The Guardian, the British newspaper, that presented Edward Snowden for the world and that in every way tries to give us a facade of democracy now publish guidelines for the modern slave. Their message of steel is delivered in a cool, cute and harmless way.
It is not only or specific Neo-Stalinist ideas The Guardian promotes; their propaganda supports any form of dictatorship that is known within the Western tradition. Nevertheless, in 1934 the Soviet system under Joseph Stalin (1922–1952) prescribed rules for art, called Socialist Realism that here can be used as a reference. According to Socialist Realism, art must be:
- Proletarian: art relevant to the workers and understandable to them.
- Typical: scenes of every day life of the people.
- Realistic: in the representational sense.
- Partisan: supportive of the aims of the State and the Party.
There is no reference to this list on Wikipedia. However, the list sums up the objectives that can be verified elsewhere. In the end of this post there are examples of other on-line resources.
The rules of Socialist Realism make art into a tool for the state to transform people according to the objectives of the élite.
Down below a brief presentation you can watch the video ”What is Art for?” that The Guardian published on September 10, 2014, with this presentation:
What is art for? Alain de Botton's animated guide – video
In this exclusive video for the Guardian, philosopher Alain de Botton gives his top five reasons why art is such a vital force for humanity. Are we wrong to like pretty pictures? Why is some art painful to look at? Can art heal your feelings of urban alienation? Relax, watch and find out.
Source: The School of Life
Alain de Botton, Wikipedia
The School of Life, Wikipedia
Brief: How the Guardian Promotes a Stalinist Perspective
or Master and Slave Ideals
The precise reason why the video ”What is Art for?” comply with the Stalinist concept of art is that the arguments eliminate that art, and the making of art, is a tool to investigate our world, to show alternative possibilities and to protest, i.e the dynamic perspective on art. It is these functions of art that dictators hate and make the élite in dictatorships forbid any form of art that displays alternatives to what the élite demands of the people.
Intro to How the Guardian Promotes a Master and Slave Society
In every aspect this video takes away the real values and functions of art and makes art harmless, in the same fashion that hard core dictatorships have always done. Unfortunately this is also the general view of art within the Western tradition. The élite want their static definition of art, which can do nothing but preserve the already established world view, to be regarded as the only truth. Therefore it is important to attack and condemn any effort to make art static and people stupid.
This video is seductive – it shows art as something nice and cuddly, and finally there are some easy-to-understand explanations of art. And here is the fundamental problem with this presentation. The explanations may be easy to understand, but that is not because they make sense. It is only a consequence of that the explanations are in line with what is generally or usually said about art, like that art only is some kind of decoration and otherwise impossible to comprehend. The overall impression for the public will be that this video does make sense.
Today it is impossible to imagine that any larger organisation can get away with promoting suppression based on for example ethnicity. Simultaneously it is evidently possible to suppress ALL citizens with definitions of art that restrict people's opportunities to think, understand and create.
A definition does not only define. The chosen words also take away alternative definitions; what you say also defines what you don't say. Alain de Botton’s static definitions take away all dynamic opportunities of what art can be.
Specification of How the Video Promotes a Master and Slave Society
The general point of departure for art in the video is that art is nothing but objects, static images, which are supposed to educate the people about the right ideals or the correct perspective on life. Consequently art loses for example the potential to be a process that includes the visualisation of dreams and ideas and the function of making visions and ideas into reality.
One more time. A static perspective on art prevents any understanding of how art is the process to create and to make dreams come true. This process is of course not limited to they the élite acknowledge as artists. And in a static world the leaders only approve artists with the same perspective as the élite.
In the established or dominant perspective, that this video reinforces, art is a tool for the masters to manipulate and give comfort on the surface, so the people can endure to be stamped down. Art as narcotic tranquillizers. Art as Soma in the novel Brave New World (1932) by Aldous Huxley (1894–1963).
To sum things up, the ideal of art in this video is castrated art that is a useful tool for the elite to manipulate the masses to conform stupidity.
The video is divided into the following sections:
What is Art for?
1. Art keeps us hopeful
2. Art makes us less lonely
3. Art rebalances us
4. Art helps us to appreciate stuff
5. Art is propaganda for what really matters
These headlines underline what is already said in this post. To make it more clear, here are some quotes from the video with short comments.
