ENG 2150 Gimme Shelter: the spaces we live in

In class we discussed how money influences our emotions and the way we feel about our city. I feel that so many people in the city are so busy with their work lives, that they dont stop to examine and analyze their emotions. How could they? They are far too busy. It is impossible to stop and think about every single emotion that comes to our mind just because there are so many emotions. We are constantly being surrounded by so many people and things. We are interacting with millions of other people in our every day lives. It is easy to become immune to things even if they are great, like the Empire State Building, because we are so familiar to them. If we were to go to a different country, we would stand in awe as the tourists do in New York City. I guess its just that everyone in New York is so busy, that they have already established their routines for the day. They dont stop as realize that they as New Yorkers, are living in one of the greatest cities in the world. New York is the most diverse city on the planet.

In George Simmel’s “The Metropolis and Mental Life,” he states, “…Because of the character of calculability which money has there has come into the relationships of the elements of life a precision and a degree of certainty in the definition of the equalities and inequalities and an unambiguousness in agreements and arrangements, just as externally this precision has been brought about through the general diffusion of pocket watches…” (328).  This statement defines the whole reasoning as to why New Yorkers are the way they are.  Simmel is stating that the capitalistic society that we live in, governed by money, has another major controlling factor: time.

Our lives are dictated by time and money.  Since the realization that our parents cannot provide everything for the rest of our lives, we go on a journey to obtain an education, which would then leads to more education, and ultimately a career.  However the main purpose of that career is for the obtainment of money.  Our status in society is dictated by the amount of wealth that we have, and so we spent practically all our lives working towards obtaining money.  However the almighty power of time restricts us.  We never have enough for time for anything, and as New Yorkers we know that fact too well.  We spend our mornings scrambling to our destinations and crowding throughout the city.  We are constantly governed by time, and are always conscious of it.  We have an exact schedule and have indicated times for everything, so much so that we initially judge one’s own character on the basis of punctuality.  If one does not respect an indicated time, then we assume lack of responsibility, disorganization and ultimately a bad connotation is associated with that person.  Finally we are slaves to the power of money and time, and are ordered around so precisely to maintain stability in our society.

Today in class we discussed Simmel’s emphasis on the role economy plays in our decision making and what we value. For example, I can say that a composition notebook is worth or valued at $2.50. How did I come to that estimation? That is what I have learned from our economy. In that way the economy is the determining factor in how we weigh the value of something. Simmel also compares life in general to an equation. The ultimate answer to that equation is money/economic based. Everything that leads up to that answer are products or factors of that equation. My ultimate goal is success. Things that add up to that are getting an education, studying, extracurricular activities, etc. Those are all components to an equations whose answer is success.

Simmels view is an objective, straightforward approach. In thinking of life’s aspects in an unbiased, mathematical sense we are able to gain a fuller understanding of how these factors play a role on our mental states. Unfortunately it is highly impossible to think in a solely objective manner. Most of our values and opinions are based on experience and sentimentality. That is the drive and guide in our lives. In turn, that is the main influence on our mental states.

After reading the E-Mail from our professor about the difficult reading that we had to the over the weekend, I was terrified. I was worried that I would not understand the reading. However the guidelines that our professor provided made the reading less of a challenge. After reading the excerpt by George Simmel, I did not fully understand Simmel’s idea. I finally got Simmel’s idea in our class discussion today. George Simmel explains that money is becoming first priority to peoples’ practical lives and how it is changing their living style. “For money expresses all qualitative differences of things in terms of “how much?” Money, with all its colorlessness and indifference, becomes the common denominator of all values; irreparably it hollows out the core of things, their individuality, their specific value, and their in-comparability ” According to Simmel, the value of products is determined by the price. Pricing can be misleading by giving a thought of different values. For example, one will look forward to obtain more expensive products rather than cheaper products. The price tag on an product determines its value.

In this advertisement, there are two groups of house hold needs. On the left side, there are brand name products and on the right side there are the same products as the left side, without a famous brand name. I found this advertisement very interesting because I realized that I know all the brand name products and not the cheaper “up & up” products. Although the up & up products are cheaper than the brand names, I personally buy the brand names because of its expensive value. I think that expensive products are better than cheaper products because it simply cost more. This can demonstrate that I am a person who values, more expensive products rather than cheaper products even though they are the same thing. According to Simmel, people would spend money on products with more value regardless of its effect for their individuality, their specific value, and their in-comparability. After taking the first step to buying brand name items, we do not look back at the cheaper items. We simply believe that money buys value.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lZMr-ZfoE4

Back in 2007, Apple did something truly amazing.  Not only did Apple create a device so unique and so complex, they also shook up the entire technology industry as a whole.  On June 29, 2007 they introduced the world to the very first iPhone.  Never before was a cell phone so sleek, so smart and so fast.  The Iphone took the word cellphone and created an entirely new meaning.

In Georg Simmel’s essay “The Metropolis and Mental Life” he illustrates the idea of a “blasé attitude”.  The word blase can be defined as apathetic to pleasure or excitement as a result of excessive indulgence or enjoyment (Miriam-Webster.com).  In other words one has become so unimpressed by something because one has experienced it so often.  This blase attitude is a nonchalant approach to mundane daily occurrences in our lives.

Several million people in the United States alone own an iPhone. Do we realize how vital our smart phones have become to us?  If you want to see where your sister is you text her, if you want to find out the weather for the evening you google it, if you want to know where santa claus lives you siri it, if you want to try a new restaurant two blocks away you yelp it. Hence the geniuses who invented these devices called them : smart phones. We are glued to our phones and we check and recheck our phones constantly. But do we really appreciate the capabilities of this piece of aluminum and plastic we use most of our waking time?

