‘Story Culture’ – the Reduction, Digitalisation and Trivialisation of living

The introduction of ‘Stories’ is one of the most recent phenomena of social media. With humble beginnings in Snapchat in 2013, the ‘stories’ feature has now been employed by the largest social media giants. Instagram’s 2016 update adopted the feature: and Watsapp have been the latest to introduce something similar: a status of pictures and videos that disappear after 24 hours.

The birth of the ‘feed’ was a transformative moment in social media history. The feed knows no end and continues to extend material indefinitely, but the content of the feed is markedly transient. Stories are a kind of personal feed – regular and continual visual documentations of our daily activities accessible to everyone we are connected to on a particular platform. Their indirectness is especially ‘revolutionary’; although they are accessible to everyone, they are also addressed to no-one.  ‘Stories’ are also, largely, arbitrary. It seems we don’t watch them for their riveting narrative or earth-shattering plot-twists but out of some strange compulsion. We have all felt the pulls of the strange dichotomy at the 1) irritation of opening someone’s 150 second-long Snapchat story that documents every tedious occurrence of their big night out, but also the 2) voyeuristic engrossment that compels us to continue to watch the majority of it - tapping fiercely and expectantly at the screen for the next nugget of ‘story’ in line? Why do we love ‘stories’? Why do we hate ‘stories?’ What does a ‘story’ mean, and what is it worth? Can I eat it?

The fact that ‘stories’ are so ephemeral means that they are current by definition. They are to be ‘disposed of’ by the very nature of their being. Our first-world, western throw-away mentality pervades even the processing of visual material. With images and videos that only last for 24 hours, the idea that ‘filming or taking pictures is to record memories’ becomes obsolete– instead what is happening is a constant, ritualistic offering of more and more ‘real –life’ material to the social media monster, who greedily devours it, shits it out and immediately demands more. The insatiate social media machine gluts for digital translation of organic human experience, and seems to transcribe them into some sort of online social currency. A currency that is actually completely useless to everyone not only due to the fact it isn’t real but also because it literally dissipates into the ether after one day.

On the surface, yes, it seems *enjoyable* to share an *amusing* moment through the ‘stories’ feature. But underneath the palatable platitude undulates a more concerning and disturbing reality. Documenting on your ‘story’ seems to endow the event with value and give it purpose, the question must be asked: Who are you recording your evening for? When digital documentations of these experiences become more important to the actual, lived, moment itself the boundary between ‘story-time’ and ‘real-time’ has been ruptured, and the present moment has been displaced.

So why do we love stories? We love them because they are literally designed to play on our inherent social desire to know what other people have been doing. Why do we hate stories? Because they have literally been designed to play on our inherent insecurities and anxieties about the way in which we are perceived in society. What is a story worth? Due to the sheer mass in circulation, and their fleeting nature, they are worth very little. Probably not even 1 pence. Can I eat them? Metaphorically, we are all eating them all the time: partaking in the consumption and digestion of visual matter shat out by the faceless social media monster.

I will leave you with the poignant words of Lady Leshurr;

Why you Snapchatting in the club for? Just dance, man.

COSMO PYKE: BRISTOL

South London’s newest talent Cosmo Pyke played his first headline show at Bristol’s Crofters Rights in late February.

Peckham’s protégé, his music smoothly abstracts the experience of living and moving in SE. Pouring forth raw and drowsy chords that induce a somnolent sense of hazy nostalgia, we in the audience were invited to overhear the authentic, poetic and at times comical musical-musings of the upcoming artist. Pyke has a dreamy, languid, summer-evening sound and his lyrics feature introspective reflections.

Cosmo’s intimate and unprocessed set served up a delectable dish of lo-fi numbers and the promise of unreleased tracks. It was crowned with spacey yet enchanting “Social Sites”; a downbeat commentary on social media’s role in interactions and relationships. The mood is post-digital meets retrospective and the track offers a fresh style of expression of the contemporary experience.

Newest release “Chronic Sunshine” was conceived in the chasm between genres, fusing alt-indie and a dash of ska and hip-hop. You can listen to it here:

THE ESSENTIAL FEMALE

This photo series focused on stripping and reconstructing the aesthetic of femininity to rediscover what beats at the core of the feminine consciousness. The female is organic creator by nature; healer, nurturer, earth mother, earth’s daughter. A reconsideration of activism is beginning to occur- the recognition of the harmony between nature and the female, and the interdependence of feminist and environmental activism. 

