Brand and Paxman
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'cos I'm a lazy sod I'm just going to cut and paste the comment I made over on the SPGB group page on Facebook: I initially also bridled a bit at his mention of taxation of the rich line, but sod it, why hang the whole interview on that passage? The video's gone viral and not just because Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a half decent film. There's brilliant class anger in this interview and it's resonated with a hell of a lot of people.I thought it was a great interview and I'm not going dismiss him because I disagreed with a couple of things he said during those ten minutes.
The fight for the Brand http://www.scriptonitedaily.com/2013/10/25/russell-brand-to-become-the-face-of-none-of-the-above-campaign-in-2015-general-election/ Basically, i feel the same sympathetic argument is being made in support of Brand as with the Occupy Movement. They both have made the subject of revolution popular in the media, returned it to the public domain, once again made it a respectable topic for the over the dining table. If we are to jump on the band-wagon we should be clear on what points it is to be and what direction we should steer the discourse. Fact is we have already lost this one particular piece of propaganda prize and missed the boat. It has indeed gone viral as Imposs says , and our independent voice simply isn't vocal or loud enough to draw attention to ourselves…no more spilt milk, water under bridges etc etc . Lets move on to some practical proposals of propaganda. Nor do i think we should be in the business of searching for celebrity endorsement, no matter how appealing.
alanjjohnstone wrote:Basically, i feel the same sympathetic argument is being made in support of Brand as with the Occupy Movement. They both have made the subject of revolution popular in the media, returned it to the public domain, once again made it a respectable topic for the over the dining table.That's the point (not too sure about the dining table, though). Just as Occupy helped to make "capitalism" a dirty word Brand has popularised the concept of "revolution". Both things we can only welcome as they provide us with an openingHave we missed the boat on this? Not necessarily. For instance, there's another local by-election coming up near Head Office next month. Up to now we've been using on our election address the slogan "Vote for yourself for a change". We could change this to something like "Revolution Not Reform" or "Why We Need a Revolution" or even "Let's Make a Revolution" or "Time for Revolution". Anyway, something with "revolution" in it.
I still think we should approach Russell Brand and sound out his politics. What have we got to lose? If he wants to be involved fomenting revolution, and agrees with our aims, then he could prove very useful. If he's not interested in being part of a campaign, or doesn't agree with our aims, then we have lost nothing. I think he needs to see a copy of What's Wrong With Using Parliament, and I would suggest that somebody with a copy sends it to the address provided by Alan. Reasons against:He may not agree with our politicsHe may not be interested in being part of a campaignSome people don't like himReasons for:Better publicity than we could ever achieve without celebrity endorsementAn actor for a party political broadcastSome people like himBob
I may be a bit late with this one:http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/roarmag/~3/2YULmP-QawU/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=emailbut there's a follow up today here:http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/roarmag/~3/oo5Gi3Czt28/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=emailby the editor of Roar Mag, Jerome Roos who finishes his article with this:"Ultimately, it’s not Russell Brand who gives me hope. Even though I greatly enjoyed his interview, I frankly don’t care very much what this celebrity tells the BBC or what he writes in the New Statesman. It’s the fact that his heartfelt revolutionary desire still resonates with millions that truly thrills me. I wouldn’t predict a revolution just yet. But that’s because I know it’s already begun."Whilst this doesn't reflect my own response exactly, I do believe that it certainly increases the audience, if not the participants – and they're not all young. This cuts across all kinds of boundaries and as others have already commented, it raises the profile for discussion of something other than the status quo. It's up to us all to use every bit of ammunition we can get our hands on to spread our version of what the revolution could be.By the way, I knew the guy's name (R.B.) but had no idea why or for what he was famous until 2 days ago. Laugh all you like but presumably there are a few others out there like me – cut off from or disinterested in mass media?I'm also hoping some kind person can source the relevant issue of the New Statesman and send it to me.
