For our final classes this week, we are reading Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There by David Brooks. The concept behind this book was interesting. When we think about the bourgeois and the bohemians, we think of stereotypes. The bourgeois were the practical, business people who worked for corporations, went to church, and lived in suburbs. Whereas, when someone mentions the bohemians, we think of artsy individuals and intellectuals. They were more of the free spirits of society that did not abide by the tradition and convention that defined the lives of the bourgeois. However, in today’s society, Brooks explains, the bourgeois and bohemians are not completely differentiated anymore. Rather, they are mixed up. Brooks believes that this new upper class, which he calls bobos, represents both the liberal idealism of the 1960s and the self-interest of the 1980s. Brooks talks about the changes in upscale suburbs and bohemian downtown neighborhoods. It seemed as though each was mixed. In the suburbs people were drinking European coffees and listening to alternative music, whereas in the bohemian neighborhoods there were gardening stores that sold expensive towels. Companies who tend to market based on consumer trends quoted famous people, such as Gandhi. What Brooks was describing is basically a status change. The old stereotypes and categories people tended to make were no longer applicable. Previously, it was much easier to distinguish between these countercultures.
Today the lifestyles of the bourgeois and bohemians are mixed in more than one way. In this book, Brooks looked at consumerism patters, morality, work trends, and even people’s attitudes. His finding was basically that it was getting more and more difficult to distinguish between what were originally two types of people. Rather, these had been blended into a new “upper-class” and new norm. It seemed shocking that people were blending the attitudes of achievement and trying to climb the social ladder with the more rebellious attitudes.
This change in culture came about as a result of the information age. I found this comment by Brooks struck home with me because of what we have been discussing in this class and my other classes this semester. Ideas and knowledge are just as important if you want to be successful economically as capital and natural resources. In another one of my classes, we have been discussing about the changes in the business environment and how it is no longer enough to simply use a traditional business model. Rather, entrepreneurs and business managers need to innovate and connect those stakeholders on the fringe that have different ideas. It is important to include these external stakeholders and make the business more stable so that it can adjust to disruptive innovation and changes in demand and consumerism because our society is undergoing behavioral changes. Brook’s comment also relates, in part, to our class discussion the other day though. After watching Powaqqatsi, and a short clip by the filmmaker, we were discussion the pervasion of technology into society and changes from industrialization on a global scale. According to class consensus, technology was not negative, as the filmmaker would have stated; however, I can come to the conclusion that technology has assisted society in coming into a world of information that merges with the material world of money. Basically, today, we now need both our intellectual, human capital along with the artful and culture industry. In a sense, there is a new style of marketing that has arisen due to a new set of social rules. The combination of bohemian creativity and bourgeois ambition has created a society that values meaning over materialism and experience over acquisition. Reading this made me think of how much today’s society values studying abroad and more worldly experiences during our college educations. It also made me think of some examples that come from my parent’s lives. For example, my dad is a builder and he tells me of some of the upper-class customers he has that spend thousands on these “practical” items in their homes. They spend a lot of money on sturdy appliances because it is worth it due to its utility. After talking to them, he comments on how, to him, they seem elite based on how much they spend on particular items, yet they seem to oppose this upper class and are not as materialistic in the sense that they will not always spend thousands on items that are considered unnecessary, such as a hot tub or Jacuzzi. These members of society are affluent, yet, despite having money, are oppose to materialism. I guess that has to do with how they view money. Bobos see money as a means rather than an end in itself. It is not enough to simply be wealthy. Rather, they use money to obtain “necessities.”
It was also interesting to me how throughout this reading I found myself surprised that Brooks kept making comments about bobos as if they applied to all of society. Then, I realized that once I started writing this blog I was doing the same thing. I realized that this is because Brooks is simply correct that the new bobo class has codes that not only determine our social lives, but also govern our personal lives. Most companies market to this group. Though there are people that fall on either side of this class, but many people fall into this category. I found myself getting caught up on each comment that Brooks make throughout this book. I agree with what he is saying and found myself making associations with his comments and my own life experiences or personality traits of those I know or even values I have been taught in today’s education system.
This past week we watched clips from Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, and Naqotqatsi. These were much different than anything we have read or watched thus far. The first two films of this Qatsi trilogy have no dialogue. The second film, Powaqqatsi, is the one I want to focus on for the purposes of this blog. Powaqqatsi is a Hopi word that means ‘life in transition.’ This film focused on much of the conflict in less developed countries. It showed traditional ways of life and the effect of the transition to new ways of life introduced with industrialization and Western modernization.
