• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • 5 DOUBLE-U’S
    • MASTHEAD
    • DISTRIBUTION
    • ADVERTISE
    • SUBMISSIONS
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

CURRENT STREET EDITION

DIG 23.02 – 1/28/21

DEMOCRACY IN CRISIS: INFINITY HORRORS

Written by BAYNARD WOODS Posted April 10, 2017 Filed Under: COLUMNS, News, NEWS+OPINIONS

 

Propaganda, contemporary art, and our reality show President

 

Not far from the White House, at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in DC, Yayoi Kusama’s blockbuster retrospective show “Infinity Mirrors” has been attracting insane crowds that stand in line, eager for the 20-second stretches of disorientation inside Kusama’s infinity rooms.

 

The rooms use facing mirrors, hanging lights, and polka dots to create vistas of infinite regress. As art, it is perhaps underwhelming—an empty spectacle with no real depth, offering upon long inspection nothing unseen in a glance.

 

But as I stood in “The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away,” I snapped a picture and realized it was far more compelling on my screen than in life, the perfect art for the age of the selfie.

 

On my phone, I saw myself in a “Blade Runner”-like world of “attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion,” as the lights created towering psychedelic spires surrounded by replicants of myself. It was impossible to tell which one was real, because none of them were. They were all reflections on the screen.

 

I felt the same sense of vertigo a few days earlier at the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing into Russian active measures—or propaganda—intended to use the refracting mirrors of the internet to disrupt our election.

 

“What’s hard to distinguish sometimes is did the Russians put it out first, or did Trump say it and the Russians amplify it,” Clint Watts of the Foreign Policy Research Institute and George Washington University’s Center for Cyber and Homeland Security told reporters after his testimony on Trump’s embrace of propaganda conspiracies. “He actually repeats propaganda put out by RT or Russian sources and, vice versa, they parrot him.”

 

Reflections reflecting reflections again and again so that nothing is true.

 

This shouldn’t be surprising. Russia’s propaganda strategy was designed and perfected by Vladislav Surkov, who brought postmodern theory to the Kremlin, creating and managing Russian political reality like performance art. When he was sanctioned for his role in the invasion of eastern Ukraine, which he largely orchestrated, he said he didn’t mind. “The only things that interest me in the US are Tupac Shakur, Allen Ginsberg, and Jackson Pollock. I don’t need a visa to access their work. I lose nothing.”

 

In Peter Pomerantsev’s “Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia,” he writes that “Surkov’s genius has been … to marry authoritarianism and modern art, to use the language of rights and representation to validate tyranny, to recut and paste democratic capitalism until it means the reverse of its original purpose.”

 

Pomerantsev says that Surkov turned Russian politics into a reality show. Then, as if in a new kind of arms race, we elect a real reality-show star as president.

 

***

 

I wrote that just before I heard that Trump bombed a Syrian airbase after pictures of gassed children in that country changed the president’s mind about intervention there. He explained the strike to the nation in a statement recorded at his country club.

 

Our country is making one of the most serious decisions possible, and yet, locked in our mirror rooms of constant conspiracy, we have no way to know what is actually happening. We don’t know whether Trump is trying to show that he is independent of the Kremlin or whether this is another one of Putin’s ploys as he manipulates Trump. Trump himself has told us not to trust the intelligence community, and no one has any reason to trust Trump.

 

In “Without Sky,” a pseudonymous short story generally attributed to Surkov and set after the “fifth world war,” he describes the “the first non-linear war,” a war “of all against all.”

 

“A few provinces would join one side,” he writes. “A few others a different one. One town or generation or gender would join yet another. Then they could switch sides, sometimes mid-battle. Their aims were quite different. Most understood the war to be part of a process. Not necessarily its most important part.”

 

This sounds precisely like the situation we are getting into—Assad, ISIS, Russia, American-backed rebels, Iran, and now Trump’s Tomahawks. All sides shifting. Whatever else the aims of this attack, the spectacle and confusion are good for Trump and Putin. And bad for the Syrian people who will continue to die. Those who escape will be denied entry into the US as refugees.

 

“We see these beautiful pictures at night from the decks of these two US Navy vessels in the eastern Mediterranean,” NBC’s noted fabulist Brian Williams said. “I am tempted to quote the great Leonard Cohen: ‘I am guided by the beauty of our weapons.’”

 

Surkov couldn’t have scripted it better.

 

***

 

It is so disorienting, but it all feels somehow familiar.

 

I was 18 the night we went into the Gulf War in 1991. Those missile launches were prompted in part by the PR firm Hill & Knowlton, which collaborated with one of the chairs of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus to present fabricated testimony to the caucus about atrocities committed by Iraqi soldiers in Kuwait. But we were all mesmerized by the night-vision green missiles flying through doors in an aesthetic later adopted by the Paris Hilton sex tape.

 

In 2003, we went back to Iraq on the basis of another massive PR campaign.  

 

Perhaps the best way now to know if something is propaganda is when they say it is not. Marco Rubio—who is on the Senate Intelligence Committee, by the way—went on CNN to praise Trump and call the attack “an important decisive step … not a message.”

 

But a step toward what? Do we want to take out Assad? At this moment, nobody knows. But people are lining up behind Trump. He will realize war, the ultimate image enhancer, is good for him.

 

“Trump became president of the United States [last night],” CNN’s Fareed Zakaria said the next morning.

 

It’s like we’re all trapped in one of Kusama’s infinity rooms, waiting for the missile to burst through the door. But we don’t know where the door is. We have lost all orientation.

 

Tips to [email protected]. @demoincrisis on Twitter.

