The concept of a doppelganger is a fear or interest that has been around for centuries. The idea that there is another who is exactly like you yet evil is an almost unbearable thought. The question is why do we fear something similar to ourselves? Why is it that we cannot allow another to exist? It all stems from our cultures infusion of “special” and the need to stand out. We all have this need to fit in, yet at the same time we must feel special in some way. We try and differentiate ourselves from the majority.
Throughout the class, we have looked at many different representatives of the doppelganger concept. We have looked at the photographic example, the biological and the double achieved through other means. The photographic double is the most prevalent today. We have cameras and mirrors; we have film and video games. Today’s society has gotten use to seeing ourselves in the third person, but some of the novels we have read have taken it to the extreme. The Invention of Morel was photography and film taken to an almost real level. Everything from smell to three dimensional records and sounds were all captured and played on an eternal loop. The comfort zone that people have developed around pictures and video was stretched and tested. Would we be able to live in this world where there was no differentiating real from video? Morel also questions the ability to have a double. If there was something that could capture every aspect of us, it may kill us.
Can we live with a double? This is another concern that comes up often. In movies it’s a common theme that “only one may live.” The movie The One is a perfect example of this. There are multiple dimensions with multiple people but in order to be as powerful as you can get you have to destroy all your doppelgangers. This is also brought up in the movie we watched about time travel. Almost every time travel movie or story talks about the dire effects if one were to communicate with oneself while traveling through time. The fact that it may lead to total destruction of the world or death of that person instills more fear in us. We have been told continuously throughout our lives that if there are two of us it is bad.
This is where biology starts to play with the concept of doppelgangers. Twins and cloning are two things that throw a hinge into common perceptions of doubles. We have all been around identical twins. We know that there is not always a “good” and “evil” twin. We know that twins are usually very close as opposed to enemies and we know that twins are not identical in personality. We know this yet it does not eliminate our fear that if there was somehow another of us it would be bad and chaotic. This may be why so many people are opposed to human cloning. There is the argument that it is immoral and wrong, but never a full explanation of why it is so. Maybe it is the fact that the majority of the human race are scared to not be special. If we can just make another one of us, why would we need to exist? It is similar to Brave New World. Everyone is perfect and content, until one person throws a wrench into it to make people different. This wrench is the exact opposite wrench that would be thrown into our society. We all believe we are completely different and do not want to be told otherwise. We are special. We are unique. We are better.
Biological doubles are feasible. Other doubles through time travel or brainwashing are less feasible. It is hard to understand a double made from time travel because of how confusing time is in general. How can we exist in two different times and places at the same time? Doubles through brainwashing seems science fiction, yet is all around. We see it everywhere. People who think they are very different, but because of advertisements and influence from media they are all very similar if not identical. America or any culture, tries its hardest to create a homogenous world. It is easier if everyone is identical. Propaganda affects us and clones us.
Because technology is requiring us to do so, we are slowly accepting doubles. There are so many ways to create doubles with today’s technology, that our fear is becoming obsolete. We have so many websites, cameras or even robots that are slowly developing into perfect doubles. If we had these irrational fears of doubles, we would be unable to cope with today’s world. We copy ourselves every time we join a site or take a picture and future will hold opportunities for even more advanced doubles. Eventually we may live in a world were genetic modification before birth will be commonplace. Once each child can be “perfect” either the standards will change or children will all become doubles. Once everyone is the same, there is no way the fear of evil doppelgangers will be the least of everyone’s concerns.
The Filth explores technological advances leading to evil doppelgangers with the para-personality of Greg Feely. Once Greg Feely was forced into the world of Ned Slade, he was replaced by another who took up the life of Greg Feely. It was as easy as taking a shot.
Technology supposedly opens up all these opportunities for “individual” expression. This is counterintuitive. The more we start to rely on technology the further away from individual we become. We start to all have our websites, cell phone, video game and photographic representations of self. We start to separate ourselves further from the physical world the more we rely on the digital world. How does this eliminate individuality? The digital world has limitations. We must sum up our personality in pictures, words and videos. All the words are already used. Slowly all the pictures seem the same. All the videos have been done before. As we eliminate our limitless physical selves we replace it with the bounded digital world. Because it is limited there is no way to be a complete individual. We slowly mold into doppelgangers whether we want to or not.
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Small (Part 2, essay 2)
Now in America, we are focused on the big picture. We’re told to stand back and look at the big picture to fully grasp the meaning. I’ve never been a fan of this concept. I am one for looking at the details of the “big picture.” Each minute detail needs to be looked at in order to add up to the whole. Each tiny part is important. This is the small. The small is the parts that we skim over, ignore or deem obsolete.
The small is physical, social and emotional. The small is also relative. Physically the small could be the letters of a word, the words in a book, the books in a library. But why is this important? In order to understand words, we must focus on the letters. Each letter was specifically chosen for the word. Each letter has a history and a meaning. In order to grasp the meaning of the word we must grasp the meaning of the letters. We will unlock deeper meaning in all we focus on once we look at the small.
A more relevant physical type of small is nanotechnology. Lately culture has shifted from bigger and better to smaller and more efficient. The opportunities that open up from nanotechnology are unimaginable. The ability to boost any part of your body from the inside would be priceless. The Filth explores nanotechnology with I-life. These tiny nanobots have the ability to befriend mutant proteins and bacteria in the body and convert them to something useful and positive. This is why the small is important. The ability to generate a new and modified immune system would open up all new opportunities to the human race. The Ticket that Exploded is another way of looking at the small. The cut-up method is literally breaking down written works and building them back up. This requires us to examine the works piece by piece.
Socially, the small is interconnected with social alterity. The other within society is the minorities. Because minorities are the small they are easily looked over. Decisions that better America almost always go by majority vote. Majority vote eliminates any opportunity for minorities to have their voice heard. This is why the small is important. In order for America to be truly free, the big picture is meaningless. This is why I fight for social justice. I focus on the small. I focus on everyone’s voice.
Socially the small has a lot to do with our selection of friends. We focus on tiny details to pick and choose our friends. Each person has different values in friendship. We had a discussion in class about what kind of friend we value either aesthetically similar or politically. This made me realize that it is a privilege to see the big picture without focusing on the small. Because my rights are up for debate, my friends must be politically similar. Others in the class talked about how it doesn’t matter what political values their friends hold. They want a similar friend. If you are not a part of the small, you can ignore the small.
This is closely tied to the emotional small. This is focusing on not only your personal emotions, but the actions and reasons behind the emotions. It is just as important as exploring words and letters, one must explore meanings and causes of emotions. The emotional small can help one grow and develop just as focusing on social smalls helps a community grow and develop and focusing on a physical small helps develop meaning. Focusing on the small is a step in development. We must use the small to build on the big picture.
The small is physical, social and emotional. The small is also relative. Physically the small could be the letters of a word, the words in a book, the books in a library. But why is this important? In order to understand words, we must focus on the letters. Each letter was specifically chosen for the word. Each letter has a history and a meaning. In order to grasp the meaning of the word we must grasp the meaning of the letters. We will unlock deeper meaning in all we focus on once we look at the small.
A more relevant physical type of small is nanotechnology. Lately culture has shifted from bigger and better to smaller and more efficient. The opportunities that open up from nanotechnology are unimaginable. The ability to boost any part of your body from the inside would be priceless. The Filth explores nanotechnology with I-life. These tiny nanobots have the ability to befriend mutant proteins and bacteria in the body and convert them to something useful and positive. This is why the small is important. The ability to generate a new and modified immune system would open up all new opportunities to the human race. The Ticket that Exploded is another way of looking at the small. The cut-up method is literally breaking down written works and building them back up. This requires us to examine the works piece by piece.
