THE AGE OF EGOCASTING
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From: The New Atlantis - A Journal of Technology and Society
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The remote control shifted power to the individual, and the technologies that have embraced this principle in its wake—the Walkman, the Video Cassette Recorder, Digital Video Recorders such as TiVo, and portable music devices like the iPod—have created a world where the individual’s control over the content, style, and timing of what he consumes is nearly absolute. Retailers and purveyors of entertainment increasingly know our buying history and the vagaries of our unique tastes. As consumers, we expect our television, our music, our movies, and our books “on demand.” We have created and embraced technologies that enable us to make a fetish of our preferences.
The long-term effect of this thoroughly individualized, highly technologized culture on literacy, engaged political debate, the appreciation of art, thoughtful criticism, and taste-formation is difficult to discern. But it is worth exploring how the most powerful of these technologies have already succeeded in changing our habits and our pursuits. By giving us the illusion of perfect control, these technologies risk making us incapable of ever being surprised. They encourage not the cultivation of taste, but the numbing repetition of fetish. And they contribute to what might be called “egocasting,” the thoroughly personalized and extremely narrow pursuit of one’s personal taste. In thrall to our own little technologically constructed worlds, we are, ironically, finding it increasingly difficult to appreciate genuine individuality.
---- Christie Rosen, "The Age of EgoCasting"
=================================I came across this inspiring bit of exposition written by the beautiful Christine Rosen called the "Age of Ego Casting" . The article describes our obsession with the conveniences of technology. In the section "Control Freak," Rosen borrows the haunting story of "The Machine Stops" by E.M. Forster to help us envision an eerie landscape of slavish devotion to the machines we manipulate.I really loved the section she chose to quote and I have to share it here ::::The Machine itself controls everything. Vashti’s comfortable little cell, like millions of others, has everything she could ever possibly need: “There were buttons and switches everywhere—buttons to call for food, for music, for clothing. There was the hot-bath button.... There was the cold bath button. There was the button that produced literature, and there were of course the buttons by which she communicated with her friends.” All communication is conducted through the machine; people rarely leave their rooms. At one point Vashti harks back to those “funny old days” when machines had been used “for bringing people to things, instead of for bringing things to people.” The ease of Machine-fostered life has brought a corresponding flattening of desire and bred a terror of direct experience. When Vashti is forced to travel, she is seized by anxiety: “One other passenger was in the lift, the first fellow creature she had seen face to face for months. Few traveled in these days, for thanks to the advance of science, the earth was exactly alike all over.” The sensibility is captured by the society’s experts, who frequently remind citizens: “Beware of first-hand ideas!”::::::::::A world,where we only see what we want to see, hear what we want to hear, read what we want to read.....Is that really Utopia?Aahh..the beauty of poetry, D.H. Lawrence encapsulates in a few words what Rosen and I slave over in prose...Let us be Men
For God's sake, let us be men
not monkeys minding machines
or sitting with our tails curled
while the machine amuses us, the radio or film or gramophone.
Monkeys with a bland grin on our faces.
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Lonely Glamour
So you drift. I drift.
solo breeze.
and we fantasize.
- Haiku --- floating along the lines of grey --- khoonzi
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:::: Exerpt ::::: - Interview with Douglas Coupland - Nerve.com, "Lonely Planet"
We live in an incredibly transient culture. You go from the intense socialization experience of school, then move to the other side of town — or to Los Angeles — where you're dumped into this culture where it takes an incredible amount of money just to live. You're stuck finding your own way and not quite sure who's good or evil, who's using you, "Is it me or is it the alcohol?" And in the midst of all this, you're feeling totally disconnected from a lot of people. Are you clinically depressed?
No! You're just lonely, and no one told you what it was or how to identify it, the shapes or colors or forms of it, so you think you're going mental. And because people tend to hang out with people their own age, everyone around you looks great, like they all just stepped out of a shampoo commercial or something, so you think, "They couldn't possibly be experiencing all this crappy shit that's inside of me." Before you even discuss it with people, you've already shut yourself down. And that's your twenties!
....... I really think it's hanging out in coffee shops.
Before Starbucks, there was no place that lonely people could go by themselves without feeling like freaks. Now they glamorize it, like getting a latte while being lonely will make people wonder, "Ooh — who's that mysterious person?" I look at people with laptops in coffee shops and think, "Oh, they're writing their first screenplay — and they're lonely."
