Sam Shepard, Angelyne, Democratic Socialism in Brooklyn: This Week’s Recommended Reading – Flavorwire
Here at Flavorwire, we pride ourselves on not only publishing excellent writing, but also keeping an eye on other great work from around the web. This week, were looking at a piece on democratic socialism in NYC politics; an article and a critical response to it on the identity of L.A. icon Angelyne; tributes to playwright Sam Shepard; and more.
If youve lived in L.A. for any amount of time, you may have seen a pink Corvette driving by you, and it may have registered that it belonged to Angelyne, the long-term Hollywood celebrity, celebrated for being a celebrity (and known for once running for governor of the state, the same year as Schwarzenegger), a precursor to the fast contemporary model of Internet and reality TV show fame. The buxom platinum blonde who for decades has loomed over the city on billboards, posing with overwrought sensualism in hot shades of pink has indeed called herself a Rorschach test in pink, a sort of cartoonish manifestation of Hollywood fantasy and performative, constructed femininity. A Hollywood Reporter article by Gary Baum, shared widely around the web this week, seemingly revealed the never-before-known identity of the enigmatic self-created figure; such a revelation could sound like cruel tabloid journalism, and her resistance to the revelation does make it an ethically uncomfortable read. The writing, and the subject itself reconstruction after trauma, but also Jewish self-erasure in old Hollywood create a nuanced and singular portrait:
Jews had assimilated in the postwar period. Surnames Anglicized, religious observance ebbed, kosher compliance curtailed both to better conform to their American homeland and, often, as a conscious or unconscious departure from the trauma of their European pasts. Theyd arrived and imagined themselves anew. Yet Goldberg becoming Angelyne: That would be a feat far more radical, a leap far more extreme, out of a grim and drab past into a realm of complete fantasy. How fitting it would be for such an act to take place amid the New World shtetl of Hollywood, defined by metamorphosis and make-believe.
To complicate that reading, heres Matthew Rosza writing for Salon on some of the ethical questions of the publication of the piece:
If a celebrity is harming innocent people (say by committing crimes or domestic abuse) or if their scandal pertains to the career that made them famous (such as a sports star using performance enhancing drugs), that is obviously newsworthy. But what about Angelyne, a celebrity who hasnt been in the public eye for years, whose personal story in no way pertains to why she was famous, whose leaked information did not involve her hurting anyone and, most importantly of all, who seems to havestrong emotional reasons for not wanting her information known to the public? There are occasions when the curiosity which fuels journalism should be tempered by compassion toward the individuals whose feelings might be trampled in its wake. It isnt the worst thing in the world for Angelyne to have been unmasked against her will, but its deeper implications are uncomfortable to contemplate.
The New Yorkerpublished a piece by Patti Smith honoring playwright/actor Sam Shepard following his death on July 30. She describes visiting him and writing alongside him after hed begun battling ALS:
We had our routine: Awake. Prepare for the day. Have coffee, a little grub. Set to work, writing. Then a break, outside, to sit in the Adirondack chairs and look at the land. We didnt have to talk then, and that is real friendship. Never uncomfortable with silence, which, in its welcome form, is yet an extension of conversation. We knew each other for such a long time. Our ways could not be defined or dismissed with a few words describing a careless youth. We were friends; good or bad, we were just ourselves. The passing of time did nothing but strengthen that.
Meanwhile, also forTNY,Hilton Als writes more specifically about Shepards work (as derived from certain elements of his history), as well as his plays relationship to jazz and hip-hop:
Like hip-hop Shepards first scripts were hopped up on their own language about race and women and guys doing guy stuff that they didnt understand and didnt question. The electricity in the dialogue was Shepards own; the energy that makes these early plays live, still, keeps the words tumbling out of his characters mouths.
