The Virtues of Apathy Essay -- Essays Papers

The Virtues of Apathy â€Å"I just don't think I can continue to live in a place that embraces and nurtures apathy as if it was virtue.† Morgan Freeman speaks these words in the movie Se7en after declaring that he is going to quit his job as a detective. His character sees crimes of hate, aggression and murder every day, and he also observes the public’s reaction to them. People turn a blind eye; they no longer care. What has happened to society? Why has what used to be considered incredibly shocking dissolved into what is considered an everyday and usual activity? Apathy has become the common response of American society towards what should be considered shocking because these activities have become unshocking and â€Å"everyday†. In searching for the cause and extent of the problem of social de-shockification, one must begin with the group of writers who devoted themselves to intermixing the shocking and strange with the everyday: the surrealists. The original intention of the Surrealists was not to normalize shocking activities, but instead to make strange the â€Å"normal† and the â€Å"everyday†. These writers took the shocking and taboo items and subjects and introduced them into common circumstances so that readers would take a closer look at the circumstances, not the items introduced. Cultural analyst Ben Highmore describes it as a â€Å"juxtaposing of disparate elements† (Highmore 46). Surrealists took the evil, they took the wickedness and the debauchery, and they placed it in with the â€Å"clean† and the â€Å"good†. Opposites have the optimal effect of bringing out the different qualities of two objects. In order to defamiliarize what was good and normal, Surreal ists had to place it in juxtaposition with what was evil and unusual. One Surre... ...ly receive notice. The only problems that are solved are the ones the affect individuals. That in itself is a problem that plagues society, and it will not be fixed until apathy ceases to control the everyday lives of the American people. Works Cited - Bataille, Georges. Blue of Noon. 1957. New York: Marion Boyars Publishers, 2002. - Camus, Albert. The Fall. 1956. New York: Vintage Books, 1991. - Highmore, Ben. Everyday Life and Cultural Theory: An Introduction. London: Routledge, 2002. - Isidore, Chris. â€Å"NCAA Rating Sag.† 25 Mar. 2003. CNNMoney. . - Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1929. - Se7en. Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kevin Spacey. New Ling Home Entertainment. The Virtues of Apathy Essay -- Essays Papers The Virtues of Apathy â€Å"I just don't think I can continue to live in a place that embraces and nurtures apathy as if it was virtue.† Morgan Freeman speaks these words in the movie Se7en after declaring that he is going to quit his job as a detective. His character sees crimes of hate, aggression and murder every day, and he also observes the public’s reaction to them. People turn a blind eye; they no longer care. What has happened to society? Why has what used to be considered incredibly shocking dissolved into what is considered an everyday and usual activity? Apathy has become the common response of American society towards what should be considered shocking because these activities have become unshocking and â€Å"everyday†. In searching for the cause and extent of the problem of social de-shockification, one must begin with the group of writers who devoted themselves to intermixing the shocking and strange with the everyday: the surrealists. The original intention of the Surrealists was not to normalize shocking activities, but instead to make strange the â€Å"normal† and the â€Å"everyday†. These writers took the shocking and taboo items and subjects and introduced them into common circumstances so that readers would take a closer look at the circumstances, not the items introduced. Cultural analyst Ben Highmore describes it as a â€Å"juxtaposing of disparate elements† (Highmore 46). Surrealists took the evil, they took the wickedness and the debauchery, and they placed it in with the â€Å"clean† and the â€Å"good†. Opposites have the optimal effect of bringing out the different qualities of two objects. In order to defamiliarize what was good and normal, Surreal ists had to place it in juxtaposition with what was evil and unusual. One Surre... ...ly receive notice. The only problems that are solved are the ones the affect individuals. That in itself is a problem that plagues society, and it will not be fixed until apathy ceases to control the everyday lives of the American people. Works Cited - Bataille, Georges. Blue of Noon. 1957. New York: Marion Boyars Publishers, 2002. - Camus, Albert. The Fall. 1956. New York: Vintage Books, 1991. - Highmore, Ben. Everyday Life and Cultural Theory: An Introduction. London: Routledge, 2002. - Isidore, Chris. â€Å"NCAA Rating Sag.† 25 Mar. 2003. CNNMoney. . - Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1929. - Se7en. Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kevin Spacey. New Ling Home Entertainment.