Conclusion: Enslaved by Freedom

Comparing the reactions towards the deaths of Steve Jobs, a proponent of freedom and creativity, and Kim Jong-Il, a proponent of the complete opposite, as a Mac user I cannot deny the influence of Steve Jobs; however the North Korean public reaction towards the death of their leader is not much different from the former, and that of Amy Winehouse, Michael Jackson, Gaddafi and Bin Laden, regardless of their deeds, wrong or good, they had all demonstrated how power given by the mass could make great heroes.

The recent news of the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il has inspired me to conclude the Theory 750 coursework with a retrospective study of my blog entries so far in a hypothesis that, really, power is the backbone of society. According to the famous debate between Foucault and Chomsky aired in Dutch television in 1971, Foucault argued that human nature was trained; human value system differed in times and was a product of political and economic agenda, yet Chomsky supposed that people are born with creative power and would overcome the suppression and coercion imposed against their human nature.
Architects doubtlessly are given a role in society to create, thus also elevating their social status and placing them on higher ground. However much architects wish to go beyond the norm, they are still subject to the “Mayan Calendar”, facilitating the already pervasive system that continues to control the masses. The situation in North Korea interests me because it presents as an alternative to today’s democratic capitalist world. Though the world rejects Communism so instinctively and judgmentally, the world basically functions with the very idea of control to begin with. Communism attempts to explicitly control people both physically and psychologically but the relatively civilized Capitalist society does so subliminally. It is just this downright explicitness that puts the rest of the world off. Enslaved in one’s own value system and embracing it at all cost, two ideals seize to gain power by controlling the public. We think we enjoy much greater freedom compared to the people in North Korea and China; true that we could voice our opinions freely and could publicly make fun of stupid leaders, however, the irony is we are so engrained and trained in believing in one RIGHT system, a commonly accepted mode (like religion) of judging who is evil and who is right. Communism must be all evil because it denies human right and breeds tyrannical leaders. Accepting what is already known without critical thinking is dangerous.

All societies work on the basis of power and the success of a person is based on how well received or idolized by the public. Think of Zaha, Gaga, Roark, and even Dubai, they represent some common values desired by all. Their power and popularity allow them to preach and manifest their own worlds. People in power rule, and people are also in turn ruled by power. As mentioned in my fifth week writing, ‘To Reform, One must Conform’, to want to destroy the established power system one must first attain power. It is also the same irony presented in The Fountainhead. Once a rebel becomes a ruler, s/he at the same time becomes precisely what s/he has been trying to fight. Because of the fact that humans are social animals from where collective power is rooted, the singular creative mind of a thinker needs to be recognized publicly to manifest his/her creation. Free thoughts are actually trained thoughts. Independence is actually interdependence. The concept of freedom is an enslavement.

As long as we live in a society, we are no free men. So, what can we do when the world that we pride ourselves of collapses? Well, I think I or we just should be aware of the fallacy in the system and live with it, maintain our conscience and stay openminded and critical.

Week Seven: Me Against the World

Though we are all individuals who have self will and our own different personalities, since birth we all have succumbed to the mass. In the field of architecture where an idea that stems from individual creativity becomes a project that can only be evaluated and appreciated through being used by the public, the debate on the role of an architect arises. The Fountainhead illustrates the struggle of Howard Roark, a visionary architect, who stays steadfast with his idealism, proclaiming that he does not build to serve clients! The success of Howard Roark at the end being honored and hailed as a revolutionary architect that defies pre-establishment is what modern day architects/architecture students still aspire to achieve.
There is a danger that an architecture project, when not concerning for the public good, is a completely selfish, egoistic act. Roark in the Fountainhead has been fighting for her modernist ideals against the collective demand for classical architecture, the accepted taste. The question is on whether his insistence lays in believing his new concept will contribute to the society or he is just too stubborn in getting his ‘sculpture’ built. In this case I say sculpture because if a project does not consider inhabitation it is merely an object. Architects are deemed to be complex. They first of all are taught to be creative and visionary, an ability with which their career life journey of combating/compromising with the public starts. For architects that believe their purpose is to serve the public, their career would be much less complicated. However for those who are firm on the concepts they give birth to, they will have the same ‘disability’ as illustrated in one of Dos Passos’ characters in USA, Professor Veblen in ‘The Bitter Drink’. He has the “constitutional inability to say yes” while all “good jobs (are) kept for the yesmen.” (845, USA, John Dos Passos) The three selected characters from the USA trilogy, Veblen from The Bitter Drink, Henry Ford from Tin Lizzie and Frank Lloyd Wright from Architect are all proponents in the early 20th century American History that had some avant garde spirits of their own. Veblen an academic who ends up sipping in bitter drink lamenting his failure to be accepted by society with his ineptness to play in the ruling class/university system; Henry Ford (a parallel to Gail Wynand in the Fountainhead), by contrast, had tremendously success by he at the end was also revolted by the mass; the architect Frank Lloyd Wright suffers from rumors and gossips. All these characters are vulnerable when it comes to dealing with the masses.
Geniuses do not thrive alone. All are part of the masses and are reliant on the masses. Roark in the Fountainhead I think is a romanticized version of the glory of an architect. The last scene in which Gary Cooper stands on top of his tower with Patricia Neal looking up to him as a worshiper looking up to a Greek statue appears quite ironic. Roark appears precisely in the manner what he is trying to fight against! The sequel of Fountainhead would be: with the previously disadvantaged Roark being the architect in fashion, he soon will lead the opinions of the yesmen, thus, him becoming part of the ruling class system which then be dethroned by the newly disadvantaged.
A similar ironic cycle happens in Occupy Wall Street as well. Two protestors are seen having Starbucks coffee in hands. Can you occupy Wall Street with Starbucks in your hands??? (source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterleeds/2011/10/24/can-you-occupy-wall-street-with-a-starbucks-in-your-hand/)

