- Thinking About It by Zee Feed
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- Pop culture during genocide.
We went viral-ish on social media this week with a post highlighting the brutal disparity and injustice of celebrities posing on the Met Gala steps while Israel attacked Rafah in Gaza. The video was viewed by more than 1 million people, who I imagine felt as utterly despairing as I did watching these two events unfold side-by-side. But I disagree with some reactions to the event that dismissed it as a ‘pointless fashion party’ that has no place or purpose at all.
So I’m going to unpack my thinking on ‘pop culture during the genocide’ in a longer form:
Fashion is art, fashion is culture; Zee Feed will never take an anti-art stance. Connecting to and enjoying art is innately human. It brings us joy, makes political statements, builds community, records our history, helps us make sense of the world and our own identity… It should be taken more seriously, not less. I mean it when I say: a world without art is not one worth fighting for.
Depriving ourselves of culture does not help. I don’t mean that in a “just let people enjoy things way”, but that we can enjoy something and criticise it at the same time. I only critique things I believe are important. Change happens through culture as much as it does policy.
What I didn’t like about the 2024 Met Gala was that – as an incredibly high profile cultural event that puts billions of dollars of direct political influence in one room – it squandered a very valuable opportunity to say something. And to say something that directly relates to the purpose of the Gala: fashion as art.
What makes Israel’s attempts to eradicate Palestine so sickeningly horrific is not just the death toll alone. It’s the complete destruction of culture – books, art, music, textiles, architecture – to leave the place completely bleak. Destroying culture is a deliberate tactic used in genocide and invasion. The fight for Palestinian liberation includes the fight to protect their art and their right to enjoy their culture.
The theme of the Costume Institute’s exhibition this year is “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion”, which revolves entirely around the idea of preserving fashion and the techniques required to ensure this art lasts long enough to tell stories to future generations. The concept could not be more relevant to the destruction of culture in Palestine, and all regions destroyed by conflict.
The Met Gala could have very easily made a statement about this. In my opinion, it had a responsibility to do so given that it’s an American event and the U.S. government is the one providing the bombs. The Zee Feed post was surfacing a point that organisers should have been making themselves.
The 2024 Academy Awards had the same responsibility. Film is art too; if Hollywood profits off and is celebrated for telling poignant stories about the true events of war, then it should also be using its legitimate political heft to call it out while it’s happening. Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy and the producers of Oppenheimer refusing to acknowledge this is shameful. Jonathan Glazer is the only one to have the guts, and history will remember his bravery.
People say that it’s the celebrity element of these events that makes them worthless, but I disagree with that too. Celebrity, art, culture and politics are deeply intertwined. Met Gala regular Karlie Kloss is literally Ivanka Trump’s sister-in-law, and this year the Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt was also a guest (in this ugly-ass suit). He is one of the biggest political donors in the country.
In music this week, we were blessed with two hip hop moments that will go down in history: Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s rap beef, and Macklemore releasing the protest song ‘Hind’s Hall’ (stream at that link, all proceeds will be donated to UNRWA).
The significance of Macklemore’s song is obvious – music has accompanied every liberation, civil rights and justice movement throughout human history. Songs put the emotions of the population on the record, which is hugely important when other published records, like mainstream media, are compromised. It is the perfect example of culture reflecting the signifncance of the moment we are in.
Like the Met Gala, a lot of people have been dismissive of the Kendrick v Drake rap beef – the word ‘petty’ has been thrown around, and the lyrical analysis by those outside hip hop has been shockingly shallow. Should the two of the biggest rappers of our generation be writing songs about ‘more important’ things? Kendrick categorically does, and he’s won a Pulitzer Prize for his work. Just because this specific set of diss tracks is not tackling Big Politics, that does not mean it has no impact. This school teacher said: “My students who hate reading were doing the most meticulous, close reading of these lyrics that I have ever seen… They’re finding subtle, quadruple entendres and explaining them eloquently to their peers.”
That is the power of art & culture: kids get hooked in by the unseriousness of BBL Drizzy, start doing close readings of the other tracks, which leads them to other work where they discover the messages around justice, liberation and politics that have always been carried in music (especially rap and hip hop.)
Now is not the time to be dismissing culture – especially pop culture, with its mass reach – as unimportant, unserious or a waste of time. I’ll say it again: change happens through culture as much as it does policy. We should criticise creatives, artists and cultural figures for not using their influence to bring about change, so long as we don’t let that evolve into a crusade against the existence of art itself.
Smart stuff on the Internet 💭
All the stuff I found on the web that made me think, smile, or have an ‘aha!’ moment. Spend your Sunday reading them – you'll be better off for it:
General Assembly endorses pathway for full Palestinian statehood at UN on Middle East Eye
A good explainer on the UN General Assembly vote that took place on Friday night. “Most remarkably the resolution looks to adopt new rights and privileges for Palestine in procedural matters at the UN, despite the state's continuing ‘observer status.’”
Ozempic and the new era of commenting on people’s bodies on Dazed
“Recently, people have started to wonder whether the reaction to this culture of body-shaming – never talking about people’s bodies ever – is equally as problematic. “Weird that ‘don’t talk about womens’ bodies!’ has turned into ‘we as a culture must ignore and talk around eating disorders, essentially pretending they don’t exist.’”
Perpetuating myths about men's violence against women on The Future of Everything substack
“…Both violent men and non-violent men believe all other men are just like them. The violent man hears laugher at a sexist joke as confirmation that everyone shares his beliefs. The non-violent man laughs because he believes all his friends are also incapable of hurting women. Disrupting those beliefs is why it’s important to push back on sexist jokes, but only a fool would suggest that this alone will end men’s violence against women.”
Better than nothing? in The Politics newsletter
I write last Monday’s issue of this newsletter about why Labor is failing on every front: “One term in government is not enough time to fix every problem, but it’s more than enough to show how you intend to approach them. In the past week, the public feedback on Labor’s approach has come in loud and clear: tinkering around the edges isn’t cutting it. We no longer live in a time that not making things worse is considered an acceptable alternative to measurable improvement.”