Psychogeography, Unitary Urbanism And The Theory Of The Dérive

The SI’s theories of urbanism and architecture originate from an essay by the Lettrist Ivan Chtcheglov called ‘Formulary For A New Urbanism’ In it Chtcheglov envisions that a new form of urban life can be created, a new city built – ‘we are bored in the city, there is no longer any temple to the sun’ – ‘You’ll never see the hacienda. It doesn’t exist. The hacienda must be built.’ In this new city ‘every man will live in his own cathedral’ and ‘the principle activity of the inhabitants will be the continuous dérive’ through zones designed to alter the inhabitants’ moods and perceptions.

The Situationists coined the phrase unitary urbanism to describe their experiments with creating a new city that would allow the inhabitants to play and realise their desires. Architecture, detourned collages of maps, art installations and the dérive were all used by the SI in these experiments. The dérive was an experimental practice of unitary urbanism and is translated as ‘drift’ in English. The practice is effectively to wander aimlessly and without destination through the city, soaking up its ambiences. Psychogeography was used to describe the study of the urban environment’s effects on the psyche. The SI produced psychogeographical reports based on the results of their dérives.

what do you fear?

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,415016059,00.html

Fox’s 24: propaganda thinly disguised as television programming

By Debra Watson
5 April 2005

Last week, a comment appeared on the World Socialist Web Site describing the phenomenon of “Reality TV.” [“Reality television” and the American reality that produces it] There is another genre of network television drama that is every bit as psychologically and socially toxic. These are broadcast television series that openly serve a right-wing political agenda. I am referring to shows like JAG, which glorifies the military, and to the ubiquitous cop shows that now regularly top the ratings on network television.

The weekly Fox network television series entitled 24 is an extreme example of this genre. Its propaganda value is revealed in story lines that promote racist stereotypes of Arab Americans and other ethnic groups. Even more politically insidious, this year’s season is replete with scenes of torture administered to various suspected terrorists or their associates by US government operatives. 24 offers such stomach-turning scenes every week. These sequences no doubt reflect, first of all, the sadistic imaginations of those producing the program. They are also designed to shock and presumably appeal to the most backward viewers—a politically perverse example of the scenes that characterize a show like Fear Factor. Moreover, this systematic presentation of torture is intended to inure the population and convey the message that this barbaric treatment is somehow acceptable in the “global war on terror.”

The torture scenes in 24 are obviously based on real incidents such as those inflicted by prison guards and interrogators at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, or carried out by foreign government operatives against prisoners “rendered” by the US to other countries. Incidents and allegations of such torture are now found regularly in the pages of US newspapers.

The premise of 24 is similar to the ubiquitous cop shows that weave unconvincing dramas around the action that takes place in some actual or contrived law enforcement unit in some American city. In the case of 24, the activities of US Central Intelligence Agency’s fictional Los Angeles Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) form the basis for the show. The show’s signature is its unique setup in which each of the season’s 24 episodes covers successive hours of one day. By the end of the series, the viewer will have accompanied CTU unit operative Jack Bauer through an entire 24-hour day.

This season, two major themes have emerged in the story lines that serve a definite right-wing agenda. Blatant anti-Arab sentiments that parallel the calls for racial profiling of people of Arab descent or Islamic religious convictions flow from the way the principal characters are presented in this year’s season.

A window into the mentality of the series’ actors, writers and phalanx of producers and co-producers was on display in an appearance by actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, on a broadcast early this year of ABC’s morning talk show The View hosted by Barbara Walters. The Iranian-born Aghdashloo was nominated for an Oscar for her role in House of Sand and Fog.

In the TV series 24, she plays the “stay-at-home terrorist mom” of teenager Behrooz Araz (Jonathan Ahdout, who also played her son in House of Sand and Fog) and wife of terrorist Navi Araz (Nestor Serrano.).

