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"I'm telling you this because the people of your culture are in much the same situation. Like the people of Nazi Germany, they are the captives of a story." "I know of no such story." "You mean you've never heard of it?" "That's right." Ishmael nodded. AThat's because there's no need to hear of it. There's no need to name it or discuss it. Every one of you knows it by heart by the time you're six or seven. Black and white, male and female, rich and poor, Christian and Jew, American and Russian, Norwegian and Chinese, you all hear it. And you hear it incessantly, because every medium of propaganda, every medium of education pours it out incessantly. And, hearing it incessantly, you don't listen to it. There's no need to listen to it. It's always there humming away in the background, so there's no need to attend to it at all." Ishmael

New book from Daniel Quinn! If They Give You Lined Paper, Write Sideways "One of the most troublesome questions I've been asked--and it's been asked hundreds of times--is: 'Where do these strange ideas of yours come from?' In the beginning, I thought it was just the usual where-do-you-get-your-ideas? question that all authors receive. My readers soon set me straight. Read more ... Excerpt 1 Excerpt 2 Excerpt 3

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UNIT 5 Genes and Memes

Advertising copywriters often make good use of memes to sell products. A men's hair-coloring product has had success with the motto "Looks so natural, no one can tell!" What's so important about looking "natural"? Why does it matter that "no one can tell"?

The 1974 film Death Wish was about an armed vigilante who reduced the crime rate in New York City by terrorizing muggers. Among others, it communicated the meme Ordinary citizens need guns to protect themselves from urban crime. What are some other ways this meme is communicated in our society?

Most popular movies lend themselves to analysis in terms of memes. The Blair Witch Project convincingly conveys the meme You may not be as much in control of things as you think. Discuss current hits in terms of the memes they convey.

What are some of the "new ideas" that made the Renaissance what it was?
As a writing assignment, have students explain in their own words why lethal genes survive.
As a research project, have students discover the meme that made suicide "irresistibly attractive" to Heaven's Gate cultists. [Searching on "Heaven's Gate" on the internet will lead to many different sites devoted to the cult.]

Back to UNIT 4 Vision and "The Invisibility of Success"

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