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Quote by Astra Taylor

“It's the same thing in a way with privacy. You can say "I'm not doing anything wrong, therefore this doesn't concern me," but what does it mean about our society if we're all being watched and recorded? The personal experience - negotiating this as individuals - doesn't describe the social reality and the broader social costs.”

Quote by Astra Taylor

Author

Astra Taylor is a Canadian documentary filmmaker and writer, known for her in-depth exploration of social and political issues. Born in 1979, she has been producing documentaries since the 2000s, and her work has received international recognition. more

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“As a citizen I might be well-behaved and have nothing salacious or radical about me, I might be a total bore, but I might suffer somehow if other people are being spied on and blocked from doing important work that might have a collective benefit down the road. The personal doesn't necessarily translate to the social.”

People Ifs Wells Important Might Suffering Social Citizens Benefits Radical Collectives Translate Bores Down The Road Blocked Important Work

Author:Astra Taylor

“I'm interested in the way the whole cultural landscape can shift over time. Okay, this will seem like a silly example, but look at the whole discourse around "selling out," a concept people say is irrelevant because there's no more distinction between mainstream and underground, inside and outside (which I don't really believe, but that's another issue).”

People Way Believe Looks Whole Seems Issues Example Concepts Okay Silly Selling Landscape Distinction Mainstream Discourse Irrelevant Selling Out Inside And Outside

Author:Astra Taylor

“My point, though, is that if lines have indeed shifted, it's not so much that the younger generation just doesn't care, it's that we have ceded more and more of our public life over to the private sector. If you grow up with advertising at school, you have come of age in a sold-out world.”

Ifs World Care Age School Grows Lines Growing Up Generations Advertising Public Life Private Sector Younger Generation Sold Out

Author:Astra Taylor

“Advertisers are happy to see the stuff they've branded out there for free, they don't care about scarcity, they want any message they're invested in to be shared and to be abundant and to be passed along.”

Want Care Stuff Messages Don't Care Scarcity Advertisers Branded

Author:Astra Taylor

“One thing that struck me about going to those tech conferences was all the enthusiasm for free culture, and remixing, and social media, but people's greatest ambition was to be sponsored by Chipotle or something equivalent to that. It was this weird mix of collaborative, utopian claims and this total acquiescence to commercial imperatives.”

People Culture Social One Thing Media Ambition Claims Social Media Enthusiasm Conferences Imperatives Utopian Acquiescence Chipotle

Author:Astra Taylor

“I think that overall, ultimately the impact of advertisers calling the shots is a more cloying, complacent culture. For example, it was just announced that Unilever is branding environmental content at The Guardian. How radical or pointed can that content be?”

Thinking Culture Example Calling Shots Impact Environmental Radical Branding Guardian Complacent Advertisers Calling The Shots

Author:Astra Taylor

“Early on, America took one path and went down the advertising road, and in the UK they founded the BBC and developed a different kind of public broadcasting. There was a point where TV was so beholden to commercial interest that people - civil society - actually rose up and said, "This is ridiculous: we have our soap-selling soap operas, cigarette-sponsored news broadcast; we have our rigged quiz shows - let's put some checks and balances here."”

“Technology and television didn't dictate one path or the other - it was civil society and public policy intervening in creating alternative funding models. So I think that's one of the questions for our time: do we want to intervene in this model or completely acquiesce and leave it to the unfettered, not-actually-that-free market? Neither path is inevitable.”

Thinking Want Technology Path Policy Television Creating Models Alternatives Inevitable Our Time Free Market Funding Civil Society Public Policy Intervening

Author:Astra Taylor

“think there's a culture of Silicon Valley that seems to have the attitude that you can have it both ways, that you can be an insurgent but also, ultimately, it's paid for by advertising, when in fact advertising is totally retrograde. Now that's an industry we should be disrupting, and maybe you disrupt it by funding public media. None of this is technological destiny; there are only social choices.”

Thinking Way Should Facts Seems Choices Culture Social Attitude Destiny Media Industry Paid Advertising Valleys Technological Funding Silicon Silicon Valley Insurgent Retrograde

Author:Astra Taylor

“I still do a lot of shows with Brian Koonin, but we haven't had a full band lately.”

Stills Shows Havens Band Brian

Author:David Johansen