The Dispatch by Folk Rebellion, Issue 3—Media & Advertising (April '18)

T H E M E D IA & A DVE R T I S I N G I S S U E

The media controls our minds, or at least they’re trying to. Let’s understand how they do it, and how to ‘Just Say No.’

$20

No3

Apr 2018

Years ago I read an essay called “The Braindead Megaphone,” by George Saunders.

It’s important for me to summarize it before you dive into our Media & Advertising issue.

a marketing-based dumbification of the general population for the benefit of megacorporations profiting off your tuned-out, easily-entertained, or distracted self.

Imagine a party full of people from all walks of life. Into that party walks a man with a megaphone. He’s not the smartest, the most well-spoken, or the most experienced— but he’s got that damn megaphone.

My hope with our third issue is to pull back the curtain on marketing, advertising, and media by sharing the tricks of the trades: from psychology-based behavior changes to profiting from fear. The end goal? To work together to fix it.

He starts talking about his love of springtime. People turn to listen because it would be impolite not to. Some agree with him and some don’t, but because he is so loud all the conversations in the room react to his words. The people unknowingly adopt his pace, his tone, his ideas. His rhetoric becomes the central theme of the party because of its unavoidability. He literally crowds out the other voices until it’s just his own.

And, just like that, Megaphone Guy’s statements are now your thoughts.

I often ask myself—and anyone who will listen—how did we get here?

I blame Mark Burnett. If the Megaphone Guy spouts off scripted television based around drama, fame, money, and anti-intellectualism and calls it “Reality TV,” it’s only a matter of time until we all turn to that megaphone and believe it’s true. Our reality is now based on Kardashians, The Apprentice, Survivor...and their product placements.

But I know that’s the wrong question. I pose to you all, and myself: HOW DO WE CHANGE IT?

Your mind is born a blank slate. But your ideas, purchases, choices, and experience with life is dictated by Guys With Megaphones.

Let’s start by refusing to turn towards Megaphone Guy—then, collectively, pick up ours.

We live in a culture of commercialism, a world where news is entertainment,

Get me off this fucking island, Jess Davis

The Dispatch, by Folk Rebellion, is made by the community, for the community.

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Brooklyn, NY April 2018 The Media & Advertising Issue Issue 03 | Copyright 2018 Subscribe at www.folkrebellion.com. No part of The Dispatch by Folk Rebellion may be reproLetters to the Editor, classified submissions, and sponsorship duced in any form without prior written consent from the inquiries can be sent to hello@folkrebellion.com. Pitch us at publisher. The Dispatch’s liability in the event of an error is pitches@folkrebellion.com. limited to a print correction.

CONTENTS INTERVIEWS: BEHIND THE SCREENS JESS'S SNAKE OIL + SOAP BOX SICK OF IT HOW WE'RE WIRED: EXPERIMENTS IN ADVERTISING SLOWING DOWN SPORTS FANATIC NO MORE THE BRANDING OF DANGER HOROSCOPES REAL TALK, GROUP TEXT CLICKS, DOLLAR BILLS, AND POLITICS: ANOTHER SET OF SHOES THIS NOT THAT BEHIND THE BUZZ: SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS MARKETING FEMINISM FOR SALE

6 11 12

14 17 18 22 25 25 26

27 28 29 31

35

SURVIVING ISN'T LIVING

38 46 48

SOME CALL IT DARK MARKETING I STARTED WORKING IN A VIDEO STORE…IN 2017 HOW-TO LISTEN TO MUSIC WITH TOM GOSSIN THE ABSENCE OF. A MEDITATION ON THE IMPORTANCE OF UNTOUCHED SPACES.

55 58 61 62 64

ROCK YOUR BLISS: GANG HANGS REVIEWS THE KITCHEN SINK SIMPLE PARENTING A REBEL CRY FOR SOLITUDE LIFE LESSONS FROM BILLBOARDS FUNNIES ASK JESS

49 65 67 68

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GAMES, ACTIVITIES, & PULLOUTS These are tear out, pull out, dog ear, fold, mail, scribble, love, play, pass and use IRL moments.

POSTER SMALL TALK CALENDAR AND “FUCK IT BUCKET” QUOTE

3 4 16 21

30 36 63 72-

SNAIL MAIL: LETTER TO NO ONE BOARD GAME (YOUR INNER) KIDS CROSSWORD, MASH, ETC.

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

ISSUE THREE

BY

LEXI WEBER

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TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

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ISSUE THREE

WHAT IS #HALFTHESTORY?

the wholehearted storyteller LARISSA (LARZ) MAY

#HalfTheStory is a global platform that encourages you to share a piece of your life that doesn’t usually have space in your social media story. It’s life unfiltered. The stories range from passion

projects to mental health, entrepreneurial struggles to strengths, dreams, and aspirations. Our goal is to break down the walls that social media builds. In addition to the media platform, we’ve launched

23 years old Brooklyn, NY

a workshop series where I speak at different schools and organizations about the

walking through the door and

power of social storytelling.

meeting someone. It’s the first 10 seconds you look at their feed.

WHY DID YOU LAUNCH

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

THE PROJECT? I launched #HalfTheStory

I’ve received stories from all

when I was a senior at

different age groups and types

Vanderbilt. I was a top

of people. This conversation

student, balancing ten

resonates with all generations.

projects, interning, and

Nearly everyone in the world,

assisting on sets. I was at New

essentially for the first time,

York Fashion Week running

has the ability to create a life

to cover the DVF show when

online that will affect the

I had a lightbulb moment.

way that people think about

I hadn’t slept in days and

us before we meet them. At

my anxiety was debilitating.

every stage of life there are

At the end of the day, I was

pressures to make it seem like

conflicted between posting

you have it all going for you,

a picture of me that was

but when things get tough, it’s

taken by a photographer, and

harder to keep up that image.

posting what was actually happening: that I wasn’t

HOW DO YOU BALANCE

superwoman, I was struggling,

BEING A SOCIAL

and that anxiety and mental

MEDIA-CENTRIC BRAND

health were very defining

AND PUSHING BACK

pieces of my life that I didn’t

AGAINST SOCIAL

discuss. Why are we all telling

MEDIA NORMS?

only one side of the story?

#HalfTheStory means being online – and yet we’re trying

YOU WORK A LOT

to balance that while pushing

WITH YOUNG PEOPLE,

against societal norms. So

BUT SOCIAL MEDIA

we’re not just a movement

OBSESSION ISN'T JUST

that lives online because

A “KID PROBLEM.”

if that were the case, we’d

WHY ARE WE ALL

be doing the same thing as

SO VULNERABLE TO

everyone else. It would be

THE HYPE?

hypocritical. #HalfTheStory

The reason that we’re

is about having a conversation

vulnerable to the hype is that

online that translates into

social media is a new means

real life. We want to drive

of communication. The first

action and we want to create

impression is no longer about

conversation.

@HALFTHESTORY

HOW CAN WE ALL DO A BETTER JOB MANAGING OUR SOCIAL MEDIA INTAKE AND OUTPUT? Although I’m a workaholic, I’ve gotten a lot better at managing social media. First, you need to set screen-free time on your calendar, just as you would set a meeting. The second thing is to turn off your notifications. Once you turn them off, you stop seeking the affirmation. Then get in the habit of putting your phone on airplane mode. Lastly, we need to find another way to consume information. Tap into your passion and go out into the world and do that. Volunteer for a cause, pick up a book, grab coffee with someone.

WHAT IS ONE QUOTE THAT HELPED YOU BECOME WHO YOU ARE TODAY? “Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.” – Oprah

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TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

WHAT IS BRIDGE THE GAP TV AND WHAT IS YOUR ROLE THERE? Bridge the Gap TV is a socially-conscious production company. Our mission is to produce engaging, inspiring stories that empower viewers to see the world, each other, and themselves in an entirely new way. We do that through thought-provoking, funny, and humanizing content. I’m the Executive Producer and Host.

@CHRISBASHINELLI

HOW DID YOU FIRST working alongside a nomad in

CAMERA?

Mongolia. Through the course

My career in front of the

of filming, a relationship is

camera is two-fold. It began

formed. By capturing that

when I was an actor. In my

relationship through those

last year of college, I booked

authentic moments, we are

a role on The Sopranos. The

able to help viewers move

day we were filming though

people from the category of

– and despite the fact I’d

“them” to the category of “us.”

reached this stepping stone that could have led to bigger

YOU HUSTLE A LOT.

things – I felt unfulfilled.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO

BALANCE CREATING

So I traveled to Tanzania on

MEANINGFUL CONTENT

a cultural exchange program,

AND BUILDING THE

borrowed a video camera

BRAND PARTNERSHIPS

from a friend, and I handed it

THAT SUPPORT IT?

off to friends on the trip and

When you’re passionate and

asked them to film me. Then

sincere people can sense it.

I came back to New York and

We’ve been blessed that every

over nearly the last ten years

project we’ve filmed our

I’ve been able to turn that

partners, including companies

into an ongoing series.

like Osprey and Ben & Jerry’s, have been extremely happy. I’m

HOW DO YOU USE

passionate about this work and

DOCUMENTARY SHOWS

I know it’s commercially viable,

TO BRIDGE CULTURES?

and that’s what empowers me to

The role of film is to capture

get into the room with brands

a moment of real life, and it

who are attracted to that passion

can get very tricky creating

and content.

scenes without forcing moments. We try to find

YOU’RE A NATIONAL

really engaging characters

GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER.

who will translate well on

WHAT’S THAT LIKE?

television and who will

Becoming a National

open up, and then we create

Geographic Explorer is

scenes with activity, like

something I dreamed about

31 years old, Brooklyn, NY

CHRIS BASHINELLI

for a long time and didn’t know was possible. National

Geographic is amazing because they have contacts everywhere on the planet, and once you’re named

the bs-free producer

an Explorer nearly every door is accessible. National Geographic gives tremendous freedom, but also a lot of responsibility. The greatest thing being an Explorer does for me, though, is give me a tremendous boost of confidence and resolve in what I’m capable of.

HOW DO YOU KEEP YOURSELF FROM GETTING WRAPPED UP IN THE MEDIA HYPE? I’ve only be recognized twice in my life, both times by taxi cab drivers on NYC’s West Side Highway. I’ve never been a huge fan of social media, and I’m happy to get feedback on how to make the show better, but I’m very clear on who I am – so I’m not anxious about what other people think about my work. I’ve traveled to dozens of countries, I’ve had a lot of amazing experiences, but I’ve also seen a lot of suffering in my life, and I lost my father when I was 22. I know what’s important in life and I try to put my focus on that and let the bullshit fade away.

WHAT IS ONE QUOTE THAT HAS HELPED YOU BECOME WHO YOU ARE? “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain

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T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

END UP IN FRONT OF THE

ISSUE THREE

WHAT IS ART IN AD PLACES? Art in Ad Places began as a 52-week campaign replacing advertisements with artwork. Every week, we removed an ad from a NYC payphone, and installed a poster by an artist in its place. Now we’ve passed the one-year mark and we’re installing new posters on an ad hoc basis when we get inspired.

WHY DID YOU START THIS? Caroline, one of our co-curators, was frustrated by a massive billboard outside of her apartment. It advertised a “Brazilian Butt Lift” and it was an enormous airbrushed ass! We couldn’t access the billboard, but we realized that the same self-esteem-damaging logic was at the heart of most ads, and we

RJ RUSHMORE, CAROLINE CALDWELL, AND LUNA PARK

could access payphones. So we decided to replace those bullshit corporate messages with beauty and the voices of individuals.

YOU CALL

some to spread a particular

ADVERTISING “VISUAL

political message, but we place

POLLUTION” AND

a particular emphasis on voices

“PSYCHOLOGICALLY

that are underrepresented in

DAMAGING.” CAN YOU

public space and contemporary

EXPLAIN THAT?

art.

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

Advertising exists to sell stuff, often stuff we don’t

ARE YOUR PLACEMENTS

need (such as luxury cars).

PAID OR CONSIDERED

Or maybe to manufacture

VANDALIZING PROPERTY?

imaginary differences

We asked as much permission

between essentially identical

as the advertisers asked us, but

stuff (like Coke and Pepsi).

we paid less. We commit civil

Quite often, it does that by

disobedience to create a civil

making us feel bad if we

society. As Banksy said, “Any advert

don’t buy the product, or if

you see in a public space that gives

we can’t afford it. Think of

you no choice whether you see it

that sort of advertising as a

or not is yours to take, rearrange,

micro-aggression. One ad

and reuse. Asking for permission is

isn’t the end of the world—

like asking to keep a rock someone

but 1,000 ads beat down on

just threw at your head.”

you, harming self-esteem, increasing consumption, and

CAN YOU TELL ME THE

encouraging selfishness. It’s

BEST RESPONSE AND

death by 1,000 papercuts.

WORST RESPONSE TO YOUR

Even if you try to ignore

GUERRILLA STYLE ART

ads, they reach you

CAMPAIGN?

subconsciously. Any advertiser

Well, a writer for National

will admit that. In fact, they’ll

Review—a conservative rag—

brag about it.”

called us “petty criminals.”

What’s better than that? It’s not

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE

quite the level of being the target

YOUR ARTISTS TO

of a Trump tweet, but we’ll

COLLABORATE WITH?

take it.

We aim to install a mix of work. Some to beautify,

HOW MANY PEOPLE MAKE THIS HAPPEN? We’re a core team of three. Caroline and RJ select the artists and manage the installations, and Luna Park is in charge of documentation. We’ve also worked with almost 60 artists, a handful of volunteers, a small braintrust of advisors (mostly other ad takeover activists...it’s a small world), and a couple of

ART IN AD PLACES

videographers.

the valiant vandals

WHAT'S NEXT? Payphones will only exist in NYC for another year or so. They’re being replaced by digital advertising displays, so we'll have to move to other public advertising venues. For now, rather than installing one work from an artist and moving on to the next, we’re finding artists who can contribute 3-5 pieces that we can install all at once. We also want to work with poets, scientists, and game designers. So while we’re not installing a poster every week, we definitely want to make the most of these public art venues as we can while they’re still around.

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TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

OF YOUR LIFE? Forgive, let go, and start again. I’m rewriting my story every day: from growing up upper-middle-class in Brazil, then moving to Florida and working as a house cleaner and construction worker at 16 years old, to running a multi-million dollar international fashion magazine at 23 years old in NYC while coping with anxiety and depression with drugs and alcohol, to later being bought out without my consent by my investors. Then starting a new media platform and having Oracle—the tech giant—buy the name, to learning my lesson that the chaos inside of me was

SAH D’SIMONE

YOU'VE LIVED MANY LIVES. CAN YOU GIVE ME THE ELEVATOR PITCH, BIO, OR BYLINE

the conscious coach @SAHDSIMONE

dictating my reality.

I finally sought help, which lead me to India and the path of personal liberation in order to be of service.

YOU CO-FOUNDED

best to make healing and transformation fabulous and fun. This way I lure you in to take of yourself. We can only

BULLETT MAGAZINE IN

be totally free, when we are

A TIME OF BUZZFEED

all free!

LISTICLES AND FASHION BLOGGERS. DO YOU

IT'S BEEN SAID THAT OUR

STILL BELIEVE IN THE

ALWAYS-ON, MEDIA-

POWER OF PRINT?

SATURATED LIVES ARE

Yes!

CAUSING GREATER DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY AT YOUNGER

FOR A LONG TIME.

AGES. HOW CAN

TELL ME HOW YOU

PEOPLE MAKE POSITIVE

TRANSITIONED FROM

CHANGES TO PROTECT

CONSUMERIST MEDIA

THEMSELVES?

TO CONSCIOUS MEDIA.

Stop comparing and

When I started to do the

competing with people on

internal work, I became very

social media. Change your

aware of how everything was

ways so you don’t become an

impacting me. Everything

statistic. It’s said that by 2020,

acutely making an imprint in your mind-body-heart, and the field of epigenetics shows that everything counts on a molecular level. This goes for everything: from what you’re reading, to how you’re listening and speaking, to what you’re watching or eating, your relationships, etc. What you consume can

31 years old, New York, NY

you expose yourself to is

depression and anxiety will be the number one cause of disability worldwide.

As someone who has been at the bottom of the pit, I want to share with you my non-negotionables for making positive changes and massive healing in your life: sleep, meditation, breath-work, exercise (sometimes my exercise is just me dancing in my apartment), eating clean

either lead to healing or to

(like cutting out processed

inflammation.”

foods and sugar), laughter and community, experiencing flow states on the regular, and making time to be in nature.

HOW DO YOU HANDLE THE PRESSURES THAT COME FROM BEING THE FACE OF YOUR BUSINESS?

Each month we feature a member of our community. This isn’t any of that (air quotes) stand-up, pillar of the community glad handing you see in traditional organizations.

FAVORITE PRE-INTERNET HOBBY: Reading (and it still is).

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” —Mahatma Gandhi

BEST ALBUM OF ALL TIME: Stanley Road by Paul Weller.

WHAT IS A QUOTE THAT HELPED GET YOU TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?

and audience. I’m simply a reminder of what you already know, but forgot. And, of course, I do my

SPIRIT ANIMAL: The Axolotl.

Each time I show up fully, I learn something new, something that I can share with my students, clients,

FAVORITE PLACE OFFLINE: A tree house in Quebec or virtually any beach.

Meditations: 5 Minutes to Wisdom, Clarity, and Calm.

REBEL MANIFESTO: Keep moving, keep changing, pack a bag, adventures await.

I'm so excited to share this: I have a book coming out in the summer called The Little Book of Daily

Now it’s all about showing up and meeting what I’m experiencing with compassion and forgiveness.

FIONA TAPP

WHAT'S NEXT FOR YOU?

have to pretend to have all the answers—but what I have is a commitment to integrity and my daily practice.

the rebel rouser.

In the past, it was tough because I had to constantly play a role and pretend to be a coherent act. Now I don’t

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

YOU'VE BEEN IN MEDIA

ISSUE THREE

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

Dear Dispatch, Hi, again! We met the last few issues, but if you missed us, we're Leesa. We believe that a good night's sleep is the first step on the pathway to a better life.

From Day One, we set out to build a different kind of company -- one that measures its success as much by our impact on the world as by our sales and profits.

So, we pledged to donate one custom mattress for every ten we sell.

Being well rested and getting a good night's sleep elevates life in so many ways, and a safe place to sleep should be for everyone. As a certified B-Corp, our goal is to ensure that anyone finding refuge from homelessness, domestic risk or human trafficking in a shelter will find a comfortable bed waiting for them.

Since we shared our mission in the latest Dispatch, we've added another 2,000 mattresses to our donations. We're honored to now say that 25,000 people will sleep better tonight due to our donations. Our hope, as always, is that they will dream of a brighter tomorrow and wake up with their heads held a little higher.

Here's to even better nights, Team Leesa

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TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

by Jess Davis

issue III

LET'S GET LOUD: How JLo Taught Me to Tune Out the Media Noise SNAKE OIL

HE WARNED ME TO WATCH OUT FOR CULTURE SHOCK IT WASN’T UNTIL I WAS BACK UP TO MY SCOOTS IN IT THAT I REALIZED THAT I HAD BEEN BLISSFULLY LIVING WITHOUT ADVERTISING AND MARKETING.

life from every fucking corner. I see it now, like I saw that Pepsi vs. Coke war, and am just as stimulated and triggered by it as I was in the early 2000s with JLo in all her white bandana’ed, sparkly-hoop-earring-wearing, ass-tastic self.

Before boarding the plane back home, I called my father. He warned me to watch out for culture shock. I, very condescendingly from a payphone, told my clearly totally out-of-it dad that I was headed home, not leaving for a new culture. Therefore there would be no culture shock. He let me have my ignorant say—and then he laughed.

I. Cannot. Unsee. It. And I intend to do something about it.

When I dragged my weary butt off the plane and into the airport terminal, I felt like I had stepped into another dimension. My eyes were flooded with posters, slogans, and glowing logos. My ears were filled with the chaotic sounds of people yelling over Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez pop hits. The war of Pepsi vs. Coke was on full display. From the gate to the cab, movie posters, magazines, ads, and so much JLo: Jennifer with a coke, Bennifer across every magazine stand, Glow by JLo and, of course, Gigli. It was as if I was being hypnotized and tortured at the same time.

It wasn’t until I was back up to my scoots in it that I realized that I had been blissfully living without advertising and marketing.

So where is this short summary of my long journey taking us now?

The advertising assault is normal again to me now, but lately my eyeballs and ears have been filled with words of encouragement that are far less than encouraging. Every social media feed, wellness website, and advertisement in the subway makes me feel like I should be in a marathon sprint towards a better version of myself and my life—and if I’m not, I am failing.

HUSTLE!...

EARLY BIRD CATCHES HUSTLE!...Early Bird Catches the Worm...Get It!...Like A THE WORM...

Girl!...Do It Now...#realbeauty...Seize the Day! GET IT!...LIKE A GIRL!... Within minutes of opening up any news outlet that isn’t DO IT NOW... printed on paper, a brand-sponsored article comes up as “suggested.” Titles like "How to Be Awesome at Everything #REALBEAUTY... Because You’re Already Awesome," may seem well-meaning SEIZE THE DAY! until you realize you don’t need to be awesome at everything I, FOR ONE, AM OVER IT.

and that it’s just a long-form advertisement. We've got a societal advertising-masked-as-encouragement-empowermentachievement problem and I, for one, am over it.

Encouragement is awesome. I love it, and I hope to encourage people through Folk Rebellion, but what they’re selling isn’t true empowerment—it’s empowertizing. Advertisers and marketers are profiting off of your self-doubt by letting you ever so subtly know on the regular that you can do better in some way, shape, or form. They know that your insecurity leads to their profits.

Now, knowing their motivation in the most recent empowerment ads, femvertising, self-care, and body positive campaigns, can we see through the smoke and mirrors? Ultimately, companies are still trying to sell products and services, not trying to change the world—or, if we’re being generous, while they try to change the world.

So I pose to you some questions to mull over while you block out some noise this month: They tell us to HUSTLE. But what happens if you don't grind—and instead, surrender?

They want us to REACH HIGHER. Is your achievement-based day-to-day a distraction?

They MOVE THE CARROT. Could your striving and goalreaching be a neverending void filler?

