Politiocal Activisist

Greenpeace is one of the worlds largest environmental initiatives, with offices in over 20 countries this activist group. This organization, originally based out of Vancouver has now grown to have mass amount of support in many places worldwide. The supporters of this group are generally people genuinely concerned with the demise and destruction of the environment.

Now I would not say that I am overly downtrodden by the demise of the earth’s environment however like most other citizens I try to do my best to reduce reuse and recycle. Although if you’d have asked me about my views on the environment a few years ago I would have just shrugged off the idea of biking instead of driving as a non important issue. This view however has been changed drastically since my younger sister has grown enough to understand the concept of global warming. It all started last summer when my sister announced at the dinner table that she was going to bike to piano lessons. My energetic mother responded with a “That’s a good idea Sarah responded to this statement! It’s a very nice evening out!” However little Sarah was not done with her talk, she continued with an environmental onslaught, which seemingly came out of nowhere. Almost 7 months later Sarah has put her environmental plan into action in our home. Trash and recycling are religiously separated, while compostable materials are re-routed to the compost in the back yard. Before I left for University I proceeded with Sarah’s environmental regime of environmental friendliness. However what I did not expect is that after transitioning to University I found myself continuing to follow the same eco friendly procedures.

Although I may not be a registered member of “the largest environmental organization in the world”(http://www.activistcash.com/organization_overview.cfm/oid/131), although I may not be one of the 5 million and counting registered followers of the Greenpeace initiative, I feel as if I am doing my best to support a sustainable future, all thanks to my little sis.

Activist Cash. Web. 24 Nov 2009..
.

Participatory Culture

A couple years ago I had become involved with a widely popular website entitled Pokerstars.net. I quickly became obsessed with fake money and real games with real people across the world. Perhaps it was because it was the idea of underage gambling without risking anything, or maybe it was due to the fact that I could illegally gamble without leaving the comfort of my very home. For the sake of this post I’ll focus on the aspect of the latter reason.

“Everyone knows that the Internet is changing our lives, mostly because someone in the media has uttered that exact phrase every single day since 1993.”(Klosterman, 110). I however obviously hadn’t grasped that concept, as the idea that millions of gambling aficionados could gather via the web to put chips on the line in real time poker game was fascinating to the 16 year old version of myself. What I did not realize at the time was that while I was illegally gambling with fake money in my basement mostly everyone else was out enjoying their days without me. This may not seem like such a big deal, you may be thinking “So what Nick? What’s an hour or so a day thrown away playing poker against a 36 year old crocodile Dundee from Australia?” My response to this question is that you obviously do not grasp my addiction with a website such as Pokerstars.net. I mean there was once a time where I would wake up early for school to grab an hour on my favorite website before I headed out to the real world. I guess what the real issue here is the qualm of social alienation. If you’d have asked the 16 year old version of myself why I was spending so much time on the computer instead of out enjoying the day with my friends I probably would have responded with something along the lines of “It’s Elmira, what’s there to do?” All things considered this may be considered a legitimate argument, as there’s nothing in Elmira but Mennonites and the ridiculous amount of churches that they attend. That being said I’m sure I lost a lot of friends during that time period, not because they particularly disliked me, probably more so based on the fact that they just forgot me.

Looking back on it now I can see that I took my obsession with the idea of live online gaming to an unfortunate extreme. However, I understand that “life is rarely about what happened; it’s mostly about what we think happened.” (Klosterman, 103) You can call me a liar but from what I can recount is that I just so happened to be kicking the butts of middle aged casino goers all over the world at an alarming rate, all at the ripe age of 16. What an accomplished young man I was.

Pokerstars. Web. 24 Nov 2009. .

Klosterman, Chuck. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003. Print.

Buy Nothing Day

Buy nothing day as stated by the official website is a day “to unshop, unspend and unwind.”(http://www.buynothingday.org/faq.html) Essentially it is a day in which you avoid purchasing anything. This could be taken as lightly as not purchasing anything at the mall if you happen to be there, or as heavily as not using your electricity for the entire 24 hours.