I would say we have all come to view the amazing and extraordinary iPhone with little acknowledgment for all it actually does for us.  We have come to see the iPhone with a blasé attitude , forgetting how much easier this little device makes our lives.  We literally have the world at our fingertips and yet we oversee the true magic the iPhone offers.  We have accepted this cellphone as part of our lives and forget that as little as 6 years ago no such thing existed. You could not just google on your phone the weather in India and instantaneously get an answer.  We have an unimpressed daily experience with our cell phones and forget to acknowledge the many burdens which are relieved due to this innovative invention.

I actually did not mind reading this piece of work.  Personally, I thought that it was a hard read but somehow I understood it better than the other readings we had to read.  I felt like I fully grasped Georg Simmel’s main points and that I could see where he was coming from.  One of the quotes from Simmel’s piece that I would like to give my own opinion and experience to is when he says that “in less advanced cultures production was for the customer who ordered the product so that the producer and the purchaser knew one another.  The modern city, however, is supplied almost exclusively by production for the market, that is, for entirely unknown purchasers who never appear in the actual field of vision of the producers themselves.” Coming from Long Island, I do see the difference in the relationship between the producer and the purchaser.  Back home there is a pizzaeria in which all of the employees know personal information about my family and I.  I can tell that in New York City that there is a different feeling in which I do not feel personable to the producers.

Another quote from Simmel’s piece that I would like to talk about is when he says that “The modern mind has become more and more a calculating one…transforming the world into an arithmetical problem and of fixing every one of its parts in a mathematical formula.”  Personally, I want to major in mathematics so this quote immediately caught my attention.  I believe that what he is saying is true.  Every day I am faced with calculating something.  I calculate the positives and negatives of the solutions of problems.  For example, I calculate the pros and cons of coming to school early everyday.  The cons is that I wake up earlier, I do not have time for a nice breakfast, and I am bored sitting outside of the room.  The pros is that I get to eat a nice breakfast, I get to do the homework that I did not get to do the night before, and I have ample time to get to class if there is a problem with my train.  I calculate how much time I need to spend studying in each class to get an A, what is the proper path I need to take to achieve my major, what’s the best food place I should go to for lunch, and many more.  I could definitely relate to what Simmel was saying in both of these quotes.

Hello!

After discussing what it means to be a true New Yorker in class I was inspired to expand my ideas and this blog post is the perfect place to do so. Clichés about New York include; “The Greatest City in the World,” “The Big Apple,” “If you can make it here you’ll make it anywhere.” These clichés  might sound cheesy (especially to a New Yorker) but hold their own truth/value and are a source of inspiration for hundreds because New York is the place where dreams come true!

So what does it mean to be a New Yorker? I don’t believe there is one perfect answer, we all have our own thoughts and opinions thus the concept of “New Yorker” is the same for everyone but the analysis and conditions of what it means to be a “New Yorker” will vary and always be different from one person to the next.

In The Colossus of New Yorker, Colson Whitehead states “You are a New Yorker when what was there before is more real and solid than what is here now.” I think this is a great way of thinking about the concept because I have had many moments similar to the statement. I think the city is constantly changing and is especially evident when I walk down a street I haven’t been on for a few weeks and all of a sudden I can pinpoint the changes, the new stores, and remember what used to be there not so long ago. I think Whitehead’s analysis is a great way to define what it means to be a New Yorker and is relatable.

When we were thinking about what it means to be a New Yorker in class the first thing that came to my mind was; you are a New Yorker when you know the city like the back of your hand, can give directions to others, and the ability to get from point A to point B multiple ways. Navigating a city is hard if you are not accustomed to it, we all see tourists having to stop and ask for directions, or constantly pulling out their map. A New Yorker knows the layout of the city, is familiar with the transportation system, and is comfortable walking out the door knowing they won’t get lost (but if we forget our way around a particular neighborhood because it can happen to the best of us, a quick look a Google map will get us back on track!)

I really enjoyed hearing what you (my classmates) thought it meant to be a New Yorker and I found myself agreeing to almost everything you had to say! This proves that there isn’t a right or wrong answer and being a New Yorker is multiple things, some more subtle than others. Some ideas that stuck out include: being a New Yorker is when you no longer stop in awe to look at the skyscrapers, or all the ads in Times Square, when seeing a “man riding a bike in pink underwear” isn’t shocking but in a funny way normal (only in New York :-D) and when what was once exceptional becomes ordinary. I think this is a great analysis and it proves true when you can walk down a street and differentiate a New Yorker from a tourist.

Being a New Yorker can be seen as an elite club that not everyone can join, however once you become part of New York there is no going back because nothing can compare to what has become your home!

-Angelika Pienkowska

Author George Simmel describes the majority of those living within a metropolis as being, “blase.” The constant external and internal stimuli that one experiences during everyday leads one to eventually become jaded, or totally un-phased by their surroundings. This advertisement I found definitely reminds me of what we talked about in class. Its an ad for Lego with just one block and on the bottom it reads, “imagine.” This made me think of Simmel’s use of blase because the company, one of which has been famous for such a long time, doesn’t put much effort into advertising their product here. It seems almost apathetic in the sense that everyone with a little kid or knows a little kid knows what Legos are. The Lego company wants its audience to create their own image for what legos should look like by just putting the word imagine in the bottom left corner.

If this is what Lego was aiming for I could see how people in a big city like New York could relate to this ad. People who see this on a billboard don’t need to see anything more than a Lego symbol, or a simple block. They don’t require any fresh or attention grabbing ad. Everyone, according to Simmel, is sort of numb to their environment, so an ad as simple as this may be as sufficient as any other.