MODERN MIRACLES

American Greatness told in two “Exhibitions” and a “Manifesto”

Graham Crolley

I. EXHIBIT A: THE DESCENSION OF THE SCREEN

marimba tone at 6:40 alarm set by Uncle Google 15 Ways to Improve the Way You Brush Your Teeth rinse and repeat rinse and repeat the process of processors processing through progressive Progress down the #trending list while your coffee heats catch up on news on Facebook on Twitter on the interconsciousness catch up on news like All Non-American Countries Are Strikingly Seemingly Un-American and Trump and Clinton and Syria and Injustice but spend more time catching up on non-news like Aunt Jeanne’s in the hospital again, we could use prayers and Bob and Jill’s xth anniversary and young pop stars getting photographed naked and dude you have to watch this and Top 20 Things No Woman Should Wear for Her Man and headlines stuck in your prefrontal cortex as you walk down your driveway to the car advertised and advised by television moguls with volcanic voices molten messages via cathode ray tube into Living Room and also weighing heavy in the World’s collective pocket where information dwells and buzzes like captured locusts and in the car there is Disembodied Female Voice GPS savior saving us from effort for effort’s sake though it takes more effort to tap into the touchscreen Source at every stoplight waiting for that base caveman instinct of recognizing movement in peripheral vision to spike a reaction in us let us know it’s time to move so we may not have to spend even 17 seconds unentertained that’s hearsay that’s heresy America united under one constant and dignified need to be satiated, to purrrrrrrr in the sexual feloniousness of indulgence because Goddamnit we didn’t make it this far to not have our victories, we got the World on our side, we will win the fuckin fight Dynamite AC/DC style with patriotic lightning bolts careening boldly from our palms and 1980s Miss America clones as the backing entourage waving a banner, waving a screen Yea a screen! you think about it nonstop at work as you numberpunch keys into a statistical void and you think about the screen and what it might say as it descends over the Populace like Great Truth or like a great stork carrying a great baby carrying the New Best Thing we’ve all been waiting for and salivating for and takingpicturestopassthetime for and dying for and going to work for and having to listen to your Jewish boss’s idolatry of leftwing jibjab for so we can get paid and see what The Screen says as it passes low over the city and graces the Hubs of Google Maps no city is a city without pedestrians in headphones plugged way way in (listening for The Screen) and you’re thinking for the first time today as you’re falling asleep on the couch in front of TBSNBCABC network and you’re pretty sure you’re dreaming of the descension of The Screen or at least your brain has been trained to talk to itself about the impending descension and you’re happy even though your eyes are closed because The Screen has all your records and images splayed out like Cosmic Poker and everyone’s is there and you dream The Screen touches down to cement in New York Chicago Boston Dallas Los Angeles and even bumfuck nowhere places and the Miss Americas kneel to its honor and you kneel until your knees don’t feel like knees but it looks so beautiful it’s nothing and it’s everything you gave your life to this you gave your Life to this and it’s worth it because you control Life RIGHT?!!!!

II. EXHIBIT B: DISEASE CREATED BY THE CURE

2 for 1 and pray for Corn Syrup pray for rain so it may whet my wheat so I may kill it kindly for massproduction for children and prisoners mainly let them stick their fingers in their mouths and fingerpaint with the Penncap-M toxaphene DDT methyl-money-dimethyl-dimoney and see it ain’t bad because my father was taught by his father who was taught by his father who was taught by his father who was taught by The Father in some Boss Tweed suit and a voice like Tammany Hall that said Capitalism equals essentiality and hard work and results in sellingbuying it is worldwide colonial conquest buttfuck African geography for ivory handles on our imperialist knives and forks cuz those monkeys can’t use em anyways never even experienced the great Prometheus that is Uncle Sam bringing fire to marketing bringing fiery hot fiesta foreign like I love exocitism like I love a jalapeno on my burger and turkish blend tobacco in my cigarettes and icing on my cake and Barbie as my wife yumyum we all battlecry yumYUM! patting our vital hairy chests underneath overalls (John Deere) or even Wall Street suits (Armani) and we go home to gorgeous excess Tokaji and Gurkha Black Dragon ceegars check my bear trap and see if any nonbelievers got snagged up in the metal teeth of righteousness, fuck asceticism gimme the mean means to the disease created by the cure give me Amber Waves of Grain in my 4 year old’s Lucky Charms give me so much of everything I have to sleep for 14 hours to recover give me selective selections of choosiest choices because I have the privilege to stand on the mountaintop and decide what kills me give me General Mills heartattack give me clean drinking water give me white skin give me Pall Mall menthol 27 99 100’s cough give me golden CocaCola bathtubs give me addiction no give me Patriotism give me boldness because that’s enough to give me enough give me enough give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me give me

