A new shadow rises
Jun. 16th, 2021 03:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
With regret, I have to report that the culture wars have reached the hitherto docile and apolitical realm of the Tolkien Society. As we speak, there are people plotting to disrupt their proposed seminar on diversity. This is because some right-wing idiot (and UKIP candidate) called Sargon of Akkad (I kid you not) posted a whiny YouTube video about 'those leftist woke Tolkien Society people' (for context, the chairman of the TS is a Tory council leader in some part of England I never knew existed).
It was of course only a matter of time, because the narrative of 'cultural Marxism' and 'those damn woke people' needs constant feeding with further examples to agitate the online anti-intellectual gammons with, to constantly feed their victim complexes about being on the losing end of a titanic struggle. It would be ridiculous (and untrue) to say that diversity has a central place in either Tolkien scholarship or the Tolkien society, yet the narrative decrees that 'the woke are taking over' and 'we have to fight them' because we are up against a conspiracy theory that sees imaginary 'SJW' enemies everywhere it looks.
Tolkien's works are the sort that appeal to all - from left-wing hippies to blood and soil nationalists. This is why he is so popular and loved. His books teach basic human values that speak to all and are almost totally apolitical. But that sort of truce is unacceptable to the new disruptive force, because it does not recognise truces. To it, anything that has alignment with/inclusion of the Left must be controlled by the Left. It is of course a staple part of how conspiracy theories work - if you think a shadowy group (here, 'the Left') is behind everything, then unless they are visibly excluded you will keep thinking it.
For the record, I think many of the talks are ridiculous, applying theories in a way that just does not work, however none of that excuses the sort of 'gate-keeping' and attempted 'cancelling' of the whole TS that seems to be mooted.
It was of course only a matter of time, because the narrative of 'cultural Marxism' and 'those damn woke people' needs constant feeding with further examples to agitate the online anti-intellectual gammons with, to constantly feed their victim complexes about being on the losing end of a titanic struggle. It would be ridiculous (and untrue) to say that diversity has a central place in either Tolkien scholarship or the Tolkien society, yet the narrative decrees that 'the woke are taking over' and 'we have to fight them' because we are up against a conspiracy theory that sees imaginary 'SJW' enemies everywhere it looks.
Tolkien's works are the sort that appeal to all - from left-wing hippies to blood and soil nationalists. This is why he is so popular and loved. His books teach basic human values that speak to all and are almost totally apolitical. But that sort of truce is unacceptable to the new disruptive force, because it does not recognise truces. To it, anything that has alignment with/inclusion of the Left must be controlled by the Left. It is of course a staple part of how conspiracy theories work - if you think a shadowy group (here, 'the Left') is behind everything, then unless they are visibly excluded you will keep thinking it.
For the record, I think many of the talks are ridiculous, applying theories in a way that just does not work, however none of that excuses the sort of 'gate-keeping' and attempted 'cancelling' of the whole TS that seems to be mooted.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-16 08:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-06-17 12:52 am (UTC)Народ типа Бенджамина все время твердит про гораздо более сильную форму свободы слова. Правительство давит на университеты чтобы они ее предоставили — даже для псевдоисториков типа Дейвида Ирвинга. Но на деле Бенджамин так же не готов предоставлять свободу слова оппонентам как и Антифа.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-17 08:53 am (UTC)Но с другой стороны, может я просто не в курсе, я не слышала давно примеров, где правые запретили левых.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-16 11:26 am (UTC)There have always been crazy interpretations of Tolkien and people have always grumbled about them, but no one in the 80s would have suggested that those Freudian critics who think Shelob's lair is a vagina are a political enemy whose meetings must be disrupted. There's no inherent reason why e.g. transgender interpretations should be considered more provoking than some of the crazy stuff that's been around for the last half-century. The obvious explanation is that in previous generations this kind of thing remained confined to the narrow world of literary criticism, and no one else was aware of it. Now, thanks to social media, everything can be weaponised and drawn into the wider culture wars.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-17 12:37 am (UTC)