If you love your hustle, I hope you achieve it with balance. If you are trying to climb mountains of success, my wish for you is that it’s because you want to, not because some ad execs in a small room with a whiteboard concocted a campaign that has you thinking you have to. For as many days you spend waxing at the grind of achievement, creating, making, and doing, I hope you have days of just being, walking in nature, listening to your circadian rhythms, and spending time with your family.

Because in the end, that's all that we are here to do.

Marketing and advertising work. There are pictures of me wearing a white bandana and hoop earrings on more than one occasion. Thank god it was before digital cameras and social media. I fucking love JLo. Always have. Always will.

This achievement- and-encouragement-based marketing from brands like Dove, Nike, and Always have seeped into my

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Food for thought.

THEY TELL US TO HUSTLE. WHAT THEY’RE SELLING ISN’T TRUE EMPOWERMENT— IT’S EMPOWERTIZING THEY MOVE THE CARROT. COULD YOUR STRIVING AND GOALREACHING BE A NEVERENDING VOID FILLER? MY WISH FOR YOU IS THAT IT’S BECAUSE YOU WANT TO. I FUCKING LOVE JLO. ALWAYS HAVE. ALWAYS WILL.

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

I. CANNOT. UNSEE. IT.

In the early 2000s, long before the dawn of iPhones, I spent 10 months gallivanting around the world. It was long enough for me to forget what it was like in America—what it was like to be distracted and overstimulated.

ISSUE THREE

The Business of Wellness

By Andrea MacGregor

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

A

dvertising can convince us to consider all kinds of purchases against our better judgment, though some prove stranger than others. Coffee mixtures for the rectum? An hour of being slapped to cure disease?

A turmeric infusion injected by IV? These may seem like odd things to buy into, but they are in fact surprisingly popular alternative medicine or “wellness” treatments. Unfortunately, the popularity of a product doesn’t necessarily indicate how useful (or safe) it really is.

a potential health benefit, an exaggerated benefit— or no proven health benefits at all. Some might even hurt you.

Before the tech revolution, there were storefront windows, sidewalk signs, radio bits, and newspaper classifieds advertising all manner of strange and exotic "miracle cures." But it’s only with the proliferation of social and digital media that this field of marketing has had the ability to go viral.

Media influencers are earning high incomes (as in,

The wellness industry is booming. “Wellness” has more than 16.7 million mentions on Instagram alone and alternative health products, which include wellness products, are a multibillion-dollar industry.

The struggle to differentiate between proven products and placebos is something many businesses are counting on.

The conventional definition of wellness is sensible enough: it’s the idea of being as healthy as possible by actively working to maintain your health. While achieving wellness might entail sensible things like maintaining a balanced diet and exercising, the concept can also be vague and hard to grasp.

If social media is any indicator, the search for wellness can also include things that may only have

thousands of dollars a post) by sharing carefully crafted images of colorful potions, inspirational quotes, herbal teas, or fresh-made smoothies, often with accompanying assertions about megavitamins, cleansing, revitalization, or weight-loss.

These promotions aren’t regulated, and they are often considered to fall under the spectrum of alternative medicine/alternative health practices because they make health claims despite a lack of researchbased evidence supporting them.

Wearable colored stickers that “promote bio-frequency healing” and psychic vampire repellent

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(made from water and essential oils to protect from bad vibes….yes, really) have been transformed from what sounds like a gag gift into expensive status symbols that customers rush to immortalize on their Instagram feeds. If you’re looking for either, check out GOOP, the much-criticized brand created by Gwyneth Paltrow. Paltrow’s pseudoscience lifestyle website sells pre-packed vitamin supplements dubbed “The Protocols” with names like “Why Am I So Effing Tired,” and Sex Dust™, which is described as “a lusty edible formula alchemized to ignite and excite sexy energy in and out of the bedroom,” to her notoriously loyal and unquestioning following.

GOOP’s sales figures are as huge as their sphere of influence. The company’s 2016 revenue was estimated to be between $15 million and $20 million. In 2015, the GOOP website received an estimated 3.75 million page views per month, which was before they added exclusive events and a magazine to their list of offerings. The GOOP Instagram page has more than 760,000 followers, but that is only a fraction of the number of people reached thanks to brand partnerships, celebrity endorsements, events, and influencer engagements. And GOOP is just one example of the fame-fueled wellness guru market.

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The internet is a perfect place for these brands, run or endorsed by charismatic ‘gurus’ or famous faces, to build wellness empires. Whether it’s the Kardashians snapping pictures with bright blue gummy bear hair vitamins or b-list celebrities sharing shots promoting “health-boosting” and “slimming” herbal tea-toxes, or even TV doctor Dr. Oz sharing his favorite “magic” weight loss cures, few of the products have any solid science to back up the glowing endorsements and enthusiastic emojis. Likes serve as credibility, shares spread the word, and a handful of hashtags can push a post to millions of feeds in just a matter of days.

However premium these untested and unproven products and treatments are made to look, though, there is a dark belly lurking beneath the luxurious exterior that promises to make you feel happier, healthier, sexier, and younger.

It should be said, though, that not all wellness treatments deemed ‘alternative,’ or ‘natural’ are nonsense. Some, including massage, acupuncture, mindfulness • In 2015, then wellness guru Belle Gibson was therapies, and outed for faking brain cancer, lying about certain nutritional curing herself through diet, and defrauding products, can followers of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

• Alternative health products are a multioffer genuine billion-dollar industry, but many products are results. But subject to minimal, if any, scientific testing when legitimate and undergo little vetting by regulatory treatments like organizations. these are lumped in • It’s estimated that thousands of consumers are harmed every year through the use of with less reputable under-regulated health products. big-seller products, like GOOP’s water bottles that infuse your beverage with “positive energy” by way of quartz crystals, it can be hard to tell what’s reasonable and what’s pure and utter B.S.

a model in a lab coat as a stamp of approval from the medical establishment. Now it’s even simpler.

A few celebrity endorsements and a #itreallyworks hashtag somehow make an actual doctor’s recommendation dull in comparison.

DID YOU KNOW?

The struggle to differentiate between proven products and placebos is something many businesses are counting on. When there’s

confusion about which products are legitimate and which ones are merely flashy, the bogus ones with the good marketing and advertising benefit.

Health and wellness concerns are naturally an emotional topic, and the feelings of insecurity and anxiety surrounding them are easy for companies to tap into. When we feel vulnerable, we often seek out the easy and fast solutions. Sellers of wellness and alternative health products offer just that —or, at least, they claim to.

And, with astonishing predictability, we trust those claims. After all, we aren’t the experts, and so we look to people who have or claim to have more specialized knowledge. By putting products in boxes with people in lab coats grinning on the front, companies can take advantage of the fact that many health seekers will see

there is a dark belly lurking beneath the luxurious exterior that promises to make you feel happier, healthier, sexier, and younger.

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But hope will always sell, even when it’s false, and people will always want to believe in a miracle cure, even when they’re putting their faith in something that could not only not work, but damage their health. Buying miracle teas, energetic stickers, or anything else that’s pitched by an internet personality is potentially more likely to drain one’s wallet than it is to bolster wellness if the product effects aren’t verified by real science and qualified health experts.

As wellness seekers, our best defense is to be aware that things aren’t always what they claim to be. Online or offline, bunk is still bunk, and it’s healthiest to know it when we see it.

WANNA DIG DEEPER? • Watch: Dr. Harriet Hall’s free Youtube lecture series on alternative medicine and sciencebased medicine topics.

• Read: Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? By Timothy Caulfield (2016)

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Members of health advocacy groups have documented thousands of businesses claiming to treat or even cure many serious conditions with unproven interventions. It’s estimated that thousands of consumers, especially cancer patients, are harmed every year through the use of these under-regulated alternative treatments. Some health seekers even die without the intervention of a licensed and qualified medical professional.

Unfortunately, consumer protection groups often don’t have the resources to go after the companies making distorted or dangerous claims, so we’re left trying to sort through what is marketing hype, and what could truly help us be well.

Buzzwords like “natural” and “holistic,” and especially phrasing that contrasts a product or service with “conventional” or “mainstream” medicine, are often a tip-off that it may not be exactly as marketed. A rule of thumb: if it’s a real thing, it probably sells itself. No celebrities or #wellnesswednesday needed.

ISSUE THREE

Experiments in Advertising:

A N E X E RC IS E I N R E S I LI E N C E

By Jenna Dailey

So, I did this thing. For one entire day, I tallied up every advertisement that I saw. Every billboard, computer pop-up, and face on a park bench. Every single one.

My normal weekday morning looks like this: at 7 A.M. I drag my definitely-not-a-morning-person bum out of bed to watch the morning news on CBS, then make some breakfast and sip some java. If I have time, I’ll also watch the 8 A.M. news because I missed at least 50% of the 7 A.M. segment because I was scrolling through emails and social feeds. But on the day of my experiment, it was hard to scroll mindlessly.

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BY 9:01 I HAD ALREADY SEEN 139 ADS, OR JUST OVER ONE PER MINUTE THAT I HAD BEEN AWAKE. Fast forward to the end of my day when sleepytime rolls around. By the time I slipped into my pajamss and switched my phone to silent, do you know how many ads I tallied in my journal? 586.

I felt like I had seen it all and everywhere. On the sides of buses, in bathroom stalls, in both my physical and digital mailboxes, on my phone, and in the hands of that poor guy holding the “Sale!” sign on the street corner. There were ads for weight loss, hair loss, cremation services, shampoo, fried chicken, and window replacements. Also: so many Subaru commercials.

Social media was where the real action was. Promoted and sponsored posts overwhelmed my news feeds. I clicked on “Shop Now” more times than I care to admit, although I didn’t make any purchases. (That may or may not have been due to the experiment and not wanting to have to disclose to the world that I gave in to the mind control.)

Counting all the ads wasn’t the hard part of the experiment, though. Part two was to try and dodge all of the—for lack of better word—shit that is ubiquitous in our 21st century digital world for one whole day.

HERE’S HOW MY MORNING OF DODGING MIND - CONTROL-ME DIA WENT DOWN: 6:50am: Alarm went off. Hit snooze every nine minutes until approximately 7:40.

7:41am- Subconsciously started scrolling through my phone. It wasn’t 7:50am: until I’d passed six ads on my Instagram feed that I realized that I’d already failed at my mission.

7:51am: Purposely didn’t turn on the news to avoid the commercials.

I consider this a win and move on.

8:03am: Take the doggo out for his morning stroll down the block.

Hang a left out the door and find myself staring straight at big fat billboard across the street. Fail.

8:04am: Doggo decides to do his business next to the bench across the street from the billboard. Can you guess what was on the bench? Strike three.

8:05am: A bus makes a stop while we’re standing in front of the bench. You know it: another ad. I haven’t even had my morning cup of joe and I’ve already seen nine ads while trying to avoid them.

As you can imagine, the other 11 hours & 23 min I was awake were an uphill battle and I was the little engine that couldn’t. By the time I crawled into bed I’d seen a total of 462 ads—and that was despite actively trying to avoid them.

Something I didn’t mention earlier, and definitely did not have going for me, is that my full-time and part-time jobs are both doing social media and community management. I’m online staring at ad after ad for 10+ hours, at least five days

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un solicited advertising campaign

buy now x 586 per week. I like my work, but it did not work in my favor. Pile on my smartphone and social media addictions, my love of online shopping, and impulsive spending habits, and you’ve got the p-e-r-f-e-c-t target.

I’d like to think that my constant exposure has helped me become somewhat immune to the traditional types of advertisements—direct mail, billboards, TV commercials, and the like. I can’t remember a time when I saw somebody’s phone number on a bus bench and thought to call. What was freaky were the ads on social media. They were all for sites I had visited before, items I had put in a cart and forgotten about, or something I had searched on Google. You can’t simply browse for a pair of fly new kicks or search “pizza near me” without it coming back to haunt you days later when what you really need is a sweater and a salad.

So I’ve titled my little social science experiment “mission im-f*ckingpossible” because, as it turns out, advertising is everywhere. I mean that almost literally.

In the digital age, it’s not realistic to shut out the world of advertising completely. However, it is possible to limit your exposure and to build resilience against it.

End of Day

HERE ARE A FEW TIPS I LEARNED FROM MY EXPERIMENT IN ADVERTISING THAT MAY HELP YOU CONDUCT YOUR OWN: a. Attitude of gratitude. When you’re consciously aware of what you have to be grateful for, you feel a sense of wholeness, rather than scarcity. When you feel whole, you’re less likely to click the “Shop Now” button and impulsively purchase a weird cat mug or your third adult onesie. Keep a running list of what you’re grateful for on your phone or, better yet, jot it down in your journal. b. Get a hobby. When you’re sitting at home on Saturday watching Netflix while wearing down your thumb by scrolling your screens, you’re being inundated with ads. Make time for the things that make you happiest—hike, run, swim, climb, read, explore—every single day. In doing so, you’ll limit your exposure to ads. c. Build boundaries. Batch your time on social media, email, and anything else that requires staring at a screen. Let’s be honest here: you don’t need to spend two or more hours on social media every day or check your emails every 20 minutes. Those things can wait.

Life can’t.

DID YOU KNOW? · The United States is the largest advertising market in the world.

(Statista) · The number of ads you see in a day varies greatly, but it’s estimated that Americans see up to 4,000 ads daily. (The Business Journals)

DIG DEEPER · Read: The Tipping Point: How Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell · Listen: “How Commercial Jingles Work” from Stuff You Should Know · Watch: The 2009 documentary Art & Copy

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Science of Mind Control

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By Kristi Pahr

DID YOU KNOW? · People are exposed to up to 5,000 advertisements every day. · Brainwashing, or at least the attempt to brainwash someone, is widely considered a form of torture.

ran with it, enlisting the CIA and other government agencies in clandestine experiments to test the limits of and potential for mind control. The most infamous of these mind-control experiments was MK Ultra, which resulted in thousands of U.S. citizens being given psychedelic drugs, including LSD. Ultimately the projects were determined to be unsuccessful and were scrapped. Further research into government-sanctioned mind control programs was, as far as we know, halted.

What if messages were spliced into your favorite movies or shows—flickers of images too fast for your eye to register but that your brain can latch onto? Everyone has heard stories about subliminal messages: secret images that flash by so quickly you don't know you’ve seen them, or spoken messages mixed into the beat of a song so smoothly that you don’t know you’re hearing them. But they’re there, in your mind without your permission, poking your brain with half-remembered ideas and suggestions.

Which makes sense because true, complete brainwashing— the all-encompassing kind shown in books and movies—isn’t really a thing. Dr. Giordano says that while “it is possible to incur psychological stress and induce compliance or certain forms of persuasion using extreme measures (such as sleep deprivation, discomfort, and drugs to alter sensory and emotional experiences), the effects on long-held beliefs and attitudes tend to be short-lived and usually are not profound.”

Quick flashes of “Drink more Coca-Cola” or pictures of popcorn between the previews in the movie theater might seem benign, but these messages embed themselves into our consciousness.

Some call it brainwashing (and the messages do impact our thinking), but making you more likely to choose Coke over Pepsi isn’t brainwashing exactly—it’s more complicated than that.

“Brainwashing refers to an extreme type of thought reform in which a person's cognitive and emotional processes are altered so as to directly influence their attitudes and behaviors,” says Dr. James Giordano, professor of neurology at Georgetown. He adds,

“While we use the term 'brainwashing' rather colloquially to refer to any process that can influence the way an individual thinks, feels, and acts, it's important to note that other, more subtle forms of cognitive direction are far more possible.”

So being directed towards a particular choice doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve met the bar for having been brainwashed.

The concept of brainwashing first gained popularity in the 1950s, and it was used to explain how the Chinese government was able to manipulate the thoughts and beliefs of American prisoners of war. In “Remembering Brainwashing,” a 2008 piece in the New York Times by Tim Weiner, he explains that the term was coined by Edward Hunter 58 years earlier, in an article published in the Miami News titled “‘Brain-Washing’ Tactics Force Chinese Into Ranks of Communist Party.”

The idea that enemy communists could take over the minds of American citizens quickly became a theme of 1950s propaganda.

The U.S. government then took the brainwashing ball and

Take cult leaders, for example. It seems like brainwashing—because why else would someone drink Jim Jones’s KoolAid or give their daughter

There are other, subtler types of manipulation that impact a larger percentage of us than cults ever will. Subliminal messages in advertising were first discussed in the 1950s when an ad executive named James Vicary said he spliced clips of popcorn and messages to drink Coca-Cola into films. According to Vicary, sales of popcorn and Coke went through the roof. This caused people to panic, worried that their basic everyday choices were not safe from marketers’ meddling,

and the term “brainwashing” became a pop culture go-to for when we feel like our minds are being messed with.

The U.K. and Australia banned subliminal advertising in the 1950s. In the intervening years, Vicary’s results were proven to be fraudulent and studies showing that subliminal advertising is effective have only been repeatable in lab settings, not in real-life scenarios. Despite this, subliminal messages still find their way into advertisements, even where it’s still illegal.

So what’s the deal with advertising and the media? If they aren’t brainwashing us, why are we so easily manipulated? Why do we believe fake news and propaganda? Why do we think about getting a popcorn refill or choosing Coke over Pepsi?

They’re just tricking us, really. “When we are exposed to something novel, but within a familiar context—either in a positive or negative way—the more we will relate to it and the greater the reinforcing effects,” explains Dr. Giordano. “As well, if we see, hear, or experience things repetitively, we will tend to become both familiar with them and believe that this information is real.”

Our screens are familiar. The fake news, propaganda, and consumerist messages come to us through this familiar way, so we are inclined to believe them. If we take a minute to examine them, we might see something amiss, but we’re so comfortable in our Facebook feed that we forget to take that minute.

The media tells us things in ways we want to hear them. We like our media, so we fall for their trick. But how do we dodge their trap? How do we avoid our screens telling our brains what to think?

That’s easy. Turn them off. You can’t pull a rabbit out of a hat if there’s no hat.

DIG DEEPER · Read: “Remembering Brainwashing” by Tim Weiner New York Times · Read: “What We Know About the CIA’s Mid-Century Mind-Control Project” by Kat Eschner Smithsonian.com

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n our screens, images pop up and fly by. We consume media without thinking much about what we are actually seeing beyond binge-worthy shows and cat videos. Information comes at us rapid fire from all directions. As a culture, we’ve become passive consumers, mindlessly skimming our newsfeed while we stand in line or sit in traffic. But what if there was something insidious happening on our screens? Something we don’t even recognize as a problem.

to Warren Jeffs? Inculcation, or instilling certain “facts” or ideas in people through repetition, is a type of cognitive manipulation—but not brainwashing. Charismatic leaders prey on vulnerable people. Their messages, which play to the victim’s vulnerabilities, are repeated so often that the victim begins to believe them. The cult leader, in a position of power, can manipulate the victim by threatening to take away what has become valuable to the person. This is terrifying and dangerous, but it isn’t the same as brainwashing.

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SHIT TO SCHEDULE : WAT C H: Crazy People REA D : 1984 by George Orwell LIS T EN T O: The New York Times Change Agent: Self-Control MAK E : Some good old-fashioned coloring HOS T : A night of burgers on the grill OUT S IDE TIM E : Staycation

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Slowing Down...

BY

The Next Big Thing

Brooke McAlary How often do you find yourself doing something you hadn’t planned on— with no real idea how it even happened? Perhaps you picked up your smartphone to check your bank balance and 15 minutes later realized you’ve scrolled through Facebook, checked your email, and liked a handful of Instagram posts instead? Or maybe you popped into the grocery store to get some milk and came home with an armful of food you didn’t need and a lamp that was on sale at the Target next door?

It’s easy to blame our impulse decisions and mindless actions on being weak-willed or poorly disciplined, but there’s an entire branch of psychology devoted to store layouts and a blossoming sub-industry within the tech sector whose main goal is to make our devices, and the applications on them, increasingly habit-forming (aka addictive).

in a constant desire to fit in. Our personal technology has been fine-tuned to dole out addictive little dopamine shots with every notification, hooking us in a little more with each update.

I’d like to know when dystopian fiction became the blueprint for modern life. This is some next-level shit, and I for one, have had enough.

The question is, how do we opt out? Anger is a great starting place, because I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to play the part of Pavlov’s modern-day dog anymore. Ring that bell and watch me salivate?

No thank you very much.

But anger will only take us so far, and the world loses her shine if we spend all our days pissed off every time we realize a marketing firm or app developer is trying to manipulate us.

In 2010, not long after the release of the first iPad, New York University professor Adam Alter asked the late Steve Jobs whether his kids were enjoying the new device. He responded, “Actually we don’t allow the iPad in the home. We think it’s too dangerous for them...”

What we really need to do is to pay more attention. Pay attention to our inputs—the channels we allow to access our minds and opinions—the TV shows, magazines, apps, advertisers, influencers, content creators, and store catalogs. Pay attention to the noise, images, and information we allow into our lives. And pay attention to how those inputs make us feel.

Write it down if you want. Keep a list of all the emotions these inputs stir up and if they have a negative impact on your behavior.

Bill Gates’ three children weren’t allowed to own a smartphone until they turned 14, and a multitude of Silicon Valley tech executives have been sending their kids to exclusive private schools that heavily limit, or even ban, the use of tablets, phones, computers, and other screens.

And yet, these “dangerous” devices have all been marketed to the rest of us as tools that are vital for modern life. Bring one into your home and teach your child how to play with it, they tell us. Look! It’s so intuitive a three-year-old can work it. Amazing! This is the way of the future!

“Don’t let your kids get left behind,” is a constant warning paired with a wagging finger.

But then we need to shift our attention to the things that actually matter.

The big things: the people we love, the work that lights us up, the causes we believe in, and the communities we’re part of. And the little things too: the way we feel when we offer kindness to a stranger, the smell of dirt after a spring rain, holding hands with someone you love, reading a great book, going for a hike in the mountains, camping somewhere with no wifi, laughing with your mates.

At a 2017 event run by Nir Eyal, the author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, programmers, designers and tech employees learned how to maximize the addictive nature of their software and apps.

In essence, how to create products that worm their way into our minds and create new habits, building a malleable, mindless user base.

The marketing gurus and user experience designers trying to manipulate us—and the companies they work for—aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. The trick lies in recognizing their game and refusing to play it.

