I laughed out loud when I saw this. So true!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Monday, February 06, 2012
Guns, McDonaldization, Disneyfication and The Big Stick Policy
You can't talk peace and have a gun. - Francis M.
I bet Obama could use a lot of that these days. It seems like he's hell bent on his Big Stick Policy. Iran. Afghanistan. Name it. He'll use it. Henry Kissinger was right all along, power is indeed a great aphrodisiac. Big Stick Policy? Gunboat diplomacy? Power projection? Whatever you call it, it is still intimidation. The projection of power is just too blatant that it becomes so impossible to miss.
But no, we don't live in a bipolar world anymore. We live in a heterpolar world. Sources of power emanates from different junctions, not just on politics and economics. If global political order is unlikely, it is necessary to examine the economic, cultural and environmental dimensions of a new global order. Should we begin to call in a global cultural order in the new system?
Disneyfication, Coca-colonization, Mcdonaldization and the effervescent presence of consumerism. The fusion of consumerism with the arts, entertainment and sport is widespread. This reminds me so much of the creed of shopaholics. I shop therefore I am.
Is it the ultimate dead end?
Like McDonaldization, disneyfication continuously haunts our dreams. There is a need for us to deconstruct traditional narratives and circumvent ways in understanding the presence of popular culture. Oversimplification is essentially an overkill of everything.
We have no obligation to make history.
We have no obligation to make art.
We have no obligation to make a statement.
To make money is our only obligation.
-Michael Eisner
The real world is becoming more and more like a theme park - like Disneyland. If I were to believe what Michael Eisner says about Disney, I'm bound to run away from everything that starts with letter D. Do scholars tend to read too much on Disney films?
Yes and no.
Yes, movies are meant to entertain us, true. But how do we essentially explain to the young minds their first glimpse of other cultures? It goes to say that these films contribute to their social construction of the world.
The chase doesn't end there. I am beginning to stop myself from subscribing to life in the fast lane. No tough life there but just making sure that when the proverbial hunger pangs hit you, some take out food is available for your convenience. But food is not the only thing that counts here. It is said that in the 1980s and 1990s McDonaldization has extended its reach into more and more regions of society, and those areas are increasingly remote from the heart of the fast-food business.
According to Ritzer, there are five dominant themes within this McDonaldization process: Efficiency, Calculability, Predictability, Increased Control, and the Replacement of Human by Non-Human Technology. Are these things familiar to you?
People are also becoming increasingly aware of the linkages among different aspects of the natural environment, the human impacts on the natural environment and the need to initiate policies that will sustain significant environmental resources into the future. Providing for the needs of the increasing numbers of people in the world from the same stock of resources is no easy feat.
If Kiko's been singing of you can't talk peace and have a gun, mine would be much simpler.
Indeed, where's Terra Nova when you need it?
I bet Obama could use a lot of that these days. It seems like he's hell bent on his Big Stick Policy. Iran. Afghanistan. Name it. He'll use it. Henry Kissinger was right all along, power is indeed a great aphrodisiac. Big Stick Policy? Gunboat diplomacy? Power projection? Whatever you call it, it is still intimidation. The projection of power is just too blatant that it becomes so impossible to miss.
But no, we don't live in a bipolar world anymore. We live in a heterpolar world. Sources of power emanates from different junctions, not just on politics and economics. If global political order is unlikely, it is necessary to examine the economic, cultural and environmental dimensions of a new global order. Should we begin to call in a global cultural order in the new system?
Disneyfication, Coca-colonization, Mcdonaldization and the effervescent presence of consumerism. The fusion of consumerism with the arts, entertainment and sport is widespread. This reminds me so much of the creed of shopaholics. I shop therefore I am.
Is it the ultimate dead end?
Like McDonaldization, disneyfication continuously haunts our dreams. There is a need for us to deconstruct traditional narratives and circumvent ways in understanding the presence of popular culture. Oversimplification is essentially an overkill of everything.
We have no obligation to make history.
We have no obligation to make art.
We have no obligation to make a statement.
To make money is our only obligation.
-Michael Eisner
The real world is becoming more and more like a theme park - like Disneyland. If I were to believe what Michael Eisner says about Disney, I'm bound to run away from everything that starts with letter D. Do scholars tend to read too much on Disney films?
Yes and no.
Yes, movies are meant to entertain us, true. But how do we essentially explain to the young minds their first glimpse of other cultures? It goes to say that these films contribute to their social construction of the world.
The chase doesn't end there. I am beginning to stop myself from subscribing to life in the fast lane. No tough life there but just making sure that when the proverbial hunger pangs hit you, some take out food is available for your convenience. But food is not the only thing that counts here. It is said that in the 1980s and 1990s McDonaldization has extended its reach into more and more regions of society, and those areas are increasingly remote from the heart of the fast-food business.
According to Ritzer, there are five dominant themes within this McDonaldization process: Efficiency, Calculability, Predictability, Increased Control, and the Replacement of Human by Non-Human Technology. Are these things familiar to you?
