Yippies, FSM, Punk

Yippie is a term that comes from the radical group in the 1960s that was mainly composed of youth who were finding ways to act out against the government. They were a very theatrical group, putting on street performances that mocked the social status quo. This is similar to what Marcus and his group of friends are trying to do against the DHS. Similar to Marcus and his friends, they pulled pranks on the government, trying to trick them. Marcus wants to do everything his way, not conforming to what the government wants of him. Punk rock music had a very youthful edge to it, and it embodied many of the youthful aspects, such as doing things their own, independent way. Marcus is all about doing things his own, radical, risky way, without any regard for other, safer, less radical ways of doing things. He wants to disrupt the status quo in society and bring back the liberties and freedoms that society had originally. The Free Speech Movement was yet another youthful event that acted out in a radical way against the government to be allowed the freedom to show political views on a UC campus. All of these events include the youth bringing about more freedoms through radical means.

yippies FSM punk

A yippie is essentially a radical youth group (much like a hippie) that started an antiwar movement in the late 1970. One of their biggest stunts was to try to ellect a Pig as the president. they thrive on the idea that a democracy is founded on the consent of the governed. Marcus is kind of like a modern day yuppie, he sees that rights of free speech and privacy are being taken away and he fights, radically some might say, to restore those rights. The free speech movement started at Berkley and argued for the right of free speech and academic freedom. Marcus feels that his first ammendment right of free speech has been taken away by survalience and by Mrs. Anderson. Marcus feel that Mrs. Anderson was preeching lies to the class and corrupting them so he stood up, in the spirt of his old teacher, and tried to make the DHS look like bad guys taking away rights endowed by the bill of rights. This is getting into the topic of the next post so im going to stop. Punk music is a form of rebellious music often assiociated with youth, hence the term punk. Marcus could be considered a punk.

Yippies, FSM and Punk

Yippies are more rationalized versions of hippies. The beginning three letters of "yippies" stand for the Youth International Party, a group that challenged what was normal and was founded by Abbie and Anita Hoffman and Jerry Rubin. They fought against the government through civil disobedience with sit-ins and silent protests. The Free Speech Movement, or FSM, was a protest by students at the University of California Berkeley. Punk was a type of music that almost gave its listeners the feeling that they could do whatever they wanted. These three topics are all related because they all support youth rebellion or individuality. Through yippies, punk and FSM, we see teenagers fighting for what they believe in. These topics are mentioned in Cory Doctorow's, "Little Brother" because it directly reflects Marcus and his friends who have legitimate reason to fight the norm and the government. It seems as though one of the overarching themes of the book is fighting authority and replacing it with individuality which is exactly what these three topics were all about.

Yippies, the FSM, and Punk

2 - The three terms yippies, Free Speech Movement, and punk are also related though not so immediately. All three groups began in the 60's in an effort to expand freedom and individuality. The yippies were a group in support of street violence and drug use in an effor to defy the authorities that be. The Free Speech Movement was a Berkeley-based activist movement that stressed the importance of political and speech freedoms. The punk movement, especially in the music genre, was an oftentimes angry. It was an attempt at redefining normal and they were extremely anti-establishment. All three groups aimed at redefining normal and directly confronting the established norms.

Second Post

Doctorow highlights the aspect of Yippies because the characters do fall under this classification. Yippies relate directly to the idea of revolting youth, free speech, and anti-war movements among youth. One of the important aspects of Yippies is the symbolic politics in which they relate to. The Free Speech Movement was a protest that took place on the UC Berkeley campus. It did take place in the Bay Area and did involve the protection of freedoms and rights that people did fight for. Punk Rock is a subgenre of my Rock music that is not extremely hardcore or too "pop". The key aspect of Punk Rock that stands out is the "DIY" or do it yourself possiblities where it is expressive like all of rock music is but it is not blaired out because of loud bass or made too "soft" like pop music.

Yippies, FSM and Punk

A Yippies is defined as "a person belonging to or identified with a politically active group of hippies". These Yippies are free thinkers who focus their liberal and radical form of thinking to inspire fresh ideals on politics and on society in general.

The 1964 to 1965 Free Speech Movement in the University of California, Berkeley was mainly a protest against a university's ban on on-campus political activities. They used the ideals of free speech and academic freedom to fuel their protests against the schools oppressive law on students' political activism.

