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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
This is a themed issue, a selection of manifestos presented chronologically, spanning all the way from “The Manifesto of Futurism” (1909) to “Manifesto for World Revolution,” “Press Conference for a Tree,” and “Destroy All Manifestos” (all 2023). It’s a compelling move, publishing all of these manifestos together in this way. Less compelling, however, are André Breton’s “Manifesto of Surrealism” (1924) and Fidel Castro’s “Second Declaration of Havana” (1962). These pieces in particular are QUITE long, and—dare I??—BORING! To me, at least. No disrespect if they’re your jam (I’m assuming everyone has, of course, read these two niche historical documents). The Castro is where I lost my momentum, and was the reason I set the collection down for *checks notes* two whole months.
But I’m glad I ultimately continued, because just a few chapters later I encountered Valerie Solanas’s “S.C.U.M. Manifesto” (1967), a highly entertaining screed against the male sex (S.C.U.M. stands for “Society for Cutting Up Men”), which begins thusly (before continuing to go outrageously hard for the subsequent twenty pages):
But I’m glad I ultimately continued, because just a few chapters later I encountered Valerie Solanas’s “S.C.U.M. Manifesto” (1967), a highly entertaining screed against the male sex (S.C.U.M. stands for “Society for Cutting Up Men”), which begins thusly (before continuing to go outrageously hard for the subsequent twenty pages):
Life in this society being, at best, an utter bore and no aspect of society being at all relevant to women, there remains to civic-minded, responsible, thrill-seeking females only to overthrow the government, eliminate the money system, institute complete automation and destroy the male sex. (139)
BADASS.
Some of the other favorites that I discovered after making it over the Castro hump:
- “Redstockings Manifesto” (1969)
- “Double Jeopardy: To Be Black and Female” by Frances M. Beal (1969)
- “The Combahee River Collective Statement” (1977)
- “No Stage” by John Lee Clark (2015)
- “Manifesto for World Revolution” by Kalle Lasn (2023)
challenging
emotional
funny
slow-paced
reflective
tense
slow-paced
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
A very different McSweeney's this quarter that combine historical and modern manifestos on a wide variety of subject matter. It's really fascinating to view these through a modern lens, to look at how little has changed, at colonialism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, voices have been screaming for change for so long, are still screaming. Reading this volume was as enlightening as it was frustrating and I have to hope that we are making progress, and that manifestos like these will keep pushing us forward.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, Car accident, Abortion, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Classism