Protest, Yoda, Truth, Milk, Market
The Protest Songs of Hong Kong
Polyphonic | 16th January 2020
The music of the Hong Kong protests. Lo Hiu Pan's "Raise the Umbrella" turns the yellow umbrella, used by protestors to deflect tear gas, into a symbol for the revolution. The Christian hymn Sing Hallelujah to the Lord has become popular because of a legal loophole that protects religious gatherings. Most famously, "Glory to Hong Kong," a viral anthem published on Youtube by an anonymous musician known only as Thomas, originated the protests' catchphrase "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time!" (10m37s)
Why You Want to Crush Baby Yoda (and Other Cute Things)
Wisecrack | 21st January 2020
Baby Yoda has become the modern epitome of what is cute—but perhaps cuteness has its roots in something very dark. There are toy companies whose selling point is "squeeze this baby until it cries." Neurological research into "cute aggression" helps explain this, as well as the parental instinct to bite the feet and legs of our offspring. Post-1940s Japan, humiliated by its loss in WW2, has been saturated by cuteness ("kawaii"), hypothetically as a result of this connection between cuteness and suffering. (14m42s)
Alan Moore: Truth Through Chaos
Cinema Cartography | 30th December 2019
A thoughtful portrait of Alan Moore as prophet, occultist and philosopher king of comic books. "Moore's displays of clashing contradictions being the norm may seem the fuel to ensure chaos, particularly from a self-proclaimed anarchist, and through his usage of text, visuals and manipulation of the form, we the readers are able to exist in all manners of space and time. The only way to find the truth is through the collapse of the world as we know it—is through chaos." (10m58s)
Milk. White Poison or Healthy Drink?
Kurzgesagt | 26th January 2020
From the history of milk as the fuel of agricultural civilizations, to the nutritional breakdown of its enzyme interactions, to its impact on the environment. Useful as a guide for whether or not to drink milk, but also as a trove of milk fun facts—did you know that 65% of the world is lactose intolerant? (10m48s)
Beautiful Video of the Week
A psychedelic reconstruction of a Vietnamese market
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