English 1A

Fall 2007

Seminar #5

Note:  Your seminar grade will be determined by the quantity of your responses (how many questions you answer and how many other students you respond to) and the quality (how well you demonstrate an understanding of the ideas you're responding to, how detailed your responses are, how coherent and in-depth they are, etc.)

Directions:
1.  Read Culture Jam: Introduction and Autumn (pages xi - 47)

2. Choose two questions and respond with at least one paragraph per question. Include quotes and/or specific references to the text to back up your responses.

1.   Consumer Captialism : Why does Lasn say that consumer capitalism is "inherently unethical"? Do you agree or disagree? Why? Be specific.

2.  A Free, Authentic Life : Lasn says that it's "impossible" nowadays to live a free, authentic life. How does he say the media deprive us our authenticity?  Do you feel victimized in the way he says you should? Why or why not?

3. Manufactured World: Lasn writes "We have gone from living in a natural world to living in a manufactured one" (4).  What does he think are the consequences of this transition, to our bodies, minds, emotions, spirits, desires, and our ability to communicate with one another? Do you feel the effects of the manufactured world in your own life, and if so, do you attempt to lessen the effects in any way?

4.  The Net : What, according to Lasn, are the biggest problems with the internet? Do you agree with his assessment about computers?  Do you think there is anything positive that's come from the development of an internet culture? Do you think that the benefits outweigh the consequences? Why or why not?

5. A World Without History: On page 11, Lasn writes that "media spectacles have colonized our mental environment, crowding out history and context."  What does he mean by that? What are the consequences of living in a world disconnected from history and context? Do you agree or disagree with his assertions? Give some examples from your own life.

6. Fighting Back: Summarize Lasn's attempts to combat what he considers to be the pollution of modern media culture. What do you think about his strategies? Do you feel they could be effective for "deprogramming" today's youth in particular?  Why or why not?  What are some other ways we might begin to take our lives back from the lure of media culture?

3. Save your work as a .doc or .rtf document and submit your response to the Assignment Chamber by midnight on Monday, Oct. 22.  

4. Post your responses to the appropriate forum by midnight on Monday, Oct. 22.

5. Read all the other students' posts throughout the week.

6. Respond to at least two other student's post (more is better) .  You will have until midnight, Monday, Oct. 29 to read and respond to the other students' ideas in the website.

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