Disconnected Urbanism Summary

    

In this article the author is proving a very interesting point. People using a cellphone in public or any type of technology are inclined to ignore others and talk to the individual on the other side of the phone rather than focus on what's going around them. Paul Golderberger states, "When you walk along the street and talk on a cell phone, you are not on the street sharing the communal experience of urban life. You are in some other place—someplace at the other end of your phone conversation. You are there, but you are not there." He believes that because of how easy and accessible technology can be it blinds you from the people, architecture, and even sounds around you.

I agree with most of what this author is proving. I believe that because of how easy technology makes life it is used by mostly everyone in our new generation. The author is correct when he says, "You are there, but you are not there" because you are there physically, but mentally you are with the other person on the other side of the phone. You are completely unaware of your surroundings when on a phone or listening to music. You cannot hear the birds chirping and you can't even notice the unique architecture on the other side of the street. Many things are blocked off when engaged with technology. Unfortunately this author was weak to state that most people out and about in the city are usually focused on getting somewhere and do not need distractions. Technology can be of use in this situation. It "speeds" up time since you are less focused on the time and more focused on the text you received (or the song being played).  After reading this article I understand that the less we use our phones the more we can appreciate the environment around us. 

Paper 2 1st Draft

Omar Ba

10-22-11

Paper 2

 Two bed bugs are seen tucked in bed smoking a cigarette into the night breeze.  A pretty normal action, but not at all a normal pair of characters. This New Yorker cover art work symbolizes the common New Yorker and the bed bugs represent them. Many things about this picture leaving me feeling distraught. Not only the bothersome bed bugs and addictive cigarettes, but the amount of people seeing these covers and what they look forward to reading.  The New Yorker hits the reader as clever, humorous, even entertaining, but the New Yorker targets rich upper-class men who may focus on more implicit meanings inside the cover. 

The illustrator carries his unique style with him into other photos as well.  Looking at his New Yorker cover in May 2009, he shows two former primary electives in bed together.  The illustrator seems to put more focus on each character once staged in a bed.  They seem friendly, but argumentative all at that same time.  Both primary electives are known for debating against one another.  The bed bugs are somewhat confused debating if they are just bugs in a society full of men or if the society full of men are just bugs.  This brings out the brilliant mindset behind the illustrator, for he chooses to symbolize the Kafka theory as an everyday lifestyle for a New Yorker.  The Kafka theory represents complete change of oneself externally, but still alive internally. For instance, one day your regular habits of a normal workingman were completely wiped out, and you were left as a helpless bug.  Your struggle for survival is so much more at risk from the time in which you were a man. 

The illustrator is also trying to relate bed bugs to the stress of a fast-paced New Yorker who never sleeps.  The amount of stress bed bugs have created within New York City has caused so much chaos.  Families are getting poisoned from overusing the bed bug spray. People try to get rid of these pests quickly, so they excessively use it on their sheets then sleep in it that same night, resulting in worse conditions than actually getting bitten by a bed bug. The cigarettes play a big role in this theme. By the illustrator choosing the bed bug to be smoking a cigarette, he implies the common New Yorker smoke cigarettes and are judged for it. Just as a man is quick to judge a disgusting bed bug.  People also usually smoke cigarettes because they are addicted to the nicotine or attempting to fit in.  This symbolizes the media and people’s addiction towards the thought of cigarettes being “cool”.

Every cover, whether it’s a magazine or newspaper, is trying to send a message out to its readers or enact some sort of behavior from them.  In this particular issue, The New Yorker’s cover makes you wonder what audience did the illustrator tend to target and who is he trying to persuade.  By looking at the ads (ex. Louis Vuitton, a 2010 Cadillac, Chase credit cards, and American Express), you can assume the reader may be from a higher class, possibly earning an income of more than $30,000 a year. The content of The New Yorker is geared towards older men who are interested in politics and can afford to spend money on the luxurious products the magazine advertises.

The IBM (International Business Machines Corp.) advertisement in The New Yorker stands out to me the most. The IBM advertisement promotes their site and describes ways of keeping the city safe and clean.  The ad shows a three-dimensional utopian city that looks unbelievably clean and unrealistically safe.  This ad relates to the cover because both are in relevance of the city setting.  IBM is all about business and becoming successful through smart business decisions.  This cover shows two bed bugs (hardworking men) in a Manhattan apartment.  Comparing the two you may notice the similar facts.   