Socially, the small is interconnected with social alterity. The other within society is the minorities. Because minorities are the small they are easily looked over. Decisions that better America almost always go by majority vote. Majority vote eliminates any opportunity for minorities to have their voice heard. This is why the small is important. In order for America to be truly free, the big picture is meaningless. This is why I fight for social justice. I focus on the small. I focus on everyone’s voice.
Socially the small has a lot to do with our selection of friends. We focus on tiny details to pick and choose our friends. Each person has different values in friendship. We had a discussion in class about what kind of friend we value either aesthetically similar or politically. This made me realize that it is a privilege to see the big picture without focusing on the small. Because my rights are up for debate, my friends must be politically similar. Others in the class talked about how it doesn’t matter what political values their friends hold. They want a similar friend. If you are not a part of the small, you can ignore the small.
This is closely tied to the emotional small. This is focusing on not only your personal emotions, but the actions and reasons behind the emotions. It is just as important as exploring words and letters, one must explore meanings and causes of emotions. The emotional small can help one grow and develop just as focusing on social smalls helps a community grow and develop and focusing on a physical small helps develop meaning. Focusing on the small is a step in development. We must use the small to build on the big picture.
Alterity (part 2 essay 1)
Alterity may be a new term to me, but is far from a new concept. Any minority identity will tell you they know all about the “other.” Socially othering is something that any minority must face at a young age. We have to deal with the fact that there are few that understand us and few that care to understand us. It seems as though the need for humans to fit in creates this intense other factor. The best way to show that you are like everyone else is to point out those who are not.
Radical Alterity truly explores the concept of the other and alterity. It does this on a less social aspect and has really opened my mind to “othering” by means of vacation or “escaping reality.” It is an intriguing obsession that humans have with vacationing or drug use in order to escape reality. I never thought about that as the other before. We view our lives as this stuck reality that is unchanging. Vacations, drug use, theme parks and media are our ways of escaping this reality. We want to get out of the ordinary. Why is this different from reality? What makes vacations “other” and a trip to the store routine? This is what Radical Alterity has done for me.
I question the other much more than I use to. We are so bored with our lives. This is why it’s so important to do what you love. The other won’t be as important or even an other if you enjoy your work like a vacation. Although Radical Alterity’s main influence was opening mind to the need for otherness, it also made me even more aware of social otherness.
The blog entries really helped me to develop my ideas about otherness and connecting it to our reading and class. Being able to write down my ideas as well as read others is extremely helpful. I was able to concretely explore my own thoughts and feelings about the discussions in class. Plurk was another useful tool for this. Glimpsing everyone’s ideas and discussions sparks my own curiosity. People are forced to be pithy in Plurk. Make every word, letter and symbol count for as much as possible. This forces a creative exploration of our readings and discussions.
It is intriguing that social otherness is such a problem in America with our need to be special. Wouldn’t we value these differences? Wouldn’t we praise the other? America has values that are oxymoronic. We all want to fit in yet we all want to be different.
Alterity is a means of control. Show people that otherness is bad and they will stay in line. Different values are scary. Different behavior is evil. Different religion is terrorism. We see it constantly. In order to succeed and live a happy, fulfilling life in America, one must do their best to stay in line. We live in a democracy controlled by propaganda and alterity. We learn in school less about the world than about how to fit into the world. We learn about white history and claim it as universal history. We say “under God” in our pledge of allegiance because it has “always been there” when it was introduced in the 50’s. We use the word equality and nation of the free as if it applies to everyone, yet we teach our children there is only one way to love. If we teach that alterity is bad, we can create a nation of easily controlled doppelgangers.
Radical Alterity truly explores the concept of the other and alterity. It does this on a less social aspect and has really opened my mind to “othering” by means of vacation or “escaping reality.” It is an intriguing obsession that humans have with vacationing or drug use in order to escape reality. I never thought about that as the other before. We view our lives as this stuck reality that is unchanging. Vacations, drug use, theme parks and media are our ways of escaping this reality. We want to get out of the ordinary. Why is this different from reality? What makes vacations “other” and a trip to the store routine? This is what Radical Alterity has done for me.
I question the other much more than I use to. We are so bored with our lives. This is why it’s so important to do what you love. The other won’t be as important or even an other if you enjoy your work like a vacation. Although Radical Alterity’s main influence was opening mind to the need for otherness, it also made me even more aware of social otherness.
The blog entries really helped me to develop my ideas about otherness and connecting it to our reading and class. Being able to write down my ideas as well as read others is extremely helpful. I was able to concretely explore my own thoughts and feelings about the discussions in class. Plurk was another useful tool for this. Glimpsing everyone’s ideas and discussions sparks my own curiosity. People are forced to be pithy in Plurk. Make every word, letter and symbol count for as much as possible. This forces a creative exploration of our readings and discussions.
It is intriguing that social otherness is such a problem in America with our need to be special. Wouldn’t we value these differences? Wouldn’t we praise the other? America has values that are oxymoronic. We all want to fit in yet we all want to be different.
Alterity is a means of control. Show people that otherness is bad and they will stay in line. Different values are scary. Different behavior is evil. Different religion is terrorism. We see it constantly. In order to succeed and live a happy, fulfilling life in America, one must do their best to stay in line. We live in a democracy controlled by propaganda and alterity. We learn in school less about the world than about how to fit into the world. We learn about white history and claim it as universal history. We say “under God” in our pledge of allegiance because it has “always been there” when it was introduced in the 50’s. We use the word equality and nation of the free as if it applies to everyone, yet we teach our children there is only one way to love. If we teach that alterity is bad, we can create a nation of easily controlled doppelgangers.
Blog comparison: "Must Warn Others" (Part 1, essay 3)
I focus on Social Justice. I am unique in my obsession with it. I could write for days upon days, words upon words, and books upon books of just Social Justice. I thrive, live and feed off it. It is infused in me as I am infused in it. This is the difference between my blog and that of Brian’s blog “Must Warn Others” as, I am sure, is the difference from many blogs.
His blog also seemed very different organizationally. I had a lot more smaller posts with small and large paragraphs. His is very much large posts with large paragraphs. He likes to have very thought out singular posts that he can pour into, whereas I am one for writing all my ideas and connecting them somehow in a later post.
We seem to have touched on many of the same things. We both questioned the concept of “I” and were enthralled in our conversation about pornography. A lot of our posts were very similar. This class really makes you question the world that you’ve grown up in. It makes you even question questions. The difference is that Brian focuses a lot on the physical: photographs, technology and porn. I focus very much on the psychological: social constructs, emotions and the mind. It’s interesting reading him connecting otherness to photography. He makes very awesome points that I really didn’t explore myself. I thought about it a little while reading Radical Alterity, but didn’t really focus on that aspect of the book. The fact that a “photograph isolates the object and does not allow (us) to see what is happening before or after” is a very valid point. We look at photographs as truth, but in reality they are nothing but a representation of truth. This is far from truth. It is like saying a simile is reality when in fact it is the representation of reality. Even the smallest minutest details of photographs can only possibly be truth for the nanosecond the photograph was taken. Nothing is the same from one time to another therefore the instant after the picture is taken, it is not reality. We shed cells, change expressions, move and mold. We are not the same from second to second nor can we ever be exactly the same as we were. After reading Brian’s blog, it really got me thinking about photography. I find it intriguing that this class can inspire everyone from completely different aspects of their lives.
It makes me wonder if the differences come from social justice. Is it the fact that I am a minority that I focus on social justice or is it that I have been trained in social justice and see it in everything? It is as this class has done on my perception of the world. After all of the classes and trainings I’ve had on social justice have transformed everything I see and hear into social justice or privilege. Because of this class I see everything further. The class has done the same for Brian. He has combined it with his experiences and life as I have combined it with my experiences and social justice. Reading many different blogs it seems that the majority of the class took away one common theme: reflection.
