The Apple Gods…..

Out of the article and the comedy skit, the most striking thing to me was when the comedian was interviewing one of the workers who had formally worked on the iPad, but had never seen one on and thought it to be magic. Immediately it reminded me of Heart of Darkness. I thought of the large connection between Steve Jobs and Kurtz. As we all know Steve Jobs passed away recently and many people were devastated by the news. Though it may not be exactly the same as Kurtz, he too was praised by not only Europe, but by some of the native people. Now with this modern day scenario with Jobs, it may be that the workers would detest him, but his product, his vision of the iPad, completely baffles and fascinates a worker. They are intrigued by something that essentially “took their hands.” I then thought of those people who were apart of unions and I then made the connection of the villagers making attacks on the boats. It seems to me that there is this very strange disconnect in  the sense of worship and hatred. Many Americans love the idea of Apple and praise their innovative technologies and to an extent so do some of the workers. We are so much like Marlow’s grandmother in the sense that all we need is this false sense of purpose to feel secure in this supposive crusade to make the world better. I also believe that when considering whether the working conditions are worse than when Europe imperialized the Congolese, I would say yes because it is a much more efficient process that leaves workers at more of a disadvantage than before. Tools and technologies that they make every day, are the same things that observe and monitor them.   I believe then must consider  the hidden phenomenon. This man saw magic, we see highly made technology that is just a norm of our society. So the question is how then can we make this seemingly godly technology not so “godly” anymore? How will we be able to let go of the longing for “new” and “wonderful” and teach to all of us, including Chinese workers, that the only godly thing about Apple is it’s similarity to hell? I think the only answer would be that there must be more people who are willing to put the truth out there in a striking manner. We must use the same technology that oppresses people, and blog, make videos, podcasts, and whatever else to show the terrible conditions of these people, we must use what we have for some greater cause of good.