- Sep 22, 2013
- 4,956
- 250
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Does capitalism-consciousness inspire sufficient 'dogma-challenging folklore' or are we too complacent/apathetic about commercial standards?
This pro-capitalism parable was inspired by Les Visiteurs, and I posted it in the Lounge instead of in the Writing section of USMB, since it's obviously a politics-oriented story, but what do you think?
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"The world is ending, so who cares about Apple and Microsoft being rivals in modern American capitalism (in the computer/software industry)? Well, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates might care, since they captained their two respective giant companies into glory and helped American consumers equate commerce with real imagination. After all, if the Apocalypse is at hand, how will humanity weigh its achievements in intellectual labor? Wouldn't the Apple/Microsoft axis be considered a 'paragon' of civilization aesthetics?"
"Two time-traveling knights landed in 21st Century America ('TrumpUSA') and discovered that the nuclear-missile test crisis during Labor Day weekend in 2017 involving incendiary nation North Korea was a precursor to World War III and the Apocalypse. These two Medieval knights and rivals in the time of Arthur's fabled kingdom of Camelot, Lancelot (silver-knight) and Mordred (gold-knight), were almost mirror-images of each other and were transported to TrumpUSA by the powerful wizard Merlin who wanted to see what opposing potent knights would do for Camelot/England during the Christian Apocalypse. Lancelot and Mordred landed in TrumpUSA and realized they disagreed about everything, even Apple/Microsoft."
LANCELOT: America in the 21st Century is like a video-game.
MORDRED: Yes, consumerism creates toy-like imagination!
LANCELOT: I think Apple/Microsoft decided to become 'trophies.'
MORDRED: Yes, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are 'diplomats' of the American Dream.
LANCELOT: Computers have revolutionized communication/networking.
MORDRED: It's much easier to shop, study, and network because of the Internet!
LANCELOT: People carry smartphones which offer Internet-browsing.
MORDRED: Everyone is connected in this global 'grid' of traffic and IQ.
LANCELOT: What will the Apocalypse reveal about intellectual vanities?
MORDRED: Maybe Jobs/Gates decided to become 'artistic.'
LANCELOT: There's always value in art in times of calamity/concern.
MORDRED: You can download WWII movies on YouTube!
LANCELOT: You can download paintings of fairies/knights on Google.
MORDRED: Scarlet Witch (Marvel Comics) stories are accessible on the Internet.
LANCELOT: Yes, Scarlet Witch is a 'fiction-priestess' of TrumpUSA imagination.
MORDRED: That's because she represents the 'aesthetics' of pedestrian desires.
LANCELOT: TrumpUSA is not just a gratification-system; it's also a factory.
MORDRED: Well, Scarlet Witch is a 'factory-girl' for Apple/Microsoft widgets.
LANCELOT: I doubt intellectual-property paranoia will harm comics-art because of Internet.
"Lancelot and Mordred agreed that Apple/Microsoft aesthetics and pride during the time of the Apocalypse would protect intellectual-property considerations, since the Internet, like consumerism in the 21st Century under 'TrumpUSA,' was imagination-based. However, Lancelot insisted that the Internet was a paragon for commercial intelligence, while Mordred seemed to think that the Internet was a basic 'grid' for consumer frivolities. There was no way to resolve this disagreement, but since the Apocalypse was approaching, all Americans worried about what rival nations in Asia (Japan, China, North Korea) would think about capitalism trophies such as Apple/Microsoft."
"Lancelot noted that various comic book characters such as Richie Rich (Harvey Comics), Iron Man (Marvel Comics), Spider-Man (Marvel Comics), and Brainiac (DC Comics) symbolized TrumpUSA commercial vanities and intellect, since these 'fantasy-avatars' represented general social perspectives on mobility and fortune. TrumpUSA was largely about mobility and fortune. Lancelot wondered if feminism-rich comic book heroines and villainesses such as Scarlet Witch (Marvel Comics) and Poison Ivy (DC Comics) would create a moral compass for vanity-meditation. After all, what did women under TrumpUSA think about capitalism excesses as the Apocalypse approached?"
"Mordred investigated the popularity of supermarket food brands including Sara Lee, Aunt Jemima, and Marie Callender's. Mordred noted that these feminine food-brands found in most supermarkets under TrumpUSA represented American consumers' appreciation of general availability of aesthetically-pleasing goods/foods and why capitalism was very much convenience-based. Mordred considered Lancelot's challenging comment that TrumpUSA was not merely a 'gratification-grid' but also an 'innocence-factory'."
