Does "World, Incorporated" remind you of other Dystopias?

Use this forum to discuss August 2018 book of the month "World, Incorporated" by Tom Gariffo.
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Bianka Walter
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Re: Does "World, Incorporated" remind you of other Dystopias?

Post by Bianka Walter »

Helen_Combe wrote: 15 Aug 2018, 08:45
Helen_Combe wrote: 15 Aug 2018, 06:23
Bianka Walter wrote: 15 Aug 2018, 05:57
Helen, you make me laugh. It must be very difficult to keep your chicken outfit clean. Or do you have two?
On a serious note though, is that a real thing? Scanning people passing by seems like a thing of the future for sure, but I'm not a fan. I will be purchasing my chicken outfit shortly. Although, I doubt something like that will make its way to our little third-world country any time soon :)
So I’m told
Below is the link to the newspaper article.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/m ... ns-9920400

In fact it is said that the UK is most spied upon nation in the world. Amazing that they haven’t caught me yet!
:lol2:
You are obviously descended from Bond. And I mean, the chicken outfit must be virtual camouflage!
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Post by Helen_Combe »

Bianka Walter wrote: 15 Aug 2018, 09:57
Helen_Combe wrote: 15 Aug 2018, 08:45
Helen_Combe wrote: 15 Aug 2018, 06:23

So I’m told
Below is the link to the newspaper article.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/m ... ns-9920400

In fact it is said that the UK is most spied upon nation in the world. Amazing that they haven’t caught me yet!
:lol2:
You are obviously descended from Bond. And I mean, the chicken outfit must be virtual camouflage!
Actually, it’s how I dress normally, I take it off when I want to go incognito 🐔🐥
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Post by David Horta Alonso »

Government as was envisaged was meant to be the strongest institution in the society. However things have changed and some multi billionaire companies are stronger than governments as is portraying in the novel.
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Post by TheTrueNyree »

I kind of thought of Tom Cruise in "minority report".Where police utilize a psychic technology to arrest and convict murderers before they commit their crime. i figured this is sort of a registry too, just like world INC. People in both books were not really treated fair, in World inc, they are like consumers and minority report its kind of the same. because the technology is what was deemed most important. and in minority report, the technology was not always accurate, but it was like law, rather than the person being innocent.
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Post by David Horta Alonso »

Yes, corporations are becoming overly powerful than governments. In fact, some governments have become mere puppets of multi billions corporations.
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Post by FictionLover »

The professor was the only case that someone was targeted that would not have been in today's society that didn't have an exception in the novel. Shawn and the religious figure were only targeted because of Fellrock's agenda, not as a norm or necessity by the supercorporation.

Who knows, maybe we're the ones living in a dystopia as well.
[/quote]

Why do you think the professor would not have been in today's society?
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Post by FictionLover »

David Horta Alonso wrote: 15 Aug 2018, 23:58 Yes, corporations are becoming overly powerful than governments. In fact, some governments have become mere puppets of multi billions corporations.
I agree with that. But do you see parallels to other books or movies you have seen?
"I love reading another reader’s list of favorites. Even when I find I do not share their tastes or predilections, I am provoked to compare, contrast, and contradict. It is a most healthy exercise, and one altogether fruitful." T.S. Eliot
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Post by FictionLover »

Helen_Combe wrote: 15 Aug 2018, 00:56
Allyziemage wrote: 13 Aug 2018, 13:28 I honestly did not feel that this was that major of a dystopian society, unless you consider the modern era a dystopia. Society as a whole is not fearful for their lives nor are they severely suppressed and quieted (this is based on the definition of a dystopia from the Merriam-Webster dictionary). Yes, the registry does store information on each person, including shopping habits, but that is easily done with the internet and cookies from websites. Sure, you might delete your cookies every few months, but during that time the data from those cookies could be downloaded in another person's database, where you cannot delete the information from. Citizens are not limited to shop at only one company either; Sliver mentioned that competition between the supercorporations is common for them to get as many credits in their pool as possible. His first target was a terrorist planning on detonating bombs in a shopping mall; governments already target out terrorist organizations like this. There are specific keywords that are flagged in communication where the government will then listen in on what is being discussed. The professor was the only case that someone was targeted that would not have been in today's society that didn't have an exception in the novel. Shawn and the religious figure were only targeted because of Fellrock's agenda, not as a norm or necessity by the supercorporation.

Who knows, maybe we're the ones living in a dystopia as well.
I wish we had a ’like’ button here. Great post. As you say, we already have much of this. Outside the main railway station in Birmingham is a huge screen which I am told scans the demographic of the public passing by and picks its adverts accordingly.
I always make sure I walk past in a chicken outfit.
So, you must be getting a lot of ads for eggs.
:muahaha:
"I love reading another reader’s list of favorites. Even when I find I do not share their tastes or predilections, I am provoked to compare, contrast, and contradict. It is a most healthy exercise, and one altogether fruitful." T.S. Eliot
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Post by FictionLover »

TheTrueNyree wrote: 15 Aug 2018, 16:44 I kind of thought of Tom Cruise in "minority report".Where police utilize a psychic technology to arrest and convict murderers before they commit their crime. i figured this is sort of a registry too, just like world INC. People in both books were not really treated fair, in World inc, they are like consumers and minority report its kind of the same. because the technology is what was deemed most important. and in minority report, the technology was not always accurate, but it was like law, rather than the person being innocent.
Good Catch. One of my first thoughts was Blade runner, also by Phillip K. Dick, but more because of the man flying around in a space ship taking people out. But in "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" (the book) Rick Deckard is supposed to be a cop and he's hunting down replicants, who are illegal. I guess it is the same in the first movie but he doesn't seem like a cop to me.

The similarities end there, because Bladerunner happens after a nuclear holocaust,during the nuclear winter. Also a lot of Dick's work focus on the nature of reality. I'm not sure what World Incorporated's focus is.
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Post by David Horta Alonso »

Corporates are taking over the world. Some are too strong to be regulated by governments.
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Post by Yoli García »

World, Incorporated reminded me of George Orwell’s 1984. In both novels ruling systems that aim for an homogeneous equality are in place. These ruling systems provide everything for the people in exchange for labor and compliance. A person who goes out of the norm gets in real trouble also in both systems.
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Post by CheyenneR »

It reminds me a little bit of the Mass Effect game universe. Not the political side but more so the technology and the way it can be used.
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Post by RebeccasReading »

cristinaro wrote: 12 Aug 2018, 11:56 I have seen some parallels with George Orwell's 1984 or Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Agent Sliver mentions the Registry, a huge database the supercorporations use to gather information about consumers’ habits. Regardless of the incredible amount of data about each and every individual, dystopian societies such as this are doomed to fail, considering the disregard for personal freedom or human emotions and feelings. Hopefully, the supercorporate world in this novel will ultimately disintegrate. What I am really scared of is the alternative. Agent Sliver might completely submit the same as Winston in Orwell’s 1984 or go mad the same as John in Huxley's Brave New World.
I agree that the dystopia in this book reminded me of the one in 1984. I haven't read Brave New World, but it's on my list!
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Post by David Horta Alonso »

Multi billionaire companies are a threat to governments today. They exert greater influence than governments.
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Post by Mee_maw »

It reminds me of Margaret Atwood's dystopias because it features freedom as a theme.
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