Sell Outs

A couple of weeks ago, I was trying to explain 4chan to a friend and we came up with the phrase "an old part of the internet." As the internet ages, we see forms and functions codifying and becoming controlled. Even as new forms come into being (twitter, facebook, etc), they can be seen as improvements on older forms and programs (livejournal, friendster, geocities). In many ways, this seems to be a pattern that emerges throughout cultural studies and cultural history: we see the rise of a new medium of expression that carries with it a chance for liberatory communication between people on the margins. Inevitably, though, each form becomes totally subsumed within the capitalist structure as forms become codified and corporations take control of distribution and production, turning the possibility of revolution into a mouthpiece of corporations. In other words, we like their early stuff, but then these media sold out.

This narrative follows through cultural studies to the core: EP Thompson talks about the "folk festivals of capitalism" and Theodor Adorno is always harping on how much better everything was when films were silent and jazz was disruptive. The question that then arises is whether this accurately describes how capitalism interacts with artforms or if it is imposed by nostalgic scholars. There seems to be a pervasive nostalgia, especially on the left, for simpler times when unions were strong and wars were collectively fought. As an artform enters the mainstream, it begins to follow conventions and acquires the glossy patina of corporate interests. John Waters' earlier "Hairspray" will always look a lot more authentic and revolutionary than the spectacle featuring John Travolta in a fat suit.

In some ways, this narrative makes a lot of sense. Most people would admit that capitalism's greatest asset is its voracious ability to consume and capitalize on almost anything (just look at the profit margin on Che t-shits). And "Working Class Hollywood" definitely shows this development as film production moved from independent studios to the highly consolidated studio system in Hollywood. Media consolidation always brings with it a severe conservatism that will limit what stories get told and how. And the drive for profit almost makes it inevitable that capitalists will take over any profitable media.

So under this model, there seems to be a moment in any medium in which there is radical potential, a weird period before anyone knows what's going on or how we can take advantage of a form of communication. I think that we've documented this narrative enough, and we need to start looking at ways in which this moment can be extended. I think that advocates for net-neutrality are forming this sort of movement already (even before the fight has truly begun), and there are ways in which blogs, ebooks and social media haven't been totally taken over by capitalist codification. Maybe capitalism will always have more money, energy, innovation than radical movements and the sell out is inevitable. But I still think that there are ways of modifying consumption patterns and the assumptions of media themselves that can extend this brief moment of flowering when media forms are new.