In the excerpt from Rushkoff's "They Say," he
talks about how others, whether it be in the media, via internet, in your local
shopping mall, or in any plain text can completely possess your mind, and cause
you to succumb to whatever it is that they want you to. Everything has a reason
behind it. He has the reader think of how shopping malls are set up. I envisioned
Abercrombie & Fitch, when you walk in, the newest (and most expensive)
items are displayed at the front of the store. The clearance items take their
place at the back. After putting two and two together, the reason is really
quite simple. If the clearance racks were at the front, people would find many
items they wanted to purchase, and might not continue through the rest of the
store where the more pricey items are. Wal-Mart even puts the small knick
knacks, gum, various candies, and other things that no one necessarily needs
right at the checkout counter. This is because these items cannot be overlooked
while waiting in a checkout line, while your three year old screams over the
"Big Pak" of Juicy Fruit gum or a "King Sized" Hershey’s
bar.
These people (as Rushkoff refers to them as) seem devious in
their plots against humanity. Simple people being hoodwinked into spending
money that they do not have in today's declining economy. That is when Rushkoff
mentions the internet, as a wonderful thing where we can share our ideas, where
those who never had a voice in the public, could express their feelings towards
certain issues, and receive feedback from others across the globe. Seems like a
wonderful revolution, where the younger generation was more up to speed on the
newest technology. The older crowd could no longer trick them into doing
something, since they were less familiar with the internet.
However, whether it be in a clothing store, or on the web,
Rushkoff knew there were many other ways people could be influenced. See,
"these people," Rushkoff says are like hunters. They know how to
disguise themselves to catch their prey, and will go to any limits to do so.
Rushkoff wrote about "Mutant Media" and hackers simply to inform,
however, his book was not used the way he intended it to be.
These people thought that just as those who hacked into the
internet, and spread viruses, they could use the same tactics and decieve others
effectively. That's when the reader is fully engaged in Rushkoff's writing
thinking that those who advertise, or sell us anything are "the devil in
disguise." He says because of this, we are afraid to answer our phones at
night because it could be a telemarketer, or even accept gifts from our
neighbors since many who claim to be giving something away, usually have
strings attached.
That's when the story changes. Rushkoff has actually been
the one drawing the reader in, to believing what he has to say and seeing
things from his point of view. We have just become victims to his persuasion,
and I believe he did this very effectively. It's amazing the influence one
individual can have over another just by their tone of voice, even if we are
simply reading it and not hearing it directly. This is exactly what Rushkoff
was trying to inform us- and warn us- about. Overall, I do believe he
succeeded.
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