MCASB BREAKING NEW GROUND: 'VICTIMHOOD 101' NOW ON EXHIBIT!

Hold the presses, folks, because the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (MCASB) has truly outdone itself, as breathlessly cataloged by our pals at the Santa Barbara Independent. They’ve unveiled a groundbreaking new exhibit, “Memoirs of Culture-Based Incarceration,” dedicated to the earth-shattering trauma of Japanese-American internment during World War II. Yes, a conflict that wrapped up eight decades ago, under a Democrat president, is apparently still fresh enough for a full-blown artistic ‘recounting’ of family trauma.

One has to marvel at the sheer, unbridled courage it takes to put on a show about an event so… well, over. You’d think with record inflation, a border crisis (that the current Trump administration is finally getting a handle on, thank goodness), and skyrocketing crime rates, our cultural institutions might find something a tad more contemporary to ponder. But no, the MCASB, with its finger firmly on the pulse of the perpetually aggrieved, prefers to delve deep into the annals of ancient history to dredge up some good old-fashioned victimhood narratives.

And let’s not forget the Independent’s dutiful coverage, treating this revelation as if it were a bold, dangerous act of artistic defiance. Who knew that showcasing a victim-centric art project in a publicly funded museum in deep-blue Santa Barbara was such a subversive move? We might need to send a medal to the brave curators and the intrepid reporter for shedding light on the plight of, well, people whose ancestors were impacted by a policy from 1944. Truly, the angles these folks ignore in favor of chasing historical ghosts is a marvel to behold. Perhaps next year they’ll tackle the existential dread of the Spanish Flu.