This week JG Michael of Parallax Views joined me for a wide-ranging discussion. We took a deep dive into the Clown World meme and what it says about society in a larger context. The discussion centered on how the meme evolved and its use within the 4chan, nihilistic, right-wing community. We talked about how the meme can be a truthful representation of the topsy turvy world we live in. JG also talked about the obsession with so-called white genocide. Talking about how this is used in South Africa by white racists in America. I mentioned Albert Memmi’s theories on the mediocrity of colonizers and how this affects them later in life. Later JG and I then discussed the “debate of the century” between Slavoj Zizek and Jordan Peterson. We both expressed our problems with debates as a blood sport and the serious issues within the academic community.
In the second hour, we touched on the 2020 presidential race and how that is another representation of a clown-like world. Later author James Curcio called into the show to expand on our conversation about memes and internet culture. He talked about the use of mythos and the esoteric power within internet culture. We touched on the use of masks both in a literal and figurative sense. James also talked about the Qanon phenomenon and the growth and power of conspiracy culture. James discussed the early origins of Qanon and some of the possibility regarding its creation. The three of us also touched on the power of the fantasy genre over US society at the moment.
https://www.mediafire.com/file/5f14nvctthuv6ie/PPR_episode_184_JP_Michael_and_James_Curcio_on_clown_world_internet_society.mp3
Download episode 184
Show Notes:
@ViewsParallax
Parallax Views
Clown Pepe/ Honk Honk/ Clown World
The Colonizer and the Colonized
Parallax Views Ep. 87: Barrett Brown on Anonymous, Whistleblowing, Wikileaks, Journalism, & the Pursuance Project
@Mythos_Media
ModernMythology.net
Narrative Machines: Modern Myth, Revolution, & Propaganda
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