(no subject)
I never update my livejournal,i understand the concept of livejournal, i understand the concept of a journal but i never update because i never have anything worth saying. Recently (being an hour ago) i began reading Henry David Thoreau's "Walden". This is a book that is an early transcendentalist criticism of his era and the people in it. He was talking about the economy which got me thinking.
Thoreau says that the only thing the human needs is food and shelter. The only reason we eat food is to acquire more "fuel" to prepare more food. He says the only reason we wear clothing (besides covering our fat american bodies) is to keep us warm and reattain heat, thus making us less hungry. This is incredibly true. I was thinking this recently while i was watching the reality TV show "survivor". Yes, this show is based around a million dollars, but i think that "survivor" (and "survivorman" which is not the same) teach us a very valuable philosophical lesson, if i can call it that.
In "survivor" the players of opposing tribes participate in something called a "reward challenge", the reward is always something with food. Which is great, i will explain -- The greatest thing about "survivor" is it takes spoiled ass lawyers and takes their suits, cell phones, and back massages away for a month. After the initial period of "survivor" (being the first 3 days) the contestants begin to lose interest in these luxury items and begin to understand the importance of living life away from the booming metropolis/bullshit of America. These upper class assholes finally get a glimpse of what it is like to live without anything but the main materials that all human life is based around - warmth and food.
"Survivor" is a damn good show, and watching it is damn entertaining, but the absolute worst part about it is at the end. The reunion show. This is a terrible show for me because the reward show only illustrates the fact that the only reason these people participate is for the money, not the psychological experiment. I then realize that they are nothing more that completely silly. They completely miss the fact that somewhere in the world, before wendy's and before the capitalism, people actually lived to be alive. Life wasn't about who wears better shoes because shoes were not important to social stature. "Survivor" is brilliant, the reward of money is wrong but necessary.
People take EVERYTHING for granted.
Thoreau says that the only thing the human needs is food and shelter. The only reason we eat food is to acquire more "fuel" to prepare more food. He says the only reason we wear clothing (besides covering our fat american bodies) is to keep us warm and reattain heat, thus making us less hungry. This is incredibly true. I was thinking this recently while i was watching the reality TV show "survivor". Yes, this show is based around a million dollars, but i think that "survivor" (and "survivorman" which is not the same) teach us a very valuable philosophical lesson, if i can call it that.
In "survivor" the players of opposing tribes participate in something called a "reward challenge", the reward is always something with food. Which is great, i will explain -- The greatest thing about "survivor" is it takes spoiled ass lawyers and takes their suits, cell phones, and back massages away for a month. After the initial period of "survivor" (being the first 3 days) the contestants begin to lose interest in these luxury items and begin to understand the importance of living life away from the booming metropolis/bullshit of America. These upper class assholes finally get a glimpse of what it is like to live without anything but the main materials that all human life is based around - warmth and food.
"Survivor" is a damn good show, and watching it is damn entertaining, but the absolute worst part about it is at the end. The reunion show. This is a terrible show for me because the reward show only illustrates the fact that the only reason these people participate is for the money, not the psychological experiment. I then realize that they are nothing more that completely silly. They completely miss the fact that somewhere in the world, before wendy's and before the capitalism, people actually lived to be alive. Life wasn't about who wears better shoes because shoes were not important to social stature. "Survivor" is brilliant, the reward of money is wrong but necessary.
People take EVERYTHING for granted.