Mrs. Araz was one of the most frightening characters in the initial episodes of this year’s show. In the series’ first back-to-back episodes, she murders in cold blood her son’s American girlfriend. With the body of the teenager lying in her living room, she calmly answers the door of her comfortable suburban home and tells the girl’s concerned mother what wonderful daughter she has. She has just poisoned the woman’s daughter, then shot her dead body in order to cover for her son, who, unbeknownst to his father, has defied his order and refused to do the murderous deed.

Aghdashloo was sent to newspapers and networks to assert that any protest against the portrayal of an Islamic terrorist family-next-door on US television was ill advised. She ignorantly and disingenuously asserted that “although not all the Muslims are terrorists, unfortunately most terrorists are Muslim.” She said, “The vast majority, 99 per cent of all terrorists are Muslim.” Such statements come directly from the playbook of Zionists advocating unbridled repression of the Palestinian population in the Middle East.

Indeed, representatives of the US ultra-conservative camp have enthusiastically supported the new turn of the prime-time Fox show. Middle East “expert” Daniel Pipes, director of the Zionist Middle East Forum, is one such proponent of the Fox show. Pipes is notorious for founding the Web site Campus Watch, which attempts to identify and attack liberal and leftist scholars.

Pipes’s January 2005 commentary in the ultra-right online FrontPageMagazine.com centered on justifying the use of a “family next door” as the paradigm of the terrorist cell, claiming most terrorists have always been identified as just such innocent-looking individuals.

He lamented in the piece that “the war on terror had not been the subject of a single American feature film, nor, so far as I know, is there one in the works.” He congratulated Fox for “not caving in to Islamists” in its decision to go ahead with airing the show.

The series co-writer and producer, Robert Cochran, revealed the thinking of the show’s writers toward this subject to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He said, in reference to “terrorist acts by extreme Muslim groups,” that “we have a legitimate interest in telling stories that are grounded in reality, at least to a considerable extent grounded in reality.” In another interview, one of the writers said the show eschewed portraying homegrown terrorists (he refers to the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995 by American-born Timothy McVeigh) because characters modeled on these incidents would not get the same “visceral reaction” from the public.

Portraying the seemingly normal suburban family as a nest of terrorist operatives casts suspicion on immigrant families in the US and prepares the public for more dragnets of people of Middle Eastern descent like the earlier sweeps in Los Angeles, Detroit, Newark, New Jersey and other US cities. It will surely provide comfort for racists who are contemplating physical attacks as part of their own personal “war on terror.”

Yet, many Los Angeles residents and many other Americans remember just a few years ago thousands of US residents of Middle Eastern descent were lined up for forced questioning by the FBI in Los Angeles and other US cities. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, of the more than 8,000 Muslim and Arab men questioned in the FBI sweeps in 2001 and 2002, not one single person was even arrested as a suspected terrorist.

Following an outcry from Islamic-American groups such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in January of this year, Fox officials said they would change future episodes to weave in sympathetic Islamic-American characters or favorable treatment of characters of Middle Eastern descent. Apparently bowing to viewer protests, they went beyond their initial promises to CAIR where they agreed to air a few public service announcements. One regular Monday night broadcast of the show was interrupted to present a short statement addressing the issue delivered by Kiefer Sutherland.

The statement consisted of Sutherland reading, in front of a backdrop of the Los Angeles skyline, the following text: “I’m Kiefer Sutherland. I play counter-terrorist Jack Bauer on Fox’s 24. While terrorism is obviously one of the most critical challenges facing our nation and the world, it’s important to recognize that the American Muslim community stands firmly beside their fellow Americans in denouncing and resisting terrorism in every form.”

In reporting this statement by Sutherland, CAIR continued to warn that “many Muslims are concerned that the portrayal of the family as a terrorist ‘sleeper cell’ may cast a shadow of suspicion over ordinary American Muslims and could increase Islamophobic stereotyping and bias.”

