Feed, M. T. Anderson’s novel, shows how technology, accessibility to goods and services, and the world of free entertainment make society morally starving. The work, written in 2002, is relevant nowadays as all the principles and behavior patterns observed there can still be noticed in today’s community. Besides, this book demonstrates a good example of a person whose character is able to withstand all invisible scourges of such a world that seems to be ideal from first sight. This essay represents similarities between the fictional society depicted in a book and the one that exists in the real world in the 21st century. Moreover, it is necessary to answer the question, how a person can “resist the feed” and what it can be done for.
Technologies have become an inevitable part of every person’s life. Now almost everything can be done with the help of machinery. What is more, nearly everything is available in modern society as it is in Feed. Feed in M.T. Anderson’s book is an implanted device that allows a person to get whatever he or she wants or needs. There is not anything impossible for people in such an environment. By the way, people are forced to buy products the corporations produce with the help of Feed as the educational system is controlled by brands with School. If to think properly about it, there is a large number of similarities with the principles the community exists in now. Technologies, various goods, and services influence people daily; some of them even have problems with overdosing consumption. For example, after purchasing goods in online shops, various advertisements appear on the Internet even if we do not want them. This is the way producers gain control over people’s consumption ways and patterns of buying things. Besides, the dystopian book shows how unwise and greedy a person can be and even lose his or her mind. Titus and his friends are typical examples of teenagers who abuse the feed in order to have a luxurious life. It can be seen that at the beginning of the novel Titus, the main hero, is described as a thoughtful person who is even interested in poetry; the ending characterizes him as the one who lacks empathy towards people and is interested only in attractions offered by the feed.
Emotional degradation is a factor that provides the idea of the harmful influence of the feed on people who even could love or feel something in the past. On the contrary, there is Violet, the only person who does not lose her mind in the world of easily available goods and services. She tries to stay cold-blooded and build up a consuming strategy. Relationships between Titus and Violet clearly show how an obsession with consumerism, entertainment, and temptation can lead to the mental degradation of a person. In the beginning, they fall in love with each other and seem to build a good couple. Nevertheless, the flow of the story shows how Titus gets sucked into the whirlpool of modern sins. He starts getting annoyed with Violet’s existence and starts ignoring her. Violet later finds out that her feed is suffering malfunction, which can lead to death. Titus does not care about her problems despite her desperate efforts to catch his attention. The world of “feed” devours him, which leads to the collapse of his morality. The same comparison of character traits can imply to the real world that splits society into two groups. The first type of people, like Titus, does not care about morality and anything that stands beyond the world of consumerism and entertainment. Such people are easily controlled by the feed and, as a consequence, by the industry and technologies. The second type is similar to Violet, the one that concentrates on reasonable things, tries to think about the future, and does not live in a moment. The worst thing about the technologies’ overdosing influence is that people start losing basic values in the pursuit of comfort and pleasure. Life, freedom, and friends should be appreciated more than it is in the Anderson’s novel and in the real world nowadays.
Second, the novel raises the question of environmental problems in connection with the consumerism society. The more people purchase, the more corporations produce. The feed is directly connected to School, which is connected and controlled by the companies. So, brands know what the community needs and produces it. Moreover, the plot of the story says that the government does not limit the production volumes, so organizations are free to do what they want. This fact inevitably affects the environment. Besides, it is necessary to point out that there is a straight connection between the degradation of nature and the degradation of a person’s character. People find the environment and its treasures not interesting and attractive anymore as any point on the world map is nothing but another destination. Anderson (2002), in his work, writes that the natural world is so adaptable that a person wonders what’s natural. People no longer see nature as something that needs to be protected in order to save its exclusiveness. That is why they neglect it in order to fulfill their pleasures. The Anderson’s story tells the reader that such actions of the American government lead to the global war against the USA. Reality is not so rude towards America; still, the question of nature protection is one of the sharpest and most discussed. Countries and continents that suffer from air pollution, global warming, and excessive garbage pose threats to the world environment. The majority of corporations and huge factories do not conduct nature protection measures that put further human existence at risk. The novel ends up with the war because the environment is nearly uninhabitable, and people suffer from specific lesions and other diseases. It is not far from reality because if society does not think about nature protection and does not take corresponding measures, the perspective of catching a fatal disease does not seem so unreal.
What can be done to “resist the feed”? The example of Violet shows that it is possible to maintain morality in the world full of temptations. If a person basically follows benevolent intentions and has a desire to develop physically and mentally instead of spending his or her body and mind resources on entertainment, it is more likely that this person is able to “resist the feed.” Even if a person comes under the feed influence, whatever it is a novel or real life, the first solution is to try to find a balance between reasonable consuming and overdosing on the amount of entertainment and purchasing. Such an environment makes it possible not to lose morality and basic principles as it was with Titus. Even Violet, who also had access to feed and could use it freely, did not lose her face in the atmosphere of permissiveness and remained a person with high moral standards. Finally, speaking about nature and its perspectives, spreading information about the present condition of the planet and possible threats is a crucial step towards making up an idea that something must be done. It is necessary to make people understand that the question of environmental problems is of great importance. It was not done in Anderson’s novel; still, the situation in real life is not so desperate. If the world society takes action in the nearest future, it is possible to correct the situation and save nature. It will be a clear example of how people can “resist the feed.”
To crown it all, it is necessary to point out that M.T. Anderson’s “Feed” can be called an oracular work. Being written in 2002, when technologies were hardly developed, it accurately describes the present situation. Still, the solution can be found. Modern international organizations are implementing various practices of environmental protection, and society can see positive results. Some actions should be done in the realm of supporting spiritual and intellectual values. It is necessary for every person to realize if the world of technology consumption has control over him or her and to practice soul-searching and reappraisal of values. A combination of all factors mentioned can lead to the idea that the world community does not repeat the experience of “Feed” in the pursue of comfort, entertainment, and consumerism.
Reference
Anderson, M. T. (2002). Feed. Candlewick Press.