Delete the apps, write your shopping list on a piece of paper, and turn off the crappy reality TV. Refuse to browse in a big box store, close your laptop, and let your phone die on the weekends. Then build a life that is so full of the things that actually matter, that there’s barely any room to miss the other stuff.

Eyal writes, “The technologies we use have turned into compulsions, if not full-fledged addictions. It’s the impulse to check a message notification.

It’s the pull to visit YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter for just a few minutes, only to find yourself still tapping and scrolling an hour later.” Eyal adds, “The products and services we use habitually alter our everyday behaviour, just as their designers intended. Our actions have been engineered.”

Reclaim your time. Life’s too juicy and wonderful to waste.

Commercial mainstream media is little more than a vehicle for advertising and product placement, all designed to make us covet the Next Big Thing

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ISSUE THREE

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rofessional sports used to control my entire life.

All of my TV entertainment, my connection to men, and even my brain-teasing exercises revolved around sports. (I was once a storehouse of trivia, especially when it came to women in sports, the NBA, and Negro League Baseball.) Sports equaled life.

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Now, they don't. At all. And extricating myself from the web of professional sports has been like a withdrawal—recovery still pending. Now all I see during a professional match or contest is the false pomp, the advertising mind games, sexism, and racism.

It’s the shrinkwrap and the barcoding of the sports world.

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There’s a good reason I grew up as a sports fanatic: I had no choice.

My great-grandparents, Len and Azzie Lee Jones, traveled across the East Coast and all the way to Montreal to see Jackie Robinson play. They were there in the stands when Robinson broke the Major League Baseball color barrier on April 15, 1947. It was a time when black people had separate but unequal bleachers at the stadiums, and wore their Sunday best to every game they attended to stave off being called “niggers” and “porch monkeys” by the white attendees who didn’t want them there.

Consider the emotional power necessary to get my greatgrandparents onto those bleachers, despite the hate and discrimination that had been passed down from one generation to the next. Great-grandad Len had a brother, and when his widow learned I played baseball, she gave me a ball she caught when Robinson hit a foul-tip out of Ebbets Field. I keep it wrapped in plastic and won’t allow anyone to touch it, but I haven’t seen a baseball game since the longtime Philadelphia Phillies voice Harry Kalas died in 2009.

I adored Kalas (the Phillies were my team): he was so kitschy and folksy and fun. He used to sing “High Hopes”—with those lyrics about the ant and the rubber tree plant—after big games.

I can’t stomach the talking clowns who’ve taken his seat in the announcer’s booth, who cannot seem to go more than 10 minutes without mentioning sponsors. At least Kalas did it with some style.

I’m also the product of two athletes. My mama ran track. She was so fast she was a staple in the anchor leg position during relays.

Quick as a jackrabbit with the soul of a runaway slave. Daddy went further. He was recruited to play basketball by Clarence “Big House” Gaines of Winston-Salem State. Instead, he accepted a

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scholarship to Miles College (now Miles University), a historically black university just outside Birmingham, Alabama.

added caveat: it’s jail plastered in ads, one that charges admission and sells expensive merchandise.

Growing up, watching basketball wasn’t a choice, and playing it didn’t seem like much of one either. Our television was often tuned to sports. I watched NASCAR races with Daddy, track & field events and tennis matches with Mama, and celebrated the “firsts” of black and female athletes along with them—from Willy T. Ribbs to Danica Patrick, from Arthur Ashe all the way up to the Williams sisters. Their excellence soothed us.

I have so many issues with corporate sports that it’s tough to keep track of them all. I gave up on pro baseball not only because my favorite announcer died, but I also couldn’t stand the constant reports of players on performance-enhancing drugs. Then there was the NFL and their deception about CTE and spousal abuse. I kept up hope for the NBA, but now that’s a faint memory.

Sports is like clockwork; it’s an endless ebb and flow that follows the changing seasons. Fans get lulled into a pattern, a habit. Baseball transitions into football, football into basketball. Today they blur together more, the seasons elongated to maximize profits, but the media stream can lull you into a sort of sports-induced and sports-saturated daydream. It took something drastic to jar me out of mine.

About four years ago, Ray Rice beat his then-fiancé (now wife) to the point of unconsciousness, and the NFL tried to cover it up.

The nation watched as a corporate company masquerading as a feel-good form of entertainment took a stand only after the game was up. It was about the advertising and the money. Rice had gone to my alma mater, Rutgers, and when I saw and heard the news, I was so mad that I cried.

The condition is called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), or Concussion Syndrome. It’s caused by repeated impacts to the head, and Hernandez’s was one of the worst cases doctors had ever seen. At only 27 years old, his frontal lobe—the decisionmaking part of the brain—had turned to mush from too many head-banging tackles.

Hernandez got CTE because he was fighting for a place in an organization that bestows millions of dollars on its best, while raking in billions of dollars for itself. CTE has been linked to violent behavior. Mike Webster, the Pittsburgh Steeler who was the first NFL player diagnosed with CTE, died sick and broke. His doctors agree that his brain injuries contributed to cognitive (and familial) dysfunction.

I was also a fan of Junior Seau. He spent 13 seasons with the Chargers, a team I’d been into since Jack Youngblood played the entire Super Bowl XIV with a broken leg. When the sideline trainer told him, he simply replied “Wrap it up,” and kept going. My nine year old self cheered it on. What does that say about me, or about sports fans in general?

Junior Seau retired in 2009 after 19 years on the front lines of the NFL’s fight for money.

In 2012, he shot himself in the chest. He was only 43, and doctors say he also suffered from CTE. How can I wave my proverbial pom-poms and cheer at the screen when the organization these men trusted with their lives and careers refuses to admit the scale of the problem their system has created? If I did, I’d have blood on my hands.

Actor Terry Crews, a former NFL linebacker, has described the culture within the NFL as “jail with money.” He’s right, with an

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Now it’s always “same shit, different game.” The announcers are about shtick and sponsors, and I’m at an anti-shtick and anticorporate place in my life.

The feeder for the NBA, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball, has copied its big business model. NBA and NCAA players both play on television, travel around the country, give up huge portions of their lives to grueling feats of athleticism, and rake in sponsorship money. The difference is that the top NBA players get paid for playing, and they can broker brand deals and product partnerships that can last them long after they retire.

College players don’t. Even the very top NCAA players don’t get a dime outside of scholarships and training perks. Many miss out on any chance of even getting a real college education. They bring in millions for their universities, and yet some graduate barely knowing how to read. It’s comparable to a modern day slave trade—that’s what I call March Madness.

Even more maddening is the fact that watching these games is like a strong current with which I’m used to swimming. To go against it is uncomfortable. I don’t want to swim, I don’t want to watch, but the draw is always there, pulling me towards the remote. It’s like muscle memory.

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Only a year later, I was heartbroken once again when the story of former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez flooded the news.

He was convicted of murder. It wasn’t until he committed suicide in prison last April that we knew at least a little bit about why a successful athlete suffered such a steep downward spiral. He was willing to run into walls so that his team could win games. He spent years charging forward, his head a makeshift battering ram. After his death, doctors discovered the result of years of concussions.

I was born during the days of the original American Basketball Association. The games I watched with my dad were full of guys with distinct personalities on wacky teams with weird mascots and edgy coaches. There were circus-like halftime shows, creative dunks, fun promotional campaigns, and towering afros. After the league merged with the National Basketball Association in 1976, it slowly turned into a squeaky clean marketing platform, and the quirkiness subsided. Today the personality of the league is gone.

ISSUE THREE

Today, I try my best to go corporate-sports-free. My new era is one of fewer ads and more reading, so the game that corporate sports is playing has become even more obvious. It’s a tool. A tool to keep us occupied, to let us blow off steam by watching athletes play at “war” so we won’t question it when the powers-thatbe send soldiers to other countries to take part in the real thing. While I was watching sports, the country was fighting. Now, with blinders off, I can see past the stadium stands.

Race issues are a huge problem today—but instead of addressing them, we kick Colin Kaepernick off of the field, watch the quiet(er) Black and Brown people run into each other while the NFL profits, and are lulled to sleep by whistles, logos, and beer commercials.

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

I grew up a Philadelphia Eagles fan, so I watched the Super Bowl in February. Well, I half-watched it. Okay, I half-watched the second half of the game. And I skipped the halftime show. And I ignored the National Anthem, which I’ve been ignoring since high school.

That’s when I finally discovered the second and third verses. Forgive me if I don’t stand for: “No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave, And the starspangled banner in triumph doth wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

I do still try to watch a little tennis sometimes. Serena Williams is never afraid to speak her mind and she’s still got her kickass spirit. I’m sure, though, that if the USTA hires cheerleaders and renames Arthur Ashe Stadium for American Express, it’ll start to smell.

Without it ever being the athlete’s fault, the game will begin to stink. That’s why I have a favorite saying: “I’ve been to the puppet show, and I’ve seen the strings.”

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T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

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ISSUE THREE

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

by PIPPA BIDDLE

A

mother and daughter are in an office with faces, names, ages, and with a woman in a white lab coat. eye colors.

She’s making a pitch: “...the sense of This was before AMBER alerts security, the peace of mind. I mean, and before national news networks the stories we’ve been hearing, they gained bigtime viewership so, for many, are truly inspirational.” Just a few the idea that hundreds of thousands of kids seconds later, the child has a chip implanted into were reported missing nationwide her brain. As she watches cartoons, the woman in the was a shocking realization. It lab coat walks the mother through the features. She increased vigilance, and it bred can track location, monitor vitals, and even “relay her fear. optic feed” — she can see through her daughter’s eyes. Only a few years earlier, Should her daughter see or hear something that is the Atlanta Monster — a potentially stressful or upsetting, like violence, she can killing spree between 1979 censor it out even if she isn’t there to cover her eyes and 1981 that resulted in the death of at least 28 black children and ears herself.

This, of course, is fiction. It’s the second episode — had made “Do you know where of Black Mirror’s fourth season, titled “Arkangel.” your children are?” a haunting question.

And the technology the episode is built around, an The milk carton campaign followed in its advanced parental monitoring device, is addictive. It’s footsteps, building steam alongside Nancy simply too easy. Each action feels like protection, but Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign and paralleling D.A.R.E, the anti-drug K-12 curriculum that it’s smothering and isolating in aggregate.

What’s most terrifying, though, is that it’s not that launched in 1983.

These and other campaigns raised awareness far from the reality of parenting today. We may not be able to see through our children’s eyes or censor the about risks to children without clarifying the rarity world around them, but we can track them through of such risks, and the increased national news smartphones and fitness trackers, limit their freedom coverage made every town a neighbor and every of movement by keeping them indoors and within crime feel next door. This started a trend towards arms reach, all to reduce their exposure to anything parental protectionism that found a firm foothold even remotely risky. Parenting hasn’t always looked in the technological era. Televisions and gaming consoles make great babysitters. like this.

There have always been overprotective parents, It’s easier than ever to keep your but the helicopter parenting trend of the last few kid “safe,” but it is also safer than decades illustrates a massive shift towards a “Caution! ever to raise a kid in the United States. If parents were reacting Danger!” point of view.

Some say it started with a boy named Etan Patz. Patz to real and imminent danger, was abducted in 1979 when he was only six years old, but not letting your 10-year-old walk he became a household name in 1984 when he was the themselves to school or not leaving first missing child to appear on the side of a milk carton. your kid in the car as you run in to grab Part of a campaign run by the National Child Safety milk (presuming it’s not dangerously hot), Council in partnership with dairies nationwide, the would be logical responses. But, for the vast program would ultimately inspire others to follow suit. majority of Americans, their lives are actually Grocery bags, toll tickets, and pizza boxes are just a few very safe.

Nationwide, crime stats have been dropping for of the normally nondescript objects that were plastered

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TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

after she wrote a column about letting her then 9-year-old ride the New York City subway alone.

Today, she is the President & Co-Founder of Let Grow, a non-profit that “believes in overthrowing the culture of overprotection,” and a prominent face in the free-range parenting movement.

According to Skenazy, her son was not just capable of riding the subway alone; they had trained for it.

Hovering over children is just an excuse, she says, to avoid teaching “the hard stuff.”

In a phone interview, Skenazy shared that “Parents have always protected their children,” but “what’s new is the level of surveillance and assistance this generation is assumed to need.” This is further exacerbated by the existence of technology that enables it. We may not be tracking them through brain implants (yet), but we do have GPS-enabled smartphones and the ever-vigilant parenting police: parents, or just anyone who, instead of asking a kid if they’re ok, is quick to report solo walks or parentless playtime to the police.

PARENTING MANTRAS Bridget Crocker: “To raise capable kids, you have to let them be capable. Teach them how, and trust them to navigate challenges rather than try to protect them from experiencing suffering or unpleasantness.”

Emily F. Popek: "Guide, don't steer."

Tracy Ross: “Give a little, get a little.”

Pete DeSarno: “To raise a good person. That’s all I can say.

That’s the goal: to raise a good person.”

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T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

decades, and many areas, including large cities, are Skenazy argues that by acting as if “our children safer than ever. “Stranger danger” feels like a shadow are in mortal peril,” we are robbing them of the that follows parents of young children around, waiting opportunity to “dose themselves with risk,” a vaccine to snatch their kid the moment they look away, but that builds up resilience. She’s not advocating for abduction by someone outside of the victim’s family dropping kids into the deep end to learn how to swim, is incredibly uncommon. The reason child abduction but in slowly expanding a child’s perimeter over time stats have risen isn’t strangers grabbing kids out of as they gain skills, knowledge of their surroundings, grocery stores, it’s family members — often parents — and self-awareness. This measured method, she says, saying “to hell with it” with custody agreements. is the difference between letting kids make mistakes And yet, it’s the unknown that most terrifies us. and endangering them.

“What bleeds leads” because drama and danger keeps Skenazy has been criticized for potentially eyes on screens, and eyes on screens bring in more going too far towards parents’ rights. By advocating money from advertisers. The impact is startling. Some that parents should have ultimate say over what people stockpile emergency food rations hawked their children can do and where they can go, some by conspiracy theorists like Infowars host Alex Jones, argue that free-range parenting could allow true who warns that “there’s a war on for your life.” Others child endangerment to fly under the radar. But stockpile weapons in the name of self-defense that, all parenting strategies come with risks, even the according to the Harvard Injury Control Research hypervigilant ones. Recent research has shown that Center, are rarely used for that purpose. For most exposure to high levels of screen-centric technology, though, the impacts of using danger as a media tool the babysitter of the 21st century, can harm children’s are less overtly shocking, but still culturally damaging. development, and what used to take a village has In 1969, nearly 50% of kids in the US walked or biked turned into nanny-911. From branding the world as to school. According to NPR, only 13% walked or dangerous to parental policing, everyone is acting in biked to school in 2012. what they think is the best interest of their children.

Some parents Unfortunately, the damage takes a while to manifest. are pushing back “We’re not doing them any favors,” Skenazy says, against the obsessive “by being a concierge to their childhood.” A kid, or overprotection that anyone for that matter, may seem safe sitting in front of a has resulted from the TV screen or being monitored on an Apple branding of danger, and watch — or even with a brain implant they’re making headlines in à la “Arkangel” — but the long-term the process. Lenore Skenazy impacts of succumbing to the branding was called the “world’s worst mom” of danger could be far scarier than the false sense of safety is worth.

ISSUE THREE

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

Dear Rockstars and Rebels, You are a cheeky, analog bunch and we like that about you. Thank you for choosing to subscribe to the Dispatch and supporting thoughtful print publications.

We at AllSwell love us some pen-to-paper and it doesn’t get much more analog than that (except cave paintings, maybe?). We make half-lined (“WRITE”) and half-unlined (“DRAW”) notebooks for you to fill with your musings, jottings, scribbles and lists.

Why? Because putting pen to paper is actually good for you. And that’s not just our opinion. It’s scientific, empirical fact: there are mental, emotional and physiological benefits to writing things down. Try it out and see how it goes, just a few minutes a day. You don’t need to do it in an AllSwell notebook, but if you want to we have plenty for you to choose from.

Fear of journaling got you stuck in the mud? Come join us for one of our creative workshops or trips.

You can find out more at www.allswellcreative.com or @allswellcreative.* In Swellness, Laura Rubin Founder, AllSwell *Yes, we’re aware of the irony, pointing you towards a device to find out how to be on your devices less. We hope to offer tools for finding a reasonable balance in the digital age, to consciously make choices, rather than eschew it altogether.

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A SIMPLE POEM

A SWORD IN A SHEATH

A SQUIRREL’S BUSHY TAIL

REACHING THROUGH THE THORNS OF THE RASPBERRY BUSH

PLAYING A HAND DRUM

AN ECHO

STARING AT THE X-RAYS

WATER FLOWS FROM A FAUCET

You are fresh, bright, renewed.

You can stand up for yourself and make the decision that you need to make. You are allowed a fresh start. Find it in your heart to reward yourself for those moments when you have spoken your truth.

Now do it again.

HANDING IN YOUR NOTICE

It’s time to go. Travel, explore, learn, and grow. Don’t leave a mess behind you, and don’t take this too literally unless it truly makes sense. You need to leave an old way behind so that you can expand rapidly and match the future self that is waiting for you. .

The words lightly grace the page.

Although simple and short, the poem holds mystery and profound meaning. You are like this.

You have the ability to get right to the point. Keep it simple. It’s in the most basic of ideas that you will find profound truth.

Lift the sword and cut through the nonsense. Find linear, logical solutions that make sense. Don’t let yourself wander. Cut into the issue and figure out what it is that needs to change. It’s time for innovation.

Keep the beat steady. Don’t stop until the song is over. This steadiness is what you need to bring forward in your relationships. Let yourself show up with creativity and finesse in your conversations with partners. Be consistent.

You’re tough. Keep searching for the right approach in your relationships. Your resilient nature will help you move through the thorns with bravery and courage so that you get rewarded. Your reward is honest connection.

THE CACTUS HOLDS MOISTURE INSIDE

THE RODENT BURROWS INTO A HOLE IN THE GROUND

Think it through. Consider all of the possibilities. Look for clues and meaning. Read what you see.

You’re ready to improve your mental process. You’re ready to learn. Study and develop your mind so that you’ll be able to arrive at better conclusions.

It’s time to face inward. Get grounded so that you can set yourself up for future success. You need to slow down so that you can really feel the feelings that have been bottled up. Go back so that you can go forward.

Every decision you make echoes.

Your daily routine is a result of your actions in the days before.

Get ahead of the pattern. Start a new echo. If you set up healthy habits for yourself, it just gets easier and easier to repeat them.

You have the resources you need to feel satisfied. The simplest things can be enough. There is abundance flowing your way. Let go of fear and worry. If you feel like you are worrying too much, try to go with the flow a little bit more. Lean into trust.

Real Talk, Group Text DATING ADVICE FROM THE DISPATCH CHEAP SEATS, WHERE WE’RE ALL GETTING IT WRONG... BUT DOING IT TOGETHER.

Everyone loved hearing Carrie Bradshaw’s tales…but why was she the only one to have all the fun? And why were each of her columns left with a question, never answered? Hell, she didn’t even have Bumble.

Dater-In-Residence: LEXI WEBER “Pass me the wrapping paper?” He asked. I slid it towards him, “I’m not sure this will be enough for your package.”

“That’s what she said.”

Last month we met Michaela who asked:

You can’t fake connection IRL. Either the spark is there or it isn’t.

Laughing, I stuffed red tissue paper in my gift bag. “I think this needs a candy cane. Toss one over?”

“That’s what she said.” He said winking. Suddenly, it wasn’t funny.

When I told him so, he said—you guessed it—“that’s what she said.”

We were sitting on his sofa wrapping presents and listening to Christmas music. The second date idea had sounded charming. It wasn’t.

Is connection a real thing we cannot fake in the physical world, even if we can in the online one?

A person can check off all of the boxes, but it doesn’t mean they’re going to do it for ya. Let it go—on to the next one.

“Are you trying to make me uncomfortable?” I asked.

His mouth opened, but he paused. What followed was a litany of reasons for why he wasn’t ready for anything serious. In fact, he wasn’t even ready to be on second dates.

“So what am I doing here? Why does your dating app profile say that you’re a dog dad looking for something meaningful?” I asked, shoving cardboard gift boxes and giant bows into my bag.

“Well, I am looking for something meaningful.” He shrugged. “Just not long-term.”

After trying to make it work with her Online-He-Is-Great guy, but just couldn't ignite that spark found in between the yellow Bumble bubbles.

YOU ANSWERED:

Maybe you can fake a connection in the shortterm, but in the long-term...do you even want to?

Sometimes you just don’t know if there’s anything there until you’re face-to-face. No shame in Perfect-On-Paper dude not actually being perfect.

You deserve better than beige.

Don't write him off yet. Give it one more IRL date.

People get nervous.

I slid backwards out of his apartment, vowing to lay off the dating apps until after the New Year.

SO I ASK:

There’s someone for everyone. He’ll find someone who thinks he’s fascinating, and you’ll find someone who doesn’t make you want to pass out in your margarita.

How do you navigate hookup culture while searching for a meaningful long-term relationship?

Dear Dispatch: Want to help Lexi? Want to tell her you’ve been-there-done-that? Want to ask her out? Want to share your own tale?

Please send your bits of brain gold, pithy one-liners, and all the bad advice to realtalk@folkrebellion.com to be printed in next month’s edition.

No one should be yawning on a second date unless it’s after some hot, sweaty sex.

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Oh the dreaded "chemistry". No you can't fake it but you can be "off" for other reasons....bad food, mercury in retrograde, etc. Try once more.

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

You must break yourself open to connect with your creative spirit.

Surprise yourself and get out of your comfort zone. Then you’ll feel refreshed. Then you’ll feel like boredom melts away and creativity flourishes. You are unique and powerful. Let yourself shine.

Time spent waiting is challenging. Winter has been scarce, but now the growing season is beginning. You have been waiting, and you have been resilient. Begin to nurture new goals for your career because there are more resources available now.

Forecasted by Sandra Sitron

HOROSCOPES

A RED POPPY

ISSUE THREE

Clicks, Dollar Bills, and Politics: BUYING VOTES WITH LIKES

BY CYRENA LEE

In the middle of the La Défense business district just outside of Paris city limits, there’s a bronze sculpture of a colossal thumb created by 20th-century sculptor César Baldaccini.

