"The Violence of Organized Forgetting: Thinking Beyond America's Disimagination Machine" by Henry A. Giroux

Hove Book Group gathered on Thursday 16th October 2014 at Robin's cat sanctuary to discuss Keith's politically charged selections.

On a recent visit to the famous City Lights bookshop in San Francisco Keith requested some "under the counter" hard stuff and was handed a plain brown paper bag that contained "The Violence of Organized Forgetting: Thinking Beyond America's Disimagination Machine" by Henry A. Giroux.  

Keith tried to hide his all too evident excitement and rushed back to his hotel to enjoy his purchase.  

So excited was he by this book that he insisted the Hove Book Group read it too.  Why Keith?  Why?  

Well it turns out that Henry Giroux has accomplished an exciting, brilliant intellectual dissection of America's somnambulent voyage into anti-democratic political depravity. Giroux's analysis of the plight of America's youth is particularly heartbreaking. 

Not content with taking the book's contents at face value, Keith had assiduously researched many of Giroux's claims to find that they were all true.  7/10

Nigel, as a left-leaning liberal type, should have been receptive to this book. And, to an extent, he was. Giroux catalogues America's many ills, all of which are well known to anyone who follows world events, and seen in black and white it is a damning and alarming list: a neoliberal elite systematically disenfranchising the poor, the elderly, the young, people of disputed residency and people of color; America's obsession with violence and guns; mass state surveillance; the war on terror; the large number of citizens residing in prisons; rampant consumerism; assembly line education; job insecurity; increased militarisation; reduced social mobility; the treatment of Edward Snowden; Guantanamo Bay; the shameful aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; and so on.  

Alas Giroux writes in a very strident style but one that is also overly intellectual and peppered with jargon. As he read it Nigel wondered who Giroux hopes to reach with this book. Not only did the sociological jargon mean little, it is also very repetitive. 4/10

Hamish "Preaching to the converted"

Hamish felt Giroux was merely preaching to the converted before also criticising the book for its impenetrable language.  What exactly is Giroux trying to say? And to whom? Once Hamish had fought his way through the forest of jargon (never explained) and references to numerous other theorists, what is Giroux's solution? 

In the last chapter Giroux suggests hope. Riiight. Against the backdrop of the powerful elites so painstaking described by Giroux over 280 pages it's hard to see where that's going to get anyone.  4/10

Tristan loved this book!  After that attention grabbing opener, it transpired that Tristan loved the "z" in organized, the shape of the book, the way it stayed open, the cover design, alas this is where his enthusiasm ended.  

Tristan unfavourably contrasted Giroux to Naomi Klein's "Shock Doctrine" (a book we read many moon ago) and found "The Violence of Organized Forgetting: Thinking Beyond America's Disimagination Machine" severely wanting.  Giroux's book is almost a parody of a political book that fails to inspire and merely bores.  5/10

Robin "Giroux missed a sitter"

Robin felt Giroux had missed an open goal. He'd set out his stall early doors but this was not to be a book of two halves, nope this was a one sided affair, with only one winner, Boredom FC.  Robin wanted a red card for Giroux within two minutes of the start for a two footed lunge on the "vapid culture of celebrity".  However, this lunge went unpunished leaving Giroux free to evoke French philosopher Georges Didi-Huberman and his concept of the “disimagination machine” to describe a culture and pedagogical philosophy.  By the time citizenship was replaced by consumerism the ref had lost control and Robin had lost interest.  Shouldn't Robin have felt angry and inspired by the end of this book? Yes.  Was he?  No.  He was depressed, bored and relieved. Giroux had missed a sitter. 3/10

Despite the general negativity toward Giroux's style, the book raised some interesting and important issues and HBG proceeded to discuss some of the troubling issues.  

We then turned to Keith's cinematic choice...

"All The Presidents Men" (1976) - directed by Alan J. Pakula

Keith had watched "All The Presidents Men" on the plane on his way to the now infamous visit to the City Lights bookshop.  He loved it.  The film evoked a pre-internet world of phone directories, paper - lots of paper, typewriters, and cigarettes.  And deep throat.  Right up Keith's street.  

Nigel kept the love for All the President's Men going.  A classic.  10/10

Hamish thought it was good, if a tad dated, and as much about newspaper journalism as it was about Watergate.

Tristan described it as gripping, well acted, and thoroughly engaging.

Robin enjoyed it and gave it 7/10.  

With the beer drunk, the crisps all but eaten, the cats asleep and Keith's choices debated to within an inch of their lives, HBG shared satisfied smiles before the obligatory manly hugs and fond farewells.  Ten, ten til we do it again.