Anarchy

April 13-14, 2001

ABSTRACTS

The Modernist Squat: Fascism and Freedom in Early 20th Century

THE MEANING OF DADA
Jennifer Grossheim

This paper explores Dada’s relationship to its contemporary society and politics. It looks at its roots and how it was the logical development for 1916 in a war-torn Europe while also taking into account the type of people who produced this art and how their backgrounds shaped the movement. It also pursues how Dada affected and was affected by society. The goal in all this is to prove that while actual pieces of Dada work are extremely enigmatic, the movement was not without purpose. It shows that what sets Dada apart is not its bizarre works but the extent of its involvement with politics and society. Dada art on its own may be a puzzle, but in context it is quite logical.

DEMOCRACY IS THE MEANS, ANARCHY IS THE END
Salil Shah

Anarchy is often thought of as a state of affairs requiring a complete abandonment of government, laws, and order. However, it is very interesting to consider anarchy as a continuous process affecting the social mechanisms of a modern city instead of simply limiting it to a total upheaval of government institutions. If one thinks of anarchy as a state of infinite freedom for all, then it can be argued that any augmentation of people’s freedom can be looked at as a step towards anarchy. Thus one could argue that, when considering the extent to which our freedoms have increased over time, we are moving toward social anarchy with respect to norms in the modern city.

It’s My life and I’ll Do What I Want: Observations on the Radical Individual

SOCIETY’S ANARCHIC STRUGGLE: THE ROAD RUNNER VS. WILE E. COYOTE
Anish Prasad

Mankind has the ability to comprehend and act in response to reason. Thus, it logically follows that man ought to also take responsibility for such reason-based actions. According to the political philosopher Immanuel Kant, the assumption that men are responsible for their actions leads to the conclusion that men are “metaphysically free” and exist in a state of autonomy. That is, the moral condition of mankind demands that we should all exist in a state of independence, using reason as the self-governing factor for our actions. One can further conclude with these truths that because mankind is morally sovereign, individuals cannot be made to comply with the authority of the state, legitimate or otherwise. A state of political anarchism, one in which men are free to exercise their moral autonomy is necessary simply because existing under the authority of a ruling body while also maintaining moral autonomy places man in a position where he is unable to fulfill his own moral responsibilities.

This struggle between man’s attempts to exercise his moral autonomy while combating the restraints of societal norms is exemplified in many aspects of society today. Specifically, the everlasting conflict between the cartoon Road Runner and Coyote is a spectacular example of society’s fight against political anarchism. In my opinion, the Road Runner is symbolic of those that follow the doctrines of moral autonomy while the Coyote represents the accepted values of society. Using the rewritings of Joseph Raz and Robert Wolff, namely Raz’s “The Obligation to Obey: Revision and Tradition” and Wolff’s In Defense of Anarchism, I will demonstrate that from these texts logical facts can be excerpted and through their analysis, a state of political anarchism is justifiable in today’s society. Furthermore, I intend to use the comedic struggle of Warner Brother’s Road Runner and Coyote as an example of how society views these theories today, namely as an ideology that has been transformed into merely comedic entertainment.

THE OUTSIDE: THE NATURE AND VIRTUE OF INDEPENDENCE
Bradley Gardner

The individual on the outside of a culture is often one of the most influential factors on that culture. John Lydon, better known as Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols said that he “preferred to be on the outside of popular culture throwing bombs in. Like a Terrorist.” Individualist philosophy has been a long time in development now, and I intend to look at what these philosophies get the individual, and their effects on the culture at large.

FABRICATING MANIA: THE ROLE OF DRUG USE AMONG THE POWER ELITE
Ina Murdock-Santos

Throughout history and in our present day media, I have long observed a tenuous connection between drug abuse and success. I will be applying theories of alcoholism from the twenties and thirties to the cycle of multi-drug abuse in the seventies, particularly referring to Julia Phillips’ autobiography You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again. Using theories from Don Goodwin’s Alcoholism and the Writer and Greatness: Who Makes History and Why by Dean Simonton, I am analyzing cultural expectations that create an environment in which drug dependency can thrive. I will be carefully interpreting individual characteristics that possibly lead to drug experimentation and abuse and society’s desire for a “tragic flaw” in its heroes. I will ultimately determine the reasons for drug use in terms of power through a text that breaks barriers between public and private life and how artistic professionals are able to exert control and power by acting out a lack of it.

CONSUMING THE BODY POLITIC: HANNIBAL LECTER’S SYMBOLIC APPETITE
Bryant Davis

“Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains,” declared Rousseau as he sat down to write The Social Contract. But what exactly are these “chains,” and why, 239 years later, are we still so eager to wear them?

Such “chains,” Anarchists suggest, represent the laws of society, and we wear them to preserve our personal property. But what about our most precious personal property, our freewill? Freewill is what defines us as “Human,” and yet, we suppress it as we would a bad habit.

The solution? Max Stirner writes, “There is everywhere a great abundance of political, social. . . moral and other corpses, and until they are all consumed. . . the breath of living beings will be oppressed.”
Indeed, I believe there is a well-known character that has already begun “consuming” the oppressive “corpse” of society. His name is “Hannibal the Cannibal,” and he does this quite literally.

Fashion Victims, Victors and Victorias: Adornment and Identity

HENNA: DESTRUCTION OR DEVELOPMENT OF ART
Tracy Jessner

The only real constant of body art is its duplicitous nature. It refuses to be classified or precise. Body art is as trendy as the miniskirt and as timeless as the veil. Body art may intend consanguinity and association, and yet may set an individual apart. It can be both traditional and in vogue, native and imported. It represents both defiance and adherence. While body art is endangered among indigenous peoples, urban professionals find it trendy and fresh. Henna has been around for at least 5000 years throughout the Middle East and India, embodying deep spiritual meaning, great artistic value, and a means to identify with ones own culture. However, recent times in the Western world have transformed Henna into a chic fashion statement of individuality. Although most would like to see this duplicity as a sign of the deterioration of the art of Henna, I, however, will argue that the developing dichotomy of Henna is redefining the art, enriching its scope and form.

HOW QUEER ARE YOU?: WHAT DRAG QUEENS SHOW US ABOUT IDENTITY POLITICS
Kerry Van der Burch

The West Hollywood Cheerleaders, a cheerleading squad with elaborate and exaggerated wigs, make-up and costumes, exemplify how drag queens use camp humor to destabilize the traditional notions that gender is natural, static, and absolute. Instead drag queens propose that gender is a role that is performed and can be manipulated at will. By using camp, a way of looking at the incongruity of the world with style and humor, the cheerleaders challenge how we define ourselves.

