Palimpsest

I am always shocked by the number of (self-styled) leftists who are devoted to the truism that “there are no new ideas.” And I think it’s very important to some people to tear down anyone who doesn’t produce work that functions with bibliographical exactitude, or even just takes risks. For me, theory is ultimately a political project, and it is most meaningful when it is performative and provocative. A pristine, perfect film theory of shuddering complexity isn’t going to help anyone without the tools to read it, and this sort of thinking is, quite frankly, usually elitist and counter-revolutionary.