Clocks are out to get us. I guess clocks aren't really out to get us, because they are inanimate objects. But our entire lives are based around time, each day is scheduled out with work hours here, study time there. We all want to make the most of our time, whether that be money, knowledge, socializing, or talking with family.
Do not be fooled by its charm, this clock is evil.Through our own hegemony, clocks have gained control over us. This control is even more imposing when we realize that clocks are literally everywhere! They are on computer monitors, on iPods, on walls, on radios, and in cars.
There is yet one clock that is even more numerous and dangerous, and that is the cell phone. The clocks on these devices have even found their way into everyone's social exchanges. Every text, phone call, outgoing message, one sees the clock. Even When someone is in a tunnel, or underground, or in a dead zone and can't get any service on their phone, the clock still tick-tock's away, triumphant.
This numerosity of clocks is the signifier, not just a single clock alone. But the overall sign also comes from how we look at time itself. We have socially constructed time to measure out beginnings and deadlines, when time itself is simply unending. When class begins and ends, when we go to work, when the bus arrives, we commit these time to memory.
Ultimately, clocks are the grim reaper's servants, always hovering over our shoulders. Because of clocks, we forget to take time to lie down and just relax. The real message of clocks is not that it is 6:52 PM, but that we are going to die.
There is yet one clock that is even more numerous and dangerous, and that is the cell phone. The clocks on these devices have even found their way into everyone's social exchanges. Every text, phone call, outgoing message, one sees the clock. Even When someone is in a tunnel, or underground, or in a dead zone and can't get any service on their phone, the clock still tick-tock's away, triumphant.
This numerosity of clocks is the signifier, not just a single clock alone. But the overall sign also comes from how we look at time itself. We have socially constructed time to measure out beginnings and deadlines, when time itself is simply unending. When class begins and ends, when we go to work, when the bus arrives, we commit these time to memory.
Ultimately, clocks are the grim reaper's servants, always hovering over our shoulders. Because of clocks, we forget to take time to lie down and just relax. The real message of clocks is not that it is 6:52 PM, but that we are going to die.
You raise a very good point: the meaning of time is completely socially constructed. Even expanding from that, certain times of the day or days have been constructed to have their own meanings. Monday mornings are brutal, night time is dangerous, Friday night is time to party etc.
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