re: lonely generation

before i write about my response to the claim that our generation is becoming more lonely with a looser definition of what a "friend" is and where our "close friends," the people we share our important information and secrets with are dwindling in numbers, i will expound upon my credentials.  i have been using instant messaging on aim since 6th grade (10 yrs ago), and i am still using the same screen name.  i had the experience of using icq and the multi-chat functions that allowed me to communicate with users from countries all-over europe synchronously.  i have played on muds in 7th grade, i've connected to servers using tcp/ip since i was 12, i've sent emails while watching sailor moon, and i'm a member of facebook, myspace, youtube, and imeem.  although i've only had a cell phone since 2005, i did play mmo-rpgs since i was 13, 8 yrs before world of warcraft.

now that i have explained my proficiency in online technologies, i want to explain that although having a looser definition of what a friend is, i feel that it does not take away from "real-life" experiences.  just because we have so many friends online, doesn't mean that all friends in "real-life" have to be some sort of uber-friend where you can always confide in them and trust them to always be with you.  we treat friends in real-life loosely and we treat friends online even looser, at least that's what it always had been since i've started using the internet.  friends are just as important as they always were, at least thats what the inebriated anthropologist says.

oh, and i also had the experience of having my first girlfriend break up with me over email and subsequent im conversations!

Political party news in Korea

the article mentioned is at http://kcna.co.jp/index-e.htm, click on past news, click on oct. 7, 2008 click on "implementation of october 4 declaration urged."

utilizing fairclough's principles from his article, i will attempt to analyze this article writtin by the kcna, a state-run korean central news agency in the democratic people's republic of korea (north korea).  before analyzing the article, my viewpoint of the article comes from what i know about the country of north korea.  a communist nation where the media must always portray the country and the party in a "brighter" light, north korea will always mention the good sides of communism but never about the famine and poverty that is currently happening.  my presupposition is that the genre (hymes' "speaking") will be communist political party speech.  the article is about a call for the implementation of the october 4th declaration from last year - basically confirming a former declaration in june 15th declaring cooperation between the two nations, possible reunification, and peace.

on the basis of fairclough's representation, the writer of the article clearly depicts two opposing sides between the dprk government and the lee myung bak group.  first, the writer summarizes the oct. 4th delcaration, then goes on to claim that general secretary kim jong il, with his "strong will for reunification and his wise leadership," will successfully fulfill the delcaration to "develop inter-korean relations and open up a new era of independent reunification, peace and prosperity."  on the other hand, the lee myung bak group, leaning towards the us government, came to power and "cried out for confrontation with fellow countrymen."  the writer states that the lee myung bak group are a clear obstacle to the unity of the nation and my interpretation of the writer's words is that they are against everything positive for koreans - such as developing relations and reconciliation between the two nations.  lastly, the writer "calls upon all koreans to turn out in a nation-wide struggle to decisively smash the anti-reunification moves of the lee group.

the writer makes many points that one cannot really disagree against, except for kim jong il being wise.

continuing with the "faircloughian" analysis, as opposed to many news agencies leaning towards the marketization and democratization of media, the kcna writes mainly about political occurances, and also politicizes non political articles concerning business.  everything is about the party and how "good" the party is.

the first ultimate presupposition the writer makes is that the reader is familiar with communist ideology and marxist doctrine.  everything in the article is about unity and cooperation to "usher in a new era of independent reunification, peace and prosperity.  "all korean people should unite" to combat the  forces that attempt to violate the dignity and sovereignty of a nation, which of course is made by the people and ultimately serves its people.

there is nothing in the article about what the lee myung bak group concretely did.  nothing about what kinds of obstacles the group set up nor about how or who they are collaborating with as in "subservient to foreign forces."  without knowing exactly what the lee myung bak group has done, there is no way to come to the conclusion that the group is undermining the nations sovereignty or threatening peace and security.  ultimately, the writer is driving the reader to think a certain way.  

returning to fairclough's interpretation, this article is composed of two, maybe three actors - the state, the korean people, and the lee myung bak group.  the state is what made strides to write the october 4th declaration that ultimately supports the people and sets forth the importance of achieving reunification, peace, and prosperity.  the korean people, in accordance with the declaration, must stand-up against all who attempt to threaten the values and goals of the declaration.  and the lee myung bak group are the people who have threatened the ideals set forth in the declaration.

this article was essentially a reaction to the fact that it was the one-year anniversary of the oct. 4th declaration.  by naming certain groups who are against the declaration, the writer could rouse support for the declaration be calling out to the korean people.  after all, who would be opposed to reunification, peace and prosperity, probably no one, at least that's what the inebriated anthropologist says.

Global English - Hip Hop

to quickly skip back to verbal art, after reading an article about the state of the studies of global englishes, and the importance and meaning of performativity, i see that hip-hop culture is very much multi-faceted. although hip-hop originated from african american urban culture, the hip-hop seen and used worldwide does not exactly reflect that of african american culture. for instance, pennycook analyzes the lyrics by a hip-hop/rapper group named rip slyme, and although pennycook finds that the rhythm and rhyme of the verse is typical of hip-hop, the group utilizes english as a form of self-identity. specific words such as double and freaky side are english words, but at the same time, these words represent different aspects of japanese culture - double signifying an individual of two cultures and freaky side, conveying the notion of individuality. english is not simply a homogenizing force that attempts to cover the world with a single identity, but rather, speakers of english vary in how they interpret it, how they use it, and why they use it. pennycook quotes mitchell stating that english is "a tool for reworking local identity all over the world." english is a vehicle for hip-hop artists to express their sense of identity, similar to how the many different forms of breakdancing resemble the different areas where it originates. pennycook also quotes cameron claiming that it is false to assume that people speak because of who they are, but rather that how people speak defines who they are. the globalization of english is a complex occurrence that affects all aspects of society, but we must not forget that every culture assimilates it differently; thereby, creating a phenomena resembling but different from the original, at least that's what the inebriated anthropologist says.