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

The first time I saw the statue, all that I could think was that this garish piece of art, visited by a constant stream of selfie-taking tourists, represented what many of us have become in the digital age: disembodied thumbs. We communicate by flicking our fingers; we learn about the world around us through screens.

Political activism used to mean engaging with your local community, attending town hall meetings, and knowing your congressperson. Now you can feel involved just by ranting on Facebook, “checking in” at a protest you didn’t attend as a sign of solidarity, or by hitting the “angry” emotion reaction button on clips of civilians standing off against police in riot gear.

You can tweet expletives at the 45th President of the United States without leaving your bed.

Or maybe you’ve done none of those things, and you’re one of those people who unfriends or unfollows the people who do use social media as a place to wax political. But dodging rants that swing right or left doesn’t save you from powerful targeting and the manipulations of political parties who want to influence your mind and grab your vote.

In another lifetime, the main mode of communications for politicians were newspapers and stomping the ground. It wasn’t until the 1930s that Franklin D. Roosevelt used radio to reach people through his “fireside chats.” The first televised debate wasn’t until 1960, when Nixon and Kennedy turned political showdowns into spectacles that reached millions. And then the internet revolutionized, well, everything.

Did You Know?

Around 120,000 pieces of content linked to Russia were posted to Instagram in the run-up to the 2016 election.

Twitter suspended 2,700 accounts linked to the Internet Research Agency.

Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google spent ~$50 million in attempts to influence the 2016 election through political contributions and lobbying.

They can learn about what we like— and what we fear—and use posts to win our votes.

We've come a long way from the era of politicians having to go on the road to shake hands with constituents and kiss their babies to win votes. During the 2016 election, the Clinton and Trump campaigns spent a combined $81 million on Facebook advertising alone, and the total digital spend during the 2016 election broke $1 billion. “Dark money” groups—politically active nonprofits that don’t have to disclose the source(s) of their funding, be it a corporation, individual, or union—reached an incredible spend of $1.4 billion in the 2016 cycle. Anonymous donations pouring into campaigns and influencing votes already makes for murky waters. Adding digital advertising to the mix creates an impossibly opaque swamp.

In this swamp, trolls flourish. One of the most notorious trolls of the most recent election cycle was the “Internet Research Agency,” which was tasked with creating divisive and inflammatory social media content that reached 126 million U.S. Facebook users.

Their antics also included sending out 131,000 tweets and posting 1,100 YouTube videos.

Whether trolling or chasing votes, digital campaigns are able to be tailored using “psychometric targeting.”

Which is to say, ad buyers and post authors aren’t spitting in the dark. They can learn about what we like— and what we fear—and use posts to win our votes.

Campaigning in the digital age has become so sophisticated that global initiative Who Targets Me was created in the U.K. as a response to the alarming rise of dark ads (i.e. political ads funded by unclear sources), especially following the 2015 U.K. general election and in the run-up to the 2016 U.S. elections. The tool uses thousands of volunteers to collect data that will help identify who buys our attention in the hopes of swaying our opinions.

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This level of tailored and under-the-radar advertising was unprecedented and, according to Facebook, Twitter, and Google, unforeseeable. All three were called to testify on Capitol Hill to clarify their role in Russian meddling, and Facebook pledged to add 250 employees to help with safety, security, election integrity and efforts to make political ads more transparent.

In February 2017, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg penned a lengthy manifesto, promising that in an era of political chaos and rampant fake news, he would redirect Facebook’s focus towards building communities, not serving oversimplified ads and shady news links.

His points were likely missed by those who most needed to hear them (because it is a 5,700 word manifesto on Facebook), but Zuckerberg is right: boiling down complex politics and issues to clickbait headlines is dangerous. Successful social media tends to be like sugar—it dissolves easily on the tongue, is satisfying, and is devoid of any nutritional value or intellectual content. Digital sugar is cheap, easy to make, and addictive. Corporations know this, advertisers know this, politicians know this, and they feed us junk.

But unlike the radio or a TV, the beauty of the internet is that we can talk back. Try to have a conversation with a billboard—you probably won’t get too far.

It’s easy to feel defeated in the digital age, to feel like our attention is getting hijacked. While it is true that we can easily be duped and influenced online, it’s important to remember that we, too, have influence. We have tremendous power to mobilize and give power to unheard voices to enact real change. See the Arab Spring, #BlackLivesMatter, and #MeToo. We can create powerful discussions and make meaningful, slow, and intentional connections. We can be more than disembodied thumbs.

Dig Deeper Install: The Who Targets Me extension for Chrome Read: “Building Global Community”

by Mark Zuckerberg Watch: Trumped: Inside the Greatest Political Upset of All Time

TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

ANOTHER SET OF SHOES: ADVERTISING & ADOLESCENCE

By Nikki Yeager

For the last t wo months, we’ve focused on the lives of mothers living at vastly dif ferent income levels. Today we’ll take a look at how Tracie, a high school freshman (whose name has been changed for privacy) mentally filters content throughout her day. Common Sense media points out that more than 25% of teenagers acces s the internet through mobile devices rather than computers, making them prime targets for adver tisers who freely track data, exploit insecurities, and use peer influence to create lifelong customers.

It’s 6 a.m. and Tracie doesn’t need to be awake, but she is. Her friend Riley sent a Snap a few minutes ago: “Is this shirt totally awesome or totally insane? Just got it from Hollister yesterday.” Tracie replies, “You look beautiful! <3 <3 <3.”

She closes the app and turns on Pandora while getting ready for school. An ad for Proactiv skincare plays while she flips through the clothes in her closet. It reminds her that she forgot to place an order last month and needs to get some more cleanser ASAP.

"Another Set of Shoes " highlights the diversit y of life, empowering those featured to be who, and what, they are.

Nothing more, and nothing les s. In the proces s, we hope to see past the stereot ypes that are so deeply ingrained in modern culture and to illuminate the complexit y of the human experience.

Tracie pulls on a sweater while singing along to “Only Wanna Dance With You” by Kesha: “Drinking wine on the cement, outside 7-Eleven, fell in love on accident, now it doesn't matter.”

Since she woke up so early, she has extra time to get ready, so she carefully lines up boldly-branded beauty products in front of the bathroom mirror: MAC mascara, black MAC eyeliner, E.L.F. eyeshadow. Like teenage girls around the world, she scrubs her face and picks a few whiteheads, kicking herself for letting her facewash supply run low. She gets to work with the eyeliner, trying carefully to make her big eyes even bolder. But the black lines look almost comical in the mirror, so she wipes them off and turns to her phone.

Tracie slides the phone into her pocket and chats with her mom for the rest of the ride.

Around 3 p.m., Tracie enters the school gymnasium after a long day of classes, joining 10 other girls, including Riley, for volleyball practice.

They lounge on the bleachers in tank tops, shorts, and knee pads. A few girls bounce a volleyball back and forth as they wait for the coach to arrive. Today is the day for new uniforms.

Coach comes in dragging a box behind her. “OK girls, uniforms are here! Now remember we got these with the donation from

According to Snapchat, the average user spends about 20 seconds selecting sponsored lenses, or in other words, playing with advertisements.

She opens Instagram and watches a recent video by one of the many beauty tutorial accounts she follows. A girl about her age pulls liner and eyeshadow from an Ulta Beauty bag, expertly applying both while pop music plays in the background. Tracie pulls out her mom’s makeup pouch and digs around for eyeliners. She finds the same pewter pencil from the video and attempts to recreate the look. After a glance in the mirror, she counts it as a victory.

She confidently swings her backpack over her shoulder and hurries out to the car where her mother is waiting, doing a quick check for her volleyball equipment and homework before they pull out of the driveway. “Hey, can we stop at 7-Eleven today? I’m craving donuts!”

Mom nods and circles around the block to the 7-Eleven. They sit in the parking lot for a few minutes running over the after-school schedule as Tracie pulls out her phone for a quick pic: perfectly-lined eyes peeking out from behind her morning snack. Snapchat prompts her to use a sponsored lens from another national breakfast chain, and virtual donuts cascade around her head as a logo appears in the bottom right corner. It’s the most adorable thing she’s ever seen.

Riley immediately comments with a string of kissy faces, “did you go there for breakfast today?”

the pizza shop on the corner, so we’ll be doing team dinner there from now on after home games, and we’ll need to snap a quick team picture to announce the sponsorship in the school’s newsletter next week.”

The groans are audible. With two pizza shops in town, Tracie isn’t the only one who hates the prospect of eating at the corner shop instead of the other one: the crust is soggy, the restaurant is stuffy, and they don’t offer anything but breadsticks and plain slices. But, like the other girls, she understands the process. The shop gave them money for uniforms and in return, they get an advertisement in the newsletter and lots of smiling faces promoting their brand. Having a custom shirt that doesn’t carry someone else’s stench is worth a crappy meal once in a while.

The girls descend upon the box and grab shirts to try on before rushing to the locker room.

“No, it’s just the filter… america runs on dunkin! lol”

“Selfie time!” Riley shimmies behind Tracie, extends her arm and snaps a picture captioned, “love this girl. love these uniforms. #CornerPizza #gratitude”

The picture joins millions of other photos on the messaging platform that are covered in logos, messages, and geotags. According to Snapchat, the average user spends about 20 seconds selecting sponsored lenses, or in other words, playing with advertisements.

She hits save and it pops up in Tracie’s feed right above a video from Hollister. Tracie hits the heart below the image, tucks her phone into her locker, and runs after Riley towards the gym, enjoying the feel of new fabric on her skin.

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This

ISSUE THREE

By Wendy DeChambeau

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

Self-acceptance Board game night Reading a book Ad-free streaming Contribution

As much as humanity has progressed over the centuries, I think we can all agree that we still have some work to do. The amount of debt taken on by individuals within the U.S. is at an all-time high, millions of people (particularly women) suffer from negative body image issues, and rampant consumerism has wreaked havoc on the environment.

Though seemingly different, these problems are all at least partially due to a familiar source: advertising.

Advertising isn't likely to end anytime soon. So what can you do about it? The first and maybe most obvious step is to limit your exposure.

It's not just an old-fashioned notion or a hippie mantra. Limiting your exposure to the media is incredibly beneficial for your physical and mental health. Being bombarded by fewer messages that tell you that you're not good enough, pretty enough, or wealthy enough (but that you can fix it by buying beauty products or bling) is a good thing.

If you really want to watch your favorite shows, consider using Netflix, Hulu, or another limited-ad or ad-free program. If you’re tied to primetime, use a DVR to cut out the commercials. Skip ads on podcasts, and if you don't mind spending a little more money, consider using an internet radio subscription.

Not all marketing is toxic. Advertising can alert us to good things just as it attracts us to the bad. There are products advertised on TV which can help us become healthier, save us time, or even get us outside, but too many promotional techniques hurt our psyches and our society — even if they are for a less wasteful washing machine or a local state park.

We can't escape advertising altogether — there will always be billboards, flashy magazine spreads (yes, even here!), and ads that inevitably find a way into your email — but you can control how you let them affect you.

Marketing messages tell us that we need to have the newest gadgets, the sleekest cars, and the finest foods. We’re made to feel like failures if we don’t provide our children with waffle-making smartphones or employ a professional pet therapist for our pooch. The result? We dive into debt: living beyond our means and creating new stresses while not really enjoying the things we’ve spent our hard-earned cash on.

Along with limiting exposure, one of the best weapons for combating the negative effects of advertising is self-acceptance. If you are confident in your abilities, talents, intellect, and body shape, you'll be able to push back against advertisers’ manipulative ways. Stick-thin models won't convince you to run out and purchase diet products; the newest gadget won’t send you running to the store, afraid that you’ve already missed out, and commercials for a sporty Porsche won’t cause you to despise your economy car-driving self.

not

Pick up nearly any magazine and you'll be inundated with photos of beautiful, tall, and impossibly thin models. Even parenting magazines tend to portray mothers of newborns and toddlers as universally fit and fashionable. Men are also susceptible to insecurity thanks to many ads showcasing shirtless males with sculpted muscles. While we may know on an intellectual level that these depictions do not represent reality, the constant reminders of "perfection" seep into our subconscious.

The result? According to the National Eating Disorder Association, many studies have shown a link between media exposure and body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. It’s also been shown that media pressure to be muscular can cause body issues among men, which can result in depression or experimenting with steroids.

As for consumerism and the environment, it doesn't take a scientist to link the two together. We've all been sold on drinking countless bottles of designer water, energy drinks, or even "healthy beverages" containing aloe or acai berry juice, even though we may carry regular water around in a reusable bottle and know that plastic waste is an issue. Empty single-use bottles — approximately 38 billion in the U.S. alone — end up in overflowing landfills, parks, in our gutters and along our roads, or in the shocking floating patches of plastic that are blanketing vast swaths of ocean.

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There are many ways to arrive at contentment and happiness with yourself. You may find that meditation and mindfulness keep you grounded and in the moment, or you might prefer to make a list of all of your strengths, accomplishments, and the people you love and hang it up in your kitchen to remind yourself each day that you are not lacking.

Whatever path you choose towards acceptance is up to you, but remember that your worth doesn't come from what you eat, own, or drive. You are enough. And if you can learn to lessen the media’s hold on your mind, you'll be doing yourself and the planet a huge favor.

That

Advertising envy TV dinners Flicking through the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue Ad-saturated I'm primetime enough.

Consumption

TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

BEHIND THE BUZZ: In 2006, Apple released an iPod nano in collaboration with (RED). All red, it stood out from the rest of their line-up, as it was designed to. Instead of just playing music, it was created and sold for a cause, and carrying the iPod was meant to be a symbol of pride. Since then, the (RED) campaign, created by Bono and Bobby Shriver, has linked some of the biggest corporations in the world with global health organizations, raising $500 million through product collaborations.

You can dress yourself in (RED), accessorize in (RED), and even drink (RED) vodka. To wear a (RED) product projects a message—you care.

want to collect karma points—they’re making good money off of consumer desire to pair purchasing and positive impact, but only if they communicate it right. It’s called “cause marketing,” and along with a new genre of branding, it’s created a whole new type of job. Afterall, the purpose behind the “purpose” is still to sell.

Bono and Shriver weren’t the first to pair product and problem to create a route towards solution, but they confirmed that social good can be good for business.

Today, over 10 years later, it seems like every company is linking themselves to a charity and, if they aren’t, they’re at least promoting a cause. Adidas has claimed their place as a leading sustainabilitycentric brand, integrating more sustainable models into their proven production pipeline from product design to shipment.

In 2016, they even released a prototype of a more ecofriendly shoe—the Futurecraft Biofabric—which they say is 100% biodegradable. The shoe isn’t available for purchase, but the buzz brought attention to their other, less eco-friendly options.

There is nothing inherently bad about corporations combating crises, but it’s important to see through the hype. Printing a t-shirt that says “Save Africa” is very different than actually doing so, and the reductive nature of consumer goods encourages slogans that are more buzzworthy than they are accurate. After all, what exactly, is a t-shirt saving Africa from?

IT’S NEVER BEEN SO SIMPLE, OR SO FASHIONABLE, TO GET BEHIND A CAUSE.

Cause marketing has opened up new avenues for sociallyconscious workers looking to amplify meaningful projects, but also for social media influencers looking to “green” their persona.

Hawking a product brings a check, but promoting a product with a purpose brings the added bonus of a social boost. It’s never been so simple, or so fashionable, to get behind a cause.

Other companies, like Warby Parker, have built their brand on social consciousness from the very beginning. Today it may be tucked away in their website’s footer, but the eyewear brand was actually built on a buy one, give one model and it was a main marketing point in their early days. Apparel brand Everlane has made radical transparency their trademark, instead of relying on nonprofit partners to implement the social good side of the business. Shoppers are invited to visit their factories virtually, ensuring that the pieces they purchase aren’t just high quality, they’re also ethically produced.

From marketers to influencers to consumers, we need to put as much (if not more) work into decoding the messages as we do into fawning over the products. We all like to think of ourselves as good people, but now that it’s easier than ever to “prove” it, we need to tease the purpose out of the grandiose statements. It may make you break a sweat, but I’m sure there’s an organic cotton, sustainably made face towel that will help you mop it up.

So it’s not just about the product anymore. It’s about how and where a product is made and by whom, what materials are used, and who it can help. This isn’t just because companies

SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS MARKETING

By Heidi Carter

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T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

Afdhel Aziz is one on the world’s leading experts on brand purpose, marketing innovation, and social impact consultancy. A co-author of the book Good is the New Cool, Aziz offers corporations and marketing professionals a roadmap to this new marketing world. By teaching them how to sell goodness, he hopes to increase sales— and impact. Speaking to crowds of thousands of marketing professionals, Aziz evangelizes this new way of building brand relevance while increasing perceived authenticity. It’s all, he says, about “harnessing the power of cool.”

ISSUE THREE

APRIL RAD LIBS

By RACHEL RODERMAN

Hey

Instructions for Mailing An Analog Text Message: Step 1.

Fill it out Step 2.

Tear it out Step 3.

Fold it up Step 4.

Find an envelope Step 5.

Put it in an envelope

f r ie nd's n ame

,

I was walking down the street the other day in my new juice t h at se ems unique bu t isn’t

spokesperson for

“hip” brand

, scrolling on my hot new

brand of sh oe s

, sipping on an ice cold

brand of smart ph one

brand of

, basically looking like the

and thinking to myself, “You know what? I feel like they’re watching me.”

They. The Man. Men? Whatever.

It can’t possibly be an accident that all those

pro duc ts you cove t whe n you’re bore d

my social feeds. It can’t just be serendipity that the advertising with

just casually appear in

i tem onl y your compu te r k no ws you wan t

an inf lue nce r yo u f ollo w/ne ws ou t le t you re ad/your aun t ’s blog

suddenly started

. And what about the billboards

on my block?! Well, I guess those are there for everyone.

Step 6. Write your return address in the top left corner if you want them to write you back. If anonymous hate/revenge/stage-5-clinger mail, we suggest leaving blank.

Nevermind. Paranoia is setting in.

Example:

quality over quantity. Betterment over brand recognition. I’m gonna choose to spend my money in places that

Seymour Butts 742 Evergreen Terrace Springfield, Mass 90210 Step 7: Write the address of the recipient in the middle of front of envelope

Example:

All that is to say, I decided I’m gonna cool it on the branding for a bit. I’m gonna start making choices for

give

social or e nv i ronme n t al c ause

buy every

as much thought as I do. I’m going to control my inner shopaholic, and not

t hing t h at pops up in yo ur Ins t agram fe e d e ve r y o t he r pos t

just because that influencer has one. I’m

gonna give back because that’s more important than giving in.

President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

I know what you’re thinking: “But

Washington, DC 20500

I know that I will miss saying “yes” to all the beautiful things that come plastered in advertisements and on

Step 8: Buy a stamp. Currently being raised to 49 cents. Still cheaper than your data plan.

packaging. But in reality, I’ll just be making space for different beautiful things—things that actually fulfill me

your n ame

, you love

t hing you h ate t h at you love

!" I know. Oh I know.

instead of just surround me. After a while, I’ll be able to recognize what I think is beautiful.

Step 9: Lick stamp Step 10: Place stamp in top right corner on front of envelope Step 12: Walk to a mailbox. Either the big blue R2D2 looking things at the street corner or to your own mailbox.

Step 12: Place your KIND REMINDER/WARNING/ BORDERLINE THREAT in the mailbox and after completed brush pretend dirt off your hands in an act of satisfied completion.

Don’t worry. I’ll still brag to you about all my

craf t y t hings

and my conscious choices and my awesomely,

authentically curated life. One that I picked based on all the good feels.

I figured I’d write you in hopes of getting you on board to hold me accountable to my brand new brand-less self. You can have my

t hing you h ave to o many of

for now. Let’s find something to cheers to soon.

To thinking for ourselves— Love,

your n ame

TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

rarely flattered women. As far back as the 1920s, women had two potential roles: as an object of desire or an object of ridicule. As women rallied for their right to vote, anti-suffrage propaganda represented them less than kindly.

From empowering women during wartime to stripping power through sexualization and shaming, targeting women is just business—and advertisers have capitalized on the feminist revolution.

In a 1970 campaign for male clothing company Mr. Leggs, the head of a tiger-skin rug was replaced with that of a pretty woman, with a man standing atop her. The print reads “After one look at his Mr. Leggs slacks, she was ready to have him walk all over her.”

How women are portrayed isn’t trivial. Studies have shown that positive representation enhances feelings of self-worth. In 1980, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology published a study indicating that women who were exposed to television spots with reversed gender roles (where women were in positions of power and men were subservient) were more self-confident and less likely to conform to societal norms.

At the start of the Industrial Revolution, America needed to find buyers for the vast array and quantity of goods coming out of modernized factories. Businessman Volney B. Palmer took on the challenge, and established the roots of modern-day advertising in Philadelphia by creating the country’s first ad agency in 1841. It was not the first time women played a role in selling products, but soon enough female grins were plastered on flour sacks and biscuit packages. Ever since, feminine smiles have been an oft-used sales tool for just about, well, everything.

The first time the media even approached this type of flip was during World War II. Women were needed for the war effort, so they were told to put away their aprons and step up to the plate.

The War At Home

Over the years, the women in ads have become a product offered in addition to what’s actually being sold. Simple smiles have spiraled into something more sinister: control, sexism, and inequality. A look at the timeline of the representation of women in ads through the years reflects a rollercoaster of both setbacks and advances towards equality.

Advertisers have used both to their advantage all along the way.

A Long History of Violence

With men off to war, women became a crucial part of the American military system during WWII. It wasn’t just about holding down the fort while men were away—ladies truly kept the machines whirring.

The number of working women nearly tripled in 25 years, from five million in 1920 to 19 million by 1944. Positive portrayals of women in the media, even fictional characters like Rosie the Riveter, solidified their status as contributors and nation builders.

“Turning a human being into a thing is often the first step toward justifying violence,” former model Jean Kilbourne says in her documentary series Killing Us Softly. Now an author and activist, she quit modeling because of the rampant sexual harassment she experienced in the industry. After her departure, she started obsessively collecting and studying advertisements. Her collection shows how the media's message has

The iconic Rosie poster (along with all the kitschy t-shirts, totes, and buttons we still buy today) may have never existed if ad men weren’t hired to draft wartime propaganda that would drive women towards the industrial jobs left open when men shipped out.

