Tuesday, October 6, 1998
Break away from societal labeling
ANARCHY: Our generation must reject status quo to achieve
lasting freedom
BY Alex Dong KoConformity abounds in the United States. Today
more money and time is spent to understand you than at any other
time in modern history. Market analysis of personality and
behavioral patterns are being compiled to predict and influence
your behavior. You are being defined and neatly categorized for
advertisement material. More and more information is compiled that
explains what products our generation wants and needs.
From all this information, the corporate media and industry have
created a homogenous label for our generation, "Generation X."
"Generation X" represents a uniform way of life and a
predictable mode of self-expression. "Generation X" is the nexus of
consumerism and conformity.
Youth Is Anarchy – The youth rebellions of the ’60s and ’70s
showed the dominant culture the inherent anarchist nature in youth.
Through the mass media, the convention-breaking exploits of the
hippies and the punks were shown to the "silent majority" in
America. Many people, mired in ignorant notions concerning human
expression, were truly frightened by what these kids of chaos
represented – change and freedom. The social change and upheaval of
this era were directly tied to a rebellious youth subculture. The
youth subculture reached an apex of self-expression, and it ignited
like a bomb. The social pendulum swung and the balance between
order and chaos began to shift.
In the aftermath, many in the dominant culture were frightened
and upset by the change. The sheltered and ignorant "silent
majority" saw no need to change; indeed it feared change. The
social architects, the power brokers and bureaucrats, were also
frightened. The balance of power was being challenged. Upsetting
talk of freedom of expression and choice echoed through the once
staid halls of industry and government.
If only the youth could be made to channel its self expression
into predictable, profitable avenues, then not only would we be
tamed, but we would also be good contributing cogs in the Great
Societal Machinery. Controlling the youth subculture became the key
to controlling the greater society.
Making the youth into good little consumers was the way to
continue the nightmare of conformity and consumerism. Thus, a
concerted effort was made to cater to the youth and directly affect
its behavior. The battle to continue conformity and consumerism
began with gusto, and market research and media blitzes were
unleashed on the rebellious youth. We would be assimilated.
"Talking About My Generation" – The corporate media constructs
the context of the popular discourse, and it provides the subject
matter for popular discussion (read Marshall McCluhan or Noam
Chomsky if you disagree). By shaping the popular discourse in this
country, the corporate media has become the vox populi.
Thus, the labeling and defining of the youth subculture is no
small matter. The term "Generation X" was born in the media, and
the term eventually permeated the popular mind and dominated the
public’s perceptions of our generation.
"Generation X" began as an ad-campaign directed towards
adolescents and people in their early 20s (our generation) and it
eventually became a reflection of our behavior and preferences.
The youth subculture bought into it.
"Generation X" grew beyond being a mere ad campaign. It became a
legitimate social category that was often referenced on the news
and in popular literature. In this way, the corporation-media
complex created a social category that was accepted by many in the
youth subculture. Our generation was created from the commercial,
and our identity and existence is directly tied to consumerism. The
youth subculture had been turned into good consumers.
The army of young people clothed in Calvin Klein(R) and Nike(R),
and their total allegiance to these brands, represent the corporate
and fear-based society’s success in controlling us and making us
predictable. By following a predictable mode of self-expression,
the youth subculture neutralizes its chaotic effects on the
stagnant status quo. When we are good consumers, we conform and
place the dominant culture in a position of authority and power.
"Generation X" represents nothing less than a rebellion pacified.
The counterculture became the "over-the-counter" culture.
"Screw You! I won’t do what you tell me!" – We, the youth, are
the most powerful political force in America. When we get loud and
uncontrollable, a true fear creeps upon those in power and those
who clutch the status quo.
Youth has the power of anarchy on its side. We instinctively
gravitate towards those things that frighten our parents, and we
upset the rigid structures in society. We are the vital force of
societal growth and redefinition. Unfortunately, many of us have
forgotten the power at our disposal; consumption and conformity
have replaced power and growth.
Most of the cynicism and irony that pervades our generation is a
natural reaction to our attempts at conforming to the dominant
society’s values. We are being told to become "Generation X". The
adventurous search for self-expression ferments into cynicism and
irony when the possibility for true self-expression is not
available. The dominant society only wants those who will
efficiently consume and produce; no other values are important.
What is needed now is the courage to break free from the confines
of society’s values and labels, and to return to a life centered on
truthful self-expression, personal discovery and social
responsibility. Reject the identity of the good consumer; that path
leads to stagnation and oppression. The more dollars you pour into
PepsiCo(R) and Nike(R), the more you support the forces of order
and oppression. A consciousness concerning the detrimental effects
of irresponsible consumerism must be awakened. Consumerism is
conformity.
More important is a return to a life and identity that is
archetypal. You are not meant to be a good consumer. You came into
this life to be a shaman, a healer, a poet or a goddess. The
dominant culture provides lives that have been stripped of mystery
and adventure.
In contrast, the archetypal path is shrouded in the unknown and
it provokes fear in many people; it takes far more courage to
become a poet than a stockbroker or lawyer. Discovering your true
self, your archetype, is a task that is uniquely individualist;
only you can work on it and achieve it.
Self-discovery is the antithesis of the conformity that plagues
the dominant culture.
The difficult task is facing the fear that blackens the edges of
our hopes and dreams – the terrible anxiety that you are not good
enough or that it will not work. However, only by returning to a
life that is true to your individual self can you expect to
experience life in its fullness. If you can have the courage to
take this path, then you will, by course, inspire others to do the
same; the dominoes will begin to fall and the confining walls of
society will come crashing down.
Traveling the archetypal path, being true to your dreams, is the
most anarchic and revolutionary action that anyone can take. Not
all revolutionaries carry guns. Anarchy now!Ko is awaiting the
collapse of the space
and time bio-structure that occurs in the year 2012.
Say hello at [email protected].
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board