The film captures images from rural areas of developing countries, then slowly switches to scenes of urban centers. Powaqqatsi has great depth to its scenes. With the combination of the music and powerful imagery as the camera scans the landscape, I found that I watched in a mindless manner. During the movie, I just watched, but did not truly think about the film until after it ended, which was weird for me. It seemed that the film was meant to be an overview of the entire concept of globalization. Each scene offered a little glimpse of life in that community. Without words, it kept personal bias out of the picture. Rather, the film was not about how people should or should not live, but gave an impression and insight into how life is changing. What made the film even more fascinating was the fact that it blended different cultures and lifestyles. It showed a global transformation and diversity. The film was a powerful portrayal of the effects that modernity is having on the less developed populations across the world that continue to live the same way that they did many years ago.
Scene after scene there were shots of people working. They look ragged, drained, and are performing difficult, back-breaking tasks. Some people are carrying heavy bags of dirt over their shoulders; others are carrying baskets on their heads, etc… In each scene, we see the effort required in these less developed countries, in order to industrialize in a shorter time period. The imagery used throughout the film was striking. Right from the beginning, we sit there in shock watching one of the fallen laborers being carried up the hill by some of the other workers. I feel like as a citizen of a developed country, I have not thought about the difficult working conditions some people face on a day to day basis. Learning about the Industrial Revolution and modernization in school, I always knew there were unsafe and strenuous working conditions. However, with so many people protesting working conditions in today’s society simply asking for an increase in pay or social benefits I found that it was easy to lose sight of the hardships people face globally in the workforce. Personally, this film was striking to me because it really caused me to draw out the differences between our society and those portrayed in the film that are playing “catch-up”. The filmmaker caught on camera the sacrifices that people were making in order to help build their modern society. In a sense, this idea of hard works seems to have been lost in our society today. Listening to my grandparents talk about work and then babysitting and even talking to the kids from the I Have a Dream Foundation it is very apparent that children and even my generation has lost quite a bit of the drive to work hard. We appreciate hard work, but many kids are driven by financial motivation, such as an allowance, just to complete simple tasks like taking out the trash. In the film, we saw even young children helping out with much more difficult and meaningful duties that contribute to the family’s health and even ultimately their survival. It further drove home the idea of how grateful we all should be and made me realize how much we really take for granted. I know that personally I have always made an effort to help out around the house and am very willing to participate in manual labor. However, we often do not think about how during our own industrialization, we faced the exact same hazards, trials and tribulations, and even hardships before we emerged as a stronger economic power.
I feel like what the Powaqqatsi film inspires is thought. It causes you to think, not about new concepts because those in the film are not new in any way, shape, or form, but rather it causes you to think from a different angle. It helps connect these growing communities to our own existence and history of industrialization. It helps you to empathize, yet simultaneously acknowledge the lack of a global education. When I watched the film and then thought back to my own childhood and then thought about the children at the I Have a Dream Foundation I realized how oblivious they are to all of this occurring. I know when I was taught about the Industrial Revolution I was taught about it in context of a “past” event. I never realized, until I was older, that it is something that is happening around the world in other countries even today. What this film explored well was the ancient ways in which people still live where manual labor is used instead of factories, and people are self-sufficient living off the land and working simply to maintain their lifestyle rather than produce on a large scale. The images are all equally moving. Close-ups of people’s expressions give the viewer the feeling that something wrong is occurring and the people seem helpless. They appear to be caught up in a cycle simply trying to stay alive. Watching the film even made me uncomfortable because it really opened my eyes to the truth about the poor quality of life that some of these people faced. It brought back the memories of my study abroad in Central America where I saw similar living conditions and the toll that industrialization was taking on the lives of the citizens there. This film was a familiar reminder and it made me feel uncomfortable to be sitting in a classroom, knowing I am that much more privileged than the people in the film.
This past week we watched clips from Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, and Naqotqatsi. These were much different than anything we have read or watched thus far. The first two films of this Qatsi trilogy have no dialogue. The second film, Powaqqatsi, is the one I want to focus on for the purposes of this blog. Powaqqatsi is a Hopi word that means ‘life in transition.’ This film focused on much of the conflict in less developed countries. It showed traditional ways of life and the effect of the transition to new ways of life introduced with industrialization and Western modernization.
