The Quantification of Man

A detailed Summary of The Quantification of Man

Raise your hand if the language used in the movie Aladdin offended you; or how about the made-for-kiddies movie The Little Mermaid. Ok, something a little easier than these examples. Raise your hand if you were terribly offended by the language used in Glengarry Glen Ross. What do these three examples have in common? It's simple, they all use offensive language to make a point. This point being that when employees, and people in general, are forced to identify themselves solely through what they are able to produce they will become alienated and angry.

Probably the first thing noticed about David Mamet's script is the profuse use of cursing, what you probably didn't notice about the other two examples is that this use of offensive language is also used. For example when Aladdin flies his magic carpet up to Jasmine's window and whispers "take off your clothes?" And how could you not be offended by the movie cover of The Little Mermaid which was first released with penises constituting the corners of the castle walls and the sea spray spelling out "FUCK YOU?" These three examples are indicative of the environment in which the employees were asked to work. In the Disney Corporation there is a pervasive history of disgruntl

ed employees who are exploited and not properly compensated or recognized for their contributions to that which Disney ascribes its name. Many times, such as the examples above, this exploitation has resulted in employees striking out against their employer. The story behind both of these Disney incidences is that the head artist was fired before the finishing touches were made on the movies, thus, like a pissed-off computer geek who adds a back door to a program, these artists struck out against their employer. Mamet has illustrated this tendency in human nature in his play through the profuse use of typically offensive language used by all of the employees, from the regional mangers to the lowly salesmen who go out on the "sits." By forcing the employees to be competitive, "to get on the board," Mamet is making a social commentary on the tendency for people to resist their quantification and the ramifications of this dehumanizing process. In forcing people to define whom they are as people and their personal worth through what they produce we have alienated from people who they truly are and their potential. Some people may resist this process through violence; some may resist it by stealing from the company as a way to get back, but most will merely break social norms in the work

Some common words found in the essay are:
Disney Corporation, Political Science, Williamson Roma, David Mamet's, Glen Ross, Little Mermaid, Personal Experiences, Merrill Lynch, Mermaid Ok, , offensive language, hah hah, people resist, liberal arts, little mermaid, resist quantification, raise hand, produce alienated,

Approximate Word count = 873
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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The Quantification of Man

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