ENG 2150 Gimme Shelter: the spaces we live in

George Simmel’s “The Metropolis and Mental Life” places much emphasis on individuals and individualism of metropolis residents. He talks a lot about time and money and those things really are important to city life because in order to do anything in the city you need money. Time is also extremely important as everything runs on a schedule. The trains and buses arrive at certain periods of time and if you want to make that train or bus you have to be at the stop on time. However, one thing that Simmel pointed out was that the development of an individual is by internal and external stimuli. I believe that this has to do with different cultures inside of the city. The city is truly a diverse place with all kinds of people with all kinds of different backgrounds. The New York Metropolitan area could even be considered a melting pot when it comes to culture. In my opinion, the external stimuli is the exposure to the different cultures and ideas and the exposure to these cultures help shape likes and dislikes. In the city there is always a group that has the same interests as you, you simply have to look and find them. For example,  I like competitive gaming, so since I have the grand city in the palm of my hand, I can seek out like minded individuals and we can associate with one another. Same goes for anybody else whether they be classical music enthusiasts or perhaps comic book fans. With the exposure to different cultures and niches, one can develop themselves according to the culture or niche they subscribe to and become a true individual, yet part of an ever growing community.

Everyone in New York City wakes up to their annoying and loud alarm clocks and run straight into the shower. They usually grab a small breakfast and runs out to catch the bus or subway. It seems everyone in New York City is rushing towards their destination. People are pushing and shoving trying to get into the subway first so they can either find seats or have a spot they can stand in the subway. Many people are also rude, maybe because it is too early in the morning or maybe it is because this is New York City.  I also wake up to an annoying and loud alarm clock and usually grab a small breakfast before I leave my home. I see that the buses and subways are always overcrowded, I hate it. NYC is always noisy and hectic.

On the other hand, New Jersey is quieter and peaceful. The people there actually say “Hello” or smile at one another even though they barely know each other. It feels as if New Jersey has less people than New York City, or maybe its because NYC is congested and fast. I’d love to live in New Jersey or any other slow and calm city, rather than NYC. I love the peace and quietness.

After reading Simmel’s text on “The Metropolis and Mental Life”, it appears to me that he is making an argument on how an individual values time, and how money drives the world.. In todays society, time can be seen to be more valued then it ever was or it can also be that we are wasting it more then its ever been, all depending on the individual. The example we used was described in the text of how a pocket watch was to be kept in ones pocket. The significance of this watch is so that we are more punctual people as it demonstrates a great part of our personalities, image, and priorities. With regards to the Blase Attitude that Simmel speaks of, the city dwellers demonstrate this attitude quite nicely. Since time has become of such value, We spend about a fourth of our life in educational institutions, and then another half of our life working to make ends meet. This process is repeated over and over again and it brings out the blase attitude that Simmel describes. However, due to changing times, without seeking a higher education, it is impossible to become successful and wealthy. In our minds, we know that we have to continuously repeat the same procedures every single day, but at the end of the day, its the money that drives us to continue doing what we have to do.

After reading George Simmel’s “The Metropolis and Mental Life,” I realized that as urban residents, our lives are completely and utterly controlled by time and money. Of  course I had this notion beforehand, but reading Simmel’s piece let it really sink it. Simmel said that without time being used, monitored and controlled down to the fractions of a second, the metropolitan cities would fall into ruin and chaos. Time is everywhere, especially in the city. It’s in our phones, in our buildings, classrooms, on our wrists, and especially in the train stations. In such a busy, hectic city, time is a necessity in order to maintain a schedule and some form of uniformity and organization. The population is just too dense for people to walk around aimlessly without having a schedule or routine to keep. It would be absolute chaos. Not having to rely on time so much is easier in a rural life because you only really have to worry about how much sunlight there’s going to be in the day. The fractions of a second don’t account for much of anything.

Another interesting thing that I got from the reading is that we as city dwellers have come to evaluate people with quantitative value more than qualitative value. One of the first things you come to notice is how much money a person has, whether it’s by how they dress, what they buy, or what they do. In a city that is so engrossed  with financial value, the people are seen as just dollars amounts. So many people strive to become richer, to hoard more and more money, using whoever and whatever means necessary to gain more value. Punctuality gives value to people as well, showing that they care, that they are organized. GPA’s control a large portion of our scholarly lives as well. It’s intriguing yet disturbing to see how much quantitative values are growing to grip our lives.

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.