Describe or narrate a scenario about a candy found a decade into a future in which society as we know it has come apart. Your description should address issues related to the government and elicit feelings of alienation.
They say history repeats itself. Perhaps it is foolish to hope for this prophecy to come true. The past had problems too, however they seem so trivial in comparison to the present.
These thoughts were prompted by the finding of a piece of candy- a red wrapper covered with colourful polka dots, reminiscent of a time a decade ago when positivity, hope, and connectedness were abundant. The strawberry flavor floods me with the lost feeling of belonging. After a few minutes that feeling melts away leaving me with the bland taste of reality. One where political polarization has destroyed the world as we knew it. With so much distrust in government and the overwhelming growth of fake news, people have lost the ability to see outside of their own algorithms and biases. Political divides fragmented into millions of subgroups across the globe destroying political party lines, boarders, and societal norms. Centralized governments are a thing of the past. Conspiracy theories have officially gotten out of control and those with opposing views are treated harshly as enemies. A feeling of every community for themselves is evident, and the resource battle has begun.
Although people are part of communities with those that reinforce their same beliefs, a greater feeling of isolation from society as a whole persists. Micro communities fighting for survival amongst the greater population. But are others views really that different? At this point, there is no one who would risk exploring or discussing for fear of the dire repercussions. Those in power in these communities would rather maintain control than risk losing supporters to opposing camps. What was once a grouping of commonality is feeling more like one of control and conformity.
As I hold this candy wrapper, its colors bringing back painful memories, it acts as a reminder of unity lost to polarization and distrust. Yet, could this candy be a symbol of resilience? Perhaps history will repeats itself and life could become full of polka dots of positivity, hope, and connectedness once again.
What a great scenario! … or terrible, depending how you look at it 😉
Not sure if you’ve watched Fallout on Amazon Prime or played the games but your description of the future sound like it’s in that vein. I didn’t know anything about Fallout until I watched the TV show and I absolutely loved it! The 1950’s retrofuturism combined with re-imagined advanced technology is very cool, not to mention the writing and acting is fantastic.
One thing I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is how the internet has re-created a from of digital feudalism. Within traditional feudalism, there is a hierarchy: The King (chosen by God), Nobles (chosen by the King and swear and oath of loyalty), Knights (largely appointed by Nobles), and Peasants (the lowly and hard working) (2017). I’m working on a digital comparison, and you’re welcome to comment and suggest different players on the board. The King today would be “market forces” or economics. These forces are rather “god-like” and really do dictate how our lives are lived and who is in charge. Economics (as an entity) appoints Nobles (corporations) as it’s vassals to do their bidding. However, I really do think that digital corporations are the ones that have most of the power and resources. Digital Corporations (Nobles) appoint Knights to fight on their behalf and Economics’ (The Monarch) behalf. These could be personified as businesses or individuals that profit off of the systems and platforms created by Digital Corporations. Knights come in many different shapes and forms but the one thing they must do is tow the party line – profit, profit, profit. Many Knights are trying to change things from the “inside-out” but we all know that Marshall McLuhan’s prophetic adage “the medium is the message” is far to powerful to be toyed with (1968). Any Knight that profits off the power and structures of Kings and Nobles is guilty by association. And now to us mere mortals. The Peasants. Just average citizens doing their best to navigate the economic and social structures we’ve been born into. However, the major difference between historical feudalism and digital feudalism is the illusion of control and participation. Some Peasants can work the system to become Knights and even Nobles. In fact, a major tactic of keeping social order is to encourage Peasants to work their hardest to become Knights and Nobles. This is central to digital feudalism. Even if a Peasant isn’t working towards becoming a Knight/Noble, they have been given the illusion of control. The Nobles give the Peasants their systems and architecture for free – allowing them to create, network, and thrive within their fields of labour. The Knights and Nobles benefit off their labour and use their data to then target them deeper and more profoundly. The Peasant is often unaware of this feedback loop of creation and exploitation by their own hands. If they only knew that deleting the apps and closing the screen would give them MORE power, not less…
I am curious how digital feudalism will evolve and project 100 years into the future…
Anyway, I appreciate you reading this and being a sounding board for my thoughts on the matter. Your writeup helped direct some of these thoughts 🙂
What was the feudal system?. International School History – MYP history. (2017). https://www.internationalschoolhistory.net/IB/myp_history/4/unit1/feudalism_above.htm