I'm Going To FEED You With This Blog!

"Because of the Feed, we're raising a nation of idiots. Ignorant, self-centered idiots (Anderson 113). Everyone with the feed is blind to the reality of society. The Feed keeps everyone's materialistic desires in reach, so that the Corporations can portray as society heroes. But in reality they are conforming and manipulating these peoples' lives to benefit the Corporations. There is also the question, how are you manipulating and conforming these peoples' lives, if that's what they want to spend their time and money on? The answer is, the corporations are constantly promoting and advertising items through the feed, which can make someone think that's what they want, but deep down that's what the Corporations want them to want. Why, you may ask? Money! For example, when Titus and his friends went to the mall on the moon, they tried to find things to buy, but did not know what to purchase. So the Feed gave them varieties of things to buy. These kids were buying items they didn't even want. Like when, "Quendy bought some shoes, but the minute she walked out of the store she didn't like them anymore. Marty couldn't think of anything he wanted, so he ordered this really null shirt" (Anderson 31). Quendy and Marty bought those items because the Feed advertised it to them, the Feed succeeded in making them spend their money. 

In this book, no one makes a move without the approval of their feed. The Feed tells people where and what to eat, what shows to watch, where to shop, even music to listen to. Little do these people know that they are being controlled by these Corporations. The Feed's main purpose is to mold people's personality to the liking of the Corporations. This makes people an easier target to sell to, but don't take my word for it. In the book it says, "they do these demographic studies that divide everyone up into a few personality types, and then you get ads based on what you're supposedly like. They try to figure out who you are, and to make you conform to one of their types for easy marketing" (Anderson 97). I just have to say I'm glad this is fiction because this futuristic world is ridiculous, even though our use of technology is scaringly similar. When you have something like the Feed controlling your everyday life, your life becomes the Feed. The problem with that is people cannot see or don't know life without the Feed. They become dependent and handicapped and that's when they open themselves up to being taken advantage of. When your life is significantly anchored on something, you're going to believe in everything they and/or it does or say.

So, I came upon something in the book that was both bizarre and funny. The Feed was trying to cover up an insult the President gave to the Prime Minister of Global Alliance. The thought of people even believing the Feed in this matter is crazy. The fact that the Feed has the audacity and the boldness to even cover up such an obvious insult, shows how much influence and power the feed has. Let's take a look at this stupidity, "It has to be understood that when the President referred to the Prime Minister of the Global Alliance as a 'big shithead,' what he was trying to convey was, uh...this is an American idiom used to praise people, by referring to the sheer fertilizing power of their thoughts. The President meant to say that the Prime Minister's head was fertile, just full of these nutrients where ideas can grow. It really was a compliment" (Anderson 119). I don't even know what to say to that to be honest. When you read a hell of a comeback like that, you just gotta let it be. Anyways, I found myself asking this question, what's the point of trying to cover up an insult?? The only thing that came to mind was the fear of rebellion. 

Now I may be wrong, but it's worth talking about. Corporations have to be afraid of rebellion, because once people start to rebel against them. The Corporations lose their money, power, and control, and without those things they are no longer significant to human life. This is what the Corporations try to protect by blinding the people from the real world with their desires. They want to keep people from negatively thinking about the Feed. They don't even want the news outlets to be overly negative. They would rather force the news to have a positive outlook and image than broadcast what is actually going on in the world. In the book it says, "she told me about how things were getting really bad with some things in South America, but she couldn't really tell exactly how bad, because the news had been asked to be a little more positive" (Anderson 111). Of course, the Corporations are going to dictate how the news is being broadcasted. They don't want people getting any ideas that could harm them. The Corporations best interests are not with the people, the Corporations best interests is their pockets, but everyone with the Feed is blind to the reality of society to realize.

-Riley S.E