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It's a weekday night. Tuesday. 2005. Some time...late January. I cannot remember the date. I read >
- A
Hong Kong girl's introspective blog about her sex blogging.
-
A hentai manga blog.
-
A group blog with new definitions for Oral B.
and wrote a Haiku about urban drifting.
B.A.S.E. Jumping - Rules of the Air
High-rise buildings.
Bored sterile people in need of excitement.
B.a.s.e Jumpers, say "Holla! SINGAPURA!"
Meekia asks, "If I cheong this, insurance company got cover or not har?"
Exerpts :::
----------------
Rules Of The Air
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By Mick Knutson.
1. Every takeoff is optional. Every landing is mandatory.
3. Flying isn't dangerous. Crashing is what's dangerous.
9. Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make all of them yourself.
14. Always try to keep the number of landings you make equal to the number of take offs you've made.
16. You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck.
20. Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, the experience usually comes from bad judgment.
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Sex on wheels
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I'll let you in on two fantasises of mine....
[Garnered from non-no Best Car Nominees 2004.]
Style over Substance
"We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely."
--- Oscar Wilde
Haircuts have always been somewhat of a stressful thing for me. You're never really sure if the hairstylist gets what you want. You're never really sure if you'll look a lot worse, or a lot better. I'm vain. Let me make that confession first. But vanity, well executed, has some great side effects like great first impressions, and better service....no?
Ooooo..you cringe...
I do not apologise for suscribing to the superficial benefits of keeping up appearances.
Boooo....you lament the sad state of aspirational classes' self-disciplining existences? Yeah, go ahead, quote Bartky. Of course, bring Foucault into the conversation. Oh, what was that? Yes, discipline...we'll get to that.
But let us focus on haircuts. For now. Shall we? We'll agree to disagree later.
There are relaxed people in this world, who can actually link up the concept of the Panopticon with street fashion, personal grooming, and vanity issues, but still choose style over substance.
Well, I'm relaxed. Very relaxed.
But being relaxed can get trying...
You smile.
We've all been through this havn't we.
Sometimes you need to get away, lose focus, avoid relaxation, sip plain water while trying to suck a lemon. You know, do funny things that destroy monotony.
So the trawler on your head's gotten too heavy. The layers need slayers and the bangs have lost their swing. Easy.
The ingenious invention called the style guide doesn't guarantee a good haircut. But it sure gives you hopes and expectations.
It's January. Perfect time for hopes and expectations. Perfect reason to try something new. Something audacious. Something...beautiful.
There's always the rest of the year to grow your hair back.
Modifications 改造人
当你打算怎算好 当我打算怎算好
是谁定了既定完素 是谁定设计地图
* 比际的我感觉到 一切因你决定乐与怒
若然没有快乐情操 淡然让我继续投诉
看似你看似你不理会投诉 快要我快要快封了路
我默然哀悼 要为谁改造 纵得不得到 都顾及形象最好
我默然哀悼 要为谁改造 纵得不得到 都顾及形象
说话时候说知道 因你改变可算好 改变不了怎算好
--- 改造人, 词：因葵
[You need Chinese Simplified Encoding Installed to view the above text]
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There are many ways to do it.
She did it this way.
He did it this way.
We saw it this way.
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There are many ways to see things.
There is a beautiful and patient way.
There is an angry and silly way.
There is a funny and cheeky way.
There is a sexy and naked way.
There are many ways.
We knew that Purple-Hair-Man. But thanks for the reminder anyway, and the new Shades [Of Grey].
The Ultimate Aim of Cooking.
The ultimate aim of cooking is sharing.
Most of our problems can be solved with the simple act of sharing.
Break bread. Pay it forward. Step aside. Take a bow.
Give a hand.
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Why are we hungry!?????
Because there is no love.
We make time for it. We get the ingredients ready.
We chop. dice. season. rub. sprinkle. drizzle. dab. stir.
We have to eat.
Sometimes.
It becomes an obligation.
We make time for it. We open our months.
We salivate. bite. munch. chew. nibble.
We have to eat.
Sometimes. We are greedy.
We are still hungry.
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That is the ultimate aim of cooking!
Here, have a seat.
Make yourself comfortable.
We could always start with desert.
In the Fucking village, lived Mr FucK.
"Everyone here knows what it means in English,
but for us Fucking is Fucking - and it's going to stay Fucking - even though the signs keep getting stolen." --- Siegfried Hoeppl, the Fucking spokeperson.
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Gan-Cheong-Singapore-Teacher:
How can you use such a word in your composition???
BrightBoy!:
It's a village name mah. Village is kampong, said my mother.
My father told me this interesting story about Mr Fuck. He said Fucking is not only a village name. It is an important action word that ensures our survival. He laugh very loud when he said that and my mother laughed as well, and punched him. But they never explain to me why they laugh. But I think Fucking must be a very happy action.
I tell you the story of Mr Fuck, you want, Ms Gan?
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I'VE GOT THE POWER~!!!!
Article Title: The Blogosphere's Smaller Stars
Excerpt ::::
"The thing about history, though, is that the efforts of minor players often go unnoticed. During the scandal, high-trafficked bloggers were interviewed on radio and television and mentioned in countless news articles. Two appeared on the cover of
Time magazine. But smaller, lesser-known, and lower-trafficked blogs that didn’t get press coverage served a valuable function during Rathergate. By linking to well-known blogs, articles, documents, and one another, they made worthy contributions. A few even conducted their own independent, journalistic-style investigations (often scooping the professionals).................
.................The effect bloggers have had on traditional journalism as they become fact-checkers, disseminators of information, and “citizen journalists” is still in flux. But the paradigm has clearly shifted in determining what is news and who is qualified to cover it, and smaller bloggers are playing an important role. Tom Maguire, host of the blog Just One Minute, also frequently linked to by Instapundit, says that smaller bloggers can do research to uncover overlooked angles and connections.
Patterico believes smaller bloggers can be noticed. Although larger ones get the media coverage, smaller bloggers can still break stories. “[I]f your message is unique, there is still a good chance it will get attention.”
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Linked to
the above story, after reading a rant from this
Law-li-pop,
Who was linked to, by
this guy who owns swimming Melons.
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A few days earlier, a good friend emailed me
this important article about blogs.
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The paradigms are shifting...
The ground is shaking....
Dialectics, Dichotomies...will detonate.
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But more than anything, we are humble, sub-servient citizens who will do our utmost best to preserve social stability. No joke! I wanna see those smiles on my grandma's face. Not a worried frown.
Crazy Boy! & Crazy Girl!
The Context:
Crazy Boy! and Crazy Girl! were having lunch at N.Y.D.C.
Crazy Boy! being the smart sensitive sharp-eyed cutie that he was, noticed a small 1 cent coin sized bruise on Crazy Girl!'s wrist.
He points it out to Crazy Girl! but Crazy Girl! thought nothing of it. She hardly noticed anything was amiss until Crazy Boy! sounded the alarm.
Sounding the alarm was important. Because upon sounding the alarm, Crazy Boy! switched from smart sensitive sharp-eyed mode, to smart sensitive SWEET mode. [It's programmed into him. He can't help it.]
He lovingly holds Crazy Girl!'s wrist and tells her how incorrect pressure on her wrist joint must have caused the bruise. Crazy Boy! further reminds Crazy Girl! that she should be careful because she must be hurting herself in yoga class.
But before he could finish his nagging, a beautiful blonde with a beautiful pony tail walked past the restaurant front. Crazy Boy! still holding on to Crazy Girl!'s injured wrist, proceeded to make a stupid insensitive joke.
This is the Crazy Boy! and Crazy Girl! online conversation at 7pm that day.
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The Online Conversation
(Edited for Dramatic Effect)
[All similiarities to reality are purely irrational] :
----------------------------
Crazy Boy! says:
go write a rant on yoga-ing or sth.
=)
Crazy Boy! says:
* licks ur ear *
Crazy Girl! says:
i will write abt............
Crazy Boy! says:
Licking?
Crazy Boy! says:
haha
Crazy Girl! says:
my bf is bz looking at a causasian gal instead of holding my hand to c my "injured" wrist.........
Crazy Girl! says:
can't be helped........
Crazy Boy! says:
haha!
Crazy Boy! says:
wa liewz~!!!!
Crazy Girl! says:
my fist is smaller than the size of her boobs
Crazy Boy! says:
i was jokin leh..........
Crazy Boy! says:
hahahahahahahahhah!
Crazy Girl! says:
my bf said
he has a beautiful and humorous gf
Crazy Girl! says:
judging from his reaction a min ago, i guess tat's true....
Crazy Girl! says:
haha!
Crazy Girl! says:
*pat on my back*
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Additional Context by Crazy Boy!:
For your information. Before 2nd wave feminists (
yea, go read abt the 3rd wave you outdated mucks) start ranting about small things in a society of small-minds, Crazy Boy! made a joke about how important it was at that point in time to pay attention to the passing scenery of beauty, instead of hanging on to the pain and torture of the present.
The joke about things smaller than Fists was made by the beautiful smart but not so sensitive Crazy Girl! who remains beautiful and smart and dedicated to yoga.
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Mr & Mrs TauPok speak up - Part 2
In the last episode.... ::
Mr and Mrs Tau Pok, Tau Gua, Tau Gay and Tau Hu a.k.a Energetic a.k.a 3322, met Meekia, and Meepok to discuss the important matter of controlling and managing the copyright material that is their names.
The recent rave on "
taupoking" in Singapore has Mr and Mrs Tau Pok realising they have much marketing, advertising and business opportunities available in the licensing of their names to promotional matters.
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Mr. TauPok emerges from the shadows of the table.....
Actually, he was under the table. Busy with Mrs Taupok.
Mrs Taupok's feet very tired lah. He help her massage. Can?
Mr TauPok cracks a few knuckles:
Guys, finally, we get to the whole reason why I've assembled you all here today.....
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Mr TauPok:
The reason I've assembled all of you here today, is to remind everyone that my name has been soiled by the
irreverent writing that has been going around.
Meekia:
aiya, people joking only lah. TAAAAAUUUUUUPOK!
* a cold breeze whistles past the table *
* The silence tinkers *
TAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUPOK!!!! * Meekia shouts one more time *
* The silence tinkers some more *
* A cockcroach crawls past everyone's feet and wasn't noticed *
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MeePok:
Sorry, u guys know he's like that.
Mr TauPok:
* Clears his throat *
We need to set up some sort of institution here. A place that would require that we be rewarded for the use of our names in the labelling of any popular activity.
I believe we should be paid handsomely.
Tau Huay:
Huh??? Who will pay me to name whatever he's doing, "Tau Huay-ing"?
Tau Gay:
Maybe SgToys will pay me to use my name for a special human activity that involves many people leh? "Tau Gay-ing" has a nice French ring to it, don't you think Madame?
Mrs TauPok raises an eyebrow. Not a surprised sorta arch. More of a lazy "Here he goes again" limn. She takes a slow drawl on her cigarette.
Mr TauPok:
* Clears his throat again *
I believe we can lend our names to cute online games....games with cute characters that can rival Pokemon and Mashimaro.
Tau Hu and Tau Gua share a "Is this guy for real????" look
Meekia:
ooi, boring lah this conversation.
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Mr & Mrs Taupok speak up - Part 1
Meekia is very happy his good friends Mr & Mrs Taupok have been under so much attention recently. He called up MeePok, who in turn contacted Tau Gua, Tau Gay, Tau Huay and Tau Hu, and they sat down and talked about their importance to the
local hawker scene.
And of course, they also discussed how they should go about the business of licensing their names to games.
Meekia:
ooi? How come Tau Huay Zhui never come?
Tau Huay:
She is busy with efforts to help the tsunami victims lah. They very Cham leh, everyday eat canned food. A nuturitious soya drink would perk them up and bring a smile to a child. =)
MeePok:
See? People so human. All you do is sit at home and pretend you're doing meaningful things online.
Meekia:
eh wat? I got help ok. I watch the Hong Kong singers play three-legged football and donated money by calling the hotline.
Tau Gua:
Aiya, we normal people no need to donate lah. wa lau, Jackie Chan so rich, he ownself cannot just donate $10 million ah?
Meekia * quietly happy the discussion is moving away from his "meaningful online activities" *
MeePok:
Wa liew, that's not the point lah. Like what Channel NewsAsia said leh, eh? Or was it on the radio....aiya, anyway, it didn't happen to them. It happened to the world, it happened to US. OK?
Tau Hu, who has been quiet all this while, says:
Ooi, we are here today to talk abt tsunami issit?
Tau Gay chips in:
Ya lah, we are here today to discuss copyright infringement leh.
Meekia:
Got meh? What copyright?
Mr. TauPok emerges from the shadows of the table.....
Actually, he was under the table. Busy with Mrs Taupok.
Mrs Taupok's feet very tired lah. He help her massage. Can?
Mr TauPok cracks a few knuckles:
Guys, finally, we get to the whole reason why I've assembled you all here today.....
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CU Mr TauPok's sinister expression.
Slow dolly in to his evil eyes.
* Slow fade-up: Britney Spears "EveryTime" [The Evil Remix ] *
Fade to Black.
Ex-Mediaworks Artiste says "NaBeh"
cheeky: Interview with ex-Mediaworks Artistes
This blog is specially dedicated
to the cheekybynature entertainment beat reporter
Ms Kate
Although she was unsuccessful at getting some of them to share special tips on "job locations" and "prolific goal scoring,"
she at least managed a "NABEH" and then some, from IX SHEN.
And hey, She's Quan Yi Feng's favourite reporter!
If you didn't get your fix with Kate's report, you could go over to the
The Best Chinese Blog Ever
and check out more deeply philosophical essays on deeply nonsensical things.
Self-Portrait.
This is a self-portrait.
A friend quoted a friend who said blogging is "vain and
exhausting and kinda pointless. "
Blogging is inherently exhibitionistic...so sure of course, it's vain.
It's exhausting...well..depends on how vain you are..heheh..and how much
effort u wildly dedicate to customizing, designin your blog, uploading
pix, etc etc.
As for blogging being "pointless?" Hmz...that I disagree.
But I would like to point out an interesting phenomenon.
As much as "Blogging" has been touted as
a new communcation technology with all these great grand powers...
Celebration, reward, and recognition,
still come in the form of traditional media.
E.g. - Book Deals. Magazine/Newspaper Columns.
A Blogger in the sense of a writer, "makes it" and "becomes successful"
when they get the traditional media to notice them, pay them,
and offer them a creative space on older media platforms...
It seems to work that way right?
Quite Quiet - She knows how to spell!
I have a beautiful and humorous girlfriend.
[ I usually have to say this loud and clear because she will punch me repeatedly in the chest if I don't. She makes sure I stand ready to withstand the blows
before she launches her merciless assault ]
We were talking about where to meet for a school project on DRM (Digital Rights Management) on MSN Instant Massaging.
She was curious which cafes in town would be nice and quiet for
an afternoon of exciting academic discourse.
I suggested Place A and Place B.
She was cool with Place B, and remarked, "quite quiet."
Then she added, " * i can spell * "
Si beh DIFFICULT lah!!!
I had already tried to blog a few years ago. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY before
a quirky lecturer in my "New Communication Technologies" course advocated it as a process that could possibly be
a "remediative, digital conversion of our analogue relationship with media content from a passive discourse to one of true interactivity."
He didn't exactly say that.
He doesn't say anything exact for that matter.
Which is fine with me,
because I get how academia land pple generally speak.
Actually, Academia land pple don't speak.
They usually "engage in a continous discourse and exchange of ideals, ideas, ideologies, i-podologies, nothing-can-be-defined-everything-
because-that-would-be-reductionistic0-deterministic-
stereotypicalistic-pigeonholelistic-
fishstick-pogostick-."
What was my point.
ok.
yes.
No,
wait,
let me talk a bit about
the philosophical ideas that led to this paradigm shift first...no..
wait..ok,
maybe we really are wrong about Bush.
Maybe when the secret
Instant Messages
betwn Blair and Bush are published in the future,
we will understand why the Iraq war was so great.
Supposedly, defeatists tried dissuading Churchhill from engaging Hitler
in war.
Maybe more than a few Brits from that era thought Churchhill was a fat idiot before victorious, reductionistic history proved otherwise.
oh man. Blogging....
i mean, EXHIBITIONISITIC WRITING,
is gun.
fun.
I mean. great fun.
you just ype and ype and ype.
and ype.
ok, so why didn't I start blogging before
Mr Brown became the 1st blogger in Singapore.
WA LAO! because I'm lazy! and Wa lao!!!!
Because customizing your own blog is SEI beh** DIFFICULT!
Truth be told, unless you know a fair bit of CSS and HTML programming,
it is really quite difficult to customize your blog
with your desired colours, graphics and text layout structures, link sequences
etc. etc.
So, because it was SI BEH difficult to get my own desired blog design,
I took the post-modernistic
approach.