The film starts with a dull, barren landscape. The area is congested with numerous people in a procession line (up and down) carrying heavy bags of dirt up a steep slope to a distinct location.
The film captures images from rural areas of developing countries, then slowly switches to scenes of urban centers. Powaqqatsi has great depth to its scenes. With the combination of the music and powerful imagery as the camera scans the landscape, I found that I watched in a mindless manner. During the movie, I just watched, but did not truly think about the film until after it ended, which was weird for me. It seemed that the film was meant to be an overview of the entire concept of globalization. Each scene offered a little glimpse of life in that community. Without words, it kept personal bias out of the picture. Rather, the film was not about how people should or should not live, but gave an impression and insight into how life is changing. What made the film even more fascinating was the fact that it blended different cultures and lifestyles. It showed a global transformation and diversity. The film was a powerful portrayal of the effects that modernity is having on the less developed populations across the world that continue to live the same way that they did many years ago.
Scene after scene there were shots of people working. They look ragged, drained, and are performing difficult, back-breaking tasks. Some people are carrying heavy bags of dirt over their shoulders; others are carrying baskets on their heads, etc… In each scene, we see the effort required in these less developed countries, in order to industrialize in a shorter time period. The imagery used throughout the film was striking. Right from the beginning, we sit there in shock watching one of the fallen laborers being carried up the hill by some of the other workers. I feel like as a citizen of a developed country, I have not thought about the difficult working conditions some people face on a day to day basis. Learning about the Industrial Revolution and modernization in school, I always knew there were unsafe and strenuous working conditions. However, with so many people protesting working conditions in today’s society simply asking for an increase in pay or social benefits I found that it was easy to lose sight of the hardships people face globally in the workforce. Personally, this film was striking to me because it really caused me to draw out the differences between our society and those portrayed in the film that are playing “catch-up”. The filmmaker caught on camera the sacrifices that people were making in order to help build their modern society. In a sense, this idea of hard works seems to have been lost in our society today. Listening to my grandparents talk about work and then babysitting and even talking to the kids from the I Have a Dream Foundation it is very apparent that children and even my generation has lost quite a bit of the drive to work hard. We appreciate hard work, but many kids are driven by financial motivation, such as an allowance, just to complete simple tasks like taking out the trash. In the film, we saw even young children helping out with much more difficult and meaningful duties that contribute to the family’s health and even ultimately their survival. It further drove home the idea of how grateful we all should be and made me realize how much we really take for granted. I know that personally I have always made an effort to help out around the house and am very willing to participate in manual labor. However, we often do not think about how during our own industrialization, we faced the exact same hazards, trials and tribulations, and even hardships before we emerged as a stronger economic power.
I feel like what the Powaqqatsi film inspires is thought. It causes you to think, not about new concepts because those in the film are not new in any way, shape, or form, but rather it causes you to think from a different angle. It helps connect these growing communities to our own existence and history of industrialization. It helps you to empathize, yet simultaneously acknowledge the lack of a global education. When I watched the film and then thought back to my own childhood and then thought about the children at the I Have a Dream Foundation I realized how oblivious they are to all of this occurring. I know when I was taught about the Industrial Revolution I was taught about it in context of a “past” event. I never realized, until I was older, that it is something that is happening around the world in other countries even today. What this film explored well was the ancient ways in which people still live where manual labor is used instead of factories, and people are self-sufficient living off the land and working simply to maintain their lifestyle rather than produce on a large scale. The images are all equally moving. Close-ups of people’s expressions give the viewer the feeling that something wrong is occurring and the people seem helpless. They appear to be caught up in a cycle simply trying to stay alive. Watching the film even made me uncomfortable because it really opened my eyes to the truth about the poor quality of life that some of these people faced. It brought back the memories of my study abroad in Central America where I saw similar living conditions and the toll that industrialization was taking on the lives of the citizens there. This film was a familiar reminder and it made me feel uncomfortable to be sitting in a classroom, knowing I am that much more privileged than the people in the film.
