Sunday, November 21, 2010

Cultural Action Event at Waseda



This event at Waseda last night was super cool - engaging and fun. From 6-8 pm was a panel discussion entitled "Cultural Action: Frontiers or Archipellagos?," followed by a party at a nearby music cafe, Sabaco. The event was organized by Ian Condry (MIT) [イアン コンドリー(MIT)] and Toshiya Ueno (Wakou Daigaku) [上野俊哉(和光大学)]. Cultural action refers to (counter)cultural activities amongst Japanese youth which blur the lines between work/play, the political/apolitical, activism/frivolity, and (pop)culture/media/music/sports/lifestyle. "Cultural Typhoon" at Komazawa Gakuen and "Alternative Politics" at Sophia University's Institute for Comparative Cultural Studies were other 2010 academic conferences which explored similar themes and overlapping protest movements, such as Shirotou no Ran, Okinawan peace activists, situationalists and the freeter (フリーター) movement. In this post, I'll summarize the panel along with my impressions, report on the party, and reflect on the exciting new frontiers of cultural action with the potential to affect social, political, cultural and economic change.

Panel

1) Atsuhi Yamamoto (Sophia University) - "Nagano Snowboarders"
山本 敦久(上智大学)「長野スノボ:アンチからアントレ」

The presentation began with a recent video produced by Nagano snowboarders. Typical of skateboard and snowboard films, the video begins with a quick-cut introduction of daring runs and mind-boggling tricks set to driving (in this case rhythmically complex) rock music. After a few minutes, the visual context was set and the presenter turned to cultural context.

Since the late 1970s, snowboarders in Nagano have developed a culture centered around their love of riding. For them, snowboarding is more than just a hobby or winter sport. It is the backbone of their lifestyle, livelihood and community. To support this passion and create more sustainable forestry practices, they embarked on an entrepreneurial endeavor entitled "GREEN LAB" to make environmentally friendly wood-core snowboards and skis. Their business model is based on sustainable management of Nagano's artificial forests. In a statement on their website, they explain the concept behind their business: "Proposal for the establishment of LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability") in the forest of Shinshu (Nagano)."

The GREEN LAB project blends business, environmental action, education, eco-tourism/recreation, an alternative lifestyle, sports, and culture. The project extends into all corners of life - from teaching children about woodworking and the environment to musical events and bar culture. This is the first example of hybridized cultural action from this panel.

It is economically significant because the company may rival such big brand snowboard makers as Burton, whose authenticity is questioned by the notion of "selling out." Is Burton just another capitalist company concerned only with it's bottom line? Though GREEN LAB undoubtedly participates in a capitalist business market, their goals are explicitly multifaceted, rather than the single-minded pursuit of profit. As Professor Ueno commented, in Naomi Klein's terms, the group is aiming for a "new logo, not no logo," i.e. a brand that emphasizes environmental awareness and sustainability. The extent of the impact of this business model based on hybrid incentives remains to be seen.

I'm tempted to compare this cultural phenomenon with another eco-tourist endeavor in Minamikami, Gunma, The Alpine Lodge, which has partnered with Parties 4 Peace of Tokyo to produce Alpine Tech Fest in January. Now in its sixth year, the event combines snowboarding, eco-tourism and education with underground house/techno for a three day event, and Parties 4 Peace offers a weekend package deal including bus fare from Tokyo, accommodations, and party. Though I must disclose my bias as a supporter of Parties 4 Peace, this event and more general eco-tourism activities at the Alpine Lodge may offer a fruitful site of comparison for the (sub)cultural action between snowboarders in Nagano and Gunma.

2) Shin Futatsugi (writer, activist) - "Shiroto no Ran in Koenji"
二木信( ライター)「 素人の乱」の高円寺

Shin described his background as a member of Shiroto no Ran and the group's activities. Though known for its creative political actions in Tokyo, the group has also become a community staple in Koenji, Tokyo, where it runs a recycle shop and is active in the local business community. The group also produces an online radio show. It is well known amongst cultural studies academics and radical leftists in Tokyo. The group was the focus of a presentation at the "Alternative Politics" conference at Sophia last Spring.

Shin is a rapper and has been involved with the group in this capacity, though I'm not sure about the full extent of his involvement as a member. I haven't heard his rap, but I'm guessing it's pretty political. He described the hip hop community in relationship to concepts such as "cool" and "underground." He is also involved in an annual Shiroto no Ran event "Sound Clash," which is a music battle pitting hip-hoppers, house/techno DJs, guitarists, etc. against each other to see who's the best.

Like the Nagano snowboarders, Shiroto no Ran's activities are multifaceted and multipurposed. Both groups combine "play" and "labor" in their cultural action, and some of the professors at the panel referred to this amalgamation as "playbor" (プレーバー). Play+Labor=Playbor. プレー (遊び) + レーバー (労働) = プレーバー.

This is the central theme that I took away from the event. This generation of activists was raised on video games and cartoons, and we expect fun and entertainment even when we work. The effectiveness of combining play and labor is very much up in the air, but I want to believe that it is possible to have fun and work for social justice at the same time. For more on this theme, see previous post on Beer for Books and Parties 4 Peace, as well as reflections below.

