HW 12- Feed A

I think Feed is a reflection of our society. As an allegory of modern teenage life many points it is on target, like the relationships dynamics and the want of fitting in and getting along with others. That aspect of it rings true. Like when Titus is with his friends and with Violet, Violet is kind of rejected by them and hurt because of her differences and Titus just wants her to fit in. He wants her to get along with her friends but at the same time resents her for being different. In general many teenagers want to fit in to their group. The use of slang is also realistic too, like "null" or "unit". Kids today do the same things. They've always had. We say things like "cool" or "what's up". Though in the past it may have been "gee golly" or "groovy".

Other aspects of the lifestyle like the extent the technology is used is exaggerated at times. Since in the Feed, that is all their lives revolve around because they are never able to shut it off, not even in their dreams. For us, we can shut it off, and take a break from it. We can never go completely without it, unless by some drastic change forces use to, but we can pause and walk away just for a bit. We can go have a picnic at the park, run around, play, go to the pool. There's both aspects of it, times when we can't avoid it and times when we can.

Some tragic parts, is that like the "veal farms" in Feed, technology replaces things. To have technological advancement means something must be given up, whether that is tradition or some aspect of your culture, something has to be changed to make a place for technology. Right now, its not really in my own life, but in China, many pavilions and traditional houses with outdoor gardens are being torn down to make way for huge concrete buildings. Those buildings represent thousands of years of culture and the thought of them being replaced so easily and thoughtlessly saddens me. That and the fact that no one seems to mind either because China is so eager to "catch up" with the rest of the world. It is something we'll never get back, with technology, it is all about the need to be "current" and in such a world, where is the place for "history"? Does the modernness that technology brings have room for that? Is it possible for the two to co-exist? I hope so.