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This blog has been created as a forum for students at the University of Michigan enrolled in a course titled "Technology and The Environment", designed by Professor Joe Trumpey for the School of Art and Design. This section is lead by graduate student instructor Ashley L. Lieber
14 comments:
Rachel Less
November 14, 2008
Section 5, Ashley
The quote (well, paragraph) that most stuck out to me was on page 61 where Lasn was talking about a wedding party with a leaking septic tank. He stated, “A friend recently recounted a great urban legend. It was about a grand country wedding on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. It had been an affair to remember, the union of two well-off and respected families. The reception was held in one of the locals’ big, grassy backyards. There was a band, and one by one everyone got up to dance. It turned out that septic pipes ran under that lawn. The weight of dozens of guests bearing down was too much for the system, and the pipes burst. Raw sewage rose up through the grass. It began to cover everyone’s shoes. If anybody notices, they didn’t say anything. The champagne flowed, the music continued. Until finally a little boy said, “It smells like shit!” And suddenly everyone realized they were ankle deep in it….Those who have clued in apparently figure it’s best to ignore the shit and just keep dancing.” Firstly, I think the urban legend is ridiculous, whether it is true or not. If you are that unobservant that you do not notice you are ankle deep in human waste, (without sounding too mean) there is not much anyone can do for you. I mean, there is a distinct smell of sewage when you are walking at the corner of Murfin and Hubbard and every time me and my friends go by there, we smell it and acknowledge it immediately.
As for a comparison to America, I really do not think we are ignoring what is going on. I think a lot of people are aware of what’s going on, but they know that realistically, there is nothing that can be done about it. For example, when it comes to a country’s method of treatment of their workers/regulations for a workplace, there’s really nothing that I, as an individual, can do about it. Not buying their clothes means nothing and it will not make them change. It really has to do with that government and its controls. And with that, you’re also getting in to, “where and when does our government step in?” For example, it is extremely wrong that there are horrible working conditions in Bangladesh, but it is up to us to step in? And if we did, what would we do? Take over the country? Many feel it is wrong that we stepped in to Iraq, and then also, that it is wrong that we did not step in to Rwanda during the genocide. We cannot tell another country what they can and cannot do, but in many cases we are trying to do just that. The only way we could influence another country is by making a law saying that we will not accept their clothing or other items where these poor practices are being upheld (and judging by the state of the economy, that is not going to be on our top priorities list).
I cannot think of an example in our country (where we do have control) where we are just letting shit fly by and we’re ignoring it (unless it’s because we have to). We are fully aware that McDonald’s is bad for you, and because of that, not many people eat it. We also know that cars contribute to global warming, but what can we do? Taking public transportation/biking to work is not an option for most people because of distance (even Prof. Trumpey drives in to Ann Arbor) so we HAVE to take a car. If something seriously is going wrong with the country, we are doing the best we can as individuals or groups to fix it.
http://aralbalkan.com/images/arp_mcdonalds.jpg
Lindsay Bienick
November 15, 2008
The quote I find most interesting is on page 74: “Their lives and circumstances are very different, but Janet, Matt, Sarah and Randy all have this in common: They’re meat on the killing floor of the body-image factory. The way they think about themselves as physical beings has become grossly distorted. They’ve lost control of their sexuality. They are no longer making the decisions about how they should look, what they should feel, or what constitutes a successful relationship.” In relation to this quote, it is apparent that much of our American society has succumbed to these same distortions of the four people Lasn described. The question is: how has this happened? Lasn blames it on those who work in Hollywood, Paris, Milan, etc., basically those who obsessed with “high” fashion and have powerful media access. But then I question how did this idea of “high” fashion become accepted. When did the idea “... if we are thin and toned and well tailored, we will be loved,” come into play?
