Community has always felt a bit out of reach for me during the holidays, a time where I usually find myself in isolation more than usual. And I know that for some, the feeling of loneliness hits even harder, and it certainly doesn’t help that this season is almost universally marketed as a time of familial warmth and gathering. So whether or not you feel a sense of togetherness these days, I hope that you can find at least a moment of respite to take care of yourself. The following pieces are much less “academic” than what I usually send, but they are pieces that have helped me find that moment nonetheless.
-Alex
Past
Unsung Hero by Thai Life Insurance (Commercial, 3 min)
I’m sure many folks have seen this video pop up in their YouTube recommendations in the past, but I’m including this ad (or should I say propaganda) because, to this day, it has been one of the most formative pieces of media in shaping my understanding of the personal aesthetic of goodness. In practicality, it probably transcends most of the theory I’ve read. The themes of virtue without validation, everyday practice, selflessness, non-attachment… in an age of performativity and commodity fetish, I take refuge in such ideals.
I know it’s kind of corny and that there’s a deeper critique of systemic inequality to be made, but still, I’ve cried to this shit before.
No Crying at the Dinner Table by Carol Nguyen (Film, 16 min) + film FAQ (Article, 3 min)
Carol Nguyen’s film (a student production at that!) has been making waves in the Asian American community and beyond over the past several weeks. A beautiful exploration of intergenerational trauma and grief that seems to resonate for many diasporic people.
Present
Communal Care by with_drawn collective (Zine, 40 min)
I don’t look at zines that often, but I really enjoyed this one, which focuses on self-care and community care in COVID times of upheaval. If you are interested in engaged mindfulness or just want to better understand the significance of spiritual practice in radical movements, this is a very friendly (and visually appealing) introduction. As the zine mentions, raising consciousness — and fostering a more general, sustained belief in the possibility of change — is one of the most important tasks of our time.
“This zine springs from the need of communal care, mutual aid from a radical political perspective. The revolution will not be facebooked, televised, spectacularised co-opted or facilitated.
The revolution will be a bird’s song that wakes you up in the morning.” (4)
How to Be a True Friend by Brother Pháp Hữu (Talk, 95 min)
I am still (and perhaps always) figuring out what kind of Buddhist I am. This Dharma talk brought me peace and clarity on the meaning of Sangha, or community.
“Engaged Buddhism is just Buddhism. Buddhism that is not engaged is not Buddhism.” (43:50)
A notable quote that touched me personally, since I have always felt resistance towards more ascetic approaches to music and dance:
“The monastic asked Thầy [Thich Nhat Hanh]: ‘Is it appropriate for monks and nuns to perform and sing like that?’
And Thầy had a pause… Thầy looked at me [Brother Pháp Hữu], and Thầy said: ‘You know what Thầy said?’…
‘Well, that’s my Buddhism.’” (1:33:25)
Future
A Future with No Future: Depression, the Left, and the Politics of Mental Health by Mikkel Krause Frantzen (Essay, 23 min)
“The crisis embodied by depression thus becomes a symptom of a historical and capitalist crisis of futurity. It is a kind of structure of feeling, as Raymond Williams would say. Consequently, any cure to the problem of depression must take a collective, political form; instead of individualizing the problem of mental illness, it is imperative to start problematizing the individualization of mental illness. The call is for the left, for these specific reasons, to take seriously the question of illness and mental disorders. Dealing with depression — and other forms of psychopathology — is not only part of, but a condition of possibility for an emancipatory project today. Before we can throw bricks through windows, we need to be able to get out of bed.”
“Maybe a good place to start, then, with regards to the politics of depression, is to collectivize suffering, externalize blame, communize care. At this point, the question of responsibility returns in all its force. The neoliberal responsibilization of the depressed subject must be rejected, and, also, replaced by an idea of collective responsibility. The same goes for any kind of therapeutic project, and Italian thinker Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi — who is, admittedly, a bit loose and careless when it comes to precision in the clinical vocabulary — may be right when he asserts that ‘in the days to come, politics and therapy will be one and the same.’ Therapy as resistance, not as reactionary obedience to the given order. Therapy as a collective project, not an individual one. Therapy as the overcoming of alienation.”