In my opinion this is a great idea to raise awareness on over-consumption. I am very sure that taking an entire day to “unshop” in the words of the website, would shed a very strong light on how deeply we as humans are attached to the idea of consuming, and purchasing. This idea is even appearing in video games as Chuck Klosterman muses in his critique of the popular EA title “The Sims”. In such a situation “SimChuck” is prompted to buy a new TV because as real Chuck began to realize very quickly when playing the game that “The happiness of the characters is directly proportional to the shit you elect to buy them.” (Klosterman, 18) As Klosterman flips through the seemingly endless catalogue his eyes fall upon many items, but more specifically the “Soma Plasma TV” as “Buying this item for $3500 increases the owner’s fun rating by six full points.”(Klosterman, 18) Now I can hardly imagine that the human psych is so intertwined with consumerism that we unconsciously have an ingrained “fun-o-meter” for lack of a better word. However EA seems to be onto something for it seems that every time I feel the least bit upset, my mind immediately jumps to purchase something to fill the void. “What the Sims suggests is that buying things makes people happy because it takes their mind off being alive.”(Klosterman, 19)

I guess what this site is indirectly promoting is the concept of actually dealing with your issues without buying the tissues, and confronting your problems directly as opposed to filling the void with a purchase. This seems to me like a justifiable cause, and after learning about this challenge I will defiantly make an effort to consume less, “At the very least [I’ll] save a bit of [my] hard-earned cash!”(http://www.buynothingday.org/faq.html)

"Buy Nothing Day." Buy Nothing Day. Web. 24 Nov 2009. .

Klosterman, Chuck. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003. Print.

Net Neutrality

Net neutrality is a looming issue amongst Internet users everywhere. While the concept of a worldwide “neutral” Internet seems a tiny bit general in terms of understanding what the definition “Net Neutrality” really means, the premise is that all content the public views on the web is treated equally, and therefore “neutral”.

Our modern Internet for the most part has remained fairly “neutral” until just recently when the Government decided to examine the implications of a unbiased Internet. The investigation was launched majorly due to congestion issues on major sites such as Google and Yahoo!. The outcome of this net neutrality debate could result in such sites charging extra fees for users. Another option that the Government is considering is the idea of Internet service providers being able to supply multi-tiered plans costing more money to heavy users. This seems like a fair solution, provided that companies such as Bell and Rogers don’t jack up the costs to maximize their profit margin. Another online freedom threatened by this proposal, is the idea of a band on online file sharing, as streaming online video uses up massive amounts of bandwidth, which slows down the Internet as a whole. This option however would raise uproar amongst youth everywhere who live off downloading and sharing music and movies.

In my opinion the only way in which this issue could bother me is if major companies got greedy like they have in the past and take advantage of their power to control the price point at which people pay to stay connected. I have no problem paying a little extra for using search engines such as Google, because in my opinion everything has its price, I genuinely feel that society is fairly lucky to have gotten the most popular search engine on the web for free usage so far. As far as I’m concerned the Internet is going down the same road as the cell phone, starting with small charges, then getting away with larger taxes. As it is right now, I am used to it.

"Should the Government Regulate Net Neutrality?." Opposing Views. Web. 24 Nov 2009. .

Media Hegemonies

As I read through Chuck Klosterman’s pop culture novel “Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs” I realized he mentioned in the latter stages of his book a news company entitled Knight Ridder. Klosterman followed up by stating that he had “worked in the Knight Ridder chain for four years. “(Klosterman, 197) As a developing journalist, I decided it would be my best interest to look up this company in order to further my knowledge of the industry. What I learned was that Knight Ridder was a business fusion of Knight Newspapers Incorporated, and Ridder Publications, which combined in 1974. For a brief time this massive company was “the largest newspaper publisher in the United States” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_Ridder#Knight_Ridder-owned_companies). Upon further research I came to the realization that Knight Ridder had recently been bought out by The McClatchy Company, another newspaper publishing company. This media giant now owns a mass amount of daily, and weekly newspapers, as well as some other companies.

Aside from the 77 newspaper outlets throughout the U.S. owned by The McClatchy Company, also owned by them are; McClatchy Interactive, The Real Cities Network, and The McClatchy Washington Bureau. While this list seems fairly small, this company also has partial stakes in the McClatchy-Tribune Information Services, CareerBuilder, Classified Ventures, Ponderay Newsprint Company, The New York Times News Service, Scripps Howard News Service, The Seattle Times Company, and Topix.net. What seems unique to me is that the head bosses at McClatchy Interactive seem to have no problem keeping themselves in the print news business, and seem to not have much interest outside of purchasing news related companies. This would be key in keeping their company void of media cross ownership charges, which prevent multi-million dollar companies from owning “too much local media ownership”(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_ownership). The Federal Communications Commission generally does not allow one type of media outlet to own its sister company. A plain example would be the Chicago Tribune’s ownership of WGN Radio (WGN-AM) and Television (WGN-TV). In my opinion this seems like a good general rule, when it comes to keeping some sort of diversity among news outlets in any given area.

