big paper

It seems people have always been on the search for what is the meaning to life. We look for the answers to these question in our parents, our elders, and from the society around us. We can categorize the two major places that we receive our answers from as corporate culture and folk culture. Both categories seem to focus on the idea of happiness, and that this acquired happiness will lead us to the answers we seek. However, the extent of which the messages vary within both categories, leaves people unsure of what the real meaning truly is, and therefore is left to simply consume and believe the most obvious messages.
CORPORATE MESSAGES
When it comes to the messages we get from corporate culture, it is no secret that we live in a world controlled by corporate media. We are constantly being sent messages through these corporations, telling us the best ways to live. These supposedly best ways to live, are usually those that consume the most. Within media, we find there are three different types of messages. The first are dominate messages, which are the messages we see the most often, and those that are most visible. The next are marginal messages. These are messages that we only occasionally see. Finally, there are prohibited messages, messages which corporate media would not want to be sent to the public.
DOMINATE CORPORATE MESSAGES
One of the most dominate messages we can find is that we are not as good as we could be. We are shown things that would somehow improve the state we are at, whether that be our appearance or through our relationships with others. We are constantly being told that we are good how we are, but we could be better with the help of what they can provide.
We can see this dominate message a lot through magazines. In the November 2008 issue of Esquire magazine, there is an entire section called "Man At His Best", already we are seeing that the magazine is out to tell us how, with the help of this magazine, a man can learn how to improve himself. Within this section, there is an article called "Ask Dr. Oz, the Lightning Round" in which readers have sent in medical questions searching for answers. This is telling the reader to value their health in life, and to always ask questions if they are ever uncertain. We are being shown that a "man at his best" is a healthy, fit man, with no weird medical problems.
In the style section of this November 2008 issue of Esquire, there is an article on page 59 titled "A Few Words On Low Key Luxury", in which it discusses a new watch that has just come out. It discusses how the watch itself is classy and not "flashy", however it's famous for just how expensive it is, so although it may not look like much, everyone who sees it will recognize just how expensive it is. This will portray an image that you are so successful and rich that you do not need to spend money on flashy things, because you have enough to spend it on expensive "low key" things. This shows us a major message we get a lot from corporate culture. We are often presented with messages of how important it is to be successful, and how much money is really valued. This article, specifically, is also showing us how everything appears to be a competition when it comes to success. The entire purpose of purchasing this new expensive watch, is not because it is unbelievably attractive or does anything amazing that no other watch is capable of, their reasoning for purchasing it is simply because it is famous for being so expensive, and other people will see it and be impressed and envious. We're being programmed into revolving our actions and choices around what other may think, and how we can "beat the rest". It's almost as if we are still acting out survival of the fittest, however it's no longer the fittest or most intelligent. It's become survival of the one who did the best job of conforming in order to make the most money to show off to their friends.
Another section in this issue of Esquire was labeled Influence. In it there was an article "How to be a Sweet Talker", page 78, by Tom Chiarella. The article is essentially a complied list of techniques for sweet talking in order to get what you want and what will make you happy, whether that means within the job place or with girls. The article brings up the case of happiness again, where it seems that the article has the readers best interest in mind, for it is trying to help the reader get what it is that would make them happy. However, in order to get those things, we must follow a certain technique or rule, in order to achieve these things. It gives off the sense that we may not necessarily deserve these things that would make us happy, but anyone is capable of achieving them as long as you "sweet talk" enough. It is an article that essentially encourages brown-nosing, claiming that it's a very effective way of moving up in the world. This article is also showing us the value of success, in whatever aspect of your life you might be lacking it in. It seems common for this magazine to demean aspects of our lives into competitions, in which we are all out to succeed, and there are certain skills one must attain in order to reach that goal, or that prize (prizes either being girls or money). So far, all articles have commented on how to “improve” things, whether that be your health, your image, or in your ability to get what you want.
In the November 2008 issue of Seventeen Magazine, there was a piece on page 30 titled “Change Your Body” which advised girls on how to dress according to their body type. It’s interesting, because initially, the title of the piece may lead one to believe it has to do with fitness. However, the article is basically saying you are allowed to be lazy and allow you’re body to get out of shape, as long as you go out and purchase clothes according to each stage of your increasing obesity. The article is encouraging consumption, in both the sense of purchasing clothes and of continuing to eat however you may want. This, too, appears to be about improving something. It’s all about how to “flatter” your body, therefore improving your appearance. So far, it seems that improving ones self is the most dominate message amongst corporate media.
MARGINAL CORPORATE MESSAGES
Corporate media is also capable of portraying marginal messages, which are messages that we don’t often see and are liable to be contradicted by other surrounding messages. We can see many marginal messages through songs.
One song that has a very strong marginal message that we may see often is Tupac’s “Changes”. The song preaches that people need to unite and work together to help change the way we live in order to better our ways of life. At one point during the song, Tupac says
“We gotta make a change...
It's time for us as a people to start making some changes.
Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live
and let's change the way we treat each other.
You see the old way wasn't working so it's on us to do
what we gotta do, to survive.”
Tupac is saying that the way we have been taught to live, is not the way we should continue to live. He is claiming that people have become so disconnected by this way of life, and we need to change that, by uniting, and trying to improve all the different aspects of our life. This song is showing us that we do not currently lead meaningful lives because there is still so much struggle within our culture. In order to make it truly meaningful, we need to create this sense of community amongst the people, by uniting in order to change.
This is a marginal message because most other aspects of corporate culture will not encourage this kind of change. It will not openly say that it does not want to allow change, it simply will make it very difficult for someone to actually go about creating the change. We are so used to our routine, and corporate culture feeds on that, using that as a way to prevent these marginal messages from being completely successful.