DO MULTIPLE OUTFITS EQUAL MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES? THE ROLE OF THE FLUIDITY OF CLOTHING CHOICE FOR WOMEN
Kimberly Brahm

Fashion is a proven way for women to express their individuality. However, with the multitudes of trends that everyone who is “anyone” “should” be wearing, the question arises: is the woman wearing the clothes or are the clothes wearing the woman? To what extent does fashion express individuality and to what extent does it suppress it, in that many “fashion statements” are quickly commodified and sold to the masses? This paper defines society’s idea of beauty as the images bombarding us on television and in magazines, and uses testimonials from women about what the ideal woman is. It then explores the means by which women conceal or accentuate themselves through clothing in order to fit this ideal. While a woman’s body shape and size remains relatively constant, the clothing she chooses to adorn her body can squeeze, lift, and control parts of her that she does not want society to see. Clothing retains a fluid quality, allowing the woman to feel like a different person depending on the outfit she is wearing. While discussing all of these issues, this paper proves that clothing represents not only societal constraints, but also a woman’s own inhibitions about the image she wants to present to society.

KING ME: CHALLENGING THE LINES OF THE MASCULINE/FEMININE CHECKERBOARD
Ariel Fox

Nightclub audiences laugh at the antics of sleazy, macho, lounge lizard Mo B. Dick, but by day this stereotypical Brooklyn man is actually student Maureen Fischer. Mo B. Dick is one of New York’s most renowned Drag Kings, women who assume and parody male personas. Some Drag King performances are outwardly political gender critics, but other performers don’t claim to have a social agenda. This presentation will evaluate the political impact of certain performances, especially those that challenge the assumed link between masculinity and power. Although some people may react to these performances with increased conviction that women secretly desire to be men, the most politically effective Drag Kings challenge the definitions of masculinity that are the basis of our society.

Not Taking What’s Being Given: Magical Transformations and Third Space

TAHITIAN MAHU: MOLDING A MODEL OF A THIRD GENDER
Ananda Jacobs

It’s a good thing Western society has learned to categorize people into either female or male. Consider the implications otherwise: if we can’t stick to a simple dichotomy, how are we to function as a complex global society? Easily. As we uncover the Tahitian Mahu, we will not only see that a poly-sex system is a well established tradition in other parts of the world, but we will note that such “unconventional” categorization enhances rather than detracts from social stability. The Mahu, who are esteemed within Tahitian tribal society, serve as epitomes of those who break conventional gender boundaries. Using this cultural practice as a model, I will conclude that the notion of a limited two-gender system ultimately has no superiority over well-functioning poly-gender societies.

BEING AND JOY: THE JOURNEY AS ECSTASY
Jennifer Bakelaar

The search for transcendence is universally present. Where cultures differ is in their methods of attainment. At the root of this search are the shamanic tradition, predecessor to modern mythic, scientific, and religious structures. The ideas of shamanic journeys and the mystic experience can shed light on many of the quest-stories that exist in a society, regardless of the purpose of the stories. Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, when read in the context of shamanism, shows a very different picture than is customarily attributed to it. Rather than being a moralistic tale, it portrays the essence of the quest for joy. Destination and result are not the point–it is the journey, in and of itself, that is the fulfillment of the search for ecstasy.

DANGEROUS GAMES: THE PRECIPITATION OF VIOLENCE FROM THE CARNIVAL
Michael Wiser

The carnival is a time of freedom and liberation, in which societal rules can be ignored for a time, and everyone may be himself or herself. According to Bakhtin, the freedom of the carnival is absolute and unyielding. Within its context, anything goes; indeed, Bakhtin asserts that many early popular uprisings grew out of settings of the carnival. This paper is an examination of the 1580 revolution at Romans, France, as a case study of a carnival that turned violent, and just what stimuli sparked violence from the emancipating carnival. Particular attention is paid to the particular historical and economic prelude to the uprising, to provide the relevant background information.

GENDER IDENTITY IN ORLANDO, THE FILM AND NOVEL
Natalie Viola

Woolf’s Orlando is the embodiment of her theories of the androgynous, sexless mind. Orlando is written in the form of a mock biography to present Woolf’s ideas about gender identity. The character, Orlando, begins as a man and mysteriously becomes a woman at the age of thirty. This sex change ultimately results in Woolf’s discussion of gender. Sally Potter, a feminist filmmaker, has added a postmodernist twist to Woolf’s narrative in her film by the same name. In my research paper, I plan to compare the film and the novel, discussing both women’s views on feminism and gender politics keeping modernism and postmodernism in mind.

HARRY POTTER AND THE REVIVAL OF FAIRY TALES
Mary McCorkle

Children throughout the ages have been lulled by the fantastic worlds of fairy tales. They have served as aids to the moral and intellectual raising of children and as pricelessly entertaining tales that can be read over and over again. Many scholars argue that today’s parents have replaced such tales with less fantastic children’s stories designed to more drastically separate wrong and right. Children throughout the world have unknowingly responded to this dearth of an important literary tradition with their adoration for J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. This series serves as the revival of the fairy tale in children’s literature and I propose to argue that it provides a crucial link in a child’s moral understanding that has been ignored since the abandonment of fairy tales: the absolute coexistence and cohabitation of good and evil.

Key Changes: Paradigm Shifts in the Music World

KURT WEILL: AN ARTISTIC ANARCHIST
Joanna Schochet

Kurt Weill was born in Germany in 1900 to a Jewish Rabbinical family. Although he studied to be a classical composer, he departed from the classical path of music and began to compose music reflective of the discontent he saw in Germany. Weill did not follow the late Romantic musical period conventionally; he responded to a society he saw dangerously changing, full of social unrest. During his relatively short career, Weill composed music to illustrate the problems he saw in Berlin–religious and racial unrest, exploitation, colonial expansionism, increasing industrialization, and, of course, rising fascism. Weill’s music was also technically anarchistic as he cast aside musical traditions. Kurt Weill was a musical anarchist and political revolutionary in the World War II era. His works were incredibly daring for his time and place as a Jew in Germany, and his music has continued to have a substantial impact for its listeners with its politically charged messages and overriding theme that revolution is, and always will be, inevitable.

