Revision as of 01:38, 18 November 2020

The Megacorp - Nozama

Started in the early 2000s in a garage in Seattle, Nozama began as a small online seller of household supplies. But by leveraging economies of scale, they were able to undercut most of their competitors, allowing the company to grow by leaps and bounds. Eventually, Nozama moved into other product categories, such as entertainment, electronics, furniture, and so on, becoming the world's largest online department store. Most small businesses could not compete, leaving more and more market share for Nozama to capture. There eventually came a point where if there was something you wanted, you could get it from Nozama.

The company became an opportunistic beast: if there was a service they could co-opt, or a product they could rip off, or a resource they could exploit, they would. This made them uniquely suited to grow amongst the chaos of the first half of the 21st century. And all that growth fed back into the beast: money was funnelled into research and development, advancing medicine, robotics, and artificial intelligence at a breakneck pace.

Now the year is 2050. Decades of pandemics, economic turmoil, and climate change disasters have led to unprecedented political instability. Most world governments have fallen into anarchy, only to be supplanted by the one system that has managed to thrive in all this uncertainty: Nozama. This mega-corporation has filled the power vacuum left by the world's collapsing governments, leveraging the most advanced consumer technology to take control of almost every aspect of daily life. They have their hands in everything from supermarkets and health care to law enforcement and education. In many ways, they are the new world government.

Consumerism as Ideology

• short description of the culture of marketing, monetary value, consumerism, etc.

Invasive Technology

AI is nothing without data, and much of Nozama's operation is built around collecting that data. To do that they provide consumers with "smart" devices that analyze every interaction they have with the user. Their artificially intelligent personal assistant, Jaina, allows users to converse with their devices in natural language, while also collecting every single conversation it hears. But the pride and joy of Nozama's data collection operation is their flagship product, the Nozama Coherent Hologram Implantable Projector™, more commonly known as the Nozama CHIP™.

CHIP™ is a small device implanted in a user's forearm, where it is powered of the user's own metabolism. CHIP™ is capable of connecting with 8G wireless networks, allowing users access to apps, games, social media, etc. In place of outdated screen technology, CHIP™ projects hard-light holograms onto the user's skin or into the air, which users can interact with physically. Originally sold as a neat consumer device (much like it smartphone predecessors), CHIP™ became increasingly necessary in the Nozama-ruled world. It acts as an ID card, and many Nozama stores and services require CHIP™ for payments or access; it's impossible to navigate mainstream society without one. Meanwhile, CHIP™ monitors everything about a user, from their purchasing habits to their bodily functions.

Citizenry and Politics

Although national governments still exist in theory, they are so beholden to Nozama's economic dominance that the can be considered puppet governments at best. Instead, it is Nozama that defines policy, almost entirely, and local governments serve as nothing more than mouthpieces and faces to make the corporate policies more palatable. There are still presidents and prime ministers, governors and mayors, but the real political leaders are the Nozama executives and upper management.

In general, Nozama policies incentivize neoliberal consumerism, emphasizing personal responsibility and constant spending. Taxes are minimal, as Nozama collects all the wealth it needs through its monopoly on everyday products. In turn, it uses that wealth to create schools, hospitals, and the other infrastructure necessary to keep the citizenry happy, healthy, and able to continually consume the company's products.

While most people will still be citizens of the country into which they were born, that citizenship now holds little sway. Instead, the most important aspects of citizenship are managed by Nozama; certification by the corporation brings certain rights and privileges. All citizens of Nozama have a trustworthiness rating, determined by spending habits, credit rating, travel history, and biometric data, all collected via CHIP™ tracking. By increasing your trust rating, you may earn Verified™ status and thus gain the right to vote, enjoy premium healthcare, attend better schools, and so on. Those with means can instead opt to purchase Nozama Alpha™ status for a significant annual fee. Alpha™ citizens have the highest level of privilege, and many citizens find the payments worthwhile to gain a measure of privacy or bypass a poor trust rating.

