"Polarization Is Dividing American Society, Not Just Politics,” laments The New York Times. “The Constitution Is Threatened by Tribalism,” frets The Atlantic. “American politics has reached peak polarization,” declares Vox. After the past few election cycles, and as uprisings occur throughout the country, we’ve seen endless concern about our alleged zenith of “polarization” and “tribalism.”

The Right and the Left, we are told, have grown too radical and today lack the ability to “get things done” and “come together” with a “shared reality.” It’s a superficially appealing narrative — one nostalgic for a non-specified past time of ideal consensus building and Reasonable Centrism.

But it’s also a narrative driven by a fantasy that ignores material forces that have shifted the U.S. political establishment further to the right, as the ruling political and economic class has helped sow distrust and paranoia with decades of deadly wars, runaway and rampant inequality, lethal racism and the failed promises of endless economic growth.

On this episode, we explore the origins of “polarization” and “partisan tribalism” discourse, profile its biggest pushers, detail who it serves––and who it gets off the hook––and lay out why reductionist and vague “polarization” laments are so beloved by our media and political elite. 

Our guest is journalist and writer Osita Nwanevu.

Episode 112: How "Polarization" Discourse Flattens Power Dynamics and Says Nothing

The United States and its close allies Saudi Arabia and Israel have been bombing and occupying large sections of the so-called “Muslim world” for decades – drastically ramping up after the 9/11 attacks and seemingly with no end in sight. The U.S., like all empires, cannot operate a large, complex system premised on violence, meddling and subjugation without a moral pretext. This moral pretext, even before 9/11, was primarily about fighting a war on so-called “Terrorism” or “Islamic extremism” while allegedly promoting “stability,” “freedom” and “democracy.”

Along with American news media’s constant fear-mongering over scary Muslims lurking in the shadows, a major pillar propping up this moral pretext is pop culture – namely the cultural products coming out of Hollywood. Our decades-long "War on Terror" would no doubt be much more difficult to sustain without a constant reminder from TV and film that, despite the fact that the average American is more likely to be killed by a vending machine than a terrorist attack, the threat of Islamic terrorism remains ever-present and existential, marked by an inevitable “clash of civilizations” devoid of context or any notion that the U.S. is a primary driver of violence across the globe.

Over the course of three episodes, we'll be taking a look at how Hollywood’s television and studio film output helps prop up America’s military aggression in the Middle East, engages in both casual and explicit racism, strips conflicts of any historical or imperial context pushes the idea the only Good Muslim is a snitch or CIA agent, and generally leaves its audience angry and ill-informed. 

In this episode, we review Hollywood’s long history of anti-Muslim racism in both classic and campy action/adventure films and TV and how it both primed us for – and sustains – the never-ending and self-perpetuating "War on Terror."

Episode 113: Hollywood & Anti-Muslim Racism (Part 1) - Action and Adventure Schlock

A bizarrely vague, cliquish letter demanding everyone be open-minded has no interest in explaining what, precisely, it wants.

News Brief: The Harper's Letter and Our Extremely Narrow, Self-Serving Definition of Cancel Culture

Our cultural context for understanding what we see on the news and hear in our politics, is often informed by the films and TV shows we’ve grown up watching. Pop culture is powerful and persuasive, and — for a century now — racist, Orientalist and cartoonish portrayals of Arabs and Muslims have littered our screens, big and small. This is the second episode in our three-part Citations Needed series on anti-Muslim racism in Hollywood. On Part I, we discussed big budget action and adventure films like Delta Force, American Sniper and True Lies, where Muslims get blown away at every turn.

But not every movie and TV show is quite so overt in its vilification of the designated enemy. Since the release of these movies, the state curated narrative in film has diversified, broadening to include savvier Oscar-bait productions in which anti-Muslim racism is dressed up in elaborate plot structures and supposedly nuance "debates".

Films like Argo, Syriana, and Zero Dark Thirty are lauded for their ostensible complexity, subtlety, and nuance, such as their willingness to suggest that government agencies like the CIA are bloated and bureaucratic. Instead of scenes with a tough action hero bodyslamming or mowing down teeming hordes of Muslim terrorists, these films are part of a smarter genre of jingoistic action film — the prestige thriller — featuring flawed protagonists, some meta comedy, and women CIA agents excelling in a historically male-dominated field of coups and torture. 