Kristy Puchko writes in a reported piece forVanity Fairabout the gloriously queer afterlife of Death Becomes Her, the 1992 Robert Zemeckis film in which Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn play rival celebrities whose competition is, quite literally, undying. She speaks withDrag Race Season 5winner Jerick Hoffer, aka Jinkx Monsoon:
Hoffer ties Helen and Madeline to a lineage of beloved bad women who dared to be both divinely stylish and unrepentantly ambitious. I think this is a trait that runs throughout the queer community, the obsession with the hyper-feminine female villains, Hoffer explained. And we see it in Disney movies and in movies like Death Becomes Her, and in characters like Poison Ivy and Catwoman. Almost all the Disney villain witches are gay iconslike Sleeping Beautys Maleficent, with her cold cackle and cool cape, or The Little Mermaids octopussy Ursula, whose design was reportedly inspired by the defiant drag queen Divine.
The Intercept profiles Jabari Brisport the Green Party candidate the DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) is endorsing for New Yorks 35th City Council District. The article, written by Zaid Jilani, details Brisports ideas on halting the processes of gentrification in Brooklyn and bringing change into the hands of the community, rather than private developers who end up capitalizing on the displacement of the poor. The article focuses on Brisport, but also uses his politics as a means of addressing how the DSA wants to position itself in the current climate:
Give more community control, he suggested, pointing to theredevelopmentof the Bedford-Union Armory in Crown Heights. Brisport opposes plans to turn the 138,000-square-foot armory into a bonanza for private developers. Instead, he issupporting residentswho want to turn the site into a community land trust. Under such a model, land development would be approved by a nonprofit controlled by the local community.
People from the community organize into a non-profit, and then you can turn over the land to them, instead of wealthy developer, he explained. They can choose who they contract out to. Maybe theyll contract out to a non-profit. Ultimately, theyll have final say in the negotiations.
Speaking of New York politics, Maura Ewing has published a piece inThe Atlanticon the potential decriminalization of the evasion of subway fares the policing of which is an element of broken windows strategy (the policy largely implemented by Rudy Giuliani and William Bratton in NYC, facilitating decades of racial/class based discrimination by the NYPD):
Between January and late June, nearly90 percentof the people arrested for fare beating were black and Latino. And its often teenagers who dont pay: According to Hamilton, 16- and 17-year-oldsrepresentedabout 70 percent of arrestees last year.
Two state legislators from Brooklyn recentlyproposeda law that would decriminalize the offense, the latest in a growing wave of local officials who argue that evading a $2.75 subway fare is no reason to land behind bars. Turnstile jumping, or fare beating, is currently considered a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail. No one should face the nightmare of arrest, a criminal record, loss of housing, or deportation over fare evasion,saidone of the bills sponsors, State Senator Jesse Hamilton, at a press conference announcing it last weekUnder the law, evasion would be considered a civil offense. Those caught would be charged up to $100, but their criminal records would not be affected; neither would their immigration status if they are undocumented.
