Buy Nothing Day!

Tuition, entertainment, groceries, clothing, accessories, and Christmas gifts- as this list grows on so does the bill that covers it. Fear not wallets and emptying bank accounts, for next Friday, November 27th (North America), and Saturday November 28th (internationally) is the celebration of Buy Nothing Day.

In a consumer driven society, even the thought of abstaining from spending can give one a case of culture shock. And if you’re thinking, sure, one day avoiding the shops is within my reach, think again. Buy Nothing Day includes anything and everything that requires the spending of money. Yes, this means that , “...[They] want you to not only stop buying for 24 hours, but to shut off your lights, televisions and other nonessential appliances. We want you to park your car, turn off your phones and log off of your computer for the day” (Buy Nothing Day).

In fact, the effect of us in the consumer world is not much different from media guru Marshal McLuhan’s theory of, “Narcissus narcosis, a syndrome whereby man remains as unaware of the psychic and social effects of his new technology as a fish of the water it swims in” (Playboy). We as a society have become unaware not only of the enormity of the role consuming plays in our daily lives, but of what effects our consumption has in the bigger spectrum.

The purpose of Buy Nothing Day helps us to disentangle ourselves from our environment of consumption in order to recognize it for all that it is. It shows that we really can break from our societal norms and use that opportunity to, “Take just one small step toward a more just and sustainable future” (Buy Nothing Day). Simply participating in Buy Nothing Day would help prevent your bank account from diminishing during a time of excess purchasing with the rise of Christmas hours and feeling of obligation to purchase the best products for loved ones, while also helping us by preventing us from using up irreplaceable natural resources.

So what are you waiting for? Mark your calendars and prepare to lock your credit cards away, for Buy Nothing Day is well on its way!

Work Cited

"Buy Nothing Day: Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters." Adbusters Culturejammer
Headquarters: Journal of the mental environment. Web.

Playboy. "The Playboy Interview: Marshall McLuhan." Playboy. Web.

Help Save the Internet!

Warning! The internet as we know it is at risk! There is need for the protection of net neutrality under the law, that is, “the idea that broadband operators shouldn't be allowed to block or degrade Internet content and services--or charge content providers an extra fee for speedier delivery or more favourable placement” (Broache).

In order to understand the severity of what net neutrality could mean to our way of life, is to look at the impact that the current free use of the internet has on us.

How integrated is the internet in our lives? Well according to a study done in 2009 titled, "Consumer Behaviour Online: A 2009 Deep Dive," shows that overall time spent on the Internet has remained at 12 hours per week (Dara). Twelve hours a week is a significant amount of time to be spending on the internet.

During these hours spent on the internet, we are currently enabled to use all websites on an equal level playing field with every other internet user in spite of their wealth or status. However, if net neutrality is not protected, corporations that act as internet service providers will be able to act as a gatekeeper of the internet.

The freedom of the internet is important for the blooming of culture. Already, restrictions such as copyright have become a culture lock, a way to prevent the average citizen from building upon past works to create something new and inspiring.

Being allowed to play gatekeeper would mean that companies such as Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, and Time Warner Cable could potentially control what you do online. As US President Barrack Obama has stated, “... I think [internet gatekeepers] destroys one of the best things about the Internet--which is that there is this incredible equality there" (Broache). This equality would disappear without protected net neutrality, with those corporations using their ownership over connection devices to do things such as being free to charge access fees for internet sites or for faster services. They would also be able to control what sites you browse on the internet by leading you to specific websites they own shares in and by making competing websites unbearably slow to load. The same could occur with bandwidth, by controlling your downloading capacity with threats of cutting off connection or slowing down your internet browser considerably.

If these types of control from corporations began to happen in our material lives, charging and restricting our actions within our community and at large, there would be uproar. However, there is law in place to prevent that from happening. If we currently have free access to our internet, then how come our digital life is not similarly protected? The rights to freedom of internet use should be no different, especially as society has been transitioned from an industrial age; to an increasingly more information based society that stems from connection to the digital world of internet access. We would be taking a step back in progress, moving from a rewrite culture to a read only culture locked down and controlled by major industries.