But ultimately, they project the same tired nationalism and ideology reinforcement just in a sleeker, more modern form. On this episode, we’ll examine how anti-Muslim and anti-Arab propaganda is disseminated through the contemporary prestige thriller genre.

We're joined by historian, artist and author Maytha Alhassen.

Episode 114: Anti-Muslim Racism in Hollywood (Part II) - Oscar-Bait Imperialism

For the third part in our Spider Network series, we’re joined by Michael Judge (http://twitter.com/corpseinorbit) from Death is Just Around the Corner for an expansive discussion about the latticework of shadows weaving around our world. We turn our eye on Colonia Dignidad, the pedophile Nazi cult colony in Chile where a one-eyed rapist helped shape the modern world. Part 1.

Episode 83: The Permanent Uncle & His Colony of Righteousness (Part 1 teaser)

Comedian Clark Jones joins us to do a CHILL episode where we RELAX and talk comedy bullshit as well as Kamala's dad, the DNC, the Washington Football Team and the god damned libs.

CLARK JONES
@theeclarkjones
theeclarkjones.com
CLASSIC BLACK DUDE
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/classic-black-dude/id1482169322

MERCH
poddamnamerica.bigcartel.com

PATREON
Patreon.com/poddamnamerica

Classic Podcast w/ Clark Jones

A short overview of the system of offshore money that allows the rich and powerful to skirt laws and pick and choose the jurisdictions that apply to them. Learn how to set up a shell corporation, hide your assets, and buy a passport as well as a few facts about a notable Hollywood actor.

The main source for this episode was the book "Moneyland" by Oliver Bolloughs:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39979237-moneyland

The paper Steve mentions is here:
https://publications.iass-potsdam.de/rest/items/item_3259914_4/component/file_3259926/content

Episode 188: Offshore Money

This week we figure out why everyone thinks antifa trying to kill smoky the bear. We also talk about a haunted statue of Melania.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/16/world/europe/melania-trump-sculpture-slovenia.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/09/18/scapegoating-antifa-starting-wildfires-distracts-real-causes/

MERCH:
PodDamnAmerica.BigCartel.com

PATREON:
Patreon.com/PodDamnAmerica

West Coast... You're Fired

We're joined by Robbie Martin of Media Roots Radio to discuss the 2001 Anthrax attacks in the United States and explore the case of Matt Dehart, an incarcerated hackactivist who claims to have received documents linking the bio-terrorism event to elements of the CIA. It's a story so bizarre that you might not believe it but listen to our overview of the official government investigation and the shutdown of any follow up and tell us you don't have questions.

You can find Robbie on twitter @FluorescentGrey

You can listen to the Media Roots Radio podcast on the anthrax attacks here:
https://soundcloud.com/media-roots/schrodingers-super-patriot-the-2001-anthrax-mystery-pt-1-of-2

And view his short documentary on it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PqU7dXEirU

Episode 196: The Anthrax Attacks feat. Robbie Martin

In this News Brief follow up to Episode 115 on Hollywood's symbiotic relationship with the Pentagon and CIA, we spoke with director and screenwriter Oliver Stone about his experience making mainstream motion pictures about often taboo subjects like the American imperialism and war crimes.

News Brief - Hollywood and the Pentagon: A Follow Up Conversation with Oliver Stone

On August 31, 1997, the world changed forever when the famous Princess Diana died in a car crash. This documentary explores new evidence about what really happened that day. (Written by @necrobranson Starring @DanBoeckner @_devojka_ @humidnightblue @RahRahRaina @ByYourLogic @intellegint @charlesraustin)

E1 on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/e1podcast

155 - Crown of Mist: The Final Day of Princess Diana

Citations Needed is a podcast about the media, power, PR, and the history of bullshit. It is hosted by Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson, and produced by Florence Barrau-Adams.

Episode 112: How "Polarization" Discourse Flattens Power Dynamics and Says Nothing

Citations Needed Podcast