Higgins-Post Class

It was pretty apparent to me what I was going to write for this post the moment in class I was presented with an article that discussed an ex-NFL players decision to one day just leave the league in mid-season. What made this a troublesome thought to me was why he said he did it, because he read Chomsky's book and that created a life changing moment for him. Do I believe in moments where people can have a sudden life altering realization, yes i do but some things need to be addressed first. This guy is in a position many people would kill for and he has been playing for so long I just don't believe a book could change someone that drastically without having other factors come into play.

As a culture we are constantly being shaped and form from the different social shifts and pressures, so I understand when push comes to shove some people need to take a break. As for leaving the NFL over a book, doesn't seem logical in my eyes, who knows there may be more to the story. The theorist Chomsky is always presenting complex ideologies that leave many with a new outlook. The thing I would feel that could be related to Chomsky's presence of leaving one wanting to change their lives, would be the concept of faith/religion. Never have I seen more examples of people changing things in there day to day life than from the teachings they get from religion. In my opinion, that has always been something very interesting to me and I intend to look into it more.

One could also connect Chomsky and religion from how the theorist texts and those of the religious texts(bible) have documented cases of life altering realizations.

Chomsky, Post Class blog

Our discussion on Chomsky was particularly fun and interesting to sit back and listen to Jack and Alex pick apart the football player’s statement about quitting the NFL because of the enlightenment he experienced from reading Chomsky. I had my own opinions and ideas as to why he had quit and why Chomsky’s concepts had a major effect on his career playing in the NFL, but it was much more entertaining to watch what was going on in front of me. I think it is definitely possible to read something or see something and have a life changing moment because of it. I definitely think his decision was not spur of the moment, and with the help of chomsky’s theories, he was able to use it as a way out.

            The words by Chomsky, “opine and recline” intrigued me during our class discussion. Just like how I had my opinions during the conversation about the NFL player, I sat back and kept quiet. There is no particular reason to it, but I was being a passive listener and student in the classroom, as Eco would say. As a culture of mass media consumers, we are attacked with media images and manipulation thousands of times a day, and there is a notion of passivity that goes along with it. The five ingredients of the propaganda model shape how the media directly affects us. The fact that a few large corporations own all media sources reminds me of the food industry and how corrupt the system and its products are.

            Yesterday, I came across a music video from a local Orlando rapper, Brandon Caskey, that talks about media and advertisement manipulation and how it has the capitalist power to shape our views on many aspects of culture and essentially make us buy into the power. Not a good song what-so-ever, but very applicable for Chomsky.

lyrics:

It’s another add for ya, everything bad 4 ya
It’s another add for ya, everything bad 4 ya
Had enough of that
It’s another add for ya, everything bad 4 ya
Had enough of that
It’s another add for ya, everything bad 4 ya

Yo let the television develop my vision
This not a hell of a prison that I am standing inside
Capitalism capitalizing on my condition
Every tiny ass that circulates I’m making decision
Being taught to consume
Fear’s all they ever promote inside of the news
I’m confused what they notice defused with that bogus
The locus inside the fear ain’t necessary to grow it
I got family at home everybody need the new shit that’s coming on
They are coming on to me like a 12 bus groupie
Trying to hop inside my hooptie on the low
They thinking the life of me is a movie
They are programmed from the lad that is no man’s
Up in nasty nice and some slow jams
My eyes in the low lands in the cold cans
These commercial and titles they the start to the circle

Inviting me to keep your eyes on the screen
Watch everything, watch, watch everything
Watch everything, watch everything
Keep your eyes on the screen 
Watch everything, watch, watch everything
Watch everything, watch everything
Keep your eyes on the screen 
Watch everything, watch, watch everything
Watch everything, watch everything
Keep your eyes on the screen
Watch everything, watch, watch everything
Watch everything, watch everything

It’s another add for ya, everything bad 4 ya
It’s another add for ya, everything bad 4 ya
Had enough of that
It’s another add for ya, everything bad 4 ya

It’s psychology someone owe me an apology
I usually ain’t concerned with they policy
But honestly this rewriting my whole main
It’s like I have to purchase this so I could maintain
What’s the verdict on life, are we still the appraised?
We always got to be slave to someone’s pocket decide
Is you gonna live a life consuming materials
I’ll be the one who can stop it

Keep your eyes on the screen
Watch everything, watch, watch everything
Watch everything, watch everything
Keep your eyes on the screen 
Watch everything, watch, watch everything
Watch everything, watch everything
Keep your eyes on the screen 
Watch everything, watch, watch everything
Watch everything, watch everything
Keep your eyes on the screen
Watch everything, watch, watch everything
Watch everything, watch everything

It’s another add for ya, everything bad 4 ya
Had enough of that
It’s another add for ya, everything bad 4 ya
Had enough of that

Great stuff

Some great content, all, post- our 11/13 class. Gator chomp and all! (Thanks ~ dc)

Foucault- fang pre class

Michel Foucault is outlining the current state of discipline in his piece. He describes “the utopia of the perfectly governed city” (96) which has essentially made an overlord that represses the citizens and outlines one path. Foucault explains how the current attitude towards discipline and notes that the “collective effect, is abolished” (98). When a group is oppressed, either by a state regime or an ISA, the collective group becomes stunted and there is a lot less freedom and thinking. Foucault notes the big change for the guardian after the oppression stating, “[the collective effect] is replaced by a multiplicity that can be numbered and supervised” (98).  The state of oppression is such that the underlings of the guardian go about the day knowing they have no free will past their day-to-day lives.

