IRE

Change: What is it Good For?

The idea of any organisms modifying themselves is not a new concept. Adaptation is a way to ensure better odds of survival, and without it the species does not progress. The naturalist Charles Darwin has proved this idea through evolutionary transformations. Darwin observed what is now known as natural selection, the theory which shows that traits that are better suited to survival will more likely be passed down to future generations. An example of this is Darwin’s observation of finches on the Galapagos Islands. He noticed that they all competed for the same limited food sources, and that some of them, over time, evolved different shaped beaks in order to gain access to different types of food. This evolutionary change led to different species of finches that could thrive in that habitat. Humans exhibit similar evolutionary changes as well, but because we are a part of a large cultural organism, we can adapt through other ways as well. This alternative way that has also been evident through our history is known as cultural adaptation.

An example of our ability to do so is evident through one of the biggest movements in human history: the industrial revolution. Before this advancement, we started off as a humble species, doing mostly hard labor and searching for food on a daily basis. Now we simply go to supermarkets to gather our food, and create factories full of machines to perform the heavy labor. We have inventions that provide every convenience and minimize the time spent performing any task, only limited by our imagination. All these machines and ideas got their initial push from the industrial revolution. This movement produced a boom in society that provided a more efficient way to produce goods for people all over the world. With our newly found free time, and with more toys and gadgets to play with, cultures began to change and flourish in different ways. Access to mass media led to commercialism, both in terms of homogenization in order to fit in, and the anti conformity to stand out from the conformists. The increase in consumer goods and electronics has given rise to a materialistic portion of society, who covet the newest and coolest things you can own. As a society, we have adapted culturally through the times. As a society, we have adapted culturally through the times, and the Industrial Revolution, a time when the velocity of change was the greatest in human history, shows how fast we can adapt to our new surroundings.

This idea of adaptation and survival is present in my essays. In my first paper, The Prince Queen: Cersei Lannister, I defended a known villain from the fictional series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. It seemed an impossible task at first, with Cersei’s history of plotting murders and the occasional ordered beatings of innocent civilians. Luckily, I stumbled upon Machiavelli’s The Prince, a book written entirely on how one should comport himself or herself as a ruler. In The Prince, Machiavelli instructs the ruler, or ‘prince,’ to do whatever is necessary to stay in power, regardless of the maliciousness of those actions. This sense of power is exactly what Cersei Lannister was trying to keep. She saw a king who she believed to be unfit to rule, so she plotted to kill him. She saw her family who could rightfully care for a kingdom in dire need of leadership, so she manipulatively put them in control. At her core, Cersei is a loving mother, sister, and daughter, but when she is pressed into action, she exhibits a completely different set of morals and ethics, one that allowed her family to remain in power. Cersei Lannister is an example of Machiavelli’s The Prince in action; she let nothing stand in her or her family’s rise to power, and did whatever it took to survive as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

The motifs seen in Cersei Lannister’s relationship with power can also be seen in my second paper, but instead of focusing on one person, the target was a major business. The roots of rap music have proud traditions, where the musicians made their lives relatable, and the bold lyrics of its greatest songs evoked cutting edge social and political commentary. Rap may have started off with humble beginnings, but now its most popular artists sing only about the materialistic things in life. The Lonely Island exploited this loss of substance in their hit single I’m on a Boat, but at the same time paid homage to the music genre they love so much. Instead of explicitly poking fun at specific rappers or hip-hop artists they placed themselves at the butt of the joke. Their music spoof married the popularity of simplistic lyrics and the satirical singing about ludicrous situations. However, rap had to evolve to reflect the changing times and continue to thrive within the music business. At a time in which pop music dominated in sales and popularity, artists couldn’t continue to sing about injustices that weren’t predominant in their lives anymore. By integrating what is now popular and marketable, rap music has changed to conform to pop culture, while only hinting at the forefathers of its genre.

In my own way, I adapted to this class. My ‘adaptation’ was learning how to write a paper an audience would actually want to read, and my ‘survival’ was to make a good grade in class. Without alterations to how I previously wrote, I wouldn’t have been successful. An example of a challenge I had to face in this class was the essay prompt for each paper, or should I say a lack there of. Coming from English 1101, I had expected to be assigned topics of discussion for each essay, but instead I was met with total freedom. Sounds like the better deal as opposed to previous classes, but as writer’s block crept in I found myself completely lost. After a few journals written out of frustration, I realized that all I had to do was write about something I enjoyed. Once I finally decided on a topic the words seemed to flow right from my fingertips, showing that I had finally adjusted to my predicament. By being able to write about something I was interested in, the entire process became easier. Similarly, Cersei Lannister wouldn’t have remained Queen, and the rap industry would have bored their audiences with the same material they started with. Without adaptation, survival would be impossible. However, I’ve learned that survival doesn’t explicitly mean life or death. It can mean what you want to accomplish, or what you feel is necessary to keep your life the way it is.