Neoliberalism & The Danger it Poses to Society

In class this week, we analyzed the terms neo-feminism and neo-liberalism. Neo-liberalism is defined as a political philosophy that advocates support for free trade and open markets and increasing the role of private sector in a modern society. 

On December 14^th of last year, a man went on a killing spree in Newtown, killing 26 people, including 20 children. For an article on The Week, Neil Clark explains that there will be more examples of killing sprees, such as the one in Newtown and in Britain recently due to the fast-paced changes in a neo-liberal United Kingdom. “The answer is that we've Americanised our economy, and consequently are paying a very high social cost.”

Henry Giroux, author of “Youth and the Politics of Disposability in Dark Times” argued in a recent article that the rise of financial meltdown presents a problem for the youth. Giroux defines neoliberalism as; “the latest stage of predatory capitalism [and a] part of a broader project of restoring class power and consolidating the rapid concentration of capital.”

One of the important questions to ask when considering commercial films, national culture and its relationship with neo-liberalism is if there are any benefits. One of them can be the film industry in Argentina. The country’s government is characterized by neo-liberal economic reform that which has benefited greatly for its film industry. “The film industry in Argentina has witnessed a recent `boom' in commercial blockbuster movies that is bringing audiences back to see national films. These high budget productions are produced in part by large television channels that are utilizing state subsidies for these projects. While this translates into healthy growth for the film industry, it is transforming the character of national film production from a cultural project to a commercial product.” (Media, Culture & Society)

On the other hand, it seems to defeat the purpose of neoliberalism if the government benefits. In an article in The Guardian entitled: “Our economic ruin means freedom for the super-rich”, George Monbiot explains:  “Neoliberals claim that we are best served by maximising market freedom and minimising the role of the state. The free market, left to its own devices, will deliver efficiency, choice and prosperity.” Therefore, the role of the government should not be so influential in the industry as private enterprises.

I think it's important to note that the private sector, especially in concerns to films is very influential. Apart from the economy, it's also important to note that neo-liberalism has seeped into films and education.

Picture Credit

Use your finger to stir my tea, and for dessert I’ll suck your teeth.
Be too sweet and you’ll be a goner, yup, I’ll pull a Jeffery Dahmer.
Listen to the track on the official Kesha channel on youtube.



Those were words from the second verse of Ke$ha’s Cannibal from the Extended Play of the same name. Of course, after hearing the disturbing lyrics, ignoring the catchy beat, I decided to simply search this unfamiliar name. Of course, I understood the rest of the lyrics; she wants to eat boys for breakfast and lunch and she’s proud of calling herself a cannibal that she shouts "I am cannibal." That at first didn’t disturb me as much. On the contrary, I thought it was creative for the EP to be called Cannibal since it’s kind of a step higher in her diet from her debut album Animal, but that’s not the point. The point is that she used the name in her song and I simply had to Google it; Jeffery Dahmer.

It turns out that Jeffery Dahmer was a real cannibal, before he was ironically murdered in jail the same way her killed his fist victim. Enjoying his secret activity as a cannibal and a necrophiliac (someone who satisfies his pleasures over corps and dead bodies) and especially bodies he kills himself. With more research, I found out that there’s an influence from the surrounding society to this created monster. He grew up in this environment where he picked up the habit of dissecting dead animals when he’s young, and it’s only natural that he’d want to progress to something bigger as he grows old; something bigger here being the human bodies.



Now, I’m seeing that pop music is spreading things I didn’t know because with it I learned more about the cannibal culture, as an example. There are different movies and books which are inspired by real life societies and culture of cannibals. The scariest productions of all are TV documentaries about the real cannibals. There’s obviously a real social aspect and a taboo that can’t be denied, or where would those songs, movies and books have their inspiration from? And I guess the way pop culture deals with this horrifying act is by making it part of it. In Ke$ha’s case, she made this image of cannibalism somewhat acceptable. When something becomes part of the pop culture, even out of another culture, it seems familiar and therefore we’re not afraid of it anymore. Why? Because it connects to us and becomes popular within us as well. I’m not trying to say we’ll grow to be cannibals, but we won’t fear it until we witness it.

Read this blog post to see the association of pop culture and societies acceptance of taboos.