The statement as presented by Sutherland actually contains a not-so-subtle message about Islamic or Arab Americans or even any other Americans who oppose the war on terror and recognize it as a cover for the brutal agenda of US imperialism at home and abroad.

Within the context of the controversy surrounding this season’s 24 that led to the statement being aired, the implication is that those who oppose the action of US police agencies in the war on terror are themselves legitimate targets for political repression.

In 24, the protagonist Bauer is usually connected to the torture scenes. In some cases he is the perpetrator. In the first episodes, he shoots a suspected terrorist of the leg to get information. He backs up his action by claiming that expediency left no time to use more conventional interrogation techniques. This is a common defense used to justify torture by those who support more freedom for US military, espionage, and even law enforcement forces in carrying out questioning of suspects.

Bauer’s girlfriend happens to be the daughter of the US Secretary of Defense, named James Heller in the show. Actor William Devane plays Heller. She watches as Bauer administers an electrical shock to her estranged husband, using a crude device fashioned from a hotel lamp cord. When she presents her misgivings to her father, she says that she no longer sees Jack Bauer in the same light—she laments that she thought he was a kind and gentle man. Heller responds to her horror with a brief but chilling piece of dialogue. “We need men like that,” he tells her.

So far in the season, some form of torture has been included in virtually every episode. Early on, the Defense Secretary’s environmentalist son is tortured and left screaming after a type of sensory deprivation using high-pitched noise is administered under Heller’s order. To accompany that episode, the show’s official web site “sources” link contains the following astonishing statement: “Although there is evidence of sensory deprivation in use in the prisons of Abu Ghraib—particularly the hoodings—it is still under debate about whether these techniques constitute ‘severe pain or suffering’ in violation of the article of the Geneva Convention on Prisoner torture.”

In fact, Amnesty International wrote a lengthy memorandum to US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in April 2002, complaining of just such abuses when they were discovered in Afghanistan and Guantanamo. International law and US law prohibits, without exception, torture and cruel treatment of prisoners. By 2002, illegal interrogation techniques were already widespread in Afghanistan. In January 2002, Amnesty International wrote letters to Rumsfeld complaining specifically of sensory deprivation by means such as hooding, restraint in painful positions, death threats, prolonged sleep deprivation, violent shaking, and use of cold air to chill the detainee.

There is every indication that the show’s writers and producers are quite conscious of the program’s potential for shaping public opinion as individuals in the Bush administration come under fire for authorizing war crimes prohibited under the provisions of the Geneva Convention.

According to the series’ co-writer Joel Surnow the first episode aired in November 2001, shortly after the attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001. However, the show was actually developed and the initial episode shot before the attack occurred.

Only days after the first episode of 24 was aired on Fox, Karl Rove appeared at the infamous November 2001 meeting of Hollywood producers and directors in which the administration called for support from Hollywood for the war on terror. That meeting included representatives from movie and television studios, including the Fox network. Surnow said Fox picked up the show with the enthusiastic support of network owner and media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

This is my first season with 24 and I will admit that I am well on my way to becoming the overly obsessed, refuse to leave the couch, would rather pee my pants, 24 fanatic. It's interesting to me that amid all the hype about reality tv, the show that many would rather watch is fictional. This however, is a technical categorization for the show, since I'm sure many believe 24 is reality, just sped-up, characterized and slightly exaggerated. It makes me think, "couldn't many of these issues actually be happening in the white house today?" On the show, the first lady is portrayed as being slightly senile and unstable, however the public seems to be unaware of her "condition." She becomes suppressed under the direction of her husband, the president, and his staff, therefore, she is forced to do erratic things in order to get her hands on a certain document she needs to show she is not crazy. The show is non-stop action and suspense and there seems to be an ever-present feeling of fear in everyone as they try to deal with political and media concerns. In the most-recent episode, episode 4, there is a hostage situation in an airport, run by terrorists with demands that would stop the president from signing a treaty against terrorism with the Russian president. What was most disturbing to me in the president's final decision to sign the treaty, which would put all of the hostages's lives at danger, was that he seemed to base his decision on timing and the media. The president was told that CTU (central terrorist unit?) was on its way to raiding the airport thanks to information received from an agent inside the building (Jack Bauer). The president's treaty signing would happen just as CTU would save all of the hostages and capture or kill all of the terrorists, at which point the president would receive the information and would be able to announce to the world on the spot that the raid was successful, validating the treaty. His main concern was timing. Would he be able to make his announcement in time in order to validate the treaty with the Russians and ultimately, above everything else, improve his approval rating? He's concerned with how he will be portrayed and remembered by the media and not with how he might make the best decisions for the PEOPLE. I think that this show is very powerful in its ability to instill fear into Americans about terrorist attacks and bad decisions that can so quickly and easily be made with such uncertainty.

