You appear to have misunderstood my meaning. By using the word “all” I meant that Minmatar culture is not monolithic (as you have said), not that all elements of Minmatar culture is contained in the Federation. You say, “We are a thousand little cultures”. I do understand that and am essential saying the same thing about culture in the Federation.
As regards the perceived homogenity of Gallente cultural exports, perhaps that perception derives from a smiliar blindness you attribute to me. From a consumer’s perspective perhaps they appear homogenous. I understand that might be the case but am just pointing out that, in fact, they are not.
The suggestion that Gallente cultural exports are “purpose-crafted” by the Federal Government for propaganda purposes is, frankly, ridiculous. The decisions that Impetus, Egonics and Quafe make about their products are driven by their corporate interests not some government-imposed political agenda. Perhaps this is difficult for those used to systems with a high level of government involvement in corporate affairs to accept. I am sure that EverMore and M. Ducasse will only be interested in making money for their shareholders and have more than enough muscle to brush off any attempt by the Federal authorities to influence them. The Federation doesn’t “choose to show itself” in the cultural arena, it has no choice and no role. If anything, it’s the other way around, with corporations ‘influencing’ government policy to support their sales.
There is one thing I do agree with you about - profit. That is the motive here (including EverMore’s), not some paranoid political conspiracy theory.
As I am sure you know, I would be one of the last people to question the existence of the Federal Government’s political power or complain about the impact of its policies on societies both inside and outside the Federation. However, I would distinguish that political power from the cultural power of the Federation’s many corporations and its constituent communities.
And I am pointing out that the culture that those outside the Federation are speaking of is the one being presented to them. And that while it is very different from your lived experience, it is still a very real thing, even if that real thing is the presentation of a fiction.
Don’t be a fool.
As you can see, the motive I attribute it all to is nothing more noble or high-minded then greed. ‘The Federation’, as I’m referring to it, is more than the bickering little anarchist commune you call the Federal Government. It’s the Federation-as-amalgam-of-its-parts. People. Corporations. That doesn’t make it any less ‘the Federation’.
It also doesn’t make the message any less weaponized, or any less propaganda. The larger goal is the same: Want to be like us. Want to be us, to use what we use, to buy what we sell, to desire our way of life.
And that Federation, the aggregation of your industrial presentation, most definitely makes a choice in that regard. You could demand more accuracy. You could require the soft-power exports of the Federation to include matters like the Intaki separatist movement, or the excesses of the FIO, or the black site POW camps the Federation’s operated for years in the warzone, and all of the criminal treatment suffered in them. You, the people of the Federation, could absolutely insist on that, but you don’t.
The Federation lauds itself as a democracy, and though it’s a representative democracy, that still means that ultimately, all of these things happen because you, its citizens, allow them to. You choose it, even if only by choosing to ignore it.
We get to choose elected officials. We do not get to choose what products corporations registered in the Federation produce and market. The only people who influence that are the consumers so perhaps that is where the blame should lie…
The only way the Federal electorate could change this is if we elected politicians on a ticket of the government telling corporations what to produce and market. Wouldn’t that be exactly what people are complaining about here though? Absent that (highly undesirable) scenario, if a Senator tried telling Impetus what to do with its programming, they would be laughed out of the room (and probably find their campaign funding evapourating before the echoes had died away).
Really? So corporations registered in the Federation can produce and market… snuff holos as children’s programming? Poisonous candies? Civilian ground transport that’s prone to fatality-causing breakdowns?
We are talking about whether the government can tell corporations to produce things, not whether the government can tell corporations not to produce things.
I expect you understand the distinction but if you are going to be disingenuous for the sake of argument, I will stop here.
I’m not being disingenuous at all. I’m making a point. If the government can tell corporations not to produce ground vehicles without safety measures, then the government can tell corporations not to produce mass-market programming (for example) without the caveats and context to provide an accurate representation of the truth.
If the government cannot govern the behaviors and excesses of corporations, then is it a government? Or are the corporations the ones in power, while the masses play-act at democracy? Either the people bear the responsibility to oversee the corporations registered in the Federation, or it’s not a democracy. The people can’t hold the power without holding the responsibility, too.
Do you really think it is a government’s place to positively dictate what should be included in entertainment programming?
Assuming you don’t, then the voters cannot be held responsible. Who can be held responsible is the people who pay for the product. People might hate the fact that they binge watched Impetus’ “The Price of Freedom” but they did, in their billions, and paid good money for the privilege. That’s on them, not the citizens of the Federation.
Does the Federation allow the broadcasting of actual footage of murders as children’s programming? If not, then that looks to me like it’s the government’s place to dictate what should and shouldn’t be included in entertainment programming.
And yes, under the Federal system, I absolutely do believe that. The Federal Government claims to be a representative democracy. That means it claims to represent the aggregate will of the masses. And the masses absolutely have the right to enforce their collective will on the behavior of the corporations that benefit from the social, political, and physical infrastructure the masses provide. They also absolutely have the right to not enforce their collective will on the behavior of those corporations.