I told myself I was stupid, lazy and helpless, and gave up.
BUT hated feeling stupid, lazy and helpless.
So I installed web-design programs like Flash, and Dreamweaver.
[wa! Flash! wa, weave my dreams online! wa! wa! wa! Ype. ype]
and created a website for my father - http://www.wutaiji.2ya.com/
a website for my girlfriend - http://www.sja.2ya.com/
and
HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
A COUNTRY FOR MYSELF!!!
I called it BOX REPUBLIC!
F***K blogging (wa liewz, self-censorship***),
I'm creating my own COUNTRY!
I'm gonna be too busy running my own country to blog.
It will have a Business District
It will have a Bohemia Bazaar
It will carry my hopes and dreams
of building up my own media empire.
muauuahahaahahahahhaahaha.
Before boxrepublic,
I was already REMEDIATING THE DAMN WEB terry johal,
hahahahaha!
*why the evil laughter? I have no idea... *
I did this
I named it 66 shots.
because I was born on the 6th of June and I thot this was a fair bit of intellectual
masturbation;
a great bit of CREATIVE GUN-SLINGING.
[Typing in Caps EMPHASIZES YOUR DAMN IMPORTNAT POINTS, and makes any typos much more noticeable]
So,
Do I have to Blog to prove my point?
I have a digital relationship
with the pop cultural content I consume.
But there's always a lean-back passive brain-dead consumption situation.
Especially when I listen to smooth jazz and watch beautiful blondes engage in carnal acts. oops!
So Why am I blogging now?
Because, well, this academic contextualizing,
and re-defining of the dynamics between audience, media and creator is
fun and yes,
we need to move beyond the TV remote, the keyboard, the mouse-clicks, the links, and..
the blogs**!
[**So it's abt time to stop passively consuming blogs,
and start...blogging!]
Because well,
this is another avenue of promoting "Box Republic" and...
I've got designs and
services on it I can sell....
[Will write about escaping the Rat Race in next blog].
Because,
Terry!(and Allan!)
I think/hope this in some ways shows you pple get your lessons/lectures/rants/raves
Mr Brown!
The part-time universally lecherer, you were keeping it real,
and really groovy in sharing your wonderful experiences abt blogging with us! Thanks again. More applause, more power to ya.
Oh ya, you will definitely find probls
with the Content Flow, the Link Structures etc
with my websites
and you will definitely shake your head at the problematicishy "web user experience."
[Of course, Im assuming
he actually clicks on my blog,
reads to this point, and then actually clicked on some links above.
I think he definitely clicked on that link to topless boxing..
oh wait, that was in my previous blog.]
On the nest
net,
everyone's attention span is very short. . .
So!
Blogging is Exhibitionistic,
Remediative (As in its academic definition, not to be confused with anything therapeutic] AND
Therapeutic.
and catharsishy!
but customizing your blog is Si Beh difficult !!!!
The Meek(ia) Modern Man.
I dare you to fling the word around with ignorant petulance.
Yes, the "metrosexual" label is a tired cliche.
You could read on, or check out hot chicks in bikinis talking about their mothers.
Either way, you'll be radical and progressive...I think.
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(Cut & Pasted from my school essay)
You vain young man!
You care about grooming!
You love the mirror!
You care about style and fashion, and know they are really two different things!
You metrosexual?
No,
You consumer.
With its rejections of patriarchal prescriptions of masculinity, and its embrace of mainstream body imagery, the “Metrosexual movement” appears to draw strength and inspiration from elements in Third Wave feminism. This essay however, seeks to discuss a different deconstructivist reality.
Is the “Metrosexual man,” a seductive superfluous label perpetuated by capitalist consumer culture to encourage commercial consumption; a ploy to socialize men in an exploitative and limiting manner for the purpose of transforming them into well-functioning components of the capitalist economic machine; a side product of Third Wave feminism? Or a pop culture phenomenon that will eventually fade and languish as a stereotype?
Will we see a growing acceptance of the androgynous, the blurring of gender lines and the increasing common ground in body cultures between men and women as a result of metrosexuality? Will the mythical war and the genuine power struggle between men and women finally see light at the end of tunnel?
We will share our tweezers, unisex jeans and Body Shop lotions…
And live happily ever after?
