Comradeship // Freechat

cynical and irony poisoned and pessimistic in the way that so much content coming out of the Western entertainment industry is nowadays

the west can no longer imagine a future

That's what I've noticed as well. I very much agree that it's the difference in the underlying material conditions that shape the public consciousness and the expression in the media. Since there are no solutions to the problems within the system, and we're not allowed to question the system itself, the only available conclusion is that things can only keep getting worse from here on out.

I wanted to share this one i watched last year, it encapsulates much of what you're expressing. It's refreshing to see a film criticizing the growing corporate culture of sycophancy and being proud of the manufacturing background that many chinese share.

My favorite part is the power struggle between the new management and the old, the new being a finance bro trying to cut corners without considering the human costs while the old management being sympathetic to the manufacturer workers, because they themselves went through that stage. The decadence of companies through a generational change that is completely separared from the actual foundations of a company is something you see everywhere, but is rarely, if ever, portrayed in media. China being relatively new to the corporate landscape is still in process of dealing with this generational change so it's expressed in their media, while imperial core countries are already 3-4 generations removed and their leadership is separated by an abyss to the material reality.

https://youtu.be/u5pe3owrGgM

I wonder if it's reflected in Chinese books too. Unfortunately, I don't know enough Chinese yet to read books in it comfortably (maybe some very simple children's books). But maybe there are some translated works that would be more optimistic?

I would appreciate the difference I'm sure. I recently got through a book that is praised on its cover for its "social commentary" and it's not bad at that, exactly. It's okay on very basic things about rich people, exploitation, and classism. But just as you describe, it does not offer alternatives; the hero (if they can be called one) is deeply cynical and tries to effect some change by the end, but doesn't end up accomplishing much other than self-actualization. Because, as per usual in western thought, the main character has no concept of organizing in a way that can view power as an achievable thing to take and administrate with in a compassionate way. Every ruler/ruling class in the book is shades of total shit and are so "smart"/brutal, they can't possibly be challenged in a way that would cause permanent transfer of power to humane forces. It's such bleak literature and it's more depressing to read than it is insightful.

I think the irony-poisoned cynicism of modern western culture is a way to vent the contradictions we all see every day without addressing class conflict.

So it gets flattened into the world just being generically Bad.

Hello Cfgaussian, I appreciate your analysis on practically everything. Thanks for sharing this.

I don't think you need to go into further detail since you already identify the crux of the problem very well. The West lives by the motto: "it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism".

Of course, this is part of the cultural war waged by burgers against the people. Keep us demoralized. Muh Fallout but no Lenin, sorry. I'm a big fan of the Fallout series, but I came to recognize the very same problems you tell about in your post.

In other words, post-apocalyptic America looks like post-industrial Detroit than anything else. A couple of good memes float on this theme.

Now, going back on topic: how about sharing the Chinese media you've watching? This way we can see for ourselves 😀

Only tangentially related but one thing I found striking when visiting family in LatAm was how social the environment was, and how colorful. The color is being drained out of the US. The dominant aesthetic is black, white and grey; black and white car sales are dominating. A pallor on a sick society

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