web02.fireside.fm Sun, 14 Jun 2026 11:37:53 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Weird Studies - Episodes Tagged with “Consumer Culture” https://www.weirdstudies.com/tags/consumer%20culture Wed, 14 Aug 2019 09:00:00 -0400 Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel host a series of conversations on art and philosophy, dwelling on ideas that are hard to think and art that opens up rifts in what we are pleased to call "reality." en-us episodic Art and philosophy at the limits of the thinkable Phil Ford and J. F. Martel Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel host a series of conversations on art and philosophy, dwelling on ideas that are hard to think and art that opens up rifts in what we are pleased to call "reality." yes weird, art, philosophy Phil Ford and J. F. Martel admin@weirdstudies.com Episode 53: Astral Jet Lag: On William Gibson's 'Pattern Recognition' https://www.weirdstudies.com/53 91500814-96de-4353-a01e-5fd94ba63d8d Wed, 14 Aug 2019 09:00:00 -0400 Phil Ford and J. F. Martel 53 Astral Jet Lag: On William Gibson's 'Pattern Recognition' full Phil Ford and J. F. Martel Phil and JF discuss Gibson's masterwork of speculative naturalism. 1:02:19 yes <p>William Gibson's <em>Pattern Recognition</em> was published in 2003, in the wake of 9/11. You would think that a novel about the early Internet's effects on the collective psyche would feel dated today. But Gibson's insight into the deeper implications of digital culture and soul-rending consumerism are such that we are still catching up with Cayce Pollard, the novel's protagonist, as she journeys into the hypermodern underworld, searching for the secrets of art, time, and death. In this episode, JF and Phil read <em>Pattern Recognition</em> as an exploration of the attention economy, an ascent of the all-seeing pyramid, a subtle rewilding of postmodern culture, and a handbook for the magicians of the future.</p> <p><strong>REFERENCES</strong></p> <p>William Gibson, <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pattern-Recognition-Blue-William-Gibson/dp/0425198685" rel="nofollow noopener">Pattern Recognition</a></em><br> Malcolm Gladwell, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1997/03/17/the-coolhunt" rel="nofollow noopener">"The Coolhunt"</a><br> Douglas Rushkoff, <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Present_Shock:_When_Everything_Happens_Now" rel="nofollow noopener">Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now</a></em><br> Alvin and Heidi Toffler, <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Shock" rel="nofollow noopener">Future Shock</a></em><br> Weird Studies Episode 30 -- <a href="https://www.weirdstudies.com/30" rel="nofollow noopener">On Stanley _Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut</a>_<br> Weird Studies Episode 50 -- <a href="https://www.weirdstudies.com/50" rel="nofollow noopener">Demogorgon: On _Stranger Things</a>_<br> Austin Osman Spare, <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Focus_of_Life" rel="nofollow noopener">The Focus of Life: The Mutterings of AOS</a></em><br> Douglas Rushkoff, <em><a href="https://www.wired.com/2011/07/douglas-rushkoff/" rel="nofollow noopener">Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age</a></em> </p> William Gibson, Pattern Recognition, analysis, discussion, marketing, cyberculture, science fiction, Cayce Pollard William Gibson's Pattern Recognition was published in 2003, in the wake of 9/11. You would think that a novel about the early Internet's effects on the collective psyche would feel dated today. But Gibson's insight into the deeper implications of digital culture and soul-rending consumerism are such that we are still catching up with Cayce Pollard, the novel's protagonist, as she journeys into the hypermodern underworld, searching for the secrets of art, time, and death. In this episode, JF and Phil read Pattern Recognition as an exploration of the attention economy, an ascent of the all-seeing pyramid, a subtle rewilding of postmodern culture, and a handbook for the magicians of the future.

REFERENCES

William Gibson, Pattern Recognition
Malcolm Gladwell, "The Coolhunt"
Douglas Rushkoff, Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now
Alvin and Heidi Toffler, Future Shock
Weird Studies Episode 30 -- On Stanley _Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut_
Weird Studies Episode 50 -- Demogorgon: On _Stranger Things_
Austin Osman Spare, The Focus of Life: The Mutterings of AOS
Douglas Rushkoff, Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age

]]> William Gibson's Pattern Recognition was published in 2003, in the wake of 9/11. You would think that a novel about the early Internet's effects on the collective psyche would feel dated today. But Gibson's insight into the deeper implications of digital culture and soul-rending consumerism are such that we are still catching up with Cayce Pollard, the novel's protagonist, as she journeys into the hypermodern underworld, searching for the secrets of art, time, and death. In this episode, JF and Phil read Pattern Recognition as an exploration of the attention economy, an ascent of the all-seeing pyramid, a subtle rewilding of postmodern culture, and a handbook for the magicians of the future.

REFERENCES

William Gibson, Pattern Recognition
Malcolm Gladwell, "The Coolhunt"
Douglas Rushkoff, Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now
Alvin and Heidi Toffler, Future Shock
Weird Studies Episode 30 -- On Stanley _Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut_
Weird Studies Episode 50 -- Demogorgon: On _Stranger Things_
Austin Osman Spare, The Focus of Life: The Mutterings of AOS
Douglas Rushkoff, Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age

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