Just hundreds of years ago, the ideal standard for a woman was to be heavier with pale skin. This showed that the woman was good for childbearing and considered well off because she was out of the sun. Those who were tan we considered peasants that worked outside a lot. Ironically, today, we see women in the opposite role. America’s beauty is tan (fake or not) and skinny. With this look we must ask the question whether or not a woman who devotes herself to such standards is actually healthy enough to bare a child. I don’t think so. With all the problems women are having today due to pollution and toxins in what we eat, the last thing we need to worry about is whether a woman has enough nutrients in her to support a baby, let alone herself. I feel that it is selfish that we have to make ourselves look this standard, especially if it hurts our chances at reproduction?
Sadly, in the example of Matt, it is because of men’s wishes that women have followed the path to skinny, tan, and beautiful. However, when looking at other men, for example Randy, we see that men are now having the same problem with their own physical appearance. Some feel that they will not be accepted until they are hyped up on steroids and pumping iron three times the size of their own weight. In both men’s and women’s cases, it is obvious that a certain amount of fakeness contributes to these standards… being tan, big blonde hair, huge muscles. I don’t understand why some people think fake is real, and that real is to plane and ugly.
I believe in being healthy and physically fit, but today people are taking these terms to new extents. Sometimes I feel that the new definition of “healthy” really isn’t healthy at all when it includes running 9 miles a day and then eating just to throw up it back up, or injecting things into your body that limit your sperm count. I’ve dealt with a best friend in high school that had suffered from these problems of continuous running and bulimia and I watched her suffer for way to long. It got so bad that what had started off as being more attractive quickly turned into something more than just unattractive, with her passing out constantly, having to start buying clothes in kids section, and always tired. Thankfully, she is back to her regular self today and I couldn’t be happier. Having watched today’s media affect my best friend so bad has only led me to stray further from conformity of this idealistic of beauty. My only hope is that one day, our society will come to the realization that hurting ourselves to be loved will only in turn, keep us from being loved for the right reasons.
http://www.arabicrecovery.com/images/articles/bulimia%202b.bmp
An idea exists that the only way to escape from one cult is to join another. This is very intriguing to me, and I feel challenged to find an exception. Really, when it comes down to it, a cult is simply a group of people who strongly admire a certain ideal. Those who fight for the “American dream” are members of a cult, as are those who fight against it. This is true of any situation; those who highly approve or oppose certain things are grouped into cults.
So what of the middle ground? Should those people also be considered part of a cult? They may not have strong feelings about anything, or very strong feelings about apathy (but then again, can the apathetic ever feel truly passionate?). Either way, they have not declared their allegiance to a certain party, and can therefore not be classified as a “cult member.” They can’t necessarily be judged as a group, either, because they may all have different reasons for not belonging to a defined side. It could be due to ignorance, apathy, or refusal to pick a party.
A cult is a little more than just a group—its definition is far more specific. So I think that there are probably several ways to escape from a cult-esque lifestyle. If you don’t have strong feelings one way or the other about a subject, then it is likely you won’t be sucked into a movement. And you’ll be far less apt to be influenced by members of said movement.
On the other hand, how easy is it for someone to be completely neutral? We are always influenced by the attitudes of our peers, especially as young adults. With the explosion of the Internet, differing opinions are shot in our direction thousands of times a day. How can we not choose sides? By isolating ourselves entirely?
But then, it’s just as if we have become passionate about isolation. Maybe there is no real way out.
All sorts of cults are formed by politics. Consider the presidential election—people feel strongly about one candidate (or not), and show it by voting on Election Day.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Nationwide_Poll_Results_for_2008_Presidential_Election.svg/795px-Nationwide_Poll_Results_for_2008_Presidential_Election.svg.png
—Eleanor Schmitt
Erica Mouns
November 18, 2008
Blog Post
I found the section that we read this week (“Spring”) to be very interesting. One particular passage that stood out to me is on page 102. Lasn is describing a film about a man who is driven crazy by his business, his life, and eventually himself. This then leads into the discussion of “Emulators”. Emulators are people who strive to duplicate or imitate someone else. Lasn says, “Emulators look for products that make them feel like somebody else – someone more important. Since no product can help you fully escape your old identity frustration mounts, a credit card is produced and the cycle of alienation deepens. (Situationists might point to emulators as proof of a devolution in the state of living: from “being”, and then from “having” to “appearing to have”) (102)”.
