A few last words..

This blog is a summary of what I have learnt during this module through time spent in seminars and through further research. I have learnt about the value of culture and how important it is in the world today. I have also come to accept that ‘culture’ can never really hold a dictionary definition; it is far too concentrated, intricate and of course highly complex. The word culture means different things to different people so trying to define it inevitably causes confusion. I think culture is a word that can be interpreted differently by each individual and we should embrace in this concept.

Culture is something that people use to classify themselves; it is a way for people to feel united by having a shared sense of self. Everyone enjoys feeling a part of something and culture definitely does just that. So many questions in life are left unanswered and many people feel a lack of purpose, this is why I believe culture is so significant because it gives us a sense of unity, security and belonging. On the downside, cultural identification can be so strong that people become withdrawn and critical of people from different cultural backgrounds. I experienced and wrote about the cultural divide that is so clearly present in South Africa in my previous blogs. Another somewhat negative aspect of culture is when people enforce rules upon others without allowing them freedom of expression.  For example people born into family’s that have strong religious views (Muslim) or self-harming rituals (Khosia)

I think my cultural studies have given me a chance to reflect on my cultural identity, I have a white (Kenyan) father and a Ethiopian (black) mother however I wouldn’t describe myself being either one.  I have grown up in both countries and then moved to London during my most influenced years. I think I have adapted a somewhat flexible and unrestricted cultural identity whereby I try to understand my surroundings and find my ground wherever I am.

I think however hard people try to ‘define’ themselves we are all in a sense one. If we eliminate all the cultural and societal barriers we are essentially human beings sharing the same life experience. This is why I find it so hard to understand the mentality of prejudice people. Fortunately, I had the chance to live in South Africa for 5 years of my life, this experience gave me cultural understanding of the UK and SA. I wrote about my experience of South Africa in my blogs and gave very honest views on my experience.

I have also researched about technology and the effect it has on our world today, throughout my research I found that my opinions on the subject changed dramatically. I looked at different viewpoints and drew very different conclusions each time. I can now conclude that technology has changed our world for the better. It is more what people do with advanced technology that makes the difference. For example people can choose to make bombs for war or fly food to the starving nations. I think the problem is not technology, but the people in power.

In my most recent posts I spoke about the FIFA World Cup (2010) and the impact it had on South Africa, I also interviewed my friends about the event. This research allowed me to see how the events and media industry can have a huge impact on economy, culture and society as a whole. It also helped me understand the importance of cultural studies within the events industry. It is important to have a general understanding of culture because we as event managers are dealing with different people on a daily basis therefore it is important to respect and understand the meaning of culture.

I can draw a direct link throughout my blogs and this is that all of the subjects discussed have in some way an influence on each other. Events, Culture, Technology and Media are all reliant on each other and my research has allowed me to understand this.

The Venus Project

http://youtu.be/PIMy0QBSQWo?hd=1

Available at: http://bipolarx.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/the-venus-project.jpg Accessed on 04.01.2012


The Venus Project is founded by Jacque Fresco who is a futurist, inventor and industrial designer. The project focuses on creating a self-sufficient society with the use of technology. The Venus project focuses on creating a world whereby human beings, technology and nature live and work together in harmony. This project also implies the elimination of the monetary system, it promises a world without poverty, debt and any other unnecessary human suffering.

When I first read about the Venus project I almost gave up mid-way because it sounded like another unrealistic dream. However, after conducting research and understanding the concepts I began to see that this project is most defiantly possible. Advancements in technology are allowing humans to do things that were once unimaginable.

Western culture forces us to believe that success and happiness will come from money; the advertising industry knows this and uses it to manipulate people by constantly project images of ‘happy’ consumers whereas we all know this is very un true. I think this type of view leads to a fundamentally unhappy society whereby people are focused on consuming as much as they can but feeling left unsatisfied.

I believe that the current state in western society is fundamentally a result of false endeavours, greed and delusional prospects. If we compare western society to societies whereby money isn’t culturally value we can clearly see the effect this outlook has had. Linking this to my previous blog, I think, people living in western societies use methods of escapism more than anywhere else in the world; this is due to the constant pressures of day to day life. This illusion that we have to be ‘doing something with our lives’ and that if you aren’t making money in a productive way you are a ‘failure’.  It is this exact outlook that drives people to escapism because they can’t face their everyday situation.

‘’The Venus Project recommends that the present state and aims of architecture be redefined to fit the evolving needs of individuals in this new, emergent culture.’’

The Venus Project is proposing a world that does not revolve around money and although it does sound Disney like, I think it is very possible.

See more at : http://www.thevenusproject.com/en/technology

Are we trapped in an escapist world of digital culture?

This blog is on my personal opinion of how technology can be used to escape from our everyday lives, my viewpoints are directed from a cynical point of view. Technology allows us to momentarily escape from our reality; it ultimately distracts us from being present in our daily lives. I don’t think it is a bad thing to want to escape from our norm and it is actually quite healthy for us to indulge in other ‘realities’ from time to time. But the problem arises when people use these additional realities to escape from their current situations and technology has provided the platform to do just that. Television, internet, video games and social media (to name the few) can all be used as a method of escapism – for example watching a movie to help take your mind off current situation.

We don't have in our culture a healthy understanding and respect for the value of Being, which is simply being present in the moment, not trying to go somewhere, not trying to accomplish anything but, just present. ~ Shakti Gawain ~

In this blog, I will be discussing escapism through the use of technology specifically by using social media. To be quite frank, I still can’t figure out why social media is still called SOCIAL because it clearly isn’t. In my opinion, using technology as a means to communicate is very convenient at specific times but in no way social. To me socialising is about connecting with people in real life, not through an electric void of ‘nothingness’. In modern society we can recognize the significant role technology (social media) has in our world, take a glance at the cafes that used to be social environments but are now full with people glued to their lap tops or I pads.

“We have invented inspiring and enhancing technologies, yet we have allowed them to diminish us.” Sherry Turkle

I agree with this quote in terms of what could happen if social media replaces our natural ability to communicate effectively with each other. When technology replaces people -we can see this happening already for example operators/self-checkouts etc.

I would prefer not to sound hypocritical because I do in fact use social media however I am very aware of its effects on myself and surrounding.  I value personal connections to people way more than I do the virtual, in my view; social media is full of misconceptions and in some cases false projections of one’s identity. I also think that messages sent through social media are far less valuable, I would appreciate a letter sent from a close friend instead of a casual Facebook ‘poke’. The whole theory behind social media is this feeling of being ‘connected’ but for me it has the opposite effect. Yes it is nice to communicate with people irrespective of time and place but I feel far more rewarded interacting with people in everyday life.