A culture may be conceived as a network of beliefs and purposes in which any string in the net pulls and is pulled by the others, ...thus perpetually changing the configuration of the whole. If the cultural element called morals takes on a new shape, we must ask what other strings have pulled it out of line. It cannot be one solitary string, nor even the strings nearby, for the network is three-dimensional at least.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
A sociosphere of contact, control, persuasion and dissuasion, of exhibitions of inhibitions in massive or homeopathic doses...: th...is is obscenity. All structures turned inside out and exhibited, all operations rendered visible. In America this goes all the way from the bewildering network of aerial telephone and electric wires ... to the concrete multiplication of all the bodily functions in the home, the litany of ingredients on the tiniest can of food, the exhibition of income or IQ.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
The media network has its idols, but its principal idol is its own style which generates an aura of winning and leaves the rest in... darkness. It recognises neither pity nor pitilessness.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Instead of seeing society as a collection of clearly defined "interest groups," society must be reconceptualized as a complex netw...ork of groups of interacting individuals whose membership and communication patterns are seldom confined to one such group alone.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Of what use, however, is a general certainty that an insect will not walk with his head hindmost, when what you need to know is th...e play of inward stimulus that sends him hither and thither in a network of possible paths?LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
(1) Do not cry. No matter what. (2) Use your appearance to create an image of strength. (3) Develop staying power. (4) Specialize.... (5) Don't wear your sex like a badge on your sleeve. (6) Put in more time than anyone else. (7) Be loyal. (8) Be a team player. (9) Never use your family as an excuse. (10) Learn how to be a manager. (11) Network.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
The most condensed format of the conversionist motif is the TV commercial, which has become essential to both network and religiou...s broadcasting. Embedded in its structure are sentiments from our religious and political heritage: salvation and choice. Newness of life can now be associated with a change of heart about politics, the purchase of a new car, or the selection of a beverage. A Pepsi commercial, for example, designed to fit the charismatic personality and gifts of singer Michael Jackson, became an invitation to make a decision and join in. Images and sounds of the soft-drink ad drew viewers into a growing throng of happy, dancing people following the steps of a dynamic cultural hero. Even couch potatoes might have been roused, vicariously at least, to skip lightly behind the agile Jackson as he led his ecstatic followers to the right choice. The conversionist call in this instance is to come on up to the good life through Pepsi. Nonetheless it plays upon the persuasive motifs of turning around and becoming a part of something larger.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Patriotism ... is a superstition artificially created and maintained through a network of lies and falsehoods; a superstition that... robs man of his self-respect and dignity, and increases his arrogance and conceit.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Today the average inhabitant of the western hemisphere knows a little of everything. He has the newspaper on his breakfast table a...nd wireless within reach. For the evening there is the film, cards, or a meeting to complete a day spent in the office or factory where nothing that is essential has been learnt. With slight variation this picture of a low cultural average holds good over the entire range from factory-hand of clerk to manager or director. Only the personal will to culture, in whatever field and however pursued raises modern man above this level.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Every notable advance in technique or organization has to be paid for, and in most cases the debit is more or less equivalent to t...he credit. Except of course when it's more than equivalent, as it has been with universal education, for example, or wireless, or these damned aeroplanes. In which case, of course, your progress is a step backwards and downwards.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »