Non Photo-Blue

I bought a T-Mobile cell phone, a year and a half ago. When I bought it, it was the latest technology. It cost over a hundred dollars, color screen, blah, blah, blah. I was too oblivious back then, not realizing that I had been brainwashed into believing I really needed this cost-inflated, poorly thought-out piece of plastic.

First off, I went to a Cecile B. Demille film at the Film Forum last week. It was an insane movie called This Day and Age. 1933. It's a great movie, very rare to find, a lost classic. Well, the point is, they had the old school phones with the mouthpiece and the little horn you held to your ear. And I thought: Jesus. Seventy years, and the only thing that's different, basically, is we put the mouthpieces and the listening piece together. Oo la la. That's it. Structurally it's the same. They just got smaller, and oh yeah, you press buttons instead of turning them. OOOhhh. So funky. So technology, whatever.

But today, because of my dog, who ate my cell phone battery as I described in a previous post, I head to the handy dandy wonderfully decorated T-Mobile store on Queens Boulevard, to get myself a new battery.

Let's stop right here. Is there really a need for T-Mobile to have it's own store? Cell phones are small. They have this going for them. So what is the purpose of this place? Why not have all the phones in one place. Do each one of these greedy, cutthroat, contract-forcing cell phone companies need their own store? I drive down QB, near the Queens center mall, and half the stores are all cell phone places. Excuse me, But doesn't everyone already have a damn cell phone? Who's still buying these things? Besides, this is America, capitalist wonderland, and is this the best we can do? Just build more and more complicated phones?

But having their own store is part of the marketing ploy, oh those advertising people are so savvy. It's building an image.

I'm sorry. Anyone can work in advertising, it's not hard. All you need is a half a brain and a Psychology 101 textbook. But I would never, never, NEVER work in advertising because it is brainwashing, nothing more, nothing less. If you're offended by this, because you work in advertising, either get a job with less bad karma, like a Meter maid or an executioner; OR stop and think about what you are producing in the world. It won't kill you.

So this T-Mobile store, it's all decked out--hardwood floors, neon lights and of course, Catherine Zeta-Jones's cow-like mug is smeared everywhere. The guy who works there is a greasy-headed teenage Russian, wearing a "insert a random value inflated logo here" shirt. His jeans cost over a hundred dollars, and I wonder how much does he make working here? How does he afford this stuff?

I get nauseous walking in this place, literally. And there, on the wall, on these pedestals, yes they are on pedestals, as in to be worshiped, are the cell phones. I refuse to look at them: it's like staring at the medusa. They each have at least a foot of wall space between them. There is nothing but space. Space, space, space.

Let's compare this store to where these little icons, these little cellular demigods of society are actually made.

Now, I highly recommend you to see A Decent Factory. This is a documentary about Nokia, and their half-hearted attempt to make sure all their supplies in the product chain of cell phones are following a proper code for employees. This, is laughable. It's a good movie, but it lets Nokia way off the hook.

Because, my friends, here's how your lovely little cell phone gets made. Mind you this is just one part- one little part of the battery that goes into the phone.

For this one tiny part of your cell phone battery, there is a giant factory in China. 90% of the work force are women. These women flee their villages because working the land is no longer profitable, because of the damaged economy. It's wage slavery. Here, the workers live in the factory, dorm style. It is mandatory to live in the factory to work there. There are eight to ten people in a room, with one shower, and one toilet, which is in the same "room" we'll call it, but it looks more like a back alley. There is no separation from where people shit and shower. This is the room the factory owners showed the camera crew, so imagine what the ones they didn't want the public to see looked like.

Of course, all the "managers" are men.

Well, these workers, it turns out, are being paid well below the minimum wage. The German factory owners get away with this by switching the minimum wage to an weekly basis, instead of hourly. For example: the U.S. min wage is 5.15 an hour. So for 40 hours, that's about two hundred dollars. Well, what this factory does, is say, “Yes, we pay the minimum wage, $200. But, you have to work seventy hours to make it.” By doing that, they cut the minimum wage almost in half. Pretty smart. No, it isn't legal, as the Germany foreman so "honestly" tells his Finnish clients, but who's watching?

The 3o hours overtime, by the way, is mandatory.

What is the minimum wage, you ask? Oh, it's not bad- it comes out to about .75 cents an hour.

That's before room and board is taken out. So they make even less. Then, the food is abhorrible, and many of people spent the little money they have left sneaking out to buy something edible.

Sound like fun? Want an application?

Space. I keep thinking of those hard wood floors, the Russian's greasy hair and Polo shirt, and that back alley that ten Chinese women fight over to shit in.

My cell phone, top of the line a little over year ago, is obsolete. No longer produced. No battery available.

Obsolete? So, my only option is to buy a brand new phone. I'm sorry, but this is all way too coordinated. Of course, I have to buy a new phone, otherwise, how would the economy function, if not for getting masses of people to consume things they don't need, like new cell phones?

There was nothing wrong with my phone. There was no reason for it to be "obsolete" Did I miss some new technology? Some new method of communication? Has half the population gone and had cell phone implants in their heads?

Because you have to buy a new one. You need the new feature. How can you live without that new feature? I mean, of course I need to send e-mail everyone where I go, and then Instant message people too, and text message and here's a giant phallus to insert rectally message.

I did not buy a phone. I got on a pay phone and called T-Mobile and told them to fuck off. Then they offered me a free phone (with a year contract, the bastards) and I told them to fuck off again. I'm moving to internet phone when I get to CA. Until then, I'll enjoy the calmness of not being in touch with the world 24-7.

For those of you who are old enough to remember what life was like without a cell phone, I suggest you try it again. It's completely liberating. The damn things just aren't that necessary.

Now, I understand some people need them, work, etc., etc. Fine. But at least think, before you go buying a new piece of technology that you've been convinced is obsolete, or necessary when it isn't. Because, someone, is paying the price for it, somewhere. I'm not big on politics, but personal choice is the greatest source of power, especially in a capitalist society. It is the dollar power. Where you choose to spend your money is a political and real choice in the world. It has ramifications and you are responsible for those choices whether you choose to think about them or not.

# posted by pittysing @ 9:40 AM