Who's Driving?

I chose this quote to write about for one main reason, and that is its insight into the damaging control that media and consumerism have on the human mind. “The withering of imagination and spontaneity in the consumer of culture today need not be traced back to psychological mechanisms. The products themselves, especially the most characteristic…cripple those faculties through their objective makeup. They are so constructed that their adequate comprehension requires a quick, observant, knowledgeable cast of mind but positively debars the spectator from thinking…” (Horkheimer & Adorno, 44)

It resembles a car in my mind, however the owner’s always sitting in the drivers seat. Where is our direction? How can we be so overcome by something exterior to us, that we loose control of ourselves. And the worst part is that the situation becomes exponentially worse as it progresses. There’s this much more drama, and that much more excitement, but before we know it there will be nothing left to entertain us. I mean look at the news today, as cliché of an example as that is, it’s true. Death and destruction; simple. The brain is a muscle, and the only way muscles grow and become stronger is by pushing the limits. However, when there are no more limits to push, what are we left with? Maybe I’m being super cynical and ridiculous here with this post, but it honestly is ridiculous how submissive we are to culture. The margins of interest are much greater in the corporations that run mainstream culture than in the personal well being of individual people when it comes to consumption. I’m not saying capitalism or consumerism are evil plots by a select few people in this world to take over the minds of all humans, trust me this is no conspiracy theory. I’m just saying that it seems as if we have lost sight of the steering wheel.