As I tend to be business illiterate this whole media hegemony caught me by surprise. I guess it was fairly naïve of me to think that each newspaper I read is a private operating business at the top of its own chain when it comes to ownership. I suppose I should have taken Klosterman’s words to heart when he bluntly stated, “Massive conservative corporations own everything.”(Klosterman, 196) I guess from now on whenever I am reading a publication from the United States I will now realize that it’s most likely one of the 77 and counting owned by The McClatchy Company.

"Knight Ridder." Web. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_Ridder#Knight_Ridder-owned_companies

"Cross Ownership." Web. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_ownership

Klosterman, Chuck. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003. Print.

Culture Jamming

Culture jamming is defined by wikipedia, as a “tactic in which an activist attempts to disrupt or subvert mainstream cultural institutions or corporate advertising. Culture jamming is usually employed in opposition to a perceived appropriation of public space, or as a reaction against social conformity.”(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_jamming) I further investigated, and search the web for culture jamming images, and came to the conclusion that culture jamming is essentially a parody of something typical rehashed to convey a message different than the originally implied meaning.

An interesting example I found of this more recent phenomenon was a remixed Cadillac ad. The image of this ad is similar to that of a typical SUV print ad, with the giant gas-guzzler front and centre in a picturesque glacial background. However what makes this image interesting is not the image itself, merely the phrases typed around it. Where readers would usually see phrases highlighting the all wheel drive vehicles praise, and glorifying its stunning performance, viewers are shocked to see a phrase such as “Catastrophic climate change? Not our fault.” Accompanied by a tag line at the bottom stating “The American people want big-ass cars”(http://www.abrupt.org/CJ/ccc.jpg) This clever shift in perspective is obviously a stab at the general public, on the president that they must be the ones to take action when it comes to the climate shift problem. This modified ad implies that car companies will continue to make unnecessarily large all wheel drive vehicles until the public (the American public to be specific) stops purchasing them. The clever alteration of the well-known Cadillac icon also sends a strong message across to all viewing this advertisement. The popular logo has been altered to include horns, as well as basic facial features, which plays off the idea that “We humans are a self-centered race” and that “we assign identities and emotions where none exist, and make the world over in our image.”(McCloud, 32-33) That being said the rehashed Cadillac logo somewhat resembles the devil with its horns, which could symbolize the feelings the modifier has towards American car companies.

This particular ad parody seems to put quite a strong message across to the American population. It takes something as ingrained in our mind as the typical car manufacturers sport utility vehicle advertisement and tips it on end to convey a completely anti-SUV meaning, all whilst taking a stab at the American public along the way.

McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York: HarperCollins, 1993. Print.

"Culture Jamming." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, Web. 24 Nov 2009. .

Abrupt. Web. 24 Nov 2009..

"Catastrophic Climate Change?." Abrupt. Web. 24 Nov 2009.

Fake News

Boy have I got a deal for you my friend. How about I give you a whole five dollars if you run nude through the Guelph Humber University building. No? Well how about I sweeten the deal and make it a crisp ten-dollar bill? Still no? Twenty? Not a chance? Well how about I give you a million? Now your thinking aren’t you?

There was a hidden message behind all of these questions (other than the obvious pleasure in seeing a streaker getting taken down by a security guard of course). The point I’m making is the fact that if enough cash is put on the table moral decisions tend to change, and the same goes for ad agencies. If a large organization had enough money and were sinister enough to do so they could control a large amount of the media we digest. This fact seems a bit scarier when we look at the idea that all of our life’s decisions are loosely based upon the media we digest. In short somebody with enough money could be influencing your life’s decisions. Scary eh? Although that’s taking things to an extreme it’s always good to be aware of what you’re ingesting. Chuck Klosterman seems skeptical as well when he asks the question “Are media outlets controlled by massive, conservative corporations? Well, of course they are. Massive conservative corporations own everything. Are most individual members of the media politically liberal? Absolutely.” As an aspiring journalist the preceding quote kind of freaks me out. I mean if I have no say in the material I cover, how I cover it, or even my writing style, then I’m a little more skeptical in the career choice I’ve made.

I guess we can all just throw away the coined phrase ‘freedom of the press’, because apparently it no longer applies. I figured that the news couldn’t possibly be controlled. I guess that notion can rest in my recycling bin right next to the mass amounts of water bottles consumed whilst reading newspapers. In a world in which the dollar rules and people are willing to compromise morals for cash I guess we are all doomed to be controlled. Still willing to take me up on that million dollar offer? Too bad it's off the table.

Klosterman, Chuck. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. New York: Scribner, 2004.