Ads printed in the Saturday Evening Post, Life, and Ladies Home Journal between 1940 and 1946 followed the trend that brought

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T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

By Shannon Jay

ISSUE THREE

Did You Know?

• Advertising doesn’t just sell products, it also sells social norms and societal expectations.

• The number of working women nearly tripled in 25 years, from five million in 1920 to 19 million by 1944.

• Advertising that featured empowered women makes women feel more powerful.

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

Mini Ad used with permission by Kinda Kind

Simple smiles have spiraled into something more sinister: control, sexism, and inequality. women to work by portraying them as industrially capable. According to a study by social scientists Charles Lewis and John Neville, there were still plenty of images of women as homemakers, but advertisements during these years also showed an unprecedented number of women as wage earners and service members.

Though 80% of female war production plant workers expressed a desire to continue working, many women were laid off after the war. If they wanted to keep working, they were forced into lower-paying positions. Nevertheless, 32% of women stayed in the workforce, fighting yet another representational reversal: this one suggested that good girls shouldn’t bring home a paycheck.

Going Backwards

Two Barbasol shaving cream ads, published a year apart, are one of the most alarming pieces of evidence of the steep regression back to sexist portrayals of women.

In a 1944 print advertisement, uniformed women stand at attention to greet a fresh-faced colleague with a salute. Just a year later, short-skirted girls giggle in the foreground, separated from the soldiers coming back home. “Company, dismissed” may be a direct command to the boys, but the act of reclaiming their jobs and ousting ladies’ from their newfound careers is shown as making room for women to return to be what they were born for—frivolity.

Shown as independent and able only a decade earlier, the ads of the 50s and 60s patronized and pigeon-holed women. Mad Men-style ad men (and they were nearly

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Barbasol ad used with permission from Duke University.

TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

all men) were determined to shame women back into the kitchen, which they did by demeaning them socially and insulting their intelligence.

In a 1952 ad for Schlitz, a husband consoles his wife about burning dinner. After all, at least she didn’t burn the beer. In a 1952 ad for Chase & Sanborn coffee, inferiority is wrapped up with a bow of domestic violence: in it, a man is poised to spank his wife for not “store testing for fresher coffee.” “Men are better than women!” a man utters with unapologetic chauvinism in another ad, dangling his wife off the side of a cliff. “Indoors, women are useful,” but outside the home, they’re “a drag,” he adds. This isn’t dialogue from a sexist comedy sketch, but a 1959 ad for Drummond outerwear—a company that sells coats. Yes, coats.

By 1966, there was still more of the same. An ad from Dormeyer makes it seem like all women want for Christmas is more kitchen supplies—and that a woman will throw a tantrum to get what she wants.

And the sexism just kept coming, even as second-wave feminism blasted new paths in the late 60s and early 70s.

Women on the ground may have claimed power, but the advertisements stayed disrespectful—just maybe with a

Anti-Suffrage Postcards used with permission by Glasgow Women’s Library

Jean Kilbourne’s concern for the sexualization of young women is encapsulated in the iconic 1981 TV ad for Calvin Klein jeans, where a 15 year old Brooke Shields strongly suggests she’s gone commando. The add caused a splash, the sexualized 15 year old a shiny example of what’s desirous, even if it’s in a teenager.

drums in the late 1990s, their combination of “girl power” lyrics and sexualized imagery exemplified the commodification of feminism that was already well underway.

In her book We Were Feminists Once: From Riot Grrrl to CoverGirl, Bitch Media co-founder Andi Zeisler claims the musical group was “created to be a vehicle of marketing to an audience of preteen girls.” Sure, girls could be powerful, but only in small doses and short skirts.

When portraying women as workers sold products, that’s what companies did. When turning them into rugs

Role Reversal

Later in the decade, however, gender roles in the media started to slowly reverse yet again. The crest of third wave feminism was curling into the 1990s.

With more women working 9-5 jobs and controlling their own (and family) wallets, advertisers attempted to give women the violent power men commanded in the ads of decades past.

After Nissan found women under 40 tended to have “an equal say in 80% of all car sales,” they embraced the newly empowered woman. The tagline they came up with—directed towards men—said, “ask before you borrow it.”

The women of American advertisements didn’t just start to take control on magazine pages, they were also taking revenge. Feminine revenge spanned from boiling men’s expensive watches and feeding them dog food, to pushing them out of windows and kicking them in the groin.

Barbasol ad used with permission from Duke University.

Like many other ads of the time, the “ask before you borrow it” Nissan ads fed into a false anti-male agenda— the logic went that having women illustrated as empowered means their partners must be disempowered.

Pop music facilitated this trend in parallel. When English pop sensation The Spice Girls hit American ear-

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Kitchen supplies ad used with permission by Kinda Kind

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

little more skin. Baby Soft’s 1975 campaign makes a temptress out of a toddler and a baby out of a woman, because “innocence is sexier than you think.”

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

when female empowerment became a powerful sales tool, they adopted it with equal gusto. pushed sales of slacks, brands fought to go the furthest. lens, is most likely well-meaning at heart it’s unlikely And when female empowerment became a powerful sales that it will ever serve as a vehicle towards true systemic tool, they adopted it with equal gusto. change, even if it makes women feel more confident.

Even the ads that make us feel warm and fuzzy, Zeisler says, aren’t exactly “changing the way we think about beauty as a standard measure of what women are worth.”

They’re designed to make money, not to change society.

In the 60+ years since the homemaking heyday of the 50s, the marketing narrative towards girls shifted from As women continue to claim the positions of power motherly caretakers to overly sexual beings, from solely servicing men to serving their country, to serving sass with they’ve historically been blocked from, who knows what will appear shocking tomorrow in today’s ads. a “girls rule, boys drool” soundtrack.

Collective change is hard, incremental, and often painful. Marketable feminism is quick, digestible, and Always’ 2015 “Like a Girl” campaign overshadowed mefrustratingly idealistic. dia’s most masculine space—the Super Bowl. Similarly, Dove’s 2004 #ChooseBeautiful campaign is easy to see Whether it’s selling a product or maintaining social as pure innovation without the context of the femaleorder, ads are designed to get people in line at the store focused ads of the 1940s. or the assembly line, not to lift them up. What they do provide, though, is a snapshot of what’s gone wrong, and We all like to be told that we are powerful, but while “femvertising,” or marketing with a female-empowerment a roadmap for how much further we still have to go.

New Roles, Same Games

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Drummond Ad used with permission from Kinda Kind Chase & Sanborn ad used with permission from Graham Richardson.

Dig Deeper

• Watch: Killing Us Softly and Miss Representation, documentaries that explore marketing and gender stereotyping.

• Read: We Were Feminists Once: From Riot Grrrl to CoverGirl

by Andi Zeisler, exploring the ironic commodification of the anti-capitalist movement.

• Listen: The Findings Report Podcast.

“Femvertising,” episode #3, features leading adwomen working to make women more than just a pretty face in advertisements. findingsreport. com/2018/01/16/femvertising/

TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

And Other Lessons I Learned from Binge-Watching TV B Y S A M A N T H A PA R S O N S Binge-watching is a cultural phenomenon, and a complicated one. My husband and I recently binge-watched all four seasons of Game of Thrones in two weeks. Forty hours of TV in just 14 days—or nearly three hours per day—sounds like a lot, but it’s actually below the national daily average for television time.

Screen time can be detrimental to our health.

Binge-watchers report higher levels of anxiety, stress, depression, and loneliness. Even so, the complexity of plots and characters does offer something for those of us looking to escape.

According to cultural anthropologist Grant McCracken, binge-watchers aren’t just wasting away on their sofas: they’re seeking out new experiences. It’s not perfect by any means—and actually venturing out ourselves is certainly better—but even binge-watching can offer valuable lessons that influence our lives when we do get to unplug.

One show ripe for testing out the lesson-giving potential of binge-watching is the History Channel’s Alone. Following a tried and true reality TV format (with the necessary “unique” twist), contestants face treacherous conditions and social isolation while surviving in the wild for up to a year. Whoever lasts the longest is in the running to win $500,000. Basically, it’s nearly perfect reality TV, if there ever were such a thing, and I binge-watched it so you don’t have to.

5 Lessons I Learned From Binge-Watching Alone:

Real courage isn’t always about setting off into the unknown. Bravery can be found in facing tomorrow, even when you are pretty certain what it will bring. It might be easier to ignore your problems by sitting mindlessly in front of a screen, but no matter how many episodes you watch, your situation is not going to change on its own. The contestants on Alone can’t ignore the intolerable weather and gnawing hunger. They have to take action. Life is full of known problems, whether financial, medical, social, or political. Everyone faces difficult moments. While reruns offer a temporary distraction, bravery is making the choice to leave the sofa, even when you know what is waiting for you out there.

Setting goals increases the chance of reaching them.

The struggle to motivate ourselves is real, especially since most of us suffer from decision fatigue. In an attempt to avoid anything that might zap more of our energy, we resort to mindless activities, like watching television. Just as the contestants on Alone struggle to motivate themselves, so do we. Daily mundane tasks seem to have no beginning and no end, and without goals or deadlines, things can become overwhelming.

Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to combat decision fatigue: prepare in advance, focus on one thing at a time, and set realistic goals that you can stick to. Prepare to unplug by giving yourself a deadline.

Respect the grind enough to break it.

Facing setbacks requires resilience.

Sometimes each day looks like the one that came before. The sun rises, stuff happens, the sun sets. Living becomes a list of monotonous tasks. For the crazy people trying to survive in the wild, it's finding food, fixing a net, or repairing a shelter. For those of us attached to modern conveniences, it's dishes, school drop-offs, and meetings with clueless bosses. When we're uninspired by our day-to-day, it's easy to turn to “quick-fix” distractions—like screen-time—that only compound the monotony. You have to stay engaged in the moment to figure out where you can mix things up.

You have to become the master of the grind to know how to break free of it.

Resilience is one of our greatest survival strategies. It’s not the number or size of trials that builds resilience, but the quality of our recovery.

While reaching for our screens and devices might seem harmless and relaxing, we are never fully resting while staring at a screen. Watching episode after episode inhibits both our chance to recover in the moment, and to respond better to stresses in the future. To build resilience, we have to stop running to screens and other easy escapes when we face setbacks. We need to engage, truly relax, and recover. Through that, resilience will come.

Surviving isn't living.

Surviving is doing things that ensure you live to see another day. The boring stuff. It’s existence and subsistence. Surviving is not experiencing.

It’s not enjoying the taste of something, feeling the sand under your feet, or a soft breeze on your face.

Surviving is obviously important, but it isn’t living. Living is doing what excites you. Living is spending time with the people you love.

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Netflix members watch over one billion hours of content a week.

Seventy percent of Americans binge-watch an average of five episodes at a time.

DIG DEEPER: Read "Those Post BingeWatching Blues”

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

While the word “binge” traditionally implies excessive and shameful indulgence (as in bingedrinking), binge-watching has become a badge of honor. Yes, people have been rushing through back-episodes ever since TV shows were first distributed on VHS and DVD, but Netflix invented binge-viewing. By distributing shows in fullseason blocks, Netflix (and its thousands of designers, programmers, and marketing whizzes) encourages members to zoom through storylines they’ve missed—especially when a new season is looming. Hulu, HBO, and other online-streaming services have spread the trend, helping us watch more, faster, and without the commercial breaks that remind us to take stretch breaks.

Bravery is facing the known.

DID YOU KNOW?

SURVIVING ISN'T

TURNED OFF THE SOCIAL MEDIA NOTIFICATIONS ON YOUR PHONE.

LISTENED TO AN ENTIRE ALBUM FROM BEGINNING TO END.

ASKED FOR DIRECTIONS INSTEAD OF USING GPS.

WENT ON A HIKE, PICNIC, BIKE RIDE

PRACTICED A ONE-HANDED CARD SHUFFLE.

MADE EYE CONTACT WITH AS MANY STRANGERS AS YOU COULD IN 3 MINUTES. (AIM FOR 20!)

ATE LUNCH WITHOUT ANY DEVICES ON THE TABLE.

#A N A L O GA S FO L K

DIDN’T SNAPCHAT THAT AVOCADO TOAST. STARTED A CONVERSATION WITH A STRANGER.

MADE A MIXTAPE—OR AT LEAST A PLAYLIST—FOR SOMEONE.

@FOLKREBELLION

PEOPLEWATCHED AT A COFFEE SHOP.

BROWSED A LOCAL BOOKSTORE.

CHANNELED YOUR INNER CHILD AND GOT INTO THE GOOD KIND OF TROUBLE.

PLANNED YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE WITH PEN AND PAPER.

TRIED THE CROSSWORD. (SEE PAGE 72.)

ASKED “WHAT WOULD FERRIS BUELLER DO?” AND HAD AN ADVENTURE IN YOUR HOMETOWN.

SAT ON A BAR STOOL AND PRACTICED TELLING JOKES.

LEFT YOUR PHONE AT HOME...ON PURPOSE.

CAUGHT THE SUNSET AND DIDN’T POST A PIC OF IT ON INSTAGRAM.

SWIPED ON THAT AIRPLANE MODE TO SHOW YOUR PHONE WHO’S BOSS.

CAUGHT AT LEAST 15 PEOPLE TAKING SELFIES. COUNTED 10 PEOPLE TEXTING WHILE WALKING.

FIRED UP THE GRILL FOR A MEAL WITH FRIENDS.

PUT YOUR HANDS TO GOOD USE: MADE A FRIENDSHIP BRACELET OR CAME UP WITH A SECRET HANDSHAKE.

This is a tear out, pass along, IRL moment Stay in the moment, but if the mood strikes to share, use a #latergram.

ISSUE THREE

how to play

GET BUSY LIVING OFFLINE. Rip out your bingo boards and pass one to a friend. Each square is a challenge, so check off your boxes as you complete each one. Whoever completes a row first wins.

We don’t care if it’s straight across, up and down, or diagonal across the board: we don’t believe life happens in straight lines anyway. We do believe in creating boundaries with your devices, learning to unplug, and using technology as a tool for connection— not a replacement.

We believe life actually is all fun and games.

a k a

36

37

STARTED A CONVERSATION WITH A STRANGER.

SWIPED ON THAT AIRPLANE MODE TO SHOW YOUR PHONE WHO’S BOSS.

LEFT YOUR PHONE AT HOME...ON PURPOSE.

COUNTED 10 PEOPLE TEXTING WHILE WALKING.

PEOPLEWATCHED AT A COFFEE SHOP.

FIRED UP THE GRILL FOR A MEAL WITH FRIENDS.

CAUGHT AT LEAST 15 PEOPLE TAKING SELFIES.

PUT YOUR HANDS TO GOOD USE: MADE A FRIENDSHIP BRACELET OR CAME UP WITH A SECRET HANDSHAKE.

TURNED OFF THE SOCIAL MEDIA NOTIFICATIONS ON YOUR PHONE.

CAUGHT THE SUNSET AND DIDN’T POST A PIC OF IT ON INSTAGRAM.

TRIED THE CROSSWORD. (SEE PAGE 72.)

LISTENED TO AN ENTIRE ALBUM FROM BEGINNING TO END.

ASKED FOR DIRECTIONS INSTEAD OF USING GPS.

MADE A MIXTAPE—OR AT LEAST A PLAYLIST—FOR SOMEONE. CHANNELED YOUR INNER CHILD AND GOT INTO THE GOOD KIND OF TROUBLE.

ASKED “WHAT WOULD FERRIS BUELLER DO?” AND HAD AN ADVENTURE IN YOUR HOMETOWN.

PLANNED YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE WITH PEN AND PAPER.

MADE EYE CONTACT WITH AS MANY STRANGERS AS YOU COULD IN 3 MINUTES. (AIM FOR 20!)

ATE LUNCH WITHOUT ANY DEVICES ON THE TABLE.

BROWSED A LOCAL BOOKSTORE.

SAT ON A BAR STOOL AND PRACTICED TELLING JOKES.

WENT ON A HIKE, PICNIC, BIKE RIDE

PRACTICED A ONE-HANDED CARD SHUFFLE.

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

DIDN’T SNAPCHAT THAT AVOCADO TOAST.

a k a

GET BUSY LIVING OFFLINE. Rip out your bingo boards and pass one to a friend. Each square is a challenge, so check off your boxes as you complete each one. Whoever completes a row first wins.

We don’t care if it’s straight across, up and down, or diagonal across the board: we don’t believe life happens in straight lines anyway. We do believe in creating boundaries with your devices, learning to unplug, and using technology as a tool for connection— not a replacement.

We believe life actually is all fun and games.

how to play TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

ISSUE THREE

SOME CALL IT DARK MARKETING HOW CORPORATIONS AND POLICYMAKERS USE PSYCHOLOGY TO INFLUENCE OUR BEHAVIOR.

by FRANCESCA BAKER

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TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

39

ISSUE THREE

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

E

very night, at dinner tables around the world, parents beg their kids to eat something at least adjacent to a vegetable. Some cover greens in creamy sauces to hide the taste of nutrients, others win by turning broccoli into forests, while many end up in a staring match: adult stares at the kid, kid stares at the plate, veggies stay put.

The thing is, we all know we should eat more vegetables—even toddlers can tell you that veggies are good for you—but taste preferences and routine often get in our way. So, we try to make it easier. We put crunchy things in salads to make them seem more appetizing and hearty, we turn squash into strips and call them noodles, and we remind ourselves that “beach season” is around the corner in an effort to inspire healthy meals. Whether it’s parents hiding cauliflower in their kid’s mac and cheese or those same parents deciding to make their own lunch breaks healthier by taking the long way back to the office to avoid the cake shop (or even being encouraged to eat their five-a-day through incentives from insurance providers), the subtle nudges that alter our behavior are constant and widespread.

Just knowing that a plant-heavy diet is healthy often isn’t enough to change our behavior. Instead, we have to nudge ourselves into it. This is nudge theory.

“Nudge theory” is based on the idea that by creating situations that make certain behaviors look more attractive, individuals can be encouraged to adopt them.

Why is this necessary—or, at least, why does it work?

Because humans are not rational. Or, at least, not wholly anyway. There’s always something that gets in the way of reason. Passions and preferences hold more sway than we like to think, and we are influenced by emotional, social and personal factors, like personal preferences, community pressures, and just doing what feels good. We aren’t even aware of most of these influences, and many are completely separate from reasoned thought. They are automatic and unconscious, and they cue mental shortcuts that create biases that affect our judgments and choices without us even realizing.

Organizations and businesses know all of this, and they use it. From big brands to public policy makers, they use their understanding of psychology and behavioral economics to influence our “choices.” By encouraging people to feel a certain way, they can get us to take actions that they (and sometimes, but not always, we) benefit from, whether that means buying a product, avoiding another, or engaging with an issue.

Our choices aren’t all our own to make, and many things that may look and act like choices aren’t really choices at all.

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arketers nudge us through a variety of strategies that make us question ourselves, look for answers in others, or just act without thinking too hard, and their toolbelt is designed to tinker with the human brain.

Sometimes they use confirmation bias, which is the tendency to search for and focus on information that confirms our preconceptions (for example, how whatever a psychic says can somehow be made to fit into your own life if you believe it will right from the start). Optimism bias is another favorite—it’s where we overestimate the chance of a favorable outcome. This is one of the reasons that we play the lottery, even knowing that the odds of us winning are incredibly low: we love to see ourselves as winners. Then there are framing effects through which we draw wildly different conclusions from the same information, based on how that information is presented.

“Got Milk?” That’s nudging by MilkPEP, the Milk Processor Education Program. Those terrifying ads where kids pay for cigarettes by pulling out their teeth or peeling off their skin? That’s also nudging, but of a more aggressive variety, and it’s being carried out by the USDA. Nudging and behavioral economics—the theory from which nudging practices are derived—both have a bad reputation. Sometimes it is vilified as dark marketing, government interference, or just self-serving paternalism by people who should butt out of our lives. Yes, people might become healthier if they put more veggies in their mouths or stop smoking, but whose right is it to influence an individual’s choices if what they are doing isn’t illegal?

Many organizations and governments are claiming this right as their own.

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he vast majority of public policy shares a central goal: to reshape or change our behavior. Historically, we’ve expected this to come through legislation and regulation. Hard measures, like laws, compel us to act in certain ways—we pay our taxes because we will be imprisoned if we don’t. But these “solutions” (because they are still imperfect and inexact) can be expensive and difficult to implement. Using softer measures, like information campaigns and incentives, is less coercive, often still effective, and potentially more pleasant for citizens—although some of those anti-smoking ads are cringe-inducing. Instead of forcing a change through law, policymakers can push a change through posters, PSAs, and slogans that use psychological principles to influence our behaviors.

Since its founding in 2007, American energy software company OPOWER began chipping away at people’s energy bills. They didn’t do this by increasing the cost or reducing the supply, because they’re not a utility, but by helping utility companies show their customers how much they are using and how it stacks up against

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OUR CHOICES AREN’T ALL OUR OWN TO MAKE, AND MANY THINGS THAT MAY LOOK AND ACT LIKE CHOICES AREN’T REALLY CHOICES AT ALL. 41

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ISSUE THREE

WHOSE RIGHT IS IT TO INFLUENCE AN INDIVIDUAL’S CHOICES IF WHAT THEY ARE DOING ISN’T ILLEGAL? their neighbors. The messaging that we should use less energy was already set, but OPOWER turned it into a competition to be greener. When they opened their report, the “Smiths” would see that the “Joneses” were using less than them, which triggered their competitive streak by tapping into a desire for social approval and standing. OPOWER also gives households a grade: two smiley faces for using less than 80% of your neighbors, one for using less than most of your neighbors, and no smiley faces if you’re above the average use. In most cases the reductions were fairly small, but even just 3% spread over millions of people has an enormous cumulative impact.

Reducing use and upping your grade isn’t even painful—maybe just switching out a few light bulbs—and the nudge continues to work. OPOWER was purchased by technology giant Oracle in 2016.

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e are all embedded in the sorts of neighborly networks of social relationships that OPOWER was able to capitalize on and, like energy providers, governments can encourage the spread of behaviors by tapping into these networks. Rather than governing us from above, they can sneakily govern some things from beside.

Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler, authors of the 2008 book Nudge—Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness, call the use of nudge theory by governments “paternalistic libertarianism.” The appearance of an individual’s right to choose is preserved, but they’re being guided towards the “right” decision.

