HW 13- FEED B

What killed me the most was that depressing feeling I felt after I finished reading Feed. Everyone in that society (with the exception of Violet and her father) is so stupid and ignorant- so consumed by the corporations – it’s pathetic. Then I reminded myself of how this is supposed to be an allegory for our current lifestyle. I feel so stupid. If this is how we look then I think I am ready to change. I don’t find enjoyment in most D.R.D’s to completely keep me immersed and I think it’s because of this course. I mean I already knew people are (including myself) are so addicted to these devices but it was never something I thought twice about.

In the beginning Titus is just like all of his other friends- just trying to fit in and have fun. They don’t really care about what the Feed can do to them (negatively) but rather what the Feed offers them. Sounds all too familiar. Before Andy’s class you could say I was just like Titus and his friends (not to that extreme). I never thought about what these digital representational devices did to me – I only thought about what good I think they do for me. Throughout the book Titus becomes more self-aware. Because of Violet, he begins to see all the damage (involving intelligence and self- awareness) the Feed causes people. Of course being that ignorance really is bliss – he never realized just how depressing it is to find out things really aren’t the way he sees them. Just as Titus – once I was exposed to this sad truth, I too became depressed. I’ve always known I was stupid but reading this book just made me realize that I’m a lot dumber than I think. It also made me realize just how much time I’ve wasted by artificially socializing with people through technology. Instead of gaining anything – with all this time wasted - I’ve lost so much. I’ve never really used my brain to think and develop new ideas – I just sort of let things do the thinking for me or did what was natural or what was expected. It really is disappointing.

Bert Brecht supposedly said that, "Art is not a Mirror with which to reflect the World. It is a Hammer with which to shape it." Because Feed merely reflected our own society and didn’t offer any real solutions for how to change except the obvious – deny the feed, I feel it can be most looked upon as a Mirror. I don’t think it’s a Hammer because Feed didn’t do shaping/changing. I think the purpose of the book was meant for change but the work itself made us step outside of our bubbles and really take a look inside. But this is my personal opinion with all art – always showing us how things are from the outer perspective but not really offering any solutions. It’s up to the reader to decide what to do with the knowledge.

If I had a choice I’d rather my work be a mirror too – for I believe that someone has to know the problem thoroughly, see it from different angles – to then attack and find a way to go about changing the problem. If my work was hammer – I think people would look at it, like it, but not really think twice about it – just as we do with all other things. Showing me a picture of how things could be rather than showing me a picture of how things are now would do nothing. You don’t go offering a solution to a problem unknown – you can’t fix what you don’t know is broken.

I think the book was meant for young adults because the problem is mainly with us. To adults –it would only support what they think about how D.R.D’s have really taken full control over us whereas to young adults – it shows us how we look from an outer perspective making us want to change (well hopefully). I honestly think the book was successful in reflecting our society but only because you made us analyze it and realize how it is an allegory for our current lifestyles. If no one makes you think about a book – most times (young adults specifically) read it and don’t put any thoughtful thinking into it- but rather just move on instead.