There is, however, a knowledge community that I am a part of where I feel obsolete. A broken link in the knowledge chain if you will. Ironically enough, it is part of my major: music composition seminar.
Once a week, all 18 composition majors gather for two hours to give presentations on composers, musical rhetoric, new-age theory, their own works, and much more. The point of this class is to generate new ideas and to spark creativity while learning. It is supposed to help push ourselves to study, explore, listen, discuss, and create "new music." We do all of this for the end goal of a concert near the last week of the quarter. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? It actually is quite a bit of fun, but let me explain why I feel like a broken link in the knowledge chain.
Though this example is a false and egotistical, it will help with understanding. Let us suppose that the professor of this class is a big record company. The record company is told by a representative of the public listeners (the head of the composition department) and delegates and decides who they wants to represent the sound of the label. Then, let us suppose that the 18 students all represent musical artists that the record company shows interest in. Diggin' my jive so far? The record company only knows that these artists have musical talent, but regardless of what they artists have created, the record company wants to give them all contracts. But they have to pump out pop music for the record company. Still with me? So, the artists all agree and the record company presents you with Rihanna, LMFOA, Justin Bieber, Adele, Taylor Swift, Shakira, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Black Eyed Peas, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Led Zeppelin, Jennifer Lopez, Niki Minaj, Britney Spears, and the cast of Glee.
The record company makes great profits from these artists and the knowledge community of pop evolves and grows out of this group. With everyone under the label working hard and communicating the best way to make the next hit, they dominate the radio waves of the world. Except Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin is trying to make a comeback, but according to the record company, they're old news, everyone has already heard them. Even if they make new songs, it's a sound that everyone's heard. The record company wants new pop music, something that's so new, it's like nothing anyone has heard before. Even if that means it sounds like a pug faced elephant falling down a flight of stairs into a pile of flatulent hissing cockroaches, it's new and exciting to the record company and they will label it as "pop music". Zeppelin
decides to stay and try to communicate new ideas to all the other pop artists. Some ideas of theirs are valid, but most are shrugged off easily with Taylor Swift adding, "Ew, that's the kind of music my hippie uncle listens to."All the other artists share knowledge and try to move music into an entirely new world while Led Zeppelin is trying to revamp the sounds of yesteryear. So, as you may have guessed, I am Led Zeppelin in this situation. I have a difficult time contributing and communicating what I believe are good thoughts to the room full of other artists and am often let down by the record company when everything is old news and that "that's all been done before." I firmly believe it hasn't and the record company needs to work with everyone just as much as everyone is working for the record company. However, I am trying to be part of that "'invisible and intangible engine' for the circulation of commodities," as well as attempting to "play the game [...] and become a policy wonk." It's just that I want to be part of this engine, I just don't like the policies.
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