{"id":5217,"date":"2019-12-27T12:27:39","date_gmt":"2019-12-27T17:27:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bandsiusetalike.com\/biul\/?p=5217"},"modified":"2025-04-25T15:13:28","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T19:13:28","slug":"woke-zero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bandsiusetalike.com\/biul\/woke-zero\/","title":{"rendered":"Woke Zero"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Chisholm and Humphrey buttons are awfully familiar, but I just can’t place why…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Despite my general distaste for trendy buzzwords, “woke” never bugged me to the extent of, let’s say, “synergy”, or “logos”. (That’s “Logos<\/a>“, not the plural word for “logo”.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can tell when a new word’s gonna go the distance, and when it’s gonna burn out. Want to know how I know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

I’ve been alive for going on nigh to fifty years, and I’ve been an intellectual thrill-junkie almost the entire time. So I have this crazy thing regarding culture, called wisdom.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That, and an eidetic memory that an elephant would envy. (Eidetic comes from the Greek word “eidos”, meaning “that which is seen”. Holy shit, how much has this site taught you already?!) So, I can cite precedent like a motherfucker to back up my points. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woke is a joke. If your purpose is predicated upon opposition to a political party or politician, or even a political idea,<\/em> expect everyone, including your supporters, to abandon you within four years. Depending on the intensity of your “wokeness”, it could take a fraction of that time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are an artist, you should already understand that it’s more a hindrance than a benefit to put overt politics in your work. Politics plus art equals propaganda<\/strong>, which is a whole other can of ball parks. Some people think a red shirt with an illustration of infamous murderer Che Guevara is art; some people think a red hat with a Trump slogan stitched onto it is an indication of a potential murderer. Then in fifty years, no one remembers what all the fuss was about in either case. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s not art. That’s propaganda. Its intent is not to enlighten the human soul, but to aggrandize the soul’s persecutor. And before you argue, there’s a world of difference between propaganda and “making a statement in art”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can look at Picasso’s Guernica<\/em> and feel the shattering terror of its depicted incident, without knowing the political fine print behind it. The horrified faces are clearly readable, and Picasso’s proprietary style is perfectly suited for portraying literally twisted agony, like the woman at far left keening in grief over her dead child. Note the contrasting expression of resigned serenity on the face looking in with the lantern, right of center. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What I’m saying is that this is a goddamned masterpiece and I can ramble on about it all day, without even getting into its brutal inspiration<\/a>. This is a sterling example of “political art”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our current lives, bad<\/em> examples of political art are everywhere.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of it like this; comedy is one of the Arts. Some comedians do impressions, and they don’t always do good ones. Some comedians impersonate anybody,<\/em> especially<\/em> if they’re prominent in politics. If you’re going to impersonate a prominent politician, you better make it funny, otherwise… what exactly are you doing?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if an artist creates a portrait or otherwise flattering likeness of a young person they’re only aware of thanks to CNN… is it art?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

See where I’m going with this? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In truth, I blame Shepard Fairey for the lion’s share of the problem, because of his “HOPE” saturation campaign for Obama, but at the same time, I’m thankful, because now an entire generation is wise to that kind of shit. The Overton window has never been wider, thanks to Internet memes. Compare your current self to yourself just two years ago, in regards to what you know, what you believe and whom you trust. Pretty freaky, yeah?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You even know what the Overton window<\/a> is. You’re a regular 21st century regular, ya cheeky devil. You don’t give yourself enough credit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is why “woke” never works. Every time a studio tries it, the audience sees right through it and rejects them as hypocritical. Because social justice is so arbitrary and impermanent, it’s a fool’s errand to cater to its self-appointed torchbearers. And as far as “SJWs” go, the one thing you can bank on is that they don’t spend money.<\/strong> All they do is complain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the sake of argument (and word count), let’s say you’re still an advocate of “woke” as an adjective and a concept. What if I told you- stay with me here- that I existed long before you were born, and I saw with my own eyes the last time people really went overboard with this kinda shit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that not only did “woke” not<\/strong> work, it buried<\/strong> the ethos for decades.<\/strong> Would you believe me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because it’s true. All of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometime in the mid to late 1960’s, a man made a movie about outlaw bikers. He wrote and directed this indie feature under a pseudonym, and played the protagonist; a half-Indian Green Beret Vietnam veteran named Billy Jack. The man was Tom Laughlin. The movie was titled The Born Losers.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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Pictured above is Elizabeth James, the female lead in The Born Losers<\/em> and 75% of the appeal of the film. Her cute face and exquisitely nubile body go a long way in selling the overall experience, which, as was the style of the time, also features raping and Nazi bikers literally swapping spit. Three other young girls show as much skin, and one actually does a strip tease in front of her favorite stuffed animal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m telling you, that’s why The Born Losers<\/em> was commercially successful enough for a sequel. But Tom Laughlin, God love him, he thought it was all thanks to his half-ass half-Indian. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, he was half-right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, as I said, mentioning Billy Jack nowadays is gonna get you a bunch of blank stares, but Laughlin’s movies weren’t just pioneering in the independent sense; they were also the first American movies to depict Eastern martial arts. As such, even people who’ve forgotten Billy Jack remember The Ice Cream Shop Scene.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s the one where he just goes BERSERK.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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