Hey lovelies, i think we have spent a lot of time trying to theorise how comfort can be dubious. I think this clip is eloquent and spot on. The transient comforts our culture presents as dogmatically good and are meant to necessarily make us happy remove us from reality and nature.
Project ideas:
1 We could start by creating the ability to understand what we are trying to critique with language
The idea of 'too much bad comfort' is currently hard to express. I think we should create a word that enables us to critique this currently insidious effect of comfort by naming it and thus demystifying it. The propagation of this word could come in many forms; we could create flyers with the word and definition, start a Facebook page, create an advert for the word or even lobby for it to be added to official dictionaries. Language shaped our ability to connect with concepts and the creation of dissenting language could be radical in the effects of its use.
2 We could focus on critiquing the existing consequences of 'too much bad comfort'
I think this is where the ad idea we have been discussing comes in. We have been taking ridiculous inventions that through consumerism seem normal and critiquing them. Perhaps by parodying them by advertising different things in a similar way. For example instead of advertising a ridiculous devise made to cut only avocados we could advertise dirt. Dirt, literal earth is something seen as uncomfortable by many as its messy and not instagramable ect ect. But is vital to our existence and is not a traditional consumable 'product'.
3 we could focus on how comfort is played out in class relations
Jo's recent (Brilliant!) blog post describes this well and we could use that as a point of departure.
I have to finish this post as the workshop starts now but lets go through the ideas we have had perhaps by catogorising them as i have attempted to do above to bring a bit of structure to our convos and we will more clearly be able to see which we feel are more important.
xxx
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ReplyDeleteThis clip is great! Definitely gonna watch this film one day.
ReplyDeleteI love Andre's analysis on comfort affecting the sympathy and empathy of those who are in comfort towards those who are not. Does the comfort so many buy and feel in the upper margins of todays society reduce the "compassion" for those who don't receive any?
Do we expect all to have the same experience and comfort as us? We buy these comforting goods without realising that others might not have the same?
Does comfort prevent us from prospering? A stagnation of the mind and body in pursing further greatness.
Comfort = plateau?
In terms of the blog post itself:
I think we should definitely form a word or coherent means of expressing 'too much comfort' making it 'bad comfort'.
The flyers, Facebook posts and lobbying for a dictionary term would be a great means of impacting people on an everyday level. It would allow us to access the people of everyday through different mediums and therefore get the idea of too much comfort into their minds. To affect their way of everyday life; flip their standard routine through an injection of information. An attempt to elevate them from the pains of their ways - to show them a means of changing their everyday lives for the better. Educational and insightful.
We could also use it in our interviews and even in the advert - and relate it to happiness too, now that the title has changed!