We have all renewed our interest in reflection. This class has required us all to look at everything critically. Question the Status Q. Question the “different.” When in doubt: question. Use your thoughts and your opinions. Don’t be afraid to stand against the norm. Don’t be afraid to stand out. Don’t forget the small. Don’t ignore the large. Critical thinking is our friend. Nothing is our enemy. The best visualization of the values taken from the class is Plurk. Everyone explores such unique outlets through Plurk. They use the 140 character max as a means of being creative. Very few of us viewed less as a boundary and more of a freedom. We were able to learn and express ourselves in an all new way.
His blog also seemed very different organizationally. I had a lot more smaller posts with small and large paragraphs. His is very much large posts with large paragraphs. He likes to have very thought out singular posts that he can pour into, whereas I am one for writing all my ideas and connecting them somehow in a later post.
We seem to have touched on many of the same things. We both questioned the concept of “I” and were enthralled in our conversation about pornography. A lot of our posts were very similar. This class really makes you question the world that you’ve grown up in. It makes you even question questions. The difference is that Brian focuses a lot on the physical: photographs, technology and porn. I focus very much on the psychological: social constructs, emotions and the mind. It’s interesting reading him connecting otherness to photography. He makes very awesome points that I really didn’t explore myself. I thought about it a little while reading Radical Alterity, but didn’t really focus on that aspect of the book. The fact that a “photograph isolates the object and does not allow (us) to see what is happening before or after” is a very valid point. We look at photographs as truth, but in reality they are nothing but a representation of truth. This is far from truth. It is like saying a simile is reality when in fact it is the representation of reality. Even the smallest minutest details of photographs can only possibly be truth for the nanosecond the photograph was taken. Nothing is the same from one time to another therefore the instant after the picture is taken, it is not reality. We shed cells, change expressions, move and mold. We are not the same from second to second nor can we ever be exactly the same as we were. After reading Brian’s blog, it really got me thinking about photography. I find it intriguing that this class can inspire everyone from completely different aspects of their lives.
It makes me wonder if the differences come from social justice. Is it the fact that I am a minority that I focus on social justice or is it that I have been trained in social justice and see it in everything? It is as this class has done on my perception of the world. After all of the classes and trainings I’ve had on social justice have transformed everything I see and hear into social justice or privilege. Because of this class I see everything further. The class has done the same for Brian. He has combined it with his experiences and life as I have combined it with my experiences and social justice. Reading many different blogs it seems that the majority of the class took away one common theme: reflection.
We have all renewed our interest in reflection. This class has required us all to look at everything critically. Question the Status Q. Question the “different.” When in doubt: question. Use your thoughts and your opinions. Don’t be afraid to stand against the norm. Don’t be afraid to stand out. Don’t forget the small. Don’t ignore the large. Critical thinking is our friend. Nothing is our enemy. The best visualization of the values taken from the class is Plurk. Everyone explores such unique outlets through Plurk. They use the 140 character max as a means of being creative. Very few of us viewed less as a boundary and more of a freedom. We were able to learn and express ourselves in an all new way.
Book Group (Part 1, essay 1)
My book group was the Robber Queen group. We decided to conduct our conversations over a Facebook thread. It was really interesting and different from class and blogs for a few reasons. I really liked that it was on Facebook because of how often I am on it. Every time I got on Facebook there was more discussion that I could be a part of. I liked reading and adding anecdotes about the novel. It also really helped me understand what was happening as I read. There was also a downside. Part of a discussion is listening. In person or group discussions, it is easy to tell that someone is actively listening. This would show their involvement in the conversation. Facebook doesn’t allow this. For those who just wanted to “listen” by reading other’s messages, appeared as though they weren’t part of the conversation or didn’t care. This was the biggest difference between a verbal conversation and a Facebook thread discussion. There were many other differences also. The fact that in a message one can go back, edit or reread comments is an amazing addition to a conversation. It is not as spontaneous yet it allows for thorough investigation and critical thinking. It is an interesting way to discuss a novel. It also makes it much more linear. With a verbal discussion or Plurk, there are many more tangents and distractions. The thread is very linear. There is much less opportunity for tangents or distractions because the messages are very straightforward.
Blogs would have been a very interesting way to do a conversation. The problem would have been the fact that whatever blog we did it on, that person would inherently have dominance in the conversation. Although we would all have the chance to speak and add our input, whoever’s blog it is would have a slight influence over the rest of us. It would be like a party in someone’s house. The owner of the house would inherently have the last word over what happens at the party. The Facebook thread eliminated the dominance aspect. No one person had a dominant say because all of us were in the thread equally. It was also a conversation that could take place on our own time. We can read at our own pace with very little pressure to finish by a certain date. As long as you can contribute to the conversation, you were reading perfectly. Because it was on Facebook, it was in a very accessible spot for the majority of our group. Most of us are on Facebook every day. This helped with keeping up with the conversation.
The Facebook thread allowed for many types of conversations. We could ask questions, explore concepts further and talk about whatever we pleased. There were not too many exceptions to the direction the conversation was allowed to go. There are few limits to the Facebook thread. The limits we encountered include adding files or pictures we wanted to show the group. We couldn’t write something outside the thread then attach it for all to see. This hindered our creative endeavors. The other hindrance, that was most important to me, was the fact that we didn’t have the personal connection. I knew the names of my group, but I probably wouldn’t recognize them on campus if I saw them. We talked entirely through this thread. It didn’t allow us to make the personal connections that a book group usually allows.
Blogs would have been a very interesting way to do a conversation. The problem would have been the fact that whatever blog we did it on, that person would inherently have dominance in the conversation. Although we would all have the chance to speak and add our input, whoever’s blog it is would have a slight influence over the rest of us. It would be like a party in someone’s house. The owner of the house would inherently have the last word over what happens at the party. The Facebook thread eliminated the dominance aspect. No one person had a dominant say because all of us were in the thread equally. It was also a conversation that could take place on our own time. We can read at our own pace with very little pressure to finish by a certain date. As long as you can contribute to the conversation, you were reading perfectly. Because it was on Facebook, it was in a very accessible spot for the majority of our group. Most of us are on Facebook every day. This helped with keeping up with the conversation.
The Facebook thread allowed for many types of conversations. We could ask questions, explore concepts further and talk about whatever we pleased. There were not too many exceptions to the direction the conversation was allowed to go. There are few limits to the Facebook thread. The limits we encountered include adding files or pictures we wanted to show the group. We couldn’t write something outside the thread then attach it for all to see. This hindered our creative endeavors. The other hindrance, that was most important to me, was the fact that we didn’t have the personal connection. I knew the names of my group, but I probably wouldn’t recognize them on campus if I saw them. We talked entirely through this thread. It didn’t allow us to make the personal connections that a book group usually allows.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
I finally saw a positive gay movie.
Wow...it took a while.
I'm sitting here reflecting on the first POSITIVE gay movie.
Now there are some fabulous gay movies. Really great ones that involve a lot of real issues and that educate the masses...but I don't want to see a million movies of sad endings, hate crimes and HIV.
This was the first movie truly about love. About two men falling in love. Now there was still a little bit of coming out and a little bit about being gay in a hetero world, but it was minimal. It was very cute.
I'm very giddy now.
On another note, no gay movie is not rated R. If they aren't, they are unrated which usually implies worse content. We need to make more movies for younger audiences. Gay children will always feel different until we do. Time for equality.
I'm sitting here reflecting on the first POSITIVE gay movie.
Now there are some fabulous gay movies. Really great ones that involve a lot of real issues and that educate the masses...but I don't want to see a million movies of sad endings, hate crimes and HIV.
