Who Shaped Your Leftism?
A positive post for once, with a question: who or what inspired or shaped your path into whatever leftist position you hold now? I'll go first.
For thinkers it has to be Gramsci, Luxemburg, Paine and Goldman. They obviously wouldn't all agree with each other on everything, but they each fundamentally defined my feelings on certain aspects of leftism. I don't subscribe to one set ideology, as Hegel himself, essentially the grandaddy of Marx's own outlook, would have suggested.
Reading-wise, it actually wasn't theory that pushed me left, despite owning a copy of Kapital from age 14. It was Grapes Of Wrath by John Steinbeck, A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain and Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell. All (mostly) fiction, yes, but incredibly good at conveying the same essential messages as most ML's basic reading lists, in a far more approachable form.
Musically, it has to be Rage Against The Machine and System Of A Down of course, but also sea shanties and work songs. The power of communal singing when united in purpose is something especially powerful when done right.
In terms of cinema, The Matrix was formative for me. So much so that I went on to write my main dissertation thesis at university on the throughline from Homer all the way to the Wachowski sisters.
I highly recommend you enjoy all of the things I listed above and look forward to learning of some new inspiration for myself too.