In his article “Die Metrosexual Die!” Matt Haber describes how the term "metrosexual" has simply become “a lazy catch-all, something you can call any guy who manages to shave himself properly or who falls short of John Wayne in the rugged-masculinity department” (2003). He also adds that the "metrosexual" label “doesn't say anything about the person being referred to, but plenty about the person making the reference” (2003).
Indeed, the “Metrosexual” tag has become a convenient stereotype and a handy marketing tool. Cultural practices that might formerly be frowned upon by male consumers and stereotyped as “sissy,” might now be celebrated as a benchmark of style and substance once the “metrosexual” tag is slapped on. Cultural artefacts previously confined to feminine domains and female consumption now have a new market in men.
Strong and silent? Or stylish and savvy? Authors and academics alike, have suggested that many in the urban male population have become lost because of the conflicting ideologies between new and old schools of thoughts about masculinity and a man’s essential role in society.
The “metrosexual movement” as popular culture phenomenon and cultural text is intriguing because it seems to provide easily digestible answers, hints at liberation and appears to provide resolutions to some age-old struggles. Emancipation everyone, is an expensive hair-cut plus a wardrobe revamp away!
The “Metrosexual” man embraces and understands the associated powers that come with looking (and consuming!) like David Beckham – a footballer turned celebrity oft upheld as the quintessential icon of the Metrosexual movement.
From nail polish to expensive hair-does, David Beckham subverts traditional notions of masculinity with haute couture consumption. What his actions represent, are the Metrosexual man’s indulgent pursuit of physical beauty as defined by popular culture’s ideal male imagery. This celebration of mass media prescribed physical perfection is not dissimilar to how Third Wave feminists from the “lipstick school of thought” celebrate their cleavages and mini-skirts with vigor.
Third Wave feminists rejected the Second Wavers' trivialization of their bras, their sexy dresses, and other “girlie” items. Third Wave feminists did not define their appearances narrowly, singularly, and simplistically as projections of male sexual objectification. To “Lipstick Third Wavers”, the potency of their sexuality and femininity was to be embraced. Instead of running away from typecasts by the mainstream media phallus, lipstick feminists wielded stereotyped ideal female imagery as tools of power.
Likewise, the Metrosexual does not reject popular culture’s prescription of male physical perfection. From defined musculature to matching footwear, the “preponderance of visual images in consumer culture” has given “the ‘look’ of the body, its demeanor, clothing and adornment “ (Baldwin et al 1999, p. 304) a rising importance amongst the male urban population. S.N.A.G v. 2.0 (as in Vainity 2wice as much) it appears, is about rejecting “himbo” anxieties and literally “buying” into the notion that joy and self-identity can come with the consumption of lifestyle goods from fashion to furniture.
The deconstructivist reality of course, is that the Metrosexual being might simply be nothing more than a male consumer seduced by the ideologies and aspirations packaged, marketed and sold to him in shopping malls. But tragically, rather than believe he is a victim of capitalist consumerist hegemony, the Metrosexual man probably convinces himself that he is an evolved, emancipated individual and a symbol of postmodernist ideals.
As described aptly by Haber (2003), “[t]he metrosexual, despite his numerous hairstyle and accessories options, is a one-dimensional being.” His resistance to the patriarchal hegemony is through superficial, superfluous consumption.
As much as they would like to think they are liberated players of the ideology game and dexterous wielders of ideal physical imagery, the Metrosexual man and his Third Wave feminist counterpart are PRETTY much still easy prey for the fallacies of consumer culture.
Seidler (1991) wrote that “people often fail to appreciate how deeply forms of masculinity are tied into the very organization of production in both capitalist and socialist societies.” The Metrosexual movement merely opens up more avenues for marketing to the consumer. The inherent patriarchal oppressions were never removed. They have simply been re-tooled and re-packaged in Armani suits.
The words of Dr. Nirmala Purushotam capture the oppressive limitations placed upon us by patriarchal thinking (Kon, 2000). These oppressive limitations will not be dispelled by the metrosexual myth, and they will continue to haunt us:
I live in a patriarchal society and in such a society, we have a sense of things being divided into two. This splits our selves both as men and women - our potentials become reduced by this split. In a patriarchal society, it's not just that men are different from women, but certain activities, qualities and domains are seen to be privy only to men while other activities, qualities and domains are seen only to be privy to women. I'm not saying that it's so hard and fast. But generally, one side then loses the possibilities allowed by the other side. And both suffer.
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