MY BLOODY VALENTINE
Theodore Kupper

(Pause) Deep Breath. Transcend postmodern moment. My Bloody Valentine (close my eyes. . . ) are anarchic after Punk, (. . . feel me out. . . ) which (. . . I don’t know but you could not) means that burning down the school (love me now. ) would be cliche’, (You can hide. . . ) even accepted, (i. e. Heathers) (but, where to? ). They aren’t looking for ambiguity so much as total fluidity; (Turn my head into sound. . . i don’t know but I lay down on the ground. . . ) perhaps even gaseousness. (. . . what you want. . . ) The insistence that nothing matters is totally free of organizational necessity. (. . . when you come down blue. . . but I do I do I do. . . ) It is not that the whole is more than the sum of the parts- (. . . oh I come back to the one who calls my name out. . . ) -there is only the whole. (. . . the trove always gets me. . . ) Secondly MBV has managed to be free (. . . get in the car and drive it all over me. . . ) of the shackles of the (. . . got no one to talk to. . . ) dominant cultural ideology. (. . . leave me alone I’m happy to die today. . . ) MBV is free (. . . sue is fine. . . ) of social engagement, (. . . suicide. . . ) self-reflexivity, (. . . fuck cunt. . . ) allusive necessity, (. . . so, as snow but worm inside penetrate then we divide. . . ) even of irony. MBV somehow express all emotions (. . . can i touch you there? ) simultaneously, (. . . soft as velvet eyes can see. . . ) cubically, (. . . bring me close to ecstasy. . . ) and prove that it is possible to be original, (. . . show me all your favorite things I’ll show you all mine too. . . ) innovative, and vital without overtly affecting mass culture, and thus is removed from postmodernism. (. . . make like this, try to pretend it’s true. try. ooh.)

THE RIOTS OF SPRING: THE LASTING IMPACT OF IGOR STRAVINSKY’S MOST CONTROVERSIAL WORK
Matthew Ronchetti

On May 29, 1913, Paris’ The’atre des Champs-Elyse’es, as well as the rest of the world, was turned upside-down by the premiere of composer Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring.” This ballet loudly proclaimed the arrival of modernism. It signaled a definite shift in the musical and artistic conscience of the public, and the world has never been the same since. Interestingly, Stravinsky turned to ancient folk melodies for many of the themes of the “Rite.” This reaching into the past to move forward is a key idea that is reflected in the baseness of many current musical styles including rock, rap, and hip-hop. I will explore some of the questions raised by this “backwards evolution” and how it affects the public’s view of “new” art.

BREAK ON THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE
Alexandra Bitterlin

Anarchistic trends of the late-1960s, specifically within the context of rock music, yielded a greater awareness of social problems. The Doors were an integral part of this period, as was their influential lead singer, Jim Morrison. Demonstrating defiance against authority, the actions of The Doors reflected the attitudes present during this time of turbulence and social chaos in America. They encouraged the threat that the counterculture posed to the Establishment, pushing the extreme at each possible moment.
I will begin my paper by looking closely at the lyrics of The Doors and the events taking place at the time of their writings. Secondly, I will examine their actions, specifically the ways in which they presented themselves publicly and the methods they used in advocating their beliefs. Lastly, I will observe the reactions to The Doors by both those in favor of their beliefs, the rebellious youth culture, and those against it, the Establishment. By these means, I will conclude that The Doors, especially Jim Morrison, clearly represent an important aspect of American society during the 1960s–anarchy.

That’s Entertainment: The Society of Spectacle

SERIAL KILLERS AND MASS MEDIA: THE DISEMBOWELMENT OF AMERICAN SOCIETY
Jeff Walker

Son of Sam. Ed Gein. Albert Fish. These notorious serial killers have all inspired various works of mass entertainment, such as Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Silence of the Lambs. Serial killers have long held America’s fascination and fear. The public eats up information on serial killers like beloved antihero Hannibal Lecter does on human flesh. The serial killer genre is now common in the works of literature and cinema. Serial killers bring about fear and anxiety in the general public, along with great interest into their mysterious, revolting lives. Actual cases of serial killers are quite rare, yet they bring about huge amounts of press. The notion of serial killers is so ingrained in American culture that the victims become forgotten-unless of course the victim is a celebrity. Serial killer chic has developed to the point of the public buying up trading cards and memorabilia of famous killers. The proliferation of the image of serial killers is much the fault of the mass media. Although unlikely a direct and primary cause to actual serial killing, the mass media does create myths and celebrities out of the very people who reject the life that is the foundation of society. The mass media has become so engrossed with and connected to serial killers that they have become tools for the killers. The mass media is to blame for America’s fascination with serial killers. The media through entertainment makes legends out of killers, in turn leading to the degradation of the values of American society. They give us entertainment, but do they give any hope?

WHO SAYS BAD BOYS CAN’T BOURRE’E? THE FORCIBLE REMASCULINIZING OF BALLET
Yvonne Gaspar

Beneath the sparkle of ballet is a codified sexuality that delineates not only what roles men and women are allowed to portray, but the general nature of male and female performance. Women are the sylphs, swans and fairy princesses-other worldly creatures who wear yards of chiffon and dance upon their toes. Meanwhile, men are left to pine for and support the women. They often spend a majority of their time doing partner work that leaves them partially hidden behind a ballerina’s tutu. Recently, men have begun claiming ballerina status for themselves, however. Matthew Bourne, for example, has inverted this structure by creating a revisionist “Swan Lake,” in which the roles of the enchanted swan princess and supporting corps of cygnets are taken over by male dancers. Bourne’s swans are neither effeminate nor comedic. In fact, they are marked by an intense masculine sensuality that took Britain and the US by storm. But is this reassignment of gender roles the beginning of a revolution? Or is it merely pandering to shock value and audience appeal?

GENDER FREAK SHOWS: TALK SHOWS AND CAPTURED GENDER CHAOS
Sarah Hanks

Vicarious therapy, a public forum, or a freak show? How do talk shows function in our society? This paper will argue that talk shows are a modern rendition of a circus sideshow, and will specifically examine the breaking of gender boundaries in the talk show sphere. Rarely do the sharp divides of male and female become more distorted than on the stage of a talk show. Is this extreme breaking of gender boundaries liberation, or only a comforting display of captured chaos? Like a freak show in a circus sideshow, these gender freaks are presented as gender anarchy and put on controlled display. This presentation will pose the question, if anarchy is controlled and on display, is it still anarchy?

