Kay Dickinson

Very high jargon content, arguing that instances often identified as failures in film—Elvis in Harum Scarum, pop stars who are cast in movies but can’t act, “video nasties,” etc. are indicative of larger contradictions in capitalism centered around work, that is, around labor. The most interesting bit to me was finding out that, not only did people historically complain that the piano forte was destroying musicmaking because it required much less actual musical talent, they also complained when mechanical levers were added to flutes, making them easier to operate and facilitating more uniform and clearer tones. Basically, technological developments always are seen as replacing real talent with ersatz creativity, until the new forms of creativity they enable are better understood.… (mehr)