Thaler, who received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2017, encourages governments and organizations to

“nudge for good” by following three principles: 1. All nudging should be transparent and never misleading.

2. It should be as easy as possible to opt out of the nudge, preferably with as little as one mouse click.

3. There should be good reason to believe that the behavior being encouraged will improve the welfare of those being nudged.

These all sound like ethical guidelines, especially if what we are being nudged towards is supposedly good for us, but who gets to decide what is good, and who is determining which way is the right direction?

There are, of course, some universal truths that most people agree are “right” (such as honesty, integrity), and some generally agreed upon guidelines for a “good” society (safety, prosperity, equality under the law), but there are also some fundamental differences. What a politician thinks makes for a good life may be very different from what one of her constituents would consider even satisfactory. The politician, though, is the one that’s been voted into power. In that position, she gets to make some decisions on our behalf. Together, local, state, and federal governments have immense power to decide what a good life looks like.

Take sugar, for example. When New York City proposed a regulation designed to limit the consumption of sugary drinks, many people argued that the government shouldn’t be allowed to control what goes into their body, so long as doing so isn’t hurting anyone else. In 2014,

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the highest court in New York State agreed that it was an overreach and people got their ridiculously large cups back.

The argument goes that the government has no business in our bellies, and many stretch this to include cigarettes, alcohol consumption, and who and what we surround ourselves with. Many say that only the individual should be able to decide what a good life looks like.

And yet, a government has a duty of care with regard to the health and safety of its citizens. Take “Got Milk?” again. It could be argued that the duty of care is why the federal government supported MilkPEP in promoting the consumption of dairy. But the financial links between members of Congress and the dairy industry have led many people to believe that it could have had as much, or even more, to do with money than with milk’s contested health benefits.

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n 2013, the U.K. government partnered with Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) to try and increase organ donor registrations. After testing different messages on a webpage that encourages people to join the NHS Organ Donation Register, they found one that would lead to 96,000 more registrations per year, all by changing just a few words. But hundreds of people in England still die each year waiting for an organ transplant. So in early 2018, the U.K. government took a step towards following Wales’ 2015 lead and began debating the switch from an opt-in system where individuals have to choose to donate, to an opt-out system where individuals have to choose not to donate. Everyone who is qualified is registered automatically, but there is little evidence to suggest that switching from “opt-in” to “opt-out” actually saves more lives—which doesn’t prove that it won’t, just that it hasn’t yet.

POSITIONED AS A WAY OF HELPING THE AMERICAN PUBLIC, OBAMA'S EXECUTIVE ORDER 13707 WAS CRITICISED AS BEING AN EXCUSE TO PLAY BIG BROTHER. 43

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overnments also have a desire to keep public spending low. Caring for people suffering from alcohol, cigarette, or dietary-related health problems is often expensive, and nudge marketing is both cheaper and potentially preventative. By pushing people away from unhealthy choices now, they can keep them out of hospital beds later.

On September 15, 2015, President Obama issued Executive Order 13707: Using Behavioral Science Insights to Better Serve the American People. The Order directed Executive departments and agencies to apply behavioral science insights—research on how people make decisions and act on them—to the design of their policies and programs. Positioned as a way of helping the American public, it was criticised by some as being an excuse to play Big Brother.

Some success stories have come out of the program, though. In a federal retirement savings experiment conducted by the Social and Behavioral Sciences Team (SBST), the Department of Defense sent approximately 720,000 emails to service members who weren’t enrolled

in the Thrift Savings Plan. They tested nine different emails, each designed using behavioral science to push the recipient towards enrollment. The most effective message nearly doubled service member signups.

As a whole, the experiment led to 4,930 new enrollments in the savings plan and $1.3 million saved in just the first month. Similar experiments by the SBST resulted in increased college enrollment among low-income students, an increase in student loan repayments, and a nine percent increase in veterans accessing benefits they’ve earned through their service.

All of this, through a nudge.

Nudging can also change much smaller, daily behaviors. Following the Order, the USDA reduced paper wastage among their staff by creating a pop-up message that prompted employees to switch from single to doublesided printing. The experiment resulted in a 5.8% increase in double-sided printing: a potentially significant reduction if implemented across federal government agencies, which print 18 billion pages annually.

ISSUE THREE

Dear Folk Rebellion Community: My name is Dave Romanelli (nickname Yeah Dave). I focus on asking people questions other than the same ol boring ones like “What do you do for a living?” I prefer questions like “What is your message?” and “Why are you here?”

I love the mission at Folk Rebellion—to unplug and experience deeper feelings and clearer thoughts.

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

When we speak our message and live our purpose, each day is a sacred act.

To those seeking more clarity and a greater commitment to shifting attention away from technology and back toward nature...

Each year, I lead a 6 month program that culminates in an epic UNPLUGGED location. This year’s journey is called INTO THE WILD and I will send you a daily audio guided meditation that gives you encouragement, inspiration, and sometimes a kick in the ass... to look away from all the phones, tablets, desktops and TVs,...and look back to the wisdom of the skies, stars, seas and trees. You will conclude with a 5 day retreat to Alaska for the Summer Solstice.

It would be awesome to share a moment with you this summer in Alaska, watching bald eagles soar across the Midnight Sun...

You can start Into the Wild anytime. Visit www.

YeahDave.com for the details Love… and Enjoy Your Journey Dave Romanelli

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There is also a moral glitch in the system. Switching the registry to opt-out implies that one behavior (in this case, donating your organs) is better than the other. This turns a personal decision into a moral judgment on the citizen. If they opt-out, they must not care.

John Hasnas, an associate professor of business at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, points out that opting out of a nudge is not always easy. In his 2016 paper “Some Noodging About Nudging: Four Questions About Libertarian Paternalism,” he writes that “as the costs of opting out rise, they approach a point at which the nudge becomes indistinguishable from a ban. At this point, the nudge is just as coercive as the traditional forms of paternalism.” It may as well be a law, but it came into existence without having to pass through the checks and balances of the lawmaking process.

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fter spending ten years in marketing, I’m aware of how the industry uses knowledge of their customers to change behavior. Take a study from behavioral research

• By telling people how much energy their neighbors were using, OPower was able to reduce the energy consumption of their customers by approximately 3%.

• In the U.K., the number of registered organ donors spiked after the question “If you needed an organ donation, would you have one?” was posed to potential donors.

• A group of U.S. researchers found that putting the tax on the label, rather than adding it at the register, led to an 8% fall in sales over the three-week experiment.

company Explorer Research that found how the addition of a small sign that read “no more than 12 cans per customer” actually doubled the number of cans shoppers bought by anchoring their thoughts. Instead of sticking to their lists, a piece of information (the limit on cans per buyer) caused them to make subsequent decisions and judgments (to buy even more than they had planned). Small changes in price also have a huge impact on our buying habits. A group of U.S.-based researchers found that by putting the tax on the label, rather than adding it at the register, led to an eight percent fall in sales over the three-week experiment. Ending a product price in .99 is another way of getting buyers to splurge: $4.99 seems significantly cheaper than $5.00.

Changing the size of the cap on a bottle of fabric softener can alter how much you use, marking the portion sizes on a tub of cheese can make you reconsider going in for sevenths, and supermarkets strategically place sweets near checkout lines because they know people are more likely to buy them when they are bored and tired. Some retailers replace checkout-line candies with healthier alternatives, like trail mix and granola bars, but even this is part of a mind game. If you are hungry but trying to avoid a sugary treat, you may just reach for that healthy—and typically more expensive—snack. One organization I worked for was able to increase the number of vegetables shoppers bought by sending them coupons regularly. Their carrot and broccoli intake increased, and so did the company’s profits.

It’s understandably creepy that it’s so easy for organizations to alter our behavior, pushing us this way or that way through posters, television ads, snappy slogans, and website wording based on their bottom line or what they’ve decided is best for us. Maybe we should be reassured that they are spending so much time trying to understand us, but that doesn’t change the discomfort that comes from knowing that our choices aren’t entirely ours to make. No decision is made in a vacuum, and from broccoli forests to “Got Milk?” and anti-smoking ads, we are always being nudged in one direction or another.

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OUR CHOICES AREN’T ENTIRELY OURS TO MAKE—WE'RE ALWAYS BEING NUDGED IN ONE DIRECTION OR ANOTHER.

ISSUE THREE

I STARTED WO VIDEO STOR

A Personal Essay

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by Stephanie Weber

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started going to Odd Obsession when I was a sophomore in college. I was performing at a small theater down the street and had arrived to rehearsal early. I took a short walk and came upon this store, glowing like an early 90s living room with small TVs in the storefront window playing Everything is Terrible videos. For as long as I rehearsed in that show, I rented movies, scared the store would simply vanish, swallowed up by the flood of online options.

in Austin are so beloved that they have become tourist attractions. Even Blockbuster still has 12 operating stores, by the most recent count.

The owner started the Chicago store by letting his film-loving friends volunteer in exchange for free rentals, and it has remained this way ever since. It fought its way through the Blockbuster-dominated era and now it continues to survive streaming.

On my first day of training with the lovable dreadlocked manager, we signed up five new customers. Five.

In 2017. A man who looked like a bodybuilder came in and asked for Meg Ryan movies. A father and son come in together several times a week to rent a mix of French classics and Asian action movies. I got into a silly argument with one perfectly nice young man who insisted that Psycho II was better than Psycho. A couple that came in every week started to tell me a little bit about their lives, including the fact that they don’t have a shower. “We’re bath people,” they told me in what was simultaneously a sweet and gross piece of knowledge to have about people I saw once a week.

People come in trying to buy VHS tapes — the new collector’s item for the video-obsessed of the younger generation. What records were for so many during the age of CDs, VHS tapes and DVDs appear to be in the age of streaming. People love physical media. They love having proof of culture.

It’s why record stores came back with millennials.

Odd Obsession isn’t alone either. Facets is near Odd Obsession, and places like Videodome in Atlanta, Movie Madness in Portland, and I Luv Video

The majority of the customers were film fanatics in search of movies they couldn’t find anywhere else, as well as a community to geek out on them with. Video stores today lie somewhere between record stores and museums. They are havens for film lovers, a place to discover new interests and congregate with the similarly-minded.

These same film geeks often didn’t know what to make of me. I don’t look particularly cool or artsy.

I’m pretty average. But I love movies. I spent my

Cut to ten years later when I’m walking past the video store. Several people were waiting outside of the locked door. The sign said it opened at 2, but it was 2:30 and no one was there. Three customers at a video store at 2:30 on a Tuesday seemed unusual.

Within a month, I was behind the counter. To be precise, I started volunteering.

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entire childhood renting black-and-white thrillers from Mokena Video after a ride on the 3D Alfred Hitchcock experience at Universal Studios. We would go to Mokena Video weekly, renting Hitchcock classics and exploring the shelves.

On my first day at Odd Obsession, a young college student looking for a Guy Maddin film couldn’t look me in the eye. He hesitated when I asked if he

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ORKING IN A RE…IN 2017

Instead of laughing, he took it as a challenge. “I bet you can’t guess which Warhol film it was.”

I could guess, actually, because he had just returned it. I literally had the movie in my hand.

“Chelsea Girls?”

Madelaine Buttini

“Wow! You guessed it right!” he said with shock. I had impressed him simply by remembering what had just handed to me. I didn’t say anything, because a part of me wanted to retain the respect of the young movie nerd.

needed help, and was the kind of person who talks at, not to, someone. During my second shift, he returned an Andy Warhol flick. To my surprise, he started the conversation.

“I was watching that on my laptop on the train and then got very concerned people could see my screen!”

“It’s not porn – it’s art,” I joked.

Each customer needed something different. Some of them wanted to tell me about their lives, like the 19 year old woman who wanted advice on breaking up with her girlfriend.

Some of them wanted to tell me facts about movies I had never heard of, like an older gay man who dissected a 1940s musical for me and even sang a few bars right there in the middle of the store.

Over time, I got to know the regulars. I learned people’s names, interests, and stories, and earned their respect by suggesting comedies they hadn’t heard of. Every single shift, someone would finish a conversation by saying something like, “This is what I miss about video stores. You can’t have a conversation with Netflix.”

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Which is true. I’ve flipped through Netflix countless time, scanning the algorithmically curated choices before texting my friends for suggestions. I trust people more than an algorithm.

Had a friend not suggested But I’m a Cheerleader, I would have never enjoyed that campy comedy.

Or the delightful Nora Ephron film This Is My Life that I couldn’t find anywhere except for Mokena Video. Or the Odd Obsession manager who put on Mystics in Bali, a 70s Indonesian flick I definitely had never seen. Or the Forbidden Zone poster on the store’s back door that prompted me to ask about the movie.

“You’ve never seen it?!” asked my amazed co-volunteer. “It’s a store favorite. You have to.”

“Never heard of it,” I said.

He barely looked up from Halloween 3 that was blaring on the screen. “The whole thing is on Youtube.”

I looked at him incredulously. “Dude. We work in a video store.”

He laughed. “Oh yeah!” He got up and found the DVD. “Skip the ads, right?”

We pressed play on the 80s cult classic. It wasn’t picked for me from some computer’s cultivated guess. We watched the movie because I was curious. Because it was there.

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PEOPLE LOVE PHYSICAL MEDIA. THEY LOVE HAVING PROOF OF CULTURE.

IT H T W O C I S

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LY H T N MO W-TO HO

S GOS IN

TO M N E U T

ISSUE THREE

BY PIPPA BIDDLE The songwriter and former Gloriana member reveals the earworm trap—and how he broke free of it.

LI T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

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hen Tom Gossin got into the music industry, it was almost too late. He entered the business at a critical moment, a time when instruments were being replaced with facsimiles of ones, technology was opening up production to anyone with a laptop, and playing to 20,000 people turned into playing to 20,000 phones. Inspired by the singer-songwriters like Van Morrison, Paul McCartney, and Kurt Cobain, the former singer and guitarist in chart-topping country crossover band Gloriana had envisioned a life of late night riffing and deep collaboration. What he faced was a new era of earworm music.

Dan is an older-school example of a band whose huge hits were built on artistic integrity, not just to get stuck in people’s heads. “Their hit songs are fantastic,” Gossin says, “and the fact that they were able to turn complex music into hit songs shows that there is smart music that everyone can like.”

Frustrated by an industry that was becoming more formulaic—not less—Gossin eventually left Nashville for Wilmington, North Carolina, and today he’s focused on music as an art rather than an industry. Reflecting on the journey he’s taken since his Gloriana days, Gossin says, “I’ve been a serious musician my whole life. I’ve been studying music since I was five years old, but people wouldn’t know that from the band I was in.”

Gossin is grateful that he got to live his dream, even if it wasn’t exactly as he’d envisioned it. For a while he fought to be on top of the charts, but now his ultimate goal is to create music that positively impacts people. “There is still an art form there, and when you get a good song you can tell the difference,” he says.

“The ones that are real always resonate.”

Tom Gossin’s Guide: How to Listen to Music

Earworms are those songs you probably hate the first few times you hear them, but then they snag their talons in your brain and won’t let go. The science behind how to make an earworm track is formulaic, and mastering the formula is one of the secrets to commercial pop success. Sticky songs even have a technical name: Involuntary Musical Imagery, or INMI, and they share traits: a fast tempo, easy-toremember melody, and repetition. So there is a reason that the song with the sound effect that’s eerily similar to a dolphin crying is lodged in your brain: it was designed to do just that.

Invest: Gossin doesn’t stream music, and he compares streaming to taking an Uber. When you buy a car, you take care of it, and you’re invested in it. But when you take an Uber, it’s borrowed: “It gets me where I want to go, but there’s no pride of ownership,” he says. Streaming is the same: borrowed music that you don’t have to invest in. Streaming companies, he says, undercut the industry by poorly compensating writers. Instead he buys songs, and often full albums. To take pride in something, you need to own it.

Immerse: Gossin doesn’t want to be prescriptive, but there are a few artists that he recommends people sit down with to reconnect with non-formulaic music. “Some people just don’t like what everybody likes,” he says, “and I get that.” But he’s also not ashamed to admit that his favorites include some of the most famous albums in music history. He’s a huge Beatles fan and insists that “anything after ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ is an education in songwriting.” Then there is Van Morrison, who “would go in and make an album in a day,” and Nirvana, who “was kinda out of left field.” Right now though, he’s spending a lot of time with his Steely Dan albums. In his opinion, they are “the epitome of fantastic writing and studio work. They were the best musicians: all about perfectionism, and they made albums in the 70s that would be hard to make now,” which is exactly why we should be listening to them.

The role of earworm music hit Gossin hardest during the two years he spent as a songwriter in Nashville after he finished touring with Gloriana. What he saw in the songwriting world, he says, was an industry addicted to a formula. “Nobody should get it twisted. Just like when you go on Facebook there are all these ads that pop up that are tailored to you,” many of the people who are making pop music today “know that girls who listen to Rihanna want songs about being bad”—so that’s what they give them. The entire process is a fill-in-theblank. Insert a catchy title, looping track, lyrics that confirm the audience’s existing beliefs, and you may just have a hit on your hands.

Engage: Whatever you listen to, though, you need to actually listen—and there’s no judgment from Gossin if what you want to listen to is at the top of the charts. “I don’t get it twisted,” he says, “it’s totally about the listener and what makes them happy. Even the formulaic music or what I think is cheesy. If it works for you, it’s doing what it needs to do.”

Earworms and pop music overlap, but Gossin is quick to point out that not all pop relies on a formula, or at least doesn’t follow the formula to the letter—and some of the biggest chart-toppers completely reject it.

He offers “Hello” by Adele as a perfect example of music that isn’t built from a worksheet.

“It’s not just about dogging popular music,” he says.

“Adele is real, and written in a way that you can tell is the old way. It’s not just about loops and tracks.” Steely

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A MEDITATION ON THE IMPORTANCE OF UNTOUCHED SPACES. WORDS AND PHOTOS

BY MATT MCDONALD

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ive it to me real, or give me airplane mode. I think that’s going to be my new mantra.

The theme of this issue is Advertising and Media, and it’s hard for me to think of two words that raise my blood pressure more. I know I should be desensitized by now. Life would be a lot easier if I simply accepted that brands infiltrate every moment of our lives, even pressuring us to become brands ourselves (or else be obsolete).

But I can’t accept our current circumstances. I guess I’m a fighter.

It makes me feel gross to know there are six people in a conference room in Seattle right now, whiteboarding about how to get me to buy their new rain jacket by creating an “authentic” campaign. They’ll send eight filmmakers into the wild to fake something that feels real. And then they’ll only let you watch it for 59 seconds (because

our attention spans are eight), and 60 seconds is a mental barrier when deciding whether to press “play.” And you know what…I’m going to be the guy sitting between the filmmakers and marketers, artfully trying to cram a truly poetic and interesting nine-minute story into a 59-second “hit the marketing points” voiceover.

This is our world. I’m a part of it. You’re a part of it.

Everything is—or will one day be—up for sale.

Most days, it can be hard to tell that we’ve lost something, since unpurchase-able space is an abstract concept. It’s not millions of acres of public land taken away by a President. It’s not an animal species we love going extinct or glaciers melting.

In terms of the human race, we’ve lost something even bigger. We have lost the ability to maintain presence without incredible effort.

Before email and smartphones and social media (reminder: not that long ago), reaching us with a

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THE ABSENCE OF

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ISSUE THREE

marketing message was relatively hard. Mainly, we had to turn on the television or radio, or open a piece of mail: all actions, all opt-ins. Today, we have to take great action—by turning everything off—not to receive branded messaging. We are opted in by default.

Now that you’ve met cynical Matt, I’d like to introduce you to the other guy: the 90% gregarious, laugher, lover of life. The one whose calling is to create work that’s a cleanse to the branded world. It’s strange to write that, because it sounds planned and arrogant, but I actually can’t help it.

I’m naturally drawn to the untouched, wild places.

For the last decade, I’ve spent most of my working time photographing and pondering nature, as well as human beings’ place in it. Nature is my religion; it’s the closest I get to wrapping my brain around the concept of a god. The place that offers more questions than answers, and makes me feel so insignificant that I’m inspired to do something significant. Nature is the perfect real chaos to the rhythm of my soul. I immerse myself and try to bring back a real feeling—not necessarily a comfortable or brand-able one—for myself and others.

Exploration of the natural world is often the only activity during which no message can reach me.

My favorite spaces are the ones where the most

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MY FAVORIT ONES WHER BRANDS CA THE OPENN

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TE SPACES ARE THE RE THE MOST INVASIVE ANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T EVEN PENETRATE NESS. 51

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ISSUE THREE

EVERYTHING ONE DAY BEâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;

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G IS—OR WILL —UP FOR SALE. A few weeks ago, I was 10,000 feet high on the side of an active volcano, 40 miles from the nearest town, on an island 2,400 miles from the mainland United States, and I still had a web connection to the branded world: I could feed the world a message and it could feed me infinitely in return.

(Have you found the bottom of the internet?).

I had many beautiful images from that day to share and, because I’m an unofficial employee of Instagram (so are you, for the record), it was tempting. But, would any place be left sacred if I spent precious minutes—at a place I may not return to for 20 years—branding myself rather than enjoying myself? Caught in a mental trap, I quickly turned on airplane mode.

Being remote these days doesn’t necessarily mean silence from the world wide web. But there are still places on the last frontier of unreachability.

On an isolated beach on Maui, where I had gone to get away from my small house in a small town on the most remote island chain in the world, I was so relieved to read the words “no service” on my home screen. There wasn’t a choice to make, I didn’t have to self-police, I was truly operating on untouchable, peaceful ground. No tug to share this story INSTAntly, no need to brand my Tuesday escape to show how much cooler my life is than yours. I could do that on Wednesday.

These physical places, where voices and text and the web can no longer reach me bring me back to being human. The used-to-be-normal slowness pours back in. Even the boredom feels comforting. I begin to ponder again, to listen, and to ask big questions. Conversations are at least 70% more interesting around a campfire with no service. Questions and problems must be answered and solved without our virtual assistants. In these untouched physical places, I’m alive, exposed, and empowered. And I truly feel like my life lacks absolutely nothing.

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T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

invasive brands—Verizon, AT&T, Google, Apple, and the rest of the smartphone enablers—can’t even penetrate the openness. The places where it’s not profitable to wrap me in their service of confusion. These untouched places are the rarest. Unfortunately, I foresee them easily disappearing in our lifetimes.

