China will collapse any day. We, of course, have much more grounds to say that with regards to the US but it may take a while yet.