Living in the Present: The Connection Between Jenny Odell and Franco Berardi

In my essay, I wrote about Jenny Odell’s connection to Franco Berardi in his book After the Future. I found that Odell offers a solution to the problems Berardi suggests, such that the “future” has in fact passed and there is no more relevance to this term. One way in which to stop worrying about the future and live in the present, is to do as Jenny Odell suggests and “do nothing.” My project and goal were to bring these two points together and draw the connection between these authors and books, in order to offer some sort of solution to the reader. I include discussions of beneficial dead time, algorithms in society, and the need to live in the present in order to help clarify and expand my essay.

In my essay I explain, “Later in the book, Berardi claims that ‘This is why the future has lost its zest and people have lost all trust in it: the future no longer appears as a choice or a collective conscious action, but it is a kind of unavoidable catastrophe that we cannot oppose in any way’ (Berardi 126). Odell continuously suggests ways in which one can take back their own actions. Through doing nothing and partaking in beneficial dead time, we are able to uncover our true self, and uncover the creative collective conscious actions that are based upon our true feelings.” I feel as though this quote helps to sum up one of the main points of my essay. Berardi believes there is a need for rejuvenation amongst society, and Odell’s book provides a guide in how to do so. The two books connect very well, and I draw the connection between them in order to enhance it.

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https://medium.com/living-in-the-present-the-connection-between-jenny/living-in-the-present-the-connection-between-jenny-odell-and-franco-berardi-36cee62fdffd

Writing 11- Using Dead Time as An Escape from Brainwashing Algorithms

Throughout How to Do Nothing, I found myself grasping onto the relevance and importance of “Doing Nothing” in society today, especially while we are living through a pandemic and these unpredictable times. Therefore, I decided to expand on the idea of what doing nothing means, and how to do so in a different manner than Odell does. More specifically, I discuss the difference between beneficial dead time and negative dead time, and how these can be used to accomplish a state of “doing nothing.” While doing this, I talk about how COVID-19 has caused beneficial dead time to be taken away and returned as negative dead time, and how algorithms are manipulating our minds by playing more of a role in our lives now more than ever.

In order to accomplish this goal, I included a relationship between dead time, algorithms, and Allegory of the Cave. I also included Odell’s ideas to guide my piece and expand off of in order to provide an easier comprehension of my stance. The ideas of Odell I emphasize are what it means to do nothing, as well as her opinions on how to live in the present and preserve what makes us human. Lastly, I provide the reader with personal examples that convey how I came to this realization, and potentially how the reader could too. While discussing a personal example, I state that, “I found myself gaining a better understanding of myself, what I value, and the true importance of life. What I used to refer to as ‘dead-time’ or ‘wasted-time,’ now became my time for growth.” This quote is influential in explaining my stance, and why dead time is so important in today’s society. My writing often talks about the importance in being able to think on our own, without the effects of external social media and opinions.

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https://medium.com/@pshort_22967/using-dead-time-as-an-escape-from-brainwashing-algorithms-934662bbf431

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The Most Important Ideas are Often Perceived as Nothing

Jenny Odell, in How to Do Nothing, has a multi-headed project that continuously expands upon itself throughout the book. Odell’s project is not to throw away time, but rather to spend time doing what current social expectations would consider “nothing.” These expectations, which perceive productiveness as progressing into the future, are contradicted by Odell who explains “To do nothing is to hold yourself still so that you can perceive what is already there” (23).

In a culture overrun by social media, people lose track of what is “real.” Algorithms control what we see, thereby having the ability to “affect the way we think about our offline selves and the places where we actually live” (xii). These algorithms, created by businessmen with a monetary motive, often focus on addictive features that rewire oneself. Odell argues this creates a lack of expression, not allowing people to live in the present. When this occurs, people lose the ability to have true conversations that allow one to truly learn and progress through listening. Odell explains that “doing nothing” could involve “an active process of listening that seeks out the effects of racial, environmental, and economic injustice and brings about real change” (23). While sitting and listening is often perceived as not productive and useless, it is in fact the key to bringing about the progress many of us seek. Odell is asking us to converse with others, rather than continuing to read the algorithmic driven social media. Odell believes, “Nothing is neither a luxury nor a waste of time, but rather a necessary part of meaningful thought” (4), making “doing nothing” a necessary part of insightful communication with others.  

Although doing “nothing” can involve conversation and other people, many of the examples Odell uses within her book are while she is alone. In addition, Jenny Odell consistently brings about a concept of the importance of finding things that are “real,” and exemplifies the importance of this by enhancing examples, all of which occur in the “real world.” Odell includes crows, a rose garden, and Old Survivor to help elaborate her book, while also promoting nature. Furthermore, each of these objects were attempted to be destructed by outsiders trying to be “productive.” It is important to recognize the natural beauty, rather than constantly trying to create something newer and “more productive.”

In Odell’s book, it is stated that, “at some point I began to think of this as an activist book disguised as a self-help book” (xxii). Later in the book, she explains, “…make it ‘self-care’ in the activist sense that Audre Lorde meant it in the 1980s, when she said that ‘caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare’” (22). Odell is not arguing that doing nothing is activism, but rather the act of self-preservation and caring for oneself can become activism in the current time periods.

Jenny Odell’s project is focused on caring for and preserving what currently exists, while continuing to improve the intangible. The title, “How to Do Nothing,” acts to describe how Odell’s presented ideas are perceived in our current environment. Although going to the Rose Garden to sit there and think may be acknowledged as “nothing,” it is one of the most productive activities for Odell, as she is allowed to think, and enjoy what currently exists. In a world where investment in the future is a focus, there is a growing need to enjoy the untouched world.

Odell’s project, in her own words, is to “help restore individuals who can then help restore communities, human and beyond. And most of all, I hope it can help people find ways of connecting that are substantive, sustaining and absolutely unprofitable to corporations…” (xxii). It is important to find a way to escape a false sense of reality that has engulfed us all. Odell often suggest discovering the world and all it has to offer. If it takes “doing nothing” to escape corporations, enjoy natures beauties, and listen to other people who surround you, then it is probably best to just “do nothing.”