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Sam Shepard, Angelyne, Democratic Socialism in Brooklyn: This Week's Recommended Reading - Flavorwire
- Bernard S. Sharfman: Socialism will not save the Democratic Party. Its historic centrism will. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Zohran Mamdani: Hypocrisy, Socialism and the Danger of Elitist Politics - Fair Observer - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- 'Ask Ann Landers' column once used cows as analogy to explain fascism and socialism - Snopes - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Letter to the Editor: Republican reconciliation bill is 'socialism for the rich' - Sioux City Journal - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Opinion | Cliff Asness on Zohran Mamdanis Socialism - WSJ - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
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- Dont go down the Islamist rabbit hole: Socialism is what makes Mamdani toxic - New York Post - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- The Worker-Peasant Alliance in the Transition to Socialism Today - Monthly Review - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Socialism, secularism are the spirit of the Constitution - The Hindu - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Hour 1 - Socialism will ruin NYC | NewsTalk 1320 KWHN | The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show - iHeart - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Daughter of Cuban exiles says Democratic socialism is wonderful in theory but miserable in practice - Fox Business - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
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- Socialism is a fantasy politicians are selling and doesnt work: Editor - NewsNation - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- As a New York Resident Here Is My Biggest Worry About Mamdanis Socialism - The Daily Signal - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Opinion: The secularism-socialism debate is a fight over words, not essence - The News Minute - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Winklevoss and Armstrong Warn: Socialism Punishes the Poor the Most - Bitcoin.com News - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- The siren song of socialism - The Highland County Press - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- How Bezos and Snchez Just Delivered a Pitch-Perfect Ad for Socialism - The Daily Beast - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Zohran Mamdani and the Rise of Hipster Socialism - City Journal - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- From MAGA Marxism to NY Socialism, something is happening in America - AL.com - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- GMR Today: Can socialism win at the ballot box? - Communist Party USA - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- A City Not Of Socialism: Eric Adams Takes Shot At Zohran Mamdani As He Launches Reelection Bid - The Daily Wire - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Eric Adamss Common Sense Will Save New York From Radical Socialism - The New York Sun - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Socialism in practice: Private land was 32.4 times as productive as public land in the Soviet Union - Stephen Hicks.org - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- NYCs Zohran Mamdani Tries Selling Socialism to the Home of Wall Street - Bloomberg.com - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- In todays US, saying be careful with crypto sounds like socialism - The Irish Times - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Ahead of Shreveport Rally, Louisiana Says No Thanks to Bernies Socialism and Tax Hikes - Bossier Press-Tribune - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Despite the Pain in the World, Socialism Is Not a Distant Utopia: The Twenty-Fifth Newsletter (2025) - thetricontinental.org - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- The Cuban regime now says that to build socialism, a "well-structured economic system" is needed - CiberCuba - June 18th, 2025 [June 18th, 2025]
- We are heading for economic disaster: say goodbye to virtue-signalling socialism - The Telegraph - June 10th, 2025 [June 10th, 2025]
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- STUC general secretary accused of 'champagne socialism' over second home - Yahoo News UK - May 26th, 2025 [May 26th, 2025]
- Under the socialism umbrella: Labor torched over pie in the sky super reform - MSN - May 26th, 2025 [May 26th, 2025]
- Socialism dressed up in the politics of empathy - The Spectator Australia - May 26th, 2025 [May 26th, 2025]
- Daz-Canel: "The fight against homophobia and transphobia is part of the ideals of socialism in Cuba." - CiberCuba - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- Left turns toward socialism, and America must be on guard - The Mountaineer - May 17th, 2025 [May 17th, 2025]
- Join the Trotskyist movement to fight for socialism - World Socialist Web Site - May 15th, 2025 [May 15th, 2025]
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- Economic Nationalism Divides Us. World Socialism Is the Answer | Opinion - Newsweek - May 15th, 2025 [May 15th, 2025]