Foucault’s second piece focuses on how secretizing sex only augments its power. By seeking pleasure in knowing something about the secret of sex, we have created a “new pleasure in confiding [sex] in secret, of luring it out in the open- the specific pleasure of the true discourse on pleasure” (105-106). Over time, sex has become something more than it needs to be and a secret in society.

I suggested Bob Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm” for class because it expresses Dylan’s feelings about the oppressive state regime. There is a line about the “National Guard that waits outside the door” and an overall theme of anger and oppression (though some argue that it was about his response to the folk movement, aspects of the song could speak to oppression and class exploitation).  The song also is a part of Bentham’s idea that “there were no more bars, no more chains, no more heavy locks; all that was needed was that the separations should be clear and the openings well arranged” (99) as the narrator works on the farm just subtly oppressed.

Post Class

We talked in Class Today about the negatives behind the idea of being in a place where we can't think for ourselves. You had talked about how that could be a negative thing, as people around us can skew the ways that we think. I think that there are two parts to the story. There is definitely a negative aspect to that. We can see that in riots and mobs, as they say that the people feed off the energy of the others. I can relate to this when the Phillies won the world series, the town of Philadelphia got so out of control. People were throwing bottles, looting, and the mob mentality was getting out of hand. A combination of Alcohol and Rioting led to out of control behavior. They were doing things such as flipping police cars on the streets, fires burning everywhere, aggressive fans got into fightings with innocent bystanders. Riot control with the Philadelphia Police went into action where it began as a joyous occasion for the win of the Phillies in 28 years, to a out of control riot where police were getting attacked, tear gas was used, and the city got out of control.

There is also another side to this theory. There is the part that mobs and being in a social setting with those around you with the same interest, led to a great amount of communication and civility. For example, when people gather around a Concert, they all can relate on that similar idea of the music. When i saw the Dead in 2009 at the Spectrum in Philly, i tailgated and it was great that there was a instant communication or a "bridge" that we could all relate on. I had nothing in common with most of the people there, except for a passion for the dead. I think that the mob mentality when i was at the concert made it more enjoyable. I felt like me a 20,000 others could all be happy, and talk about something that we loved.

lacansmirror, Chomsky

Last class we discussed Chomsky's views on propaganda.  It was interesting to hear different views on propaganda since it is things that are disseminated in different forms.  Today we see propaganda in various forms but especially online.  I see internet memes as propaganda because they often make a bias statement or take a image out of context with copy.

There are other modern forms of propaganda in countries like China where the government censors content online.  In fact, there are reports of the Chinese government paying youth to post pro-communist statements on social media.  In the U.S., billboard advertisements could arguably be propaganda from large corporations.  However, the majority of what our class agreed was modern propaganda is essentially in politics and human rights issues.  Graffiti or street art tends to be the source of a lot of propaganda movements from the masses because the public does not normally have the resources or capital to create a viral propaganda campaign.  Although, an internet meme or street art piece could go viral and have a similar impact.  Overall, the flack that we discussed tends to come from the corporations attempting to mask reality; while the viral messages are generated from the masses.  The aspects of propaganda within advertising are accepted passively in our society.  A very radical campaign needs to be produced in order for the masses to react.  Other than that, we accept almost every message and all flack that is projected at us.

Chompski: Post-Class

After discussing Herman & Chompski's reading, "A Propaganda Model" in class, I realize just how much Chompski's ideas can be related to the society that we live in. He describes propaganda in our culture as "things that must be disseminated." Especially in American culture, the word, "propaganda" as a negative connotation because it is usually associated with Hitler and the Nazi's use of media to manipulate the masses and promote antisemitic values. What we as a culture do not realize is that propaganda is present in our everyday lives, we just are not always aware because we have been conditioned to accept messages delivered to us by institutions through the media. Chomski says, "Governments and corporate sources also have the great merit of being recognizable and credible by their status and prestige" (214). In other words, we as the masses have faith the institutions telling us what to say, do, and even think. We often just listen to these institutions as docile bodies, without thinking for ourselves. We must think critically about how these institutions have the power to use the media to reinforce stereotypes and hegemonic values. One example that was brought up in class that I thought was very interesting was the comparison of footage Hitler's political rallies in Nazi Germany during World War II and fan culture at sporting events. The way the masses act at sporting events is something that we rarely question; we passively subscribe to the "norms" of the culture without thinking critically for ourselves about our actions. For example, the University of Florida has it's own fan culture that most people attending a game subscribe to without being asked to. Fans become a mob of thousands, rallying together with common clothing and behavior. At first it was hard for me to see this as propaganda, but when you really think about it, sporting events are a way to keep the masses in control.