Community is the true star of Russell Brand's revolution
- Text by Huck HQ / Alex King
- Photography by José Sarmento de Matos
#31 – Russell Brand
The flamboyant Essex-born comedian Russell Brand is an unlikely revolutionary. He rose to fame before ending up in rehab for sex and heroin addiction, with his personal turmoil and excess all played out before the cameras. Brand knows how to command attention, but it’s the personal stories that surround him that resonate the loudest. So, what finally opened his eyes to the need for change?
“Not feeling a sense of personal connection to what’s happening. You’re told that you’re supposed to get rich and famous and be happy and consume. If you’ve tried that and it doesn’t work, what do you do? It means that everything they’re telling us isn’t true. Capitalism doesn’t work, consumerism doesn’t work. What works is community.”
“The only people that matter are people like Jasmin, people that are directly affected and just get on with it. I’m really interested in local activism where people are taking a stand to participate in new systems now that the obvious super structures around us are dissolving. […] It’s over the minute we go, ‘We’ve seen your system and it’s wonderful, what a delightful suit and tie you’re wearing but we’re gonna just get on and build the kind of society we want.’”
This is just a short excerpt from Huck’s Fiftieth Special, a collection of fifty personal stories from fifty inspiring lives.
Grab a copy now to read all fifty stories in full. Subscribe to make sure you don’t miss another issue.
You might like
In photos: Black Texas life since emancipation
Kinship & Community — A new photobook and exhibition showcases the rich culture, history and community of African American folks in the Lone Star State, whose existence in the region predates colonial Britain.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Youthful joy & end-of-era poignancy at a London school prom
Leavers — For several years, Lewis Khan documented young people as they celebrated the last of their school days and the completion of their exams. The series is now collated in a new self-published photobook and short film.
Written by: Zoe Whitfield
Harry Gruyaert’s vintage, kaleidoscopic scenes of New York
A Sense of Place — For 50 years, the Belgian photographer and Magnum Photos member has been capturing NYC’s colourful chaos. A new photobook and exhibition showcase his unique, technicolour view of the city.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Inside Lower Duck Pond, the nicest town on the internet
/r/HaveWeMet — With a population of 2,500 and no fixed location, the subreddit is a space for roleplaying citizens to solve mysteries, host fictional events and ultimately connect. In an internet that’s often divided and toxic, Vicky Jessop hangs out in one of its most wholesome corners.
Written by: Vicky Jessop
A major Nan Goldin exhibition is coming to London
You Never Did Anything Wrong — Opening at the Hayward Gallery in November, the show will debut a new film from the artist and activist, alongside a slate of recent work.
Written by: Jack Dennison-Thompson
Tender portraits of women serving life sentences in America
Looking Inside — While working as a public defender attorney in New York State, Sara Bennett found dilapidated prisons and forgotten people. Her new photobook harnesses the power of images and shines a humanising light on those imprisoned for serious crimes and their reintegration into society, while asking questions of the USA’s incarceration system.
Written by: Miss Rosen
