Thursday, October 22, 2015
Shall This Pass In "Anthem?"
How would This Too Shall Pass and White Knuckles by Okay Go violate the societal norms set forth by the councils in Anthem? Looking beyond the obvious, how do the videos exhibit the antithesis of what is valued in Anthem's society?
Would Equality be pleased with Okay Go's performances, designs, and
visions for their music and art? Please include one quotation from Anthem within your response to prove your view(s). This blog response should be completed in class on October 23rd.
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I feel like these music videos do not symbolize something relating to anthem. While it does symbolize creativity, Anthem is more focused on the idea of freedom of intellect and logic, while these videos are focused on humor. I think Equality would find these videos interesting, but more in the aspect that TVs and computers don't really exist, as well as most of the things used in the videos.
I think that equality would understand these videos. I believe he would say that the band took something so simple and yet they made it so complicated. In the story Anthem, when equality showed the Council's his new invention. Besides just saying no to him, they punished him and equality ran away with the Golden One. These both videos are also very creative and different and so is Equality. Equality sticks out in his society because he is so different than the rest. He wants to have the freedom and say the word “I”, he just does not know it at the beginning of the book. Also Equality is creative, at the end of the book he comes up with creative names for the Golden One and him. Also he created light. In the end, Equality can related to the band Ok Go.
I think that the videos “This Too Shall Pass” and “White Knuckles” by Okay Go violate the societal norms set forth by the councils in Anthem because they are all very creative and unique in their own way. This violates the social norms set by the councils in Anthem because they are trying to make the people that live in the society feel like they are not unique. They try to make them feel like they are exactly like the person standing next to them. In these videos, they must have spent weeks trying to think up and make these things happen. For example, in “This Too Shall Pass,” I bet they spent everyday for weeks trying to create the perfect setting for their video. They has to set up this obstacle course and had to also make sure that it would work with no error. In “White Knuckles,” they probably had to train those dogs for a few months to make them do what they said and go where they wanted them to go. This ties into Anthem because the council does not let people do this. They don’t let them express themselves, be unique, and change the world. This video showed me that being unique is a very good thing and how in Anthem nothing like that was allowed.
I don’t think that these music videos really don’t have much to do with Anthem. Anthem states the idea of being individuals and being someone that stands out as their own person. I think the idea of a music video is that they are being creative. Creativity and individualism are two different topics, though. Being an individual doesn’t mean you can be really creative. I do, however, think that Equality would approve because the invention is cool and the dogs are so cute.
Ok Go thinks differently than most people would, this is something that is not allowed in Equalities society. In his society, creativity is not allowed, on the other hand the band members are very creative. Similar to how the band shattered the tv that was playing a video of themselves, Equality destroys the old self. He does away with the Equality that used "we" to describe his own being and is now Prometheus, who takes identity and ownership in HIS self. The song "White Knuckles" sings about being selfish and pursuing your own passions. Prometheus becomes selfish and he carries out his will above his others. Prometheus would be glad that these men are being different, bold, and outcasts. Prometheus states that "The word We...becomes a monster" (Rand, 96) The members of the band do not conform to "We" but are different from the majority of people. And even in the band, the paint that they were each covered with was different in color. This uniqueness and different mindset is what Equality desires and eventually, Prometheus achieves. His final goal is to give this gift to all of mankind, and break the collectivism that bounds society.
This video would definitely go against the beliefs of the Council in Anthem because the members of the band have gone above the ideas of the people around them. This is against what is valued in Anthem because in Anthem the council looks down upon people that believe they can create their own ideas. Because of this, I think that Equality would definitely be satisfied with this video because he believes in being creative and having your own ideas, a trait shown multiple times in this video. Equality shows his creativity and intelligence as well through the words, "It was no that the learning was too hard for us. It was that the learning was too easy" (Rand 21).
The first song by OK Go would violate Anthems values because you are suppose to all be the same and in the music video, they destroyed their past selves with the hammer and symbolically Equality did that same thing. Both of the music videos would be not tolerated in Anthems society because both show lots of reckless things are going on and the Council would maybe think that the objects destroyed and shown in the videos would be wasteful. I think Equality would find these videos fascinating because the the designs, the music, and the actions were all very unique and so is Equality. “We cannot understand this new life which we have found, yet it seems so clear and simple,” (Rand). The music videos connect with this quote because some of the things in the society and in the videos seem simple but they are much more complex if you look closer.
