Kalle Lasn, _Culture Jam_

[eub]

At one point Lasn is talking about a McDonald's-eating SUV-driving friend of his: he says something to the effect of "If he could convince me that he was truly and fully alive, I would grant that his way of life is valid." The book clicks into focus. This is why I kept expecting sustainability and finding Situationism instead -- Lasn is not so much interested in our future as in how our present feels. (Well, I imagine he'd say that the one follows from the other.) I'm not sure why I went in with the wrong expectation.

Annoying bits: padded out with second-person narration of the form "You stare at the TV eight hours a day. You realize you don't know why your life feels so... empty." I doubt too many of the book's readers identify themselves with this caricature, so what's the point?

Interesting bits: the Situationists, whom I hadn't run into for a long time; the potted history of corporations in the U.S. I would like to know more about the 1886 decision (Santa Clara County vs. Southern Pacific Railroad) that apparently gave corporations the standing of persons, and about how they operated differently beforehand.

Comments

[eub.livejournal.com]

I actually read it at Megan and Josh's, so I can't answer that.

Re:

[seanmcguire.livejournal.com]

Ah. No problem, then. Thanks.