THE PRIVATE EXPOSED
Adam Libman

Jerry Springer. The name alone conjures up images of lesbians, love triangles, and incest. Ultimately though, there is one word that encapsulates Jerry: controversial. Instead of looking at the specific issues dealt by his show, the major component of his controversy is his celebration of the lower order functions. In our society that praises pursuits of the mind and spirit, Jerry features bodily indulgences in the form of sexual desire. The controversy lies in making the private, public. Issues such as health, sexuality, and desire–all encompassed within the body as lower order functions–are seen as private matters that could lead to societal disruption if discussed honestly and publicly. Jerry takes what society considers most private–bodily functions and desires–and inverts the public/private model to question our most basic values of privacy.

Molding Minds and Changing Minds: How the Media Sells Subversion

POPPING THE PROVERBIAL CHERRY: SHATTERING THE MYTH OF PURITY IN ADVERTISING
Matthew Wyatt

Sex sells. The old adage has been around since the beginnings of the advertising industry. However, since the consuming public is clearly aware of blatant sexual images, and largely treats them skeptically, how can the advertising industry continue to sell products?  The answer lies within the subconscious. Most consumers fail to realize that the most “juicy” sexual messages are thrust at them in a neat little package of sensual pastiche and moral cuteness.  Based on the groundwork of Freud, studies about sexual consciousness among humans, and examples of subconscious sexuality in advertisements, I assert that hidden sexuality in advertisements is not merely an exploitive ploy on the part of the advertising industry. Rather, it is, in fact, a media tool that works effectively because it parallels an unconscious desire among certain consumers to subvert conservative sexual constraints imposed upon them.

ANDROGYNOUS ASSASSINS AND GENDER-BENDING BOYFRIENDS: GENDER IDENTITY IN JAPANESE ANIME AND MANGA
Sara Black

Defiant gender types today are usually portrayed as deviants, serial killers or suicidal wrecks. However, in Japanese anime and manga things are often quite different. Those same types can be seen as killers, saviors, even romantic interests. Despite such characters’ gender ambiguity or switching they can have quite conventional roles, and are not seen as threats to those around them. What could be seen as wild anarchy, gender without rules or boundaries, seems to be accepted, even normal, within their texts. Furthermore the way characters act with relation to gender fits into the idea of fluid gender identity. Within manga and anime, gender is just another aspect of character.

GUERILLA RADIO: HOW MAINSTREAM MEDIA UNDERMINES RESISTANCE
Kristen Lerch

Although, the primary objective of a journalist is (or should be) to present the facts of the news as accurately as possible, mainstream media rarely does so when it comes to political, direct action. Rather, when these journalists cover a “radical” action, such as the demonstrations against the WTO in Seattle in late 1999, they ignore the political issues that the protesters raise and focus instead on the appearance and deviant behavior that perhaps only a minority actually exhibits. By emphasizing and reinforcing the stereotype that these fighters-for-justice are “crazies”, the media effectively invalidates any message that survives the censorship and ignoring of mainstream media. Why does this happen? How is independent media different? Will the same thing happen on Earth Day weekend against the FTAA?

Across Genders and Cultures: Negotiating the Roles Between Performers and Spectators

ONNAGATA: INDICATORS OF GENDER ANARCHY IN JAPANESE SOCIETY
Derek Poulton

Since the 17th century, onnagata, actors who specialize in the portrayal of female roles, have presented the ideally engendered female through the medium of Kabuki theatre. Men are, in fact, considered better suited to the theatrical role than biological women. Although in an orderly forum, onnagata betray the anarchical nature of gender–males are not simply males, and females are not necessarily ideal women. This art offers hidden insight about the meaning and origins of gender to those who care to examine.

WILL THE “REAL” WOODY ALLEN PLEASE STAND UP?
Cindy Lee

My presentation analyzes the films of Woody Allen, focusing on Annie Hall, Deconstructing Harry, and Husbands and Wives. I will be examining the phenomenon of the popular media’s automatic assumption of a connection between Allen’s creative and personal life, due to their perception of Allen as the “auteur” of his films. Since Allen’s “personal stamp” as a director is his constant focus on the blending of fiction and reality in his films, thus the public often blends the reality that is Allen’s personal life and the fiction that is Allen’s films, thus resulting in the constant comparison of Allen’s films to his personal life.

FROM EXOTIC TO IMPERFECT: DEFINING THE APPEAL OF THE NEW CUBAN CINEMA
Allison Crow

Although still a young industry, Cuban cinema has developed into one of the most influential sources of film among underdeveloped countries. It is an example of the boom that the Latin American film industry experienced in the 1960s and the success that it continues to have today, particularly among critics and scholars in America. This success is enjoyed despite the fact that many of these Cuban films are labeled “imperfect cinema.” Even though these films are not as polished and elaborate as Hollywood feature films, the American response to Cuban cinema in general is very positive. This paper examines Memories of Underdevelopment (Cuba, 1968) as an example of the phenomenon of America’s appreciation for the imperfect, and it explores why exactly these imperfections are embraced.

PRYOR KNOWLEDGE: AN EXPLORATION OF COMEDY AS A SOCIAL WEAPON
Claire Nettleton

As an iconoclast and an innovator, Richard Pryor attacks social ideals and values and rebels against the status quo of his time. This presentation will use the stand up routines of Richard Pryor to examine how comedy can serve as a political tool. Pryor revolts against white supremacy by treating the black culture as a strong and unique community. Using comedy as a scalpel to dissect social structures, Pryor exposes hypocrisy and absurdity in culture. Richard Pryor is a comedic anarchist who uses humor to undermine racial stereotypes.

A Woman’s Place is in the Cemetery: Disciplining and Freeing

SO WHAT’S A HUMAN, ANYWAY? BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER AND THE ELUSIVE SELF
Eustacia Brossart

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, though viewed by the uninitiated as just another shallow teen show, actually boasts a stunning metaphorical look at adolescent life. Amid the reified youth problems and challenges, between the monsters and fighting, Joss Whedon constantly revisits the theme of human constitution. The line between human and creature, demon and girlfriend, and a cosmic “key” and pubescent sister, is constantly crossed and blurred, with varying distinctions made to differentiate human and non-human. The show’s ambivalent engagement with the form and substance of human life rejects notions of birth, but embraces notions of essence or soul as definitive of humanity.