Are you ready to let this big part of your life become restricted and manipulated? In order to prevent this, get involved with your Government, and make your voice heard. Protect worldwide equality from falling into the hands of corporate control, contact your government today, or visit: http://www.savetheinternet.com/


Work Cited

Broache, Anne. "Obama pledges Net neutrality laws if elected president: News Blog - CNET News." Technology News- CNET News. Web.

Kerr, Dara. "Overall time spent online remains static:Digital Media - CNET News."Technology News–CNET News. Web.

Fake News: Real Prospects

Rick Mercer Report, the Daily Show, the Onion, SNL, The Colbert Report, these are all names within the media realm that are likely to sound familiar. In fact, theses names belong to fake news corporations who may have reached greater popularity than standardized media corporations such as the Toronto Star.

However, this popularity has broader prospects than just a good laugh. With the arrival of the 21st Century has come a bombardment of technology competing for the attention of the general population. With this change there is a need for the media to adapt in order to continue to reach its audience effectively. University of Guelph PhD student and Guelph-Humber media studies instructor Ian Reilly specializes in this kind of fake news, with the impression that, “... fake news captures the Zeitgeist of contemporary culture” (Reilly in Hunt). If this is true, then fake news just might be that necessary tool of breaching the information barrier in this transition of society.

Fake news often uses humour and parody to bring to light a much more serious topic. While it appears on the surface to be more about entertainment than news, Reilly points out that, “Without a strong baseline of information, you’re not going to get the joke, and nothing’s worse than not being in on the joke” (Reilly in Hunt). In this sense, in order to enjoy the consumption of fake news, there needs to be knowledge of the real news stories that are out, and this means there is an incentive to be aware of current issues.

So deep down, are real news and fake news really that different? Sure, one is based on fact, but as Reilly explains, “[Fake news] can be regarded as a form of investigative journalism because fake news is very much invested in the process of digging up and recontextualizing information” (Reilly in Hunt). It seems to stand that at the basis of everything, they both serve the same purpose of creating awareness about current issues and politics, and that awareness is what is key to keeping a society informed and active in their own world.

Work Cited:

Bona Hunt, Lori. "Features: At Guelph." University of Guelph. Web.

R-I-N-G! R-I-N-G!

That’s the telephone again! Surprise, surprise, it’s another organization asking for donations. Some questions that I raise in my mind when I get such calls are: Is this worthy cause important enough for me to devote my time to? Do I believe in this cause strong enough to advocate it to others to do the same and help out?

Sure, deep down a lot of people want to be that superhero that can save the day, but the reality of the matter is that you are only one person and there are countless organizations that all believe that there cause is the one deserving your time and money.

The only problem is finding the cause that is right for you. Once you find that cause it is easier to feed it, not because it is necessarily more deserving than the other ones out there, but because it appeals to something that you find has a relevance to you or in what you stand for.

As for me, I’m still finding my cause, and you know what, that’s perfectly okay. While it might be easier to just pounce on the first activist project that comes your way in order to lessen your guilt of not helping out, it is more rewarding to find the cause, or organization that you are really passionate for in assisting.

You can try and find that cause by testing out various organizations until you discover which one clicks with you. Currently, I decided to test the activist pool by dipping my feet into a couple of school organized activist projects, including Amnesty International, Artists for Outreach, and the Clean Train Coalition. I selected these for my participation in, based on my interests. Amnesty International appeals to my interest in helping those who struggle under political distress with the goal to “...build a world where all people live in dignity, security and freedom” (Amnesty International Canada).

As for the Clean Train Students Coalition, whose slogan runs, “Transit for a Healthy City” (Clean Train Coalition), I have the opportunity to act upon my interest in protecting the environment through their vision for a more environmentally and health friendly neighbourhood in Toronto, by exploring and using alternative energy sources, such as electrically run trains.

Artists for Outreach on the other hand appeals to my love of the arts, giving the opportunity to, “provide an outlet for students-mostly in media and the arts- to gain experience in their area of study or interests while helping the community” (Artists for Outreach). This activist project appeals to me as an university student looking to help society, and at the same time meet others with similar interests in the arts.