I think that the majority of people in our culture are Emulators. What is the real reason that we consume so many products? For example, Ugg Boots, what is the real reason for them? They keep your feet warm and your jeans clean, but we had snow boots before these were created. Why do people spend $200 a pair of shoes? Imagine what else we could have done in the world with $200. But it is too important to our society not to possess the “cool factor”. This is what drives us to consume. We want to be like everyone else. The motivation to be unique and stand out no longer exists. In today’s society if you stand out then you are weird or strange.
Another part of this quote that stands out to me is “the state of living”. What state are our lives in? There is another paragraph on page 104 that relates to this. Our citizens, the citizens of the most advanced society on earth, are thrilled with whatever we are given. We do not question. We do not want to think. Our lives are driven by these companies that give us products that we “can not live without.’ How could our lives be? What are the possibilities if companies did not control our culture? “…the way life could be.” (106).
I was interested to see Lasn mention the movie The Truman Show. I have always thought the idea of this movie gave a glimpse into our culture. This man lives his entire life being told what to wear, eat, and do. Everything in his world is controlled and he has no idea. I think that the people in our culture like to pretend that they have no idea they are being controlled. But really everyone does. We all give into the media commercials and advertisements telling us what kind of person we should be.
Jayme Rosenstock
November 16, 2008
Section 5
Reading through the winter section in Culture Jam, I really enjoyed the part where Lasn depicts a day in your life (page 78). These events listed give us an insight to the products we use every day and some facts about the same products that we might not know.
Lasn starts his day by stating he eats a hash brown from McDonalds. This daily moment reminds him of his childhood because the grease on the patty immediate brought back memories of baby oil. A fact that surprises me is that every three hours a new McDonald's opens somewhere in the world. I know there are many McDonalds all over the world, but I can't imagine 24 McDonalds opening up daily. Maybe that happened for a period of time, but I can't imagine it sustaining a rate for many years. Maybe if Lasn would talk about a time frame when this statistic was meaningful, then it might have been more believable to me.
The next entry in a typical day for Lasn is what is seen in the grocery store: pyramids of shiny apples and peppers, brussels sprouts, cocoa, sugar, coffee, bananas, and ripe red tomatoes. But again, what some people don't always realize is that these vegetables were soaked with a variety of chemicals so they could grow in poor soil and have a longer shelf life in the store. Also many people might not know that the reason why the apples and peppers shine is because of the waxes that are from petroleum bases. Overall, the food most of our food comes from the cheapest location and not from where the best food quality in season.
Another entry that was discussed was about eating dinner. It surprised me when Lasn addressed facts about frozen-tv dinners. In the 1970s, the popular airplane carrier Boeing had to expand its seats because the passengers were too big to fit in the seats. However the food on the airplane is a perfect example of this: processed food and food with high in fat. There are also surprising facts in drinks. In fact, flight attendants use diet Coke to unclog sinks in commercial jets. I have also heard of diet Coke using to clean up the ground in sewer system. This is disgusting and a drink should never be similar components that could be used as a cleaner.