This was the first movie truly about love. About two men falling in love. Now there was still a little bit of coming out and a little bit about being gay in a hetero world, but it was minimal. It was very cute.
I'm very giddy now.
On another note, no gay movie is not rated R. If they aren't, they are unrated which usually implies worse content. We need to make more movies for younger audiences. Gay children will always feel different until we do. Time for equality.
Critical Thinking is Depressing.
I'm officially convinced: ignorance is truly bliss.
Sometimes I wish I could be oblivious. I was reading Cosmo in the car coming back from Seattle. I use to love reading Cosmo. It's shallow and funny and sexy. I must have refrained from reading for a while though because this was a much different circumstance.
I was appalled. Reading it for the last time I was disgusted by what I saw: heterosexism, gender enforcement and rape culture enforcement. I'll break it down piece by piece.
Heterosexism: There was no consideration of woman who like woman...or men who like men. Every page was about women pleasing men. How to best serve men. There wasn't any acknowledgment about any other sexual orientation.
Gender enforcement: Every page was about how women should act. About what man they should be looking for. There were articles talking about how if men don't want sex there is something wrong. I almost threw up. Every page was a visual example of why women have so many body issues and why its so hard for men and women to connect. This magazine was single-handedly separating the genders.
Rape-Culture enforement: this is a hard concept to understand. America is a rape-culture. Meaning our culture allows excuses for rape and almost encourages it. . So how does this magazine do this? This magazine had a 6 page article about how women should protect themselves from rape and horror stories of women being attacked on the streets. Ok...two things: we need to focus MEN to stop rape. It is not the woman's job. Scare tactics should not be a way to educate. Woman should not be afraid to step on the street alone at night. Another thing is that getting raped on the street RARELY happens. As in hardly ever. This article was almost implying that its the woman's fault because she was drinking. It was on the verge of saying that women shouldn't drink because they'll be raped.
This is why I want to be ignorant. All of these magazines, commercials, TV shows, movies and any media would still be funny or entertaining. I would find humor in more jokes and live life less angry.
Social Justice is my passion and I'd never give it up, but sometimes I dream of a different world. I also know that I have much closer and better friends because I am not ignorant...but I guess ignorant people wouldn't realize their friendships are shallow.
Sometimes I wish I could be oblivious. I was reading Cosmo in the car coming back from Seattle. I use to love reading Cosmo. It's shallow and funny and sexy. I must have refrained from reading for a while though because this was a much different circumstance.
I was appalled. Reading it for the last time I was disgusted by what I saw: heterosexism, gender enforcement and rape culture enforcement. I'll break it down piece by piece.
Heterosexism: There was no consideration of woman who like woman...or men who like men. Every page was about women pleasing men. How to best serve men. There wasn't any acknowledgment about any other sexual orientation.
Gender enforcement: Every page was about how women should act. About what man they should be looking for. There were articles talking about how if men don't want sex there is something wrong. I almost threw up. Every page was a visual example of why women have so many body issues and why its so hard for men and women to connect. This magazine was single-handedly separating the genders.
Rape-Culture enforement: this is a hard concept to understand. America is a rape-culture. Meaning our culture allows excuses for rape and almost encourages it. . So how does this magazine do this? This magazine had a 6 page article about how women should protect themselves from rape and horror stories of women being attacked on the streets. Ok...two things: we need to focus MEN to stop rape. It is not the woman's job. Scare tactics should not be a way to educate. Woman should not be afraid to step on the street alone at night. Another thing is that getting raped on the street RARELY happens. As in hardly ever. This article was almost implying that its the woman's fault because she was drinking. It was on the verge of saying that women shouldn't drink because they'll be raped.
This is why I want to be ignorant. All of these magazines, commercials, TV shows, movies and any media would still be funny or entertaining. I would find humor in more jokes and live life less angry.
Social Justice is my passion and I'd never give it up, but sometimes I dream of a different world. I also know that I have much closer and better friends because I am not ignorant...but I guess ignorant people wouldn't realize their friendships are shallow.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Time Travel
So we watched a movie about Time Travel the other day in class. Only one thing was in my mind as we watched...confusion. The movie had an interesting spin on Time Travel though. It made it really realistic. A scientific experiment that developed over years. The excitement, the fear and the glory were all so realistic it made it seem possible. But I was still confused and felt like my head was going to explode thinking of the Physics of Time Travel.
Time Travel is impossible to comprehend. I don't mean that it is impossible for me personally to understand, but impossible for humans in general to understand. There is too much mystery and confusion. It seems impossible to me for a couple reasons.
Time is memory. How can a memory be traveled into? We, as humans, have constructed the concept of "past" and "future." We decide that because we can remember things...they leave imprints on our mind...that there is a possibility that they are still happening. We find comfort in not being as boxed in as only having the present.
There have been no signs of time travel. If it was possible, we would start seeing signs of it. People from the future would be around and accidentally spilling secrets. They would not be crazy people on the street. They would be scientists and the richest of the rich. There would also be natural phenomena. Things such as deja vu, but more intense.
I am a skeptic. I like to see things before I become legitimately interested. I also like to find out how things work before I believe them.
Time Travel is impossible to comprehend. I don't mean that it is impossible for me personally to understand, but impossible for humans in general to understand. There is too much mystery and confusion. It seems impossible to me for a couple reasons.
Time is memory. How can a memory be traveled into? We, as humans, have constructed the concept of "past" and "future." We decide that because we can remember things...they leave imprints on our mind...that there is a possibility that they are still happening. We find comfort in not being as boxed in as only having the present.
There have been no signs of time travel. If it was possible, we would start seeing signs of it. People from the future would be around and accidentally spilling secrets. They would not be crazy people on the street. They would be scientists and the richest of the rich. There would also be natural phenomena. Things such as deja vu, but more intense.
I am a skeptic. I like to see things before I become legitimately interested. I also like to find out how things work before I believe them.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Reliance on Technology
After camping, I realize how much we rely on technology. We are almost helpless without it. Its a scary thought to think that we are getting more and more dependent on technology for a few reasons. Technology glitches, technology is dependent on electricity (at this time) and technology has the potential to be stronger than us.
Technology glitches. I was on facebook today and it was not working nearly as well as I wanted it to be. It kept freezing and shutting down and it was not allowing me to do anything I wanted to. Why is this such a problem? In the future we may depend on technology to keep us alive. The world may be so inhabitable to humans that we'll need technology to feed us and give us fresh air. We may have thousands of nanobots within our skin and organs keeping us healthy. The technology we have now is deadly already. A car goes off the road, an airplane falls from the sky and other technologies kill people every day. This is completely different and most likely less deadly than technology being within us. This may mean that a glitch means death...an electric surge means heart attack or lung failure. We could have new disease that are emailed to nanobots in our system or emailed to our computer that can send a signal to our nanobots. Its a scary thought to be completely depended on something that was made by human hands.
Technology is dependent on electricity. In order for us to depend on technology, we need to develop a new way of energy use. We can't use technology that needs batteries or electricity. We can't rely on something that will die before us definitely if that is inside us. Those of lower socioeconomic class may not have the money to upkeep the nanobots in their system and without an independence of electricity, the nanobots will need continuous upkeep.
Technology has the potential to become stronger than us. There are robots that adapt. There are robots that learn from interactions. There are robots that can hear, see and feel. These are all just steps away from overcoming humans. A robot that has the senses of humans could be created to have faster reflexes and a stronger core. This robot alone would be able to take out entire troops of people. What if a world like the Terminator really started to develop? Would we be able to stop the progression? Robots may develop the skills to reproduce themselves. At that point, it would be nearly impossible to stop them. Especially if we have developed robots with an independence of electricity. Our own development may be our destruction.
