Malaise (n.) 1. an indefinite feeling of debility or lack of health often indicative of or accompanying the onset of illness. 2. a vague sense of mental or moral ill-being
"Obviously we are becoming a group of people who are very distracted and constantly need some form of entertainment, how can we change back into a society that is more independent and less reliant on consumption to entertain us?" -Emily Maier
"There is "the idea of consumerism and the media making us more detached and less considerate towards nature. Technology has detached us from nature." -Laura Gillmore
Commentary and Questions by Emily Maier
Reading Overview
There are many factors that go into our mental pollution. These pollutants affect our bodies and actions because they begin to control us. Lasn covers the main parts of our world that affect our mind pollution: noise, jolts, shock, hype, unreality, erosion of empathy, information overload, infotoxins, and a loss of infodiversity. These things all affect our actions and our minds in different ways, but overall it is making our society “shaped by the electronic mass media environment.
Core Points/Arguments
•Our society is highly influenced by advertisements because they are everywhere
•These advertisements are not always true and they cause us to have an information overload
•We have to be able to sift through the information to know what is true and what is not
•We are very disconnected from nature and if we try to completely immerse ourselves in nature, most people would no function properly
•People are developing mental problems because we are almost entirely media based and not based on feeling and instinct
•People are forced to constantly be on guard and never able to relax, our idea of relaxing is to sit in front of the computer or the television where we receive more information
Notes
•This chapter helps identify the problems that cause us to consume and be completely reliant on electronic mass media
•We know how consumption leads to many of the pollution problems that effect our environment
•Being more focused on the electronic mass media, we are less in tune with our environment and less likely to notice or do something about the problems that we are creating
?
There is a cycle because the sponsors have control over what the media can or cannot publish, then that forces news to be about mundane events that should not be a big deal, and then that inspires people to be upset about the small things because they will be validated. How can we overturn this cycle?
While I completely agree that the system for television broadcasts is unfair to the average Joe who wants to make a statement to the world, I do not feel that the "bad guys" are the big businesses who own the television networks. If someone said to you, "I want you to wear this shirt that says "___", I would hope you would feel alright to say no. So, why should any of these companies feel obligated to air your message if you don't feel obligated to help publicize anyone else's? They shouldn't feel an obligation, and it is totally acceptable and reasonable for them to act within their best interests and strategically choose what advertisements to air. It is fundamentally no different than me refusing to wear a shirt that says "I hate blacks" because, in my best interests as a person, I don't want to communicate a message that is not in line with what I believe. Refusing some ads and accepting others is a freedom that no obligation to "fairness" should overrule.
ReplyDeleteNow, if someone really wants to reach people with a message, be creative. I am surprised that Lasn even attempted to mention this seeming unfairness in media. He himself even shows that a little creativity can pay off. He held a rally, and he got all the coverage he needed without paying a dime.
I think that the most important message to take from this is that we need to learn to point the finger in the right direction. While it may not seem "fair" that we cannot throw anything on TV, we need to accept the fact that someone else owns that space, and has the right to decide what will go on it. It is not the responsibility of big business to protect our rights. It is our own responsibility, and sometimes we have to fight for it. Big business is easy to blame for all our problems. We need to step back and realize that we created big business, and that until we develop an entirely different economic model, deal with it.
Weekly Response
ReplyDeleteI think it is very true that advertising and the media consume society. Most people do not know how to interact with nature at all. There are a few families that I know of that take regular camping trips, but even then, they always have their cell phones with them. There is always some type of technology to distract us from our instincts.
I do believe, however, that artists are special in this way. We are especially aware of our surroundings compared to the average person and maybe that's why we create art: to make the rest of society stop and think about our own observations and to make them a little more aware themselves.
I think by what we choose to create, we can change how society views things. We force them to visualize a brighter future through our work and own observations.
An example of this is artists such as Andy Goldsworthy who ignores the very meaning of consumerism and creates his art solely through nature, using only things found outdoors and no man made tools or supplies at all. He uses only his hands and nature and he makes amazing artwork. This proves that humans really do not need consumerism and we can still do great things using just our instincts without technology.
Weekly Statement #7
ReplyDelete11/09/09
Culture Jam turned out to be more of an interesting read that I presumed. While at specific parts of the book have literally made me cringe because of how far-left these readings are. However, the more I strolled through this book the more mentally engaged I became with what it had to say.