III. MANIFESTO: THE ANSWER

1. Always utilize American Products to live the highest quality life.
2. Assimilate and consume: spread the word of Our Greatness to friends and neighbors, to your fellow Consumers.
3. Your incapability to create is encouraged: this World is for you, engineered for your comfort, for your wants, to erase inequality by giving all the Masses the same Devices.
4. Be honest with your Brain: we know you are deeply soothed on a cognitive level by our efforts to keep you in a clean and contained mental space.
5. Make strives for analytical thought processes, not art. Artistic endeavors are the pseudo-cultural fluffs of doubt in a perfectly designed System. Emotions only cloud the clear discretion of the Marketplace.
6. Connect to the American Source: products are a means of Communication without having to leave your private sphere. Furthermore, introduce your children to being Connected to the Source very early in their development so as to prevent them from getting left behind.
7. Propose strict regimens for your Households: install Televisions in most/all rooms for increased knowledge of essential Information. Eat what is Advertised, practice the religion of the State.
8. A strong mind in America is one void of questions. Certainty and confidence in Purchase is valued far beyond delusions of inquisitorial nature.
9. New Products take precedence over the old: never hold on to an older Product out of sentimentality. We are streamlined for optimal Creation.
10. The World is perfectly engineered. With your help, we can keep it this way.

Explanatory Paper

        My multi-modal project is meant to be a look into systematic problems all Americans face in a consumerist nation. It heavily employs satire, seen most obviously in the title “Modern Miracles,” when really I am taking a negative standpoint on modern addiction to both technology and mass consumption, the two issues brought up. The caption to the title “American Greatness told in two ‘Exhibitions’” is meant to further satirize the idea that being an American makes one intrinsically great and to also suggest that what we believe has made America great has actually plagued us. The third section is written in the style of a manifesto telling Americans how they are expected to live in a consumerist nation.

        The Exhibits are written in a stream-of-consciousness prose poem style to mimic the nature of how consumers/citizens of America are constantly berated with information and images. The bolded words in each reveal my intent as the author-- to raise awareness that America is functioning on a somewhat gluttonous system that needs to be fixed. The proposition found in the bolded words in each piece communicate my points as well: modern technology and smartphone usage is “progress for the sake of indulgence and idolatry of self image” and on over-consumption: “Capitalism is a trap of selective addiction.” The manifesto, written as a standard list meant to mock opposition to creativity, doubles as a potential way to fix our nation, seen in its bolded words, “Utilize and create honest art to propose a new world.” I intentionally made the manifesto the last piece so its hidden meaning can act as a call to action.

Peer Review: by Isabella McCarthy

Modern Miracles by Graham Crolley perfectly critiques modern life in western civilization bringing to light the many absurd things that the everyday person does and contributes to without realizing. Like many great pieces you have to ‘read between the lines’ to truly understand what the author it trying to say as Crolley dances through his poem highlighting certain words to bring out the real meaning when ‘looking at the whole picture.’ The first exhibit highlights the phrase “Progress for the sake of indulgence and idolatry of self image,” while the second one says “Capitalism is a trap for selective addiction,” both two images that perfectly analyze aspects of western culture.

        If I were to change anything with the formatting then I would suggest to align the paper in block paragraphs as a way to further exaggerate the selective idea of the narrow minded bubble that the author portrays through his descriptions of the modern day. Crolley did well with the pacing and I do believe that this peace can be read either as spoken word or on the page even with moments in it such as the use of the words “Give me” which are obviously for the reader, but can still be portrayed spoken just on a much smaller scale.

If you want my complete honesty I would tell the author not to change anything in the body and works of this. I believe he fully thought out this poem to great lengths. He was able to grab my attention through the beginning of the poem as he literally ‘woke us up’ with the start of an alarm into the fast rhythm and constantly changing views that the piece holds that easily juxtapose today's media outlets’ and news sources’ ever changing attention trying to find the next big thing.

This was a beautifully well crafted piece that shows the hard work and dedication put into it. I would like to congratulate the author on his ability to catch my attention in such a powerfully efficient manner such as this and still be refreshingly original. Good work!