Reading Day 2
The Poss!bleOK #essay, #capitalism, #freedomofchoice, #illusion
I am standing in the kitchen of KFC, where I work, and I am looking at the customers on the other side of the counter. A wellbuilt young man is standing in front of the counter and complaining to my colleagues about his order. I guess, maybe one piece of chicken was missing, or his food was not as warm as he wanted it to be. That is not important to me, nor interesting. It is interesting to me that he is wearing a short sleeve, dark brown Nike T-shirt with bold white letters saying: ‘JUST DO IT’. I stop looking at him and continue doing my job. I put the chicken pieces in the flour, then in the water, then again in the flour, and then bread them on the cooking racks: ready to be fried. According to Marx, I am alienated from the chicken I am making, my product is not mine, I am not using my creativity, I feel detached from what I am making, emasculated, just doing a repetitive task, making profit and a commodity for my boss, whilst I myself am a commodity to the system I am working in. By silently preparing and frying chicken I am complying with the conditions that are set for me within KFC. The object that I am making, the chicken, enters the commodified world, engendering my ego-weakness, making me more vulnerable in my existence in society, whilst promising the customers a ‘more’ happy evening, a ‘more’ happy life, and trying to gratify them. (Marx 69-84) The same happens with Nike. ‘JUST DO IT’ is an oral gratification, an empty piece of informative order, a bag of deficit packed in a nice package presented to us, from a God, Nike, made by people just like us, miserable, and weak. It tries to remind us
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