Inaugural Post
I’ve decided to start a new blog covering the collision of the digital revolution, politics and pop culture. Those of you who know me understand that I have spent enough time in each of those worlds to be somewhat opinionated. I will try not to disappoint, but this will be more Brad Delong than Perez Hilton. I teach at The Annenberg School for Communication at USC.
My overall mood on this Christmas Eve is a mixture of hope and foreboding. The hope comes from three sources. First, my wife and all of my kids are at the top of their creative powers doing important work in photography, music and human rights law. I too have had a wonderful year; will start a book next month for Palgrave MacMillan and continue to be amazed by my colleagues, students and partners at USC/Annenberg, Business Edge and Intertainer. Second, because I am in the Academy of Motion Pictures we get all the imortant films of the year on DVD, and every year there are some gems that arrive in December and revive my belief in original American filmmaking. This year its Juno, There Will Be Blood, and I’m Not There. Juno is one of the most original characterizations I’ve seen in years and Ellen Page is going to have a long carreer. There Will be Blood has the scope and style of George Stevens’ Giant, one of the great American classics. The economic story, though safely located in history, is no less important today than when Upton Sinclair first published the source novel, Oil.
Albert Grossman
I’m Not There is the outlier. It is just so Fellini spot-on-wierd that the truth of its narrative about Bob Dylan is quite beside the point. I worked while in college for four years 1965-1969 for Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman (who’s portrayal in the film bears little resemblance to the important figure in the growth of folk music that was Albert) and I took Dylan to The Isle of Wight Festival with The Band in August of 1969. I saw up close the evening at the Newport Folk Festival in July of 1965 that is depicted in Todd Haynes Film. This is the evening that Dylan decided to go Electric and the folkies started booing and it was truly the moment that Rock and Roll grew up from I Want to Hold Your Hand to Like a Rolling Stone. Haynes film bears no touch of the reality of the real event, but it doesn’t matter, because he does capture (as Fellini did for his own life in 8 1/2) the madness of the point where an artist leaves his audience behind. Dylan (especially after he joined up with Levon and The Hawks in August of 1965) played the most important music of our generation to boos for a year from July 1965 until he went off his motorcycle in July of 1966. Hardly any artist really tries to challenge their audience the way that Bob Dylan (or John Lennon) did. In some small way Todd Haynes has taken the courageous route and made a film as challenging to his audience as Dylan (or Fellini) was to his.
My third source of hope is the Campaign of Barack Obama. I worked for Gene McCarthy in early 68 and went over to Bobby Kennedy when he entered the race in the Spring. I and many of our generation started off that year, forty years ago, with so much political hope and ended it in such despair. And as a result, many of us retreated into art away from politics;just like Bob Dylan did. So in my own students, who have been in that same “retreat” into music and pop culture for years, there is a reverse journey–into the political movement that is Barack Obama. And that fills me with hope.
And then you ask–so where does the aforementioned dread come from? It comes from a sense of profound economic peril. We have lived as a country off the rich inheritance of past generations and now the party may be coming to a close. I point you to one blog that you must read weekly at least. It is from Nouriel Roubini who was telling his readers 15 months ago about the coming Sub Prime crisis. The second is an article from a fairly smart economist in a london newspaper today. The Chinese symbol for “crisis” and “opportunity” are very similar.
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Glad to see your blog as I know you needed another outlet to express your views!! Will look forward to reading it–how often do you plan on wrtiing it? and does it come automatically to our e-mail accounts?
As to the economic problems we face— it is easy to call for a severe downturn as many have—however everyone knows these problems and most business people and investors are very negative—my guess is that the markets will be up in 2008 unless we really hit a credit wall–which may happen–but alot of this is in the system—I am sure that when your beloved Democrats get elected and raise taxes for everyone that will really solve the problem!!!—how much of our money does the federal government need Jon?—what % of GDP?– I to like Obama but not for his economic experience ( although he did go to the correct thinking U of Chicago—kind of the anti USC) — anyway–Merry x-mas etc–doug
halle berry billy bob thornton
I Googled for something completely different, but found your page…and have to say thanks. nice read.
[...] it is probably time to look at why both the Clintons and the MSM were so wrong about the race. In inaugural post in December, I wrote that the Obama campaign was a source of hope for me at a time that I thought [...]