Communication

Plasma, LCD or even the latest LED Television sets, Ipods, Laptops and cellphones have become ubiquitous in culture. These cultural products seem to have an everlasting effect on humanity. But was there ever a time in which we never needed them. Sure there was, “was” being the key word here. Communication has become so fast paced that without technology life wouldn’t be the same. Blu-ray players even allow access to the internet, an ability that old technology could never live up to. With access to the internet from various medium’s communication has never been easier. In reality the question is not, what would my life be without these products but rather what would life be without communication? A perspective shared by many is that technology is what defines humanity. Therefore if humanity can be defined by technology then technology can define communication and communication can define culture. Culture is indeterminably embedded in communication that it is now be impossible to be separated. While many would argue that technology is not needed for communication thus dispersing with technology, would anyone be willing to give up the luxury of having their cellphone? I think not.

P.S. I don’t own a cellphone, a laptop or a high-end TV.

The Age Of Zombies!

Reality bites! What a nice way to start off my entry of the day, wouldn’t you agree? There a few conclusions I can draw from that cliché. One, while there may be what appears to be zombies in south Africa due to voodoo magic, zombies are more or less a part of everyone’s imagination. I’m talking real zombies. You know the flesh feeding kind? Now, let’s rewind a few years back and take a look at where the zombie phenomena started. George Romero, in 1969, released a film entitled “The Night of the Living Dead”. This film depicted the living dead, more commonly referred to as zombies, feeding off the living, devouring flesh and other monstrosities. At the time, this sparked a series of zombie film releases. Fast forward to the present and we see MANY things related to zombies and zombie paraphernalia. Let’s take a look at some of society’s zombie addictions. The first thing that comes to mind is the wide variety of zombie movies released and slated for release in the future, second, there are many zombie related video games aimed to please the horde of zombie starved teens. In music we have Rob Zombie, who through various songs depicts death, corruption and disease. There is even literature detailing zombie anatomy and what drives the zombie movement. Finally geared towards the adult scene there is an alcoholic beverage with the name The Zombie. This in fact is what I will call The Age of Zombies! Let’s shift our attention briefly to the establishment of the mall. Yes, I realize this is from left field, but there is a relationship.

A mall is a place where many people of all walks of life go to escape from reality. Though for some a mall displays many things that are out of their reach. Therefore, a mall is to entertain a mass of people, a flock of middle class citizens. As you know malls are frequented on a daily basis during the hours of operation and that there are certain guidelines one must adhere to while in the mall. But these guidelines are not just limited to the mall, these rules are enforced everywhere. In Popular Culture: A User’s Guide there is an article in chapter 9 that analyses the term “public” and “space” denoting that “public space” does not exist(299). As many “public” places are constructed many “public” places are in fact privately owned, such as malls(299). The relationship between public and private has become intertwined to a degree that many freedoms have been restricted. Then why go to a mall? Well, the trip to the mall has become customary.

Alright, so how exactly does this the mall and the zombie relate? Well, the mall is the principle location of congregation. Nobody realizes the restrictions placed upon them, people move about the mall as if in a trance, captivated by the window displays, the intoxicating aroma of the food court and synergistic effect of socialization! In places such as IKEA, people may browse for hours and only when the place closes do they realize “Whoa! What times is it!” This in effect puts meaning to the Age of Zombies, that every living soul has been subjected to consuming popular culture without ever knowing.

The image at the top is from the video game deadrising, I use it to further emphasize my point that by consuming too much popular culture you'll look no different than these guys!

The Urban Dictionary

Recently I came across an interesting website, www.urbandictionary.com. My initial perception of another dictionary website was of distaste. However, upon closer inspection I soon began to realize that this was not the same as www.dictionary.com, the Cambridge online dictionary or even Google’s dictionary. This was a dictionary where people could literally define their own words. Let’s take for example the word "blog". I’m sure we are all familiar with this word as this is what we are creating. Blog is easily defined as an online diary, correct? One interesting entry that attempts to define the word blog found on the urban dictionary stated, “A recent and disturbing trend on the internet. A blog lets people easily post comments onto a webpage…These people have such massive egos and are so narcissistic that they believe that other people would be interested in reading their pointless ramblings” (Whodey). Two things come to mind while reading this comment. One, the Urban Dictionary has become popular culture and two blogging is following in the same footsteps. Whether it’s an attempt to define a word or make an opinion both are utilizing the internet to spread to the many desktops and laptops around the world. Another interesting thing to note is that Whodey attempts to define the word blog while stating his opinion. I believe that the Urban Dictionary is just another blog medium, albeit a truncated one. The fact that this is possible allows anyone to deliver their definition of a word in the form of an opinion. Furthermore, the fact that anyone can define a word and have it globally accepted allows this dictionary a part of culture. I might as well attempt my own definition on popular culture, but why when I need only look at the Urban Dictionary and others have already attempted?