 

This interrelationship is fact – the capitalist mechanics of industry simultaneously abuse the rights of the natural world and of women across the globe. This is crystallised in the ‘ecofeminist’ philosophy that describes the domination over oppressed groups mirroring the injustice performed on the environment. The patriarchal narrative that insists that nature is eternally fertile with a cornucopia of endless resources that serve for our consumption is the same narrative that considers women as solely useful for what can be exploited of them. 

 

The green and feminist movements are inextricable: Ecofeminism recognises the ways in which industry in the developed world directly contributes to the pollution of the earth’s air, desecration of her forests, and soiling of her seas. An industry that we can directly disrupt is the unethical mass production of cheap clothes, which is why all of the outfits worn by Nicola in the photo series are second hand – there is so much clothing in circulation already, it would be wise to make use of what would otherwise be wasted. 85-90% of the workers in sweat shops are women that are denied basic workers rights: enduring gruelling hours in dangerous and inhuman conditions. It is easy to forget, in our first-world society, that this movement is still very relevant and very necessary. We have the agency to be the mouthpiece of the silenced and voiceless, inspired by nature’s great omniscience and our vision of equality.

LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY AND THE SPIRITUAL

It’s the future. The children dem were created for my music. They are the energy. No - not energy: INergy ... because the world EN is the end, but the word IN is the beginning.

It’s the future. The children dem were created for my music. They are the energy. No - not energy: INergy ... because the world EN is the end, but the word IN is the beginning.

These are the words of Jamaican Reggae and Dub legend Lee “Scratch” Perry. At 80 years old, Perry is still performing his spiritual music internationally. It seems out of some divine afflatus that the producer, poet, musician, singer and artist manifests his other-worldly inspiration. Lee’s eccentricity of character and arcane mystery of speech have alienated some who term him ‘madman’ and enticed others to give him the appellation of ‘genius’. I am of the latter school of thought and went to see him at the Fiddler’s Bristol, as an ancient traveller may seek an oracle – to hear truth through the channel of this seer.

In many ways the venue, located on Willway Street, metamorphosed into a sanctuary of deep, dreamy dub meditation. On the stage sits what seems to be a shrine; three bananas pierced with incense sticks sit in front of a suitcase adorned with an exuberance of emblems and images. Lee himself looks somewhat like an intergalactic Poseidon, wearing leggings that resemble the milky-way and adorned with patches, beads and crystals. His beard and hair are dyed fuchsia and there are mirrors on his hat.

Perry’s band plays his most iconic tracks: Disco Devil, Zion’s Blood and People Funny Boy. These provide a musical backdrop for a rhyming overflow of his stream of consciousness – surrealist spoken word poetry if you will. Political statements of anti-monarchy: “Burn down Buckingham Palace / burn down the challis” blended with the more comic “take off your cap / and start to hop” [to which he precedes to hop about on one leg] and denouncements of the obstacles to healthy spiritual enlightenment: “no cocaine / no coke/ no coke / no joke”.

Lee, with childlike spontaneity, swings and ambles about the stage “you needed me and I needed you” he chants – and indeed after the conflagration of his studio in Jamaica, the Black Ark, Lee moved to London where his musical career was reinvigorated by British musicians (such as The Clash and Paul McCartney) and a British fan base. Scratch is fixated by the purifying power of the elements. It was he, in fact, that burned down his studio to purify it of bad intention from pseudo-Rastafari and evil spirits. He invited me backstage, and to the question “what do you believe in?” I was given the answer “I believe in rocks, and ice, and water”. Handling his crystal neckwear Perry tells me “these are made from ice”. In the 2008 documentary movie “The Upsetter” Lee says that heard music in rocks and boulders; he was working as a builder and through the clashing and clanging of these raw materials Dub and Reggae were conceived in the mind.

The silent but omnipotent energy of the natural is the essential core of Perry’s spirituality– and he is the mouthpiece of this hidden knowledge.

