Revoevolution in the Fascist Ideosis: the Comedy of Bill Hicks
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REVOEVOLUTION IN THE FASCIST IDEOSIS: THE COMEDY OF BILL HICKS Except where reference is made to the work of others, the work described in this thesis is my own or was done in collaboration with my advisory committee. This thesis does not include proprietary or classified information. ___________________________ Andrew Greer Davis Certificate of Approval: ____________________________ ___________________________ Kristen Hoerl George Plasketes, Chair Assistant Professor Professor Communication and Journalism Communication and Journalism _________________________ ____________________________ Robert Agne George T. Flowers Assistant Professor Dean Communication and Journalism Graduate School REVOEVOLUTION IN THE FASCIST IDEOSIS: THE COMEDY OF BILL HICKS Andrew Greer Davis A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of the Arts Auburn, Alabama August 10, 2009 REVOEVOLUTION IN THE FASCIST IDEOSIS: THE COMEDY OF BILL HICKS Andrew Greer Davis Permission is granted to Auburn University to make copies of this thesis at its discretion, upon request of individuals or institutions at their expense. The author reserves all publication rights. _____________________________ Signature of Author _____________________________ Date of Graduation iii VITA Andrew Greer Davis was born July 4, 1978, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Andrew and Margaret Davis. He graduated from Auburn High School in 1996. Andrew received his Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Georgia in 2000. The following years were spent learning the culinary arts, playing percussion, touring as a professional poet, practicing the psychonautic arts, and creating general mischief. Andrew has resided in Atlanta, Georgia; Auburn, Alabama; Athens, Georgia; Oxford, England; and Seoul, Republic of Korea. iv THESIS ABSTRACT REVOEVOLUTION IN THE FASCIST IDEOSIS: THE COMEDY OF BILL HICKS Andrew Greer Davis Master of the Arts, August 10, 2009 (B.A., University of Georgia, 2000) 221 Typed Pages Directed by George Plasketes Arising from the inconsistencies generated by serious discourse, comedy contains the potential to expose the dominant social logic that imbues cultural forms with meanings and values that perpetuate certain methods of political, economic, and societal control. As communicated through the comedy of Bill Hicks, the dominant social logic in contemporary America represents an advanced form of cultural fascism as enabled by a capitalist economy. By reforming the meanings and values of cultural forms, Hicks provides an alternative social logic rooted in libertarian political philosophy for the purposes of individual and communal cognitive evolution. Utilizing poststructuralist theory and critical methods, this study analyzes the comedy and lifestyle of Bill Hicks in order to facilitate an understanding of the communication of power in American mass culture. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author first thanks his committee chair, Dr. George Plasketes, for wisdom, guidance, and impeccable taste in music. He also thanks his committee members, Dr. Kristen Hoerl and Dr. Robert Agne, for their patience and respectful criticisms. Special thanks goes to the author’s family- Andy, Margaret, and Mary Margaret Davis- and extended family- Dick and Pat Cobb and E. G. Hawkins- for love, encouragement, and meals. All other acknowledgements are best left for another time. vi American Psychological Association Style Manual (5th ed.) Microsoft Word 2003 vii TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................1 Bill Hicks ...............................................................................................................1 Theoretical Concerns Regarding Levels of Analysis .............................................3 Fascism ........................................................................................................7 Anarchism ...................................................................................................8 Preview of Argument ...........................................................................................10 II. ORIGINAL CONCEPTS .............................................................................................14 Fascist Ideosis ......................................................................................................14 Fascism ......................................................................................................20 Classical fascism ..........................................................................20 Cultural fascism............................................................................24 Corporatism ..................................................................................26 Global Corporate Capitalism ....................................................................29 Free-market ideology and policy ..................................................30 Communication of fascist ideology through cultural forms .........36 Culture Industries ......................................................................................37 Original development of the theory of culture industries ............38 Consumption and commodity fetishism .......................................44 Culture, administration, & capitalist production ..........................47 Advertising ...................................................................................51 Criticisms .....................................................................................53 Later developments ......................................................................55 Cognitive restructuring & the shared mental environment ..........62 Conclusions ...............................................................................................67 Revoevolution ......................................................................................................69 Distinctions between Revoevolution & Revolutionary Theory ................73 Political Implications ................................................................................79 Anarchism/Anarchy ..................................................................................83 Poststructuralist anarchism ...........................................................89 OA, TAZ, PT ................................................................................93 viii III. LITERATURE REVIEW .........................................................................................100 Metatheoretical Concerns ..................................................................................100 Power .................................................................................................................103 Humor/Comedy ..................................................................................................108 IV. METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................114 Method ...............................................................................................................114 Use of Unauthorized Source Material ................................................................117 Theoretical Implications ....................................................................................122 Conclusions ........................................................................................................128 V. ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................130 Fascist Ideosis ....................................................................................................134 Fascism & Capitalism .............................................................................134 Capitalism & Culture Industries .............................................................151 Shared mental Environment ....................................................................155 Revoevolution ....................................................................................................162 Anarchism/Anarchy ................................................................................162 Anarchism in Hicks’s comedy ...................................................163 Anarchy in Hicks’s lifestyle .......................................................168 Artistic Methods for Reforming Meaning & Value ................................173 Final Performance ...................................................................................177 VI. CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................179 Cultural Significance ..........................................................................................180 Power .................................................................................................................182 Further Implications ...........................................................................................187 REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................189 ix I. INTRODUCTION “Are you ready to take yourself as an autonomous subject through your own revolutionary choice, independently of any ‘historical mission,’ independently of all ‘transcendental guarantees’ which, between you and me, are a lot of rubbish anyway…?” - Herbert Marcuse Bill Hicks William (Bill)