I don’t usually send out newsletters just to push my articles elsewhere, but this one has been a long time coming (in fact I first promised it here in “Crritic!”): My 7,000-word attempt on Slate to clarify, once and for all, what “poptimism” was and wasn’t. I try to explain why people have been using it as a strawman for years (and thus frankly keeping the stupid word alive) for the over-abundance of celebrity coverage and other problems in the media: They are actually blaming victims (critics and everyone who cares about the crisis in professional criticism) when the real perpetrator is the industry-wide crisis in media, and as usual the exploitation of culture by billionaires and tech companies. Most recently, that sadly includes the esteemed Kelefa Sanneh in The New Yorker, which is ironic because lots of people (wrongly) think he started it!
This might seem small potatoes in the midst of a free-speech crisis, but honestly I think they’re not unrelated, viz that bit about who controls what.
Later I will share some bits from the cutting-room floor, and maybe respond to responses if there are any notable ones. I’ll also get back to posting on other subjects!
Meanwhile, as thanks for your patience, please enjoy this playlist I made yesterday of songs to listen to while waiting for the Rapture. Of course, it didn’t come, but better luck next time! (Meanwhile the band the Rapture, very much of the Y2Ks era of the birth of poptimism, are playing the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto next week.)
Find it on the exploitative tech-company platforms here:
Songs for the Rapture on Spotify
Songs for the Rapture on Apple Music
This Burning Hell song always goes on my (all-too-frequent) end-of-the-world playlists:
https://tidal.com/track/40375024/u
Darned good piece. Thanks.