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jcr610's review
3.0
Hardly an 18th Brumaire, but Occupy was no July Revolution, probably for the better. Valuable for the few pieces that break from the kind of stereotypical well-educated, cultural-capitaled, New-York-or-San-Franciscan, guilty-feeling n+1 perspective--Audrea Lim's piece on Chinatown and its relationship to Occupy, Angela Davis' short piece on the historical connotations of occupying, the sections on Occupy Atlanta. And for the occasional salient details that give life to what occupying in this way was/is like (the drum-circle crisis!). Shouldn't be a last (or even first) word on the movement--"scenes," as the title promises, is an apt word for what it gives, but its "America" is a rather limited one.
corey's review
2.0
One of the first books I read on a digital device. One of my friends showed me how to download books for free on the Google and such, and it's true that this might have hampered my ability to enjoy this book.
Admittedly, I did not finish it, nor did I read these essays in order. My problem with this book might primarily reflect my problem with the Occupy movement as a whole. If there are no demands, if we propose no clear way forward, if we render ourselves impotent for fear that we might make a mistake, what are we doing in the first place? The more polemic essays (Judith Butler's is a shining example) fall flat because they refuse to say anything, because there is nothing to say. Do we want the government to fall? Do we want communism? If we're hell-bent on an inclusive, democratic process, how do we reconcile that with our hostility towards the 1 Percent?
I did enjoy Keith Gessen's "Laundry Day" essay (perhaps because he seemed most willing to criticize the movement, or at least highlight its failures), but a lot of the others read like the authors typed up their notes and published them. They're merely observations, and they draw no clear conclusions. Nevertheless, the majority of the material within this book has a self-congratulatory tone, as if something was accomplished, as if the government hasn't just made massive cuts to SNAP, as if TANF wasn't badly in need of funds, as if our president hasn't failed to raise taxes on the wealthy. The American left would do well to either learn from Occupy's mistakes or forget it entirely, but this book, for the most part, encourages readers to do neither.
Admittedly, I did not finish it, nor did I read these essays in order. My problem with this book might primarily reflect my problem with the Occupy movement as a whole. If there are no demands, if we propose no clear way forward, if we render ourselves impotent for fear that we might make a mistake, what are we doing in the first place? The more polemic essays (Judith Butler's is a shining example) fall flat because they refuse to say anything, because there is nothing to say. Do we want the government to fall? Do we want communism? If we're hell-bent on an inclusive, democratic process, how do we reconcile that with our hostility towards the 1 Percent?
I did enjoy Keith Gessen's "Laundry Day" essay (perhaps because he seemed most willing to criticize the movement, or at least highlight its failures), but a lot of the others read like the authors typed up their notes and published them. They're merely observations, and they draw no clear conclusions. Nevertheless, the majority of the material within this book has a self-congratulatory tone, as if something was accomplished, as if the government hasn't just made massive cuts to SNAP, as if TANF wasn't badly in need of funds, as if our president hasn't failed to raise taxes on the wealthy. The American left would do well to either learn from Occupy's mistakes or forget it entirely, but this book, for the most part, encourages readers to do neither.
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