GENDER UN-IDENTIFICATION
Brenna St. Ours

Gender roles in America are breaking down boundaries and categories. Movies such as Boys Don’t Cry illustrate how nontraditional gender roles have transitioned into mainstream understanding. Brandon Teena’s particular case sheds light onto the question of how a reinvention of gender roles not only rejects old boundaries, but calls into question the very nature and authority that “traditional” gender identities have had all along.

GORGEOUS, WEALTHY, AND UNHAPPY? THE SUCCESS OF SINGLE URBAN WOMEN
Annie Lim

In the context of city life, the watchful eyes of parents and neighbors that keep young women pure and virtuous in small towns do not exist. The resulting possibility of promiscuous women running amuck has inspired a search for ways to regulate urban women. Because of its pervasive nature, television has become a powerful medium through which society can discourage loose, hedonistic ways of life. The rich, beautiful women of HBO’s hit comedy Sex and the City, who go through men as fast as their Prada bags, lack one thing in their seemingly perfect lives–emotional satisfaction. Deep inside, they yearn for stability and commitment. This show, along with the slew of others based on women conquering big city life, suggests to its single female viewers that successful careers and sexual freedom alone are ultimately unfulfilling, and that pursuing this type of lifestyle is destructive. These television shows have emerged as a sly way to control the independence of metropolitan women.

Anarchy of Signification: Instigating Literary Revolutions

CRAZY DUMB SAINT OF THE MIND: JACK KEROUAC AS ANARCHIST
Lauren Choplin

With the publication of On The Road in 1957, Jack Kerouac changed the face of American literature and supposedly defined a new counterculture forever known as the Beat Generation. Besieged with questions about the lifestyle he had described in his work, the depth of his writing was largely ignored. Society reacted to Kerouacs writing by burdening him further, forcing him to simultaneously become a scapegoat and shaman. The media wrongfully imposed on him a societal brand of anarchy and in turn ignored the intended lawlessness of his writing. His methods of composition–spontaneous prose, deep form, and sketching–were the true anarchic facets of his work. He used anarchy in his writing as both literary vision and a form of purging. Many things, including his exaltation of Mexico, the influence of jazz in his work, and especially the texts of On The Road and Visions Of Cody show this. Moreover, his glorification of Neal Cassady was not a glorification of anarchy, but rather a testament to following ones impulses, something he valued in the very process of writing. Because Kerouac was attributed with the incorrect version of anarchy–societal rather than literary–he rejected fame, reverting to his original status and eventually falling into non-productivity and sadness. Kerouac’s conflicts with publishers, the reactions of his family, and his addiction to alcohol show that he overwhelmingly rejected this responsibility as shaman and scapegoat. His retreat into Buddhism, his changing view of Cassady as an artistic model, and the nature and contents of his texts, especially Desolation Angels and The Subterraneans, show that Kerouac was not concerned with anarchy as a reaction to society, but rather, as a literary medium. He wanted to break and strengthen the power of the written word, and glorified anarchy only when it was, as in Cassady’s case, an individual following his natural impulses. When Kerouac announced that he “renounced all fiction”–in effect, inciting a literary revolution–all society heard was “a rallying cry for the elusive spirit of rebellion of these times.”

WHAT THE @#%&? THIS IS DISGUSTING!!!
Dulcinea Circelli

Naked Lunch, by William Burroughs, gags the human mind with its profanity. The work startles and staggers the reader at the most irritating moments. The experience of Naked Lunch feels much like trying to drink from Niagara Falls: overload. What to make of all this chaos and unending profanity? Why should we listen to a voice as convoluted and unpalatable as Burroughs’s? I believe we should because Burroughs prepares us through his form of shock therapy to recognize the following question as valid: what should we be more shocked at? A junkie’s hallucination, or the ugly realities of American culture in the 1950’s? My paper discusses some of the gruesome issues Burroughs exposes in Naked Lunch.

DAO DE MENCKEN
Elizabeth Levy

Henry Louis Mencken, a brilliant journalist of the 1920’s, possessed a singular genius for constructing ridiculously hyperbolic criticisms. Irrational, illogical, and at times possibly insane, he spared no individual or institution from his explosive tirades and shrewd observations. He is received by those who hate him as a liar and a demon; to those who admire him, he is a first-rate philosophical muckraker. In my essay I will explore Mencken’s writing and style–how he entertained and outraged people with the same piercingly penned sentence; how he caused disruption, created disorder, and forced people to reexamine themselves and the world around them; and why he felt it damn necessary to be a one man brigade of intellectual, social, and political anarchy.

MOVING TO THE BEAT: A REVOLUTIONARY GENERATION AND ITS ENVIRONMENT
Sarah Ciston

As a revolutionary and influential art form and philosophy, the Beat movement grew from the subversive intellectual energies of cities like San Francisco, then spread to the isolated open road. The city fostered the anarchistic self-destructive disposition of its bohemian founders, then propagated those attitudes into forums where Beat influence resonates even today. Travel perpetuated their search for enlightenment, while the content and style of their writings reflect this insurgent view of the urban fabric places that reduced an individual to an invisible fraction of the masses. The subculture of the city sustained the spectacles created by musical and poetic exhibitions, maintaining an attitude of revolution through the examination of the world they critiqued.

CRAZY TALK
Alexandra Cacciatore

In the twentieth century, our lexicon has been infused with words once considered vulgar and taboo. As Americans, we have inherited a Latin-based language rich with the works of the world’s greatest writers. However now, it seems as if the written and spoken language is undergoing a transformation, or a disintegration of its previous form. The catalyst for this change is not in the development of a more licentious society, or a people more accepting of vulgarity. Rather, leaps in language seem to come from moments of anxiety in history. In times of trauma we seek to destroy and remold language and grammar, one of the most consistent edifices of civilized society, to ease our frustrated subconscious.

The Straightjacket Fits: Homogenizing Discourse and Civil Rights

GIRLS’ RIGHTS AND WRONGS: THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM AND THE FEMALE DELINQUENT
Cristina Lichtenberger

The female delinquent walks a fine line between the image of the teen rebel, an independent who rejects adults’ rules, and the image of the woman, someone who is supposed to be passive, nurturing and morally upright. The disparities in the way the juvenile justice system treats girls are obvious–girls are disproportionately arrested for status offences, and when appearing in court are likely to be convicted and incarcerated longer than their male counterparts. Most of the charges against girls are non-criminal and vague; girls are often institutionalized for “their own protection,” even if they have not committed a crime. The tendency to punish girls more severely for less is a larger societal trend that views rebellion against a white, male dominated society as an activity for white men.