Punk music is a rock subgenre that emerged between 1974 and 1976. Punk music, aside from the shredding guitar riffs and heavy metal sound, is mainly identified with a spirit of youthful rebellion that is evident in the poignant and emotionally charged lyrics typical of most punk songs.

These are three concepts that are evident in the book. Characters in the book are representative of "Yippies". The Free Speech Movement and the rebellion present in the book both challenge an oppressive rule of an authority towards society.Finally, punk music is a means of political rebellion, something that Marcus is striving for.

Little Brother Comparisons 2 and 3

The term Yippie comes from a movement in the 1960's and 70's known as the Youth International Party. The reason the author includes this term in Little Brother is because of its relation to Marcus's cause. Both parties have one main cause and that is to be an individual. The Yippies just wanted to be themselves and not be forced into a group similarily, Marcus wants to have the personal freedom to search whatever he likes, travel wherever he likes, without being questioned and constantly watched by the DHS. Similarly to Marcus and his network of rebels, the YIP worked to stop conformity. They made it rain at the New York Stock Exchange with money thrown all over the floor and people fighting over it, just as Marcus and his group jam DHS trackers. Likewise other terms such as Freedom of Speech Movement in 1965 and punk music show resistance to conformity. Whereas most people in Little Brother give in to the unconstitutional actions of the DHS, Marcus and his group of friends refuse to conform to their outrageous behavior. Punk music, FSM, and YIP are all examples of nonconformity. The teachers in Little Brother are very similar to those in Harry Potter as seen when Dolores takes over Hogwarts due to the fear of the Ministry of Magic that Dumbledore is creating an army of students to take over. In Little Brother the teacher is replaced because she isn't strict enough. She lets her students be individuals and practice rights that are granted to them by the constitution, but because of everyones fear of terrorists, she is replaced by a much stricter teacher who will keep a close eye on all the students. In Harry Potter, it is also this fear of something that causes the Ministry of Magic to basically replace Dumbledore with Dolores a much stricter person who does not allow individualism.

Why does Cory Doctorow introduce the concepts of the Yippies, the FSM, and Punk Music

These concepts are all related to the story plot. The Xnet movement in the story is a group of loosely connected individuals fighting for free speech, privacy, and the rights of individuals by actively gaming the system and exposing the weaknesses of the DHS's security measures. The Yippies are like the Xnetters because they would voice their discontent with the establishment though similar ways, and like the Xnetter they were extremely youth-oriented. Like the Xnetters (and the Yippies), the FSM was a youth oriented movement. Also like the Xnetters, the FSM was a movement whose rights were being actively infringed upon, and they were fighting the administration at UC Berkeley to allow for political protest. Punk Rock follows in the spirit of the Xnetters due to its youth-oriented, anti-establishment lyrics and raw energy. The Sex Pistols "Anarchy in the UK" would have likely been a hit song with the crowd at the concert in the book.

Yippies

Yippies are apart of the Youth International Party and is a countercultural movement based on the free speech movement and other anti-war movements. This plays an important role in Little Brother because Marcus is trying to make a countercultural movement. In a society now governed by paranoia his anarchist way of life looks for a way to change the direction society is heading. The free speech movement is then brought up because of the way Marcus was treated in his interrogation, he then believes the free speech movement to be a good idea and incorporates it into his life. Punk music is sort of like his anthem because this type of music is associated with rebellion and out of the ordinary actions which is exactly what Marcus and his group are about.

Yippies, FSM, and Punk Music

The Yippies were part of the Youth International Party. Younger teens/adults who were also hippies. They believed in Free speech and antiwar movements, much like how Marcus is fighting for his right to freedom once again. The Free Speech Movement was a movement to try and lift the ban of a student's Free Speech and Academic Freedom. This is much like how Marcus is trying to lift all of these security measures that are taking away his privacy and freedom. The punk music represents freedom to listen to anything and do whatever one felt like. Just like what the secret concert in Little Brother stood for. These topics are very similar and probably the reason why Cory decided to insert them into his book.

Yippies/FSM/Punk

The introduction of the terms yippies, FSM, and punk was to illustrate the different movements emerging with different ideals. The yippies had the idea that violence and chaos was the only way to actually get the attention and some change in ideas. The free speech movement was a student protest in UC Berekely in which students demanded more say in political issues outside of the campus such as civil rights, free speech and academic freedom. Punk is a subculture that kind is made up from a diversity of ideologies and aminly advocates the freedom of expressing onself through the music, dance, fashion, art, and appearance. All these interconnect with each other because theyre a type of movement that advocate the freedom to think differently than what society normally wants people to think, do and even dress.

