curated video essays

Vietnam has fought and defeated countless Goliaths to achieve its liberation.

While our people in Palestine are still fighting their own Goliath, we wanted to learn, how did the Vietnamese do it? And what happens once this Goliath is taken down? What does a national identity built on liberation and resistance look like when the country’s at peace? And is Vietnam really at peace?

We traveled to Hanoi in the north and Ho Chi Minh City Saigon in the South to explore Vietnam’s story of liberation, and the story it's writing now.

Cheyenne Lim (28:52).

Intro 0:00 Part 1: Is the U.S. actually declining? 3:29 Part 2: Declinism in Politics: What is it and How is it Used 15:28 Part 3: The Romanticization of Declinism as Part of the “American Identity” 20:59 Conclusion 25:36

liy: A gentle reminder to the next person who asks me if we are in a world war, and if yes, how would I know.

Sources and essay: bit.ly/liy-heatwave2024

Lily Simpson (10:00:05): Just a couple of words about the wizarding world of Harry Potter, Pottermore, Fantastic Beasts, Wizards Unite, Magic Awakened, Hogwarts Mystery and JK Rowling's blog. A nice short video.

liy: if you don't have to deprogramme from the massive intellectual property empire that has imperialised all collective imagination related to MAGIC??? GOOD! But if you do— like me, someone who grew up attached to the franchise— then please watch this british transwoman's vibrant hair colour fade across 10 hours as she takes a reaaally thorough look at it. why i watched it: i didn't want to contribute to JK Rowling, a proven fascist transphobe who is richer than English royalty, get even richer

Jessie Gender (4:17:13) Despite understanding some of the hydra heads that form from it - the apparatus, functions, and nature of antisemitism are often less understood on a deeper level because despite its long history and that it frequently intersects with other bigotries, it is not based directly on poverty, skin color or colonized status. It’s also historically quite flexible, constantly evolving to fit the numerous contexts it crops up within. As a result, leftist groups can often miss it when it appears. There is also a question that often goes unaddressed in the binary framework of a propagandizing neo-colonial power that works to perpetuate its power versus those who fight it endlessly. Can antisemitism exist within leftist movements fighting for Palestinian autonomy and self-determination?

0:00 - Introduction 28:23 - Part 1: How Antisemitism Functions 47:25 - Part 2: The History of Zionism 1:45:56 - Part 3: Zionism as a Political Ideology 2:32:18 - Part 4: Zionism as an Emotion 3:07:35 - Part 5: Antisemitism on The Left 3:39:29 - Part 6: Anti-Zionism 4:05:06 - Conclusion 4:13:40 - Outro

CJ the X (27:12): unpacking my thoughts on online performance through the burning of an innocent sacrificial lamb

references C. Thi Nguyen, Trust and Sincerity in Art (2021) https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/ergo/article/id/1139/

Storied (11:12) Language is an integral part of how cults keep their members bonded, isolated and obedient. Covers research on speech patterns, thoughts-terminating cliches, jargon can function as a linguistic conspicuous consumption

also references Amanda Montell’s book Cultish

language empowers cult leaders to create a mini universe around their followers. the only defense is from knowledge as widely as possible. that way no one person has the power to shape your reality

Elliot Sang (1:09:28): Learning from the history of Korean women to understand contemporary gender wars.

on the uniquely patriarchal conditions of korea, marriage strike, child penalty, brief history and context of how women are seen in korea, korean female deities, catholicism in korea, women adopting each other to have legal rights of care, the real work of gender liberation is done by women quietly doing community care work

the problem of fighting for rights at the expense of other people’s rights