I think I’ve talked about feminism in every class this week. Needless to say, I’ve been thinking a lot about equality and understanding, which in turn led me, back to thinking about Marxism, socialism, capitalism and all sort of other types of economic equality.
I’m doing research right now about Flannery O’Connor, and I came across this little gem of an article about the differences in attitude and beliefs in the 1960’s between the Northeast and the Southeast:
Lance Bacon has shown that O’Connor’s faith and art were not solely fixed on trans-temporal truths, but that she was deeply concerned about the homogenizing ethos of the Eisenhower era. It was a time rife with anti-Communism and pro-Americanism…It was the first American age to witness the triumph of the automobile and advertising…O’Connor was openly allied with the other critics of this consumer-centered call for conformity and homogeneity…They all saw the rampant new commercialism and commoditization of American life obliterated ‘the new possibility of some other reality than the material.’ (Wood 15).
(Wood, Ralph C. Flannery O'Connor and the Christ-haunted South. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004. Print.)
This idea of regional differences in ideas of equality from a Marxist/all the other “ist” view has interested me for a while.
This is a gross oversimplification, but it seems like our regions at times can be reduced to either agrarian/communist communities or urban/capitalist. Different stereotypes of oppression match up with each. Big cities run on immigrants, and the devaluing of all workers. Rural farming communities depend on caste systems, where racism and sexism are rampant, and religion is the opiate. The book about O’Connor focused exclusively on the East coast, but I was struck by how Wood’s description could be used to capture attitude about central Washington or LA. While Wood was talking about Southern literature, I think it’s not far off from the way we are portrayed in literature as well.
On a slightly different note, I also just read this article about people who pay other people to earn them money for online games like World of Warcraft, so that they didn’t have to miss their own jobs. I was struck by the oddity of devaluing their own lives through work, while at the same time paying others to succeed for them in a fictional realm.
Thoughts? How are regional differences from our coast reflected in literature, and are they legitimate or stereotypes that reinforce capitalist ideals? What do you think about outsourcing Internet role-playing?
I think outsourcing Internet role-playing is ridiculous (and within the game, illegal). But then again, I don't value my virtual life as much as I value by real life.
ReplyDeleteThat's not to say, however, that I don't have a virtual life. Normally, we associate that term with MMOs (Massively Multiplayer Online games); I don't play those, or any video games, for that matter. But then again, who's to say that virtual lives should be limited to video games? Isn't my Facebook a virtual life? Granted, it's not as fantastic a realm as that of WOW, but it's not a great representation of real life, either. I'm friends with people on Facebook, for example, that I'm not friends with in real life. I've said things on Facebook that I wouldn't say in real life, and vice versa. The voyeurism that's acceptable on Facebook is not acceptable in real life. You can't block people's feeds in real life. And so on.
I wonder whether it would be so strange for someone to hire another person to maintain their Facebooko for them. I had a friend in the special forces, for example, who was only able to keep in contact with his brother while at basic traiing. My friend had his brother manage his profile to make updates as to his situation and relay messages to friends and family on his behalf. So now that I think about it, I'm not sure that outsourcing Internet role-playing (and I am convinced that Facebook is, in many ways, role-playing) is entirely absurd.
It would still be a little weird, though, barring extreme circumstances.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteRegionalism is a fascinating topic. There are theorists who debunk the whole notion that regionalism exists, even. I think regionalism does exist and is a force, but it may be less powerful than it was in C20.
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ReplyDeleteHere's a fun bit of WoW information for you: there is a big fake prostitution thing going on on the game. Basically what happens is people (men and women) create hot female characters, flirt it up, and get the desperate male players to pay their subscription fees in return for continued flirting (and I imagine in many situations something between sexting and actually sex-- sex roleplaying). I think this reflects a similar problem to the one you point out, Sarah. Players are so desperate to be recognized (either for power, which is easy to have if someone is farming money for you all day, or in a sexual manner) that they will actually PAY for people to PRETEND to care about them. Similarly, the people pretending to be hot women are so desperate for either power (particularly, I think, in the cases of men pretending to be women, although I suppose these could also be homosexuals with no other way of exhibiting their attraction to their gender) or for attractiveness, that they are willing to sell fake bodies in order to be recognized. Another sign of our narcissistic culture? Or is this a reminder of how dehumanizing our culture has become, that we have to seek relationships so desperately? Is anyone feeling a Hegelian need for recognition here?
ReplyDeleteFor satire on this trend see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urNyg1ftMIU