Brainwashed

Seth Godin’s informative piece “Brainwashed” explains the changing of the times. He tells us that we have all been brainwashed to be average and uncreative in a way. He encourages us to find our creativity and reinvent ourselves by using his seven levers. Godin’s seven levers available for anyone in search for reinvention are: connect, be generous, make art, acknowledge the lizard, ship, fail and learn.

Acknowledging the Lizard is a lever that Godin uses to explicate the resistance in us that makes us comply with orders and follow commands. According to Godin, Resistance is the panic ones gets when they are not following the rules. He also says that we must revolt against the resistance and take a risk in order to be rewarded. So rather than follow the lizard, we must acknowledge it and deny it.

This makes a lot of sense to me. I do not know one person that is happy and successful that didn’t take a chance. Acknowledging the lizard pertains to class as well. If we didn’t do all of these projects and think a little differently, we wouldn’t be creative and we wouldn’t know what we enjoy. I know that after the music project, I really enjoy producing. I am also really looking forward to this screenplay that I am writing. If I weren’t in this class, there would be no way I would be doing this. I am expressing and expanding my self, which is making me more creative in the process.

Make Art is a lever that Godin talks about that I wish everyone knew about. He says that art isn’t just painting a picture or writing a book. Art is everywhere and that everyone can do art. He says that art doesn’t follow instructions or have a manual. Instead, art is the very human act of creating the uncreated.

This is important to me because I know a lot of people that say they have no artistic ability. It makes me so angry, because they don’t understand what art is. The best definition I have ever heard of art is when Seth Godin said that is the act of creating the uncreated. This pertains to class as well. All we do is make art in class. We make music, manipulate photos, and write art. We all make art differently even though we have the same thing to do. This just shows how different everyone really is as well as how different art can be while still being art.