This past week we watched clips from Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, and Naqotqatsi. These were much different than anything we have read or watched thus far. The first two films of this Qatsi trilogy have no dialogue. The second film, Powaqqatsi, is the one I want to focus on for the purposes of this blog. Powaqqatsi is a Hopi word that means ‘life in transition.’ This film focused on much of the conflict in less developed countries. It showed traditional ways of life and the effect of the transition to new ways of life introduced with industrialization and Western modernization.
The film starts with a dull, barren landscape. The area is congested with numerous people in a procession line (up and down) carrying heavy bags of dirt up a steep slope to a distinct location.
The film captures images from rural areas of developing countries, then slowly switches to scenes of urban centers. Powaqqatsi has great depth to its scenes. With the combination of the music and powerful imagery as the camera scans the landscape, I found that I watched in a mindless manner. During the movie, I just watched, but did not truly think about the film until after it ended, which was weird for me. It seemed that the film was meant to be an overview of the entire concept of globalization. Each scene offered a little glimpse of life in that community. Without words, it kept personal bias out of the picture. Rather, the film was not about how people should or should not live, but gave an impression and insight into how life is changing. What made the film even more fascinating was the fact that it blended different cultures and lifestyles. It showed a global transformation and diversity. The film was a powerful portrayal of the effects that modernity is having on the less developed populations across the world that continue to live the same way that they did many years ago.
Scene after scene there were shots of people working. They look ragged, drained, and are performing difficult, back-breaking tasks. Some people are carrying heavy bags of dirt over their shoulders; others are carrying baskets on their heads, etc… In each scene, we see the effort required in these less developed countries, in order to industrialize in a shorter time period. The imagery used throughout the film was striking. Right from the beginning, we sit there in shock watching one of the fallen laborers being carried up the hill by some of the other workers. I feel like as a citizen of a developed country, I have not thought about the difficult working conditions some people face on a day to day basis. Learning about the Industrial Revolution and modernization in school, I always knew there were unsafe and strenuous working conditions. However, with so many people protesting working conditions in today’s society simply asking for an increase in pay or social benefits I found that it was easy to lose sight of the hardships people face globally in the workforce. Personally, this film was striking to me because it really caused me to draw out the differences between our society and those portrayed in the film that are playing “catch-up”. The filmmaker caught on camera the sacrifices that people were making in order to help build their modern society. In a sense, this idea of hard works seems to have been lost in our society today. Listening to my grandparents talk about work and then babysitting and even talking to the kids from the I Have a Dream Foundation it is very apparent that children and even my generation has lost quite a bit of the drive to work hard. We appreciate hard work, but many kids are driven by financial motivation, such as an allowance, just to complete simple tasks like taking out the trash. In the film, we saw even young children helping out with much more difficult and meaningful duties that contribute to the family’s health and even ultimately their survival. It further drove home the idea of how grateful we all should be and made me realize how much we really take for granted. I know that personally I have always made an effort to help out around the house and am very willing to participate in manual labor. However, we often do not think about how during our own industrialization, we faced the exact same hazards, trials and tribulations, and even hardships before we emerged as a stronger economic power.
I feel like what the Powaqqatsi film inspires is thought. It causes you to think, not about new concepts because those in the film are not new in any way, shape, or form, but rather it causes you to think from a different angle. It helps connect these growing communities to our own existence and history of industrialization. It helps you to empathize, yet simultaneously acknowledge the lack of a global education. When I watched the film and then thought back to my own childhood and then thought about the children at the I Have a Dream Foundation I realized how oblivious they are to all of this occurring. I know when I was taught about the Industrial Revolution I was taught about it in context of a “past” event. I never realized, until I was older, that it is something that is happening around the world in other countries even today. What this film explored well was the ancient ways in which people still live where manual labor is used instead of factories, and people are self-sufficient living off the land and working simply to maintain their lifestyle rather than produce on a large scale. The images are all equally moving. Close-ups of people’s expressions give the viewer the feeling that something wrong is occurring and the people seem helpless. They appear to be caught up in a cycle simply trying to stay alive. Watching the film even made me uncomfortable because it really opened my eyes to the truth about the poor quality of life that some of these people faced. It brought back the memories of my study abroad in Central America where I saw similar living conditions and the toll that industrialization was taking on the lives of the citizens there. This film was a familiar reminder and it made me feel uncomfortable to be sitting in a classroom, knowing I am that much more privileged than the people in the film. This film was very moving and truly gave insight into the differing priorities across civilizations today especially with the movement toward modernization.
