Efficiency and Human Nature

Efficiency as defined by Wikipedia:

Efficiency in general describes the extent to which time or effort is well used for the intended task or purpose. It is often used with the specific purpose of relaying the capability of a specific application of effort to produce a specific outcome effectively with a minimum amount or quantity of waste, expense, or unnecessary effort.

     In the late 1800's, Frederick Winslow Taylor developed methods of labor productivity, one of many types of efficiency, called Taylorism. Taylorism was largely accepted by industries seeking to increase profits and reduce waste. Despite looking good initially, this "efficiency" also met a lot of criticism. In the early 1900's the Senate in fact banned Taylor's methods when an investigation found the majority of workers to be hostile towards the amount of control the managers had over them. Similarly, in Taylorism, workers with talent and potential were treated the same as unskilled workers creating a system that catered to drones, not humans. I find this historical context helpful because it is an example of how "efficiency" does not often work well with human nature.

     In Blade Runner, Ridley Scott shows us a world full of "efficiency". Technology has advanced far enough to enable street vendors to do DNA tests on synthetically manufactured snake scales and housing shortages are clearly no longer an issue. However despite such advances there are clearly major problems still plaguing the city and in fact the majority of people have fled off-world. In the world of Blade Runner, replicants have been created for the purpose of colonizing other planets. Such a feat by genetic designers, creating robots that are superior to the creators themselves, would be looked at by our society today as amazing and extremely beneficial. However, as seen by the goal of the Blade Runners which is to "retire" the replicants, these technological advances have gotten too far out of hand and the efficient city which we had been working towards for hundreds of years is no longer efficient for humans.

The Two-Face(s) of Justice in the City

So we were all drawn to this class by how great a teacher Mr. Dean is ... along with the Batman quote that he used at the end of last school year to entice us to sign up for this class, "Joker: They'll be doubling up at the rate this city's inhabitants are losing their minds. Batman: This city just showed you that it's full of people ready to believe in good." Batman -- the Dark Knight. But why the Dark Knight? What happened to the White Knight?

This takes me to one of the iconic Batman "villians" Harvey Dent, better know as Two-Face. Starting off as the clean-cut district attorney of Gotham City and an ally of Batman, Dent goes insane after a criminal throws acid on him during a trial, hideously scarring the left side of his face. Due to this, Dent becomes schizophrenic, bi-polar and adopts the "Two-Face" persona. He becomes a crime boss, choosing to bring about good or evil based upon the outcome of a coin flip. Occasionally he is on the side of Batman and other times he is trying to shoot him.

Once the White Knight of the city, pursuing justice under the law, Harvey Dent becomes a metaphor for the duality of the city. A district attorney and a crime boss, a hero and an enemy. The definition of good and evil is too complex in the city, as shown by a schizophrenic psycopath flipping a coin to make the decision on what is just. What this is saying is that in the city there is always going to be good with the bad and justice in the city is obscure in definition. Was it just that Harvey Dent be scarred for life on shit luck? It brings about a new type of justice in the city, one that is not so politically correct. The White Knight's chivalric justice is gone. One cannot expect the White Knight to just kill the bad guy while following the rules. Now to be able to do good one must also break some rules (the idea of the ends justify the means).

What Two-Face also shows is that it really is not possible to have a White Knight in the modern city. Two-Face throughout his career has represented good and evil combined, the hope of the city and the destruction of the city, and the pure luck that the city is ruled by. This complexity skews the ability to obtain justice through the old style of chivalry that the White Knight used. Due to this complex idea of good vs. evil and justice vs. corruption, it is simply impossible to avoild breaking the rules to achieve "true" justice.

Two-Face's approach, although encompassing this idea, is unhealthy. Batman is the true Dark Knight because he has been able to balance the good and evil to maintain justice in the city. He might break some rules to get to a good conclusion. For example, in the movie The Dark Knight (2008) Batman takes the blame for all the people Harvey Dent killed, after he kills Dent to save the son of a man Dent kidnapped. This way the city could look upon Dent as the White Knight district attorney he used to be and not the maniac he became. It is easy to see the complexity of this "justice." Although it came at a price and followed no set rules, he was able to achieve the closest thing to what he believed to be good. Even then the end might not be complete justice, but this must do for the Dark Knight.

"It's happening now. Harvey is that hero. He locked up half of the city's criminals, and he did it without wearing a mask. Gotham needs a hero with a face."

--------------------------------------------------

Here is another clip I found that has many of the same ideas. It seems that the Joker really has this seered into his head, this idea of justice.

