Dialogic Cinephilia - September 15, 2019

Foucault in California [A True Story—Wherein the Great French Philosopher Drops Acid in the Valley of Death] by Simeon Wade
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Read this on a lazy, warm (but not oppressively hot), Sunday; drifting in and out of the narrative, searching out long forgotten philosophers/books mentioned, remembering my own trips in remote Western desert wonderlands, nostalgic for when I was so electrified when dining/partying with visiting intellectuals/artists at my universities and recognizing the stifling culture of a repressive academic environment (in this case, Claremont Graduate School, I had others in mind) that is unable to completely contain the wild flowering of jouissance amongst those fervently committed to its 'ecstative cultivation' (my conception: ecstative is imaginative discourse that does not stop and builds to an explosive point of multiple moments of discovery/wonder).

As you can see in some of the negative/disappointed comments on this book too many approach this slim volume as if it may be the great lost Foucauldian codex that holds great secrets of the life and transformation of the long-dead Foucault, an impulse he dismisses as pointless throughout this portrayal of him on this trip (and verified in many interviews). Those making the comments kind of remind me of the stifled/arrogant academics that assault Foucault with banal questions after his productive discussion with the students near the end. Instead, the book is about Foucault accepting an invitation to hang out with some scholars (which just happens to include an acid trip in the desert) and having a series of open discussions about whatever was on their minds (as we do in those informal settings). It is not a guidebook to Foucault's thinking, instead it is a glimpse into/of Foucault as experienced/remembered by a young scholar.

View all my reviews

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brockell, Gillian, et al. "Sleepwalking." Sleepwalkers (May 2, 2019) ["Welcome to the A.I. revolution that is already transforming our lives, for good and evil. But what exactly are we sleepwalking into? We start by investigating the connections between online dating, terrorism, and screen addiction."]

Christopher Leonard: Business Reporter/Food Production/Koch Industries Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)

Hertz, Barry. "An oral history of cléo: from a ‘semi-formed’ e-mail to a landmark Canadian journal of film and feminism to a victim of Ontario arts funding cuts." The Globe and Mail (August 28, 2019)


What You Gonna Do When the World's on Fire?_Trailer from KimStim on Vimeo.


Minervini, Roberto. "Why Making Documentaries is an Act of Resistance." Talkhouse (August 27, 2019) ["What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire? director Roberto Minervini on the profound importance of nonfiction filmmaking, now more than ever."]





Pinkerton, Nick. "Fear of Fear." Artforum (August 16, 2019) ["Nick Pinkerton on Roberto Minervini’s What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire? (2018)."]

Walvin, Jim. "The Remembrance of Slavery in Material Culture." Slavery and Its Legacies (March 27, 2017) ["In this episode James Walvin, Professor of History Emeritus at the University of York, discusses how traces of slavery are often overlooked in the material culture we value, from porcelain sugar bowls to mahogany tables."]

Stay Woke: A People's Guide to Making All Black Lives Matter from Rising Up With Sonali on Vimeo.