Strange cult of (false) power - gunshot sounds

 

bullet-looking private listening to block out the world

Even though most people seem to move about on rubber tires in 2 or 3,000 pound vehicles of glass and steel, a few can be seen on foot. That is the pace that allows one to gather up recycling litter and other debris like this pair of earbuds that seem to have a damaged wire. Many listeners have switched to bluetooth, wireless earbuds, prone to falling out of the ear. But others continue to use plug-in miniature speakers like these. However, most designs are sleek and futuristic; not shaped like things seen elsewhere around the society like the bullet shaped (and sized) design in the above photo.

Leaving aside the audio specifications and listening experience contained in this electronic gear, the fact that listeners would pay for this design; and that manufacturers (and retailers) would see a market to pitch to brings several thoughts to mind. One is about the attraction of gun references in popular culture: on lunch boxes, bumper stickers and T-shirts, car window decals, social media #meme art, and so on. How can it be that something causing so much harm by accident, self-harm, and used in the commission of property and personal crime also is so prominent, seemingly normal and even desirable. Perhaps there is allure in the old idea that by holding something just a trigger-pull away from murder, there comes projected threat and power in one's own control, despite the statistics that show the one pulling the trigger many times is the one wounded or worse. 

Since this pair of earbuds was discarded near a combined high school and middle school a few weeks before the school year ends, maybe the already uncertain nature of rapid social change in-person and online is compounded through the lens of individual change of puberty and high-stakes social status and personhood that comes in the hallways, classrooms, cafeterias and locker rooms of teenage school years. In other words (leaving aside the subset of pressures for gangs and territory and violence), when the society leaves a person feeling disempowered and the music or podcast listener also is in a life phase of low-agency (parents, teachers, bosses, police and judges dictating the rules), then the symbolism of wearing bullet-shaped earbuds says something like, "keep your hands and your rules and your scrutiny off me" or else I'll resort to bullets.

Second, the plastic body to which the black silicon earpieces are attached has been shaped and colored in facsimile to .45 caliber bullets, short and fat. In this case the dimple where the firing pin hits the primer to fire the projectile indicates the shot has been fired. Is that detail meant to amplify the authentic look; or is it part of product narrative - as if the old brass has been repurposed to hold electronics, making a kind of pun: now powerful sound comes from the brass where there once came a powerful kinetic blast.

Third, maybe there is a baked-in ambivalence expressed in visual, non-verbal communication. By showing others you are not afraid of bullets and that you routinely handle them, in a kind of (anti) halo effect, you insinuate yourself with an aura of danger and of skirting the law in willful exertion of individual, ego-centered celebration of self: unfettered by polite (civil) society, trust, courtesy, and rules of status quo that seem only to support and extend the life chances of people with knowledge, (inherited wealth) money, authority and power.

Probably there are still more standpoints to take when interpreting the attraction of accessories to wear for others to see, while also functioning as musical and spoken word devices. But the fields of meaning that are connected to imagined power to affect the attitudes and actions of others, in the context of social changes and uncertainties of status, and the weekly news events of gun violence at mass or at personal scale, does indeed shed light on why such designs are manufactured, retailed, and are then purchased by (young) people in 2024 in the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

 

Popular culture to play sadly with current events

 

Falsely witty message for public view parked near Veterans Home

BLACK LIVES MATTER dates back about 7 years before 5/2020, but the brutal murder of Breonne Taylor 3/2020 from a "no-knock" police break in to a private residence, followed in May by George Floyd's strangulation by Minneapolis uniformed police in May, amplified the national (and international) call for police accountability to all citizens harmed, but disproportionately for police accountability to citizens with African-American appearance. This photo is taken about 18 months after Taylor's murder. 

On the back of this truck the smart-alecky mix of sarcasm, moral superiority, and denial of any problem is painful to read: "All lives splatter" [rhyming with Black Lives Matter]. The image of an SUV striking a group of people (two adult and two children) makes the point non-verbally. There is no human visible at the driver's wheel. Then comes the disrespect: Nobody Cares ABOUT YOUR PROTEST [in all caps]. KEEP YOUR ASS OUT OF THE ROAD [also all caps, but smaller pitch size]. 

Some readers would giggle nervously, mingling dread and disbelief. A few would find this form of degrading others (and by implication raising one's own self) as being as funny and unproblematic as physical humor. Still others might mirror the hate in the message by churning up similar feelings not in agreement with the indecent verbal offender, but feelings of hate directed at the person driving this truck, or the one who decorated it in this way. The general public, though, hopefully does hold onto some self-respect and respect for others. The general public would recognize this silent rip in the social fabric as something bad; a kind of emotional and cognitive cancer. It makes the offender an embarrassment to civilized society. Here in the parking lot for the military veterans whose service was in defense of "equal protection under the law," and "one person, one vote," among other national laws and traditions, this sort of verbal disease is particularly distressing. It is something like an auto-immune response that harms one's own body. "Free speech" abusers like this one harm the body that makes their existence possible. Thankfully, publicly visible offenses to respectful interactions like this one are rare things. On social media they may appear like bright and noisy fireworks that flame out momentarily, but then again, that arena seems to work best on outrage, transgression, and breaking boundaries or disregarding all boundaries of behavior.

Pop culture - The monkeys who see and hear and speak no evil

Bumper art: See no evil... [post code 49505 on 3/2021]

Popular culture takes many forms but always seems to flow from a prominent status source like religion, celebrity, or governing authorities down to the average consumer of mass-produced, mass-distributed, and mass-consumed iterations. The national flag can turn up on T-shirts, wrapping paper, or coloring books. The crucifix from various traditions of Christianity can be expressed in precious metal and gems as jewelry or it can appear on album art for secular music. And a piece of clothing first seen on Princess Diana in the 1990s could turn up in discount clothing stores a few months later.

This photo shows the space sometimes reserved for license plates in some countries or states being used here to express a point of view with a bit of pop art that may be purchased online, on demand (send your image file for producer to fulfill), or at shops selling automotive accessories. Since Michigan only requires a legally issued and up-to-date license plate on the rear of the car, some drivers attach something referencing the university they support or identify with for sports teams and/or personal schooling experience. Others choose logos for professional sports teams, vacation destinations, ethnic heritage, religious teaching, or a bit of abstract art. This one bears the "3 Wise Monkeys," as Wikipedia in English calls the ensemble.

Screenshot of Wikipedia "3 Wise Monkeys"

Without talking to the driver whose car displays the monkeys, above, it is impossible to say what is being expressed. It could be "whatever happens in my world or the wider world, don't hold me accountable; I did nothing" (deniability). Or maybe it is less about denying involvement and instead a nod and a wink to "live and let live; just about anything is permissible since I don't value a lot of the restrictions asserted as legalities" (give me liberty; don't give me responsibility). Then again, the bumper art could be a reference to a career as art teacher, aficionado of folktales, lover of monkeys, travel souvenir from Japan, or merely a way to honor the person who gave it as a present. In fact, more than one meaning can apply at the same time, layering the significance of putting the scene into public circulation on highways and city streets, wherever the car is parked. 

For the purpose of this article, though, this example illustrates how pop culture can take something from its original setting (mausoleum of centuries-old warlord Ieyasu in Nikko, Japan; and before that, a folk wisdom story from India) and reshape, repurpose, and spread it into wider circulation and new contexts where people can give it new meanings, such as this front bumper of a Japanese car, either imported by ship or put together inside the USA as a joint-venture product for sale.