"If we look at an iconic painting of two 20th Century American boxers (e.g., James Braddock and Jack Dempsey), we might note that the representation of fury and self-control (required for serious/professional American boxing) reflects a general social fascination with the 'aesthetics/ergonomics' of competitive instincts. Lancelot and Mordred took notes on the kinds and brands of boxing video-games sold in America including Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, which was very popular among kids. Lancelot insisted that such 'consumerism trophies' represented imagination-indulgence and not gluttony-traps. Lancelot and Mordred decided to have a little jousting and sword and boxing match between themselves to see who was more 'persuasive' about consumerism aesthetics in TrumpUSA. They had to declare a stalemate. Meanwhile, the wizard Merlin began to anticipate their return to Camelot."
"After Lancelot and Mordred returned to Medieval England by going through the same time-portal the wizard Merlin opened for them to transport them to TrumpUSA, Merlin asked them about 21st Century America and the Apocalypse and what they made of TrumpUSA. Lancelot explained that TrumpUSA was a lot like Camelot in its celebration of social aesthetics and commercial traffic, but Mordred insisted that TrumpUSA was much more apathetic about commerce-values and indulged in forms of everyday convenience. The two rival knights also reported to Merlin that they engaged in a little joust/sword/boxing match to see which knight was more 'perceptive/sensitive' about American capitalism 'fineries' (e.g., Playboy, GQ, Playstation, etc.). Merlin told the two knights he was pleased with their report and urged them to come to a compromise/agreement regarding the ultimately irreconcilable differences between capitalism (a profit-system) and democracy (an election-system). Lancelot/Mordred agreed and remembered fondly their tour of TrumpUSA pornography/fashion."
"It is my assertion that these two iconic knights of England, Lancelot (silver-knight) and Mordred (gold-knight) were perceptive about the flaws and intricacies of TrumpUSA and have rightly-concluded that capitalism and democracy yield incompatibilities that create intriguing Apocalypse-relevant considerations such as the threat and allure of piracy. I have wondered if America would survive the Apocalypse or would collapse under the weight of a North Korea initiated 'global thermonuclear war.' Perhaps Lancelot/Mordred learned of the delicate 'nature' of time-travel, fashion, and of course...the Rapture(!)." -Merlin
====
This pro-capitalism parable was inspired by Les Visiteurs, and I posted it in the Lounge instead of in the Writing section of USMB, since it's obviously a politics-oriented story, but what do you think?
====
"The world is ending, so who cares about Apple and Microsoft being rivals in modern American capitalism (in the computer/software industry)? Well, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates might care, since they captained their two respective giant companies into glory and helped American consumers equate commerce with real imagination. After all, if the Apocalypse is at hand, how will humanity weigh its achievements in intellectual labor? Wouldn't the Apple/Microsoft axis be considered a 'paragon' of civilization aesthetics?"
"Two time-traveling knights landed in 21st Century America ('TrumpUSA') and discovered that the nuclear-missile test crisis during Labor Day weekend in 2017 involving incendiary nation North Korea was a precursor to World War III and the Apocalypse. These two Medieval knights and rivals in the time of Arthur's fabled kingdom of Camelot, Lancelot (silver-knight) and Mordred (gold-knight), were almost mirror-images of each other and were transported to TrumpUSA by the powerful wizard Merlin who wanted to see what opposing potent knights would do for Camelot/England during the Christian Apocalypse. Lancelot and Mordred landed in TrumpUSA and realized they disagreed about everything, even Apple/Microsoft."
LANCELOT: America in the 21st Century is like a video-game.
MORDRED: Yes, consumerism creates toy-like imagination!
LANCELOT: I think Apple/Microsoft decided to become 'trophies.'
MORDRED: Yes, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are 'diplomats' of the American Dream.
LANCELOT: Computers have revolutionized communication/networking.
MORDRED: It's much easier to shop, study, and network because of the Internet!
LANCELOT: People carry smartphones which offer Internet-browsing.
MORDRED: Everyone is connected in this global 'grid' of traffic and IQ.
LANCELOT: What will the Apocalypse reveal about intellectual vanities?
MORDRED: Maybe Jobs/Gates decided to become 'artistic.'
LANCELOT: There's always value in art in times of calamity/concern.
MORDRED: You can download WWII movies on YouTube!
LANCELOT: You can download paintings of fairies/knights on Google.
