Thank you for taking the time to read it and comment on it. I am grateful.
I carefully read this article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbeit_macht_frei and several others on the history of the phrase and deliberated carefully for a long time (days, actually, while in the process of writing and revising the piece). I believe that the connection to the specific song I mention with the "work" lyric, and the work required of dancers at this event, and the challenge of the environment all are points in favor of the appropriateness of the phrase. I feel that the core sentiment of the phrase -- before Nazis co-opted and tainted it -- is appropriate.
For the record, fuck Nazis (especially the ones in the White House).
I understand that you've considered the historical context of the phrase but, despite its pre-Nazi origins, "Arbeit Macht Frei" is overwhelmingly associated with the horrors of the Holocaust, much like the swastika. Using it even with the intention of highlighting the "work" within a different context is offensive and trivializes the suffering of those who were imprisoned and murdered under the Nazi regime. The historical association overshadows your intended meaning. There are other ways to express the themes of work that would not carry the same problematic connotations, and I am surprised your research did not lead you to that conclusion.
I agree that the historic association overshadows. It may always overshadow -- because once Nazi Germany touches a thing, it's tainted forever, due to the enormity of the crimes committed by that regime.
What words are we never allowed to use again, and how large a crime makes a phrase forever untouchable? Can we ever take back any of these phrases? Does the use of one of these phrases, used in new contexts, connote sympathy for Nazi Germany, a desire to (as you put it) "trivialize the suffering of Jews", ignorant carelessness, or some other sin?
I found these articles helpful in building my own understanding of the situation and the risks I was taking with the phrase.
I reject the idea that Knausgaard cannot call his autobiography "My Struggle" or that Facebook users can't quote Goebbels (to criticize the Trump administration). I reject the idea that the phrase in question is forever untouchable. As a compromise, so that it ceases to be a red herring, I might amend the article to use only the English version.
Is it your right to reclaim the phrase or that of the effected communities to decide? It's one thing to use a quote to show parallels between the political climate and historical events and another entirely to use a phrase that's come to mean forced labor until death as a comparison for how you felt during a music moment at a show.
I'll grant that the phrase has too much baggage for it to be worth the energy required to defend it here and now.
I believe freedom of artistic expression is worth fighting for, but in this post, in this context, there's not enough room to develop the themes that I'm trying to get at, and it's become a distraction for several readers (some of whom -- and you know who I'm talking about -- never intended the distraction in good faith, and never actually read the text anyway).
Thank you again for your continued engagement and support. It made a difference.
What a great piece. I’m technically an old raver, I suppose; I missed the UK glory days as was too young but went to plenty of warehouse/squat parties in the mid - late 90s (though my favourites always were and always will be the random outdoor places - Brighton beach for instance). I had a long time off as was busy with small children and am finding my way back to dance as some sort of guiding principle these last few years… and also considering writing my theis on something to do with the somatics of the dancefloor. There is so much in your piece - much I recognised, some that has only ever passed through my mind whilst actually on the dancefloor and then forgotten until the next time. So cool to read - deep bows.
This is the best comment I've received on this nascent effort to date and I'm so grateful you came here to make it. Thank you!
What's it like to dance at Brighton Beach? It's a pebble/stone beach, right? How does that even work underfoot? Or was it not literally on the beach, but in the nearby town?
Oh, you are most welcome, and thank you for your writing! Looking forward to reading more!
Brighton beach is pebbled (though I believe its pebbles were shipped in during the Victorian era; something to do with erosion and the burgeoning tourism trade). The parties I am thinking of mostly took place just along from Brighton itself in Ovingdean, which also has a pebbled beach. Brighton itself has been clubland for a long time so even in those fairly lawless days, raves weren’t really possible there.
I am fascinated by the interplay between somatic experience and environment so your question is a good one!
The Ovingdean area is somewhat liminal. The sea is on one side and in order to access the beach, one must either walk along the coast from neighbouring towns (ie Brighton in one direction which, as a longterm hedonism magnet, was where many of us came from for these parties), or via a steep spiral staircase down the cliffs. There is a large flat-ish concrete area which became the temporary dancefloor, although depending on the number of people present a lot of people did of course dance on the beach.
