American Dystopia
Enclosed. Encyclopedia. Endured:
The Mall of America is about a huge mall that is built near Minneapolis
that draws its customers in with supposedly fun felt family entertainment. But
in the eyes of David Guterson, the mall is actually the opposite, to him the
mall, “exploits our acquisitive instincts without honoring our communal
requirements, our eternal desire for discourse and intimacy, needs that until
the twentieth century were traditionally met in our marketplaces but that are
not met at all in giant shopping malls.” (162) The malls are selfish industries
that take no consideration into the customer’s communal duties and take
advantage of the customer’s willingness to spend money. The megamall has
evolved from traditional market places to where satisfaction was completed, to
a marketplace where customer’s are drawn in like a trap and feel the need to
continue to spend money. It is a nihilist article because it talks about how
the malls corrupt consumer consumption.
The man Anthony Burgess returns to
Bracciano after spending a year in New Jersey.
What he comes to find out from living in America is that he truly despises
the United States. Burgess feels that
the future of mankind is being worked out on, “a scale typically American-
vast, dramatic, almost apocalyptical.”(240) I feels he views, American people
are evolving for the worse, which could have apocalyptic effects.
I completely agree with that people are evolving for the worse, to prepare for that apocalyptic time. Anthony burgess’s point in “Is America Falling Apart” is that the people are focused on how personal needs and take pride in positions and money and individualism in America. Burgess compares America to Europe. Such as Europe has been in wars, famine, death, and corruption during the same time America’s land was with no wars and gives the opportunity to better anyone’s life. But now he claims that about there is a 50% divide on what Americans think that the American Dream is coming to an end. And America doesn’t know what to do when it’s not the super power any more, but to prepare for the worse. Burgess example of this is how Americans buy more than enough that’s just need. And how politics and rules make it easy to protect larges fortunes. So Anthony Burgess believes that America is fueled by an apocalyptical fear.
ReplyDeleteIn Guterson's article the ideas of the mega-malls purpose include fun, entertainment, and a sense of community throughout the mall. But reading further in I agree with your stance on this article being nihilistic because of a few of Gutersons examples. Marketplaces before the twenty-first century ad a sense of community about them and in Guterson's opinion the Mall of America, "is not a marketplace at all-but rather a tourist attraction." (164) It seems the purpose for this mall is to collect money, not be a place of fun, entertainment or community for the people. In this sense the Mall of America is nihilistic because of the corruption deeply rooted in the purpose of the mall.
ReplyDeleteWith Anthony Burgess', Is America Falling Apart?, I have to disagree with your statement that Anthony despises America. He said nothing that hinted to hating America, but he did have some strong opinions about America possibly becoming a more dystopian country. Burgess decided that America, "is a prewar country, psychologically unprepared for one thing to go wrong." (235) If what he is saying is true then America is practically doomed to staying in this 'prewar' rut because Americans have not yet learned that if one thing goes wrong, it does not ruin your whole day. Things go wrong all the time and if we as a population can't look past the darker moments and long for better days then we are sinking into a dystopian sinkhole. Burgess also comments on teachers and educators in America, saying, "The fear of being unorthodox is rooted in the American teacher's soul..."(237) Teachers here in the U.S. don't illustrate any of their eccentric genius to their students in fear of being fired. The government has more control of things than I thought before reading this article and since that is so it seems like America is heading for a doomed future, unless things like police brutality, pollution, and the education system change for the better.
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ReplyDeletei agree that both of these essays say that america is becoming more and more dystopian in nature. David Guterson, the author of the essay Enclosed. Encyclopedia. Endured: The Mall of America he states that the mall,“exploits our acquisitive instincts without honoring our communal requirements, our eternal desire for discourse and intimacy, needs that until the twentieth century were traditionally met in our marketplaces but that are not met at all in giant shopping malls.” (162) He's talking about how tha mall is an evil corporation. how the megamall has evolved from a pleasant buying experience and now it this venus fly trap which draws you in with sweet nectar only to slowing kill you. It really show how messed up as a society we are were so consumed with consuming that we dont know what else to do.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that America is falling apart. As David Guterson states in his work Enclosed, Encyclopedia, Endure: The Mall Of America, "All of us want to be in the conversation and, despite ourselves, we will go."(169) This is a perfect example of American falling apart because it is almost as if we are being described as puppets. We automatically do what everyone else is doing or what we are told is "cool". We don't have a mind of our own and this can be seen as nihilism because we are all corrupted by the thought of trying to fit in. As for the article Is America Falling Apart? Anthony Burgess describes America as "a prewar country. psychologically unprepared for one thing to go wrong." (235) and this is a reason why America is falling apart because we are terribly unprepared for anything tragic to happen and all we truly care about is the needs of our own and not our country as though the world does not matter, demonstrating destruction and nihilism.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Mr. Trevino says about both essays especially when commenting on the selfishness of the industries. In the essay, "Enclosed. Encyclopedia. Endured: The Mall of America" by David Guterson, Mr. Guterson simply explains the sumptuousness of The Mall of America and how hundreds of thousands of tourist or pilgrims visit, spending millions of dollars on the vast amount of food, stores, and entertainment that dwell within it.Families, friends, and individuals visit this place never wanting to leave because it fulfills their urge to spend, sell, and even trade. The mall excites them and gives them the feeling of wonder and individuals have even gone far enough to call it "heaven" or "mecca." David Guterson states that this is due because of the fact that " [t]here are, one notices, no clocks or windows, nothing to distract the shopper's psyche from the alternate reality the mall conjures."(162) The industries trap these poor people in this megamall by giving an illusion or fantasy of fun, entertainment, and community that no one wants to leave, and taking advantage of the individuals impulse to spend. David Guterson even goes on to say that " [i]n the strict sense the Mall of America is not a marketplace at all...but rather a tourist attraction." (164) The industry has made a marketplace, a place of community and temperary ascendance, to a corrupt attraction for industries to make more money and gain more power. I agree, this article is nihilistic due to the revelation of corrupt consumer consumption.
ReplyDeleteBibliography:
Guterson, David. “Enclosed Encyclopedia Endured
Mall of America “The Norton Reader” Ed. Linda
Peterson, ETK. 13th ed. New York: Norton,
2012. 161-172. Print
I do not agree with you, if anything America isn't falling apart, we are evolving for the better. While Anthony Burgess suggests that America is changing and is not prepared for what could happen socially there is no real reason to be alarmed. We are changing to have better and different morals for our current generation; we are different from our ancestors. But, I do agree that David Guterson's view is entirely nihilistic. Especially when he talks about the mall and how it it is a symbol of materialism. Materialism may, at it's core, seem bad but, it keeps us competitive and helps to set healthy goals for our future.
ReplyDeleteBibliography
Guterson, David “Enclosed Encyclopedia Endured
Mall of America “The Norton Reader” ED. Linda
Peterson, ETK. 13th ed. New York Norton,
2012. 161- 172. Print
Burgess, Anthony. “Is America Falling Apart?”
The Norton Reader. Ed. Joseph Bieap.
John Brereton, Ane Fernald, Melissa beld,
And Linda Peterson. 13th ed.
New York Norton, 2012. 235-239. Print.