MORDRED: Scarlet Witch (Marvel Comics) stories are accessible on the Internet.
LANCELOT: Yes, Scarlet Witch is a 'fiction-priestess' of TrumpUSA imagination.
MORDRED: That's because she represents the 'aesthetics' of pedestrian desires.
LANCELOT: TrumpUSA is not just a gratification-system; it's also a factory.
MORDRED: Well, Scarlet Witch is a 'factory-girl' for Apple/Microsoft widgets.
LANCELOT: I doubt intellectual-property paranoia will harm comics-art because of Internet.
"Lancelot and Mordred agreed that Apple/Microsoft aesthetics and pride during the time of the Apocalypse would protect intellectual-property considerations, since the Internet, like consumerism in the 21st Century under 'TrumpUSA,' was imagination-based. However, Lancelot insisted that the Internet was a paragon for commercial intelligence, while Mordred seemed to think that the Internet was a basic 'grid' for consumer frivolities. There was no way to resolve this disagreement, but since the Apocalypse was approaching, all Americans worried about what rival nations in Asia (Japan, China, North Korea) would think about capitalism trophies such as Apple/Microsoft."
"Lancelot noted that various comic book characters such as Richie Rich (Harvey Comics), Iron Man (Marvel Comics), Spider-Man (Marvel Comics), and Brainiac (DC Comics) symbolized TrumpUSA commercial vanities and intellect, since these 'fantasy-avatars' represented general social perspectives on mobility and fortune. TrumpUSA was largely about mobility and fortune. Lancelot wondered if feminism-rich comic book heroines and villainesses such as Scarlet Witch (Marvel Comics) and Poison Ivy (DC Comics) would create a moral compass for vanity-meditation. After all, what did women under TrumpUSA think about capitalism excesses as the Apocalypse approached?"
"Mordred investigated the popularity of supermarket food brands including Sara Lee, Aunt Jemima, and Marie Callender's. Mordred noted that these feminine food-brands found in most supermarkets under TrumpUSA represented American consumers' appreciation of general availability of aesthetically-pleasing goods/foods and why capitalism was very much convenience-based. Mordred considered Lancelot's challenging comment that TrumpUSA was not merely a 'gratification-grid' but also an 'innocence-factory'."
"If we look at an iconic painting of two 20th Century American boxers (e.g., James Braddock and Jack Dempsey), we might note that the representation of fury and self-control (required for serious/professional American boxing) reflects a general social fascination with the 'aesthetics/ergonomics' of competitive instincts. Lancelot and Mordred took notes on the kinds and brands of boxing video-games sold in America including Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, which was very popular among kids. Lancelot insisted that such 'consumerism trophies' represented imagination-indulgence and not gluttony-traps. Lancelot and Mordred decided to have a little jousting and sword and boxing match between themselves to see who was more 'persuasive' about consumerism aesthetics in TrumpUSA. They had to declare a stalemate. Meanwhile, the wizard Merlin began to anticipate their return to Camelot."
"After Lancelot and Mordred returned to Medieval England by going through the same time-portal the wizard Merlin opened for them to transport them to TrumpUSA, Merlin asked them about 21st Century America and the Apocalypse and what they made of TrumpUSA. Lancelot explained that TrumpUSA was a lot like Camelot in its celebration of social aesthetics and commercial traffic, but Mordred insisted that TrumpUSA was much more apathetic about commerce-values and indulged in forms of everyday convenience. The two rival knights also reported to Merlin that they engaged in a little joust/sword/boxing match to see which knight was more 'perceptive/sensitive' about American capitalism 'fineries' (e.g., Playboy, GQ, Playstation, etc.). Merlin told the two knights he was pleased with their report and urged them to come to a compromise/agreement regarding the ultimately irreconcilable differences between capitalism (a profit-system) and democracy (an election-system). Lancelot/Mordred agreed and remembered fondly their tour of TrumpUSA pornography/fashion."
"It is my assertion that these two iconic knights of England, Lancelot (silver-knight) and Mordred (gold-knight) were perceptive about the flaws and intricacies of TrumpUSA and have rightly-concluded that capitalism and democracy yield incompatibilities that create intriguing Apocalypse-relevant considerations such as the threat and allure of piracy. I have wondered if America would survive the Apocalypse or would collapse under the weight of a North Korea initiated 'global thermonuclear war.' Perhaps Lancelot/Mordred learned of the delicate 'nature' of time-travel, fashion, and of course...the Rapture(!)." -Merlin
====