Week Six: Moloch is in our blood

Ginsberg’s and Burroughs' works, written 50 plus years ago, are still relevant in addressing the social turmoil these days. Just like how Burroughs states in Journey through time-space in The Job:
“Now translate the Mayan control calendar into modern terms. The mass media of newspapers, radio, television, magazines from a ceremonial calendar to which all citizens are subjected. The ‘priests’ wisely conceal themselves behind masses of contradictory data and vociferously deny that they exist. Like the Mayan priests they can reconstruct the past and predict the future on a statistical basis through manipulation of media.
Factors that can be controlled and predicted: 1. Layout: format of newspapers and magazines; 2. The news to be played up and played down; 3. Editorials and letters to the editor: letters selected in accordance with perceived policy; 4. Advertisements: subliminal orders.” (44-45, The Job, William Burroughs)
In the 21st Century, we are still susceptible to another reincarnation of the Maya control calendar through which we are unknowingly manipulated. The mode of human civilization has not changed much as what worked 2000 yeas ago is still applicable now. It all comes down to manipulation of people, thus gaining power, through media. The modern day comparables to the Mayan priests are the ruling business class. Clairvoyant as he was, Burroughs lists out the four factors we succumb our mentality to, making us aware of the information we choose to feed ourselves. Just lately I have seen a prime example of the second factor mentioned, the news to be played up and played down, on Time Magazine.
Same December 5, 2011 issue of Time magazine, the US cover chose a relatively mellow cover compared to the international issues. The importance of this example is how easily we could let our conscience run down the drain if we do not be openminded and begin thinking critically of our sources of news and information. so, thank god we have internet and our internet servers are not censored and blocked. Though as a student in London, I can have unbound freedom in serving whichever sites I wish, the power to knowing is still in my hands whether I choose to expand my scope; for example in hearing different opinions, reading not only the Time magazines. This sort of “openmindedness” is what Burroughs finds in touch with the Beat poets. They are both analytical and critical of their own times; while people pride themselves on the technological advancement achieved by human ingenuity, they remain critical of mankind losing their souls in the sea of machines and bubble wealth.
In Howl, the presence of Moloch foreshadows a soulless industrial age. Representing industrialization and modernization, Moloch:
“whose mind is pure machinery, whose blood is running money, whose fingers are ten armies, whose breast is a cannibal dynamo, whose ear is a smoking tomb!
whose love is endless oil and stone, whose soul is electricity and banks, whose poverty is the specter of genius, whose fate is a cloud of sexless hydrogen, whose name is the Mind!
whose eyes are a thousand blind windows, skyscrapers stand in the long streets like endless Jehovahs, whose factories dream and croak in the fog, whose smokestacks and antennae crown the cities!”
is nothing human. However it is specifically designed to employ humans. It is a model of production, a business mode and a mobilizing tool that the ‘priests’ employ to make people work for them, wittingly by using to capitalize on human nature, be it greed, hubris, desire and etc. The result is people “broke their backs lifting Moloch to Heaven,” worshipping what has consumed their humanity.