NYU professor Stephen Duncombe has just published a strange new book called Dream that's about what pop culture can teach political activists. He explains that a good protest should be like Grand Theft Auto: rebellious, participatory, open-ended, and fun. It's a weird idea coming from somebody who is a self-avowed leftist radical -- most people think of leftists as grumpy Luddites who would never be caught dead playing a game as politically incorrect as GTA. But Duncombe isn't that kind of leftist. He's the kind who embraces MoveOn, organizes a form of anarchist street theater called Reclaim the Streets, and admits he played Castle Wolfenstein 3D while writing his doctoral dissertation.
In Dream, Duncombe analyzes everything from video games and Vegas to *Entertainment Tonight *and Macintosh ads in order to explore what's alluring about fantasy worlds -- and what the Democratic Party could stand to learn from them. Duncombe's thesis, which is a more focused version of what Steven Johnson dealt with in Everything Bad is Good for You, is that we live in a world of mass media spectacle and therefore political progressives should embrace it. The book ends with a meaty chapter on creating "ethical spectacles" and "truthful propaganda," offering a kind of recipe for politicos who want to go into the realms of fantasy, desire, and irrationality. Those realms, he argues, are just as much a part of politics as a balanced budget. To create ethical spectacles, instead of misleading propaganda or commercialism, he says political reformers should have a message that is entertaining, but also participatory, open, transparent and honest.
How would that work? Read the book! It's one of the most interesting, aggravating, and argument-inducing treatises I've read in a while. And that's what makes it great. Even if you disagree with Duncombe, you'll come away from the disagreement a smarter person.
