Murakami has the perfect analogy for the vast rightwing echo chamber that labels mass shooting survivors as “crisis actors.”
Tag Archives: Haruki Murakami
On Labeling Survivors as “Crisis Actors”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged conspiracy theories, crisis actors, NRA, Parkland Florida shooting, Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Comments closed
Murakami and Millennials’ Identity Quests
Murakami’s novels appeal to millennials because they are existential parables, and young people are grappling with life’s big questions, especially identity and purpose.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged existential quest, existentialism, Hard Boiled Wonderland, Kafka on the Shore, millennials, Wild Sheep Chase, Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Comments closed
Note to Men: Face Your Inner Violence
To grapple with the fact of male sexual assault, it helps to have powerful literary explorations. Murakami provides one in “Kafka on the Shore.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged bell hooks, Kafka on the Shore, male violence, Roy Moore, sexual harassment, Will to Change Comments closed
Murakami on Ideology’s Hollowness
Murakami’s diatribe against rigid ideologues in “Kafka on the Shore” applies only too well to figures on the American right.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged GOP, Kafka on the Shore, politics, rightwing ideologues Comments closed
Putin as Murakami’s Boris the Manskinner
Murakami’s Boris the Manskinner has an unsettling resemblance to Vladimir Putin and wannabe authoritarian Donald Trump. Without strong beliefs, one cannot stand up to him.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Donald Trump, Magnitsky Act, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, politics, Russia sanctions, Vladimir, Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Comments closed
Murakami Explains Lure of Fascism
Murakami’s “Wild Sheep Chase” helps explain why young men are drawn to fascism, as we saw in Charlottesville.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Charlottesville demonstrations, Confederate statues, Heather Heyer, KKK, neofascism, white nationalism, white supremacy, Wild Sheep Chase Comments closed
Murakami: Don’t Be a Sheep
Murakami’s “Wild Sheep Chase” is a modern parable that has important lessons for confronting authoritarian regimes. That’s the lesson one of my Bernie supporters took from it. Another student used it to support his decision to come out.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged coming out, Donald Trump, LBGTQ issues, Wild Sheep Chase Comments closed
The Magic Spell Cast by Stories
In “1Q84” Murakami describes novels as holding out the promise to solve our problems only we can’t quite make them out.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged 1Q84, Charles Dickens, children reading, Little Lord Fauntleroy, Oliver Twist, Ozma of Oz, Twelfth Night Comments closed
Trump Sees Garbage and Rocks in Foes
I’ve compared Donald Trump to Murakami’s villain in “Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.” Today I dig deeper into the comparison.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump, politics, Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Comments closed
