You’ll all be pleased to know that Points recently passed the 50,000-view mark–nothing spectacular, of course, but worthy of note in our little corner of the electronic universe. If you’re new to Points, or just curious, here’s a walk back through the ten most-viewed posts. If you haven’t seen them before, why not take a look?
What the Hell's it Good For?
11. Siobhan Reynolds, “We Are the Drug War: Prohibition as Success”: I couldn’t help but include this final guest post from Siobhan Reynolds, posted back in July, 2011. The eleventh-most-viewed post concludes, “it no longer makes sense to talk about the War on Drugs as something we as a nation do. The drug war forms the structure of our political system both domestically and abroad. It is, rather, what we are.”
10. AND 9. Ron Roizen, “Washington State’s Prop. 1183 Passes Easily” AND “Washington State’s Prop. 1183: The Iowa Dustup and Trends Thereafter”: the ninth and tenth most-viewed posts were part of Ron’s extended discussion (in October-November, 2011) of Proposition 1183 and the privatization of liquor sales. Interest in 1183 led a lot of folks to read Ron’s thoughtful discussion.
8. Siobhan Reynolds, “Abusive Treatment: Drug Prohibition and the Erosion of the Doctor/Patient Relationship”: The third post in Reynolds’ guest series, this one from June, 2011.
Redemption Songs
7. Eoin Cannon, “Boxing, Crack, and Class in The Fighter“: This guest post from May, 2011, is the seventh most-viewed. Cannon’s thoughtful post places the film The Fighter and its story of Dicky Ecklund’s addiction and recovery into the larger context of recovery narratives.
6. Siobhan Reynolds, “Getting Relief in Wartime: Opioids, Pain Management, and the War on Drugs”: The second guest post of Reynolds’ series.
5. Joe Spillane, “The Stoned Ages”: This post from September, 2011, announced the forthcoming History Channel documentary The Stoned Ages, which featured several regular Points contributors. A more substantive follow-up post is in the Points top twenty.
4. Eoin Cannon, “Clinical Sentiments, Part 2: Shane MacGowan”: In this April, 2011 post Cannon reflects on the best of what songwriters can do with addiction: “not scorning the very real felt experiences that addicts report, but instead making meaning from the tense interpenetrations of artistic and therapeutic purposes.”
3. Ron Roizen, “Washington State’s Proposition 1183: Consumer Convenience or Culture and History?”: This the the post that started Ron’s series on Prop. 1183. Timely and interesting when it appeared in October, 2011, it is still worth a read!
Prohibition in the Headlines
2. Jason Lantzer, “Burns and Novick’s Prohibtion: Lantzer on Episode Three”: The day after the Ken Burns and Lynn Novick documentary series Prohibition ended on PSB, this concluding commentary by Jason Lantzer began drawing (and still draws) lots of views. Readers may also wish to check out David Fahey on Episode One and Episode Two, and Frankie Bailey on Episode Two–all of which have substantial readership in their own right.
Which brings us, to channel Casey Kasem, to number one…
1. Brian Herrera, “There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Diane: What Morality, Medicine & Documentary Can’t Explain”: In July, 2011, former Contributing Editor Brian Herrera posted these reflections on the documentary feature, There’s Something Wrong With Aunt Diane. In his post, Herrera writes: “…with subtlety and emotional precision, Liz Garbus’s film reveals how morality remains an intransigent, prevailing explanation for why someone drinks even as ascendant, comparably totalizing medical (whether psychiatric or forensic) explanations become ever more familiar. Yet the contribution of Garbus’s film derives from how deftly it underscores the inadequacy of all these discourses (whether moral, medical, or cinematic) to finally answer the tacit question so hauntingly posed by Emma Hance as she observed There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Diane.” Like the film itself, Brian’s post generated considerable response last summer, and continues to find readers.
Are these the ten “best” posts? Probably not. But they offer up a snapshot of where Points intersects with the vagaries of internet readership. For my part, I’m eager to see what posts capture that readership over the course of the next 50,000 views! And coming soon, one last milestone–our 500th comment.
Celebrate Good Posts--Come On!