The themes of Yippies, the FSM, and Punk rock are all tied into the novel through rebellion, specifically against the government. These things called for an uprising against the government, and that were generally anti-institutional. In the novel there is an illegal concert that shows many real life elements of the three themes. The leader of the bands is a punk rocker, and she calls for an end to the DHS controlling their lives. The concert itself can be related to the free speech movement in the fact that they are protesting against the government.

Emma Goldman

Marcus has a poster of Emma Goldman in his room because Marcus, after his expierence with Homeland Security strongly dislikes the governemnt. Emma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism. She wrote speeches and played a role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America. With that being said, I believe that Marcus is more of a fan of Anarchy which is rule by no government because of his experiences with the government. He aspires to make great contributions to the United States in an anarchal way. I think he does not want to be as much of apart of an Anarcha-feminism movement because of his experience with Severe Haircut Lady.

The introduction of Emma Goldman and the anarcho-feminism movement in the book, is to show how the quiestion of having a government and other officials that control peoples actions and liberties has been fought and believed to be not the best way of living. Anarchism is the political belief that society should have no government, laws, police, or other authority, and instead be a free association of all its members. The belief of being governed by a system that limits the amount of liberties people or favors a certain gender is what brought up the anarcho-feminist movement. Emma Goldman was part of this and she kind of symbolizes the feminist of anarchism.

Comparisons in Little Brother

The author of little brother puts up the poster of Emma Goldman in Marcus's room in order to relate Marcus to Emma Goldman. This is somewhat of a legitamate comparison because both Marcus and Emma Goldman are fighting to stop the government. The big differences are that Marcus is only fighting the Department of Homeland Security whereas Emma Goldman is fighting the idea of a state. They both support individual freedom and rights of the people which is seen in Emma Goldman's involvement in anarchist political party and Marcus involvement in taking down the DHS. Anarchist are people who are against the idea of a state. They believe the government is harmful and unnecessary likewise Marcus believes the DHS's actions are unecessary.

Why does Marcus have an Emma Goldman poster in his room?

Cory Doctorow intentionally mentioned the fact that Marcus, the lead character in his novel Little Brother, has a poster of Emma Goldman in his room. Emma Goldman was an early 20th century anarchist and one of the founders of anarcha-feminism. By including the fact that Marcus has a poster of Goldman, Doctorow is implying that Marcus looks up to Goldman, and tries to establish a comparison between Goldman and Marcus. Goldman was a woman who fought actively for the rights of individuals and against what she saw as the excessive and unjust power of the state. Marcus is a teenager who fights quite actively for the freedom of individuals and against the excessive power of the DHS. The comparison works pretty well.

First Post

Cory Doctorow suggests Emma Goldman, Anarchism, and Anarcho-feminism because of the role of women in the back such as the character Van and members of the "team". The idea of anarchy as a system without a constituted authority relates almost perfectly to the novel itself. Doctorow believes it is important because of the struggle against the state itself among the Anarcho-feminist world.

emma goldman

Emma Goldman was apart of the first wave of the anarcha-feminism movement who fought mainly for the suffrage of women. She was a nurse who preached about the option of birth control. Her thoughts and arguements about birth control where greatly opposed because they were so radical. I think that Marcus has a poster of Emma Goldman in his room to serve as a reminder. He and Emma are both paddling upstream and essentially parallel each other. Anarchism is essentially no government. Anarcho-feminisms links ararchism and feminisms. One focus of aracho-feminism is patrialical government.

Why does the author introduce these concepts and figures in his novel? The belief in anarchism is that people would be better off and happier without the government. Feminism is the belief and action that women should be treated as equals to men sexually, politically, economically, etc. So with that said, an anarcha-feminist is someone who focuses their feminist beliefs on that of governmental power over people. Cory Doctorow uses Marcus's Emma Goldman poster as a direct reflection of how the government is oppressing the society. Emma Goldman was an anarcha-feminist who took part in political movements and gave speeches pertaining to feminist rights. Anarchism is a key theme in "Little Brother" because we see people going against governmental control by fighting against the school camera policy as well as refusing to use credit/debit cards (the coffee shop). Perhaps Marcus see's Emma Goldman as somewhat of an idol of himself; maybe she is what he aspires to become since he wants to overcome governmental control. She may be an idol to him even more so because she was a women, who had less rights than men.

