Moxyland - Lauren Beukes [42]
>> skyward*: don't worry, it's all taken care of. we edited it beautifully, distorted your voices, smeared your faces. it's untraceable, trust me. we rerouted it via an anonyma server in trinidad.
>> 10: Are you sure? Jesus
>> skyward*: it's all taken care of.
>> 10: No, it's just. I've got a lot of shit going down right now. I mean Emmie and Home Affairs and the disconnect and trying to raise funding for Streets Back.
>> skyward*: do what you have to do. and stop fucking around with the art project. you need money to make it happen. just take the corporate cash.
>> 10: But
>> skyward*: what do you care?
>> 10: It's tainted. It's against all our principles. I mean, you talk about making a real impact, what's the point if you're doing it dirty, breeding more misery? It's like terrorists dealing heroin for the cause. It's a cycle of darkness.
>> skyward*: terrorists? drugs? come now, are you saying we're on the same level? i expected more of you. what we have here is a world that is more apathetic and more violent than ever. the newscasts are so filtered to individual tastes, people only ever hear what they want to hear. and the genocide in malawi, once the model of peaceful african democracies, not only doesn't make the front page of the news sites, it barely ranks a mention. and you can't solve it by marrying a refugee.
>> 10: Actually
>> skyward: i'm not finished. call it massscale compassion fatigue or selfish genes or the obvious conclusion capitalism has always been headed for, but the reality is people don't give a flying fuck. they've seen all the old strategies before. they're tired and worse, they're boring. and if there's one thing our culture doesn't stand for, 10, it's boredom. you know that. we have to jolt them, surprise them, it has to be spectacular. we're competing with media and advertising and promotions and pluslives, all helping people to avoid confronting reality.
>> 10: Okay, okay, I see where you're headed
>> skyward*: do you? let me put it to you this way. does anything you've done compare to what the corporates have done?
>> 10: What do you mean?
>> skyward*: corrupting govts with their
own agendas, politicians on their payroll, exacerbating the economic gaps. building social controls and access passes and electroshock pacifiers into the very technology we need to function day to day, so you've no choice but to accept the defuser in your phone or being barred from certain parts of the city because you don't have clearance. you tell me how that compares to you hacking an adboard.
>> 10: So, we're not doing enough.
>> skyward*: hallelujah! yes. nowhere near enough. we need to jar people from their apathy. we need spectacle. we need to fight the corporates on their own terms. Counter-exploitative.
>> 10: Using their money.
>> skyward*: what better way to subvert them? it's not just perfect, it's beautiful.
>> 10: I guess.
>> skyward*: you _guess_? there's no space for hedging. if you're not up for the serious work, i can find someone else. it'll take time, but you're not irreplaceable, 10. don't you want to be part of something bigger than you?
>> 10: Yes.
>> skyward*: yes what?
>> 10: Yes, I want to be part of something bigger. I want to rearrange the world for real. Okay? Is that fucking good enough for you? I'm totally fucking committed to whatever needs to be done. Whatever that means. All right?
>> skyward*: you see what i'm saying? trust me, 10, what we have on the horizon is going to be massive. the ripples are going to be felt globally. and we couldn't do it without you. so, what are you doing thursday night?
>> 10: Sounds like a bad pick-up line
>> skyward*: ha. it's going to be better than sex, 10. it's going to be beautiful. the city is a communication system. we're going to be teaching it a new language.
Kendra
Dr. Precious makes