7:00 A.M.
Jack waits to be hired at an oil refinery in the Mojave desert. The foreman refers to him as “Frank Flynn.”

7:02 A.M.
In Wayne Palmer’s Los Angeles high rise apartment, former President Palmer works on his memoirs. Wayne notices that Palmer is distracted. As Palmer stands by the window overlooking the city, a gunshot blasts through the glass and hits him in the neck. From another building, the assassin Haas lowers his rifle.

7:04 A.M.
Aides Walt Cummings and Mike Novick prep President Logan at his retreat in Santa Ynez, California. Logan asks Cummings to look in on the First Lady before the Russian President’s visit. “She can’t have one of her meltdowns today,” he warns. Novick gets word that Palmer has been killed. He is grief-stricken.

7:07 A.M.
At CTU, Buchanan and Curtis run through their lists to narrow the search. Logan demands from Buchanan that the assassin be killed or arrested before the Russian President arrives. Buchanan advises the President to postpone his signing of the arms agreement treaty in case the incidents are connected. Logan refuses.

7:08 A.M.
Chloe wakes up and kicks out her CTU subordinate, Spenser Wolff, from her bed. She tells him that the night before was a mistake, but Spenser disagrees. Suddenly, Chloe’s cell phone gets a text message that Palmer is dead.

7:10 A.M.
Jack watches television reports of Palmer’s assassination from his small apartment in the desert. He tears up at the news. When someone knocks at the door, Jack trains his gun. He lowers it when he realizes that it is his neighbor and girlfriend, Diane Huxley. She invites “Frank” over for breakfast.

7:11 A.M.
Diane’s teenage son Derek is not pleased that his mother is seeing “Frank.” Derek tries to catch Jack in a lie on his oil rig work. Diane doesn’t question Jack about his past because she trusts him.

7:13 A.M.
From their home, Tony and Michelle see the news about Palmer. They argue about whether to call in to their former employer CTU since they were on the investigations into the previous attempts on Palmer’s life. Michelle thinks they could assist the case. Tony wants to focus on their current company. She leaves alone for CTU, but when she gets in her car, it explodes. Tony finds Michelle’s body in the wreckage. Another blast hits Tony and knocks him over.

7:21 A.M.
At CTU, Edgar and Spenser look for connections between Tony, Michelle and Palmer. Edgar calls Chloe, who is on her way into the office. He tells her that Michelle is dead and that Tony is injured. Chloe becomes suspicious when she sees a white van trailing her. She hangs up on Edgar and runs. Inside the van is Haas. Chloe loses the man chasing her in the morning commute rush.

7:23 A.M.
While sitting with Diane, Jack gets an urgent call from Chloe who apologizes for breaking protocol. She tells him about Tony and Michelle, as well as the people chasing her. Chloe is convinced that all the people who know about Jack being alive are targeted. Jack warns her to go dark because there might be a leak inside CTU. He instructs her to head north out of Los Angeles to an abandoned oil refinery where he will meet her. Jack pulls a satchel out of the air vent in his apartment and leaves.

