Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Synecdouche

Catapulting the propaganda
American conservative commentators will not be having with the lingering prominence of Che Guevara in popular culture. They are horrified by the thought of people buying Che t-shirts or posters -- don't such people realise that they make themselves apologists for all the crimes committed in the course of the Cuban revolution, if not complicit in them?

This provides Jonah Goldberg, Mona Charen et al. with a useful shorthand whereby someone's Che-themed garments serves as a synecdoche for their clueless politics. They have observed that the ownership of Che imagery is an admission of a romantic, unthinking substitute for political reflectiveness... in short, of Liberalism.

Or perhaps there is just a virus on their computers that enlivens their writing with Che references at random intervals.

Feb 27, 2008 *


June 14, 2011
28 February, 2012
Random illustration
I am wondering what Jonah will make of a magazine that exhibits the same sort of romantic admiration for the crimes of Stalinism, to the extent of appropriating the iconography and style of Stalinist totalitarian art, and depicting the Republican presidential and vice-presidential candidates as Heroes of the Socialist Revolution. Surely denunciations will ensue.



* This particular claim -- promptly disproven, though never retracted -- was amusingly published under the title "Radicals Never Say Sorry".

12 comments:

H. Rumbold, Master Barber said...

They only need to say the names- Hanoi Jane, Barbra Streisand, Chappaquiddick, Robert Byrd, Saul Alinsky- the dog food is long gone, but the bell still brings on the drool.

And why isn't Willard wearing his grid-pattern shirt? Wasn't he put into them to look all analytic and stuff? Much talk about AlGore and Earth tones (he's still fat, btw), but nary a word about the graph paper haberdashery.

And nice Chebuchet.

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

A fine use for the BPRI photo, already!
~

Smut Clyde said...

Now I'm all inspired to listen to "At the Sound of the Bell".

Dr.KennethNoisewater said...

I'll take mindless Che-t-shirt-wearing over this any day of the week.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

About Che, Jonah belched 'A murderer who believed that "the U.S. is the great enemy of mankind"...'

Jonah, for your next assignment, prove him wrong.

Hamish Mack said...

It's just me I know, but Romney looks as though he is getting one up the poop chute from Ryan. He's really got that smug "I'm on top the world" look on his Stalinist face.

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

They have observed that the ownership of Che imagery is an admission of a romantic, unthinking substitute for political reflectiveness...

Meanwhile, Reaganolatry proceeds apace.

It's just me I know, but Romney looks as though he is getting one up the poop chute from Ryan. He's really got that smug "I'm on top the world" look on his Stalinist face.

The "I'm on top of the world, but bottoming Ryan" look?

Smut Clyde said...

Reaganolatry proceeds apace

Invoking dead politician #1 = CLASSY.

Invoking dead politician #2 (i.e. playing footage of Ted Kennedy dismantling Mitt Romney) = EVUL EXPLOITATION.

Substance McGravitas said...

Che was so tyrannical conservatives are STILL forced to write about him. He is truly Che-who-must-be-obeyed.

Hamish Mack said...

Substance is a banned Substance.

Substance McGravitas said...

WTF, I did a Haggard search here because I figured you'd beaten me to it!

That is how little I think of you.

Jennifer said...

Hey...