Throughout history, many governmental policies have
been designed to oppress and control the general population. However, there has
been a tendency for some form of discontent to be displayed by the public. Fight the system!
 |
| Piracy. (2016). |
One of this week’s concepts, the flaneur, left me with
the impression of a rebellious bystander. This alternative to a simple
definition is a concept discussed by Benjamin, (as cited in Lauster, 2007, pp.
1-2) where a flaneur is depicted as an entity surpassing its boundaries, as
defined in previous eras. Benjamin’s flaneur is different, in that they “want
to see, as much as to be seen”, a notion discussed by Kuttainen (2017) during
our lecture this week. Apart from moving to observe, this new flaneur seeks out
commotion within their community to cause chaos. However, what is their key purpose?
In a capitalistic society, the traffic of consumers was
revolutionised by the introduction of arcades. By guiding the crowd, the
businesses and entrepreneurs gained the ability to enhance traffic flow and
benefit local consumerism. These flaneurs were seeking to break the
conformation and direction within these capitalistically-controlled
environments.
The internet today is veering towards becoming a
platform with heavy capitalistic traits. Except a small independent portion,
many websites are requiring some form of sponsorship or market advertising to
survive. By using cookies, our every move on the internet is tracked, providing
insight into our interests and viewing patterns for the sake of “Remarketing”.
My social network, Steam, follows the etiquette and layout of a capitalistic
business. It employs the use of marketing strategies such as remarketing and
sales to coerce consumers. Through this week’s observations, I’ve begun to
understand and relate this week’s readings and lecture to parts of Steam.
Steam acts as a host for virtual interaction, but also
works as a marketplace for various online games. Owned by Valve™ Corporation,
this company has worked as both the marketer and the creator of various online
games. The varying experiences this company has accumulated has enabled it to
create a convincing layout for controlling the consumers. Though, technology
has created a virtual cyber-flaneur, an antagonist to the virtual, capitalistic
world: Piracy.
Piracy is a ceaseless issue within technology. As
discussed by Liao, Lin, and Liu (2009, pp. 1-3) problems existent from technology’s
origins, such as the ability to forge, imitate and disperse ingenuine software
have been possible, and its risks on virtual capitalism have been recognized. As
with Benjamin’s flaneur, the defiant figure, piracy, obstructs the control of
the overarching puppeteer. Regardless of any attempts to control the rebellion,
new methods of evasion are constructed.
Like rats in a sewer, there is only so far you can
physically control those who subsede you. Without the foundation of the ‘lowly’
puppets, the structure of capitalism may collapse. This leaves me wondering if
the overarching controller will ever be able to suppress the internal
rebellions, and to what end will it do it any good?
Until next week,
Until next week,
~R. Laverty
References:
Cliktree. (2013, April 12). What is google remarketing? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45uymOc2fTA
Kuttainen, V. (2017). BA1002: Networks, narratives and the making of place, week 4
notes [PowerPoint
slides]. College of Arts, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.
Lauster, M. (2007). Walter Benjamin’s myth of the “flaneur”. The Modern Language 102(1), 139-156. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/stable/pdf/20467157.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A781e6c1b56a05a77671c2a087198efef
Liao, C., Lin, H., & Liu, Y. (2010). Predicting
the use of pirated software: A contingency model integrating perceived risk
with the theory of planned behaviour. Journal
of Business Ethics, 91(2), pp. 237-252. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/stable/27749793
Piracy
[image].
(2016). Retrieved from https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/piracy.jpg?w=670&h=377&crop=1
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