September 15, 2019: Difference between revisions
From Gerald R. Lucas
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{{Large|Mailer’s Political Resonance}} | {{Large|Mailer’s Political Resonance}} | ||
===Themes=== | ===Themes=== | ||
* '''Fascism''' is humanity’s natural state{{sfn|Mailer|2003|p=70}} | |||
** against political correctness{{sfn|Hitchens|1997|p=117}} | |||
*** “we’ve got to find a way to say human nature is both ugly and beautiful, and we have to deal with both.”{{sfn|Hitchens|1997|p=127}} | |||
** “Americans are angrier now than at any time I’ve ever seen them.” — “rage”{{sfn|Hitchens|1997|p=121}} | |||
** flag conservatism and moral reform{{sfn|Mailer|2003|pp=50, 52}} | |||
** See the end of {{harvtxt|Hitchens|1997|}} for a likely scenario of a fascist takeover. In some ways, it seems similar to Trump’s America, though instead of solely against black Americans, it also demonizes Mexicans and Muslims. | |||
*** {{harvtxt|Baumann|2016|}} compares Mailer’s analysis of Barry Goldwater and his supporters to Trump and his with some striking similarities. | |||
* Personal Responsibility (The Necessity of Criticism) | * Personal Responsibility (The Necessity of Criticism) | ||
** “When you have a great country, it’s your duty to be critical of it so it can become even greater.”{{sfn|Mailer|2003|p=15}} | ** “When you have a great country, it’s your duty to be critical of it so it can become even greater.”{{sfn|Mailer|2003|p=15}} | ||
** “The politics of Norman Mailer have conventionally been evaluated more as a personal register of the American zeitgeist, and less as owing any debt or duty to ideology.”{{sfn|Hitchens|1997|p=115}} | |||
** Left Conservative — “a challenge to those who remain fixed in orthodoxy or correctness”{{sfn|Hitchens|1997|p=116}} | |||
** '''Cancer''' is an outgrowth of inaction or conformity.{{sfn|Mailer|2003|p=19}} | ** '''Cancer''' is an outgrowth of inaction or conformity.{{sfn|Mailer|2003|p=19}} | ||
* “Democracy is existential”{{sfn|Mailer|2003|p=16}} | ** “Culture’s worth huge, huge risks. Without culture we’re all totalitarian beasts.”{{sfn|Hitchens|1997|p=126}} | ||
** We cannot take democracy for granted because it is always in peril and | |||
* '''Democracy''' is a state of grace{{sfn|Mailer|2003|p=70}} | |||
** “Democracy is existential”{{sfn|Mailer|2003|p=16}} | |||
*** We cannot take democracy for granted because it is always in peril and always changing.{{sfn|Mailer|2003|pp=16–17}} | |||
* Corporate Capitalism | * Corporate Capitalism | ||
** against corporations{{sfn|Hitchens|1997|p=117}} | |||
** contradiction; leads to greed in a “Christian nation”{{sfn|Hitchens|1997|p=120}} | |||
* '''Technology''' inspires totalitarianism{{sfn|Hitchens|1997|p=126}} | |||
=== | ===Citations=== | ||
{{Reflist}} | {{Reflist|20em}} | ||
===Working Bibliography=== | ===Working Bibliography=== | ||
Revision as of 10:31, 25 October 2019
Mailer’s Political Resonance
Themes
- Fascism is humanity’s natural state[1]
- against political correctness[2]
- “we’ve got to find a way to say human nature is both ugly and beautiful, and we have to deal with both.”[3]
- “Americans are angrier now than at any time I’ve ever seen them.” — “rage”[4]
- flag conservatism and moral reform[5]
- See the end of Hitchens (1997) for a likely scenario of a fascist takeover. In some ways, it seems similar to Trump’s America, though instead of solely against black Americans, it also demonizes Mexicans and Muslims.
- Baumann (2016) compares Mailer’s analysis of Barry Goldwater and his supporters to Trump and his with some striking similarities.
- against political correctness[2]
- Personal Responsibility (The Necessity of Criticism)
- “When you have a great country, it’s your duty to be critical of it so it can become even greater.”[6]
- “The politics of Norman Mailer have conventionally been evaluated more as a personal register of the American zeitgeist, and less as owing any debt or duty to ideology.”[7]
- Left Conservative — “a challenge to those who remain fixed in orthodoxy or correctness”[8]
- Cancer is an outgrowth of inaction or conformity.[9]
- “Culture’s worth huge, huge risks. Without culture we’re all totalitarian beasts.”[10]
- Democracy is a state of grace[1]
- Corporate Capitalism
- Technology inspires totalitarianism[10]
Citations
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mailer 2003, p. 70.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hitchens 1997, p. 117.
- ↑ Hitchens 1997, p. 127.
- ↑ Hitchens 1997, p. 121.
- ↑ Mailer 2003, pp. 50, 52.
- ↑ Mailer 2003, p. 15.
- ↑ Hitchens 1997, p. 115.
- ↑ Hitchens 1997, p. 116.
- ↑ Mailer 2003, p. 19.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Hitchens 1997, p. 126.
- ↑ Mailer 2003, p. 16.
- ↑ Mailer 2003, pp. 16–17.
- ↑ Hitchens 1997, p. 120.
Working Bibliography
- Baumann, Paul (March 23, 2016). "Mailer on Trump". Commonweal. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
- Begiebing, Robert (2020). "Norman Mailer and Joseph Ellis: Unsettling Dialogues on Democracy". The Mailer Review. 12 (1).
- Binelli, Mark (May 2007). "Norman Mailer". Rolling Stone. pp. 69, 72.
- Busa, Christopher (1999). "Interview with Norman Mailer". Provincetown Arts. pp. 24–32. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
- Hitchens, Christopher (1997). "Norman Mailer: A Minority of One". New Left Review. 22 (March/April): 115–128.
- Mailer, Norman (2013). "Immodest Proposals". Mind of an Outlaw. New York: Random House.
- — (2003). Why Are We at War?. New York: Random House.
- Mailer, Norman; Mailer, John Buffalo (2006). The Big Empty. New York: Nation Books.
- McAfee, Andrew (October 23, 2019). "Technology Will Keep Us From Running Out of Stuff". Wired. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
- Pritchard, William (November 24, 2016). "Stormin' Norman". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
- Sheed, Wilfred (1971). "Norman Mailer: Genius or Nothing". The Morning After: Selected Essays and Reviews. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 9–17.
- Wade, Francis (August 12, 2019). "Reading 'The Armies of the Night' in an Age of Youth Protest". LA Review of Books. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
