In class, we discussed the fact that we can change. This lesson was based on Jean-Paul Sarte. We discussed a being-in-itself, which is a kind of being such as an object. This object cannot help itself change and it stays the same. The example we used was a table. A table can't change itself into a chair even if it truly wanted to. It can only be a table. We also discussed being-for-itself. This being can change and there is flexibility to set different projects for the self. In our symposium, we made it so clear how obvious it can be for someone to be able to change. We also took it further by pointing out the fact that it's all in the mind. For instance, the slaves weren't free physically, but they were free mentally. They were free to think for themselves. My question is, are we really mentally free?
Sure we are free to think for ourselves, but are we mentally enslaved? Society has become a huge impact on the minds of people. Everywhere we turn, there are advertisements telling us what to wear, eat, where to live, how to look, and what to watch on television. It is almost as if they don't even give us time to think for ourselves. Everything we do, there is at least a poster board 10 feet away trying to tell us what to do. Society has in fact played a huge role in controlling especially the minds of adolescents. We barely have time to set projects for ourselves without seeing a project that society is setting up for us first. It takes a strong individual to stand on their own in a society that is constantly trying to control people. Of course people can think for themselves, but the influences that surround people are strong enough to impact the mind.
The truth is that you are absolutely correct. Whether its through music, magazines, television, or advertisements, we are constantly being probed to change the project we want to set for ourselves to the project the "world" deems more acceptable or more profitable for big business. This constant media interruption is so common in our lives, we have almost submitted and allowed ourselves to be controlled. It can at times even seemed like we are trapped in the media model of what we are supposed to be. The fact that Sarte is trying to get across to us is that we are always mentally free, the problem with us is that we choose not to be.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. Everywhere you turn, you're being told what to do. In watching a music video about your favorite song, you probably would have no idea that they were advertising throughout the whole thing with showing a glimpse of a HP laptop, Beats by Dre headphones, a bottle of Coke, or a countless number of other things. People tend to not even notice it, or choose not to, but in the end every action we commit has some essence of a marketer's influence.
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