ISSUE THREE

The great irony, even in the places I’ve described, is that all physical land is mapped and named and owned, and I am very much conscious of that as I observe and photograph it. Owned land feels less free to me, and I feel less free on owned land. d : f Lan isits eau o ust V laska r M A u B s , ’ s t, es Matt Fores ldern li Wi ional t a N • Dena sest Utah e clo hern in th • Sout park. p e e state ng d i r p o m a • C area ement Manag Storr thony n A y b g Self ansin red L o the f y t l e A b n b r by d A etu eeper oyage Edwar : A R Dig D ble V g by itude i n l d a o e G S r c : In nch • Read y Wre ton’s Monke ackle h : S d a : e e • R uranc : End • Read

The good news is, if you go to the right places, you can easily forget that someone or some government holds a deed to the land under your feet. I like to go deep into public land to remember that it’s free and, as public property, it’s partially mine. I like to go high up in the mountains, to places that are snowy and blowing and demand my full attention.

I like to go into the ocean—above water with the waves and below water with the creatures—to be surrounded by its motion, and its sense of universal ownership. I like to be so exposed to and challenged by nature that I can’t think about posting it, I can only think about being it.

And if you and I can’t be in these physical places when we want to be, we can always find a similar feeling inside. We each have tools to unlock our wilder places within. Consciously disconnect, thoughtfully look inside, and immediately the world feels, sounds, looks, and smells different.

Traveling through unbranded space is a moving meditation.

Once you’ve found some personal wild places, don’t let too much time go by without visiting them. Protect them, and make sure that loved ones are protecting their unbranded spaces too.

Talk about them with people you like. Ask them about theirs. And, now, because I have to survive in our made-up world just like you, I must leave this meditation and get back to building my brand.

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TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

• Limit usage of social media. Period. Remember those TV ads about street drugs? The egg in the skillet? That’s your brain on social media. Do whatever it takes to break the habit. You certainly have this community to support you.

— Mary Beth LaRue & Jacki Carr

• Follow accounts that keep it real. If that’s a brand you love then great, but people and companies who don’t and make you feel bad? Unfollow immediately.

t happens before I even realize what I am doing. I have a moment of quiet or pause in an otherwise busy day, and I head toward my yoga mat like I just might meditate, and then BAM! I grab my phone, flick open Instagram, and all the sudden I’m looking at your fucking smoothie instead of enjoying a few moments of solitude.

Excuse my language, but I’m just SO ANNOYED WITH MYSELF. Why do I do this?

It’s hard to say when this social media zombie took over my body, but it’s a rather new phenomenon in the past couple of years. I remember the sweet ol’ days when I thought Instagram was just a camera with some trippy filters. It took several months of using it and a tutorial from a very pluggedin friend on a beachside bar stool before I realized there was a social sharing aspect. I literally thought it was just a camera with cool filters.

And I remember laughing. “I have Facebook. Why would I need yet another thing to look at people's photos?”

• Make airplane mode your BFF, and don’t worry about whether you’re en route anywhere – airplane mode is even better when you’re not in the air. Think of it as your mini-vacation. Come 8 P.M. put your phone on Airplane and don’t fret.

Ugh, those were the days.

Limit usage.

Period.

I

• Get accountability. Social media detox with a friend!

Get competitive about how little time you can spend on your phone.

By Mary Beth LaRue

• Remember what is real. Go outside. Get dirty. Look at the sky.

Enjoy things without feeling the need to upload it to your feed or make it an InstaStory. Live a life that is so full that you don’t even need that external validation.

That being said, I’ve made some moves to get this habit under control, like having Jacki as an accountability buddy, for one. Also: committing to checking it only three times a day. Deleting the app on the weekends. Putting my phone in Airplane mode.

• I’m gonna work on it too.

• We have choice in what we surround ourselves with. Be as mindful of your social media intake as you should be about what you put in your body. It matters.

But I always seem to get sucked back in.

That’s the point. We are addicts – and social media is the drug.

In the past year or so, I’ve become even more annoyed as so many accounts I previously enjoyed following seem to have turned into QVC or the Home Shopping Network. A paid post here or there? I get it. We’ve all gotta put food on the table.

But every moment curated around an eyeshadow line or kombucha brand?

There’s nothing authentic about it. It feels forced and gross.

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T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

Here are a few ways I’m making sure my social media doesn’t turn me into a regular on “The Truman Show”:

Welcome to our Rock Your Bliss corner in the Folk Rebellion universe. We are best friends and the creators of Rock Your Bliss, a yoga-inspired coaching company. We started our company almost five years ago and now lead transformational online programs, retreats, and workshops all over the country as well as write and record our Rock Your Bliss podcast. We take turns writing a column on not just how to find your bliss, but how to rock it.

Issue three

24 25

They help us create change.

26

SHIT TO SCHEDULE :

WAT C H: Crazy People

REA D : 1984 by George Orwell

LIS T EN T O: The New York Times Change Agent: Self-Control

So we can choose to see what divides us or we can choose to see what brings 35 million people around the world, together.

MAK E : Some good old-fashioned coloring

We choose the latter and we’ll continue to do everything in our power to inspire and enable everyone who wants to Meetup.

Yours in community, Meetup

27

HOS T : A night of burgers on the grill

OUT S IDE TIM E : Staycation

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

23

Communities - the ones where real people meet in real life - they help us feel a sense of identity and a sense of belonging.

22

And community matters.

30

F UC K- IT BUCK ET

Stuff like Dungeons and Dragons and feminism and longboarding. Stuff like Blockchain, Crossfit and Kayaking After Dark. It’s stuff that might seem trivial but to us, it’s everything. Because behind every womenwho-code Meetup and dads-who-run Meetup, is a thriving community.

29

TO DO Right now, there’s a lot of talk about what divides us...but, have you ever stopped to think about all the stuff that unites us?

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15

8

1

S UN DAY

16

9

2

MON DAY

17

10

3

T UESD AY

18

11

4

WEDN E SDAY

19

12

5

THUR SDAY

20

13

6

FRIDAY

21

14

7

SAT URDAY

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

ISSUE THREE

GANG HANGS IS A MONTHLY ROUNDUP OF WAYS TO CREATE MORE CONNECTION IN REAL LIFE.

By Lexi Weber

Let’s leave the group texting, evites, and Facebook groups to the plugged-in population. We prefer postcards via snail mail. Buy a handful for 25 cents a piece, stick on a stamp, and get all the deets down in 3 short sentences.

Something like:

We are big fans of the good old fashioned house party.

If space is tight, keep the guest list short.

Hey There, Help me revive old school house parties.

Swing by my place on Thursday night for a slow cooked meal fuelled by gluten and some awesome conversation fuelled by whiskey.

-FR

Thursday. Think about it: you’re nearing the end of a long ass work week. It’s just before weekends set aside for date nights and other plans involving food, but right at the cusp of ugh-don’t-make-me-have-to-callUber-eats-one-more-time. People are hungry (pun intended) for a slow cooked meal and good conversation they just can’t get with the delivery guy.

Of course, no cell phones allowed except for the token group photo. We want to see your smiling faces in a latergram. Tag #folkrebellion and tell us how it was.

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TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

The silver screen used to mean people gathering and watching the same thing together, yawnyour-arm-over-the-backof-the-seat moves, and sharing a tub of popcorn.

Now it means watching it whenever and wherever you want, instantly. And usually someone is watching something else on another device, live-tweeting it, or mindlessly scrolling.

How do you relate to Ashley?

Giving into the deep discount and big sales: is it always a matter of selfcontrol?

How did you feel about Annie’s experience on Vancouver Island?

OK Houdinis, did anyone else try holding their breath underwater just to see how long you could go?

Did you get your three minutes?

What is the psychological link between freediving and resisting the urge to buy out Amazon?

What does your evil monkey say?

Do you have a plan for how to handle that conversation?

Book clubs have always been a thing, but now they are even more relevant for the camaraderie it creates for people in our screened-in world. Here’s some questions for y’all to mull over, perhaps over mulled wine.

What Orwellian lexicon has made its way into our society today?

If you were in Room 101, what would be waiting for you?

How does this novel relate to dystopian literature our political climate today?

For a person to be considered sane, must others share their perceptions?

Does language control the scope of human thought?

Is the process of doublethink present in our own society?

What warnings can we take from Orwell’s novel?

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T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

Podcasts. We love ‘em.

As you go for a morning jog, you can learn how to launch a new product from an expert on anything; while riding in the car, you can daydream about who actually committed that crime in that small town; you can get your political arguments up to snuff while folding the laundry. They’re mobile, don’t require your eyeballs to be stuck to a screen, and they often drop some major knowledge, entertainment, and inspiration. But sometimes they can be solitary. We’re changing that.

ISSUE THREE

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

We’re bringing back the kitchens of our youth.

Take a page from Patti Smith’s Just Kids. Grab your colored pencils, markers, and some sheets of paper. Play your favorite record on repeat all night long, taking the journey from A side to B side without skipping around—the way the artist intended you to hear their album. Display the jacket cover on your mantel or bookshelf and spend the evening reconnecting with your inner five year old. Sprawl out on the floor, lay on your stomach, and get out of your brain for a bit. Read more about Patti Smith in Karstee Davis’ book review on page 61.

Where people gathered around the island, sat on counter tops, and got drunk on wine while they collectively made dinner with some music on. Bye seamless. Well, at least for one meal, today.

This month, fire up the grill and throw some burgers on there. Grill-less? Sear them up in a skillet. Lay out an awesome condiment spread and let everyone build their own bun.

Wake up without an alarm.

Enjoy drinking your morning beverage of choice leisurely, without the usual checkingthe-news-while-responding-toemails-and-getting-dressed mad rush of the morning.

Here you have several hours to do whatever the hell you want to do. Might we suggest catching a movie in the middle of the afternoon, wandering through a local museum you’ve never visited, or lounging around and reading that book you’ve started 100 times?

Why not stick close to home for a short vacay? Tour your own city like a tourist. See Fiona Tapp’s piece on page 64 for all the details and ground rules.

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Enjoy lunch away from your desk for once.

Don’t check your email. Not ever. Not even once.

Take a nap.

Meet friends for happy hour or invite them over for a homemade dinner if you’re into cooking.

If you want to swipe on airplane mode all day, we totally get that too.

TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

KARSTEE DAVIS

JUST KIDS In 2010, a book came out that shook what remains of bohemian culture to its core. Myself an intrigued dabbler in all things artistrelated, I took stock of the new book by Patti Smith (and all its five-star ratings) and picked it up at my local bookstore. Every avid book buyer has a pile of books they genuinely want to read, but that may grow for months (even years) without a single spine being cracked—there are just too many books.

ZION NATIONAL PARK

If I told you I remembered much of anything about the park I would be lying. What I do remember, though, is that this was a time before smartphones existed, so we cranked up The Beach Boys and sang our favorite songs. We rolled down the windows and let our hand ride the waves of the breeze, and much like the siblings in National Lampoon movies, we annoyed each other.

That next weekend, I stood in front of the bookcase, bare feet on cold hardwood, steam rising from the mug cupped in my hands, eyes scanning, before sliding it out. I curled up in my leather armchair.

Smith’s world of bookstores, artsy apartments, and hotel lobbies full of legendary artists became my world for the day. She writes, “At night we played the records we liked to draw to on our battered player.

Sometimes we played a game called Record of the Night. The album cover of the chosen record would be prominently displayed on the mantel. We played the disc over and over, the music informing the trajectory of the evening.”

Years later as adults, we laugh about this around the dinner table.

Instead of being separated by earbuds or absorbed in our own Facebook feeds, we had made memories together. We didn’t filter things; we just were.

My friend was right; I loved it.

Summer is just around the corner, so lock the phones in the glove compartment and go—with your friends, with your family, or with semi-strangers, take off.

Many people have tried to replicate the feeling, the style, and the art of that era, but most attempts come off as cheap imitations. Fictional stories have been written and movies made about the sexuality, drugs, music, words that shaped a generation, but they never quite hit the mark. They either try too hard or reek of someone who actually doesn’t know a thing about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. That’s why memoirs like Smith’s are so essential. Ain’t nothing like the real thing, baby.

What I didn’t remember about Zion—but that you should know if you make it your road trip destination—is that it is both Utah’s oldest national park and heaven for hikers. For nature lovers, there is plenty to worship, too. The park is home to one of the world’s most stunning slot canyon hikes, but there are hiking options for all ages and abilities.

If hiking isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other unplugged activities like biking, horseback riding, guided tours, and camping out under the stars.

“We were walking toward the fountain, the epicenter of activity,” Smith writes, “when an older couple stopped and openly observed us…‘Oh, take their picture,’ said the woman to her bemused husband, ‘I think they’re artists.’ ‘Oh, go on,’ he shrugged. ‘They’re just kids.’”

And that is everything.

Go. Let your hand ride the waves of the breeze and pay reverence to the great outdoors.

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

Captain Fantastic (2016) is a tour de force. It is a film that asks all the questions: how should we raise our kids? What is the best way to balance the way humans have lived for years with the demands of today? Should we focus on meeting basic needs of food, shelter, and water or the mass consumerism that plagues our generation?

Who really are the negligent ones here? How do we find balance?

The movie is about a father named Ben Cash (played by Viggo Mortensen) raising his family off the grid as brilliant survivalists. When the family finds out their mother is dead and they are banned from the funeral, they defiantly hop on a bus and head towards civilization determined to pay their respects (which isn’t a spoiler, I promise).

Driving past stores and restaurants during rush hour, Ben says, “And to my left, please see the results of having corporations, through their lobbyists, determine the law. Why create alternative means of transportation when we can just widen the roads? ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips collectively made $58.3 billion last year. Instead of spending our money on health care, education, infrastructure, we shall pray at the altar of Saudi princes; we shall enter, for oil, unwinnable foreign wars, spend your tax dollars on the occupation of foreign countries, create more enemies who want to kill us. Good American men and women die every day. Our democracy is one of the brightest lights of social justice in the history of mankind. But hear freedom ring! Let's go shopping! We can drive to the mall!”

Witty rants like this speak straight to the heart of who Ben is, what has driven him to the extreme, and what is gnawing at so many parents (or just humans) today. The itching question, though, is whether his high-minded philosophies that are the absolute pinnacle of what so many granolafolk aspire to are actually enough to sustain a family. And how much of their safety is he willing to compromise to prove he’s right?

As if the caliber of actors and the content aren’t enough, there is a version of “Sweet Child Of Mine” that will make you weep.

Watch this movie now and thank me later.

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T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

In the late 80s, maybe early 90s, my parents loaded the family into our Chevy Blazer and took us on a road trip. We drove south from Salt Lake City, Utah and made our way down to the western corner of the state.

Our destination was Mesquite, Nevada for a baseball tournament, but we were getting there by way of St. George to see where my dad had briefly gone to college. On the way, we visited Zion National Park.

Alas, I bought Just Kids in a romantic frenzy and there it sat. Some would say that when you do finally pick that book up again has a hint of serendipity and I’d agree. While scrolling through Instagram recently, something caught my eye. My thumb paused on a piece of artwork that a friend had posted—around the piece was an enchanting quote; it was from Patti Smith. I told my friend I’ve had the book for years but still haven’t read it. “I feel like you would love it,” he replied.

ISSUE THREE

Serves 4–6 INGRED IENTS: LENTILS 1 cup bla ck lentils, rinsed 4 cups w ater or bro th

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by MAG G IE LA FI URA @w a rm

SLOPPY JOES 2 tbsp ex tra virgin olive oil 1/2 yello w onion, finely chop 1 cup mus ped hrooms, fin ely chopp work wel ed (Porto l, but any bellos mushroom 2 cloves variety w garlic, m ill do.) inced 1 1/2 tsp smoked p aprika 1 tsp cum in 1 tsp gro und musta rd powder 1 tsp chili powder 1 tsp salt 1 tbsp mis o paste 1 tbsp ba lsamic vine gar 2 tbsp ma ple syrup 2 cups to mato sauc e

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

Recipes

a n d ro sy

For Servin g Whole gr ain hambu rg sweet po tatoes. I re er buns, lettuce cu co ps mayo for condimen mmend pickled cu , atop brown rice, ts. cumbers, pickled on or stuffed in roaste d ions, cabb Prep Time: age slaw 10 min , or Cook Tim e: 30 min Cook the lentils by co heat to a simmer, an mbining lentils an dw slightly al d

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FRITO PIE

By Ashley Rodriguez @notwithoutsalt

Creamy Ricotta & Black Pepper Spaghetti

By Lauren Zito @eatprettynyc

Serves 8-10

This pasta dish consists of only a few ingredients, so make sure you get the very best quality you can find. Check out your local market for a freshly made ricotta with no gums or stabilizers. The secret here is to reserve some of the pasta water and use it to create a silky, luxurious sauce. Big cracks of black pepper and some drizzled extra virgin olive oil tie it all together beautifully.

Tip: keep your serving bowls warm by switching to the “keep warm” setting on your oven while you prepare the dish. This will prevent your pasta from turning cold halfway through your meal.

Ingredients: 1 recipe chili (Se e below, or use your favorite.)

2 large bags of Fritos (You can also use the sma for individual por ll bags tions.)

1 cup pickled oni ons 1/2 cup pickled jalapeños 1 cup crumbled cot ija 1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped Other toppings: grated sharp che ddar, scallions, cream, avocado. diced onion, sou r You can simply pou r out the Fritos into a serving dis the accompanimen h and top with ts. If you wish to be truly authen you do—you’ll wan tic—and I think t to serve the Fri to pie directly in For a large bag, the Frito bag. simply cut right through the center and along the top of the front and bottom seams.

Place the bag in ing or serving dis a shallow bakh, then top with chili, pickled oni cotija, and cilant ons, jalapeños, ro. Serve right away.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 2

1/2 lb spaghetti (I like to use a thicker cut.)

1 cup quality ricotta, such as Calabro's Whole Milk HandDipped Ricotta 1/4 cup parmigiano, freshly grated Extra virgin olive oil, such as Frankies 457 Black pepper Kosher salt Pasta water

INSTRUCTIONS

Bring water to a boil in a large sauce pot. Add salt to water and taste with a spoon—it should taste like sea water. Add pasta and cook until al dente.

Using a ladle and small bowl, reserve about 2 cups of pasta water. (You do not need to use all of this.) Turn off the heat.

Drain pasta into a colander. Add pasta back to the pot, then add ricotta and grated parmigiano. Mix until combined. Little by little, pour in some of the pasta water, mixing and tossing with tongs constantly until the cheese emulsifies into a smooth, creamy sauce. Discard any leftover pasta water.

Using tongs, pick the pasta up and let any excess sauce drip back into the pot, then transfer to the warmed bowls. The spaghetti should be evenly coated and not clumpy. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Grind some black pepper over it—you're done! Serve immediately and enjoy.

Chili 3 tablespoons oil , butter or lard 1 1/2 pounds bon eless pork should er, cut into rou 2 1/2 pounds bee gh 2” cubes f chuck cut into rough 2” cubes 2 onions, roughl y diced 1 jalapeño, small dice (You can use more if you like 4 garlic cloves, more heat.) roughly chopped 1/2 cup lime jui ce (About 3 large limes.)

1 cup orange jui ce 28 ounces crushe d tomatoes 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 tablespoon gro und cumin 2 tablespoons chi li powder zest of 2 limes salt

GINGER PINEAPPLE A MARGARIT

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Salt the meat gen erously. Add the oil to a large dut over high heat. ch oven set Brown the meat.

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Add the onion, jal apeño, and garlic , then cook until about 3-5 minute just soft, s. Stir in the lim e zest, lime jui tomatoes, oregan ce, orange juice, o, cumin, and chi li powder.

Bring the entire pot to a boil the n reduce to a gen Set the lid on the tle simmer. pot so it’s partia lly covered, the the meat falls apa n simmer until rt when gently pre ssed, about 3 hou chili gets too thi rs. If the ck in the proces s, add a bit of out then continue water to thin it to simmer.

This chili can be made up to three days in advance. bit of water.

Reheat with a

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K I D S PAGE PAGE KIDS TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

YOUR INNER

BY LEXI WEBER

F E AT U R E D R E B E L

Word Of The Month:

STEVE STAYCATION LAM B E RT KIDS COME TOO

ADVERTISEMENT

PART OF SPEECH: (CIRCLE ONE)

B Y F I O N A TA P P

NOUN

A “staycation” is a vacation where you don't need to get on an airplane or pack a suitcase.

Instead, you can visit places in your own home city, like the museum, the park, or the pool.

Sometimes you don’t even have to leave your house! You can sleep in late, do an art project, garden, or conduct science experiments.

But to really enjoy a staycation, you need to help your family follow a few rules.

ADJECTIVE

VERB

DEFINITION:

USE IN A SENTENCE:

ILLUSTRATE:

STAYCATION RULES: No work talk or boring parent discussions allowed.

QUOTE:

Every day of staycation should include adventures.

Kids get to plan activities, too.

Steve Lambert is an American artist who believes that “art changes the way people look at the world.” He founded the Center for Artistic Activism, the Anti-Advertising Agency, and The Budget Gallery, a non-profit organization that works to set up art galleries in public spaces like vacant walls and fences. Lambert also developed Add-Art, an add-on to the Firefox internet browser that replaces online advertising with art, and Self Control, an application that helps remove the distraction of incoming/outgoing mail servers and websites for a selected period of time.

For Lambert, it’s important to be able to laugh while questioning the various power structures at work in our everyday lives. That’s the kind of rebel attitude we applaud around here.

DI D Y O U K N O W ?

The food and beverage industry spends $ 1 . 2 3 BI L L I O N on marketing to children under the age of 12.

Children ages 2-11 see more than 2 5 , 0 0 0 A D V E R T I S E M E N T S a year on TV alone, and that does not include product placement.

DEFINITION

BUILD A BLANKET FORT

If it’s a cold or rainy day when you’re on staycation, you can still have fun by building a fort and staying in your pajamas all day.

You’ll need: ·A pile of blankets ·Clothes pins or clamps ·Bed sheets (but remember to ask before pulling them off of your bed!) ·Pillows ·Sofa cushions ·Sleeping bags or comforters ·A flashlight Have your parents hang a few large sheets to create a private corner or nook, and then make the inside as cozy as can be with blankets and pillows. Encourage your parents to climb in too, and make sure they bring a plate of cookies and a good book.

