Cultural Resources
These resources present ideas, information, and proposals for action to clarify the nature of the cultural problems we face and potential solutions that point the way toward holistic and systemic transformation.
General Resources
Film
My Dinner with Andre — Andre Gregory, Wallace Shawn.
Presents a compelling, thought-provoking critique of the self-perpetuating dominant culture and reports on counter-cultural projects that opened minds to new possibilities, but fails to offer an inspiring, alternative worldview.
Articles, Essays, Op-eds
The Trouble with Cultural Evolution, Massimo Pigliucci.
“Ultimately, it is still very much an open question whether we can develop a coherent Darwinian theory of cultural evolution, or whether it may be better to abandon the analogy with biological evolution and recognize that culture is a significantly different enough beast to deserve its own theory and explanatory framework. Of course, cultural evolution is still tied to biological evolution, for the simple reason that we are both cultural and biological creatures. But we may have a long way to go before untangling the two and arriving at a satisfactory explanation of how precisely they are related to each other.”
Vladimir Putin’s Clash of Civilizations, Ross Douthat, The New York Times, Feb. 26, 2022.
“…In this vision the future is neither liberal world-empire nor a renewed Cold War between competing universalisms. Rather it’s a world divided into some version of what Bruno Maçães has called “civilization-states,” culturally-cohesive great powers that aspire, not to world domination, but to become universes unto themselves — each, perhaps, under its own nuclear umbrella.
This idea, redolent of Samuel P. Huntington’s arguments in “The Clash of Civilizations” a generation ago, clearly influences many of the world’s rising powers — from the Hindutva ideology of India’s Narendra Modi to the turn against cultural exchange and Western influence in Xi Jinping’s China. Maçães himself hopes a version of civilizationism will reanimate Europe,…” (read more)
The One Thing TV Characters Don’t Talk About, Jordan Calhoun.
“The topic of money requires the most awkward suspension of disbelief in fiction.”
‘Part of Why We Survived’, Ian Frazier.
“A new history of the long tradition of Native comedy, inside and outside mainstream entertainment”
Reviewed:
We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans in Comedy by Kliph Nesteroff
The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy by Kliph Nesteroff
"...Humans are resilient, and the risky exhilaration of making one another laugh helps them to be. Again and again in We Had a Little Real Estate Problem, Native people describe how comedy sustained them, and how seeing comedians who looked like themselves lifted them and changed their lives... 'I’m not saying we’re saving the world or anything like that, but it’s just a solid contribution.'"
The 37-Year-Olds Are Afraid of the 23-Year-Olds Who Work for Them, [behind paywall] Emma Goldberg. The New York Times, Oct. 28, 2021.
“Twenty-somethings rolling their eyes at the habits of their elders is a longstanding trend, but many employers said there’s a new boldness in the way Gen Z dictates taste...Managers, like Ms. Kriegsman, understand the instinct Gen Zers have to protect their health, to seek some divide between work and life — but some are baffled by the candid way in which those desires are expressed. They’re unaccustomed, in other words, to the defiance of workplace hierarchy...
(read more) [behind paywall]‘Cancel Culture’ Isn’t the Problem. ‘OK Culture’ Is [behind paywall], Lindsay Crouse. The New York Times, Oct. 19, 2021.
"... But that helps nothing. It’s time to stop litigating whether these punishments are fair and to start thinking more deeply about why the behavior they punish seemed OK in the first place. And if others who act like Gruden are scared, perhaps they should be. More important, they should change." (read more) [behind paywall]
Newsletters
“searches for lessons in the most popular movies, books, TV shows, and more. Whatever you’re reading or streaming, this newsletter wants to be your companion to help understand the story and decide what to play next.”
Quotes
"A voice from the dark called out,
The poets must give us
imagination of peace, to oust the intense, familiar
imagination of disaster. Peace, not only
the absence of war."—Denise Levertov
Specific Topics
Art
Classism
Compassion
Consumerism
Corruption
Equality
Journalism
Justice
Knowledge
Leadership
Materialism
Meritocracy
Music
Racism
Respect
Self-centeredness
Sexism