8 Bit Philosophy: Is Kanye West Even Human?
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Good episode as always, thanks!
Keep it up, as I can't wait for those Breaking Bad episodes you just teased!
Keep it up, as I can't wait for those Breaking Bad episodes you just teased!
Not sure. Personally I think it's as simple as the commodification of idiosyncracies, of human interests, where a market may not have existed before. In Australia, 60 years ago being a professional rugby player meant your shoes and travel costs were paid for and games cost a trifling amount of money to cover the logistics of hosting that sport. Most rugby players had actual day jobs in the community, and given that the idea of illusive human interest wasn't commodified, rather the commodification of their work, people still expected them to be butchers, plumbers, doctors, whatever... and that their popularity in the game was its own reward given heightened exposure to the public and acclaim amongst peers.
Now we have people who commodify what is ostensibly something of zero value. Sure the music might be nice (although not in Kanye's example, but let's say any successful and half decent artist), but it's not exactly substantial. The esoteric evaluation and the commodification of what amounts to little or no production of worth tends to make qualities of the human idiosyncratic existence as if to hold relative value to the 'value' of their largely esoteric production.
If you took the money out of it, and Kanye had a day job as a butcher do you think he would act as he does? More over ... just how much would people value 'Kanye the butcher' as if as interesting as 'Kanye the musician'? By celebrating (and rewarding) the latter over the former, you create a situation where the musician's "soul" or other human interests of equally valueless components as if to have more weight than they really do ... thus you get the media image, which can only ever value itself far more than what its real value really is (which is zero).
This is why Kanye calls himself a genius with such straight faced composure it's teeth-grindingly irritating (though it should be remarked that this itself is the politics of envy and the politics of self gratification). Over-valuing the largely meaningless extravagances that we allow ourselves, pretending we're all deep and meaningful when really we're merely equally shallow ... the only difference is people aren't throwing piles of money at us and confirming our central (ego-gratifying) conceits that we're worth more than we really are.
So I would say Max is right, though I would debate just how sensible it is for a culture to continue down this path of what can only be termed 'madness'. Where you have real geniuses working on curing diseases, or educating the poor, and being perpetually under-resourced to do so. Where their 'soul' can reflect actual benefits to others that *can* be measured.
Now we have people who commodify what is ostensibly something of zero value. Sure the music might be nice (although not in Kanye's example, but let's say any successful and half decent artist), but it's not exactly substantial. The esoteric evaluation and the commodification of what amounts to little or no production of worth tends to make qualities of the human idiosyncratic existence as if to hold relative value to the 'value' of their largely esoteric production.
If you took the money out of it, and Kanye had a day job as a butcher do you think he would act as he does? More over ... just how much would people value 'Kanye the butcher' as if as interesting as 'Kanye the musician'? By celebrating (and rewarding) the latter over the former, you create a situation where the musician's "soul" or other human interests of equally valueless components as if to have more weight than they really do ... thus you get the media image, which can only ever value itself far more than what its real value really is (which is zero).
This is why Kanye calls himself a genius with such straight faced composure it's teeth-grindingly irritating (though it should be remarked that this itself is the politics of envy and the politics of self gratification). Over-valuing the largely meaningless extravagances that we allow ourselves, pretending we're all deep and meaningful when really we're merely equally shallow ... the only difference is people aren't throwing piles of money at us and confirming our central (ego-gratifying) conceits that we're worth more than we really are.
So I would say Max is right, though I would debate just how sensible it is for a culture to continue down this path of what can only be termed 'madness'. Where you have real geniuses working on curing diseases, or educating the poor, and being perpetually under-resourced to do so. Where their 'soul' can reflect actual benefits to others that *can* be measured.
It must be very hard to be at the top, always in the public eye and essentially bored with life because everything is attainable. You have to do at least one or two things right and make good decisions to get to this level. Kanye clearly has.
I find it to be a shame that Kanye's "character" is of such low social consciousness. He sets a very bad example for other impressionable folks to follow. If you equate his success with his attitude, then why not mimic his attitude? I see this as leading to a lot of people gaining the attitude without the success. And I don't want to be around those disciples.
I find it to be a shame that Kanye's "character" is of such low social consciousness. He sets a very bad example for other impressionable folks to follow. If you equate his success with his attitude, then why not mimic his attitude? I see this as leading to a lot of people gaining the attitude without the success. And I don't want to be around those disciples.