For me there is something about the shared space of outdoor raves, the presence of nature, that made the discomforts of the actual terrain I was dancing upon irrelevant. I don’t care what anyone says; there is no club in the world that has anything better to offer than dawn, and thousands of people cheering as the sun’s rays slant across their tired and sweaty bodies whilst the DJ [sidenote: the idea of ‘superstar DJ’s’ was laughed at in my crowd] chose just the right track for the moment. That is *chef’s kiss* to me. It’s a hill I’m happy to die on - pay £30 or whatever for a transactional experience, or dance in the fields for free? Um, that is a no-brainer.
Some of the best parties I went to were in woods and fields. The actual terrain is not great for knees, hips and backs, but I always felt somehow supported in the dance by the sponginess of a woodland floor or whatever. And of course sound is highly impacted by the space it’s moving through, and one could never remove all the variables that might cause the quality to plummet. Certainly, I went to many a party where the wind would swirl the music one way or another at random, affecting of course the body’s physical response, and not always in a good way. But again, this was part of the point for me.
I exited the party scene when it started to get really commercial. That was somewhat because, yep, I am a purist and an idealist; it was also because the idea of a sprung floor, water on tap, medics looking out for me – all of that that of course some people welcome and need – seemed part of a curated experience that was literally what I was trying to get away from.
I love all of this detail and am grateful for it. I plan to write about the "theatrics" that nature can provide a dancefloor, and I think there's nothing more primal and beautiful than sunset and sunrise. All of our technology can't match the everyday miracle of the sun's rise and set. The power of these two moments is built into our DNA and even as I write this comment and think about last night's sunset, I'm crying at the remembered beauty of it. Unbeatable.
I love this article. I found my way here from the subreddit for the party...which I attended. Would you be interested in talking about this on a podcast? If so, what is a good email that you can be reached at? If not, what is a good email you can be reached at...I will try to convince you...lol. Much respect either way. :)
Awesome. I'll send you an email. It will be coming from a protonmail account. Keep your eye out for it because sometimes those end up in spam for some reason.
Good article but I think the Auschwitz slogan was unnecessary to make your point.
Thank you for taking the time to read it and comment on it. I am grateful.
I carefully read this article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbeit_macht_frei and several others on the history of the phrase and deliberated carefully for a long time (days, actually, while in the process of writing and revising the piece). I believe that the connection to the specific song I mention with the "work" lyric, and the work required of dancers at this event, and the challenge of the environment all are points in favor of the appropriateness of the phrase. I feel that the core sentiment of the phrase -- before Nazis co-opted and tainted it -- is appropriate.
For the record, fuck Nazis (especially the ones in the White House).
I understand that you've considered the historical context of the phrase but, despite its pre-Nazi origins, "Arbeit Macht Frei" is overwhelmingly associated with the horrors of the Holocaust, much like the swastika. Using it even with the intention of highlighting the "work" within a different context is offensive and trivializes the suffering of those who were imprisoned and murdered under the Nazi regime. The historical association overshadows your intended meaning. There are other ways to express the themes of work that would not carry the same problematic connotations, and I am surprised your research did not lead you to that conclusion.
I agree that the historic association overshadows. It may always overshadow -- because once Nazi Germany touches a thing, it's tainted forever, due to the enormity of the crimes committed by that regime.
What words are we never allowed to use again, and how large a crime makes a phrase forever untouchable? Can we ever take back any of these phrases? Does the use of one of these phrases, used in new contexts, connote sympathy for Nazi Germany, a desire to (as you put it) "trivialize the suffering of Jews", ignorant carelessness, or some other sin?
I found these articles helpful in building my own understanding of the situation and the risks I was taking with the phrase.
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/why-name-your-book-after-hitlers
https://www.oversightboard.com/decision/bun-7zoqzby0/
I reject the idea that Knausgaard cannot call his autobiography "My Struggle" or that Facebook users can't quote Goebbels (to criticize the Trump administration). I reject the idea that the phrase in question is forever untouchable. As a compromise, so that it ceases to be a red herring, I might amend the article to use only the English version.
Is it your right to reclaim the phrase or that of the effected communities to decide? It's one thing to use a quote to show parallels between the political climate and historical events and another entirely to use a phrase that's come to mean forced labor until death as a comparison for how you felt during a music moment at a show.