- Class struggle and identity politics in the era of Trump - International Socialism - May 15th, 2025 [May 15th, 2025]
- Breaking European socialism will solve Americas drug pricing gap - Washington Times - May 15th, 2025 [May 15th, 2025]
- We will intensify campaign for socialism: Chair Prachanda - The Rising Nepal - May 15th, 2025 [May 15th, 2025]
- Cuba and Vietnam walk together in the construction of socialism - Granma - May 15th, 2025 [May 15th, 2025]
- The trade deals will be wasted unless Sir Keir rejects socialism - The Telegraph - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Capitalism, Socialism, Communism, and the sausage line - Stephen Hicks.org - May 10th, 2025 [May 10th, 2025]
- Ending the Gaza genocide requires the fight for socialism - World Socialist Web Site - May 8th, 2025 [May 8th, 2025]
- Trumps dictatorship, global war, and the fight for socialism - World Socialist Web Site - May 8th, 2025 [May 8th, 2025]
- The Illusion Of Choice: Capitalism, Socialism, And The Suppression Of Religion In The Modern Era - Kashmir Reader - May 8th, 2025 [May 8th, 2025]
- Parroting of socialism: Merely in words, not in action - The Himalayan Times - May 8th, 2025 [May 8th, 2025]
- The end of post-socialism and the opportunity for a European public service media house - New Eastern Europe - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Socialism, the only alternative in the face of danger - Granma - April 18th, 2025 [April 18th, 2025]
- Study group: What are the prospects for socialism in the U.S.? - Freedom Socialist Party - April 12th, 2025 [April 12th, 2025]
- Debunking the Not Real Socialism Myth - New Ideal - April 12th, 2025 [April 12th, 2025]
- Capitalism versus Socialism: The Confusion of Knight, the Clarity of Mises | Peter J. Boettke - Independent Institute - April 12th, 2025 [April 12th, 2025]
- Dilemmas of Humanity: Socialism is the only way, says Vijay Prashad during the conferences opening - Brasil de Fato - April 12th, 2025 [April 12th, 2025]
- Brinda Karat interview: Socialism is only alternative to capitalism, loot, American hegemony - The Federal News - April 12th, 2025 [April 12th, 2025]
- Letters: "The bandwagon of vindictive socialism [against farming] rolls on" - Farmers Guardian - April 3rd, 2025 [April 3rd, 2025]
- Leipzig Book Fair 2025: David North to present the German edition of his book Sounding the Alarm: Socialism Against War - WSWS - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Democrat Party Imploding as Bernie Sanders and AOC Embark on Fight Oligarchy Socialism Tour - Megyn Kelly - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Trump's tariffs fly like socialism in the face of free enterprise capitalism | Letters - The Columbus Dispatch - March 22nd, 2025 [March 22nd, 2025]
- Cybernetics with Chinese Characteristics: How big data is eliminating poverty and building socialism - People's World - March 13th, 2025 [March 13th, 2025]
- The defense of science requires a fight for socialism! - WSWS - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- Womens liberation and the fight for socialism are inseparable - Counterfire - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- Faced with Trumps tariffs: working class unity and international socialism - In Defence of Marxism - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- The Dialectics of Ecology: Socialism and Nature book review - Counterfire - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Oklahoma Republican says prohibiting hitting disabled kids is socialism and violation of scripture - Heartland Signal - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Talk to tell forgotten history of socialism in West Norfolk town - Lynn News - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Red Reviews: Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR - Fight Back! Newspaper - February 18th, 2025 [February 18th, 2025]
- Socialism at the Milk Bar - Tribune magazine - February 18th, 2025 [February 18th, 2025]
- To Fight The Right, Fight For Socialism - Socialist Alternative - February 18th, 2025 [February 18th, 2025]
- Like the GDR, GAA must balance socialism and capitalism - The Irish News - February 18th, 2025 [February 18th, 2025]
- Jenny Erpenbeck: There is a place in the world for socialism - Hindustan Times - February 18th, 2025 [February 18th, 2025]
- AIs growth will pave the way for socialism - The Times of India - January 30th, 2025 [January 30th, 2025]
- Boomers, its time to hand over your dosh and kill millennial socialism - The Telegraph - January 30th, 2025 [January 30th, 2025]
- System change not climate change Socialism and the fight to save our environment - Socialist Worker - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- A Deputy claims that young Cubans want to stay in Cuba to "build socialism." - CiberCuba - December 25th, 2024 [December 25th, 2024]
- Milei becomes a symbol of the global far right: We must put an end to the garbage of socialism once and for all - EL PAS USA - December 8th, 2024 [December 8th, 2024]
- John Bellamy Foster: The Dialectics of Ecology: Socialism and Nature Book Review - MR Online - December 8th, 2024 [December 8th, 2024]
- Socialism holds its ground and grows stronger with Chinas contribution - Workers World - December 8th, 2024 [December 8th, 2024]