Radical chic
Radical chic is the fashionable practice of
The concept has been described as "an exercise in double-tracking one's public image: on the one hand, defining oneself through committed allegiance to a radical cause, but on the other, vitally, demonstrating this allegiance because it is the fashionable,
Origin and meaning
The phrase "radical chic" originated in a 1970
[Wolfe's] subject is how culture's patrician classes – the wealthy, fashionable intimates of high society – have sought to luxuriate in both a vicarious glamour and a monopoly on virtue through their public espousal of street politics: a politics, moreover, of minorities so removed from their sphere of experience and so absurdly, diametrically, opposed to the islands of privilege on which the cultural aristocracy maintain their isolation, that the whole basis of their relationship is wildly out of kilter from the start. ... In short, Radical Chic is described as a form of highly developed decadence; and its greatest fear is to be seen not as prejudiced or unaware, but as middle-class.
— Michael Bracewell, "Molotov Cocktails"[1]
Background
The concept of "fashionable" espousal of radical causes by members of wealthy society in this case had been argued against by Bernstein's wife,
The negative reaction prompted publication of an op-ed in the Times on January 16 entitled "False Note on Black Panthers" that was severely critical of the Black Panther Party and Bernstein:
Emergence of the Black Panthers as the romanticized darlings of the politico-cultural jet set is an affront to the majority of black Americans. ... the group therapy plus fund-raising soiree at the home of Leonard Bernstein, as reported in this newspaper yesterday, represents the sort of elegant slumming that degrades patrons and patronized alike. It might be dismissed as guilt-relieving fun spiked with social consciousness, except for its impact on those blacks and whites seriously working for complete equality and social justice.[5]
Felicia Montealegre wrote and personally delivered a response to this op-ed to the Times offices.[2] In her response she wrote:
As a civil libertarian, I asked a number of people to my house on Jan. 14 in order to hear the lawyer and others involved with the Panther 21 discuss the problem of civil liberties as applicable to the men now waiting trial, and to help raise funds for their legal expenses. ... It was for this deeply serious purpose that our meeting was called. The frivolous way in which it was reported as a "fashionable" event is unworthy of the Times, and offensive to all people who are committed to humanitarian principles of justice.[2][6]
Related terms
Terrorist chic (also known as "terror chic" or "militant chic") is a more recent and specific variation of the term. It refers to the
Instances of terrorist chic have variously been interpreted as morally irresponsible, earnestly
Shortly after the October 17, 1997 burial with military honors in
See also
- Baizuo
- Champagne socialist
- Che Guevara in fashion
- Jihad Cool
- Lifestyle anarchism
- Limousine liberal
- Lesbian chic
- List of chics
- Nostalgie de la boue
- Porno chic
- Redwashing
- Social justice warrior
- Virtue signalling
- Woke
References
- ^ a b Bracewell, Michael (November–December 2004). "Molotov Cocktails". Frieze Magazine. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
- ^ a b c d Wolfe, Tom (June 8, 1970). "Radical Chic: that Party at Lenny's" (PDF). New York. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 31, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2010.
Wolfe, Tom (June 8, 1970). "Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny's". New York. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2010. - ^ Foote, Timothy (December 21, 1970). "Fish in the Brandy Snifter". Time Magazine. Time Inc. Archived from the original on December 23, 2007. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
- ^ "BBC – When Leonard Bernstein partied with the Black Panthers". BBC. Archived from the original on January 27, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- ^ "False Note on Black Panthers". The New York Times. January 16, 1970.
- ^ Bernstein, Felicia M. (January 21, 1970). "Letters to the Editor of The Times: Panthers' Legal Aid". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
- Independent News & Media. Archivedfrom the original on January 18, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
- ^ Herr, Cheryl (July 2004). "Terrorist Chic and Marching Season Style". The Vacuum. Factotum. Archived from the original on November 20, 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
- ^ Miller, Henry K (October 28, 2002). "Fatal attraction". New Statesman. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
- ^ Connolly, Kate (October 6, 2002). "Astrid Proll's journey to Terror Chic". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
- ^ Smiley, Shannon (February 20, 2005). "Germany Debates 'Terrorist Chic': Art and Fashion Stir Memories of Leftist Violence in '70s". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
- ^ Hernandez, Daniel (April 9, 2006). "'Terrorist Chic' and Beyond". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
- ^ Lando, Michal (January 19, 2007). "US chain pulls 'anti-war' keffiyehs". The Jerusalem Post. Mirkaei Tikshoret Ltd. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
- ^ Cuba salutes 'Che' Guevara: Revolutionary Icon Finally Laid to Rest Archived April 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine CNN, October 17, 1997
- ^ a b Bernstein, Richard (November 26, 1997). "Critic's Notebook; Looking Back With Cooled Passions at Che's Image". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ^ Gillespie, Nick (December 11, 2008). "Killer Chic: Hollywood's Sick Love Affair with Che Guevara". Reason. Archived from the original on May 13, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
Further reading
- Herr, Cheryl (1994). "Terrorist Chic: Style and Domination in Contemporary Ireland". In ISBN 0-8135-2033-9..
- Selzer, Michael (1979). Terrorist Chic: An Exploration of Violence in the Seventies. New York: Hawthorn Books. ISBN 0-8015-7534-6..
External links
Lists of examples
- Darling, it's so radical chic
- Radical sheep
- The revolution will not be accessorised
- 'Radical Chic' Loses Luster by Joshua Goodman, Sun Journal, November 26, 2007
- TERROr.chic – the artist