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Ten Things 2006: Pr...
Posted at Mar 24/2006 01:21PM:
Sebastian De Vivo: Evan, I very much enjoyed reading through your project. Who would've thought happiness lay waiting wrapped up in translucent white plastic? Black too, I guess. Great job!
My iPod Makes Me Happy
Aristotle said in the Nichomachean Ethics that happiness is "an activity of the soul in accordance with complete virtue." John Lennon and Paul McCartney said that "hapiness is a warm gun." Henry David Theroux rightly realized that happiness could get pretty expensive at times when he said that "that man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest." Too many thoughts on happiness have been expounded to attempt to quote even a sliver of them here. But one of my favorites (and one that seems to have the most bearing on this project) comes from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
I'll quote him at length from his ''Ethics for a New Millenium'':
"Consider the following. We humans are social beings. We come into the world as the result of others' actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives when we do not benefit from others' activities. For this reason it is hardly surprising that most of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others."
Though views on happiness and its attainment vary widely, most at least agree that happiness somehow relies on the connectivity of the things around us. The world is a dynamic, interconnected network of people and stuff (and, for some, God); finding one’s place in that swirling, ever-changing, ever-evolving mix and flow is a constant struggle. Who are my friends? What am I worth? What kind of car do I drive? Somehow the answers to all of these questions seem to determine our happiness. Is it indeed possible, either through means, manner, or object, to align ourselves properly with the things around us in such a way as to achieve happiness?
Apple, one of the most fashionable and recognizable brands of the past few years, would certainly like us to think that our happiness is intricately linked to the possession of specific things. And Apple is not alone; thousands of companies attempt to convince users of their products that their widget is in fact crucial to human happiness. To borrow a term from Professor Michael Shanks, Apple et al. are experts at "manufacturing a lifestyle." Isn't that cup of coffee you drink in the morning just a bit tastier if you drink it whilst surfing your sleek, titanium, wireless PowerMac in your robe and slippers? It is precisely by imbedding or connecting it's products with other daily activites that Apple attempts to engrain them into daily lives. Apple makes its billions not only by selling an entirely new product or activity and introducing its newness into the consumer's life, but also by claiming to enhance otherwise banal and mundane activities.
The iPod, the runaway success of Apple, epitomizes this "piggybacking" effect of Apple's manufacture of lifestyle. The iPod, perhaps the hottest "thing" to hit store shelves in the last five years, has generated such an aura of coolness and necessity that its brand dominance is quickly becoming quite matter-of-fact. In ways that brands like Coke or Kleenex have found a way of establishing themselves as the brand, the iPod has become the industry standard. Few mention "MP3 Players" anymore... it's makes much more sense to simply call it an iPod.
What follows in the proceeding pages is an attempt to discuss the iPod along the lines of "unpacking" an object within the context of our class, and somehow helping establish its place within the complex inter-connections of our society. Enjoy.
Thoughts on Unpacking Stuff in general
a brief look at the complexity of stuff
A Brief History of the Product Itself
outlining five years of iPod innovation
Unpacking the iPod
the meat and potatoes of the project: home of the deeply insightful iPod Journal
Conclusions?
packing up what I've unpacked
or you can always head back to my personal page