Could the party set up nationwide public meetings organised by every branch? something along the lines of "Was Russell Brand Right?" or "Russell Brand. Prophet or Poseur?" or "The Russell Brand Revolution" or something. I don't think the WSM have missed the boat on anything because this isn't going to go away. Capitalism is only going to get worse and eventually there will be a deafening cacophony of such Brandisms from other partly enlightened "Celebrities" as well as everyone else. This will crescendo into an avalanche.
Here you go JS. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article36652.htmSteve Colborn.
Instead of writing to him by snail mail why not go see one of his "Messiah Complex" shows? I'm going to see him here in Glasgow on Feb 17th. I'm going to do him an emergency pack. A mix tape, a spare copy of "Socialism or Your Money Back", a bar of tablet and a Standard all wrapped up as a present. Was thinking of doing the same with Peter Joseph when he was in London in the summer but he's a lost cause along with TZM. I am fuckin determined to get this package into Brands hands. A long shot but I might be able to wangle it. Fuck! who knows? Worth a try!
Thanks Steve, I've got that from Roar mag – but what I want is a copy of the relevant New Statesman, ie 'REVOLUTION'.I'd really like to see what the other contributors have to say on this – do any of them come even close to what we hold dear?
Just watched the interview. Wow! You can feel his anger and passion, as well as his frustration with Paxman. That guy is almost there, he is practically a socialist. He just needs a little nudge.I saw him on BBCs Question Time a few months back and he grabbed my attention with some of the stuff he came out with. He told the audience that the only way to change society for the better was to do it ourselves, not wait for and expect feather nesting politicians to do it. I note with interest his remark about the digital age and instant global communication. I set up a thread called "Deconstructing the Socialist Party" in the World Socialist Movement section of this forum to discuss such issues. The party should be aiming to be the most advanced democratic movement in the world by embracing digital communication 100%. Show the way, create a buzz.Hope you catch him Ozy. Good luck mate.
Cheers mate. Feel a bit disingenuous coming on here sometimes cos I'm not even a member anymore! I know I am probably more likely to be kicked to death by a donkey than actually get anywhere near Brand at the Clyde Auditorium but I will give it a damn good try. Maybe I will write a good covering letter to add to the pressie I will prepare for him. Maybe instead of a huge emergency pack I should just try to get a Standard into his hands? I will figure it out. I will try my very best to disseminate our unique case in this way. Can you imagine if this guy became a Socialist? I know it's laughable. Unthinkable. Yet stranger things have happened. Mate I see Brand's Newsnight performance as just another of the indices of global cognitive change. First it was TZM then the emergence of Wikileaks followed by the "Arab Spring" and "Occupy" and now this. The counterpoint to all this is the continuing vomit of scandal after scandal. The latest of which is the current situation with the NSA. All of the cornerstones are crumbling at the edges. There are more and more online voices and groups which echo our position without even knowing of our existence (I know I shouldn't say "we" and "ours" when I'm no longer even a member but you get me right?). Semi positive statements even seem to be very gradually emerging from left wing circles. It's the Internet which has brought all of this on. Who knows when the spark might come. I think things could develop very quickly. Fuck knows! I just feel hope and I've felt this way for the past five year…
Not read the pamphlet " The Revolution Will Be Hilarious" but perhaps it may be of interest to this thread -. Maybe the Library Committee could order it. http://new-compass.net/articles/comedy-and-social-change-brief-interview "…authority figures throughout my life have always felt the need to let me know that I should settle down and learn to take life a little more seriously. I always thought they were wrong. Totally, totally wrong. It seemed not only possible, but actually preferable, to do the things that are important to you, but approach them with a sense of fun and a refusal to take yourself too seriously."Available fom AK Presshttp://www.akpress.org/therevolutionwillbehilarious.html
alanjjohnstone wrote:Not read the pamphlet " The Revolution Will Be Hilarious" but perhaps it may be of interest to this thread -. Maybe the Library Committee could order it.We've already got it. Review already done, to appear in the December Socialist Standard.
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