For this assignment, I have gathered magazine articles, advertisments, as well as a comic strip and a poem from my graduation memory book. When brought together, these finds make arguments about the double edged sword of western society and technological advancements. That is, these finds put pressure on the promise of technology and western beliefs by sheding light on what is often lost when such "advancements" are made.
"mechanism did great damage to our souls"
This psudo-advertisment that ran in the November/December 2004 issue of "Adbusters" shows workers piled into the pool of a machine. These waves of people appear to be at least 20 rows deep. A few of the workers are climbing the stairs of the giant machine, and workers also man every one of the twelve machine stations, seemingly coaxing steam and byproduct from the machine as they work. It is as if they are playing an organ, and the workers below are held in a trance by their symphony. When read with the caption "mechanization did great damage to our souls" encourages me to see this mechanical symphony in contrast with those written for concert halls. Whereas the latter enrich the soul and feel the imagination, the symphony of technology, machine, and worker create mindless drones. Lemmings, that follow eachother and their time cards, mindlessly caught in a systematic machine.