MLK day

I didn't watch enough television that day to really get affected by MLK day. I saw one commercial that started with MLK's "I have a dream" that then transition into one of Obamas speeches. I assumed that was the basic message of the whole day, talking about how far we've come and how proud he would be.
It's strange that I didn't even realize it was MLK day until I was watching tv. When I walked outside or got on the train there was never any sense of unity or pride around me. People didn't cheer or talk about it outside, so it really felt like any other day. There was no acknowledgment of it outside of commercials and television broadcasts. It was like television made up this feeling to show us, forcing us into feeling it if we watched enough tv that day.
I think the whole day shows us a lot about folk culture and what it tells us about what it means to lead a meaningful life. It's all about this sense of purpose, and this sense that we are all in this together, to help ourselves become better people. In order to lead a meaningful life, we should do great things, or help others who do. To lead a meaningful life we need to try our best to make the world a better place, and appreciate those who do. We need to have a sense of community around us, and that will help us lead a meaningful life.
But it also shows us how little of that folk culture is really genuine anymore. There is still this great sense of community, but it's as if people don't feel like they need to act that out in real life, as long as they watch it on tv and get a warm and fuzzy feeling from that, then it's ok and they've done their part and they just go about life barely getting themselves involved.

inauguration

We watched the inauguration together in Copeland's and Manley's rooms. It was all of us sitting together, clapping together and booing together. There was this sense that we were a part of something big, that we were experiencing something we would always remember.
Obama's first line of the speech was "My fellow citizens", which gave us this sense of unity, making us feel as if we were all in this together. That he wasn't someone who now had this great amount of power over us. Instead, he was just another citizen, and we were all working together to better America. The entire speech was essentially how there is much that needs to be changed about our country, and in order to change it, we are all going to have to work together for it.
This speech gives us a sense of what is considered meaningful in life from a folk point of view. It's telling us that what's meaningful is feeling like you're a part of something bigger. Being a part of a movement and feeling like you make a difference. We long for that feeling of importance and greatness, that we actually matter in this big world.

kindergarten speech

Don't pay attention to what I'm saying. Talk to the people sitting next to you. Look outside and daydream about how much fun it's going to be when you go to the park later. Don't care about what these people are saying to you. You're a kid, so act like it. Play video games. Pretend to be a dinosaur. Play dress up. Do what you want. Don't be in a rush. The world sucks once you get out of here. Love it for now.


I can't think of anything else to say in my speech. I'm sure I listened to speeches when I was in kindergarten that was all about how amazing the world is, how I could do anything and everything if I put my mind to it. I also got the speeches from teachers about the future and how to obey people in charge and how to do my work on time cause if I don't I'll end up on the street and die alone. I don't remember any of those speeches, even though I'm sure I got them. At that age I was so happy. Anything bad that happened to me sucked briefly for a moment, and then I moved on. Nothing hurt me too badly. It wasn't until I was older and spiteful that I started to look BACK at those times and get angry over them. I don't want to be the prophet to their revelation, because I don't think they should even have one yet. I don't want to open them up to the world out here. I want them to stay as young as they can for as long as possible, because I know there are times where all you want to do is get older. I don't know how to tell them that in a way that they haven't heard before, because I'm sure they have. And I'm sure I was told it too at that age.

holidays- christmas

Christmas seems to be like the biggest holiday within our culture. It's odd because we're supposed to be such a multicultural country, yet the most amped up holiday is one with a major religious aspect to it.
Within my family, Christmas day is usually spent in our pajamas. At some point we change to dress rather nicely for christmas dinner. When looking at this in terms of what it means in regards to living a meaningful life, it's showing us that appearance accounts for a lot. We start out the day being comfortable, spending time with close family members. But once it gets time to spend it with the rest of the family, we're supposed to change and put our best foot forward. It's odd because, since it's for our family, you would think we wouldn't need to "dress to impress". This is supposed to be the people who should love us no matter what, caring about us for who we really are. And yet, we still feel the need to make sure we look perfect, flawless even.
One of the most major and obvious aspects of the holiday, is the fact that it's all about consuming, and purchasing, for the sake of giving. As kids, we're immediately taught that the holiday is about presents, and getting what we want. Starting from an early age, we are taught to write letters to Santa Claus, listing everything we want that year. There's this sense of fear put into us by our parents, that if we weren't good enough all year, we won't get any of the things we want. It seems to all just be a major ploy to trick us into acting good. We are being taught that a major component of having a meaningful life, is being "good" and obeying the rules. In return, if we do good things, we will be rewarded. It's never simply "be good for the sake of being good". We aren't taught to feel any satisfaction from the good acts themselves. Instead we need to have this guarantee that we will be rewarded, in order to actually want to do anything good.
Another aspect of the holiday, as per most other holidays, is the big dinner we share with families. A major part of most holidays involves big meals. It shows us how we as a culture value meals a lot. We feel like somehow this brings us together, taking part in a huge meal together. It's one of the few really raw animal characteristics of our species we still consider really acceptable. It's something natural, one of the few things natural about this holiday.
Another huge component of the holiday is shopping for presents for others. It's a major consumer holiday. It teaches us to shop and that will somehow get us to this warm and fuzzy feeling of the holidays. It's teaching us that in order to live a meaningful life, we have to purchase the newest clothes or gadgets or toys. Then we will feel whole and satisfied with another year of our life being over.
It's strange because there's so much hype over this holiday. Commercials feature graphics of snowflakes, Google decorates it's web page with trees and snowmen, television stations play christmas movies where they pan across a house that's all lit up as friends and family laugh and eat inside next to a fireplace. And yet, the day finally comes, and I'm searching for this feeling of comfort and warmth and happiness and laughter and fireplaces, and it happens for maybe a moment as we first sit around the tree and begin opening presents, but after a few minutes, it feels like just another day. After all the presents have been opened and eggnogg has been drunken, we sit and watch tv as Grandma finishes cooking. It feels like any other day. I never feel that moment that the television portrays. It's as if this feeling has been entirely made up by all of those tv stations and websites and commercials. I look forward to it so much every year, and every year it ends the same. I get that feeling for a split second, and then suddenly its over.
I think this shows us that a meaningful life is all about looking for that feeling. Looking for that stimulation that comes with each different holiday. This one specifically being that happiness and that warmth. But does it even exist? Is that feeling even real? Because so far, I haven't found it.