Thanks to Sarah, I have been turned on to Geez magazine, an Adbusters for the curious and faithful and maybe the self-loathing.
The magazine is full of the Adbusters brand (oh, it’s a brand all right) of intellectual self-flagellation that starts with a genuine, admirable desire to know and improve thyself, and proceeds from inquiry to recrimination to eventual numbness.
It pulls like a tide, and then an undertow, page after page of earnest, “Doesn't modernity kind of suck? Are you doing enough? Didn’t you know you’re kind of not good enough?”
The answer is yes, I’m well aware that I’m not good enough. Now get off my fucking case.
But, it’s good bathroom reading, and I do enjoy the navel-gazing. I also like people attempting to answer the questions they bring up, and these Geez kids don't always seem on that bandwagon.
I can’t figure out if I like Geez yet. I think maybe I don't. But I have a subscription. And I like getting it in the mail.
If you’re getting mixed messages, it’s because I’m sending them.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Cripes
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1 comment:
Okay, I just have to say . . .
THANK YOU.
See, Sarah and I have had our little discussions about this fledgling periodical, and much as I would like to like it, I DON'T.
It represents a mindset that is all about asking questions--as you mentioned--and not necessarily finding answers. I'm not saying we have to find the answers. I'm quite sure we'll never know all the answers. But shouldn't we at least be looking for them? The truth is out there.
And before anyone accuses me of being critical of a particular generation or stage of life--which certainly do lend Geez its unique voices and organizational styles--let me just say this. Some people say this is just the way young adults are; we ask questions and we don't necessarily care about the answers. Well, if I had seen evidence that young adults like that usually "grew out of it," I might not mind Geez so much. But I am the daughter and the friend of many, many baby boomers who never really grew up and started suggesting possible answers to the questions they posed.
And let me tell you, that is dangerous.
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