LazlosBasement.com
THE POLITICS OF POP CULTUREThe Eye Of The Beholder - McCain and the Greenberg Photos
Posted September 16th, 2008 in Activism, All, Arts, Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Entertainment News, Expanding the concept of "Art", Legal, Politics and Take a look...
The field of politics has been referred to as “the art of the possible,” but what place does art truly hold in politics (or vice versa)? While many artists would say that art should transcend - or at least be divorced from - politics, photographer Jill Greenberg seems to think otherwise. Greenberg, who exhibits her work on her webpage manipulator.com, made a very strong and very public statement about her latest subject, Republican presidential nominee John McCain, through her photography. Greenberg’s work has come under fire since one of her photos served as the cover for the latest issue of The Atlantic magazine. Greenberg was contracted to photograph McCain for the publication, but her website displays further photographs of McCain which are edited to literally look like something out of a horror movie. Perhaps even more provocative than the visual editing are the photograph captions, which read, consecutively:
Darkness is only driven out with light, not more darkness.” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.*
*mccain voted against mlk day
It was really fun to cheat on my car-injury-disabled first wife.
and
I called my wife a cunt in front of reporters.
While the shock value of the photos is obvious, their place in contemporary American politics, not to mention the art world, is unclear. While politically motivated blue-state activists might consider the photographs to be visionary, one cannot help but wonder what Greenberg hopes to accomplish by displaying them. At the same time, although media-minded red-state activists have decried the photographs as “sarcastic” at best, Greenberg certainly cannot be accused of dishonesty when it comes to her political assessments. The Canadian born artist makes no bones about her liberal political tendencies, nor is this the first time her professionalism has been questioned. Slate notes that her series of photographs entitled “End Times,” which showed toddlers in the midst of tantrums, gained international notoriety as her methods were questioned and labeled abusive by some critics. Greenberg did not hesitate to answer the criticism with contextual remarks which, in retrospect, may have provided a preview of the current controversy:
They’re not meant to be read as mere baby pictures; they’re meant to be a statement. As Greenberg herself explains in the gallery’s press release, “The first little boy I shot, Liam, suddenly became hysterically upset. It reminded me of helplessness and anger I feel about our current political and social situation.” “As a parent,” she continues, “I have to reckon with the knowledge that our children will suffer for the mistakes our government is making. Their pain is a precursor of what is to come.”
The controversy over the McCain photographs will likely spin further out of control before it settles; Greenberg has already been dropped by her agent in retribution for the series, and re-signed with a previous agency. This is despite the fact that her photographs have graced the covers of national periodicals such as Time Magazine, Newsweek, and TV Guide. And since controversy is hardly a detractor when it comes to media coverage, it seems likely that her career will not suffer from the series in the long run. But it remains to be seen whether Greenberg’s honesty is really her best policy; the Atlantic has stated publicly that it may file charges against her despite using one of the photographs from the series on its cover. Her journalistic integrity, if she had any, is likely now permanently kaput. On the other hand enthusiasts note that art is not journalism, and as super-activist and singer Bono says, “It is the artist’s job to define the problem.” Clearly Greenberg feels that right-wing politics are the problem; but her work may ultimately backfire on her. It engenders a certain amount of sympathy for McCain and illustrates nothing so well as the divisiveness and single-mindedness of the blue state/red state controversy… and in the end we may decide that’s the real enemy.
Oprah Momentarily Joins Human Race; Focuses On Poverty In The U.S.
Posted August 15th, 2008 in Activism, All, Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Entertainment News, Healthcare, Inside New Orleans, Politics and TV Moment of the WeakOprah whispers, “I see poor people.”
We’ve been known to call out talk shows for their total lack of social relevance, so it seems only fair to offer a rare shout out to the Oprah show for today’s special feature on poverty in America. Oprah (who shouldn’t be so shocked seeing as she grew up in an impoverished Mississippi community) invites Anderson Cooper, who has been at the forefront of reporting on the poverty exposed by Hurricane Katrina, to discuss his experiences reporting on the devastation and poverty since the storm, and sends him into impoverished communities around the nation to expose the extent of poverty in the U. S. The episode is a refreshing use of a national platform to discuss a very real, very serious issue. Finally, a talk show with something to talk about.
Facts about poverty in the United States:
- Medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S.
- In 2006, 46 million Americans have no health insurance.
- Over a third (36%) of families living below the poverty line are uninsured.
- More than 9 million children lack health insurance in America.
- Eighteen Thousand people die each year in the United States because they are uninsured.
- The United States has higher child poverty than seven other major industrialized western countries (UNICEF, State of the World’s Children Report 1993, 1992). The U.S. child poverty rate is dramatically higher than those of Canada, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
The Science of Olympic Athletes
Posted August 15th, 2008 in All, Celebrities, Entertainment, Entertainment News and Sports
In the wake of controversies caused by synthetic supplements, such as sportswear and prosthetics, which are designed to boost the performance of Olympic athletes, yesterday’s National Geographic honed in on a more organic form of performance enhancement - genetic manipulation, or “gene doping.”
