The first World War was sold as -- and thought to be -- a noble, necessary endeavor that was to end all wars. Soon it became evident that this first-mechanized war was a heartbreakingly horrific slaughter house of epic proportions.
The senseless decimation of virtually all the young men who -- with fervor and patriotism -- eagerly enlisted to "defend" their nation so repelled a group of artists and writers that they felt compelled to question the very meaning and purpose of artistic and cultural values.
Thus the Dada Movement was born. All (so-called) modern thought was called into question. It was reasoned that at that point in history we had become so barbarous that precious human life was chillingly expendable for the most ill-conceived and deceptive purposes.
Today, this is all known too well by many and ignored by just as many more.
When the government and its citizens are in a witting and unwitting dance of death with the media play the tune, I implore, I compel, and I all but beg those in the creative community to once again question and challenge and redefine the purpose of culture and its affect.
I want my Dada!
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Many do not know what dada is and many that do are turned off by it as an art form. That said, how many people would this kind of movement actually reach in any meaningful way?
Mr. Belzer, as usual your comments are a breath of fresh air. Our society has gone mad and the only rational response to the news of the day is a scream.
I am afraid, however, that the time when any artistic statement, no matter how powerful, can affect a change has long since passed. It seems that our society will only emerge from its selfish, narcissistic, celebrity obsessed, cruel, materialistic torpor when it is shocked awake by the next great apocolyptic event in the form of world-wide depression, nuclear war, deadly epedemic etc.
In other words, when we are already living in a Dadaist world perhaps only the harshest dose of reality can make us remember our humanity.
A lot of us seem to be getting lost in the details. Perhaps Mr Belzers point was simply:
It's time for good men to stand up and be counted. Speak up. Speak out. Artists in particular, because they already have the public stage to do it on.
All evil needs to succeed is for good men to stand by and do nothing.
...imho.
"All evil needs to succeed is for good men to stand by and do nothing."
Yet are the true evildoers those who force their perverted views on others through acts of terrorism and unspeakably horrendous violence?
Or those who enable these perverted fiends through financial support and protection, then move them around like animated chess pieces?
Even a pawn can find the king and checkmate him... yet who is the "king" in this fowl play for globalistic unity?
These are my DaDa questions.
Wikipedia has an article about the DaDa movement, but it doesn't pinpoint the origin of the name, save that "Dada in French is a child's word for hobby-horse. In French the colloquialism, c'est mon dada, means it's my hobby."
Another intriguing statement in the article: "New York Dada lacked the disillusionment of European Dada and was instead driven by a sense of irony and humor."
I never met my Dada.
=^..^=
Can't both be? At times, can't we all be?
A good artist knows that there is no black or white, just varying shades of grey. It's unfortunate that we, as a nation, seem to be turning such a dark shade lately.
What makes it really shameful, however, is how quiet "We the People" have been through it all..
The band "Dada" is great. Their album "Puzzle" is an all time classic. Especially on their song "Dizzkneeland" where he yells, "I just flipped off President George, I'm going to Dizzkneeland!" which is a reference to getting kneed in the head for insolence.
Dada Bing! Dada Boom!
Why is it that we can cry over young people losing their lives in Iraq but we can't shed not one tear for the unborn?
After all, all of us were at that stage of life once and our parents CHOSE to let us live!
But they had better be born & live healthy or they are toast-love 'em while in the womb but then they are on their own. Good job, eddiestardust. Tears for the unborn, screw the living.
Why is every topic related or not that you decide to post on become a statement on abortion? And why is that you decry abortion but are not willing to advocate for solutions that reduce it? National healthcare, sex education and birth control are three solutions to reducing the need for abortions unless a woman's health or life are at risk.
Instead of just saying 'it's wrong' and sitting in you throne judging everyone do something useful to actually solve the problem.
So you see no difference between a sentient, fully aware young adult that fully realizes very real terror in the midst of a life-threatening situation, and having been placed there for the never-ending greed of the rich and powerful - and the completely unconscious life of an unborn embryo?
Please let me know where you live so I can avoid you.
i fully agree we should stay on the subject..
but the developing human fetus goes through several stages and is not unconscious in the latter stages, in fact feels pain.
Sentients is relative.
Now back to the subject, please...
"It was reasoned that at that point in history we had become so barbarous that precious human life was chillingly expendable for the most ill-conceived and deceptive purposes."
I want my Dada... yeah, me too.
What dribble! People have always had the capacity to do terrible things to one another and war is the worst. WW1 was particularly bloody due the industrial revolution and the ability to arm so many with the new weapons of the day, combined with the lack of evolution of battlefield tactics (eg attrition). We need to learn that war should never occur again between civilized people, but if we do find ourselves in one history has shown is is significantly more advantageous to prevail than to be vanquished or surrender.
Ahhhh, your "...but if we do find ourselves in one...", then we should kick ass and beat them philosophy, will NOT always ultimately win a war. There will never be a winner in Iraq because of OUR aggression, only losers and that includes us. It WILL rightfully be determined by history throughout the rest of the world, NOT by the historical propaganda in a half BILLION dollar preznutz' library that nobody visits.
I agree. My biggest criticism of President Bush is that he has not adequately increased the size of the volunteer force by encouraging more able bodied young men and women to consider service. What wins wars is the ability of a people to work together combined with those peoples ability to endure suffering. Our troops and their leaders in Iraq are willing to do the tough work necessary as demonstrated by record re-enlistments. They should be bolstered by other kids from schools as Columbia U. I recommend a draft for non-combat national guard and reserve forces that could respond to emergencies like Katrina, and expose more individuals to military service.