Education

Lily - overview

• The public education system eroded significantly at the beginning of the twenty first century. Lack of funding and continuously unstable political climate have led to poor schooling, low outcomes and expanding disparities. Only students with means were able to get reasonable education.
• In this lull, the rising power of Nozema took over the public educational system. The corporation threw unlimited funding: renovated schools, supplied advanced technological equipment, trained teachers and set the curriculum. Schools are now a beautiful setting: clean, full of light and abundant with resources. Walking into a classroom is the ultimate experience of the 21th century (insert a picture).
• However, this new look is misleading. With control over curriculum and teachers’ training, education in Nozema’s world serves the corporation rather than the students. Schooling is not centred around child development, individual expression or the students’ well-being. It is designed to mold the perfect consumers that will keep Nozama thriving and at the same time, build the ideal the future work force of the corporation. As such, the curriculum is STEM-only, with heavy emphasis on applications by the corporation. Arts are completely erased from the schooling system.
• Nozama also created a two-tiered public education, based on the classification of the students and their families.
• Advertisements, brain-washing for consumerism are integral part of education.

WIP

All-STEM, All the Time

Leeah

• In these schools, there was no space for anything but Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Schools refused to allow students to take electives etc. and did anything possible to hinder their creative freedoms. For example, they imposed a strict dress code on everyone, where their hair must be short or tied back in a bun, must wear the same all-grey uniform, and no jewelry or anything that stands out.

• These schools were made to manufacture the same kind of person. Therefore, there was no space for art, creativity, etc. If anyone was caught with something creative or different, they would get kicked out of the school and sent to the lower level program

• No electives

Not finalized -- still in progress

Streaming

Leeah

• Within these STEM schools, there were two streams that children were allowed to pick from: the WORKER stream, or the EXECUTIVE stream.
• The W stream is centred around applying the knowledge you learn in order to get a job done. The courses are focused on hands-on activities – such as driving, sorting, packaging, manufacturing, and also, research and development.
• The E stream is more academically charged, and calls for students to be at the top of their classes when it comes to STEM. These courses are focused on the abstract, and showed students how market or manage, look at quality control, and come up with ideas for the new best thing
• The interesting thing about these streams is the fact that people could pay to access a higher quality course/lesson

Not finalized -- still in progress

Artifacts

Corporate Anthem - Sonia

Lesson Plan

General Performance Evaluation Form

PA Announcement - Mike

Diary Entry - A Visit to the Factory - Lily

Counter-Culture

Leeah

• After decades of living under the NOZAMA regime, a small collective of people came together and created a secret underground society named RESISTANCE NAME. This secret society was led by NAME and NAME, two individuals who previously worked in high rankings in NOZAMA’s corporate world but left for unknown reasons.
• Initially, this secret society would congregate once a month in order to express grievances, make plans for a future, etc. At first, the NOZAMA PD would find them and disrupt their meetings, putting members in work camps for betraying protocol. After some time, they figured out a way to stop the chip in their arms from determining their locations and hearing what was happening. Which allowed this secret society to exist without being in too much fear of being caught.
• At first, they would congregate one a month in order to exist within a space where they could avoid the STEM life, and create art.
• They also figured out a way to turn off/removed the chip during their meetings, so that the government couldn’t track their activity or the things that they were doing and saying
• In RESISTANCE NAME, many institutions and governments were created. Schools (see MODES OF RESISTANCE), hospitals, government, etc. their own commerce (black market bartering)
• But they all functioned in stark contrast to the NOZAMA world.
• Due to infighting, half of the group decided to go off the grid entirely and move to a remote area outside of NOZAMA. The exact location is unknown, but they occasionally send letters back and forth, communicating about the current state of both of their worlds, and plotting for their eventual uprising/coup d’état against NOZAMA and its regime.
• The other half decided to continue living in secret within NOZAMA’s walls. During the day, they participated in society and moved as if they were actually apart of the world. Then, by night they would meet underground to participate in the lively art-centered world they’ve created.

