A Brooklyn Culture Mafia

[constant escape]

Well now thats fascinating, because of that whole argument that terrorism was off limits to capitalism, that attempting to subsume the aesthetics of terrorism would not prove lucrative, and would likely be met with rage, disgust, etc.

 

[constant escape]

Those self-proclaimed bohemian layabouts are at the vanguard of capitalism in that one sense.

 

[version]

Yeah, I thought that too. Completely rebuffs DeLillo's contention in Mao II. Although maybe it was true at the time. The book's 29 years old at this point.

"What really comes across is the play of signifiers. Both ISIS and ecommunism are perfectly adapted to platform capitalism. They combine the content elements that have always guaranteed virality in the online attention economy—sex, violence, and extreme ideology."

 

[luka]

Barty was always going on about the visual similarities between Isis and uk drill

 

[version]

Face coverings.

 

[Leo]

Well now thats fascinating, because of that whole argument that terrorism was off limits to capitalism, that attempting to subsume the aesthetics of terrorism would not prove lucrative, and would likely be met with rage, disgust, etc.

not really, certainly not on any scale. they aren't looking to sell tons of merch, it's just a provocation to get attention and have people think they're daring. naughty attention seeking. like Lydon singing "Belsen was a gas".

 

[version]

You can buy Bin Laden masks though. Also you can play as the terrorists in plenty of games.

 

[constant escape]

Sure, they won't find it lucrative, and I retract the comment about their being at the vanguard. just find it interesting that they, being as edgy as they are, would encroach upon that territory, seeing as we've talked about the theories that terrorism is a/the forbidden territory for capitalism, at least according to DeLillo.

@version I guess it goes to show that there aren't limits, at least none that are observed for very long, what with all the edgies out there.

 

[shiels]

Face coverings.

death worship, weapon brandishing, haunting vocals and jerky footage. its a good comparison

 

[shiels]

Its a cool and sexy aesthetic. theyre the best at it. like the IRA were in the 90s

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

Well now thats fascinating, because of that whole argument that terrorism was off limits to capitalism, that attempting to subsume the aesthetics of terrorism would not prove lucrative, and would likely be met with rage, disgust, etc.

that's never been true

Che Guevara t-shirts and posters on dorm room walls

when I was working in Chiapas in the early 00s EZLN - and specifically Marcos - merch was everywhere, inescapable

Che and especially Marcos are a far cry from ISIS but the principle is the same

not thing is off limits to capitalism. the only limit is your ability to market it to a given consumer demographic.

that is the impersonal genius part of consumerism - the potential to turn literally anything into a marketable commodity.

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

or a better comparison to ISIS in re Mexico would be narcos, who are heavily commercialized - television, films, music, merchandise

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

El Chapo brand clothing debuts at Guadalajara fashion show

The “El Chapo 701” brand drew many curious shoppers with a huge printed image of its namesake, convicted drug trafficker Joaquín Guzmán, and a line of clothing inspired by him.

According to lawyer Gilberto de Anda, El Chapo 701 is owned by Alejandrina Guzmán Salazar, the daughter of the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel and his first wife María Alejandrina Salazar Hernández.

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

rage and disgust are marketable emotions

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

ISIS merch is a growing trend

that's from 2016

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

I mean do a Google Image search for "ISIS Merchandise"

it's maybe 25% Archer-related, a bit related to Isis the post-metal band, and the rest is all Islamic State

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

the only difference with Red Scare is who's selling it, where they're selling it, and who they're selling it to

i.e. not in Indonesia or Turkey or anonymously online

which is where the edginess comes in

obviously it's reprehensible - they're not even making some kind of statement, it's just shock value

but it's excellent marketing - the point, I'm sure, isn't whether people actually buy their ISIS shirts, it's to attract attention

and clearly it's working

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

presumably the ISIS shirts themselves are just a loss leader for the Red Scare multimedia empire

 

[version]

I mean do a Google Image search for "ISIS Merchandise"

Risky.