Emma Goldman, Anarchisim, and Anarcho-Feminism

The author probably used Emma Goldman in the poster because what she did was much like what Marcus had done in the story so far. She was an anarcho-feminist, meaning a combination of anarchisim and feminisim. She fought for her freedom, seeing the state as harmful and unnessecary. She was even sent to prison for two years for trying to induce persons not to register for the newly induced draft. Just like how Marcus is scared of re-capture and imprisonment for trying to create a movement to stop a currupt government. She fought for her freedom, so the author probably saw it a perfect chance to use her image for Marcus to look up to in admiration.

I think that Cory Doctrow showed the ideas of anarchism in his book, because of the overall anarchial sense that can be felt from reading the book. Marcus's opposition to the government and overall distaste to the authortative figures in the novel help set the what can be seen as an underlying tone of anarchism. Government control is seen as negative from Marcus's point of view in the book, and the final touch of purchasing an Emma Goldman poster shows how close Marcus is to showing that he is an anarchist without actually stating it.

Goldman, Anarchism, and Anarcha feminism

1 - The three terms, Emma Goldman, anarchism, and anarcha feminism, are all intrinsically related. In the early 20th century, Emma Goldman was the leading proponent for these ideas of anarchy and anarcha feminism. The reason why Doctorow may have included these ideas is because her ideal that the state is bad and should be dissolved is an exaggerated version of Marcus's own ideals. In the book, Marcus is coming to the conclusion that the state, in it's present situation, is bad. He sees this state as a danger to individuality and freedom. Thus the inclusion of Goldman and her ideals as a rolemodel for Marcus, makes sense.

First Post

Cory Doctorow introduces Emma Goldman, Anarchism and Anarcho-Feminism in his book because these three concepts reflect the beliefs and ideals that Marcus has himself. The author pulls out the ideas of political activism present in these three concepts, puts it in the context of a 21st century society, and puts it in a literary figure. I think that Marcus has a poster of Emma Goldman because just like her, he disagrees with how his government controls society and rebels in order to form a more anarchist type of society, free of surveillance and oppression. He mobilizes a torn and disheartened society and urges them to rebel against the government and to redefine what is considered "normal" in this new oppressive society that they now live in after the terrorist attack. This mobilization turned rebellion is reflective of what Emma Goldman did during her time.

Bitstrips

Bit strips

Please Report to the Principal's Office

I was inspired by the pure wit and fiery quips that Marcus shot at Mr. Benson. It was the most memorable scenario because it essentially introduced Marcus' sly character and his personality. I did not make many changes to the scene but it was enjoyable to recreate onto a comic. I tried to focus mostly on facial expressions and body language to the point where if there was no dialogue you would still be able to tell what was going on.

press conference

I made my comic strip about the online press conference that Marcus held to address all of the press that was trying to contact him across the world for an interview. I played on the fact that he used a computer game to hold the conference and how it seemed a little but unrealistic, and how some things could go wrong with other players on the game. I showed a higher level player seeing a bunch of "noobs" gathered in one spot, and how the player could kill of their players in an instant.

This comic interprets the indignation of Marcus and the unjust way that they were treated during their captivity. The comic is set at the start of Chapter 5 where Marcus is finally reunited with Jolu and Van. Marcus realizes that the reason why he had such a tough time was that he simply did not unlock his cellphone for them. For Marcus, this was an absolutely shallow reason for his mistreatment. I interpreted this situation as a "Punk'd" moment because they were put in such a frightening circumstance without any specific reason, as if they were merely being pranked by some unknown entity. Secondly, that unknown entity views the torture and means of interrogation that Marcus experienced as normal, as shown by what Ashton (representing that "unknown entity") says at the end of the comic.

Bitstrip

ComicLife cartoon

I decided to do a different interpretation of the scene in the book where the DHS violently breaks up the concert in the park. I thought it would be interesting to make the connection between that concert and Woodstock, which is where the picture on the upper left comes from. Jimi Hendrix would have likely fit right in with the Xnet users and with Trudy Doo. I also decided to use a bit of fan fiction of my own by importing the characters Chief Wiggum and Lou the Cop from the TV Show The Simpsons into my comic as the policemen responsible for breaking it up.