People are also becoming increasingly aware of the linkages among different aspects of the natural environment, the human impacts on the natural environment and the need to initiate policies that will sustain significant environmental resources into the future. Providing for the needs of the increasing numbers of people in the world from the same stock of resources is no easy feat.
If Kiko's been singing of you can't talk peace and have a gun, mine would be much simpler.
Indeed, where's Terra Nova when you need it?
Thursday, February 02, 2012
In Search for Purgatory
What would you ask God if you had just one question?
Maybe 25 years ago, as a kid I have one question in mind. And yes I would not call him God either. I remember it very well that as a young kid I always insists to call him as Jesus. God is so adult. So Jesus it is. My question would be very simple.
Dear Jesus, is this purgatory?
My Dad used to tell me that this is purgatory.
When you’re a kid, you never question the wisdom of your elders. My earliest memory about purgatory was when I was six years old. I attended the mass with my parents and the priest was talking about purgatory, heaven and hell. Heaven as I knew and from what I’ve seen in the pictures was filled with white cotton candy clouds with all the angels flapping their little wings while singing in their melodious voices. I’m sure heaven is also filled with lots of candies and a bowl of creamy chicken soup waiting for everyone who enters its gates. Hell is of course filled with lakes of fire. A man with two horns and a tail laughing like a lunatic is seated in his throne. And yes, don’t forget the huge pitchfork he uses to poke the souls who are swimming in the lakes of fire.
But purgatory? Where is it? What does it look like?
After the mass as we were going out of the church, my dad turned to me and told me to be quiet. He pointed to this huge and magnificent structure. That is purgatory. Tall and towering, the place looks forlorn with some moss gathering at the sides and an eerie silence that engulfs it akin to those horror movies that I watch. Like the naughty kid that I was I looked at it with awe and great interest. I bet to any kid, any structure that is big and towering is an awesome sight. I turned to my father and asked him whether we could just take a look inside and say hello to the souls. I was promptly told that the souls were asleep it was best for us to stay quiet, pray for them and walk away.
From that day on, it is firmly entrenched to my mind that this is what purgatory looks like. In school, I would tell my other classmates with great conviction that I know where purgatory is. It is just right across Jaro plaza and that one should really be quiet upon approaching the area for souls are asleep. Some of them believed me. Of course, some don’t.
Years later, I found out that this place was no purgatory. It was actually an old belfry of Jaro Cathedral that was constructed during the Spanish period in the country. Now, I’m more confused if this is not purgatory, then where can I find it? And yes, I prefer to call him God now. Does it follow then that Jesus is for kids and God is for adults? If God don’t mind me asking another question I still would want to know where purgatory is. I’m thinking maybe it is somewhere between the stratosphere and ionosphere.
Where is purgatory?
Maybe 25 years ago, as a kid I have one question in mind. And yes I would not call him God either. I remember it very well that as a young kid I always insists to call him as Jesus. God is so adult. So Jesus it is. My question would be very simple.
Dear Jesus, is this purgatory?
When you’re a kid, you never question the wisdom of your elders. My earliest memory about purgatory was when I was six years old. I attended the mass with my parents and the priest was talking about purgatory, heaven and hell. Heaven as I knew and from what I’ve seen in the pictures was filled with white cotton candy clouds with all the angels flapping their little wings while singing in their melodious voices. I’m sure heaven is also filled with lots of candies and a bowl of creamy chicken soup waiting for everyone who enters its gates. Hell is of course filled with lakes of fire. A man with two horns and a tail laughing like a lunatic is seated in his throne. And yes, don’t forget the huge pitchfork he uses to poke the souls who are swimming in the lakes of fire.
But purgatory? Where is it? What does it look like?
After the mass as we were going out of the church, my dad turned to me and told me to be quiet. He pointed to this huge and magnificent structure. That is purgatory. Tall and towering, the place looks forlorn with some moss gathering at the sides and an eerie silence that engulfs it akin to those horror movies that I watch. Like the naughty kid that I was I looked at it with awe and great interest. I bet to any kid, any structure that is big and towering is an awesome sight. I turned to my father and asked him whether we could just take a look inside and say hello to the souls. I was promptly told that the souls were asleep it was best for us to stay quiet, pray for them and walk away.
From that day on, it is firmly entrenched to my mind that this is what purgatory looks like. In school, I would tell my other classmates with great conviction that I know where purgatory is. It is just right across Jaro plaza and that one should really be quiet upon approaching the area for souls are asleep. Some of them believed me. Of course, some don’t.
Years later, I found out that this place was no purgatory. It was actually an old belfry of Jaro Cathedral that was constructed during the Spanish period in the country. Now, I’m more confused if this is not purgatory, then where can I find it? And yes, I prefer to call him God now. Does it follow then that Jesus is for kids and God is for adults? If God don’t mind me asking another question I still would want to know where purgatory is. I’m thinking maybe it is somewhere between the stratosphere and ionosphere.
Where is purgatory?
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