Posted by kid a on September 6, 2002, at 14:03:39
01. the commodification of ritual violence and racial steryotypes: the soppranos
02. the commodification of success and failure: the national enquirer
03. the commodification of state capitalism: the possible invasion of iraq
04. the commodification of nazi imagery: the italian fashion industry
05. the commodification of mental disorder: Wyeth Ayerst et al
06. the commodification of female teenaged sexuality: britney spears et al
07. the commodification of irealistic beauty norms and male/female relations: cosmopolitan et al
08. the commodification of teenaged angst: linkin park et al
09. the commodification of torture: fear factor et al
10. the commodification of wealth, social stature, and safe anonymous sex: sex in the city
11. the commodification of antiquated expectations of women and safe shallow marriage: bridget jones diary et al
12. the commodification of death: the funeral industry
13. the commodification of dying: aids and cancer treatment
14. the commodification of racial intollerance and political ignorange: god bless america
15. the commodification of miscommunication: kid a
~~~
I was reminded in an article I read recently that one of the greatest threats to any society is the prevelance of boredom of the bourgeois middle class. This is one of the greater factors among others that lead to the rise of Nazi idealism in a 1930's Germany. As an American middle class we are constantly in need of some fictional manufactured device to live vicariously through. What better way to ignore the dullness and meaninglessness of our own lives than to try desperately to compete for the latest products, the latest cars, the latest labour saving devices that will inevitably make us increasingly more and more distressed, more and moreso depressed as we desperately try to fill this void with work, commodity, sex, alcohol, anything that we can do to distract our restless minds.
Ted Kascinksy, who you may recall as the "Unibomber", imagined a world free of any labour whatsoever. It is not hard to imagine technology advancing to this point. He assumed, I think rightly so that society would be split into two halves: the wealthy elite, and the meaningless drones. Depending on the mentality/compassion of the elite there are any number of outcomes for the drones. Since there is no use for them, they may be simply exterminated. If the elite are compasionate they will need to manufacture some way in which the drones may apply some value and meaning to their lives. With no jobs to do, and a lack of any ideals, they are left with nothing.
Wealth and power ultimately corrupts. Wealth and leisure ultimately drives men to the brink of insanity. This has been shown time and again throughout history. One needs only look at any aristocracy to see it.
Love to all my pretty ones; at night they are marching in the streets and knocking on doors; one night they may come for you or me.
poster:kid a
thread:29922
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020829/msgs/29922.html