Weekly Response 6

Levester Williams

ADP III

Reed-Esslinger-Payet, GSI

Lasn Takes on Consumerism…

Lasn critiques capitalist consumerism and analyzes its effect to instill a vivid image of its degradation on our culture. He states that a cult of consumerism has been integrated into our lives. The transition of Americans from citizens to consumers is relevant since we either blindly follow the rules set by the media or acquiesce but maintain our role as blind consumers (Lasn 63). Moreover, we are “governed [by] a corporate state” (Lasn 69), which “embraces the value of More” (Lasn 11). We, as cult members, are being programmed to fulfill the roles that corporations demand us to be. For example, I possess more than ten pairs of sneakers. Even though I still wear my worn-out shoes, I purchase new shoes since it has been embedded in my mind that more can never be enough. I momentarily feel content after the purchase, yet it always fades away into a dull void that is resolved by buying more sneakers. This plea for more derives from the cult “promising a kind of boundless contentment”(Lasn 54). However, this idealism of plenitude is detrimental to our growth as a nation since our ecosystem and our personal lives are impinged by it. Ecological economists claim that the world cannot expand more without having an ecological apocalypse (Lasn 86). For example, the world cannot sustain when First World countries and some developing countries are operating at a First World level, creating a plethora of ecological problems as seen in China (Diamond 376). Within ten years, this obsession with consumer capitalism seems not to have receded, yet people are becoming more concerned about their consumption—not only due to the current recession, but to conserve our environment and save energy.

Lasn generalizes our relationship with our possessions by assuming all people have a relationship with their products that identify us. For cars example, he explicates our relationship with cars as a complimentary asset to ourselves: “…they reinvent us” (Lasn 81). Yet, not all people buy cars to complement their self-image. Some may buy cars only to have transportation. These people may only look at the quality of the car, price of the car, warranty, and gas mileage as a referral to buy it. The type of car brought is to accommodate their roles in society, and the corporation may be minute factor in its purchase. For example, I may only buy a Macbook Pro due to its capabilities to create high quality designs and not due to its ability to reinvent my self-image. However, within these ten years, products are being created to match the diverse personalities of people by becoming equipped with more functions or having a variety of custom-made elements. For examples, Ipods are introducing numerous applications to satiate the personality of people.

Works Cited

Diamond, Jared M. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Viking, 2005. Print.

Lasn, Kalle. Culture Jam: The Uncooling of America. New York: Eagle Brook, 1999. Print.

world changing response 7

We are all aware that torture is a method used in order to manipulate people in question into giving more information then they are willing to give normally. We are also aware that the process of torture is unethical. It is argued that while it is a productive way in retrieving desired information from people as a form of punishment, its also been said to only promote false information, seeing as how people will say anything to escape pain and torture. If we as Americans know that it’s wrong to torture in order to get information, why are we still using it as a mechanism today? I believe that its also wrong to put individuals at risk for developing major psychological problems later on in life as a result of receiving torture as punishment, no matter what the circumstances are. People make mistakes, and where I do agree that these people should be punished, messing around with an individuals psyche is very dangerous and can only lead to worse behavior in the future, not to mention make it even more difficult for that particular individual to recuperate from any trauma they may have already undergone. It is stated that while physical damage can occur, the emotion damage is always much worse. How come in a world and time like the one we are currently living in different approaches have not been stressed as being the main way to get information that we are looking for?

weekly responce 6

When Lasn states that “the consumerist, capitalist, materialist tendencies of "American" culture are unhealthy”, I believe he is referring to the fact that we as American are letting the idea of consumerism and being obsessed with material objects determine, and influence the way we live our lives. I think that when he refers to this aspect of our lives as being unhealthy, he means that by letting such outside forces influence us on such a major level, we are giving in, and changing the way we live, by worrying about all the wrong things. We lose a certain sense of connection between us as individuals and the natural world, as well as the “family” setting in which we are supposed to be more connected to. I think he also means that with all this nonsense taking over, and consuming much of our time and thoughts, we loose the ability to recognize what truly is important, and often lose track of the real world. I think that the point that was made about the modern family still holds relevance to today. I believe that although this text was written almost 10 years ago, the issue of still being less connected to the family still remains as issue. Maybe even more so in fact seeing as how in today’s day in age more people are doing more things, and are spending less time together as a family, due to the various different time schedules in the household. I also see that now-a-days less importance is stressed on the idea of a sit down meal with the family, but that definitely corresponds to the idea of everyone being way to consumed with other priorities. In my own life I have noticed certain things that would agree with Lasns’ text as well. I too feel that within my own surroundings I can notice the new obsession with materialistic objects. Over the past ten years, my friends and I have become increasingly aware of the many new things that we “must” have due to advertisements and placements within movies and tv shows that we watch. Although I find it annoying to be constantly needing to buy the nex new thing in order to keep up with the times, its something’s that has almost become a staple in out culture today.

