SXSW the World’s most unique festival

By Beverly Andrews

Most international festivals seek to carve out a niche in their particular fields, be that film, music, literature or technology. SXSW though, goes in completely the opposite direction, this brash southern rebel crosses these arbitrary boundaries and has by doing so created a festival which, includes all the above. You name it and SXSW does it. This year like other festivals around the world, SXSW has had to learn to adapt to life online and in the process of doing so, they have enhanced their reputation as a global window into important trends from around the world. Here are just a few of the festival’s highlights.

Lawyer, former gubernatorial candidate, founder of both Fair Fight and Fair Count and all round saviour of democracy, Stacey Abrams, was this year’s key note conference speaker. In conversation with author N.K Jemisin, Abrams discussed her career and the importance of political activism while disclosing the fact that she is also a renowned romance author. Abrams illustrated that her ability to circumvent political barriers was perhaps a skill she mastered when she was navigating the literary world. She recounted how, when she struggled to get her first novel published, a spy thriller, she was told that these types of books written by African American authors were rarely published. She jokingly said in response “I just changed it so the two lead characters fall in love at the end, the same number of people died but it was then called a romance novel and was successfully published.” Abrams has since transferred her literary experience to the political arena and in the process of doing so noted the importance of creating a narrative in any political campaign. Stating that if you can convince voters to see themselves in your story then you are much more likely to capture their vote, to ignore this is in her words is to invite defeat. Abrams went on to stress the importance of minority voters continuing to fight and not to settle for a single victory but to realise political activism is a daily battle where you work to elect representatives who in turn will truly represent you.

A dazzling performance by Janelle Monai proceeded Abrams talk with a wonderful rendition of her politically charged Turntables, composed and recorded for the documentary on Abrams called All In: The Fight for Democracy.

Another much anticipated speaker at SXSW was "the international head" of one of the world’s most successful music labels, the Korean Big Hit Entertainment. Their Global CEO Lenzo Yoon, spoke of the label’s global strategy, both past and present, which has seen this tiny company rise rapidly through the ranks to begin one of the world’s most successful music labels. Yoon pointed to the fact that Big Hit, more than any other label, saw years ago the importance of using social media in its marketing campaign. Not simply sending out PR copy but speaking directly to fans. The company have seen in recent years how this strategy has paid off in creating perhaps the world’s most successful boy band in the shape of BTS, along with some of the world’s most dedicated fans. Speaking directly to fans, Yoon said, has created a wave of support for the band which transcends both language and cultural barriers. Given Big Hit’s success this is a marketing strategy which will surely be followed by many western labels.

These artists taken together show that the success of a group like BTS is not a one off but an illustration of the fact that South Korea has rapidly become one of the world’s most vital musical centres.

Running South Korea a close second would be the UK’s Jazz showcase, called Jazz ReFreshed Outernational and recorded at the legendary Abbey Road studios. The showcase featured such burgeoning young jazz stars such as Theon Cross, Noya Rao and Camillia George. All these artists could have global careers if the UK ever sorts out European touring visas for its UK artists. The fallout from Brexit could potentially ruin the careers of these young stars who look set to conquer the world.

Perhaps though the most powerful event during the festival was the conversation between Asian American author Charles Yu and television anchor Lisa Ling where they discussed Yu’s new book Interior Chinatown. They discussed not only the novel’s central themes, an often comical look at the long held stereotypes of Asian Americans, but the battle generations have had to fight in order to carve out a place for themselves within the American landscape. A struggle in many ways which has only been highlighted recently by the spate of hate crimes carried out against Asian Americans throughout the country in the wake of the Covid pandemic. Yu in his talk pointed to the fact that anti-Asian sentiment is nothing new in America but something which can be traced back to the very inception of the country, when the very first Asian immigrants who helped to build the country’s rail system, were denied citizenship or even the ability to have their families join them. Yu also highlighted the fact that one of the largest recorded mass lynching in America’s history was carried out against Asians Americans (1871). Speaking only days before the mass shooting in Atlanta of eight people, six of whom were Asian women, Yu points to the fact that these recent attacks are simply the latest in a long line of race hate crimes which Asian Americans have had to endure since the founding of America. It’s interesting to note that Chinese Americans were only able to become naturalised citizens in 1943 once restrictions were lifted, a direct result of China becoming a key ally in the war against Japan. But ironically this occurred at the same time as the internment of thousands of Japanese Americans in government run camps where some died . Yu’s conversation with Ling therefore highlights the fact that current hostility to the Asian American community is in itself not new, what is new is simply perhaps its visibility.