Midterm Paper

Omar Ba

The New Yorker Cover

9/13/11

            As I continue to analyze The New Yorker Covers I still see key points that the illustrator is trying to point out.  Many of these points are usually economically, social, or political all based on A New Yorker’s point of view.  The latest New Yorker Cover illustrated by Eric Drooker appears to be a polluted gloomy Manhattan.  But what is really shown is how it specifically reflects the corruption of the government on the working class of New York City. 

            In the cover certain points stand out to me.  The most important detail that stood out to me was the strange sphinxlike bull at the top of the cover.  To those who don’t know, the Sphinx in Greek Mythology was a creature with a lion’s body and a human head in ancient Egypt.  She asked a riddle of all who passed her and killed those who couldn’t answer it correctly.  There are many versions of this riddle, most follow a pattern of equating time of day with one of the ages of men represented by the number of “legs” on which man walks.  As for the odd bullhead on the sphinx it could symbolize strength, determination, reliability, provision, peacefulness, stability, all the features of a common bull.  But the illustrator could make this common bull really a symbol for what our government really wants to be. The Bulls eyes and nose represent windows, and inside the windows there seems to be activity seeing that the lights are on.  These lights are the only lights that are on in the whole city making me think that the illustrator is saying by all the time our hard working employees spend in the office; in the end the government benefits the most.   Filtering all these facts I could see the illustrator is trying to explain men are still under control by a society that continues to wrong do them. For example, prices are going up but our wages do not.  Prices on trains, milk, gas, etc. this is all because our government prints too much money, and starts too many wars.  They do this so they can sell their newly made expensive military weapons such as guns, missiles, and tanks.

            According to the USA Today article, titled Wall Street protests continue and grow across the country written by Karen Matthews.  This article explains the protests on corporate greed and police brutality revolving around Wall Street.  Just the other week seven-hundred people were arrested protesting on the Brooklyn Bridge.  An interesting quote in the articles is, “Fellner said she has an issue with ‘big money dictating, which politicians get elected and what programs get funded.’ But "we're not here to take down Wall Street," she insisted. ‘It's not poor against rich. “Still, the protesters chose Wall Street as their physical rallying point, speaking against corporate greed, social inequality, global climate change and other concerns.’”  This quote shows how protesters aim at the most powerful corporation (Wall Street) but since the stock crash it is also the weakest and easiest for protesters to gnaw at.  I believe the illustrator of this cover can relate to the article because it explains that the working class and the middle class, will never be equally respected as the upper class (the bull sphinx).  As long as prices continue to go up while jobs diminish there is no doubt for a huge depression heading our way.

            In conclusion, this cover captures the audiences attention by showing the city very gloomy and full of pollution.   The illustrator is giving off a bad vibe of the city and I don’t blame him.  The government is generally run by the wealthy and relies on the middle and working class to break their backs for their country.  The big sphinx represents the government and the other small buildings underneath represent the middle and working class.  This New Yorker cover relates to current events such as the Occupy Wall Street protests that have been recently picking up all across the nation.  Many middle class men are protesting so they could actually make a reasonable amount of money without ridiculous tax charges and other rising prices.  They will continue to protest until prices go down in the city and wages start going back up.             

The New Yorker Comparison Part 2

I believe this cover is meant mostly for an audience of politicians.  Many points are touched on by the illustrator shown in the picture.  Bed bugs, cigarettes, and stress stand out to the audience more than regularly.  The bed bugs signifies a stressed out bedbug pulling it together with his partner in the city.  Politics would understand this through knowledge on bed bugs, cigarettes, and the stress that comes with it.  But, the main point they would understand is how the illustrator is relating the bedbug to the bug in Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.  In this book, a regular working man wakes up as a bug and has to continue living life in his situation.

Looking deeper into The New YorkerWithin the magazine different ads are shown that relate back to covers main theme.  Ads are shown on saving the environment, health care, save the city tips, credit cards, laptops, phones, cars, television shows, the list goes on... All of these ads can all be found in the city (The New Yorker).  The New Yorker illustrator draws a political field to address the topic of an hard working city man while still engaged within interesting ads and meaningful illustrations.