The film from this past week, Manufactured Landscapes, was quite different from the previous readings and films we have watched thus far. Many of the material we’ve covered deals with issues with our education system, poverty, and social inequality. This film ties in, however, it is the work of a renowned artist, Edward Burtynsky, who travels across China to capture the effects of the massive industrial revolution China experienced. Burtynsky visits numerous “manufactured landscapes” such as e-waste dumps, dams, factories, and factories. One of the sites that was particularly striking was the Three Gorges Dam. This dam has displaced over a million people and is bigger by 50% than other dam in the world. Below is a clip I found about the dam. It outlines some of the controversy behind the dam itself. The dam has become one of the most expensive water projects ever built. It has the equivalence of 20 nuclear power plants and is considered one of China’s most prestigious projects. However, that does not mean it hasn’t had significant detrimental environmental consequences. This dam has polluted the Yangtze River with waste and toxic materials. It has divided the river, decreasing its size. However, its effects were not simply environmental. Rather, the building of the dam has had social costs for the communities that dam replaced. Some of these costs have included relocation and safety. This dam is a perfect example of what I have heard frequently in my environmental and economic classes here at UNCA, as well as in the media. What I mean by this is that with an overwhelming drive towards economic growth countries have put forth effort to grow and these economic profits before the needs of the citizens. China has been developing extremely rapidly and is a major producer in the global economy.
The dam was not all that was surprising to me in this film, though. Over the years, I have seen that so many of the products I pick up and buy have been “made in China”. Since this realization and through my education, I have altered my habits as a consumer. Consequently, the majority of the products I buy are from within the country. Regardless, not all of them can be because of what I can afford, as well as the fact that many things have been outsourced. Simply, I have become more aware of the processes that products go through in the production process. Despite a personal growing understanding of where our products and services come from, my curiosity has not changed regarding the Chinese mentality about the products that they are manufacturing on such a large scale. Burtynsky seems to address that question for me in the opening scenes of his film. The camera slowly scans across the aisles of the work place, people’s faces, and the manufacturing process. It all seems very cold, emotionless, and simply structural. The people perform their duties as though they are robots and many of their facial expressions reveal a sense of apathy. The workers seem to just be completing their duties to get by in their own lives. In my own work environment I am not used to a workplace that is less dynamic. At work, I am encouraged to talk and express my opinion because there is always more you can add and it is like a family. Obviously not all work places are like that and I do understand that what Burtynsky is showing us is not your average family business, but large scale factories, but still it is just weird to me that no one working makes eye contact with one another. It is too industrialized for my liking and I think with an environment like this people lose their personality and become emotionless.
The entire time I was watching this film, I found myself noticing the piles of coal, closely aligned buildings, high rises with air conditioners in every window, and polluted waters of the dam. As an environmental major and economics minor my thought processes about all of the industrialization are complicated. I think this film brings light to the environmental degradation of our environment for economic purposes. Yet, simultaneously, it shows the possibilities for economic growth, efficiency, and profit. The imagery Burtynsky uses is quite powerful, so we not only see the industrialization and growth, but also how some of the land has become a dumping ground for waste. The costs and benefits are quite significant on both sides. I think a film like this is meant to shift our consciousness about the issues out there. Personally, I felt that it shined light on the inhumanity of industrialization. Industrialization can make lives more efficient and cost-efficient,; however, it can have safety and human health impacts. It can also result in the relocation of people from their homes. I thought the movie was interesting to say the least. When thinking about my own life while watching his film I could not help but think about the I Have a Dream Foundation. Growing up, I did not have people telling me all about industrialization happening in countries around the world, such as China. Rather, as I grew up, I learned to seek out the information. Even now, it is a controversial issue because there are views that everyone needs to be environmentally conscious and stop such rapid industrialization, but at the same time there can be opposing views that these other countries need to be given the opportunity to industrialize and grow economically. However, there are also many views in between and altering from those I listed. Regardless, I feel like children should be exposed to these issues when younger. It will be difficult to not slant the issues toward one bias or the other, but I think that it will help raise awareness of the issues. A more environmental education needs to begin at a younger age and I think it will help children develop to understand the larger scope of issues in our world. The film itself was very interesting to me and I am not saying it is something that a young child should be required to watch, but it was eye opening and helped me gain a new perspective on the controversy and issues we face globally.
