Big in Japan
Since the rise of modern civilization, local communities have become fewer in number as more and more people have moved to big cities; meanwhile, the people living in smaller places reproduced above replacement level, thus, expanding their communities in terms of population, the economy, and politics. This radical change in lifestyle has meant a lot of different things, especially for the people moving from agricultural farmlands to an urban lifestyle in the big city. In this article we focus on the individual and how he is affected by a life of anonymity.
Neon on my naked skin
Passing silhouettes of strange illuminated mannequins
Shall I stay here at the zoo
Or shall I go and change my point of view for other ugly scenes
You did what you did to me, now it's history I see...
Things will happen while they can
I will wait here for my man tonight, it's easy when you're big in Japan
Those were the words from synthpop band Alphaville in the late 80's, trying to profile the post-modern experience of being one out of a million people living in a large city. In order to fully understand the idea behind connecting the modern man to a guiltless prostitute, it is vital to study the differences between living in a small community and living in a big city. Prior to cities, people lived in small groups and were almost completely dependent on each other. If your neighbor had a rough year with the crops, you knew your family would starve if you didn't catch up with your crops. People had a close relationship to each other within these communities; only criminals and people that didn't follow the cultural consensus were isolated and living in loneliness.
From this kind of mutual dependency, both strong cultural bonds and life-long friendships were established. You knew whom you could trust and not trust, and, as a result, life in general was very peaceful. If a murderer or otherwise insane criminal moved into the community, the behavior of that individual was recognized quickly, and at that point the person in question could either adapt or be driven out by the people living there. If you ask people that lived 70-90 years ago in Europe, most of them will explain how they never even locked their doors and that rape, murder, and stealing did occur but on a very irregular basis. The number of people living in communities was so small, that it was easy to track down any ill-intended individual.
Because the cultural bonds were so strong, there was little of the depression and self-defeatism that we see in today's society. People had lots of friends and based that friendship on actions that saved lives. While many people today are friends because of personal insecurity or fear of being alone, people 100 years ago formed friendship because they'd learned to respect each other's strengths as well as weaknesses. As a result these friendships, if taken care of, lasted a lifetime.
Although most agricultural work depended on the weather, the economy was in general stable, as it didn't depend on a larger national economy, or the globalized economy that we see today. If you did your work and nature did her work, you would most likely have enough food for your family to survive the winter. Your children followed your steps and grew up with the daily work; thus they knew what had to be done and how to do it correctly. The level of incompetence within the different working fields was therefore low, as the positions in society were not regulated by money or greed, but by ability. If both your parents worked with steel or with crops, you would most likely also become skilled within this profession. This was a sensible design within the community: those who were farmers, worked at farms, and those who were leaders, dealt with economy and politics.
Your children respected their parents and their culture, because they grew up with these things and saw them as a vital part of life. One could say communities functioned by "bloodlines"; that is, individuals did not see themselves as separate workers for a larger system, but parts of a long line of people, from ancestors to parents, and thus felt a moral responsibility to care for both the past and the present, so that a safe future was waiting ahead. This form of moral as well as practical responsibility was the essence of any healthy community, where people helped each other, acted unselfishly, and were ready to risk their lives for things they thought were larger and more important than the individual. This made the life in these small communities both safe and assuring, because you knew that if your barn burnt down, your neighbors would help you build a new one - especially considering that they in part were dependant on your harvest.
Today
Moving on to the 21st century and modern society, things have changed radically. Small communities have grown into larger cities, cultural bonds have been broken by large waves of immigration, most of the free, natural lands have been replaced by malls or houses, crime rates are exponentially growing every year and people are desperate to install the latest security alarms in their houses, depression and suicide are today common causes of death (especially among teenagers); it doesn't require a conservative mind to acknowledge the radical changes that have taken place just over the course of 100-200 years in America and most of Europe. It is not within our scope to cover all the details. Instead, let us go back to the Alphaville-metaphor: "I will wait here for my man tonight, it's easy when you're big in Japan."
What this means, is that we, as modern individuals, have become detached from each other, living secluded lives in large cities, and, as a result, feel no collective responsibility to the people or the place in which we live. We pollute our towns, commit crimes, and generally act selfishly - all because of the simple fact that we have no bonds that keep us together other than money and work. We live in a particular town because we have a job there and that's it. If we find some friends or if we get married, that's fine, but it's nothing that's tied to a closer cultural consensus. The culture today consists of Wal-Mart, McDonald's, TV games, the Internet, and political demonstrations. We have no traditions, no common history or real dependency that bind us together. This makes us feel, deep down inside when we're alone at night, very lonely and depressed. We know there's something missing, but we're not sure if it's our fault or if we should blame society for it.
We try to find meaning anywhere we can: fast food, sex, drugs, politics - but it never seems to last longer than an orgasm, than a hamburger, than an election, or than a large high. Then it fades as we start to feel even more depressed than before. It's not strange that we feel this way; our towns are filled with criminality, pollution, corruption, and lack of cultural activities. That is why we spend hours in front of the TV each day after work, or go on the streets on Friday nights in search of a new sex partner because we know that this is the only meaning we can find. It doesn't bother us that we've become empty souls, wandering around strangers in a place that we really don't care about. We don't cry because there's nothing to feel guilty about. What do we care about our neighbors, as long as we get our paychecks on time? What do we care about criminals, as long as it doesn't happen to us? What do we care about a park being replaced by a mall? - now we have a new place to shop for products.
Only a new design in the structure of society can return to a more local, decentralized community that offers a better and more meaningful life for all of us. The current globalization is killing nature, killing culture, killing the bonds that once held people together. You cannot feel love for something that you haven't helped build with your own hands or together with other people, and feel that it gives your life meaning. People in small communities care about criminality, pollution, and corruption, because they want a clean, safe, and beautiful place for their children to grow up - and that is only possible if there is a culture and sense of collective idealism that keep these people together no matter what. If there isn't, individuals start to think only of themselves and neglect the collective good, in the end leading to a series of negative effects that surely no one will be able to escape from; we're all in this together and there's no way to "hide" from what's happening out there.
However, cities will always exist and it's impossible and impractical to localize all towns. Instead the people living in cities must learn how to cope with the large population and act thereafter. If all people did take responsibility, helped each other out when they could, then daily life would be so much easier for all. It doesn't have to be more than helping an old lady to get on the bus, organizing trash-pick ups in green lands where people have thrown garbage, or promoting and nurturing cultural activities within the area where you live. Small things spread, and being an engaged part of an activity or group helps fight depression, loneliness, and negative passivity. Turn off the TV and start doing something that benefits more people. The alternative is to go on being that anonymous, lonely, depressed individual, walking past neon-signs on a snowy evening; it's so easy to sell your soul when you're big in Japan.
by Alex Birch
February 7, 2007
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