#upton and i are on a first name basis dont worry about it

[girinma]

ok i've been super lazy about this but finally here's my review of Oil!

Oil! is an Upton Sinclair novel about the son of an oil millionaire in the california oil boom, starting when he's 13 up to his twenties. this book has everything. there's the frenzy of oil drilling at the turn of the century. there's WWI. there's hollywood misogyny and abuse. there's leftist infighting. The dad accidentally starts a cult. there's strikes. there's two violent scenes that make you remember Sinclair wrote The Jungle.

I LOVED this book. So many things happen so nothing drags, but at the same time, nothing is ever dropped. It is shockingly relevant to the current moment and would make a fantastic book club discussion book. There's capitalism vs socialism vs communism, and the power oil has over the world. The modern lens of climate change puts this incredible doom over everything because you know every move the oil magnates make is destroying the entire planet. You can talk about Me Too. Upton predicts WWII but doesn't seem to recognize fascism as the enemy it is? Despite mentioning Mussolini?

9/10 it gets dinged because of his racism keeping him from doing a full critique of the labor movement at the time. if he was like "maybe we should include people of color in unions" it would be a perfect book. alas.

that being said I DO highly recommend. we gotta go wild for the 100th anniversary of this one.

Overt racism is rare but Upton's personal prejudice stops him from being able to see the flaw of segregation in the labor movement. The most striking moment to me is when Bunny is at a hollywood party during prohibition and there are asian servants silently passing out drinks to all the stars. And rather than comment on how these men are seen as invisible by the white stars, they're supposed to be symbols of the alcohol the carry and the desire to drink??? like??? the thesis of the book is hindered by his racism.

I think you could do a pretty faithful TV adaptation and add in race without it feeling off. I could see Rachel as being abnormally pro-equality and bringing up Mexican farm workers in discussion of workers' rights, since she and her family did summer picking work.

The book is surprisingly progressive with women? Women can have careers and go to college??? In my old book? The 20s sexual dynamic also makes the whole thing feel more modern.

I keep thinking about a modern AU and I almost see Bunny as like a child of a Paypal mafia guy? A Jeff Bezos? Like they have to be nouveau rich. Bunny is worried about the labor conditions in their factories or warehouses or whatever. Everything else plays out the same but Papa Ross explicitly calls Bunny gay rather than soft. Literally everything else can be the same and still make sense.

Upton really got me with the ending because i was so sure he was going to have Bunny set up a dumb utopian society and have a happy ending. but then Ruth kills herself in an oil well and its like. that's how this story is supposed to end. i never should have doubted you.

[snarksuke]

ONE

name:  lets not worry about it nickname: mik~ zodiac sign: pisces/aries cusp height:  5′6″ im growin fight me this doejsdnskn5r it doesnt mean anythign orientation: gay ethnicity: black favorite fruit: mandarins favorite season: FALL~ favorite books: the jungle by upton sinclair and how to be black by baratunde thurston favorite flower: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ favorite scent: i just love dirt. if there were a clean way to have that smell all over me id be soooooo happy. but also petrichor oh man. im also a big fan of dirty from lush favorite animal: coatis!!

coffee, tea, or hot cocoa ? im a fan of all three but the first and the last all need specific situations to be at their best. teas great all the time tho average hours of sleep: based on what needs to be doin i float between 2 and 4 hours but if im bein greedy i can get between the normal 6-8 cats or dogs ? ive got both but the cats oh goshhhhh favorite fictional character: i love uncle iroh? obv yosuke and nick wilde def. theres so many more but this isnt a characters meme dream trip: same as before, fashion trip in korea, gorge meself in japan and kick it in hawaii when was your blog created ? late 2015 what do you post about: bein an rp blog that feels obvious. theres dogs here sometimes? many times. on the personals its general just me art and then politics and bts >>; do you get asks on a regular basis ? not really? i mean theres memes but me box keeps pretty quiet. aesthetic: im not sure if theres a word for it but like, when folk have nailed basebal bats and pastel colors and wee bit of blood and like?? i dont wanna say harley quinn but its harley quinn probably favorite band/artist ? at the moment its bts but its usual  the carpenterscant do them anymore ad memeories  that i cant answer this cause my tastes are so broad and unfocused i cant say i listen to any one artist more than any other.  fictional characters i’d date: i actually dont have an answer for this one. marco diaz seems fun hogwarts house: ravenclaw

TWO

countries i’ve lived in: just the us favorite fandom: im gonna be honest here and say i tend to think that fandoms in general are pretty trashy and i like to keep out of em. they all seem the same lol no answer languages you speak: english and im slowly teachin meself spanish german and korean favorite film of 2016: tie up between moana and zootopia last article you read: a story talkin about democrats’ reception to people talking about single payer during a townhall and i cant remember titles to save my life shuffle your music library and put your first three songs here: tiernamente -  santo & johnny, electric worry - clutch, 가슴 아픈 말 -  standing egg last thing you bought online:  thats kinda personal >>;;;; how would your enemies describe you ? cold who would you take a bullet for? my fuckin animals they need me

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