TRADITIONAL DANCE AND SPIRITUAL TRANCE

I made this video to share the phenomena of religious trances. The superhuman abilities exhibited during a trance demonstrate the amazing capabilities of the human mind. I learned that the men don't remember what happened or what they did in the grips of the trance and it reminded me of studies of Dissociative Identity Disorder: the subject has different memories, abilities and preoccupations in their alternate state. People reacting to the myriad layers and textures of music so sensitively through dance was like being tuned in to a state of higher consciousness in which sounds and movement are perceived with supreme clarity and the fear instinct that prevents us from engaging with harmful activities (like peeling a coconut with our teeth) is almost completely dissolved. The prism that most of us understand ourselves and our abilities and human boundaries through is one that has been dictated to us. Our friend John, the man interviewed, told us that the men never suffer from any health problems after consuming lit coal or eating a raw chicken which seems contrary to the laws of biology. Perhaps our almost arrogant fidelity to the sciences has been a ballast to understanding that physical and psychological human condition more thoroughly.

PRINCESS NOKIA IN BRISTOL

Afro-Nuyorican feminist musician Destiny Frasqueri, who performs under the stage name “Princess Nokia” has a sound that is firmly placed in the digital age. However, her multifaceted character and variety of style transcend the restrictions of time or place. Developing “Princess Nokia” on informal internet platforms such as Tumblr, Soundcloud and Instagram has allowed her to have complete artistic autonomy and be free of the shackles of record companies. This girl doesn’t just rap and sing about being an independent female- she’s the real shit. 

I was first struck by Nokia in the Youtube video of her 2014 track “Dragons” that blended upbeat electro hip-hop with sensitive, dreamy vocals. These were spread on a romantic and sentimental video that will make you nostalgic for Saturday morning cartoons and Nintendo video games.

Destiny’s fluidity and range is perhaps her most striking attribute. Her style refuses to be pinned down. At times she’s the sloppy and androgynous New York comic book nerd, at others the gentle and supremely feminine “patron of the earth”, and at others the metallic cyber princess. She perhaps embodies all that it means to be a female in the modern age: rigorous exploration into all the avenues of the self and subsequent uncompromised, unapologetic expression of this adventure.

My first encounter with Destiny was a complete surprise in the toilets of the venue. She was commenting with endearment on another girls ‘fat belly’ and confessed “I saw your belly and was like ‘I have that! I’ve had it ever since I was a child’”. Her track Tomboy from the album 1992 is a dedicated to her “small titties and fat belly”; this is a reclaiming of personal sexuality and disregard for the mainstream media’s idea of what constitutes as sexy and what doesn’t. She makes eczema cool. During this intimate exchange in the toilets she told us “I’m just trying to be the next Kathleen Hanna” (the front woman of American 90s punk band Bikini Kill). On stage she adopted the methods of Hanna instructing the girls to come to the front and the boys to stay back.

 

She starts her set in a way that has become characteristic of her- rude, raw and raucous. Destiny shouts at the sound engineers to turn her microphone up, spits, and dabs herself with napkins – it’s awe-inspiring.

She begins with ‘Bart Simpson’, an ode to her deviant youth. Her set passes through the entire spectrum of her musical conquests as Princess Nokia, including a Spanish rap honouring  her Taíno, Yoruba and Afro-Latino heritage. Her music is undeniably imbued in feminist activist politics. The track ‘mine’ empowers black women who wear wigs, weaves and extensions particularly resonant in the line “see how I stunt / in my lace front” and schools those who ask if their hair is real with: “please do not ask me or any black or brown woman if our hair is real or not…don’t fuckin’ ask. It’s very rude…we bought it, it’s ours”. Nokia’s feminism encompasses ‘Womanism’; this term is defined as a social theory pertaining to the oppression and struggle of women of colour. In other words ‘black feminism’.

She speaks to the mostly female audience:

“I know there’s a lot of girls at Uni out there, I know here’s a lot of girls, like eighteen-nineteen, coming up, finding themselves in the world. Trust me, I don’t want to be eighteen or nineteen ever again. The beauty of being a woman is growing. The beauty of being a woman is evolution. So if you’re not happy with yourselves or if you don’t feel great at the moment honestly, honey, the evolution is coming.”

Destiny is essential to modern hip-hop and occupies a space, musically, that was previously uninhabited. Rude yet benevolent, aggressive yet gentle, she expresses the myriad dimensions of the modern female and does so unapologetically.

Princess Nokia’s new album 1992 is available for free download here: http://princessnokia.org/