I'll grant that the phrase has too much baggage for it to be worth the energy required to defend it here and now.
I believe freedom of artistic expression is worth fighting for, but in this post, in this context, there's not enough room to develop the themes that I'm trying to get at, and it's become a distraction for several readers (some of whom -- and you know who I'm talking about -- never intended the distraction in good faith, and never actually read the text anyway).
Thank you again for your continued engagement and support. It made a difference.
What a great piece. I’m technically an old raver, I suppose; I missed the UK glory days as was too young but went to plenty of warehouse/squat parties in the mid - late 90s (though my favourites always were and always will be the random outdoor places - Brighton beach for instance). I had a long time off as was busy with small children and am finding my way back to dance as some sort of guiding principle these last few years… and also considering writing my theis on something to do with the somatics of the dancefloor. There is so much in your piece - much I recognised, some that has only ever passed through my mind whilst actually on the dancefloor and then forgotten until the next time. So cool to read - deep bows.
This is the best comment I've received on this nascent effort to date and I'm so grateful you came here to make it. Thank you!
What's it like to dance at Brighton Beach? It's a pebble/stone beach, right? How does that even work underfoot? Or was it not literally on the beach, but in the nearby town?
Oh, you are most welcome, and thank you for your writing! Looking forward to reading more!
Brighton beach is pebbled (though I believe its pebbles were shipped in during the Victorian era; something to do with erosion and the burgeoning tourism trade). The parties I am thinking of mostly took place just along from Brighton itself in Ovingdean, which also has a pebbled beach. Brighton itself has been clubland for a long time so even in those fairly lawless days, raves weren’t really possible there.
I am fascinated by the interplay between somatic experience and environment so your question is a good one!
The Ovingdean area is somewhat liminal. The sea is on one side and in order to access the beach, one must either walk along the coast from neighbouring towns (ie Brighton in one direction which, as a longterm hedonism magnet, was where many of us came from for these parties), or via a steep spiral staircase down the cliffs. There is a large flat-ish concrete area which became the temporary dancefloor, although depending on the number of people present a lot of people did of course dance on the beach.
For me there is something about the shared space of outdoor raves, the presence of nature, that made the discomforts of the actual terrain I was dancing upon irrelevant. I don’t care what anyone says; there is no club in the world that has anything better to offer than dawn, and thousands of people cheering as the sun’s rays slant across their tired and sweaty bodies whilst the DJ [sidenote: the idea of ‘superstar DJ’s’ was laughed at in my crowd] chose just the right track for the moment. That is *chef’s kiss* to me. It’s a hill I’m happy to die on - pay £30 or whatever for a transactional experience, or dance in the fields for free? Um, that is a no-brainer.
Some of the best parties I went to were in woods and fields. The actual terrain is not great for knees, hips and backs, but I always felt somehow supported in the dance by the sponginess of a woodland floor or whatever. And of course sound is highly impacted by the space it’s moving through, and one could never remove all the variables that might cause the quality to plummet. Certainly, I went to many a party where the wind would swirl the music one way or another at random, affecting of course the body’s physical response, and not always in a good way. But again, this was part of the point for me.
I exited the party scene when it started to get really commercial. That was somewhat because, yep, I am a purist and an idealist; it was also because the idea of a sprung floor, water on tap, medics looking out for me – all of that that of course some people welcome and need – seemed part of a curated experience that was literally what I was trying to get away from.
Phew, lots to say!!
I love all of this detail and am grateful for it. I plan to write about the "theatrics" that nature can provide a dancefloor, and I think there's nothing more primal and beautiful than sunset and sunrise. All of our technology can't match the everyday miracle of the sun's rise and set. The power of these two moments is built into our DNA and even as I write this comment and think about last night's sunset, I'm crying at the remembered beauty of it. Unbeatable.
I love this article. I found my way here from the subreddit for the party...which I attended. Would you be interested in talking about this on a podcast? If so, what is a good email that you can be reached at? If not, what is a good email you can be reached at...I will try to convince you...lol. Much respect either way. :)
I'd love to chat on your podcast about it! <shared my email>
Awesome. I'll send you an email. It will be coming from a protonmail account. Keep your eye out for it because sometimes those end up in spam for some reason.