UNTITLED 
(because I can)

  

One of my latest paintings. 

My father has never been an ordinary dad. In fact you could probably go as far as to say eccentric, particularly when it comes to knowledge and teaching. 

When my brother and I were in Elementary School, we had to study hours each day during summer, reading history books, watching science shows, practicing multiplication tables all far above our age level. Our science projects were sometimes too complicated for teachers to understand, and certainly far too complicated for my brother and I to fully grasp. And we had to do “touch typing” every day of the summer on one of those really old Macintosh computers where the screen was the size of your hand.

           

I was taught to say “by negligence” instead of “by accident” when I was 5 years old.  Which was then turned into a lesson about how comprehension is situational, since my Kindergarten teacher didn’t understand me when I kept telling her I did it “by negligence”, only because she couldn’t imagine that a five year old would actually know this word. 

In high school my father and I fought a lot since I, like most teenagers, was far more interested in my social life than anything I was learning in school.  When asking him for help with my homework or to study for an exam he would always force me to start at the beginning and spend WAY more time on projects than anyone else.  Not to mention that ASIDE from schoolwork, I still needed to do EXTRA studying in the house, including at one point, watching a movie on the history of trigonometry (something my father watched for fun).   He even had me spend months studying note cards to prepare for the Baby Bar Exam (which I never took).   And in college he read my text books recreationally and insisted on testing me any time we went 5 minutes without talking; while driving, at a restaurant, on the phone... 

Everything my brother and I did was always turned into a lesson, whether we were in a hurry or extremely uninterested, according to my dad it was a necessity to take time to learn…and still is to this day. 

My full name, if I haven’t mentioned prior, is Seren Cleopatra Aspasia Moran.  No, not joking, that’s the name on my driver’s license.  Why you might ask? Because of course this was yet another opportunity to teach a lesson, a lesson from birth.  He wanted both my brother and I to know whom the most influential men and women were in history.  (My brother’s name is Michael Socrates Ulysses Moran.)   So of course, I knew who Cleopatra was and how to spell it before the age 8.  And Aspasia, if you were wondering was Pericles’s mistress, someone to have supposedly greatly influenced him in ruling Greece during the Golden Age. 

I don’t think it’s a surprise to say this can be a real nuisance at times, and exhausting to say the least. But it hasn’t all been bad.  I have to assume that my father is to thank for why today I type an average of 80 wpm; why (aside from a lot of unmentioned side stepping) I got my GED at 16, studied at a city college at that time, and then continued on to get my diploma finishing my last two years of high school in 6 months; why I learned how to play bridge at the age of 11, (and still love and play regularly today); why I joined the chess club at my University; why I (a studio ART major) audited a Plato seminar for graduate students my sophomore year in college reading the Plato dialogs at age 19; why I have a better understanding of the law and my rights than, to be honest, most people of any age, and perhaps even part of the reason that aside from my art I have chosen an additional career path in teaching.   

So, with that short background history of my childhood and my father, it should be no shock that while being 23 years old, living in a foreign country, he still sends me several emails a day of articles and the matter that he either thinks I will be interested in, or, more often, things that I ‘need to know’. (He probably wouldn’t like that I put that in quotes).  I must confess that even having grown up with him, it is still difficult for me to find the time and motivation to read or watch the news (yes I know how shameful that may sound).  But I don’t really need to worry about that too much, since I will certainly be emailed with anything of great (or even not particularly great) importance.

Admittedly, 99% of the time I don’t read the emails.  At the most, if the subject line is interesting I skim the article.  However, last weekend I happened to, somewhat accidentally read one of his emails entirely.  The subject line: “Why Does Apple Inspire So Much Hate?” (http://www.cultofmac.com/172428/why-does-apple-inspire-so-much-hate/)

Now, this would certainly not normally come under my top 5 list of interesting subject topics, and in any other circumstance this email surely would have gone unread and immediately dropped in my “Steve” folder, waiting to perhaps someday be read. 

However, it just so happened that last Sunday was the end of a four-day weekend in result of a Brazilian holiday.  My only plan for Sunday was to paint all day, which was unable to happen because of the break in at my school, which is of course extremely unfortunate in many ways beyond just me not being able to paint. 

