Power and Counter Power

Throughout the semester of this course, Dr. Strangelove has always emphasized the point that for every power there is a counter power.  Whenever power is exercised by capitalism and corporations, there is always a counter reaction to it.  When corporations attempt to control the meanings and things, there is the reaction of the public through amateur cultural production to give their say about what meanings should be advertised.  

The internet the technologies that are provided to us that act as a catalyst for this counter reaction and power.  Corporations that are trying to keep a watchful eye on our consumption of music and movies through "illegal" file sharing is counteracted by our surveillance of them.  It is through our camera phones that we are able to capture a moment or event and instantly upload it to the internet.  A popular example of the counter surveillance of the government and capitalist system is the pepper spraying event that happened at the University of California during the Occupy Movement.  Multiple videos began popping up on the internet after a campus officer began pepper spraying a row of protesters.  Since this story became so popular worldwide in the media, the pepper spraying cop became a meme, being photoshopped spraying different characters in popular pictures.

Since the incident, the university has suspended the officers involved and the Chancellor has issued a formal apology to the public and the students at the university.  It just goes to show that technology does have its advantages, it prevents our government and corporations from straying out of line and actually scares them.

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