Camping was an eye opener. I feel as though I would be able to live without technology, but the majority of the people I was with were completely helpless without it. Is this the direction we want to see our species go?
Technology glitches. I was on facebook today and it was not working nearly as well as I wanted it to be. It kept freezing and shutting down and it was not allowing me to do anything I wanted to. Why is this such a problem? In the future we may depend on technology to keep us alive. The world may be so inhabitable to humans that we'll need technology to feed us and give us fresh air. We may have thousands of nanobots within our skin and organs keeping us healthy. The technology we have now is deadly already. A car goes off the road, an airplane falls from the sky and other technologies kill people every day. This is completely different and most likely less deadly than technology being within us. This may mean that a glitch means death...an electric surge means heart attack or lung failure. We could have new disease that are emailed to nanobots in our system or emailed to our computer that can send a signal to our nanobots. Its a scary thought to be completely depended on something that was made by human hands.
Technology is dependent on electricity. In order for us to depend on technology, we need to develop a new way of energy use. We can't use technology that needs batteries or electricity. We can't rely on something that will die before us definitely if that is inside us. Those of lower socioeconomic class may not have the money to upkeep the nanobots in their system and without an independence of electricity, the nanobots will need continuous upkeep.
Technology has the potential to become stronger than us. There are robots that adapt. There are robots that learn from interactions. There are robots that can hear, see and feel. These are all just steps away from overcoming humans. A robot that has the senses of humans could be created to have faster reflexes and a stronger core. This robot alone would be able to take out entire troops of people. What if a world like the Terminator really started to develop? Would we be able to stop the progression? Robots may develop the skills to reproduce themselves. At that point, it would be nearly impossible to stop them. Especially if we have developed robots with an independence of electricity. Our own development may be our destruction.
Camping was an eye opener. I feel as though I would be able to live without technology, but the majority of the people I was with were completely helpless without it. Is this the direction we want to see our species go?
Where am I?
Its an interesting question to ask. At first its really simple: I'm sitting in my room. The problem with that answer is it says very little about where I truly am, so a better answer would be this:
I am sitting in my room. Its located on Western Washington University's Campus in Bellingham, WA.
Still this answer is hardly adequate. Can you find me if you left where you are now? This gets us to another pressing point; have you not already found me if you are reading this?
We are in multiple locations at all times. We are in multiple physical, digital and emotional locations at all times. For instance, back to the physical, I am in my room, on my bed, in the USA, on Earth or on Western's Campus. Emotionally my mind is no where near my room...I'm thinking about my date, my day, the fact that my feet hurt, school, work, my future and my friends. Digitally I'm on the internet so I'm on my blog, on facebook, on msn and I'm on Western's website.
Where am I? I really can't answer that. This seemingly easy question turns into an extremely ambiguous unanswerable question.
Where am I turns into a question of my identity, location, personality and mind packed into three words. If I told you everything on my mind, where I am physically located and the digital worlds I am involved with, you would know every aspect of my life.
We are more than just "where are you," "how are you," "where you from" and "what's up." Its about time we expanded our question database to include more in-depth or specific ideas behind them.
I am sitting in my room. Its located on Western Washington University's Campus in Bellingham, WA.
Still this answer is hardly adequate. Can you find me if you left where you are now? This gets us to another pressing point; have you not already found me if you are reading this?
We are in multiple locations at all times. We are in multiple physical, digital and emotional locations at all times. For instance, back to the physical, I am in my room, on my bed, in the USA, on Earth or on Western's Campus. Emotionally my mind is no where near my room...I'm thinking about my date, my day, the fact that my feet hurt, school, work, my future and my friends. Digitally I'm on the internet so I'm on my blog, on facebook, on msn and I'm on Western's website.
Where am I? I really can't answer that. This seemingly easy question turns into an extremely ambiguous unanswerable question.
Where am I turns into a question of my identity, location, personality and mind packed into three words. If I told you everything on my mind, where I am physically located and the digital worlds I am involved with, you would know every aspect of my life.
We are more than just "where are you," "how are you," "where you from" and "what's up." Its about time we expanded our question database to include more in-depth or specific ideas behind them.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
The Filth
The Filth is, oddly, one of the hardest books to post an entry about. As of where I am at in the story, it is extremely confusing. There is one thing that I could talk about though: the use of innocents as a means of making the "deviant" seem more so. It is more prevalent in the beginning of the graphic novel than throughout it, but there are a few examples. The novel starts with an innocent conversation about how bad smoking is. As the image pans out, the characters are talking about smoking as they are about to murder someone. They pit this "issue" against a serious and gruesome offense.
The next example is on the next page. Greg is buying porn in a small shop. As he is buying the porn, there are two school girls within feet of him. It is pitting the essence of purity against something thought of as gross and immoral. This battle of innonence continues a few pages later when Greg is picking his nose and eating it. Picking his nose is against all social norms and disgusting. The picture pans out a little and there appear to be Mickey Mouse ears on his head. This could mean a lot more than just pitting innocents against the grotesque, but I may get into that in a different post. The last two examples in the beginning are right as Greg is getting on the bus and once he is home. Greg is holding his porn as he steps on the bus. An elderly lady is just stepping off the bus as he waits. This evokes a sense of guilt in the reader. You know he has the porn and he's so close to an "innocent old woman" (innocent solely because we veiw the elderly as innocent). Once Greg is home, we meet his companion Tony. Tony is a cat. He is an elderly cat and Greg loves him with all his heart. Tony starts masturbating with the cat just feet away from him. This is the last obvious example of combining innocents with deviance. All of these make the deviant behaviors seem more dirty and uncomfortable.
The Filth is an entire book full of confusion and art. It is graphically amazing and full of interesting concepts and texts. I find it intriguing that sex is so prominant in the novel. As you read, there is sex on nearly every page. Is this the world we live in? America is extremely sexual as well as sexually stunted. We talk about sex and seem to see sex a lot, but we are afraid of nudity. Even sex education classes, students look at drawings of male and female genatalia because supposedly anything else is porn. America has a fucked up concept of porn. Anything about the human body is porn. We have movies where every few seconds a person is blown to pieces by a bomb, but once a movie has full frontal male nudity it is nearly pornographic. America's concepts of porn and its embarassment by nudity creates this country of people afraid of their own body. This is where The Filth is different. Although it pushes the boundaries between porn and art, it is not afraid to go there. The interesting thing though is that The Filth still does not show full frontal nudity. On some pages it even sensors the genatalia of the person. Even novels pushing the boundaries are trapped in our nude-hating society.
The next example is on the next page. Greg is buying porn in a small shop. As he is buying the porn, there are two school girls within feet of him. It is pitting the essence of purity against something thought of as gross and immoral. This battle of innonence continues a few pages later when Greg is picking his nose and eating it. Picking his nose is against all social norms and disgusting. The picture pans out a little and there appear to be Mickey Mouse ears on his head. This could mean a lot more than just pitting innocents against the grotesque, but I may get into that in a different post. The last two examples in the beginning are right as Greg is getting on the bus and once he is home. Greg is holding his porn as he steps on the bus. An elderly lady is just stepping off the bus as he waits. This evokes a sense of guilt in the reader. You know he has the porn and he's so close to an "innocent old woman" (innocent solely because we veiw the elderly as innocent). Once Greg is home, we meet his companion Tony. Tony is a cat. He is an elderly cat and Greg loves him with all his heart. Tony starts masturbating with the cat just feet away from him. This is the last obvious example of combining innocents with deviance. All of these make the deviant behaviors seem more dirty and uncomfortable.