But after offering my assistance with the school, my Sunday was left wide open and free.  Everyone I know here was busy and Daniel was obsessively studying for his finals this week, while constantly interrupted with business calls.  I have already helped him as much as I can with his homework, considering it’s in Portuguese.  But I did proudly type up a bunch of his notes and homework, since I type faster than him even in Portuguese, and was a great way to learn how to spell in Portuguese.  Anyway, I figured I would take the time to have a lazy Sunday, eating exotic Brazilian fruits in bed catching up on TV shows I never find time to watch. 

While I was waiting for the final episode of my TV show to load I saw his email.  I figured, what the heck, even though this wasn’t particularly an interesting article to me, why not take a look anyway.

Now I’m pretty sure my father would be disappointed to hear that of all the articles he sends me about the environment, politics, economy, human rights issues, health, philosophies, technological advances, and the rest, that the one article in months that I actually read all the way through was about why people hate Apple.  (I’m also aware that this was a very long explanation as to why I read an email, so I apologize.)

While beginning the article I was still uninterested in the subject, but rather uncharacteristic of me I read further.  I don’t consider myself someone who feels particularly emotionally attached to my having an Apple computer, but the article was surprisingly well written and engaging.

Mike Elgan, the author of this article was discussing how Apple advertises itself as not only being a better computer but presents the idea that the PEOPLE who use apple computers are actually smarter, more sophisticated, creative and innovative PEOPLE.  Something that of course makes non-Apple users angry. While reading this, my first reaction was that this was absurd, and that I in fact did remember their commercial depicting the non-Apple user as this fat old guy, but that I of course in no way shape or form actually have any judgment about non-Apple users.  However, the more I began to think about this the more I realized that I’m not so sure that is accurate.

I was reminded of my first month here. I had broken my charger to my Apple laptop which here costs, used, R$120 to replace, something that costs $5 US dollars on Amazon.  I was struck by how expensive it was, and by the fact that there isn’t even an apple store within a two-hour radius of this city.  I remember my first thought being “welcome to a 3^rd world country”.  I didn’t think anything of it until reading this article.  But, truthfully there was certainly a small part of me that subconsciously made some (very inaccurate) connection between intelligent and sophisticated people using Apple computers and Brazilians perhaps not being this way since they are not accustomed to this brand.  It wasn’t just about money but a judgment about ignorance. 

To add to that, last week, a British man who is now another teacher at the school, came in with the new 2012 Mac book.  Realizing that that was the only other Apple computer I had seen here in brazil, I remember making that same connection. Something I find incredibly shallow and disturbing.

But unlike the purpose of Elgan’s article, I am less interested as to my judgment about Apple or non-Apple users, as I am about how much advertisement influences us, without even knowing it.  Of course what brand of computer you have has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with your creativity and says nothing about your personality except perhaps a few small preferences.  Yet I was subconsciously making this assumption, which made me think, “My god, what else am I out there unfairly and absurdly thinking without realizing it?!”

It isn’t that this is the FIRST time I have realized that we are all manipulated by advertising, but it was just a troubling reminder.  I mean all these advertising companies are sitting around getting paid (a pretty good amount I might add) to pick through our brains of what society says is right, cool, pretty, best, “sophisticated” and then makes money off finding ways to manipulate us into believing it and then of course purchasing. You have the argument, well that is free speech, that is business, that is sales, that is life. But I mean does no one else find that a little sick and frightening?  Does no one else think that perhaps we have gone a little too far?  I mean do I have no freedom to protect my mind from such subconscious manipulation?

A few months before I came to Brazil I watched a movie, Trust.  It’s a really well done movie actually, unsettling but very good.  It was about a 14 year old girl who is molested and raped by a man in his 40’s.  The story is of course more complicated, considering she agreed to it and what not, even though you really can’t hold her accountable.

Anyway, the father of this 14 year old girl in the movie worked for a big advertising company. As the movie showed all these traumatic things happening to his daughter and how she got manipulated into this situation and how devastating it was for the whole family.  Showing how actually quite easy it is for this to happy to all young girls and how impressionable they are.  But all the while, you see him designing these advertisements, of what exactly? Well, extremely skinny and made up young girls dressing sexy and promiscuous portraying women of far more maturity.  Of course paralleling the idea that, as devastating as this was for him to see this happen to his daughter, he too is a contributor to the impressionism and insecurities so many young women have. 

