Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle.
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more.
It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
- Macbeth.
I watched The Corporation tonight. Amazing documentary. I'm all about documentaries lately, it seems the regular predictable romantic comedies aren't doing it for me lately. I prefer the real horror, the real drama of being told about my life is being controlled,commodified and resold over and over by big business.
The film made me think more and more about the beauty of TiVo. It will be essential in my home as I do not want to expose myself or my future children to hours of advertisement.
This movie first made me want to hide under my bed, read my feminist and social theory books with a flashlight and have water and fruit brought to me for sustenance.
Then I got mad. I got mad at the thought that there are corporations out there who's only job is to figure out how to better market to children. How to brand them at a young age so that they will forever be consumers of their product.
Do you ever think about how controlled you are by marketing and corporations? Do you remember the last time you salivated over a sale at the gap, forgetting that whether you pay $20 or $5 for that t-shirt, the person that made it still only got paid 15 cents?
Sure, sure, I tell people I shop at American Apparel , truth be told, I will buy a t-shirt at a concert if AA made it, but I really can't afford $25 for a t-shirt.
Or can I?
Maybe if I have just 2 t-shirts at $25 a piece instead of 10 t-shirts?
It's all about choices.
In the end I worry that I am an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle.
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more.
It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
- Macbeth.
I watched The Corporation tonight. Amazing documentary. I'm all about documentaries lately, it seems the regular predictable romantic comedies aren't doing it for me lately. I prefer the real horror, the real drama of being told about my life is being controlled,commodified and resold over and over by big business.The film made me think more and more about the beauty of TiVo. It will be essential in my home as I do not want to expose myself or my future children to hours of advertisement.
This movie first made me want to hide under my bed, read my feminist and social theory books with a flashlight and have water and fruit brought to me for sustenance.
Then I got mad. I got mad at the thought that there are corporations out there who's only job is to figure out how to better market to children. How to brand them at a young age so that they will forever be consumers of their product.
Do you ever think about how controlled you are by marketing and corporations? Do you remember the last time you salivated over a sale at the gap, forgetting that whether you pay $20 or $5 for that t-shirt, the person that made it still only got paid 15 cents?
Sure, sure, I tell people I shop at American Apparel , truth be told, I will buy a t-shirt at a concert if AA made it, but I really can't afford $25 for a t-shirt.
Or can I?
Maybe if I have just 2 t-shirts at $25 a piece instead of 10 t-shirts?
It's all about choices.
In the end I worry that I am an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
8 Comments:
i hate clothes. i wish we could all be nudists..nudists that dont judge..
I'm glad that my 3 year old doesn't watch TV. She likes Sesame Street, which I can use the cable On Demand for, so there are no commercials. I also have some Elmo DVD's that she likes. Other than that, no marketing campaign brainwashes her, luckily. We do crazy things, like, oh, play and read books. Imagine that...not letting the TV babysit your kid!
Our cable company has a DVR thing, which is just TiVo through their company. I love it. I record the things I really want to see and watch them without commercials. I like it better that way!
wow wow wow... lots of interest ideas.
lilred - I don't think clothes are quite what I was getting at, but nudists are fun.
Nuclear Beaver- I live right near the bloor, I heard about the whole ceiling caving in issue, NOT COOL! Also, the director was supposed to be there!
J&I - I miss watching sesame street
Petunia- We are getting freaky! I would have loved to watch that movie with a group, for a course or something. I grew up on CBC and NPR, gotta love it.
As far as buying clothes and all that I think its a great issue about shopping with your conscience, but unfortunately the average North American can't afford to.
The overall system scares me, like the idea of a third world country having all their water privatized, or the idea that we can't find out about problems in our milk because the people that poison it control the media.
SCARY
-LMK
I get alternately encouraged, when so many people on the web are in the same groove, then discouraged when I see how many people are addicted to material things, and unwilling to give that up.
But every little bit helps, I guess.
But then I think about the girls in California getting boob jobs for their high school graduation present because they are "an investment in their future," and I get depressed again.
You know? There are a lot of us that have been worried aobut what is going on for a long time. The 60's were full of us...some sold out. Others took too many drugs to carry on. Some had to just get on with life, but then there are some, that for the pure joy of it, and that would include me, just keep fighting the good fight. I am so glad that there are more of us. The internet helps connect the young with the old. Strengthening the fight.
I'm really enjoying this conversation so I want to let this post ride for a few days.
I think its very true that in the 60's they had some great idea, that were kinda killed off and eventually mocked. It's unfortunate that we can't have the best of both worlds. A person with the same 60's "hippie" mentality of help for all and the global effects of consumerism brought to the forefront. The only problem is the image. If you dress like a hippie no one will take you seriously JK.
It can be very discouraging when you see teenagers more concerned with their tan then the effects their McDonalds burger on the rainforest. We just have to keep getting the word out I suppose.
-LMK
its wierd how it keeps boiling down to clothes for me!
-LMK
yea thats what we did, but we haven't watched the extra's yet, still absorbing what we saw in the film. SO LONG!!
-LMK
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