Scandalous Times: Contemporary Creativity and the Rise of State-Sanctioned Controversy PDF
Preview Scandalous Times: Contemporary Creativity and the Rise of State-Sanctioned Controversy
Scandalous Times Also Available from Bloomsbury Ethics under Capital: MacIntyre, Communication, and the Culture Wars, Jason Hannan Right-Wing Culture in Contemporary Capitalism: Regression and Hope in a Time without Future, Mathias Nilges The Reasoning of Unreason: Universalism, Capitalism and Disenlightenment, John Roberts Badiou Reframed: Interpreting Key Thinkers for the Arts, Alex Ling Mathematics of the Transcendental, Alain Badiou, trans. A. J. Bartlett and Alex Ling Scandalous Times Contemporary Creativity and the Rise of State-Sanctioned Controversy Alex Ling BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK 1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, USA BLOOMSBURY, BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published in Great Britain 2021 Copyright © Alex Ling, 2021 Alex Ling has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work. For legal purposes the Acknowledgments on p. ix constitute an extension of this copyright page. Cover design by Charlotte Daniels Cover image © Cat Arch Angel / Getty Images All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc does not have any control over, or responsibility for, any third-party websites referred to or in this book. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Ling, Alex, author. Title: Scandalous times : contemporary creativity and the rise of state-sanctioned controversy / Alex Ling. Description: London ; New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2020024884 (print) | LCCN 2020024885 (ebook) | ISBN 9781350068551 (hardback) | ISBN 9781350068544 (ebook) | ISBN 9781350068575 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Scandals. | Social norms. | Immorality. Classification: LCC HM676 .L56 2021 (print) | LCC HM676 (ebook) | DDC 302.2/4–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020024884 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020024885 ISBN: HB: 978-1-3500-6855-1 PB: 978-1-3500-6856-8 ePDF: 978-1-3500-6854-4 eBook: 978-1-3500-6857-5 Typeset by Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd. To find out more about our authors and books visit www.bloomsbury.com and sign up for our newsletters. The malice of a good thing is the barb that makes it stick. Richard Sheridan, The School for Scandal vi Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Notes on a Scandal 1 Sovereign Public Subjects 3 Real Subjective Creation 7 Modus Operandi 10 Part 1 Scandals 1 The Big Reveal 17 Anagnorisis and Peripeteia 19 From Revelation to Dissimulation 21 Blurred Lines 25 Different Perspectives 28 2 Chaos and Novelty 31 Nothing Comes from Nothing 34 Creating Controversy 36 The Blind Man 38 A Convenient Truth 41 Part 2 Foundations 3 Grounds for Annulment 49 System Failure 50 Encircling the Real 52 Impossible Nonsense 55 The Scandal of Being 58 viii Cont ents 4 Making Sense of Everything 63 A Stumbling Block 66 The State of Things 69 The Mathematical Turn 71 On the New 73 Part 3 Creation 5 A Terrible Beauty 81 The Return of the Real 83 The Clamor of Being 85 Reflexivity, Revelation, Resonance 87 The Real of the Real 90 6 Wresting with the Impossible 93 The Fabrication of Truth 94 Overcoming the Impasse 96 The Subject of Scandal 99 A New Way of Thinking 103 Part 4 Controversy 7 Brave New World 107 The Other Big Brother 108 Mond’s Monde 110 To Overturn the World 112 A New Metaphor? 115 8 The Real Problem 121 A Neighborhood of Strangers 121 Are You Not Entertained? 124 Simulacra and Stimulation 128 Matters of Consequence 132 Notes 138 Bibliography 174 Index 189 Acknowledgments First and foremost, an enormous debt of gratitude is owed to Suzie Daniells and François Ladouceur, without whose constant support and generosity this book would not exist. I also want to acknowledge the help and assistance I have received from my colleagues at Western Sydney University, in particular Anthony Uhlmann, Adam Daniel, and Lorraine Sim, together with colleagues and friends from afar, notably Adam Bartlett, Barbara Creed, and Angus Taylor. Lastly, eternal thanks go to Lucy Russell and Liza Thompson at Bloomsbury Academic, for their professionalism, their support, and their patience throughout the project.
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