BE ALL YOU CAN BE–EXCEPT GAY
Leonard Hyman

Perhaps nowhere else in modern society can one see order as regimented as within the military, an organization insistent that its order directly correlates to its ability to fulfill its purpose, that of defending the country. Thus, gays, seen as a threat to military order, have been denied the opportunity to serve openly in the U. S. military. While gay activists decry being denied their “right” to serve, the military insists it must deny the “privilege” to gays or significantly risk the cohesion and readiness of units.
The U. S. military denies gays the “privilege” to serve despite evidence indicating the practicality of inclusion. Activists often harm their own case by suggesting that self-identifying gays may not necessarily commit homosexual acts, when actually the military insists it must bar even those with a propensity to commit homosexual acts from serving. However, homosexual acts within the military pose a threat only to the morale of homophobic troops, a problem easily rectified by training to encourage acceptance. Foreign armies have successfully incorporated gays into their ranks, so the U. S. military could easily do likewise.

MATTER OVER MIND: THE PROPER PUNISHMENT
Jared Horvath

The judicial system of trial by jury and rehabilitation for the criminally guilty is accepted and unquestioned by many of today’s citizens. However, an often-overlooked fact, this modern penal system found its birth not more than 200 years ago. Before the prisons of today, criminals were dealt with in a very public and brutal manner.

In my Anarchy Report, I will compare these ancient methods of punishments with today’s more lenient rehabilitation programs and I will also explore the differences in criminal trials throughout the ages. In the end, my presentation will conclude and prove that the punishment of a criminal’s body, as done in seemingly ancient times, is both more beneficial and socially helpful than the modern day punishments upon a criminal’s soul.

T. O. AND ITS ROLE AS AN ANARCHIC INSTITUTION
Nmerichi Umennachi

My topic will be on Thematic Option as an anarchic institution. I plan to cite the processes in which Thematic Option was created and is carried out along with the processes by which instructors, teaching assistants, and students are selected. In addition I plan to support this claim with the way curriculum is decided and carried out by most instructors. I may possibly cite the annual conference as well. I then plan to elaborate on the consequences of this anarchic execution of the program– both negative and positive. Though this may change, from my current data I believe I will cite benefits to students and faculty and education within the realm of positive consequences, and detrimental social and emotional/psychological ineptitude and resultant deviant behavior–with special focus on participants in the resident honors program–as negative consequences.

Political Geographies

RIOT VS. REBELLION: ASSUMING ANARCHY IN THE LOS ANGELES RIOTS
Anne Mullaly

In April 1992, after hearing the verdict of the Rodney King trial, South Central Los Angeles became engulfed in the most media exposed social uprising in our nation’s history. After days of seemingly chaotic destruction, the media chose to ignore the reasons that drove residents to terrorize their own homes–years of police brutality, racial discrimination, and unrecognized urban ills. Instead, the media sold a riot to the nation, with the black man in the starring role.

The terms “riot” and “rebellion” hold two different connotations when describing an uprising. A “riot” seems to indicate a chaotic disturbance with no designated meaning, thus anarchy. “Rebellion,” however, connotes a fight against something. It is organized and has a direct aim. The nation saw, heard, and read about a “riot” in Los Angeles–an anarchic attack on the prevailing ruling systems of society–that threatened their way of living. Yet, I believe the 1992 Los Angeles Riots had a clear and distinct purpose–to awaken the nation to the plight of the inner-city minority.

In my paper, I will begin by highlighting specific media reports that prove the media sought to portray the Los Angeles Riots as anarchy. I will then utilize interviews with insiders of the rebellion to show their intended, yet ignored, purpose for the uprising. Lastly, I will examine the effects of the 1992 Riots to see if any goals of the rebellion were actually achieved or if the media was indeed correct in assuming anarchy.

ANARCHY AT THE GATE OF HEAVENLY PEACE
Abra Murray

The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and their disastrous outcome have evoked outrage and empathy from all over the world. In turn, this passionate response has clouded over the true nature of the protests and the true causes of their failure. Was this a call for anarchist revolution or misguided selfishness on the students’ part? Not until the release of the documentary The Gate of Heavenly Peace did any real avenue exist through which to pursue these issues. Its unbiased portrayal of the events is an important starting point in understanding what actually happened in Tiananmen Square and why it happened.

THE STONEWALL RIOTS: WHEN THE WALLS COLLAPSED, TRANSSEXUALS WERE LEFT BEHIND IN THE RUBBLE
Kristina Betts

The Stonewall riots in June of 1969 were an important stepping-stone for the gay civil rights movement. However, although transsexuals aided in helping the movement, the gay and lesbian communities ostracized them. Politically, they are given little voice or recognition. This presentation will examine how transsexual peoples have been discriminated against in American society and how their movement has evolved from the Stonewall riots. Furthermore, I intend to explore the role of transsexuals in the riots as well as their relationship, previously and currently, with the gay and lesbian community.

DIVISION, DISLOCATION, AND DISILLUSIONMENT OF A PEOPLE: THE CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF VIOLENCE IN THE PARTITION OF INDIA
Akta Patel

“The political partition of India caused one of the greatest human convulsions of history.” – Butalia

In this paper I intend to examine the 1947 partition of India. Many who fought in partition were anarchists; they rejected domination by the newly formed regime and revolted in order to challenge arbitrarily assigned borders and religious identities. Discussion of partition has largely centered on the historical events that led to it and resulted from it. While the facts are imperative to partition history they are by no means sufficient enough to fully understand partition. A thorough analysis of partition must include human dimensions–the disillusionment felt by those who saw their country crumble and reform divided. Although many partition historians believe that the violence that erupted resulted from religious differences and struggles for power, I contend that the construction of national, religious, and gender identities had the most influence on partition and violence.