3) Toko Tanaka (Waseda University) - "Girls' Culture and Cosplay"
田中東子(早稲田大学)「ガールズ文化とコスプレ」

What is the relationship between feminism and cosplay? Cosplay stands for costume play, a cultural phenomenon which emerged out of the role-playing rituals at North American sci-fi conventions and has become a pastime/subculture among some Japanese youth. Now, many girls convene at various locations in Tokyo on weekends and dress up as their favorite characters. They are influenced by a variety of pop-culture images, from anime and manga characters to Disney movies.

My main understanding of Tanaka-sensei's presentation is that cosplay gives girls (and some boys) a chance to escape from their everyday persona/socially prescribed gender roles and enact a new vision of themselves. This action might not be explicitly political or described in terms of feminism, but, consciously or unconsciously, participants are engaged in cultural action as members of a subculture/in-group. This leads again to the question, "What is political?" and whether action that is not intended to be specifically political can have political/social consequences.

4) Members of Riot Love Letter (RLL) (media activists) - "The State of Culture Jamming"
RLLのIntellipunk「文化的『介入』の現在」

Inspired by the culture jamming activities of groups such as "Ad Busters," this three-member collective remixes pop culture designs and images to produce T-shirts which act as a springboard for provocative fashion/political/cultural discourse. Culture jamming is the remixing/reinterpretation/defacement of corporate advertising symbols and logos to create an alternative message. The group also engages in creative protests/demonstrations, and they suggested "Radical Left Laughter" as another name for their group.

Their presentation consisted of a perusal of their T-shirt designs and explanations of the backstories behind each T-shirt. T-shirts are for sale on their website, and by clicking on the [Read More] links visitors can learn about the context for each design. For example, the "T.A.Z. - Total Autonamous Zone" (Hakim Bey) T-shirt can be seen here rocked by Tokyo DJs.





And graffiti artist Kitou Seishi used one of their designs in a 2007 project in Palestine called "Wonderwall." Here's a video edited by the RLL members about the Wonderwall project featuring their design:



When I watched this video, I thought "The revolution will not be televised, but it might be on YouTube." (I thought I came up with this clever turn of phrase, but a quick Google search reveals that poet, professor and NPR commentator Marion Winik coined it as a title of her poem of the same name. However, the phrase also appears as a comment on a facebook group wall dating to 2008.)

In other words, culture jamming/remixing has the potential to create Temporary Autonomous Zones where corporate culture is not the dominant semiotic system. Though YouTube may becoming increasingly corporate since it's acquisition by Google, the democratic principle of anyone posting a video with equal opportunity for viral meming is one of the revolutionary principles of the Internet at large. This principle, which makes the Internet a valuable cultural frontier, is threatened by such perils as the proliferation of invasive advertising and attempts to innovate at the expense of net neutrality. In this regard, the internet may soon become an archipelago of cultural action, eclipsed by the dominant forces which control economic, technological, political, and cultural life.

Party


After the panel, the event transitioned to a DJ party at small music cafe and bar, Sabaco. At the beginning of the party, there was some time for discussion and Q+A, with Ian Condry moderating questions/comments at two mics, and Toshiya Ueno DJing quietly in the background. Though the panel was intellectually stimulating and a challenge to my Japanese listening comprehension, it was nice to get into a more social environment and embrace the "work/play" amalgamation we had just been talking about in the University classroom. Ueno-sensei played house and Ian played Japanese hip-hop, the subject of his 2006 book. It's recently been translated into Japanese. Props to them for spinning thoughtful jams and creating a great atmosphere.

Reflections

The changing nature of play and labor engendered by technology and culture has profound consequences to the extent that it might be called a paradigm shift. This shift has given rise to a heated debate/discourse about the appropriate relationship of technology and society. According to most indicators, we are, at present, at just the beginning of the information age. Therefore, further study of this debate is certainly warranted. The question at large is how to live a good life in the 21st century. Thus, the development of cultural action which cultivates a positive data-wisdom continuum, and by extension a just and peaceful world, is an exciting and important frontier.

Marshall McLuhan remarked that TV was causing society to "re-tribalize." As opposed to the culture of individuality created by the "man of the book," TV was a more communal activity in which millions of people took part at the same time. Though perhaps problematized by postcolonial cultural anthropologists, the term "tribe/tribal" was used by some members of the panel last night in the context of groups such as Shiroto no Ran and RLL. The term is also used in music. For example, Ueno-sensei's DJ name is "Toshiya the Tribal," and groups such as Tribe of Ischaar and Tribe Called Quest use the term to indicate their solidarity as a musical unit or crew. These subcultural units are reorganizing themselves around new concepts or ideas which lead to alternative lifestyles. Undoubtedly, a sustainable world requires that some alternatives to the current economic and cultural landscape are presented. This is the exciting prospect of hybrid culture and hybrid economies, presented by Lawrence Lessig in his book Remix.

