Also, I think I disagree. With the whole concept of criticism as challenge, especially wrt capitalism or similar, and esp. when it comes to art.
If you see someone do bad, and then write a story about someone doing bad, you haven't "challenged" anything. Even if a dog in the story says "wow, that guy, such bad".
There's a difference between illustrating something, which is also reification, reinforcement -- and actual opposition. I don't think there's such a thing as "a story against X" -- all you've done is create another world where X occurs. You've done it again. YOU did IT. You're a little demiurge, a terrible god. And not even an original one. You're almost worse than whoever you think you're mocking. Actually, you're probably worse, because you probably depicted worse events, your little Hell burns hotter, because that's exciting and dramatic, it's "pointed symbolism", and clear explanation, so "people can understand the message", and blah blah. And that's bullshit!
There's only planning, working, acting against X. Finding and reporting fault is criticism; illustrating how to act against capitalism, or whatever, in your life, right now, is challenge. If you don't lay out a clear path to resist and end the thing, you're just fucking around.
If your house is on fire, you don't write a story about it. You put it out! You get out! MAYBE if it's a big enough house and a slow enough fire, you have time to write a guide for other people. But you don't write a story that's 99% about how oh the fire is just, ohhhh it's sooo hot ahhh oooohhh it's ssssssooo hot.
Squid Game and similar media is worship. Even if unintentionally, accidentally. A story that is 99% suffering, but hey, at the end someone kinda plans to do something about the thing in a way maybe! That's not resistance. That story is about the suffering. The story is suffering. Duh.
You don't eat a steak for the crumbs of salt and pepper. You don't cook a steak for joy of seeing people eating the salt or pepper, either.
titsay
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