Chapter Summary:
The "Autumn" chapter starts off with an explanation of why Americans complain about their lives despite extreme plenitude. He points out that Americans are not happy because "When everything is at hand, nothing is ever hard-won, and when nothing is ever hard-won, nothing really satisfies." (pg. 22) Americans have so much that they end up with an overload that creates hypochondriacs and pessimists. Because of this effect, Americans are always searching for something bigger, better, and more shocking to fill the void. A large percentage of Americans become hoarders, (whether it's physically, virtually, or mentally), but don't view themselves as hoarders because "everyone else" is doing the same thing. As Kalle Lasn illustrates, Americans become increasingly similar because "Identical images flow into our brains, homogenizing our perspectives, knowledge, tastes, and desires." (pg. 23) Lasn goes into detail about the mental pollutants we take in and their effects, including: noise, jolts, shock, hype, unreality, erosion of empathy, information overload, infotoxins, loss of infodiversity, Manchurian effects, posthuman tendencies, and the media virus. My notes highlight the details of each section.
Analysis:
What stuck out to me most in Lasn's "Autumn" chapter was the "Posthuman" section. His stories described miserable lives, and what shocks me is that the lifestyles seem desirable to many. A man who is interested in nothing but surfing the internet, people who live only virtual lives, experiences losing their validity unless they're captured by technology, computers regulating our moods, internet-induced depression, corrupted emotions, humans wasting away in front of screens! All of these dim depictions relate to what I've seen or experienced myself. I am not yet desensitized to these happenings and thoughts of them make me feel terrible- helpless. I'm looking forward to easing my anxiety by reading about Lasn's proposed solutions. As for now, I am experiencing extreme nostalgia. When I think about all the issues America faces it makes me want to go back to the summer that I spent living in Yosemite- a time when I only used a laptop for about twelve hours in the four months that I was there. I guess my instinct is to go somewhere where culture isn't quite as impersonal, rather than dealing with the issues. My hope is that I will become more active in standing out/standing up since the matters discussed inevitably affect me.
Image via Small Business Profit Explosion
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