As far as your history comment, the jury will be out for a while and we won't need pundits to tell us if Iraq is a new ally or adversary. We are not aggressors in Iraq, we are liberators that are now there at the request of a sovereign and duly elected if somewhat infant government. Why do liberals only want democracy for some and not for others. 50 million muslims liberated in two countries. Let history judge that!
You have your dada! It's called Bush/Clinton-ism. How do you be more oddly amusing than our supposed "leaders"? They are artists of the most despicable sort. Their comedy is low,effective and obscene. It will be necessary for us to come up with unforeseen brilliance to counter them. Gunshots may need to ring through our ears.
Thank you Richard, for bringing this up. I am SO enjoying these postings. Can you imagine a discussion like this on a conservative site, where literalism reigns and irony, absurdity, edge, abstraction, rebellion, nuance seems to be absent? Now that would be DADA!
I really don't see the 'dada" thing happening. Just get rid of the roaches.... Bush, cheney, rice, that whole list or putrid offenders. The world doesn't want war, they want respect. the only thing bush respects is ...., well, I realise now, that I can't answer that.
But we do need to prevent smirking chimps from ruling the world, as they do now....
RE: Planet of the Apes.
~!@
if you think that Bush Cheney Rice et al., are the only EVIL Americans with their sights set on taking over this nation for their own personal benefit you are sadly naive. The problem is, IMO, there are even sicker more sadistic slimey psychos lurking in the sewer waiting for their opportunity. Bush has just made it that much easier for them to take over by perverting the Constitution and setting dangerous precedent.
Non use 'Arping on the Dada movement to solve our war of today. We need to motivate every Mama and Dada and Baba to move on Washington to demand impeachment for the Bush Corporation.
IN the US if Dadaism were ever to get traction, some multinational corporation buy it or co-opt it... and if that failed, our government would call it "terrorist activity"... and the Gitmo cell walls would be the Dadaists canvas.
Apparently things are going to have to get a whole lot worse before we'll see any significant movement-for-real-change to take place in the US... as the steady smoke-and-mirror diet our govt and media feeds US seems to suffice for our overweight, over stimulated, over medicated, over confident, over worked, ignorant and apathetic society.
works marked by nonsense, travesty, and incongruity...
that is a partial definition of the dadaist movement.. I'd say W pretty much has it down!
Dada is alive and well and living in Chicago - exactly for the reasons Mr. Belzer stated.
Dada may not save lives, but it makes people think, and question, which may in turn, somehow, save a life or two.
Soiree Dada: Blind Donkey Hopscotch
www.wneptheater.org
Not to be a semantic nit picker, but I think barbarism is getting a bad name. A barbarian is simply one from beyond the borders of civilization. The people who are destroying the world are savages. As Wallace Haddril said of the 4th century Gremans, "They were barbarians, but not savages." Alas, George Bush's Sardukar and other allies, are savages as their torture proves.
Semantic tags are of little relevance when applying Seldon's 'future history' mathmatics, and the behaviors of statistically large groups MUST be given labels for the equation. It's not required that it always be n or x.
Actually, I think people are throwing around barbarianism to represent enemies of civilization, from outside OR within, because it bothers them to use the more accurate definition when speaking about the actions of OUR Government.
There's NO DOUBT what it's called when ANY government aligns itself with the goals of business and industry, and against the will of it's citizens, to practice an ideology of geopolitical aggression for natural resources. It is called FASCISM.
That 'behavior' was accurately labeled in the last century and World Wars were fought to eliminate it.
It's too damned easy for Iran to supposedly be the next great evil we MUST FEAR. As WE build for the defense of OUR nation from ANY attacker, it is not required to stomp on every little nation around the world that may develop SCIENCE. It IS required we can defend 'ourselves' and allies with similar SCIENCE and ensure mutual destruction if attacked.
We were a FAR stronger nation when we believed, as the rest of the world largely does, that ANY pre-emptive war is THE EVIL we must fear.
Yes. you remind me of some lessons I have forgotten. I now recall Salvor Hardin: "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent." But in the case of Bush and company we must change it to "Violence is the first refuge of the incompetent."
The fascists sure are good at creating the "other," who must be feared or destroyed.
I sincerely hope the remainder of the under-educated "creative community" is kind enough not to favor us with their thoughts and solutions for our society............"question and challenge and redefine the purpose of culture and its affect" - what a bunch of gibberish. There are many textbooks, books and articles which discuss the causes and strategies of WW1; it is a fascinating bit of history. Mr. Belzer's thoughts are neither informative nor interesting. What the "creative community" lacks in education they make up for with confidence.
Appears you missed the concept of Mr. Belzer's post. And looking back at Mr. Belzers post, I reiterate, it appears you missed the concept. Enjoy yourself.
"What the "creative community" lacks in education they make up for with confidence."
Evidently, squirrels CAN be trained.
Like the one on water skis.
Es tut mir leid, protogonia.
"creative community" does NOT equate with "community of idiots".
I'll thank you to be more selective in your denigrations when referring to the "creative" among us.
Oh, and squirrel, "...Mr Belzer's thoughts are neither informative nor interesting"...TO YOU. You forgot to include that part.
Thank you, Mr. Belzer.
I have really enjoyed your posts and look forward to more.
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Posted October 5, 2007 | 03:13 PM (EST)