Where these choices will go, I do not know. What I do know is the importance of finding a true cause that fits you.

Work Cited

"Amnesty International Canada :About AI Canada What we are." Amnesty International Canada. Web.

"Clean Train Coalition : Transit for a Healthy City". Clean Train Coalition. Web .

"Clubs & Associations - Artists for Outreach (North campus)." Humber Life. Web.

Culture Jamming: Consumer Culture Exposed

In a society bombarded with consumerism, it gets to a point where it becomes easy to forget to question what’s being targeted at us. However, there are people who remain at an unease by the direction society has accepted a corporate run world. In order to point out these overlooked problems, comes the mechanism of culture jamming whereby, “...a variety of interesting communication strategies... play with the branded images and icons of consumer culture to make consumers aware of surrounding problems and diverse cultural experiences that warrant their attention” (Culture Jamming).

Culture jamming is effective in that it uses the original advertisements of corporations to alter it to reveal something about it or a statement on society. This use of familiar iconic and branded imagery attracts more attention to targeted audiences, being those who are exposed and use that consumer culture.

One example of the culture jamming is this altered image of an Esso sign at the entrance to a large station near the Germany-Luxembourg border in Wasserbillig (Beentjes).

This particular case of culture jamming easily transformed the sign to a deeper revelation with the addition of two red lines through the S’s in Esso to resemble the dollar sign. Here culture jamming is used to make a statement about gas companies’ value of the dollar over all else. This photo appeared in an article on the Greenpeace International website, an organization whose mission statement is that, “...[It] is an independent, campaigning organization which uses non-violent, creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems, and to force the solutions which are essential to a green and peaceful future.” (Green Peace Mission Statement). Green Peace would showcase this culture jamming because they feel that the oil franchise uses natural resources remorselessly and adjusts its pricing not so that it is fair for its consumers, but so that it creates the largest net income.

Culture jamming is just another method of expression to make a concern heard by the broader public. Though not in the best interests of the corporations its targeting, it brings to light an important awareness that not everything that surrounds us and is marketed to us is healthy for our own interests or that of the world we live in.

And for those of us who have their own objections they want heard because they are simply ,culture jamming is both a cheap and easy way to bring that point into the public’s collective consciousness.

Work Cited
"Culture Jamming." UW Departments Web Server. Web.

"Greenpeace Mission Statement." Greenpeace Canada. Web.

Beentjes, Bass. "Exxon still funding Climate Change Deniers”. Greenpeace International. Web.

Media Literacy: Are We Passing the Test?

If you are the type of person who starts every morning with a cup of Joe and a morning newspaper, or sometimes tunes into the television or radio, you have acquired to some degree a level of media literacy.

Media literacy is the ability to sift through and analyze the messages that inform, entertain and sell to us every day by using critical thinking skills to question what lies behind media productions —the motives, the money, the values and the ownership— and to be aware of how these factors influence content (Tallim).

The first step in developing media literacy is to make one’s self aware of what media content your consuming on a daily basis. If you become aware that you are on the receiving end of the media, you can start to evaluate the deeper prospects of what is being presented.

This is important because in our world of multi-tasking, commercialism, globalization and interactivity, media education isn't about having the right answers—it's about asking the right questions (Tallim). If we make ourselves aware of media literacy, we can condition ourselves to start inquiring these questions about what we are consuming, and in doing so make ourselves a more informed member of society.

So next time you encounter media in your daily routines, take a step back and think about who produces the media we experience—and for what purpose? Who profits? Who loses? And who decides? (Thoman).

Develop your media literacy so that you may see the truth in the media and make informed decisions yourself, rather than letting them make it for you.

Work Cited

McChesney, Robert. "The Global Media Giants We are the World." EXTRA! (1997): n. pag. Web.

Tallim, Jane. "What is Media Literacy?"Media Awareness Network. Web.

Thoman, Elizabeth. "The 3 Stages of Media Literacy?" Media Awareness Network. Web.