The Filth is an entire book full of confusion and art. It is graphically amazing and full of interesting concepts and texts. I find it intriguing that sex is so prominant in the novel. As you read, there is sex on nearly every page. Is this the world we live in? America is extremely sexual as well as sexually stunted. We talk about sex and seem to see sex a lot, but we are afraid of nudity. Even sex education classes, students look at drawings of male and female genatalia because supposedly anything else is porn. America has a fucked up concept of porn. Anything about the human body is porn. We have movies where every few seconds a person is blown to pieces by a bomb, but once a movie has full frontal male nudity it is nearly pornographic. America's concepts of porn and its embarassment by nudity creates this country of people afraid of their own body. This is where The Filth is different. Although it pushes the boundaries between porn and art, it is not afraid to go there. The interesting thing though is that The Filth still does not show full frontal nudity. On some pages it even sensors the genatalia of the person. Even novels pushing the boundaries are trapped in our nude-hating society.
Monday, May 11, 2009
A world unlike our own
The Robber Queen's is a book with a reverse world of racism. The beginning of the novel begins with a world of mainly people of color. At one point, Tan-Tan talks about how most people would not tell people if they had any "Euro" within them. It is a world different from our own.
This made me start thinking about racism and our country today. For the most part, all races are equal, but there is still racism in nearly every aspect of our country. There are still white men in the most powerful positions (with the exception of Obama now), most media has mainly white people, the lowest socioeconomic classes are filled with mainly people of color and our textbooks still only incorporate white American history. This is not the worse part thouggh, one of the worst beliefs in America today is that racism is dead because Obama was elected. This is a misconception that only a white person could hold. This is why the world of the Robber Queen is so interesting. I think it would be intriguing to see all the white people in America live as a minority. I think they would learn a lot.
If suddenly there was a shift in racial power, would racism cease to exist? No. Even in the Robber Queen racism is still prevalent. It will be a long while before racism can be fully overcome. We, as humans, love to segregate and create heirarchical systems. Racism will only truly be gone when there is only one race. When all humans have been together long enough that all races mold together if our race is still here that is.
This made me start thinking about racism and our country today. For the most part, all races are equal, but there is still racism in nearly every aspect of our country. There are still white men in the most powerful positions (with the exception of Obama now), most media has mainly white people, the lowest socioeconomic classes are filled with mainly people of color and our textbooks still only incorporate white American history. This is not the worse part thouggh, one of the worst beliefs in America today is that racism is dead because Obama was elected. This is a misconception that only a white person could hold. This is why the world of the Robber Queen is so interesting. I think it would be intriguing to see all the white people in America live as a minority. I think they would learn a lot.
If suddenly there was a shift in racial power, would racism cease to exist? No. Even in the Robber Queen racism is still prevalent. It will be a long while before racism can be fully overcome. We, as humans, love to segregate and create heirarchical systems. Racism will only truly be gone when there is only one race. When all humans have been together long enough that all races mold together if our race is still here that is.
Schools and advertisements
Schools need money, but is it ok to take cooperate sponsorship? The answer is no.
Schools are a safe haven for students. It is sometimes the only place a student can feel comfortable and safe. If a cooperation infiltrates and splatters the school with advertisements, the school becomes just like any other place. Schools are unique and comfortable because there is no advertisements trying to manipulate and influence you. Advertisements are usually gender and stereotype enforcing and that needs to be left out of schools.
Schools are a place for learning and students would not be able to separate advertisements and learning. Because school is one of the most influential parts of students' lives, advertisements would be much harder to ignore. Schools are meant for learning. Students enter the school every morning with the understanding that school is right. School is a source of knowledge and is rarely wrong. This is why advertising would be too influential. Students would take the ad as less of a "you should buy" and more of a "you must buy this product." Schools need to focus on education and development of its students.
Schools are a safe haven for students. It is sometimes the only place a student can feel comfortable and safe. If a cooperation infiltrates and splatters the school with advertisements, the school becomes just like any other place. Schools are unique and comfortable because there is no advertisements trying to manipulate and influence you. Advertisements are usually gender and stereotype enforcing and that needs to be left out of schools.
Schools are a place for learning and students would not be able to separate advertisements and learning. Because school is one of the most influential parts of students' lives, advertisements would be much harder to ignore. Schools are meant for learning. Students enter the school every morning with the understanding that school is right. School is a source of knowledge and is rarely wrong. This is why advertising would be too influential. Students would take the ad as less of a "you should buy" and more of a "you must buy this product." Schools need to focus on education and development of its students.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Picking your friends is a privilege?
The last time class met we had a very intriguing conversation. We were talking about values in friendship. Whether our values were dependent on political beliefs or aesthetic similarities. The option was split between polar opposites and we were to discuss which friend we would more readily become close with: a friend who was politically identical yet aesthetically opposite or vice versa. As the conversation progressed a common theme developed. Most of the students in the class would rather someone politically opposite rather than aesthetically opposite. Most students discussed their wide array of friends from different backgrounds and political interests. They discussed the facts that their friends may have different political interests but that it was not something that was shoved in their face constantly. The argument is that aesthetics are harder to ignore.
For the most part I agreed with the class. I want friends who are similar to me, but political values seemed to be much more important to me than the rest of the class. After thinking about it a little more, I realized that it is because political values effect me much more than the majority of the class. I am a second class citizen. As a Gay male, I have fewer rights than a heterosexual. This is why I value politics. There is no way I could be emotionally close to a person who does not believe in same-sex marriage or adoption rights. This is why picking your friends is a privilege.
I can have friends from all different backgrounds, identities and beliefs, but the moment I hear that they are against Queer Rights they move from friend to acquaintance. This is the only political belief that has that much of an effect. No other value directly effects me personally, so I am not fully invested. This is why the class could have friends with all beliefs. They can separate themselves from their political beliefs. They do not have to worry every day if they will be treated equally in the future. They do not have to worry that if their friends don't believe in Queer Rights that maybe their friends believe that being Queer is a choice. This is probably the same for a woman who has had to have an abortion or a student with immigrant parents. If a woman has had an abortion, it is very unlikely that she would be able to be friends with someone who is totally against abortion. It becomes less of a political belief and more of a personal attack.
Aesthetics are more about comfort. You can be yourself and not worry about your friends thinking you are weird if you have similar aesthetics. This comfort is a primary value for friendship. I agree it is extremely important to feel comfortable around your friends. Friends that are opposite you aesthetically are much harder to feel comfortable around. It is not impossible though. It is all about understanding. If you open your mind and really pay attention, you can understand everything about a person. They may be different but once you understand them you can build that comfort. This comfort is impossible to create if my friend does not believe in Queer Rights. I will be uncomfortable no matter how hard I try. This is why politics are much more important to a minority. The majority has the privilege of ignoring political difference.
For the most part I agreed with the class. I want friends who are similar to me, but political values seemed to be much more important to me than the rest of the class. After thinking about it a little more, I realized that it is because political values effect me much more than the majority of the class. I am a second class citizen. As a Gay male, I have fewer rights than a heterosexual. This is why I value politics. There is no way I could be emotionally close to a person who does not believe in same-sex marriage or adoption rights. This is why picking your friends is a privilege.
I can have friends from all different backgrounds, identities and beliefs, but the moment I hear that they are against Queer Rights they move from friend to acquaintance. This is the only political belief that has that much of an effect. No other value directly effects me personally, so I am not fully invested. This is why the class could have friends with all beliefs. They can separate themselves from their political beliefs. They do not have to worry every day if they will be treated equally in the future. They do not have to worry that if their friends don't believe in Queer Rights that maybe their friends believe that being Queer is a choice. This is probably the same for a woman who has had to have an abortion or a student with immigrant parents. If a woman has had an abortion, it is very unlikely that she would be able to be friends with someone who is totally against abortion. It becomes less of a political belief and more of a personal attack.