This can relate to anthem because it shows that just one toy car was able to able to start the entire things. This can symbolize equality being able to change the society just by himself. I think that Equality would enjoy this band’s performances because it shows how every little thing along the path has a different purpose and that no single thing has a the same purpose or engineering behind it. I think it also shows the symbolism of the hammer breaking the TV of their old video showing how equality wants to get rid of the old society. The entire system sort of discourages the importance of everyone being the same because nothing like this could happen if each little part of the system did it’s job. The quote “And man will go on. Man, not men” really sums up my viewpoint because it shows the importance of one's self rather than the over importance of others.
"This Too Shall Pass" and "White Knuckles" by "Okay Go" violate the societal norms set forth by the councils in Anthem by encouraging creativity, and showing how we are all connected, and need special qualities in all of us to achieve a big goal. Expressed especially in "This Too Shall Pass", I saw creativity and teamwork. The council in Anthem didn't realize that everybody plays a part in the world, and nothing would operate correctly without everyone's part in it. In "White Knuckles", individuality was encouraged greatly with the incorporation of the music, which explained the actions. Also in "White Knuckles", I thought that they "escaped" what would have been the like the community of Anthem, to show creativity with what they believe in. In both videos, they demonstrate the opposite of Anthem's society by showing how people all have special features in them that will make a big overall difference. In Anthem, Equality says that they are all equal, "We are nothing. Mankind is all.." (Rand 21), but the videos contradict his by saying that people (or things) all have unique qualities that impact the world around us. I think that Equality would be very pleased with "Okay Go's" performance because they embraced and encouraged individuality and creativity.
I think Equality would really enjoy these music videos. They are very creative. Just like how Equality made the light bulb, they created routines to accomplish something. In Equality’s society, they would never be able to do something like this. Even though the people in these music videos are in a group doing synchronized actions, they are not being the “normal”. They are also expressing themselves in a way that I’ve never seen before. A quote that supports this is “The Council of Scholars has said that we all know the things which exist and therefore the things which are not known by all do not exist.” (Rand 52). This shows me how the scholars do not support new things. I didn’t know this music video existed, that does not make the video a sin. Overall, I think Equality would enjoy these music videos because of who he is and what he has experienced.
I think that Equality would find Okay Go's videos very interesting, because it relates to society, I think that one of the main ideas in Anthem is being selfless. In the first video, "This Too Shall Pass" the idea of being selfless is expressed. This idea is expressed because in the video because the members of Okay Go destroy a bunch of random, expensive objects, including a TV, just for the sake of the video.
In Ok Go’s videos they violated the social norms in Anthem’s society by having more than one purpose for each person, or item in their video. In Anthem each person is to do only what they have be assigned to and no more, however in Ok Go’s videos each person or part had multiple purposes in the video. For example in "White Knuckles" each dog performed more than one trick, unlike the street sweepers who only swept streets. Also in their videos we can see the teamwork. Although Anthem had a large push on teamwork, the teamwork shown in the video was for a greater, more amazing, and creative purpose. In the book Equality recites a phrase, “There are no men but the great WE.” (19) This quote means that the reason that this society works the way it does is to make sure each person is alike. Their teamwork is to make no one different while in Ok Go’s video they work to make each other distinguished. Working to make each other different and distinguished would please Equality even though it is different from the society.
These videos that we watched are very creative but I feel like they do not really relate to Anthem. I believe anthem is more focused on freedom and having the same thoughts as others. I think equality would like watching these videos and think they are interesting because most people aren't able to do what those people did in the videos. Just like equality did what others didn't.
This Too Shall Pass and White Knuckles by Okay Go would violate the societal norms set forth by the councils in Anthem by knowing that these people are showing what they are passionate for and that is not acceptable the society of Anthem. These videos are not in the level of sophistication that the councils in Anthem would approve. The videos show how passionate these guys are and their creativity. Based on Okay Go’s performances, Equality would be more than pleased with their designs and visions for their music and art because they show their interest and who they are. “It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see. It is base and evil. It is as if we were speaking alone to no ears but our own. And we know well that there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone,”(Rand 1). In the society of Anthem, people are not allowed to show who they are because that is seen as being selfish.