WR prompt #6: Lasn’s take on CONSUMERISM…

Lasn seems to be talking about many different sub issues to an overarching dilemma: That the consumerist, capitalist, materialist tendencies of "American" culture are unhealthy.

What do you think he means by unhealthy?

Given that he wrote this in 1999, choose at least one point/example of his that you think is relevant to 2009 and explain why. Then choose at least one point/ example which is not accurate/ too generalized/ or irrelevant to 2009 society and of course explain why.

Include examples/ observations from your own lives concerning his theme and indicate whether or not you've been able to observe a change in the past 10 years or not.

World Changing Response #4

As humans, water is such a vital part of our lives.  Adults are approximately 60% water (“Water in the Body”).  We use it everyday, usually without thought or consideration to how much energy it takes to heat our showers, or to filter, or the consumption angle of it.  In World Changing, it explains some different ways to think about water.

            One solution described in the book is called “reHOUSE/BATH”, “the best conceivable level of home water efficiency (Steffen 188).  French designers invented this construction that is made up of basically a bucket of water and a tub that drains into tubes which reuse the water for plants.  The plants grow to eventually create a shield of cover for the bather.  Although few people would probably actually want to use this, it brings about awareness of using water and the consequences of that and how we can reduce, reuse, and recycle it.

 

"Water in the Body." ChemCraft, Inc.. Web. 27 Oct 2009. .

 

Steffen, Alex. World Changing: A User's Guide For the 21^st

 Century. New York, NY: Abrams, 2008. Print.

world changing response 6

The education of women is very important, especially in countries where women have not had the privlege to always obtain an education. It is also important to recognize the need to give women a certain "power", instead of letting them believe that the old ways, where they had no rights was the correct way of living. It is noted that women in india are forming self help groups, in order to "increase women's solidarity within villages". the group allows these women to come together and discuss issues ranging from malnutrition to womems rights. I believe that this groups intentions are purely positive, trying to inform women of different issues, as well as giving them an opportunity to come together, learn and speak freely. Its amazing to see the spread of this social networking, in order to promote women in society.

World Changing Responses

Consuming Responsibly: As consumers, we are attracted to objects that has the ability to fulfill our desire. However, the impulse action made by the consumers isn’t necessarily helping the environment since consumers buy products without considering several elements behind them; for instance, process of manufacturing of the merchandise that could cause severe damage to our planet or the fact that certain products would be replaced in a short period of time. In this section of the book, Steffen talks briefly about the intelligence of purchasing; he brought up a perfect example of recyclable fabric materials, which I think serves the same purpose on every aspects in our daily lives.

Brands & Logos: It is obvious that our present society is generally brainwashed by Televisions, ads and all the media information amongst us. Well known brands are usually known for some characteristics that make them stand right out amongst the other companies; it can be the quality of it, the appearance, the background of the design and so on. Some people are worried that consumers are very likely to be blind sighted by the names of the brand on certain products; in my opinion, as long as we do enough research on the product and evaluate them to make sure they’re not over priced, we won’t need to worry about the logos and brands.

Cars & Fuel: Just like the author says, the demand on oil to provide fuel for transportation like cars are getting progressively worse as time goes on. In small countries or cities, problems like this wouldn’t be the hardest issue to solve, public transportation for one is a perfect solution; on the other hand, areas like North America or Mainland China, current technology wouldn’t be able to fulfill the convenience in such long distance traveling in a short amount of time. Therefore, concept projects like “peak oil” need to be presented.

Producer Responsibility: Is appearance more important than functionality? People usually think this we can only choose from one of those two options while making decisions on our purchase. Nevertheless, the goal of most companies is to achieve both of those characteristics at once. These companies managed to survive. The last aspect of a product is what consumers usually overlook as long as the particular product fulfills the first two aspects; it is the wastes being produced behind all the process in many factories. A successful company should be solving this issue first; after that, they focus on the aesthetic and the functionality.

Greening Infrastructure: I think the idea of looking the planet, as our “home” is a very meaningful and at the same time helpful to prolong the age of our mother earth. For one, plants can reduce the ozone damage and also filter the air we are breathing. Moreover, the environment would also improve visually.