Aesthetics are more about comfort. You can be yourself and not worry about your friends thinking you are weird if you have similar aesthetics. This comfort is a primary value for friendship. I agree it is extremely important to feel comfortable around your friends. Friends that are opposite you aesthetically are much harder to feel comfortable around. It is not impossible though. It is all about understanding. If you open your mind and really pay attention, you can understand everything about a person. They may be different but once you understand them you can build that comfort. This comfort is impossible to create if my friend does not believe in Queer Rights. I will be uncomfortable no matter how hard I try. This is why politics are much more important to a minority. The majority has the privilege of ignoring political difference.
Monday, May 4, 2009
The Other Factor and Disney
Watching the propaganda that Disney releases onto the world is an eyeopener. It makes me think a lot about what I'm watching, and it makes me think critically. The last one we watched in class was about the immune system and vaccination. What it was really about was encouraging children to back up the war effort and support efforts to increase weaponry and going to war. It was very blatant to me and the class, but what about the stuff we watch today? We don't think at all about the influences it has over us.
Its not that its not propaganda anymore but that it is harder to see. I was watching the news yesterday and it was talking about the Swine Flu. I agree that the Swine Flu is a scary concept and that it could start a pandemic, but what are the news channels actually trying to do? Scare us. There is a huge debate about the borders and it just so happens that at the same time a possible pandemic breaks from Mexico. Seems intriguing. One of the news stations actually stated that that is "why we need to have strict border patrol." Its not like Mexico came up with the Swine Flu on purpose just to attack America. Is Swine Flu as scary as everyone is making it out to be, or is it a political strategy to shut down the borders?
Fear tactics seems to be the most common form of propaganda. Using fear to create an "other." Its like the defense for keeping Lesbians and Gays out of the military. The argument is that it will destroy the morale within the troops. Why you ask? Not because the troops are homophobic or because Gay people can't fight as well...no...the reason is that the troops will not feel comfortable in the showers. No joke. The main defense against Gays in the military is that they will peep at the other men or women in the shower. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1A-DLhx3Po This is a video of Elaine Donnolly, one of the most influential people in the fight to ensure that gays can't be in the military. This tactic would seem as though there is no way that it would work, but so far America has agreed. It seems as though our generation needs to start thinking critically and look past the fear tactics the media uses. We need to try and think for ourselves.
Its not that its not propaganda anymore but that it is harder to see. I was watching the news yesterday and it was talking about the Swine Flu. I agree that the Swine Flu is a scary concept and that it could start a pandemic, but what are the news channels actually trying to do? Scare us. There is a huge debate about the borders and it just so happens that at the same time a possible pandemic breaks from Mexico. Seems intriguing. One of the news stations actually stated that that is "why we need to have strict border patrol." Its not like Mexico came up with the Swine Flu on purpose just to attack America. Is Swine Flu as scary as everyone is making it out to be, or is it a political strategy to shut down the borders?
Fear tactics seems to be the most common form of propaganda. Using fear to create an "other." Its like the defense for keeping Lesbians and Gays out of the military. The argument is that it will destroy the morale within the troops. Why you ask? Not because the troops are homophobic or because Gay people can't fight as well...no...the reason is that the troops will not feel comfortable in the showers. No joke. The main defense against Gays in the military is that they will peep at the other men or women in the shower. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1A-DLhx3Po This is a video of Elaine Donnolly, one of the most influential people in the fight to ensure that gays can't be in the military. This tactic would seem as though there is no way that it would work, but so far America has agreed. It seems as though our generation needs to start thinking critically and look past the fear tactics the media uses. We need to try and think for ourselves.
Just a Drink
What if we lived in a world where perfection was just a sip away? All you have to do is take one drink and you can change your abilities, appearance or anything you wanted to. Is this possible? What would it do for our world?
Let's explore the possibility first. At the moment, we know that it is impossible. In the future though, it may be. There are so many amazing things right now that are similar, but not as advanced. We have pills and lotions and ointments to better our bodies. If we add some nanotechnology to these, they may turn into the "magical" drink that seems so far fetched. Little machines that could eat away our fat. Nanobots that could boost our immune system and help attack threats to our body. It would be a whole new world.
The fact that it could be possible doesn't necessarily mean it would be good. Its interesting to think what would happen if everyone could be perfect with just a drink. Would it eliminate all our problems and free us from discrimination? Absolutely not. With technology comes more problems. If we had a bunch of tiny little bots within our body, new diseases and problems would arise. If something happened and all our nanobots were to disappear or get destroyed, our body would be weaker than ever. Because we had nanobots doing all of the work since we were born most likely, our body would be completely dependent on the bots to make us healthy. We would surely die without the help of our nanobots.
Discrimination is a another story. It seems that if everyone is perfect, we would all be on the same level. This is where freewill comes in. Those who choose not to be perfect would be harassed or ridiculed simply because they didn't want to fit into the norm. Even in Ribofunk, this issue is touched on when Cassio makes a comment about "hating fatties." He says he doesn't understand why anyone would allow their body to do that when they don't have to.
Those who don't change their body aren't the only ones that would be discriminated against. There would be this hierarchy of who's "more" perfect. In our world, the human race is not capable of living without hierarchy. If everyone of us looked exactly the same, it would come down to personality hierarchy. In Ribofunk, even those who do change their body were in a hierarchy. It was all about who was making your drink. The best drinks had the best and longest lasting effects. Dez talks about the different gangs of people. Each group had unique abilities and strengths, but Dez only cared about the Body Artists. They were the "best" group. They looked perfect and had amazing abilities. We can never escape discrimination.
Perfection is never perfection. No matter what we can do with our body, we will never be considered perfect. No one is at the top of the hierarchy. Although this nanobot booster drinks are plausible, I'm glad I don't live in a world where they're a reality. I don't know if I want to experience the chaos that is sure to accompany these "easy" boosts. Nothing ever comes easy.
Let's explore the possibility first. At the moment, we know that it is impossible. In the future though, it may be. There are so many amazing things right now that are similar, but not as advanced. We have pills and lotions and ointments to better our bodies. If we add some nanotechnology to these, they may turn into the "magical" drink that seems so far fetched. Little machines that could eat away our fat. Nanobots that could boost our immune system and help attack threats to our body. It would be a whole new world.
The fact that it could be possible doesn't necessarily mean it would be good. Its interesting to think what would happen if everyone could be perfect with just a drink. Would it eliminate all our problems and free us from discrimination? Absolutely not. With technology comes more problems. If we had a bunch of tiny little bots within our body, new diseases and problems would arise. If something happened and all our nanobots were to disappear or get destroyed, our body would be weaker than ever. Because we had nanobots doing all of the work since we were born most likely, our body would be completely dependent on the bots to make us healthy. We would surely die without the help of our nanobots.
Discrimination is a another story. It seems that if everyone is perfect, we would all be on the same level. This is where freewill comes in. Those who choose not to be perfect would be harassed or ridiculed simply because they didn't want to fit into the norm. Even in Ribofunk, this issue is touched on when Cassio makes a comment about "hating fatties." He says he doesn't understand why anyone would allow their body to do that when they don't have to.
Those who don't change their body aren't the only ones that would be discriminated against. There would be this hierarchy of who's "more" perfect. In our world, the human race is not capable of living without hierarchy. If everyone of us looked exactly the same, it would come down to personality hierarchy. In Ribofunk, even those who do change their body were in a hierarchy. It was all about who was making your drink. The best drinks had the best and longest lasting effects. Dez talks about the different gangs of people. Each group had unique abilities and strengths, but Dez only cared about the Body Artists. They were the "best" group. They looked perfect and had amazing abilities. We can never escape discrimination.