7:25 A.M.
Tony is sent to CTU for medical attention because they can’t protect him at a hospital. Buchanan wants his team to find the connection between Tony and Michelle with Palmer. Audrey Raines arrives at CTU as the Defense Department’s liaison on the investigation. Audrey agrees with Buchanan about postponing the treaty signing, but the President cannot be swayed.

7:27 A.M.
President Logan gives a press conference about Palmer’s death at the retreat.

7:28 A.M.
An aide named Evelyn puts the final touches on First Lady Martha Logan’s makeup. “I look like a wedding cake,” Martha says before abruptly dunking her head in the sink of water. Walt Cummings breaks the news about Palmer to her. She becomes upset because she and the former President were close friends. Martha says she has to talk to her husband immediately. Cummings orders the secret service agents to keep her away from the press conference.

7:30 A.M.
Martha goes outside, and argues with Novick and the agents holding her back. She refuses to tell them what is so urgent and asks to see Logan when he is done.

7:37 A.M.
Jack speeds to the refinery and knocks out a rescue helicopter pilot. Derek has followed him because he is worried about his mom. Jack takes Derek at gunpoint and forces him onto the chopper.

7:39 A.M.
Tony is wheeled into CTU on a gurney. He suffers from head trauma that has affected his speech. Curtis shows Buchanan that Tony’s phone records prove he spoke to Palmer on the day Jack was killed. The transcript files have been corrupted.

7:40 A.M.
Logan comes to see his wife and she apologizes for making a scene. Martha thinks that Palmer was killed because of her. She explains that Palmer had called her yesterday and wanted to meet about something involving national security and Logan. The President wonders why Palmer didn’t call him directly, but Martha points out that he shut Palmer out of the White House. She was his only access. Martha realizes that her husband doesn’t believe her. “I am not crazy!” she exclaims. Logan promises that he will have Cummings look into it. He sweetly asks her to get ready for the Russian president’s visit.

7:42 A.M.
Logan tells Cummings that Martha is suffering from another one of her delusions. He recounts what she told him about Palmer. Logan doesn’t want Cummings to do anything about her claims.

7:43 A.M.
Aboard the helicopter, Jack assures Derek that he is not being kidnapped. He only wants to prevent him from going to the police. When Derek asks who he is, Jack answers: “Someone who’s not supposed to still be alive.”

7:44 A.M.
Jack calls Diane and instructs her to pick up her son in Los Angeles. She is freaked out, but he asks her to trust him. Jack explains to Derek will be freed once he’s completed his task in Los Angeles.

7:50 A.M.
Edgar is worried about Chloe because she hasn’t arrived or answered her cell phone. Spenser assures Edgar that Chloe is fine because he saw her earlier. Edgar realizes that they are dating.

7:52 A.M.
Chloe arrives by taxi at the oil refinery to meet Jack. Her jacket gets caught in the fence and she leaves it. Chloe thinks she can tap into the CTU mainframe from the research library at Cal Tech. With no car, they get back in the helicopter.

7:53 A.M.
As Jack starts the engine, a car pulls up. He realizes that the men have been following Chloe. The helicopter cannot achieve enough speed to take off. The van and another car approach. Jack throws smoke bombs in front of the chopper, and has Chloe take Derek to hide. Haas and his team cannot see through the smoke. Jack takes the team down one by one.

7:54 A.M.
Haas approaches where Chloe and Derek are hiding. Jack shoots him in the leg. Chloe quickly plugs rounds into Haas, but Jack yells for her to hold her fire.

7:55 A.M.
Jack orders Chloe to walk away with Derek. He tells Haas that he will only receive medical attention if he confesses why they are after him. Haas says that Palmer was the primary target and the others were just a diversion to make it look like Jack did it. Haas doesn’t know who hired him. When Jack learns that this is the man who killed Palmer, he shoots him. Chloe and Derek wince as they watch.