The videos “This Too Shall Pass” and “White Knuckles” doesn’t relate to Anthem. It’s not able to relate to Anthem by how the videos show more of the creativity part. The videos are more focused on how exciting it is, and how it hooks you to wanting to keep watching. The book (Anthem) shows how Equality gains his freedom and how he eventually forms himself that he is an individual. It violates the councils in Anthem by how creative they are and that they are very unique compared to everyone else. The councils don’t like that because Equality was unique and they tried to make him seem like he wasn’t. Although later on in the story when Equality finds out about “light,” and he finds that he is an individual, he discovers that he's is unique in his way.
This relates to Anthem because it shows what Equality wants everything to be like. In the first video This Too Shall Pass everybody is in a color everybody is different yet they still all have a job that makes everything work. In Anthem Everybody has a job but the are not aloud to be different. This video shows that you can be different and even the complicated things will still happen. Being the same doesn't affect anything in any way that being different would affect anything.
Equality would approve of these things because they have lots creativity and equality is also like that. Equality invented the light bulb which was very hard. Ok go has very creative songs that take a very long just like equality's invention. Also the Ok go some what destroys there achievements as well as Equality did that when he went to the uncharted forest. I do not think the society would approve of the Ok go's ideas because they are to creative and no everyone was in on it. Equality's idea was rejected in his society just like Ok go's ideas would be. Overall ok go and equality are very similar in many different ways. I think equality would get along very well with the band Ok Go.
These two videos violate the laws that the society in "Anthem" because the videos are expressing to much creativity which is unacceptable in Equality's society. In Anthem, Equality says, "Such would have been our life had we not committed the crime which changed all things for us" (29). The crime Equality is speaking of is finding the tunnel and then creating the light. This goes to show that equality would enjoy seeing the videos we watched because he values creativity and would want to learn more about our society since his society was exactly what he didn't desire.
The videos, "This Too Shall Pass", and "White Knuckles", by Okay Go, violate the societal norms in Anthem, and are unheard of. In "This Too Shall Pass", the use of so many objects would be considered selfish. Most of the items used in the video have never been seen by Equality or anyone else. The colors alone go against the plain white, brown, and grey theme in Anthem. Equality would be in awe, and inspired to pursue a better life portrayed in the video.
The video This Too Shall Pass and White Knuckles violate the societal norms set forth by the councils in Anthem. The band, OK Go, has thought of a creative new way to display their songs. The councils of Anthem believe that no men should think of thinks their peers have not. If this happened within Anthem, the band would be punish severely. This video shows creavity, which is the antithesis of what is valued in Anthem. Equality believes creativity is important, which was demonstrated in the video. He would most likely have approved of the video. Equality thought, "Many words have been granted me, and some are wise, and some are false, but only three are holy: ‘I will it!’” (Rand 95). By thinking creatively, Equality managed to realize what was wrong with his society. This proves that he would approve of the video.
These performances by Okay Go demonstrate the ideas in Anthem because they probably spent a lot of money to make these videos. If Rand was still alive and saw these, she’d argue that they are spending all this money for selfishness. Equality would be pleased with this performance. Based off of what we know about his personality, he’d be fascinated with how the reactions worked in their “This Too Shall Pass” video. “It whispers to us that there are great things on this Earth of ours, and that we can know them if we try, and that we must know them.” (Rand 24). I think he would love all the music and the color because in his society, he doesn’t have any of that.
Okay Go seems to follow a passion that "Thinks outside the box". This would be shunned in Anthem's society. Anthem's society only believes in the group as a whole and not individual prospective. Okay Go seems to think outside the box creating new entertainment that hasn't been introduced. I believe that Equality 7-2521 would approve of Okay Go because they believe in creating something interesting. By doing something creative, Okay Go, would most likely receive Equality 7-2521's approval. Evidence of this accusation, can be found in the plot of anthem. How equality discovers electricity and creatively experiments with it. I think equality of all people would appreciate the work Okay Go creates because he himself can make a connection to it. "Our brothers! You are right. Let the will of the Council be done upon our body. We do not care. But the light? What will you do with the light?"-anthem pg72. This proves that Equality cares about his creation so I believe that he would care about someone else's creation.
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