[csaa-forum] protest

[Melissa Gregg]

dear all,
in response to the weight of commentary on the list this past week we 
have been approached by the editors of the special issue of m/c reviews 
to contribute ideas from the discussion to their upcoming feature on 
'protest' described below. i have been asked to encourage those of you 
able to write longer versions of your posts to get in touch with either 
kate or jodi with thought pieces of 600-1000 words. a number of the 
threads last week covered areas listed in the bullet points below. i'll 
be doing an interview summarising some of the major trends in the 
discussion, too.
cheers
melissa


Objection or Obstruction:
The Culture of Protest in the Twenty-First Century
Co-editors: Jodi Crome and Kate Cuthbert

M/C Reviews is looking for new contributors. M/C Reviews is an ongoing 
series of reviews of events in culture and the media. It includes the 
themed sections ‘events’, ‘screens’, ‘sounds’, ‘style’, and ‘words’ 
which publish reviews as they come to hand. It also publishes features 
issues, themed groups of reviews centring on a particular cultural 
event, category, or genre. In line with M/C Reviews' general rationale 
that the diverse productions of media and culture demand a more 
comprehensive type of review forum than other fields, the aim of the 
feature issues is to provide a space for reflecting upon key cultural 
phenomena in their various aspects and from different angles, sometimes 
conflicting ones. This breaks through the normal drawback of reviews – 
i.e. that they usually come in ones and present monological visions. 
The whole concept arises from the unique characteristics of electronic 
publishing – its short production cycles and abundance of publication 
space allow plural and timely treatments of relevant issues.

M/C Reviews is now calling for articles on the topic of
“Objection or Obstruction: The Culture of Protest in the Twenty-First 
Century”

Throughout the twentieth century, protest has been instrumental in 
revealing weaknesses in social, political, and environmental 
foundations. In the last twelve months, protest documentaries such as 
Fahrenheit 9/11 and The President vs. David Hicks have foregrounded 
once again the ability of protest to bring salient socio-political 
issues and concepts to greater public attention. However, the potency 
of protest has also spurred debates over its effectiveness as a tool 
for social change: can protest educate, or can it only coerce?

Today’s heightened political environment – springing from inquiries 
into the Iraq war, questions about choices made in the Middle-East, and 
elections on both sides of the Pacific – has reawakened the protest 
debate. We would like to examine the concept of the protest and its 
potential success or failure in the twenty-first century.

M/C Reviews would like to invite contributions for a feature on 
protests. Possible topics include, but should not be limited to:

•	Channels of protest
•	The evolution of protests
•	Apathy and the desertion of protestors
•	Michael Moore and the radical left
•	How to protest effectively
•	The influence of Art on public opinion
•	Popular music and social conscience
•	The protestor as villain/hero
•	The use of key media as protest tools
•	Use of key media to counter protest
•	The protest documentary
•	Reviews of: Fahrenheit 9/11, Super-size Me, The President vs. David 
Hicks and other relevant protest pieces.

We will publish short essays and thought-pieces of 600-1000 words. 
Longer works will not be accepted. Deadline for submissions is November 
1, 2004. Submissions, questions or comments can be directed to 
protest at reviews.media-culture.org.au.

Jodi Crome and Kate Cuthbert, feature issue editors
protest at reviews.media-culture.org.au