The Gender That Isn’t One

JUST A GIRL: WHAT’S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!?
Kathryn Werner

The feminist movement was (and is) about more than equal rights for women. It is also about breaking the mold into which our patriarchal society forces women to fit–about rebellion against the strong and ubiquitous belief that women should be passive, docile, soft, and domestic. Analysis of women’s music from the past 50 years yields interesting results regarding women and music as a form of anarchy. From Janis Joplin to Gwen Stefani, contemporary female musicians have utilized the power of popular music in two important ways. They have thrown off dominant definitions of femininity and have effectively used music as a tool to redefine what it means to be a woman.

TOM BOYS GONE BAD: A LOOK INTO THE USE OF MALE HORMONES BY FEMALE ATHLETES AND THE BLURRING OF THE LINES OF GENDER IN SPORTS
Robin Dowds

It is common knowledge that the use of steroids and other hormones is common among male athletes like body builders and professional wrestlers. However, the less common, but seemingly more infuriating use of these drugs by women has been brought into the spotlight recently. The use of steroids, testosterone, and human growth hormone has produced an onslaught of criticism and outrage. The scandal over the 1992 Chinese swim team was international news, and the increasing field of female bodybuilding has met equal disapproval. The use of these performance-enhancing drugs has shortened the gap between male and female athletic potential, and seems to have really struck a nerve in society.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD GENDER: THE NATIVE AMERICAN BERDACHE
Ann Lee

In certain Native American tribes, a boy that exhibits “feminine” characteristics is seen as a gift from the Great Spirit. The boy dresses in women’s clothing and functions as a bridge between men and women, serving as an androgynous third sex/gender. The European term given to such boys is berdache. The idea of the berdache as a third sex/gender directly challenges the traditional notion of a binary opposition between males and females. My paper will examine how the berdache tradition is an anarchic rejection of the established dichotomous sex/gender system that is so heavily reinforced and even guarded by our society. By acknowledging the existence of a third sex/gender, Native Americans are refusing to accept the oppressive restrictions of a rigid two sex/gender system.

GENDER IS A DRAG: AN INTRO TO DRAG KINGS AND THE PERFORMANCE OF MASCULINITY
Chris Esguerra

Elvis Herselvis, H.I.S. Kings, Mo B. Dick, Dred, and Shon represent just a handful of performers comprising an emerging scene of Drag Kings and Kinging. This relatively new phenomenon grew in the early 90s and has steadily developed into a highly dynamic, outrageously entertaining scene that not only actively separates masculinity from the male body, but also plays with gender in poignant and powerful ways. Of course all of this is for the sake of entertainment and fun. Take this as a primer on the culture, an introduction. This paper is but an overview–a description of what a drag king is, what they do within their performances, and how they go about their unique form of gender destabilization.

Anomalies in the Machine: Controlling the Uncontrollable

TRANSLATING ANARCHY INTO ART: THE POLITICAL CHARACTER OF DADA
Cynthia Pearson

Reacting to the political unrest during and just following World War I, the movement known as Dada celebrated both political and artistic anarchy. The group of writers, performers and painters–first in Zurich and later in Berlin–captured the chaos of the times in their anti-art, translating their resistance to society and its conventions into paintings and collages which actively sought to destroy the traditional conceptions of what constituted art. Through these visual statements, Dada artists displayed the ability for art to serve anarchy. The radical artistic techniques which frequently appear in Dada art served to blur the boundary between art and political activity, fusing the two together into inseparability.

CAN YOU HACK IT?: DEVELOPING (AND STEALING) THE ABILITY TO TELL YOUR OWN HISTORY IN A NEW DIGITAL MEDIUM
Jason Porath

As our cultural discourse is increasingly being ported over to an electronic forum, a new form of colonialism is occurring. The capitalist culture is invading the internet, heeding little its original inhabitants, hackers. As it does with many marginalized cultures, the dominant society is demonizing hackers, but to what threat is it reacting? Hackers, by definition, are the most adept people possible for utilizing this new form of discourse, but their voices are being silenced. Has this talented section of society merely fallen through the cracks, or have they taken up the opposing cause to capitalist encroachment? Are they truly outside the system or merely part of the cogs? Is it possible to advocate better privacy, technology, and free information at the same time, and is that what they really want?

ANARCHY: CREATING AND DESTROYING IT MATHEMATICALLY
Serena Thompson

In my paper, I will explore the quest to understand anarchy in nature and the opposing methods for its explanative demolition. Science attempts to explain anarchy as seen in nature in order to predict the future outcomes of macroscopic living systems, for example, the twenty year prediction of a fishery population or the weekend weather. By explaining chaos, it is no longer “anarchy.” Conversely, however, researchers attempt to harness the value of chaos in nature to drive known systems. Chaos theory has many applications in creating power sources. I wish to explore the ramifications of degrading chaos, those scientific principles currently identifiable to scientists, and the resulting destruction of the idea of chaos, versus using chaos and its inexplicability to simulate known elements currently used by science. I will pose what each has to offer in practical application. Being that chaos is as yet not well understood, I postulate that anarchy in chaos has more value to science than its explanation.

DISSOCIATION THROUGH DETECTION: MCCARTHYISM AS A METHOD OF MAYHEM
Lauren Alexander

“In this time of crisis, we believe that the demands of American patriotism make necessary that witnesses respond to the call of their country, as represented by your committee, and give you all of the information necessary to the success of your objective.” -Declaration of the Motion Picture Industry Council in response to the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

As Senator Joseph McCarthy asked friends to turn against friends and punished the loyal during the investigations of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, fingers were pointed at suspects that were previously considered heroes. Suddenly, according to the government, the enemy no longer lived across oceans, but had infiltrated America, especially the glamorous hills of Hollywood. As a method of detection that is powered from within seized American culture, individuals searched for clues to the identities of the culprits. Through exploration of personal accounts and critical analysis of the effect of the Un-American Activities hearings in the early fifties, I intend to argue that this system, assigned as a voice of order and justice, became simply a model of anarchy as Americans’ suspicions and persecutions destroyed not only lives but the very security and comfort that they sought to guarantee.

Mute, Drooling, and Complacent: Consumerism 2001

FIGHT CLUB: A SHEPHERD IN WOLF’S CLOTHING
Brendan Joyce

Fight Club, for all its bloodletting, bone-crunching, and lye-burning violence, should not be reduced to being considered just “macho porn” (Cineaste 2000). The film legitimately attempts to address an issue that plagues our generation: how does one resist the cycle of interchanging identities in our postmodern consumerist society? With our identities being defined by the objects we own, our identities are being produced for us. As the film correctly states, “The things you own end up owning you.” Our identities are then as interchangeable and replaceable as last season’s line of clothing. However, while Fight Club accurately addresses the problem of ephemeral identities resulting from consumer culture, the unfocused solution presented further devolves into terrorism by anti-consumer fascists. With dark irony, Fight Club shows that the protagonists, in trying to forge a “real” identity through resisting consumerism, greedily consume the anti-consumer ideology. In the end, the protagonist’s identity is shattered, with the bleak message ringing clear: you may have no “real” identity within consumer culture, but that is preferable to being destroyed by resisting it.

