Is there any answer apart from getting off our damn iphone? (it’s community connection right? But we still have to consume food and culture to do so…- or am I taking it too literally?)

I have an effort post about this where I analyze some theory written by the founder of Buzzfeed. Here’s a TLDR along with some updates thoughts I’ve had since writing it.

Capital used to be content to automate basic mechanics of production (the base) to make labor more efficient. They’re reaching diminishing returns on this and are now automating the meta processes of production (the superstructure). This is part of what Paretti calls our accelerating visual culture. He cites MTV because this was written in the late 90’s, but we can see it’s acceleration in corporate social media’s advertising-surveillance empire. Aspects of finding target demographics and creating networks for information to flow through are all automated.

Production is able to be socialized and as that happens a byproduct of that is that the identities formed by this capital-infected culture are all preoccupied with consumption. The desires created by ads or by any media really must be about consuming things. The solution he proposes is to create media whose conjured images (the archetype of who you’re supposed to identify with while consuming the media) make you desire something other than consumption. He cites as successful examples:

• the queer movement
  • He talks about its opportunity to either remain radical or become recuperated as the image of queer people existing becomes less shocking to the general public (remember, late 90’s)
• slacker culture
  • He accurately predicts that this culture was anti consumption by happenstance rather than principle and could be easily coopted by capital, which it was
• modern art
  • He talks a lot about taking corporate imagery and putting it in new contexts which rob it of its ability to glorify consumption. Basically I think he vaguely predicted vaporwave or meme culture

So building off of that, here’s the solution in a modern context. From an individual perspective, yeah, you put down your damn phone and go outside to do community stuff or whatever. It won’t affect change, but it may keep you sane. More of us are dealing with social media addiction than we would care to admit. In the macro, we can create community networks and counterpropaganda apparatus which spread radical identities and allow those community networks to take a foothold. A community of mutual aid work could be the basis of a more material relationship with class that is fulfilling in a way consumption is not