Perfection is never perfection. No matter what we can do with our body, we will never be considered perfect. No one is at the top of the hierarchy. Although this nanobot booster drinks are plausible, I'm glad I don't live in a world where they're a reality. I don't know if I want to experience the chaos that is sure to accompany these "easy" boosts. Nothing ever comes easy.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Social norms and breaking free of our socialized mechanics
As I’ve concluded in a previous post, human beings are machines. I mainly focused on the fact that we are machines based on biological laws. We also follow the laws of society. Social norms and pressures mold us into predictable, controlled beings; machines.
Social norms are some of the most unbreakable laws in society. Many laws in place by the government or leaders within the society are broken with little thought or concern. Social laws are much different. There is a greater fear of stepping outside social boundaries then breaking federal laws. For example, the majority of Americans breaks the speed limit. This is a law that was put in place for the safety of those on the road yet very few people stay below the limit in place. Opposed to that, you will never see someone in America sit in the seat next to the only other person on an empty bus. We have strict rules about space in America. Although only three people (you, the person you sat next to and the bus driver) would know that you broke this rule, the anxiety and discomfort you feel would prevent you from doing it. Social norms are enforced from within yourself and externally as opposed to federal laws that are enforced only externally. Because the consequences are felt externally and internally, social norms are much harder to break. These norms become the mechanics that make us a machine: our socialized mechanics.
The name of this entry though is “breaking free of our socialized mechanics.” How can we break free of our mechanics that have so many consequences for breaking? The answer is social deviants. Those of use who are already, by definition of our identity, break the social norms. This was my experience this past weekend. It was a backwards world where everyone was already living outside the realm of regular mechanics. This weekend I attended a conference for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer leaders. Because all of us identified as Queer we automatically broke many of the social rules that the majority of America follows. We played with gender and sexuality: two of the most strict social laws of America. Gender is man and woman. Sexuality is heterosexual. We expanded and disbanded this theory. We took sacred concepts to most Americans and turned them on their head.
At this conference, it was common to break social laws. There were few rules not broken and even those were questioned and played with. The gender rules were obsolete. Few people at the conference identified as strictly male or female. Those who did identify as male or female, would not play into society’s definition of the two genders. Sexuality was even more fluid at the conference. There was a fraction of heterosexuals compared to LGBTQ identifying students. The entire spectrum was at this conference: Asexual to Bisexual to everything in between. This was a world completely different from mainstream America.
If people can break these social laws and act on their own, does this eliminate the machine theory? It does not. Although this was a conference where everyone seemed to break every rule in the book, it was more accurately a conference where everyone created new rules. The people at the conference broke gender and sexuality rules without remorse, but this conference still had its laws every person needed to follow. For example, making assumptions was taboo. There were so many identities that there was no way to assume an identity for anyone. Not only that, but new rules about communication were established. It was now perfectly ok to cross the boundary of the room. People were comfortable going to the front of the classroom and using their voice. I first felt as if this really was breaking out of our mechanics. I was wrong. By the end of the conference, the patterns of communication and interaction were obvious. It was just like any other place in America in the sense that it was predictable. I knew who was going to speak and when, what was going to be said and how and how the audience would react. We were stepping out of main stream mechanics to create our own machine; a machine none the less.
Yet again I come to the conclusion that humans are machines. We are predictable and trapped in our own mechanics. We have rules and boundaries that we can’t ignore. An important distinction though is the fact that we are not all the same machine. We all work differently and have our own sets of rules. After this conference, I’m wondering if there is any way to step out of our mechanics and live without out habits and rules.
Social norms are some of the most unbreakable laws in society. Many laws in place by the government or leaders within the society are broken with little thought or concern. Social laws are much different. There is a greater fear of stepping outside social boundaries then breaking federal laws. For example, the majority of Americans breaks the speed limit. This is a law that was put in place for the safety of those on the road yet very few people stay below the limit in place. Opposed to that, you will never see someone in America sit in the seat next to the only other person on an empty bus. We have strict rules about space in America. Although only three people (you, the person you sat next to and the bus driver) would know that you broke this rule, the anxiety and discomfort you feel would prevent you from doing it. Social norms are enforced from within yourself and externally as opposed to federal laws that are enforced only externally. Because the consequences are felt externally and internally, social norms are much harder to break. These norms become the mechanics that make us a machine: our socialized mechanics.
The name of this entry though is “breaking free of our socialized mechanics.” How can we break free of our mechanics that have so many consequences for breaking? The answer is social deviants. Those of use who are already, by definition of our identity, break the social norms. This was my experience this past weekend. It was a backwards world where everyone was already living outside the realm of regular mechanics. This weekend I attended a conference for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer leaders. Because all of us identified as Queer we automatically broke many of the social rules that the majority of America follows. We played with gender and sexuality: two of the most strict social laws of America. Gender is man and woman. Sexuality is heterosexual. We expanded and disbanded this theory. We took sacred concepts to most Americans and turned them on their head.
At this conference, it was common to break social laws. There were few rules not broken and even those were questioned and played with. The gender rules were obsolete. Few people at the conference identified as strictly male or female. Those who did identify as male or female, would not play into society’s definition of the two genders. Sexuality was even more fluid at the conference. There was a fraction of heterosexuals compared to LGBTQ identifying students. The entire spectrum was at this conference: Asexual to Bisexual to everything in between. This was a world completely different from mainstream America.
If people can break these social laws and act on their own, does this eliminate the machine theory? It does not. Although this was a conference where everyone seemed to break every rule in the book, it was more accurately a conference where everyone created new rules. The people at the conference broke gender and sexuality rules without remorse, but this conference still had its laws every person needed to follow. For example, making assumptions was taboo. There were so many identities that there was no way to assume an identity for anyone. Not only that, but new rules about communication were established. It was now perfectly ok to cross the boundary of the room. People were comfortable going to the front of the classroom and using their voice. I first felt as if this really was breaking out of our mechanics. I was wrong. By the end of the conference, the patterns of communication and interaction were obvious. It was just like any other place in America in the sense that it was predictable. I knew who was going to speak and when, what was going to be said and how and how the audience would react. We were stepping out of main stream mechanics to create our own machine; a machine none the less.
Yet again I come to the conclusion that humans are machines. We are predictable and trapped in our own mechanics. We have rules and boundaries that we can’t ignore. An important distinction though is the fact that we are not all the same machine. We all work differently and have our own sets of rules. After this conference, I’m wondering if there is any way to step out of our mechanics and live without out habits and rules.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Othering or Alterity
The "other" is a dark and scary term. It is a term that society thrives on and destroys with. I have felt it personally as well as any other minority or disadvantaged person has. It seems as though America cannot survive without an "other."
On the other side, is the identity in which one defines him/herself as the "other?" These are identities that can be considered anti-identities; identities defined by what one is not. An example is Atheism. This is an identity that means: "disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings." In other words it means, "not-religious." So "othering" is not solely from an outside perspective. They, themselves have the feeling of alterity.
Now is the question of technology. We "other" technology and machines as something different than ourselves because they are controlled and stuck in a rhythm without escape. We are different correct? Let us think about it for a moment. As I've stated in a previous post about reality, we like to "escape" reality. What I also talked about was the fact that everything is reality. There is no escaping it. Doesn't this also mean there is no escaping the rhythm of our lives? Are we not controlled by social constructs and a hierarchy? We have been programmed socially to think and act certain ways. The fact that we create "others" prove this. We don't like rogue machines. Everyone must follow the rules and the laws of our mechanics. We create the "other" in order to maintain routines and control. This makes us machines. Even escaping the social aspect, we cannot escape our biological aspects. We must breathe, eat, sleep and go to the bathroom. We are as vulnerable as machines. Unplug a machine and it turns off. Go a while without breathing and you die. Although machines can be plugged back in, so I guess we're weak machines.
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