Doppelganger
A Trip Into the Mirror World
by Naomi Klein
ISBN 9780241621301
Naomi Klein (author of The Shock Doctrine and No Logo) thought it was a little weird when people started mistaking 'Other Naomi' (Naomi Wolf) for her. After all, although they share a first name, had brown hair and at one time had views that seemed at least somewhat similar on the surface, Other Naomi had since fallen deeper and deeper into the world of right wing conspiracy theories. As confusion about which Naomi was spouting this stuff grew more widespread, and she received nasty comments online and overheard conversations criticizing her for comments Other Naomi had made, Klein became more distressed. She started to think about the doppelganger idea and decided to find out more about what hers was saying and doing. She began to watch and listen to media where Other Naomi appeared, looked through her website and writings, and began to wonder how Other Naomi went from what she was to what she is. As she got further into this journey, she saw patterns emerge that are relevant to all of us and to society at large, making connections between the idea of the doppelganger and how we live our lives online, doppelganger politics, economics, and more. For example, Klein points out that anyone who has an online presence is, in a sense, their own doppelganger. She discusses a 'Mirror World' of conspiracy theories in which genuine issues are given bizarre explanations and there is an attempt to create a false equivalency of victimhood. The ideas in this world are often contradictory--the point is not to create a coherent narrative or to convince anyone who is actually paying attention, but is a tool to distract and encourage denial both inside this world and outside it.
This book is not a simple criticism of the Mirror World, but also shows the ways in which those outside it, who are not mired in right wing media and conspiracy theories have their own issues-- in the 'Shadow Lands' where people who are critical of the inherent racism of the far right, for example, don't see the ugly reality underneath the comforting mythologies colonial countries like the US, Canada, and others are built on.
Klein is doing what she does so well here--investigating deeply, going where her findings take her, pulling various threads of thought and observation together, and making connections. It's a book full of insight, keen observation, and critical thinking and one that is definitely timely and important. I highly recommend it.
I thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a digital advanced review copy.
7 comments:
Not a book I would have chosen, but it was nice to read your review and recommendation, thank you.
All the best Jan
Whatever you decide to read, Jan, I hope it's good! :-)
Sounds fascinating.
I have been waiting for documentaries and social commentary on how we have gotten where we are and how so many people are believing the most ridiculous storylines. I watched an interview with a gal that insisted that Kennedy was actually the acting president. Not John Jr. but JFK. She said it, so very sure of herself, completely ignoring the most glaring issue (aside from him having received a bullet to the head) that JFK would be 106 years old were he still alive.
I am a person that tries to see things from others points of view, just to understand, but, so far, I have been unable to get an inkling as to how this has happened.
Maybe I need to pick this up.
I come at it all from a different angle--I knew where things were going at least 15 years ago, but when I would try to talk to my lefty friends, I was brushed off. I used to know/hang out with people who would later become fans of the former president. They were conspiracy theorists even then and of course the republican party was already engaging in the kinds of tactics, like voter suppression, that are getting more coverage now. I still wonder about one person in particular who was on my soup kitchen crew and who used to tell me that 'it wasn't going to get that bad.' When I understood that people genuinely didn't understand what was happening and going to get worse, I knew it was time to focus on leaving. It took another 7 years, but we did. So I suppose one reason I thought the book was good was that she comes to many of the same conclusions I did then--just the examples are different.
I don't know if you've ever seen Jordan Klepper on Comedy Central. We watch him on youtube, since we don't have a TV, but he does a great job of talking to people like the one who was sure JFK is president. Sounds like something he would encounter--LOL(ish).
Identity theft is definitely traumatic! In this case, Wolf isn't deliberately trying to engage in that. It's just that regular people got the two confused and Klein got a lot of mistaken anger directed at her because of what Wolf said/did.
I am a great admirer of Naomi Klein, a fellow Canadian, and I will make a point of getting my hands on this book. Thanks for the review, Shari.
She does excellent and important work.
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