User:Mano Daniel Szollosi/Graduation Project Proposal

GRADUATION PROJECT PROPOSAL

INTRODUCTION

The subjects that recently I am most fascinated by could be labelled with the tag words like global capitalism, exploitation of labour, labour and leisure time relations.

My graduation project will bring under light – similarly to 'Leisure Factory' – a certain sharp aspect of a undesired side-effect, artefact of global capitalism. I would like to develop a project that would reveal the contradictions of the capitalist system At the moment I am not sure about to form it will be executed. One possible way is using tools such as humour, exaggeration, sarcasm. I imagine a

At the moment I have two more specific slices within this huge topic.

The spirit of being Fair – Unfair, Égalité, Liberté, Fraternité

The Internet: a Conspiracy-theory (could a title be more pretentious...?) Leisure – Labor relations in the context of digital global capitalist world

The Internet: a Conspiracy-theory

Leisure – Labor relations in the context of digital global capitalist world

My initial proposal was to create a conspiracy-theory which would present the idea that 'internet' as a new media, a new tool was an invention of 'them' – the invisible authorities – and the purpose was to keep the masses minds stimulated, to give them the opportunity, the right for self-expression so they remain pushing forward the capitalist mechanism efficiently.

Part of the hypothesis is that without satisfying the mental needs of the masses their mental balance wound upset resulting in anger, crime, protests, risings, riots and rebellions. All what 'They' do not want: so 'They' give this tool in the hands of the masses.

The reason of their 'generous' act is that they have discovered the previous media did not give the opportunity of self-expression. They discovered that the masses have a deep, ineradicable will to create, to produce, to interact. Every individual has an inner natural will to express themselves, to be creative and everyone has his own gift for something creative – I believe.

If there is no way to express the minds of the masses start to melt and the masses become desperate and depressed robots. According to the previous concept this was the goal. Unfortunately desperate minds work less efficiently – and that was not included in the concept. 'They' want their labor force to be as efficient as they can be!

Internet is a solution: the masses do their obligations in 8 hours a day, five (six?) days a week and once they arrive home, they can satisfy this need: shoot some family pictures, pet photos, upload and share them, write and create their own meme interpretation: create a 'lolcat' or rage-comic, start writing a blog, launch their amateur film critic site, or write a movie review on IMDB.

What common within these activities is the act of creation – a phenomena most of the jobs are lacking of: jobs that are only for the sake of gaining a greater profit.

These inhuman jobs are unbearable without some kind of mental activity that keeps the labour's minds stimulated.

Internet is a great tool to preserve the mental and physiological balance of the masses. By allowing the masses to express themselves, to be creative on the Internet they recreate themselves in their leisure time, they arrive to consistent mental state – so the following day they will continue completing their duties.

I see direct relation between being miserable and the lack of mental creativity in labours life.

Why?

What fascinates me with this conspiracy-theory is that it gives a try to establish a completely new, the opposite aspect of a certain topic which generally believed to be good without saying or questioning. It gives a wider lens into the hand of the viewer and opens up his mind: 'every coin has two sides'.

In this paragraph I will write a short explanation how the idea was born. This example will pull back this idea to the ground. What triggered the idea of was very grounded observation. I have simply read a movie review on IMBD posted by a user. I was fascinated by this user who wrote a pretty academic and very pleasant review of a movie which I believe satisfied the criteria of a 'professional review.' This review was way too good it felt like reading an 'official' article in a film magazine. But it can not be, right, that this user is a professional film critic who goes home and continues his duties in his leisure time just as he does in his labour time? – I was asking myself. So I assume he must an amateur then. But if he is so talented how could he still be an amateur?!

My theory is that his dream was to become a film critic but due to the pressure of capitalism per say he could not afford to follow his path of his dream. His parent could not afford to pay the tuition fees for prestigious high school so following that he was unable to attend university and by the way his family's financial situation urged him to start to work as soon as possible. So he might have become a per say: a baker. – no offence for the bakers: it can be a wonderful profession. The point is the mislead driven by the aim of earning money, of surviving in the capitalist race.

The spirit of being fair

'Égalité, liberté, fraternité'

FAIRTRADE logo looks down on me from the top-shelves of the most common Dutch store chain Albert Heijn. I look back on it and I start wonder: Fairtrade. I do understand both part of the mosaic word but somehow it stinks. Something is not right. And later I figured for myself: the word fair does not fit within the system of capitalism and the western society of consumption. Capitalism does not meant to be fair by default – on the contrary: it is the system of exploitation. Then how dare someone name a product that literally can not be true. It can be more fair, more equal, it can be more generous: but never can be fair in the purest meaning of the term.