I wonder if breaking down the play/labor dichotomy is a necessary phase in transitioning to a "re-tribalized" society where everyone participates in some sort of alternative lifestyle/economic system. Already, it is clear that everyone in the globalized world is somehow affected by a subcultural movement. If you don't do cosplay or watch anime or listen to hip-hop or read sci-fi, chances are good that you know someone who does. For those who are already living in a hybrid world where culture and subculture interact in a complex way, what is the next step? Do groups like the Nagano snowboarders demonstrate that total commitment to a cause/lifestyle is the next logical step for cultural progressives?

Personally and in this blog, I've explored the concept of integration. That is, finding ways to become a whole person, despite this fractured state of hybridity which seems to characterize contemporary identity and even existence. A recent edition of Wisconsin Public Radio's "To the Best of Our Knowledge" podcast entitled "Integration Stories" shifted my thinking about integration and holism. Though the podcast deals with stories of racial integration in the historical context of segregation (not psychological or spiritual integration of individuals), it reminded me that integration/assimilation is not the only approach to diversity. Another approach is pluralism.

During my undergrad studies as a religion major, I was drawn to the work of Harvard professor Dianna Eck, who established the Pluralism Project, documenting America's religious diversity. Why not apply this spirit of pluralism to the identity issues presented by technology? That is, why not take a pluralistic stance when it comes to the multifaceted, multipurposed, hybrid manifestations of one's own identity? Though I think holism and balance are important, is there also value in respecting certain socially prescribed roles? This pluralistic view of identity and the self, is, I believe, an important step in maturity. The question remains: if one embraces one's own hybrid identity, how can one leverage it to maximize social and political change, to work for equality and justice? What is the value of "re-tribalizing," and what are the dangers? Is a pluralistic notion of the self diametrically opposed to an alternative lifestyle? How can cultural action/actors keep the frontier open, rather than allowing it to be reduced to archipelagos?

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

2 Parties 4 Peace

(sorry, this post is a little late.)

11/8 - Last weekend was filled with partying, but it wasn't your typical carousal. Saturday night was the Patagonica DJ Contest presented by Parties 4 Peace, and on Sunday two friends threw a collaborative birthday party with Beers for Books and Room to Read and JEN. Details below:

Parties 4 Peace

Created by Peace Boat staffer, Emilie McGlone, this organization is dedicated to "people making a better world through music and dance." Proceeds from their events are donated to environmental and social justice causes. The Patagonica Project is one such cause, aimed at preserving Patagonica, Chile.



Beers for Books

For every beer you buy, a dollar (100 yen) of the proceeds goes to printing children's books to promote literacy in developing countries.

Here's a B4B event from 2009:

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Wisdom 2.0




Naropa University is a Buddhist Inspired, "private, nonprofit, nonsectarian liberal arts institution dedicated to advancing contemplative education." When I visited the website today, I stumbled upon the Wisdom 2.0 Conference. Created by Soren Gordhamer, the conference brings together leaders from the technology industry and leaders from wisdom traditions to discuss how to live mindfully in a technologically connected era. Soren introduces the conference:



Here are some clips from the April, 2010 conference in Silicon Valley:



When I first found out about the conference, I was excited because the topic addressed here is the topic at the heart of this blog and a topic which has gained increasing relevance for me. When I returned my attention to the conference later in the day, I was skeptical. Is this conference created to manufacture the illusion that it is possible for Google and Twitter can exist along-side with mindfulness? Something about the New-Agey tone of the discussions in the video clips and the cast of American tech and spirituality leaders seems suspicious. Do these industries really have any vested interest in creating a true culture of mindfulness?

Perhaps these tech giants are genuinely interested in developing a simultaneously wired and holistic society. If they become maligned for engendering constant distraction and mental clutter, their brand names take a hit. If they become associated with quiescent contemplation, that could be a big boost.

One reason I'm skeptical of the conference's intentions is that the leaders from the assembled wisdom traditions seem to be, almost exclusively, American "converts" to Eastern traditions. There may be a few exceptions in the upcoming conference, such as John Kabat-Zinn, but I'm wondering where Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders are in this discussion? I'm worried that the conference capitalizes on "the cool" of Buddhism and Yoga without including and acknowledging other mindfulness or wisdom traditions, such as centering prayer or Sufi music.

Despite these criticisms, the underlying goal of the conference is earnest and important. Embracing both a fully technologically connected and a fully spiritually awakened life is certainly not an easy task, but undoubtedly a worthwhile goal. And many of the speakers and participants have helpful suggestions about how this might be done. Moreover, they have the power and influence to make decisions that will affect how this is done. Regardless of their answers, merely asking the question about wisdom and technology is a good start.

A great continuation is the partnership between wisdom traditions, technology industries and social justice. This is exemplified by the work of Seane Corn, "yoga teacher and spiritual activist" who co-founded the "Off the Mat, Into the World" initiative. Wisdom and technology can both be great, but ultimately they are meaningless if they are only accessible in the realm of privilege. If done with mindfulness, bringing the benefits of these forces together in service of economic, social, and environmental change is the ultimate expression of wisdom, compassion and awareness.