ROUND UP: If you’re interested in learning more about art and advertisements, check these out:

ACTIVITY

Pay attention and ask questions. Next time you see an advertisement in a magazine, on a billboard, or during one of your favorite TV shows, ask yourself:

Why was this ad created?

What features does it have and what messages does it send?

What information does it include and what does it leave out?

Product placement, aka embedded marketing, is a marketing technique in which references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work (typically a film or TV program), with a specific intent to promote that product.

G E T A N “ A D - U C AT I O N ” by exploring the FTC’s website Admongo.gov.

V I S I T : The Budget Gallery online to see how artists turn ads into art.

R E A D : Yhe Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood’s letter to Mark Zuckerberg asking him to delete the Facebook Messenger Kids app for good.

Q: What do pirates do when they hear music?

Q: What did the water say to the boat?

A: Nothing, it just waved.

C H E C K O U T : Lambert’s project Wish You Were Here!

Postcards From our Awesome Future asks the question, “What would you do if you didn’t have to worry about budgets, bureaucracy, politics, or physics?" Then try it out yourself!

Q: Why did the tomato blush?

A: They shake a little booty.

W A N N A DI G DEEPER?

LUNCH NOTE JOKES A: Because it saw the salad dressing.

NOTABLE PLACEMENTS: United Airlines in Home Alone and Home Alone 2 Reese's Pieces in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Ray-Ban in Risky Business Nike in White House Down

TO CUT OUT AND GIVE TO FRIENDS

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BOOKS

Made You Look: How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know Cricket magazines are totally ad-free

PODCAST

“But Why: A Podcast For Curious Kids”

C R E AT E Y O U R Y .

LER OW N A RT G A L

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

Cell phones off.

ISSUE THREE

SIMPLE PARENTING The Crowding Out Method

THINGS TO DO TOGETHER INSTEAD OF ALLOWING MARKETERS TO GET TO YOUR KIDS EARLIER AND ANYWHERE:

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

by Lillie Duncan Last month, I had a conversation with a friend over text in which they explained how they only liked wearing colored socks. Ever since that conversation, I have seen advertisements on my phone via Facebook, Google, and Instagram for fancy socks, work socks, and even for a monthly colorful sock club.

This strange coincidence makes me giggle. By giggle, I mean that I have developed a slight conspiracy theory that someone is reading my conversations.

It may just be a theory, but I’m aware enough to know when someone is trying to sell me something. My four year old daughter Rosalie, though, has no idea that some of the cute YouTube shows she likes are made by influencers who are paid by brands and products looking to hook a younger audience.

Kids as young as two are spending nearly two hours a day looking at a screen. For American children eight and up, that number nearly quadruples to more than seven hours. Nearly all of this time staring at silly cartoons and colorful screens is chockfull of advertising. In the 1980s companies spent $100 million marketing to kids. Today, they’re spending nearly $17 billion.

Whether on the television, a computer, tablet, or walking down the street, American children are inundated with advertising.

The data shows that marketing strategists are targeting our children, and advertising executives admit it. In the article “How Marketers Target Kids,” former advertising executive Barbara A. Martino, said—straight up—that advertisers are “relying on the kid

to pester the mom to buy the product.”

This makes me mad, so I’m trying to protect my children.

When I say “protect,” I don’t mean that I’m burning every TV they come into contact with and throwing my mobile devices out of the window. No, I’m just saying that we need to make things simple.

Let’s take advantage of every moment with our children and fill our time with things other than screen time. I like to call this the “crowding out method.” In my home, we fill our days with so much in-person, face-to-face play, art time, music, mud pies, cookie making, food eating, and serving other people activities that, before you know it, no one has even twitched towards the TV remote.

During this time, I get to shepherd their little minds, helping them understand the world around us, including the inner workings of mobile devices, advertising, and marketing strategies. It is in this time together, not in front of a screen, that I am preparing them for the world that they will one day be free in: free from the bondage of advertisements, social norms, and social media, which is less social these days and more marketing anyhow.

So let’s be known for what we are for, not what we are against. Let’s crowd out what is ruining childhoods, and fill the time that magically opens up with memories that don’t include screens, remotes, or ads designed to direct us to the sugary cereal aisles. Let’s keep parenting simple.

•Bake cookies for your neighbor.

•Ask your other neighbor if you can wash their car for them.

•Have a dance party.

•Write cards or letters to friends or family.

•Volunteer at an animal shelter.

•Make a cardboard box house.

•Go camping in your backyard.

•Learn about a different culture, then have an international dinner.

•Visit the fire station.

•Then play with fire—just not without supervision.

•Plant a garden.

•Learn to use a compass.

Whether on the television, a computer, tablet, or on the street, American children are inundated with advertising.

Kids Come, Too: Staycation

by FIONA TAPP Advertisers have a way of manipulating us into thinking we are missing out. They say “buy this and you’ll be happy,” but The Beatles were right when they sang you “can’t buy me love.” If you do have some cash burning a hole in your pocket, use it on experiences rather than objects.

Travel is an investment, and trips can mean a lot of money and a lot of wading through marketing wish-wash. Finding fun activities to do in your hometown is a way of creating memorable experiences that build stronger family ties without long plane rides, annoying marketing schemes, or breaking the bank.

TAKE A STAYCATION Staycation (noun): a vacation spent in one's hometown. Also, a hell of a lot of fun. Planning a staycation only works if you treat it like a real vacation. That means no chores or day-to-day drudgery. Write your staycation on your calendar, and organize laundry and cleaning tasks ahead of time, so all you have to do is to enjoy yourself. If your budget allows, consider ordering prepped groceries or eating out to make it feel even more like a real holiday. Do NOT check your emails or work voicemail, and for ultimate relaxation try completely unplugging all technology.

Grab some board games and spend quality time interacting with the people you love most.

ACTIVITIES If you live in a city, it should be easy to find a range of activities for you and your family to make like a tourist for a day, a weekend, or even a whole week. Search for unusual options like an axethrowing class, a trampoline park, an outdoor treasure hunt, or a family cooking class.

I love to search for bizarre days out that my family and I will remember for years to come. This has resulted in a range of memorable experiences including: an afternoon spent learning Indian Bollywood dance moves, an outdoor performance of Shakespeare in the park, a hip-hop and graffiti festival under a city bridge, a visit to a haunted former jail, and one of my favorite activities in recent months: goat yoga.

IN-HOUSE ACTIVITIES The beauty of a staycation is finding hidden attractions in your hometown, but sometimes inclement weather keeps us indoors, so you’ll need a few indoor activities up your sleeve. Try these: • Family Cooking Session: Set up a pizza-making station in your kitchen complete with pizza dough, sauce, and a range of toppings and cheeses for every family member to have a go at making their own pie. Cook them up, put on a movie, and share a slice in a living room picnic.

• Obstacle Course: Organize an in-home obstacle course with things to climb over, under, and through. You can also pile up old clothes and make creating a crazy outfit on top of their normal clothes part of the game. Include hats, gloves, and sweaters, and then complete the circuit before stripping off the extra layers to take the win!

REPEAT To continue the feel-good memory-building positivity of your staycation, make sure you repeat the experience. Aim for another staycation in six months, or commit to treasuring weekends—or even just one weekend a month—as work-free family time.

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Travel is an investment, and trips can mean a lot of money and a lot of wading through marketing wish-wash.

TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

A Rebel Cry For Solitude

by Kristy Lenuzza

Your pocket of solitude is your internal anchor.

I remember being a kid, snuggled up in the back seat of my dad's cherry red VW Rabbit convertible and cruising along the forestlined roads of the Adirondacks en route to our annual summer vacation. My parents navigated from the front as my sister and I nuzzled under the "road trip-only” blanket with feverish excitement burning in our bellies. Within minutes of getting into the car, we would burst into a fierce car game of 20 Questions or Ghost, all four of us riding high on the euphoria of the unstructured freedom ahead.

As if on cue, my sister would scrunch up on her side and horse kick me in my butt. “You're not sleeping. I can see your eyes twitching, ya faker." I’d steady my eyelids, take a deep breath and hold it in, thinking freezing would look more convincing. That our sleeping bodies naturally move with breath flew right over my head, but I needed the alone time—desperately. I needed a moment to check out. What better way to do that in close quarters than to close one's eyes?

As I transitioned into adolescence, with friendships and bedroom posters that rotated and pimple marks that faded, the one thing that remained steady was my need for solitude. I would rarely be sent to my room as punishment, not because I wasn’t a pain in the ass, but because my parents quickly caught on that my room was my happy place. That feeling was the security blanket that came with me from high school into adulthood.

Even though I’m an extrovert in a world that celebrates big personalities, putting on the razzmatazz face constantly can be exhausting.

With age, I began to fall into the cultural trap of “wearing busy like a badge.” I began to label alone time as a luxury for the chosen few instead of human necessity. If I have time for myself, I reasoned, that means I’m not doing enough, and that’s selfish.

I was grateful to learn of a growing pack of solitude troopers in my corner led by the likes of authors Sherry Turkle and Susan Caine, who declare the vitalness of time spent alone.

Your pocket of solitude is your internal anchor. It's your integrity checkpoint. Without it, we'd all be drifters in the sea of somebodies with no real connection to anybody.

So, I made a pact with myself that every day I would dedicate 15 minutes to alone time without apology. It was the perfect sweet spot of time for me to show up and not bail, and I would write it in my planner to hold myself accountable. I would take nature or neighborhood walks, meditate, read a book, or dance my butt off, and then reenter the world feeling clearer and more grounded.

Nowadays, 15 minutes has turned into a ritualistic 30. I wake up at 5:30 a.m. a few times a week to exercise, write, or simply cherish the quiet time before the house stirs. With a husband and two kids under five, a pre-dawn date with a cup of tea and a daydream never looked so good.

Whether you’re a morning bird, night owl, or even out carving alone during a lunch break, this precious time is what helps us to understand ourselves better, gain perspective and then return to group atmospheres with a deeper sense of presence and creativity.

On the home front, one of the first effects that I saw from reintroducing alone time into my life was the impact on my kids. They began viewing being alone as a treat and a choice—instead of a threat and punishment. I love that they now voice when they need to be alone, and reemerge from their bedrooms looking refreshed.

Most of all, I love that in a world that lays down a heavy weighted fist to convince us that we need to conform to connect and connect to conform, the most rebellious act I can do is to simply take a walk...alone.

The most rebellious act I can do is to simply take a walk... alone.

As the mounting wine bottles in the recycling bin went head-to-head with the rising anxiety in my body, I knew something had to give. I began reading about the importance of alone time, especially for parents. Then I came across a study from the Journal of Marriage and Family that found a minimal correlation between parents spending time with their kids (ages three to eleven) and their children’s overall well-being. I didn’t take this as a green light to become a negligent parent, but I did take it as a big

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T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

By the sixth or seventh round of games, I would tap out. Drunk on family overload, a sigh of relief would melt through my body as my brain went on a stress-free holiday. With my eyes closed, my body would reset.

fat permission slip to chill the hell out. Quality over quantity became the mantra in my head, along with the James Baldwin quote, “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”

ISSUE THREE

Hey Fam. Our next big off the grid adventure is to the island of Amorgos in Greece, this October. You should come.

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

Below is a passage from my diary while living on a Greek Island.

One morning I was introduced to a Greek man on his morning stroll. After we did the name exchange and pleasantries I said "So, Niko, what do you do?" He responded with "Well, each day I wake up and go for a walk to see the sunrise, in the afternoons I see my mother for lunch and enjoy a glass of wine, and in the evening I play tennis with my best friend and we laugh til our bellies hurt. What do you do?"

Jaw. On. Floor.

I'd never heard an answer like that. Nor was I prepared to share anything other than my "I'm a marketing executive" go-to identifier which now seemed so stupid and trivial. I stuttered. He laughed and said, "So you're American."

I'd never been embarrassed to be American. But that was my first reaction.

What did he know? Why was he laughing? Flustered and angry I wanted to get away from him. When I left he said "Don't worry. You're young and there's still time. Greece will show you."

This summer I learned to walk and pick spices to use in dishes for family style dinners....every night. I learned that a tomato can get so ripe you can bite it like an apple. I learned to pause each day for the sunset as if I was watching live art.

I learned to not ask questions which would allow me to instantly size somebody up: What do you do?

Where did you go to school?

How old are you?

Instead I learned to ask: How are you feeling?

What was your high/low of the day?

If a stranger, I'd ask: How do you like to spend your time?

Who is most important to you?

I became more connected to myself, the breeze, the smells, the food I was cooking, my desires and goals, and my new community.

This conversation changed who I am to my core. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m headed back to America, not embarrassed to be one, but with a new somewhat European outlook on how I was going to live my life.

Everything is nothing and nothing is everything, Jess

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T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

Truth in Advertising From Graffitied Billboards

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Kim Thompson @drawing.conclusions.daily

Paul @postmodernpaul

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

ARIANNA MARGULIS @BUTLIKEMAYBE

ISSUE THREE

FUNNIES

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TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

Krysten Bevilaqua @bevscomics

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

Max Ellis @iamnotanartist

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TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

ADVICE NOT FOUND ON GOOGLE

BANDS THAT ARE PROBABLY GOING TO COACHELLA

By Rachel Roderman

Thanks, Forever Single.

From @carlson_dylan: I’ve been limiting screen time for my kids—then just jumping back on after they go to bed or sitting with my phone in my face after work. I’m thinking of shutting it all down for the night before dinnertime. Thoughts?

Thanks.

That’s why it’s so important to take it offline as soon as possible. It sets you apart from the ego seekers and the pen pals by showing that you are serious.

I’d start out with a very clear profile.

Something like, “Would much prefer to get to know you over a cup of coffee than hours of text bubbles.” Now your matches know that you’re not into continuing this in the virtual world only.

Keep the suggestions for meeting up light and easy. Coffee or an early drink are light and easy, and then neither of you have to struggle through dinner if there is no connection, or worse yet, they don’t look like their pictures.

Great job mama. You are protecting your kids’ brains and allowing them space to be kids, use imagination, and wind down. Seems to me like you could do better taking care of yourself, though. We are in a push-and-pull place with our technology: work seeps into our nighttime routines, online shopping oozes in as we wait in line, allconsuming media follows us to the toilet. Should we be emailing employees before bed? Or should we write up a new set of manners?

Back in the day, if anyone called my house before 9 A.M. or after 9 P.M. they were scolded by my mother.

While we are in the in-between, it’s up to us to decide what’s right for us and our homes. Sounds like if you’re already thinking about it for your kids, you already have your answer. Join in and see how you feel in a week. Then let us know about it.

Good luck!

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Overpriced Vintage AppFace Never Ending Winter The Assless Chaps

Suburban Outfitters

That New New

Hey Forever...let’s call you Currently Single. :) It’s easy to become disenchanted with the amount of ghosting, submarining, and catfishing that happens in online dating. It’s hard enough to keep one good conversation going on, let alone many. But to answer your question: yes, it’s entirely possible!

There are many success stories, from marriages, to babies, to just damn good dates. As for how to get there, I would suggest a faster move to IRL meetings. Many people like the gratification they find from a match, but never follow through. Think of it as a digital drug. They never had the intention of meeting up. And that’s OK but you shouldn’t waste your time.

Facebook and the Algorithms

Leisure PJs Half30 Sent With Echo RIP Flip Flop Cardi B.Yonce

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

From @_alwaysj_: How to connect with someone enough that they want to meet you in real life in a dating app?

Is it even possible?

Generation Zzz

Advice from Dispatch founder Jess Davis.

Dished to whoever asks for it. Follow advice at your own risk.

X-WORD

ISSUE THREE

IN SECRET

51 Song whose chorus begins "Talk-in'

4 Shaq-as-genie movie

35 Give off

now! / Hey now!"

6 ___ tech (scrip filler)

38 Dunking org.

54 "Dude!"

8 Earring spot

40 "Little help, please!"

60 Pink fish

10 Primus guitarist LaLonde

44 Creme de ___ (liqueur)

63 Most unfriendly

12 Little breath mint

By Brendan Emmett Quigle

'bout / Hey now! / Hey now! / Hey

Across

53 Wing in a luxury hotel, maybe

1 [Move your car, idiot!]

5 Record Store Day purchases 8 Nabokov masterwork

14 New Balance rival

15 Turn served on a boat

16 Common soccer result 17 Island off Tanzania

19 Sasha and Malia's dad 20 Feminist Smeal 21 ___ Avivian

22 Amtrak stop: Abbr.

23 ___ magazine (junk mail from the school you went to)

25 Simply the best

42 Colorado city on the Rio Grande

9 Hanging out to dry, say

45 Llama relative

11 "Still busy"

62 "Ask me later"

46 Give someone a hand?

47 Purple flowers

13 Chemical salt

64 Jameis Winston, briefly 65 French 101 verb

66 "Secret" figures hidden among the

48 "Smack That" rapper

18 Visiting Grauman's Chinese

49 Team list

Theater, say

third, sixth, tenth, and thirteenth rows

21 Sparkling headwear

67 The better half

26 Accidental repeat of an entry in a

in this puzzle

24 Go over in excruciating detail

68 Chestnut color

crossword grid

30 Armando who created the HBO

3 Pool ball with a yellow stripe

57 All about right about now

58 "Year One" author Roberts

62 Watson Health developer

29 Little devil

2 Roundish shape

55 Six footers at a picnic

61 Came across

28 Bird in the Outback

Down

52 Happen

59 Spider-Man's girlfriend ___ Stacy

27 Sanctioned item: Abbr.

1 Light smog

show "Veep"

39 Lacking light

7 Title for Mark Rylance

56 Shutting down

27 Home for the Liszt School of Music

36 Fifth note in a scale

5 Jeremy Corbyn's party

31 Bring home 33 Overexert

32 "Tasty!"

33 "The Post" star

34 Accidental repeat of an entry in

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

a crossword grid

36 Snake driver, for short 37 Concludes

44 XT5 maker

47 Jared Goff's team

41 Native Kiwis

43 Story of my life

HOW TO PLAY 1

Every player should have a different colored marker.

2

Players take turns to join two adjacent dots with a horizontal or vertical line. If a player completes the fourth side of a box, they write their initial inside and draw another line.

3

When all boxes are complete, the player who has initialled the most boxes wins.

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50 Prince Valiant's bride

D TS AND B XES

TH E M E D IA & A DV E RTIS I N G ISSU E

CLASSIFIEDS LOST + FOUND

LOST

My own perception of success was last seen scrolling through stranger’s Instagram feeds.

FOUND

NOW SEEKING THE PERSON I WAS

MISSED CONNECTIONS:

LOOKING FOR:

Lost Track of Time...

And You: It's been awhile, but you are so worth writing this ridiculous ad. We bumped into each other in the shoe department at Macy's and walked to a coffee shop nearby. Eventually we went our separate ways, but I still think about you. Is the feeling mutual?

NYCBASED INTERN FOR FOLK REBELLION. LOOKING TO GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY WITH AN NYC STARTUP? GET IN TOUCH WITH US:

Creep: Leave that girl alone. It's obvious she is not into you. Quit being so damn desperate. Sincerely, You Know Who. Missing Cocktail Napkin: Nice chat at the hotel bar on Friday. I can't believe I somehow lost your contact info between the bar and my room. Hit me up if you want to chat more. I do. Tell me what I had for lunch so I know it's you.

HELLO@FOLKREBELLION.COM

THE MEDIA TOLD ME WHO I SHOULD BE.

FOR SALE

TIMESHARE DOG PARTNER:

NOTHING.

I work weekends. You work weekdays. It’s like having kids after a divorce but without the drama...or kids.

Wanna share a Fido?

RELAX. Spend your time with loved ones and save your money for the important shit like spontaneous travel, really good cheese, and the laundry mat on Sundays.

Experiences (and clean clothes) > Stuff.

LOOKING TO BUY:

Influencer trying to recreate Cindy Crawford’s Pepsi ad from ‘92 to post on my Instagram Story. Looking for high-waisted 501 Levi cutoffs and a tight white tank. Can you help me boost my following?

5 2 0 0 ( /

, 1 $ % , 7

/ 2 & $ / 6

+ ( 1 5 < 9 ,

5 3 $ & 0 $ 1

$ ) , $ & 6 . 6 4 8 0 $ 6 % ( < 6 $ 5 & $ 1 $ 2 + 1 1 + 6 2 8 5 6 , . / ( $ 1 $ 1 ( ' ( / / ' 7

$ 7 + ( $ 7 5 / $ $ ' $ < % , ( 6 7 + 6

/ $ 3 , 3 . ( ( 5 ( 9 $

% = 5 $ 2 $ 1 2 1 *

( / ( &

7 ( & 8 0 $ 6 5 ( 1 & + ( 6 ; 5 7 : ( 8 5 7 3 2 8 7 5 ( 1

To place an ad email classifieds@folkrebellion.com 73

Let me begin by saying that I'm not sorry about the approximately 30 million surveillance cameras across the country, shooting and recording four billion hours of footage each week because that's how I catch some of the bad guys. But I can see how the GPS tracker in your phone is pretty invasive and also the whole-listening-toyou-through-your-smart-device thing. What can I say?

Data brokering makes me billions.

Even though it isn't actually my fault, I do feel badly about how many companies and marketing firms know that you live in a studio apartment and weigh 157 pounds. I mean, I don't really see the big deal about them tracking your recent $30 SoulCycle classes and Whole Foods shopping trips, but sorry you feel weird.

See, I've actually been keeping tabs on you for some time now. The food you eat, the clothes you buy, how you shop, drive, think, parent, and date is all carefully documented for my benefit. Lately though, I can kind of see it from your perspective. I mean, you’ve written enough books and made enough movies about the whole thing.

MARCH CROSSWORD SOLUTIONS: 0 $ 2 5 6

APOLOGY NOTICE

, 9 2 5 , ( 6

7 ( 6 / $ 6

, 5 2 1 ( '

0 ( 1 ' ( 6

So, long story short, sorry for being such a troll. Hope we can be friends.

Sincerely, Big Brother

T H E D I S PAT C H BY F O L K R E B E L L I O N

A stack of glossy beauty mags with facial hair drawn on every supermodel. We especially like the handlebar mustache on Gisele. Happy to hand deliver these to you and also buy you a beer.

HELP WANTED

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