pieces

There are many movies about it, but the most recent is probably the Wachowski brothers’ V for Vendetta. They paint the picture of an oppressive government that eases it’s way into a totalitarian regime while the masses stand by unaware. Typically there is a horrible tragedy that sparks an increase in governmental controls and a decrease in a citizen’s liberties. The tragedy is sometimes caused by the government or other times allowed to happen. In the case of Vendetta an outbreak is caused by a government experiment that goes awry. The liberties are given up in most cases for the greater good. The films usually begin after the oppression has begun or after it’s in a stage where the powerful are all interconnected and greedy for more power. This is where the hero, or group of heroes, steps in to release the metaphoric shackles and free the masses from government abuses. The films are usually quite moving because it symbolizes the destitute of middle management, or low-wage labor, or overbearing parents, or a feeling of helplessness or isolation within a fast-paced society. They tend to be science-fiction oriented movies.

I found it odd the other day how easily these films can reflect reality. We’re living now in what could be seen as an exposition to a film in this genre. These films always involve advanced surveillance systems, power-hungry and boisterous leaders, and a general submission of the population. But that can’t happen here right? There are checks and balances and the government doesn’t have that kind of power. They don’t have the technology from the movies. Enemy of the State was just a movie, moron. That’s what you’re thinking eh? Well this is all hypothetical, because I’m blissfully ignorant on most matters beyond pop culture, but try and follow along. Whether you see parallels or not it will make an awesome movie. Contact me with an email if you’re looking to elaborate or direct.

First you have the underground swelling of an exclusive group with ruthless recruiting tactics. It’s not from a fringe cult, which would be easy to dismiss, but rather from the inside of a prominent religion. Preying on the isolated, troubled, or deeply religious, they flood a recruit with affection and attention, while simultaneously isolating them from their outside world. They make promises that alleviate the fundamental stresses of being human, like the pain of loss or the fear of death. Their numbers are growing. They are the loudest of the religious right. Even with their ignorance of logical thought and their assumptions of a militant Islam enemy, they appeal to a large group of the lower class looking for answers. This group has influential leaders who can make their voices heard easily. Their ranks include or are directly associated with high ranking officials and corporate heads. There are many that may not share all of their beliefs, but agree that a moral shift has taken place that needs to be repaired.

Then there are the consumer specific marketing strategies that are coming into popularity. We use RFID chips in dogs, fish, and anything else we want to identify and track. There are now chips installed in the keys to Mini Coopers that transmit to billboards, which trigger a personalized message to display. There are new shopping carts in development that have an integrated screen. This screen displays advertisements and works as a cart-level checkout. The advertisements are specific to the area of the store you’re in. The carts can be tracked throughout the isles, as well as keep track of how long you’re near a certain item. Why would a consumer need this? They don’t. Marketers do, and that’s why they’re pushing for it’s popularity.

It has never been easier to reach a specific consumer. Add to that the flooding of a consumer’s visual life with advertising and it’s a lethal combination that can easily manufacture a need. In the few marketing oriented classes I took on course for my degree I was fed the number three thousand. That’s the number of bits of advertising that the average person sees each day. Most analysts are now putting that number closer to five thousand. It seems like a big number until you factor in any time on the Internet, time watching television, and the growing medium of guerrilla marketing. That’s five thousand messages, in any myriad of ways, that can influence someone to turn a want into a need. The size and placement of advertising is always changing. What if these same marketing strategies were used to relay a subtle xenophobic message?

While on the Internet a person’s information is tracked, sorted, and stored. What pages a person goes to, what information they input, what information they look at, the structure of the sites they’re on, the documents they download, and how long they’re doing any of those is regularly sold to companies or the government. This is primarily used to create a picture of a consumer. Marketing companies soak it up like a dry sponge in a bucket of water. When you’re trying to sell a product that has almost no utility it is very important to reach a specific customer that is gullible enough to find it irresistible.

An example would be diamonds. They are the third hardest natural material and are a logical choice for industry. But somehow it became a fashionable and symbolic accessory to anniversaries and the most popular of women. It has no utility in the jewelry market beyond it’s durability. The industry is suspected of price manipulation, but in my opinion they’ve almost earned the right to make the price as high as they see fit. They are likely the industry that is most successful in creating a pseudo demand for their product.

The materialistic society was pushed to its breaking point six years ago. Not because the economy crashed or because there was a dramatic turnaround in consumer habits. Two planes, hijacked by terrorists, flew into the World Trade Center and within hours the two tours had collapsed. Almost three thousand predominantly innocent people perished. The morning is scorched into my memory. The world sympathized and our hunt for the persons responsible was justified. In the years since, we have yet to find the admitted mind behind the attack, have witnessed an unheard of increase in worldwide terrorism, and left a gigantic hole in the center of Manhattan.

Information has come to light that implies the administration knew of the threat. The main players in actually shared a bank and had mutual friends with the terrorist organization itself. The administration and many aspects of the government have become increasingly secretive. Companies associated with the administration received lucrative contracts. The Secretary of Defense was almost immediately determined to direct attention askew. Links to a different country were fabricated and embellished. With the country still dazed, they turned its attention to a different target with minimal effort.

Terror went from headline news to completely saturating the news after the attacks. Sacrifices were made by the public that were justified by the War Against Terror. Secret prisons remain outside the regulation of international law. Scandals of corruption, wire-tapping, political intimidation, and other abuses of power have run rampant. It has become unpatriotic to question the government. The United States, already one of the most racist countries in the industrialized world in my opinion, took racial profiling to a new level. Brown men and women are harassed or ridiculed daily, if not reported, for mundane behavior that’s witnessed by a skewed perspective.

The media has for the most part ignored any backlash to the imperialistic tendencies of our nation. Because of this ignorance, we are left baffled that someone or a group of people would want to attack us. The media has persisted in its shallow coverage. It is easily swayed by expertly used language from the administration and pounces on unimportant social issues like a cat toward a flashlight beam on a couch. When the administration wants to pass legislation that will obliterate a basic human right they light a fire under gay marriage or abortion and the media changes course like a moth. The media gives equal coverage, if not more coverage, to celebrity news of no merit or social importance instead of asking real questions that could spark actual change.

In a country where the government is built on a foundation of checks and balances, there is very little of either taking place. A bill was passed within six months, without being read by most, that effectively gave the President immense power. He has only vetoed two bills because a Republican congress bowed to his every whim and passed favorable legislation. The administration brought the country into a war under false pretenses and has yet to admit as such. They have flaunted their ignorance as if it were a velvet cape or a gem-studded crown.

The President now has more powers over the National Guard to send them to domestic locations on his command. He has the power to deem someone an enemy of the state, which essentially strips them of any fundamental human rights. He can choose to hold someone indefinitely without charge. He can request a persons Internet statistics, library records, or cell call history. He can essentially declare war on his own accord. He can track someone using cell phone records, RFIDs, automobile GPS, video surveillance, or by tailing him the old fashioned way. He can even get recorded conversations from the telephone companies through the FBI until they overturn that legislation.

But why would he want to abuse these powers? He’s the commander guy and knows what he’s doing. To question him is ridiculous. And why would we have to worry about him having these powers? It’s not like he’ll use them to create an oppressive regime. That shit only happens in the movies.