Hegemony and a Side of Clam

I have often wondered why I am inexplicably drawn to expensive, beautiful pieces of useless furniture or fancy merchandise when I have been brought up to value hard work and minimalism. I have shopped second hand most of my life and I am drawn to independent, rather than commercial forms and genres of arts and entertainment. I have mindfully tried to avert myself from 'buying into' popular culture and mass media influence, but perhaps I am constantly struggling against a type of hegemony that no amount of awareness can fight. I recently became aquainted with the term hegemony, which if you don't know, means big jerks (politicians/corporate media, etc.) bossing around the 'public' and forcing us to think we need things that we don't. The attempt on 'their' part to achieve world domination by these means is also part of the definition). After learning this word, I have begun to truly understand what people mean when they talk about 'sedation of the masses'. I used to enjoy sitting at Big Bad John's (back in beautiful Victoria) tossing around this phrase with my friends as we imbibed pints of draft and avoided active involvement in community or larger issues. 'Ignorance is bliss', I would say as I sedated my mass.

Here Up Island, back in academia, working for a non-profit agency and writing for New Town, I have no time for sedation or the luxury of ignorance. I see the effects of hegemony on myself and the people I am in contact with or have the opportunity to observe. We covet other people's stuff, go into debt and treat out bodies as commodities and buy bottled water. I read a piece in the book 'Popular Culture' about (where I found 'hegemony') that spoke to this kind of 'brainwashing'. The authors, O'Brien and Szeman suggest that it is possible to replace a group's inherent values without their knowledge or mindful agreement. They say that hegemony is a constant struggle, which is maintained and continuously won by the promise, but never quite the reality, of pleasure (2004). It freaks me out to realize that even though I have been television-less and avoidant of shopping malls for years now, this stuff is still getting in me. Badly. Last month I wrote about how much I wanted to (felt I needed) a $1000 couch for my basement suite, but after two weeks of careful thought and reading intelligent literature, I discovered that I didn't need it at all. I began to come back to considering the difference between what I need and what I want.

Life Up Island has been a curious mixture of community involvement, advocating for marginalized groups and fighting to stay out of the mall (gasp) and away from Starbucks. I use this struggle as a foundation for awareness, growth and change. I am excited by the uprising of individual and low-brow cultural/underground media forms like zines, comics, music and other art forms that question capitalistic ideology, promote systemic change, provide a voice to the otherwise voiceless or are made for the pure enjoyment of creative expression. The more involved I stay in my community and these independent, expressive outlets, the less I will take in the brainwashy 'I-need-that-fancy-chemically-couch-and-that- overpriced-dress-that-was-made-in-Thailand-sweatshops' type mentality.

The moral of today's story is: get involved in your community, support independent media and drink one less pint (or order a side of clam).

And now for our first installment of the adventures of Leela and Hezron.
Click on the image to launch the comic in a new window.

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