• different modes of resistance *

• There were many different ways that RESISTANCE NAME worked to resist NOZAMA and their corporate life. One of the first ways was by stopping the chip from being able to read their locations and hear their conversations. Another way was through bartering, where they exchanged information and items without the use of money, which went directly against the values of their society.
• The main mode of resistance employed by RESISTANCE NAME was the school system they put in place. Unlike the NOZAMA world, RESISTANCE NAME prioritized art in all aspects of society, especially in school

Not finalized -- still in progress

Art as Resistance

As Nozama grew in power and began to control day to day activities, the capitalist mega corporation had placed a dominant focus on a STEM approach to life. This had led to a disregard for arts education as Nozama itself had found how to utilize technology to manufacture the most marketable and profitable art. With a press of a button and a complex algorithm, Nozama could produce computer generated music (jingles) and images (advertisements) without any human input.

While the standard citizen had no experience or exposure to creative art, due to the compulsory core STEM only curriculum, the counterculture had found community through the underground arts. Underground art was developed when individuals needed to relieve themselves from the stressful and tech environment imposed by Nozama. Due to art censorship, art had to be created in secret and supplies were made using basic materials, such as fruit for pigments. Through word of mouth and confidential gatherings, a community started to build around the arts, as people began to share their skills and teach others about the value in the arts.

The possibilities within the arts were greatly appreciated, and music, visual art plus theatre soon became an integral part of the resistance. Strength and unity were achieved through these art forms, especially when they evolved in the direction of social realism. Attention was being transferred to the socio-political conditions of workers and the unjust dictatorship of the power structure that was Nozama. Bright colours, lively music and dynamic dancing attracted the attention of the average Nozama citizen, and the resistance was able to sway opinions and reform with more art exposure.

Not only was art used as a way to relay information, perspectives, ideas and knowledge discreetly against Nozama (for example, a common choice to relay information was through the use of Zines), but it was also used to keep traditions, ethos, beliefs and cultures alive. Analogue art, in-person theatre and live music had become the preferred choice for interacting with the arts as these forms were undetectable with the proper precautions taken against the CHIP™. Although, to recruit more members for the resistance and , art also had to make its way into the public eye. Graffiti was a popular choice, as it held political meaning, defaced corporate buildings, and was visible to citizens.

Black Market Bartering

• The bartering system encourages the underground society to provide items for trade including but not limited to: musical instruments for subject knowledge ( history, math, science etc.)

• Each resident may raise their wrist to the sky and ask for a new pet such as a cat or dog ( If they have enough merit points), they are able to trade their pet for a social status rise- later viewed on social media platforms by the number of friends or likes they triple in numbers

• Information for information can be traded between each other. Infidelity results can be divulged with enough merits, and the right personality traits to be offered in return

• Vehicles may be traded for skills such as automotive labour, driving a vehicle, building a home- the skies the limit

• More to come!!

-Sonia

Community Education

• The school system in RESISTANCE NAME was one that avoided STEM at all costs. Instead, it focused on the liberal arts. In the day, they would attend the STEM school, but then at night they would congregate in their community center and have “art school.” In these schools, individuals would make music, art works, poems and prose, rap, paint, and more. They also didn’t use anything electronic, and everything they created was done on paper
• Also, unlike the STEM schools, all knowledge is free here. Students do not have to pay to learn more information. Instead, they are able to share information freely with one another, and they do so often.
• Unlike the STEM schools, these schools were constructed in a way that reflected previous learning in public schools. So, the school was K-12, there were teachers, principals, etc.

Not finalized -- still in progress

Artifacts

Protest Song - Sonia

Little chip on my wrist , tell me what to do

I will honour and obey you so we keep our corp-e-nation new

Continue with your teachings so I can climb on top

And work for you, make for you, be the cream of the crop

I will offer you my knowledge for exchange of what you know

And will offer you my teachings for the wealth I can only show

Raise me just ten merits and accept me with your glory

And you will trust and learn and be the one and only story

Zine - Jazmin

Diary Entry - Poem - Leeah

Group Members

• Sonia Baggetta

• Jazmin Cordon-Ibanez

• Leeah George

• Lily Ohana

• Mike Riverso