Week 7 Response

The drudgery of life in America is easy to see wherever you go. Advertisements for things you don't have are always smiling down at you from billboards with their perfect and beautiful spokespeople. A majority of the time someone poses for an advertisement, they don't even know what brand they will be representing. Being short on money makes you realize these things more often than not, because you can only dream about what you would do or buy if you actually had the money. On the other hand, if you were wealthy, would consuming more brand name goods make you happier? Apparently not, according to Culture Jam. As society becomes more modern with new advancements in technology and lifestyles, more and more people become affected by depression. Asian countries that adopt the American culture have been studied and reportedly rise in depression rates, and I'm sure they're not the only developing countries that are afflicted by this "plague".
A few lines about the typical American really intrigued me and made such good sense it was frightening. They included the facts that we watch nature programs instead of going out to experience it for ourselves, we laugh at sitcoms' bland jokes but not at our families' similar comical moments, and we watch more shows that include sex than we actually perform ourselves. When I moved into my room at the beginning of this school year, I was all set to have my own TV to watch cable on, but for some reason, my room was the only one without the proper cable hookup. My TV has sat lifeless on my dresser for this whole year, and now that I have witnessed the dull reality of what could have been, I couldn't be more pleased that it never worked. There have been many instances during my free time where I can just relax to music or escape with my own thoughts. It is sad that our cultural freedom has been lost to the slavery of technology and work.
Our idea of comedy is not our own anymore. It belongs to the studio audience that laughs every time a punchline is blurted out on your regularly scheduled late night cable rotation. Is there ever a time when you would laugh and the studio audience doesn't? Not likely. I find this very annoying and my mind drifts to this angry spot whenever I hear that studio audience begin to crack up at the lamest of jokes. This is just another example of how we are being programmed as a culture.
The unofficial history of America section of Culture Jam had me asking myself many questions. the first was what they are going to be writing in the history books of the future. The stories of the wars that allowed us to be our own patriotic nation as we broke free from British rule are undeniable, but what is going to fill the books during times of peace, or as close as we will ever be to it. America no longer battles its' "enemies" overseas, but rather itself and the consumer culture we are trapped in. We are prisoners of war with our own country. I can't wait to read the chapter about the 300 companies Microsoft has either bought out or sold. That should hold the attention of future teenagers very raptly...