Suggestions and Themes for Transmission

***ViDEo"tApE" People Talking; Up-LoAd He(A)re!<-->;)***

Here's a brief list of suggested themes I've come up with. Use them as you see fit, maybe as connectors to one or more of the infinite possibilities they inspire. Please take a few minutes to comment at the end of this post with your own suggestions. Let's move forward together in the creative process!

Keep in mind, it is not necessary, nor is it advisable, to attempt to answer all the subtopics associated with any particular topic you may choose to address. These ideas may be further explored through a creative exchange, where there is no mandated form. I am not particularly set on the magazine being limited to include only ("academic") "papers," since such an exclusion would seem to limit the scope of its perspectives. Therefore, freedom of expression in form and content is encouraged.

* Where is abbreviation taking us? Trace the history and origins of the abbreviation trend, using examples in language, in collective thought, in business, etc., and weigh its value against sacrifices made. For instance, it seems that with one technological advancement after another, the mechanization movement has meant making our culture move faster (e.g., a progression from the Industrial Revolution to the present reveals sudden changes transitioning a culture, one may argue, from a slow-paced age emphasizing quality over quantity into a fast-paced age emphasizing quantity over quality, a culture that promotes ease of use over hard work, introducing in rapid succession the railroad, the telephone, the automobile, the airplane, the freeway, the television, the computer, e-mail and internet, the text message, the i-phone app), as it seeks immediate gratification. Advertising in the past hundred years also reflects the rapid progression in the collective psyche: from the lengthy text ad that was once common to the minimalist pop image of today. What have been the psychological effects on the individual caught in this wave? What are the pros and cons of this trend? Is it indefinitely sustainable? Is this trend facilitating a movement into a new paradigm?

* Examine the ideas of "political correctness" and "tolerance." Do these social pressures establish whatever their assumed agenda is? Are they responsible for reinforcing old prejudices?

* Pick a popular expression, word or ad campaign and examine its viability. It may be old or new, as long as it's still in popular use: for example, one may argue that the overwhelming popularity of anti-drug campaigns and breast cancer awareness campaigns, while benefiting their specific target audiences according to their respective agendas, overlook and promote ignorance of other epidemics, such as heart disease, which is the number one killer of women, and alcohol, which causes more health problems, arguably, than marijuana.

* What kind of information has priority in the dominant (Western) culture? What kind of information has priority in other cultures? Compare and contrast. For example, examine the top news stories from different sources, from American media and elsewhere. One may find it useful to inform one's argument by examining concepts such as media conglomeration, imperialism, and marginalization.

More than observing what we perceive to be ingrained social problems, the purpose of ob(li)fious is to discuss and suggest alternatives for creatively re-envisioning our world.

Each issue of the magazine we publish may explore a certain theme, representing a diversity of critical perspectives.

U.S. Media and Infrastructure:
A Comparison of Symbols



which one of these is not (un)like the other?



















Is it possible that the big picture hides in plain sight?
Does it stare us in the face?



















STARE BACK.










SHARE BACK. Ob(Li)fious welcomes discussion and written submissions.



















Images courtesy: Google images

Question: WHAT IS THE AMERICAN MAINSTREAM?

Is it possible to discover what the "mainstream" culture's perspective, goals, interests, and ideals are? Or is mainstream not people, but an artificial (i.e., designed, created, established, constructed) status quo based upon some convenient law of average, one which is constructed and maintained institutionally? I find it hard to believe that most people fed mainstream actually buy it because they like it; it seems more likely to me, rather, that the majority that buys into the presented mainstream does so because the alternative is discouraged, disdained, or believed (i.e., imagined, created, expressed, reinforced, experienced) as/"to be" unavailable. It seems unreasonable to accept, furthermore, that the section of the American population not subscribing to the allegedly mainstream culture, although a minority, perhaps, does not represent a significant percentage of the American population. It seems this population, however small, is to be properly assembled and organized, in order to be (self-) defined. Once it is defined, it seems that it will be easier for this multi-faceted tribe to expose the artifice of mainstream, if such a hypothesis turns out to be accurate. This project has the potential to organize and define this under-recognized class of Americans, as well as to expose the artifice of mainstream culture--in America, and potentially, where applicable, in the rest of the world. If this agenda is realized, we potentially possess the ability to make our own mainstream public, and possibly even threaten the survival of the present popular mainstream culture of ideas that define Reality for its "mainstream."

If the source of the stream stops pumping, will the fish seek us instead?

Recommended reading for paper topic:

Heath, Joseph and Andrew Potter. . . . Nation of Rebels: Why Counterculture Became Consumer Culture.
Hoffman, Abbie. . . .Steal This Book!
Niedzvieki, Hal. . . .Hello, I'm Special: How Individuality Became the New Conformity.