STEVE-O 9/26

As we finished discussing Horkheimer & Adorno, I continue to be amazed at the accuracy these men had in describing the state of culture for generations to come. At a time when consumers had not yet fully turned over their will and their lives to a power greater than themselves—ENTERTAINMENT, H & A had a glimpse of what it would be like if things progressed from the state in which they were living and they could not have been more precise in there predictions. They witnessed consumers, or participants, willingly sacrificing what was right in order to usher in a never-ending perception of pleasure. This pleasure or amusement is not really what it looks like…it is merely a mirage of the ideal, Because as H&A explain, “The liberation which amusement promises is from thinking as negation” (57). The consumer has handed over his ability to think objectively, he is reaffirming that “At its root…powerlessness” (57), is what we experience once we commit to being entertained. H & K write, “It is indeed escape, but not, as it claims, escape from bad reality but from the last thought of resisting that reality” (57). So basically consumers become complacent…Once we sign on the dotted line of amusement, we are admitting that we don’t have any control over the future and that we are willing to stay happy in the dismal state of affairs that is our reality, “Fortune will not smile on all”, and by agreement to the contract of entertainment, the consumer says he is ok with that. Whoever said that the sky is the limit, definitely did not sign the amusement contract. To question authority, to reach for the stars, to live democratically…all require some objection of the Status Quo…the good thing is that in America, at least, we can opt out of this contract and back in as many times as we want without fear of death or strong penalty…Nazi Germany was not so kind to its participants….


"Tradin' places wanna piece of the pie
Good guy, bad guy, we each gotta die
It's all a game, some'll make the Hall Of Fame
While others'll die in vain tryin' to front for a name" AZ