1. Art keeps us hopeful
"It's an obvious but striking fact that the most popular works of art in the world show pretty things, happy people, flowers in spring, blue skies."
To take for granted that what is considered to be popular right now is some kind of proof – without any question – is a very good beginning to reinforce the current situation. Dictators like status quo when thinking is guaranteed to be a viscous circle.
2. Art makes us less lonely
“The world often requires us to put on a cheerful facade but beneath the surface there's a lot of sadness and regret that we can't express from fear of seeming weird or a loser.
One thing art can do is reassure us the normality of pain. It can be sad with and for us. Some of the world’s greatest works of art have been loved for their capacity to make the pain that's inside all of us publicly visible and available.”
These words of total horror will hopefully create a rage in everyone that reads with consideration. Art is here explained to be a cover and a comfort so that the current hopelessness of a superficial life can be protected.
3. Art rebalances us
“All of us are a little unbalanced in some way.”
It is correct that art can be used to find harmony, BUT here this balance is to re-balance, i.e. to get back to what was balance earlier. When art has the potential to find for example a new perspective we are also able to find a new balance or understanding. The message of re-balance enforces the general theme in the video: that art is a tool for the élite to guide the people into being exactly as the élite wants them to be, while the people believe that this is the same as being balanced; happiness is achieved and no more questions are asked.
4. Art helps us to appreciate stuff
Here is another argument that erases the dynamic meaning of art. Alain de Botton says:
“Marcel Duchamp challenges us to look again at the seemingly mundane.”
As a matter of fact Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968) tried to show the foolishness of the perspective that art is isolated to what we are able to observe with our eyes. Anyone can hear Duchamp say these words in this brilliant interview made on June 15, 1968. Observe that Duchamp died on October 2 the same year. From the BBC show Late Night Line-Up. The journalist is Joan Bakewell (born 1933).
In the interview Duchamp for example despise what he calls retinal - art that only direct us to what we can observe with our eyes. Further more he pinpoints the following message (26:26 in the video).
Duchamp: The word art etymologically means to do, not even to make but to do, you see. The moment you do something you are an artist. … the word art means action, activity, of any kind … for everyone. But, we in our society have decided to make a group that is called artist … which is purely artificial
Bakewell: You said in the 20’s, you proclaimed art is dead. It isn’t, is it?
Duchamp: Yes, that is what I meant … Dead by the fact … in-stead of …. to be a universal human factor in anyone’s life: to be an artist but not noticed as an artist. You see what I mean?
It is genuinely painful to know that out there are people that are paid by the élite to produce and publish lies to make the public foolish; lies that can be exposed by anyone that gets a basic understanding of what art can be.
5. Art is propaganda for what really matters
The final section is a summary and conclusion where it is said:
“... one way to think about art is that it is a sort of propaganda in a sense of a tool that motivates and energizes you for a cause; only it's propaganda on behalf of some of the most important and nicest emotions and attitudes in the world.” Example of text displayed in the video: “Have hope, Stay balanced, It’s okay to be sad”
This digest of the total horror of this video is in clear language that art, in the Western tradition, is propaganda made by the élite to form and comfort the people: so the élite are able to continue their suppression.
Regarding The Guardian
What is especially interesting is that The Guardian tries very hard to convince the public that they are the guardians of democracy. It was for example The Guardian that presented Edward Snowden's disclosures off mass surveillance to the world on June 6, 2013 in this article: NSA collecting phone records of millions of Verizon customers daily by Glenn Greenwald.
It may be that the strategy of The Guardian’s management is to attract readers with fat scandals on the surface so the victims can be brainwashed with slave morale when it comes to advice on how to live and understand the world. Probably we will never know anything about that. No one can have any hope for a real dialogue about fundamental stuff in the Western tradition.
We just have to follow the recipe we are given. Whenever you are sucked down by the hopelessness to live on the surface and to only be able to obey: just look at some cute pictures and you will be comforted and re-balanced to survive what the élite decide is your life.
Socialist Realism, Encyclopædia Britannica
Socialist Realism, Britannica Concise Encyclopaedia Britannica - Page 1777 - Google Books
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