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The part of Culture Jam that I found to be very interesting and a very original idea form Lasn was on page 22, part of "The Ecology of the Mind". He says that,"We face more and more opportunities and incentives to spend time in cyberspace or to let the TV do the thinking. This is 'unreality': a mediated world so womblike and seductive, it's hard not to conclude it' a pretty nice place to be. In that world of unreality, it's easy to forget you're a citizen and that the actual world is an interactive place". He goes on to explain that the other day when he was toasting a bagel, he started to think about the relation to using his home appliance, to the type of feeling some people that work with computers experience. When you don't touch or move the mouse of the computer, the screen goes black or into screen saver mode. He explained that as he waited for his bagel to pop up, he felt like he was about to receive a jolt of energy. What I took away from this analogy was that our society expects every individual to always be on their toes, always working, moving, looking, listening, talking etc. Using even a couple of minutes for some downtime to just BREATHE is considered to be a form of laziness and unproductiveness. Our bodies have become almost trained to detect this "laziness" and immediately snap out of it. That is what the feeling of getting a "jolt" was when Lasn zoned out for a minute while toasting his bagel. God forbid he isn't using the time waiting for his bagel to do something else. This idea of multi-tasking is really doing our society more of a disservice rather than benefitting us at all. Studies have shown that it really isn't possible to do each separate task to the highest quality when the individual is trying to conduct each task simultaneously. It is also easy to see why each member of our society has become extremely disconnected. Technology has made it so that if we so choose, we can technically never leave our house or cubical, and conduct the days work within our own small space. This in turn contributes to our warped idea of reality, and that the world is a much bigger place than our society has caused us to perceive it to be.
“Dreams, by definition, are supposed to be unique and imaginative. Yet the bulk of the population is dreaming the same dream. It’s a dream of wealth, power, fame, plenty of sex and exciting recreational opportunities. What does it mean when a whole culture dreams the same dream?”
It means the media and social standard has a firm, constant, and non-releasing grip on our moral thoughts, plans, standards, and ideals. From day one we are constantly building a game plan for the financial situation regarding the rest of our lives. I remember throughout elementary school we periodically would have a career day where little Suzie or Billy would bring in their parent to “teach” (I considered this bragging) us young children about their career as a lawyer, businessman, doctor, or veterinarian. But never, once, was a parent presented that had a career as an artist, garbage truck driver, prison guard, musician, waitress, etc. We are not taught to look up to those without six figure paying occupations. From day one we are brainwashed into thinking the only acceptable way to go about your life is to make as much money as possible. Teachers may be saying, “Do what you love”, and “Pursue your passions”, but what they really mean is to do what you love but only if you can make good money while doing so, or pick something that you can put up with until you retire that will earn you that BMW.
Now, I understand that some people do have a passion in certain industries that deliver a voluptuous paycheck, but what about everyone else? Why was I discouraged to go to art school by my high school counselors and teachers? Why was I encouraged to rethink my passion? I found it so interesting that when I told my teachers during my senior year of high school that I was going to pursue art, at least half of them said something along the lines of, “Art? But you’d make such a good (doctor, lawyer, engineer).” The best response was from my math teacher. Upon telling him I was going to art school he said “An artist huh? Well, I guess somebody has to do it...” This was said as if being an artist was a vile occupation that people are forced to settle for upon failing at something supposedly “better”. Needless to say, this was one of the most insulting moments of my life.
Beyond being brainwashed about our plans for school, college, and a career, we are also persuaded that only one timeline for this process is acceptable. It is expected that you go to elementary school, middle school, complete high school, go immediately to college (with maybe an acceptable year off, but NO MORE.), and leave the university with a six figure career in hand four to eight years later. Anything less is usually considered unacceptable. You’re labeled a failure, unmotivated, undecided, slow, lazy, etc. The unfortunate thing is that its becoming harder and harder to take things at your own pace when there are now so many educated people applying for the same careers when there’s only so many spaces. Its a massive Herculean race among all 40 million people ages 20 to 29 to get the same high paying occupations as fast as possible because we are all trained to strive for the high standard of living we think is the only route to success and in return, happiness. We become delusional and blinded to what our real passions are by the distraction of wealth and consumerism. It is no longer about being happy our entire lives, its about making enough money when you are young to be happy when you are old. I’d prefer to be happy the whole time. Thank you instinct.
Tae Hyung Kim
11/18/08
ADP III- Section 5
As an international student at U of M, I found the section of "the End of the American Dream" intriguing. It was not until TMP2 that I started thinking about what the American Dream was really about. It is often regarded as a turning point in one's life where he or she can start a new life on the so-called land of freedom or more accurately America. But, as Lasn makes his points, the American Dream has changed. It is no longer believed to be "one of history's great liberators" but as the liberator in "desperate need of being liberated from itself." A lot of nations are immersed in American culture, as seen in Hollywood movies, and some of them are pursuing the American ideals.