While I was growing up abroad I would have found truth to the very first chapter of the autumn section. During my stay in Korea I was condemned to the indoors because of the slum-like atmosphere around my apartment. Sure I lived on the side of the mountain, but there was not as much exposure to nature as one may have assumed. I didn’t learn to ride a bike until I was 13 years old when I moved to America, although one of the things I appreciated most was playing outside for hours after school everyday. Unlike what the book seems to say about young children growing up in an indoor environment I ignored that assumption that I was destined to ignore the outside world. Once I was in a safer part of the world, I was granted this unbound freedom during the fall to gather leaves and jump into them. In the winter I could create an entire snow family without worrying my parents of merging snow with the trash on the streets. Even know in college I make attempts to “discover” nature by taking a walk or going for a run simply because I spend too much time sitting indoors doing homework on the computer. I naturally rebel from homework and barely watch Television. I sometimes may turn it on for white noise when my roommates are away, but I prefer the company of others while I work. Solitude does actually scare me only because I can hear everything. During the Observation paper I noticed while sitting deep and alone in the forest I grew fearful of the silence. Every time I heard the sticks crack or leaves shuffle I instantly turned around with my heart racing.
Despite my daily doses of nature I am an example of what the book states as “nuts.” I am nuts to think that my mental exposure to television will rot my brain and therefore I am like the rest of the mindless zombies out there. I make a daily effort to exercise and walk on campus rather than take the bus or my car. I live a life of environmental activism of my own regard. I choose to do the things I do as a natural reflex, rather than feeling guilty like this book made me think I should be feeling.
Erica Wagner
ReplyDeleteResponse
I agree with Jim’s statement about how we are blaming the wrong people. To be honest we are all at fault because we are all the ones that have been programmed to listen to T.V. and sometimes we, I think at least, take everything we see as the ultimate truth which in turn makes us even more at fault. We honestly as the public are responsible for our actions. We chose to listen or not listen to what we see on television. Advertisement is a freedom of views and speech, as Jim said, but at the same time, it is extremely manipulative which is where things get iffy.
For example, different companies chose different actors or actresses or musicians or athletes’ to help advertise their products because they know that they are familiar faces to certain demographics. That in a way is acceptable and not acceptable because of freedom of speech its alright, but it truly does help brainwash people into a false security that the product is actually used or approved by these people that we look up to when in reality it probably isn’t. This may be a poor example because it is so superficial but we have become a superficial people I think. We have chosen to consume based on what something looks like, or if it’s popular, not necessarily because we need it or even for that matter want it. Everything in my eyes has become about aesthetics of what is acceptable in our community, and what we can make popular. You don’t see many of these people we look up to out frolicking in the fields, or telling us to go out and clean up our trash we’re leaving behind, or to STOP consuming products because then they would loose money. If we spent as much time pushing to STOP consumptions and production then maybe more people would not buy items. Though it is not that simple, sometimes I wish it was.
We do not think of how much we are consuming and how we never go outside to appreciate our surroundings. If everyone in the world had to do the My Stuff project, maybe we would begin to understand just how much we consume, and instead of going shopping people would find other activities to participate in, would begin to observe our world that we are basically suffocating before it’s too late. To be honest though I go shopping still unconsciously even though I know I have too much stuff. I buy a lot of the same items because I like them, even though I already have say some shirt in three other colors. It is a sickness that we want to keep buying, but honestly, we are the only people to blame because we have freewill, we have choices we make, and weather you make the right one is up to you.
Weekly Statement Eight
ReplyDeleteCulture Jam
Early in the book the author discusses the idea of “white noise.” It is a real absurd concept. Two hundred years ago silence was not uncommon. For people living in the cities white noise may have been the sound of horses and carriages, people on the streets, police bells, etc. But for those living on the outskirts of town or out on land distant from the city once the sun went down, people often went to bed and their worlds would become silent. Recorded music was a luxury, radio was not popularized until much later and television was not invented. In current times, people often turn the television, music or radio on while working, having conversations, sleeping and many other situations. There is constant noise. Many people do not even realize that they surround themselves with perpetual noise. Right now I am working on homework but I have music playing, my door is open so I can hear my housemates playing the wii in the living room, I can hear cars driving on the street and I’m sure there are countless noises happening around me that I can’t even identify. I believe the closest I have ever come to hearing complete silence was during the black out many years ago in 2003. I was alone watching t.v at my house while my parents were at work and all of the sudden all of the lights, electronics and noises around me stopped. It felt odd, like I was holding my breath for something to happen. I panicked for a while because my cell phone wouldn’t work because the lines were jammed and only one of the house phones worked because it was the only landline that was plugged into the cable outlet. All wireless phones were worthless. After getting in touch with my parents I went outside to see if any of my neighbors were home and I just remember it being so incredibly silent in the world. I could hear a few cars passing on the streets around me but I had never realized how loud energy wires, generators, air conditioners, etc. were. At night it was pitch black outside and the stars were so incredibly bright like they are up in northern Michigan. I had never understood light pollution or sound pollution until that day. The power was out in my city for a total of three days and during those days I had trouble staying entertained at all hours of the day. After dark it was to dangerous to be walking or riding my bike so once the sun went down I went to sleep. I had no concept of time because most all of our clocks were digital in the house. I felt as if my family had gone back in time but because we were still surrounded by all of our useless technology it felt like torture.