“Gene doping” is a kind of genetic manipulation that could potentially allow athletes to grow stronger, faster muscle tissue, as well as recover more quickly from muscle fatigue. The science of gene doping came about as a result of research into degenerative neuro-muscular disorders like muscular dystrophy. National Geographic’s recent article “How ‘Gene Doping’ Could Create Enhanced Olympians” explains:
Gene doping uses techniques similar to gene therapies developed to treat muscle-wasting diseases, such as muscular dystrophy. Gene-doping may also work by modifying genes that are already in an athlete’s cells but whose functioning he or she might want to control. Injected into an athlete, a harmless virus could carry a performance-enhancing gene and splice it into a muscle cell, said Theodore Friedmann, a gene therapy researcher at the University of California, San Diego… A synthetic virus called Repoxygen, for example, has been used this way in animal tests to insert a gene for erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that tells the body to make more red blood cells, which carry oxygen to muscles. EPO is important in the treatment of anemia, and it’s also a favorite doping agent for cyclists, runners, and cross-country skiers… Athletes are well aware of Repoxygen’s potential: A German coach was accused of trying to obtain it before the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Although genetic manipulation has not been a major issue in the current Olympic forum, scientists and athletes alike consider the possibility of future misuse of gene-enhancing technology to be an issue if increasing concern, which may take center stage in future Olympic games.
Dr. Phil - Also Not A Licensed Drug and Alcohol Counselor
Posted August 13th, 2008 in All, Celebrities, Commentary, Dr. Phil Chronicles, Entertainment News, Inside New Orleans and TV Moment of the WeakToday’s Dr. Phil episode (Heroin Addict Nanny or some such) is another rerun worth noting, if only to stress once again, a little louder this time, that our favorite smugmeister is in no way qualified to intervene in any of these people’s lives, this time because he is not a licensed drug and alcohol counselor. The state of California does have a special license for providing chemical dependence counseling. It is called a CADAC, short for Certified Alcohol and Drug Addiction Counselor, and Dr. Phil does not have one. This is in addition to the general license to practice psychiatry, which he also does not have.
What he does have is a smug attitude and a nationally syndicated show, so at the very least we can all flip on channel 3 and learn exactly what NOT to do, should anyone we love actually end up in a position desperate enough to seek help from Dr. Smug. I mean Phil.
Lessons From The Dr. Phil School Of Counseling*
Lesson # 1 - Fail utterly to provide compassion. Every problem in the world can be solved by a quick kick in the ass, so clearly anyone not as perfect as the good doctor is simply lazy. Save compassion for your failed efforts to hit on Jane Fanda (if you don’t get the reference, you need to watch more Kathy Griffin).
Lesson # 2 - Be as threatening as possible. Make several ultimatums in a row, pose questions without pausing to hear the answers, and indicate that you have eyes everywhere. This works particularly well with the paranoid schizophrenics.
Lesson # 3- Be uneducated about the issue except in the most general sense. If you have ever smoked a cigarette, then you are probably qualified to treat a long term heroin addict. Making it up as you go along based only on your personal impression of the greater world around you is the key to helping other people improve their own lives. The lazy sots.
Lesson # 4 - Indicate that you have no intention of believing anything your “guest” says before you have given her or him the chance to talk. This always ensures that people will provide thoughtful, honest answers to your questions.
Lesson # 5 - Make sure to keep the focus on yourself. If you shut your giant tripe filled gob for one moment, you run the risk that your “guest” might have an uninitiated moment of self-perception or greater awareness, and then you could lose control of the interview. Just keep referring to yourself, mention how great you are, and remind everyone that this is your moment in the sun. No one else in that room can thrive on other people’s tragedies like you can!
Let it never be said that Dr. Phil is not a master at something; we’ve already stipulated his prowess in the “smug” field. But only someone who has really, totally failed to dedicate the time and effort necessary to become a competent therapist could manage to illustrate all of these lessons during his first interaction with a new guest:
So, what have you done today? (Pause for dramatic effect.) Be very, very careful. I asked you a question, you better tell me the truth. You don’t know what I know. You. Don’t. Know. What. I. Know. Look, at some point, you’re just gonna have to understand that you’re just gonna’ have to be honest with me, cuz’ the way to tell when you’re lying is if your lips are moving, right? You’ll lie about anything anywhere. I mean that’s part of this addiction. This is a time - if you want a chance to try to live, try and get your life back, you need to tell the truth about everything I ask you. And believe me, I am a human lie detector, and you jack with me and you’ll be gone before you know it. I don’t put up with any of that bull- and you just need to know that from me right. Up. Front. Okay? So you need to think about that when I ask you the question, what have you done today?
Guest: Uh, I’m the camera man.
Splendid. Stupendous. The perfect illustration of how to ensure that someone leaves an hour with you feeling worse about themselves (and the world in general!) than they did before meeting you. The award for doing the absolute, literal least one could possibly do definitely goes to Dr. Phil.
*Candidates licensed to practice either (a) psychiatry or (b) what they preach, will not be accepted.
Danica McKellar is a 10 to the Power of 100 (aka We Scooped Jezebel)
Posted August 7th, 2008 in Activism, All, Books, Celebrities, Entertainment, Entertainment News and Where'd they go?Danica McKellar shows off her new math how-to book, aimed at girls.
How hot is a smart woman? Just ask Danica McKellar. The sometime actress and model, best known as Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years (Generation X’s version of That 70’s Show), also happens to be a math genius. Now she’s using her smarts and her celebrity to bring attention to the lack of educational material - particularly math books - directed at young women. And like any good activist, she’s not just pointing out the problem, she’s offering a solution. Her new book Kiss My Math offers female pre-algebra students a helping hand in language they can relate to. We’d kiss her math any day!
LazlosBasement.com is proudly powered by
WordPress
Entries (RSS)
and Comments (RSS).


















