An American Perspective
A critical glance at American media culture.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Rites of Passage in America
Monday, May 21, 2012
Conditioning The Working Class
Monday, May 14, 2012
"I'll have a beer."
The "Good" Guy Always Gets The Girl?
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Inner knowledge is stronger than mass stupidity.
The purpose of this app is for people to find other people with common interests and common artistic visions, and also to stay connected with the people you care about in your life. In my opinion, most importantly, this social media tool allows visionaries to connect with other visionaries. It's not a popularity contest. To see the world through other people's eyes the way that you see it, or to experience a point of view completely different than yours and to see things in a new way, that's the most important aspect of this application. Maybe there just needs to be a more exclusive type of app for people of this caliber. But eventually, that social media tool will drown in the pool of time-wasting apps people devote more and more time to for superficial satisfaction.
It seems inevitable that all good things get ruined by the mass population of our society. If only those with passion for this life would be stronger and unite, maybe this cycle could be broken. You just have to trust and believe that inner knowledge is stronger than mass stupidity. Passivity is not going to create change. It simply allows the inevitable to continue to be the inevitable. It is time to take back the mass majority. To praise the visionary. To reward the people who strive to connect us together, not tear us apart. To embrace a positive outlook instead of dwell on the situation we are currently in. All it takes is searching for this connection, finding it, and allowing it to grow by continuing the search for others. Be brave. Be bold. And believe that there are others like you out there.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Superficial Enlightenment
For one to be truly successful in this life (both internally-spiritually, and externally-monetarily) they must find a harmonious balance between both the internal world and the external world. When one finds this balance, they better understand the connection we all have to each other. They can truly understand the collective unconscious seen through the eyes of the collective conscious. A method I have been practicing to help me get better in-tuned to both worlds simultaneously involves the idea of a light switch. Sit somewhere by yourself, and practice switching back and forth between worlds. Once you have mastered this, imagine that light switch has a dimmer installed. Now, you must try and dissolve both worlds into one another. From here, the hope is that one can experience the harmonious balance between both our conscious world and unconscious world. The hope is left in the hands of the individual.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Posthumous: Then and Now.
"Yesterday, on the tenth anniversary of her death, TLC announced a new tour which will incorporate Left Eye through archived footage. Perhaps inspired by the Tupac hologram at Coachella this year, the group says they will have Left Eye singing with them while her image is projected onto a giant screen."Many things first came to mind when I read this. The first being, "I can't believe they are exploiting her death to go out on tour again." My second contradictory thought was, "This new trend is allowing people to relive and appreciate music from deceased artists such as Left Eye and Tupac in a revolutionary way. And, that is something quite magnificent."
However, with both of these thoughts in my head, I think about this concept in perspective to the ideas of worship and resurrection. This is no different than other resurrection mythologies found in our world's history. Especially important is that both these public figures, Left Eye and Tupac, addressed very important social issues and could be looked at as modern day preachers or prophets. It says something about our culture that we are so desperate to resurrect these figures and bring them back to life. I am scared though that people misunderstand what this resurrection really means. This goes back to the problem of people taking mythologies too literal. It is another desperate outward attempt to escape the troubles that are within our psyche. We are still looking to other outward sources to fix and understand our problems.
The journey is within yourself. It is up to the individual to experience and understand the eternal message these artists were sharing with the world; and internalize it in order to fully grasp their meaning. And through this, we are one step closer to understanding our connection with the universe. It is your individual journey that causes either negative or positive reactions to all that surround you. Be a part of the positive change.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Zombies
The misinterpretation of zombies in our society is puzzling to me. Zombies reflect the sector of society that is created by the mindless sheep that blindly follow whoever has supreme power and control (and by supreme power and control I am referring to money). Instead of craving brains, they crave money. We mustn't fight these zombies with gun power, but with the power of knowledge and insight. Zombies have already taken over our world, and we have been blind to this invasion. It takes like-minded people to connect together and fight against this travesty with our collective minds and with the force of love found within our symbolic hearts. Zombies surround us now in our everyday lives. Look around and they will emerge. The drones that follow a systematic routine of lifeless living. And, if you don't see them, sadly you might be one of them. However, contrary to the zombie mythologies that saturate our modern-day society, it is never too late to wake up from this mindless sleep. It is never too late to awaken from a mundane existence. Mass media wants us to believe that there is no hope for this sector of "zombies" in our society. But, if we give up on each other, then we are doomed to destroy ourselves. Open your eyes and open your hearts. There is hope. You simply have to believe in it.