Celebrating a murderous state

It is frequently received as if the dignity of the nation is invested in the quality of the spectacle produced by this performance of elite power.

With politicians implicitly measured against celebrities disappointments are inevitable. This year the discussion about how people looked and dressed, a discussion that is always gendered, took a particularly cruel turn. But Jacob Zuma came out of the usual analysis of how the President performed as a speaker in Parliament better than in previous years.