BAYNARD WOODS
More from author
  • BAYNARD WOODS
    https://digboston.com/author/baynard-woods/
    MUCH LOVE AND GRIM SOLIDARITY: BAYNARD WOODS TAKES STOCK IN THE LAST DEMOCRACY IN CRISIS COLUMN
  • BAYNARD WOODS
    https://digboston.com/author/baynard-woods/
    TRUMP’S ABSURD THEATER OF CRUELTY
  • BAYNARD WOODS
    https://digboston.com/author/baynard-woods/
    TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN AND THE POLITICS OF THE PSYCHEDELIC RENAISSANCE
  • BAYNARD WOODS
    https://digboston.com/author/baynard-woods/
    DEMOCRACY IN CRISIS: 500 DAYS IN HELL

Filed Under: COLUMNS, News, NEWS+OPINIONS Tagged With: Baynard Woods, Democracy in Crisis, Fareed Zakaria, Kusama, Peter Pomerantsev, Putin, Rubio, Syria, Trump, war, White House

WHAT’S NEW

SPECIAL FEATURE: THE CRUEL AND USUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST LGBTQ+ PEOPLE IN MASS PRISONS

SPECIAL FEATURE: THE CRUEL AND USUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST LGBTQ+ PEOPLE IN MASS PRISONS

INBOX: GROUP CALLS FOR BIDEN TO ABOLISH POLICE MILITARIZATION PROGRAM

INBOX: GROUP CALLS FOR BIDEN TO ABOLISH POLICE MILITARIZATION PROGRAM

WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR THE CITY AND STATE TO FINALLY SUPPORT MINORITY BUSINESS?

WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR THE CITY AND STATE TO FINALLY SUPPORT MINORITY BUSINESS?

HOMEWORK FOR BEACON HILL’S COVID EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

HOMEWORK FOR BEACON HILL’S COVID EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

A FIREFIGHTER ELECTION

A FIREFIGHTER ELECTION

LEGISLATION AIMS TO HELP UNDOCUMENTED ATTAIN DRIVERS' LICENSES

LEGISLATION AIMS TO HELP UNDOCUMENTED ATTAIN DRIVERS’ LICENSES

Primary Sidebar

HEMPIRE FREEDOM PACK 25% OFF

FEATURED EVENT

Most Popular

  • SPECIAL FEATURE ON THE MASS STATE POLICE: TROOPER WILSON’S WAR by CHRIS FARAONE
  • DOES THE FORMER BPD COMMISSIONER EVEN LIVE IN BOSTON? by ZACK HUFFMAN
  • [UPDATE: WE GOT IT!] WHERE IS THE CONTRACT FOR MASSACHUSETTS’ VACCINE APPOINTMENT SOFTWARE? by POLINA WHITEHOUSE
  • BOSTON LATIN ACADEMY GRADS FIGHT FOR REPRESENTATION IN ALUMNI GROUP by CHRIS FARAONE
  • MASS KEEPS TRYING TO BUILD A NEW WOMEN’S PRISON OUTSIDE OF PUBLIC VIEW by DAN ATKINSON

READ CURRENT MEMBER EDITION

DIG Member 1.9 – 11/26/20

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG 23.02 – 1/28/21

Footer

digbos

LGBTQ+ prisoners in Mass stand up to a violent sys LGBTQ+ prisoners in Mass stand up to a violent system that targets and dehumanizes vulnerable populations. https://digboston.com/special-feature-the-cruel-and-usual-violence-against-lgbtq-people-in-mass-prisons/ #prison #prisoner #humanrights #LGBT #politics #Massachusetts
Nominations now open! Vote for your favorite busin Nominations now open! Vote for your favorite businesses today. 

Are you a business? Are you the best at what you do? Encourage your fans to cast their votes! DM us to get our social media materials to promote your business and ensure your win. #bostontops #digboston
Bill sponsors, #Framingham mayor, and MA district Bill sponsors, #Framingham mayor, and MA district attorney will explain the Work & Family Mobility Act at a press conference. https://digboston.com/driving-families-forward-coalition-aims-to-help-undocumented-attain-drivers-licenses/ #politics #undocumented #immigration #driving #license #Massachusetts
Today at 4pm, cast your votes! #digboston Today at 4pm, cast your votes! #digboston
At a virtual summit, leaders sought to educate and At a virtual summit, leaders sought to educate and engage on the need for change. https://digboston.com/officials-advocates-speak-to-immigration-reform-and-economic-recovery/ #immigration #reform #economy #politics #Massachusetts
When it comes to special packaging and limited edi When it comes to special packaging and limited editions, Jack’s Abby and subsidiary Springdale out in Framingham are top players. https://digboston.com/video-unboxing-springdale-beers-limited-edition-neipa-music-box-set/ #beer #fun
Industrial Arts Brewing in NY’s Hudson Valley is Industrial Arts Brewing in NY’s Hudson Valley is well worth the look out of state ... https://digboston.com/video-pocket-wrench-by-industrial-arts-brewing-is-a-super-satisfying-session/ #beer #fun
Some who are civilly committed for #addiction in M Some who are civilly committed for #addiction in Mass face abusive #prison conditions. Still, some families say it’s better than the alternative https://digboston.com/the-commitments-addiction-treatment-behind-bars-in-massachusetts/ #treatment #Massachusetts
“Then this thing happened. I decided to pivot. I “Then this thing happened. I decided to pivot. It was probably my best shot at attracting some national attention to #Nebraska.” https://digboston.com/interview-with-rural-rebellion-author-ross-benes/ #interview #book #politics #USA #MAGA
Mark your calendars! Mark your calendars!
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Submissions

Advertise

Privacy Policy

Customer Service

Distribution

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial: [email protected] For internship opportunities: [email protected]