PACKAGING ANARCHY: EXAMINING THE MUSIC INDUSTRY’S IMPACT ON PERSONAL IDENTITY
Sharon Hoover

Psychologically speaking, music has perhaps one of the greatest impacts upon a person during their lifetime. Because of this influence, music and musical tastes have become a central part of our cultural and personal identity. Due to a gravitation of tastes for a particular type of music, people have come to define themselves in part by the music that they enjoy. In particular groups of music–rap and heavy metal, or rock, especially–the anarchistic rhetoric presented by the artists can have a rather debilitating effect on those who listen. By commercializing anarchy, musicians destroy its effects, giving a packaged version of the ideal “anarchist” and creating a group of youth struggling to portray their essential identity.

RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN HIRING: IMPLICATIONS FOR SECURITIES PRICES IN AN ANARCHIC GLOBAL CAPITALIST SYSTEM
Douglas Adams

In an ideal global capitalist system, only the fittest firms survive in the competitive struggle for capital investment. The anarchic nature of this process can ensure greater prosperity for everyone from the richest lender to the poorest ditch digger. I assert that because of the increasingly rapid communications technology available today, if the government would play its correct role in this system and allow the market mechanism to work, Keynes’s criticism of free markets (“In the long run we are all dead.”) would largely be invalid. Furthermore, this system of global capitalism would leave no room for the inefficiency of racial discrimination in corporate hiring, and firms who ignored this would be vulnerable to hostile takeover or bankruptcy.

Youth and Subculture in the Postcolonial World

L. A. PUNK AND THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE
Jessica Pitts

Welcome to L. A. It is the late 1970’s and the glam and superficiality has stuck to the city of angels like glue. It isn’t hard to believe, really, that in L. A., the place where money is made of one’s face and dreams can be shattered by a bad clothing choice that disco-mania has taken hold. It doesn’t seem to matter to anyone that the economy is crumbling before his or her very eyes and that the crises involving fuel continue to get worse as every day passes. It doesn’t matter to anyone except the punk, that is. Stemming from the working class rage that began its rampage in London and New York and finally rearing its (purposefully) ugly head in Los Angeles, was a group that stood in direct discordance with all that was disco. Sure, they started off wanting to piss the whole world off, particularly the music world where “talent” was necessary to score a hit, but groups like Black Flag, X, and the Germs had something to say about where the world was headed. Armed with the punk motto of “no future”, these groups held that the world really was headed to hell in a hand basket and the disco kids would continue to fiddle as it met its fiery demise. The punks wouldn’t. They stood up and said if we turn our backs on the problems at hand, there really won’t be a future. So, instead of covering it up with a catchy beat and lyrics about getting laid consequence-free, the punks wrote about what was wrong and how much worse it could get. Maybe it had something to do with being sick and tired of looking at beauty as commodity in a completely fake place. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the economy was sputtering to a dangerous end and leaving them jobless. But, either way, the punks had something to say about the world they were living in, and it wasn’t “I will survive.”

THE RAVING ANARCHIST
Melody Ahdout

The purpose of a Rave is best understood through an analyzes of the music that fuels it: tight harmony, a steady bass, and strict adherence to music theory. The music is an aural demonstration of the possibility of social utopia as realized by Rave culture. With an extensive history and numerous influences, this culture stemmed from anonymous warehouses within cities and slowly invaded even popular culture. The combination of music, dancers, visuals, and drugs creates an intense dynamic that allows for the possibility of Anarchy. At a Rave, those commonly dislocated by the city and rejected by popular culture are allowed a sense of place as individuals. Yet, as a dominant youth subculture, Raves have been under heavy attack. The strong association between Raves and drugs is affecting the culture in that for many it is merely a commerce-driven drug escape. Rave culture’s vulnerability towards cooptation is resulting in a lack of authenticity that is undermining its position as a beneficial subculture or realization of Anarchy.

PUNK: BRIDGING THE GENDER GAP AND CREATING A MECCA IN THE MIDST OF MUSIC
Janet Lee

A genre of music that has become increasingly popular is punk music. In describing the ideology and ethics of punk, I try to reveal the underlying message of punk–that one should be able to express oneself honestly and passionately, without limitations. This paper discusses how punk music resists the arbitrary and restricting rules imposed by society by crossing gender boundaries. I will address such issues as women breaking into the formerly male-dominated punk scene to male punk bands performing in drag. These gender-bending practices impress upon us the greater freedom associated with rejection of gender categories, as well as rejection of other forms of control.

GRAFFITI WORKSHOPS: THE END TO THE ART OF STREET ART
Janel King

Originally, graffiti was used to mark the territory of a gang. It has since morphed into much more, the artistic value of which cannot be denied. Graffiti is an artistic expression that deserves a place on walls and trains of public places. In my presentation I will argue that the problem with this realization of graffiti as a form of art occurs when it is warped by society and put on display in a controlled, reproducible manner. Graffiti is not meant to be something done at workshops around the world. Instead, it is a hidden, illegal art, performed during the concealment of the twilight hours. When this art is taken out of its real and illegal environment, it loses its artistic value, and the reproduction of this kind of art for the watching public is directly in conflict with the art itself.

REGGAE AND BABYLON: THE MODERN CITY AS ANARCHY
Justin Marasigan

Reggae music expresses the different ideas of Rastafarians, a religion that has many radical ideas based on interpretations of “Revelations,” the last book of the Christian Bible. To the Rastafarians and those who sing reggae, the establishment of white oppression and government represents the Babylon spoken of in “Revelations.” Babylon itself represents hell on earth, life without God, and anarchy. And what truly represents the white establishment is the modern city characterized by its slums and oppressive police force. From the Rastafarian viewpoint, it is the European society’s values which post-colonial city life promotes or enhances that produce the problems of the city. To those living in the inner city, life has become the kind of anarchy portrayed by reggae songs about Babylon.