We watched the news last night and I saw an advertisement for an airline sponsored credit card that accumulates frequent flyer miles with every purchase. After explaining how the card works, the announcer sums things up: “Toda tu vida sirve para acumular millas y viajar gratis.” “Your entire life serves to accumulate mileage and travel for free.” Do I hear reification?
The poetry presentation went well, so we are singing. I am expanding my understanding of the cueca, which is a song and a dance. I do not have speakers on this computer, but it seems that we can hear famous cuecas on the site of the Cancionero tradicional.
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 
Mankind is quite happy to reify mankind so why not airmiles and credit cards too?
My musician son is listening to the music – or should I say ‘devouring’ it at this very moment. It is interesting but, as I have said before about this type of thing, unsurprisingly foreign to my ears. It is raw and full of energy though and I can see that it would attract. My son loves it and says: “Thank you, Z.”
Good to see you back Professor.
Here is a thought that I started writing back in July but never been motivated to finish.
In the July/August issue of the Atlantic, Virginia Postrel writes a sell out little piece titled Commerce and Culture: The Next Starbucks? How massage went from the strip club to the strip mall. Actually, it should be called, “Commerce Commidifies the Human Condition.”
Essentially her argument is an avocation for commerce to decide what “culture” wants, regardless of the messages that the consumers (the culture) send.
What pissed me off about that piece of crap article was it was trying to imply that culture dictates commerce but it ignored how commerce crams its capitalist intentions onto the consumer. Thousands of massage schools popped up, not because there was demand for massage schools but because they knew there was money to be had. Unemployed and sometimes unambitious people sitting at home watching Jerry Springer, just to see the same commercial repeatedly advertising how much a person can make after going through massage school. Of course, that is the bait. They mention nothing or promise any time of job placement, and fail to mention how that little superficial school is a far cry from being a license massage therapist, you know the kind used and hired by medical professions. In addition, what these schools fail to mention is that one’s massage “education” is useless if that person has a record. My crack head (supposedly recovering) sister was roped into Nurse Assistant’s school under the guise of getting her life back on track, etc etc. Yet not one single soul told her, not one piece of literature informed her that as long as she had a drug conviction, she would never, NEVER, be able to work in that profession.
But we are to believe that the corporations on push something because we the consumers want it. Yeah, well guess what I say to them. SOD OFF!
And since when “being on every corner” (as in Starbucks) translates to being a good thing. I never heard a hooker on every corner as being a good thing.
As my brother sings, “We’re all just sheep getting fat for the slaughter…” Well, that’s if we allow system to dictate who we are as individuals or groups. Hello professor!
nice to see you again!
Hi Charlie! Now I’ve been able to listen to the song site. Not all of the links work, but those that do, are great.
Hi Moksha, Stephen, and Rebel Girl! Yes: these ideas that the market and consumerism are gods, that they are forces of nature, and that there is nothing outside of them, are highly pernicious…
Oh chasingmoksha, I’d prefer a hooker on every corner to Starbucks.