Empowerment
My car recently died, so I had to get another one. I like my new car. It is newer, drives well, feels comfortable, has lots of features, is relatively fuel efficient, and looks nice. But a new car payment every month was not what I was looking for this year. And it gets me questioning (more than usual) the way we in the US and other parts of the world build our transportation infrastructure around the individual automobile, instead of a more robust public system. Eventually that leads me to Theodor Adorno, who provided the model for Marxist Pug. If you are not familiar with his work, this blog post provides a nice introduction.
↓ Transcript
Kevin dumps a bag of money into the gaping maw of a car.
Car: FEED ME!!!
Kevin: This thing is insatiable.
Fetch: Get rid of it.
Kevin: Then I'd have to bus to work. ICK!
Fetch: But you'd have more money for stuff you want.
An off-panel voice: A FALSE choice.
A pug in glasses appears.
Pug: Consumerism pretends to empower you with choices while masking your exploitation.
Fetch: Thanks, Marxist Pug!
Kevin: Great. Now WHAT?
Car: DRIVE ME! FEEL THE FREEDOM!
Marxist Pug: Another illusion.
Car: FEED ME!!!
Kevin: This thing is insatiable.
Fetch: Get rid of it.
Kevin: Then I'd have to bus to work. ICK!
Fetch: But you'd have more money for stuff you want.
An off-panel voice: A FALSE choice.
A pug in glasses appears.
Pug: Consumerism pretends to empower you with choices while masking your exploitation.
Fetch: Thanks, Marxist Pug!
Kevin: Great. Now WHAT?
Car: DRIVE ME! FEEL THE FREEDOM!
Marxist Pug: Another illusion.
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