In the beginning of the chapter, Lasn describes how the American dream has been influenced by consumerism. It is, in fact, true that much of American values have been under the influence of the consumerism. Think about those huge American giant cooperations such as McDonald's, Starbucks and Coca-Cola that are not only popular in the United States but also in different parts of the world that have been shaping the "American Dream." Those cooperations were founded in the postwar when the true American Dream was beginning to be seen in the nation. People were satisfied with their life- "fairly happy." But, then the consumer culture turned in the different direction and that when the true meanings of the American Dream got lost. People became more individual as a result of the change in values and the "uncontrollable consumerism." This phenomenon can be summed as "the creeping dysfunction of North American life."
People seem to take this issue too lightly and that is the major problem. Each individual wants to pursue his/her life in a better quality yet do not think about consequences when it becomes too extreme. As French sociologist Henri Lefebvre describes the American culture as "a bureaucratic society of controlled consumption" is evident in the American society and people should look for what it means to live a happy life and asks themselves a question of the American Dream.
http://www.personal.kent.edu/~areischu/American%20Gothic%20Parody.gif
Alyssa Ackerman
Nov. 17, 2008
Section 5, Ashley
“We, children of Socrates, Plato, Pascal, Descartes, Hegel, Nietzsche, Marx, Wittgenstein, now live almost exclusively in the left cortex of our brains”, is one of numerous powerful quotes in Kalle Lasn’s Culture Jam. In declaring this, it makes one stop and think about these amazing individuals listed off. These thinkers, philosophers, who were brilliant and far ahead of their time. They explored things that had never been explored, and their ideas, although fanatical, at the time, proved to be genius, and these individuals, our most famous thinkers.
I think it is so interesting, for no one ever pictures him or herself as the child or such an individual. We see no connection with our live and the life one of these men lived. We feel completely removed. This quote in itself, makes one stop and think about this more closely. While declaring that today we use mostly our left brain is Lasn nudging us to explore outside of our boundaries. To use just half of something so powerful, to think in only one specific realm of possibility creates exactly what we have today, a cult. A group of people all thinking the same, with the same dreams, the same beliefs, and the same methods of problem solving. What a waste, with so many diverse people having grown up all over the world, with different lifestyles, experiences, family relations, traditions, religions, languages, cultures, the list goes on and on. Unbelievable that anything could have such a tight grip on us and our individualism, our thinking, our minds. We would never want to admit that these things are controlled by something other than ourselves, because that strips us of our individuality, and makes us one.
Samuel Hanson
ADP 3 blog response
11/17/08
Activism is dead, facebook killed it…
In reading Culture Jam- Spring, something struck me that has been developing in the back of my brain for quite some time, the use of social networking groups as a form of “activism”. As Lasn states in his slacker section of this chapter, young people don’t act because why should they? And so sites such as myspace.com and facebook.com would seem to spur action in the youth of America, uniting them against the “man” and reeking havoc on our current consumer way of life, right? With such groups as “1000000 strong for change”, it is giving young people an easy chance to change the world. This unfortunately is not the case. In fact it is the complete opposite of this, and I will explain why.
By joining a group for some kind of cause an individual is linked with other like-minded individuals. They have a place to post about ideas and discuss the relevant issues. The problem is this: they are sitting at a computer typing to someone who could quite easily be thousands of miles away. The individual is lead to believe that they are joining the fight against or for a cause by the simple click of a button. Although I think it is of the utmost importance to be linked with likeminded people in revolution, it is this false perception of being linked that causes the death of activism.
There is also the problem of censorship and people’s willingness to make comments that they would not normally make in face-to-face conversation. The conversations will almost always slowly spiral down into an argument involving somebody’s mother and other very unrelated issues. It is this lack of intelligent conversation that also contributes to the lack of actual action being taken. People feel like they are doing enough by simply cursing out their opposition.
Lasn talks about the youth’s unwillingness to act. So this is the solution right? An easy way to have your voice heard! But it is this ease that destroys the real goal. With the click of a button they have done their part, so why do any more? (sound familiar?)
Maggie Baczewski
11/18/2008
Section 5
Culture Jam has really opened my eyes to my own behavior and of others that are a part of the consumer culture. This is a book that everyone should read. The issues that are addressed concern people of all walks of life. I’ve been sharing this book with my family and my dad, who is a registered republican, and my brother, who is extremely liberal, both agree and appreciate the changes Lasn says we need to make. I always thought that the United States had lost all culture. Our culture has just changed. It isn’t an ideal culture but it’s still there. Now I witness our culture everywhere. When I walk past a store I think about buying myself something to feel better as a reward for working so hard.
The section of the book, ‘Spring,’ is the culture jammer’s manual on how to change our culture. Spring is a season of new life. After a long winter, spring is like an awakening; life renews itself. This section sums up what we’ve been talking about in ADP: how to change. A crucial step in saving the environment is changing our consumer habits. Changing the way we live is a huge, difficult step but if our lifestyles change, fixing all of our other problems will follow. The last couple of sentences on page 121 states what ‘Spring’ is about, “The challenge for new millennium activists is to find the courage to let go of all their old orthodoxies, “isms” and sacred cows, and to commit to a ‘ruthless criticism of all that exists.’ And after that, the big challenge is to bring revolutionary consciousness and contestation back into the modern world by standing up and boldly announcing to the world what the Parisian rebels declared some thirty years ago: ‘We will wreck this world.’” This world that we currently live in does need to be ‘destroyed’ in order to start a new and better one. Lasn says that the new American Dream will be about spontaneity. He gives an example from the Truman Show. Truman doesn’t question his life or see anything wrong with it until he sees a world beyond what he knows. He gets curious and through acts of spontaneity he is able to overcome the forces keeping him in his current life style so he can explore the one he saw with potential. Culture jammers can make other people care about change by showing them the flaws in their current lifestyles and revealing what the world could turn into.
Rachel McGuffin
“Abbie Hoffman nailed it when, after being told that academics and experts were busy analyzing the subject of ‘subversive activity,’ he said: ‘what the f*** are you analyzing for, man? Get in and do it!” And Edward Abbey nailed it when he said: ‘Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.’ ”
This quote is amazing, it describes pretty much the entire theme of Culture Jam and how I’ve been feeling for years. It is so agonizing watching able bodied and able minded people do nothing. In some ways, apathy is worse than the adversary. The adversary has reasons, beliefs, that make their actions different. The apathetic bystander is emotionless, cold and distant. It is like they are not even living. What goes through their head? It boggles me. Do they think this world doesn’t affect them? Do they think they can stay inside their own little bubble and observe the world, never to interfere or be interfered with. It is truly impossible to be apart from the world you live in. I think the ‘cult’ thrives off these people. People who know better, people who are smart enough and capable to make a change but their interest lie somewhere else. Yes of course, a society needs all different kinds of skills and task to function properly but when those task doers are strictly independently motivated these vast holes in the community start developing. There is a loss of connection between people. No one cares about his or her neighbor. What happened to compassion? What happened to the good Samaritan? I cannot think of any religion that promotes selfishness. On a strictly atheist level, it still does not benefit a person to ignore their counterparts. In the end, the ignorer is the one who suffers because if he needs hep later on, who will be likely to help him? Scorned people and friendly people usually do not do together. I know these issues I speak of are very generalized and hard to pinpoint a solution, but I feel as a society we need to consider these things. Look at what’s happening, talk about our viewpoint and strategize a way to solve it. I wish their was magic wand I could wave and everyone would suddenly care. Their hearts would be full of passion and suddenly they would be alive again. Alas, I have no magic wand, but I am able bodied and able minded and I intend to make a difference.
http://www.americansarebrainwashed.com/images/300/300_300_StopApathy.jpg
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Rachel McGuffin
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