One Great City

The musical group, the Weakerthens, began playing together during 1997 in Winnipeg, Canada. The members of their band are John Samson (lyricist, guitar, and lead vocals), Stephen Carroll (guitar and backing vocals), John Sutton (bass, backing vocals), and Jason Tait (drums). Their music is a reflection of where they are from and John Samson’s lyrics focus on issues of hope, isolation, and survival within a society riddled with injustice and a culture commodified in every possible way.Their song “One Great City” is about their hometown, which happens to be Winnipeg where they formed

.

The song is told from different angles beginning with the underground of the city working its way up until it reaches the highest point. The song lyrics and its title are contradicting because the words of the song paint the city to be repetitive and something far from great. It begins with the day ending, and the night shadows covering the city with a “darker gray”. The song describes a lot of the cities features and personality through its lyrics.

The first verse of the song introduces the city starting from the below the ground. It sings, “a thousand sharpened elbows in the underground,” and this refers to the underground mall which is called Winnipeg Square. It is nicknamed the underground and is located underneath Winnipeg’s downtown and major office buildings. Its location makes the vast majority of people who go to the mall there mostly business people and the description of “a thousand sharpened elbows” refers directly to the business people. The following line of “that hollow hurried sound of feet on polished floor,” adds to the description of the high end working class who move swiftly and the fact that the floor is polished lets us know that the mall is well kept because it is meant for the wealthy. The next line takes the angle of the city to above the ground and says, “In the dollar store the clerk is closing up and counting loonies, trying not to say I hate Winnipeg.” This line is meant to show how the other half of Winnipeg lives aside from the wealthy. The dollar store clerk works to provide for himself, while the high end probably shops at the underground mall. The idea of the store clerk counting loonies hints that there are probably people in a worse living state then the clerk which would make it understandable for the clerk to say I hate Winnipeg.

The song then switches the perspective to a normal person on the street.

the driver checks the mirror seven minutes late

crowded riders' restlessness enunciates

the guess who suck, the jets were lousy anyway

the same mood every day

and in the turning lane

someone's stalled again

he's talking to himself

and hears the price of gas repeat his phrase

I hate Winnipeg

This verse then goes to talk about life in general in Winnipeg. How it can be repetitive and the most interesting thing in someone’s day would be being late to where they have to go in their schedule. Everyone has the same attitude everyday and their mentality towards things in their life never change because they rarely experience something new or better. The lines, “and in the turning lane, someone’s stalled again,” may refer to how a person has a chance to change his life or the direction they are headed, but is stuck and just can’t escape the city. The ending line of this verse that says, “And hears the price of gas repeat his phrase, I hate Winnipeg,” just implies one of the few problems of society.

up above us all,

leaning into sky

our golden business boy

will watch the north end die

and sing 'i love this town'

then let his arching wrecking ball proclaim:

"I...hate...Winnipeg"

This last verse talks about the golden boy which is located on top of the legislature and was the highest point in Winnipeg. He faces north because that was where the founders of the city believed the future of Winnipeg was held. The ironic part of this is that the North End of Winnipeg is the rough end of the city. The Statue which was suppose to symbolize hope,

business, and a promising future, points to the dying north end which is referred to in the song. Like in the song, he is meant to sing “I love this town” ,but rather he truly represents the rest of the town in symbolizing the corruption that occurred in Winnipeg.

The title of One Great City may not seem to mesh with the lyrics, but the role of this song I believe is to have people reflect on their hometowns as well. Every town is like someone’s Winnipeg. After living in a place for so long, things get old, people begin to notice the flaws in the city, and when people try to leave they always manage to return. The city is a part of them as much as they are part of the city. There is a hidden love for their hometown under all the negatives. It is where a person is from making a town like Winnipeg One Great City.

City Flash Mob

City Flash Mob

    
   A flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, respect or artistic expression. Flash mobs are often organized via telecommunications. social media or viral emails.
   The term flash mob, first coined in May 2003 in Manhattan, has became one of the defining terms for a urban, liberal and richly cultural city. Most of the major cities in the world, for example, New York City, Shanghai, Sydney, Paris, etc,  have had flash mobs in the urban center. Surprisingly, even Austin has its own flash mob organization, see here.

    

  Flash mob shows how closely related the city is. With the aid of current technology, almost everybody can participate in a flash mob despite his color, race, language or culture. Words spread via social networking sites like Facebook or blogs, as well as by word of mouth, text or email. Various groups of people converge together and function as a whole. Flash mob reveals a city's unity at its best.

These are the cities where the most famous flash mobs happened.

                                                    NYC

                                                                     Paris

                                                             Shanghai

                                                                Sydney