Now, I am of course not suggesting that someone working for an advertisement agency is to be blamed or charged for a molestation and rape caused by a 3^rd party.  But I AM suggesting that while Apple computers’ advertisement is not nearly as harmful but still found a way to sink into my brain, so do so many other far more harmful advertisements.  And as a woman in particular, I certainly feel victimized by the portrayal of beauty pressed upon society, and the many other absurd ideas that are pressed upon us. 

And this is something we are all at least to some extent blind to.  I mean I consider myself rather observant and unaffected by advertising.  I buy my clothes at thrift stores, I don’t pay much attention to brands or what is “in style”, I don’t know most celebrities names, or the singers of most songs I like, or care what rating a movie gets.  But the truth is no one goes un-affected.  If you hear something enough, by enough people, a part of you will probably start to believe it.   

And with technology, although of course there have been unarguably incredibly great advances; there have also been harmful ones.  I remember Daniel’s first week in San Diego.  He mentioned that he was getting a headache from all the billboards and flashing advertisements.  I was quite surprised to hear that actually.  He said he just felt bombarded with them and that it was overloading and exhausting.  It was still hard to understand since not only did it not bother me, I didn’t even NOTICE them.  But not consciously noticing them doesn’t mean I don’t inherently absorb their messages. 

Now, aside from my little society is killing our originality spurt, there was something else Elgan mentioned that inspired some thoughts.  Not so unrelated as it turns out.  At the very end of the article, he mentioned why hate gets created to begin with, suggesting that in fact Apple creates hate because Apple creates love.  Arguing that “love and hate are not opposites,” that the opposite of love and hate is actually indifference. 

Reading that sentence inspired a strong flashback to my Political Science professor my senior year of college, Michael Stoddard.  He was actually a visiting lecturer from Oxford, and taught me more about politics than my 22 years before his class. 

He was the first person I heard suggest that the way we look at politics is all completely wrong.  That we have, what he called a “linear view” of politics, labeling people as “leftists” and “rightists” as if we all exist on some imaginary line going in either direction.  His point was that this linear view is completely wrong because the extremes of both sides, Nazis and Communists for example, are not opposites at all.  That in fact, both extremes are very similar, and that the opposite of these is actually balance.  We could all learn something from both sides.  He suggested that we change the way we think and begin characterizing politics within a ‘circular’ view, in which both extremes would meet and the balance would be on the opposite side.  And I happen to agree with him.

I am constantly frustrated with the way people see politics that if I believe in gay marriage that I must then also be against the war in the middle east…as if those two are at all related.  I mean you can most certainly be conservative on issues and liberal on other issues, and even part and part within the same issue.  (Of course Stoddard would suggest that we abolish the terms of liberal and conservative altogether, but for the sake of explanation I will keep them here).  I can’t tell you how many times I hear people talk about how they don’t agree with a politician because they don’t like the politician but not at all mention what he is actually saying that is wrong.  By all means hate the guy, but can we talk about the real issue?  Can we discuss what he is saying about immigration or foreign policy, and just for one minute forget that he cheated on his wife or whatever else, since while we can judge that if we want, it has nothing to do with immigration.  Can we think for ourselves and decide what is right and wrong without having to belong to a certain group or category?  I’m not naive enough to think it is this simple, but I do believe we can make a stronger effort. 

So, my point? That I love Apple computers and anyone who doesn’t have one is old and stupid and is still thinking linear just as they do in politics.  No I’m totally kidding.  But I do think that there is a certain aspect of originality and individuality that is getting lost in society more and more each year, especially as technology grows.  Not something we need to find for the sake of “being original” because that is just as annoying and destructive, but for the fact that we should work harder at pushing away advertising pressures and political ideologies. And try to perhaps create something that, whether popularly agreed or not, is healthier and better, and most importantly is what we REALLY think, regardless of other people. 

I also realized that I haven’t been writing as much in my blog since I found out that I actually a good amount of readers. This somehow made me feel like I could no longer use this as a journal and now needed to “prove” something, once again somewhat consciously or subconsciously concerned about what other people think.  Or that I somehow needed to have a very specific limitation and theme for this blog, only talking about traveling or just art...Which of course I don't, and in fact being an artist and living in Brazil does not mean that is all I think about.  So here it is, my father’s lesson once again having an effect on me in one way or another.  I look forward to hearing what he thinks of this one :)