We are living in a desacralised society – an era when the popularity of the traditional religions facing a steep decrease. But the need for spirituality remains for humankind. People need to believe in something. So consumers of Albert Heijn buy Fairtrade products because they believe this is their duty to make the world better. Instead of stepping in the queue for the Sunday morning mass they are willing to sleep on the streets like homeless people for an overnight just the be the first one who steps into the Apple Store and buys the very first sacred iPhone 5. They need to satisfy their need for spirituality.

This idea is a brilliant it the founders of such idea Fairtrade discovered that in a consuming society the best way to earn more profit is to satisfy the masses need for spirituality meanwhile they are satisfying an even more important factor: so called consuming.

Similarly to Slavoj Zizek I would like to state and make it clear that I am not against charity or charity embedded into consuming. I appreciate and respect the will and attempt but I do not believe that this is it: problem is solved. I agree with Slavoj Zizek: 'The real aim [should be] is to try and reconstruct society on such a basis where poverty will be impossible'

I do not want to address my graduation project to such enormous ambitious goal like establishing a whole new society concept. But I believe if Zizek himself devotes a whole lecture revealing this subject than it is worthy to address my graduation project for.

Why do we sacralise so much the ideas like 'Égalité, liberté, fraternité', democracy if we drop them all, all when it comes to economy or work system? - Capitalism a love story.

RESEARCH LOG

Adam Curtis: All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace

http://vimeo.com/25966415 {{#ev:vimeo|25966415}}

CAPITALISM QUOTE

21st Oct

Saturday Night live TV show Complains of american insiders on iPhone 5 and the sarcastic reactions of the Chinese factory workers. Surprisingly there is no mention of the suicides of the factory workers in chine nor the anti-suicide nets around high building roof edges.

20th Oct

I watched through Michel Moore's Capitalism: a Love Story titled feature length documentary

{{#ev:dailymotion|xemen5_tvxs-gr-yyyyyyyyyyyy-yyy-yyyyyyy-yy_shortfilms}}

10th Oct

RSAnimate Slavoj Zizek

9th Oct

Conspiracy-theories by Kirby Ferguson

8th Oct

Funny enough I watched a video of Goldie the father of drum and bass who gave a very personal lecture of himself at TED. The theme is again the creativity that is in everybody but it is just rarely will be found and treated by the environment properly to rise.

I found a magazine called '360'. Unfortunately I do not yet understand it, but seems like it is connected to my theme. All of their cartoons are tagged with criticizing capitalism. http://www.360magazine.nl/cartoon

6th Oct

Found this on Facebook page.

5th Oct

Watched Woody Allen's new movie To Rome with love. The movie was as presumed pretty much under the the capabilities of the classic Woody Allen, unfortunately.

But there was one aspect that it resembled with my idea. Through two examples he showed that in everybody there is something why he could be picked up and become famous. The first character is a 'nobody' with an ordinary, predictable, structured life. Out of the blue the 'tabloids', the boulevard news pick him up and reports his every ordinary movement such as morning shaving.

The second one is another ordinary guy who worked all his life in a crematory. After every shift he takes a loooong shower to get rid of the inconvenient smells. So he sings operas under the shower. And suddenly someone discovers his extraordinary talent for opera singing, by coincidence. The discoverer tries to convince this man, that he must do something with his talent, he must show this to the world. The talented man tries but in front of audience with strangers he fails. But his mentor figures that he must continue how this talented man was singing all his life: under the shower. Just with a huge audience, so they build and place a shower on stage. This is how this man becomes famous.

It resembles with my idea that everybody has this inner, natural born-with-it talent. The question whether it will be discovered and pushed, whether it won't. It also tells that a lot depends on the environment and the circumstances. In my reading living in capitalism and running for the money can be a bad circumstance that unfortunately mislead a lot of people from realizing their dreams meaning they become a crematory rather than an opera singer.

4th Oct

I was doing groceries when this word FAIRTRADE popped up in front of me and made me wonder...seriously WTF is it...?! NON-SENSE

HW Aymeric Mansoux, for 2th of October

WORD TAG CLOUD

Conceptual

non-/anti-aesthetic

anti-capitalist

conspiracy-theory

labor / leisure

web2.0

PROJECT REVIEWS

http://www.artreview.com/forum/topics/santiago-sierra-dedicated-to-the-workers-and-unemployed

Inspiring works

Orwell, 1984

Zeitgeist series