But that’s a choice they make. It’s not for me to say whether the choice is right or wrong. I can’t make that judgment for the citizens of the Federation. But right or wrong, it’s still a choice, and the consequences of that choice are their responsibility.
And that includes things like ‘how the Federation is presented to the rest of the cluster, and whether or not that’s as a homogenous monoculture hell-bent on pushing itself down everyone’s throats’.
One does not follow the other. Yes, the government should negatively regulate programmes which could cause harm. It does, of course. No, the government should not positively regulate programmes to include a certain level of realism (or any other criteria). It does not, thank the Lunaries. That is the path to state controlled propaganda and information warfare, which is what you purport to be concerned about.
If you didn’t like The Price of Freedom, nobody is making you watch it. If you don’t like that other people loved it, I’m really not sure how to help!
It is certainly not the Federal Government’s place to concern itself with the cultural affairs of other states. I’m surprised you would even suggest that. Imagine how patronising that would look.
You have avoided addressing the issue of government controlled broadcasting. I think the cluster has quite enough of that already.
Everyone is perfectly free to invest in studios producing carefully balanced documentaries and grittily realistic dramas, just as everyone is free to choose what content they spend their disposable income consuming. Sad as it may be, the money is in soapy rubbish that makes people feel good for 45 minutes.
I’m not suggesting it. I’m suggesting the Federal Government could call its dogs to heel if it chose to—an entirely internal matter.
I’m also suggesting that any attempt to protest ‘but we’re not really a monoculture!’ falls utterly flat when it’s pointed out that the only reason people think you are is that you choose to let your cultural exports display you as one.
No I haven’t. I’ve said it’s a choice that’s up to the masses, and I can’t tell you one choice is wrong and the other right. It’s for your people to decide what you want to allow your corporations to do.
Personally, I think your whole insane system of mob rule is idiotic and every politician in your Senate should probably be shot for conspiring against their citizens. Thankfully, though, that’s your problem, not mine.
You are suggesting a law expressly designed to protect cultures in societies outside the Federation. I cannot see how that is an entirely internal matter.
As I have said before, the government has no choice in this matter and long may it stay that way.
You have ducked the ugly natural progression of state-controlled media. I don’t think anyone (least of all the Caldari) wants people like Senator Blaque deciding on holo-scripts. We’ve been there before and it created an awful mess.
No, I’m suggesting a law expressly designed to regulate the behavior of Federally-registered corporations. Presumably, it would impact domestic release as well.
Really, though, I’m not even suggesting that law. I’m suggesting that you’d need that law to dispel the notion of Gallente monoculture that you complained about. Don’t want that law? Great, but then stop getting irate at people talking about a ‘Gallente culture’.
I’m not ducking anything, though. I just don’t care. Even if I did, my support for or opposition to state-mandated media means nothing in the context of ‘stop saying there’s a Gallente culture!1!’
As for what people want… who cares what people want? You Feds, thinking peoples’ opinions should matter for issues like that. Like I said: insane.
Ah, Gallente dishonesty. Let’s try it again, only dumbed down for you:
If you want people to stop seeing a ‘Gallente Culture’ that you don’t believe exists, you need something of this sort in place.
If I support state-mandated media, (1) will be true. If I oppose state-mandated media, (1) will still be true. Thus, my support or opposition means nothing in the context of ‘stop saying there’s a Gallente culture’. It has no impact on whether or not (1) is true.
Your attempt at snark is like saying ‘So if someone’s suffering from hypothermia, you should warm them up, but your opinion on summer means nothing in this context, ok!’
My opinion on summer has absolutely no bearing on whether someone freezing to death needs to be warmed up. My opinion on the morality of state-mandated media has no bearing on whether dispelling the myth of Gallente monoculture will take forcing a change in Gallente export media.
That’s the point, if you opposed state-sponsored media, you would not prescribe it as a solution. Or, to correct your logic, “If I oppose state-mandated media, (1) will NOT be true”. Your view opinion of state-sponsored media is directly relevant to your view of what is an appropriate response.
I could go on to share my opinion about what the answer to this ‘problem’ is but something tells me we have reached the point where you are squirming so hard to avoid being utterly wrong that you will twist anything I say in bad faith.
Apparently the Price of Freedom got renewed for season 13. I’ll be sure to send you a link!
Was it season three where a trusted squid fighter pilot’s sudden yet inevitable betrayal hobbled the carrier and and crushed the heart of crew he had served with, or am I mixing it up with another franchise?
Lawfare and political chicanery is typical, but that’s not the problem. To my mind the real threat EverMore poses is its potential to impose on Capsuleer interests.
You must be. The Price chronicles the adventures of the crew of a Material Acquisitions Miasmos ploughing the spacelanes of Solitude while avoiding the fiendish schemes of Serpentis and Ni’Kunni villains. Yes, the crew is a formulaic ensemble, including a strong-jawed boy from Boystin seeking his place among the stars and a scantily clad Mannar sidekick.