The Toxic Reigns of Resentment
About
An interview film on the emotion of resentment and how it defines culture and politics today.
The revival of nationalism paired with xenophobia, an increasing tribalization of politics, and a public sphere oscillating between cruelty and sentimentality mark significant parts of our current political Zeitgeist. Politicians, scholars and journalists alike speak of a culture of resentment that defines politics today. How did we enter such a toxic climate? Are these developments a response to the ubiquity of neoliberal market structures eroding the basic solidarities in our society? Has the spread of social media triggered a culture of trolling and hyper moralization? And has the left given in to forms of politics where moralization and cynical mockery outdo collective visions of the future? This essayistic documentary film introduces and critically discusses concepts of resentment and their relation to our current political juncture.
Specifications
Director Biography
Tim van den Hoff (1981) is a Dutch filmmaker with a focus on social issue documentaries both in Europe and the United States.
After receiving a Master of Arts in Philosophy (cum laude) from Erasmus University Rotterdam and working for Dutch public broadcaster VPRO, I started my own production company in 2011.
My work has been screened internationally, with my exploration of U.S. Civil War memory, Monumental Crossroads, being used at hundreds of universities across the world.
Jürgen Schaflechner is a research group leader at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Freie Universität Berlin. His team and he is studying the political and social movements of religious minorities in South Asia in the era of social media and communicative capitalism. He is researching and teaching cover cultural and post-colonial theory, the religious and ethnic minorities in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the socio-anthropology of martial arts, and the role of documentary film in ethnographic research as well as beeing a director of this film.
Pedagogical value
he convoluted nature of many academic ideas often presents a formidable challenge for the general populace. The Cinematic Understanding of Theory (CUT) project aims to render these intricate and multifaceted academic ideas more accessible to a broader audience. CUT takes complicated political theories that underlie everyday concepts and converts them into captivating cinematic narratives that remain academically rigorous, without sacrificing depth in the subject matter. Toxic Reigns is the first film in the CUT series. It is a powerful documentary and an engaging way to teach the complexities behind the culture and politics of «resentment.» Featuring some of the most influential voices in the field, including Wendy, Brown, Rahel Jaeggi, and Peter Sloterdijk, Toxic Reigns serves as an extensive repository of theories and philosophies related to a concept that has garnered widespread media attention for an extended period. Designed for a wide range of viewers, with a particular focus on students studying philosophy, cultural studies, political sciences, and related fields (both grad and undergrad), the film can be screened in a classroom or assigned for individual viewing to foster active participation and spark discussions among the audience.
Read more
The documentary’s sections provide students with guiding questions or prompts related to key themes, arguments, and ideas presented in the film. Toxic Reigns is produced to actively encourage the students to share their initial reactions and thoughts in a discussion. Furthermore, teachers can utilize the provided bibliography at the end of Toxic Reigns to create comprehensive courses centered around the documentary’s central theme or assign supplementary readings to enhance students’ understanding before and after viewing.
Info
Screenings
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Hansine Hansens veg 18, 9019 Tromsø
