Page 1 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 147
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    berkeley
    Posts
    1,623

    a marxist review of TGR

    so i wrote my final sociology term paper on how goffman and marx would interpret the social dynamics and hierarchy on TGR (a lot of b.s. replete with nuggets of truth). and i got an A. thank you maggots.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Saaaan Diaago
    Posts
    3,488
    I'm gonna get the nerd-alert for this one, but... can we read it?
    "I said flotation is groovy"
    -Jimi Hendrix

    "Just... ski down there and jump offa somethin' for cryin' out loud!!!"
    -The Coolest Guy to have Ever Lived

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Teton Village
    Posts
    2,674
    this thread is useless without text.
    Ski Shop - Basement of the Hostel



    Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish.

    Mark Twain

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Ootarded
    Posts
    4,054
    From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs...

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    a few blocks from the beach
    Posts
    2,992
    Post of the day!

    Please, do post the paper. I want to see our heirarchy. And how Marx would feel about it.
    .

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Boulder Backside
    Posts
    44
    I'm gonna get the gay alert, but can I suck your cock?
    "I said flotation is groovy"
    -Jimi Hendrix

    "I hope the Jamaican Halfpipe team competes, and then Disney can make an inspirational movie about it..."
    -skimoore

  7. #7
    adam is offline The Shred Pirate Roberts
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    CO
    Posts
    3,546
    I may be wrong, but I don't think yoga chick has a cock

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Making the Bowl Great Again
    Posts
    13,779
    Did you include pictures of your barely-clad woman in TGR-germinated apparel as the first appendix?

    If so, cheers to you, sir.

    and to you Max: smalls is not Ethan Cool, so quit pushing back.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Snow lake city
    Posts
    291
    this thread is useless without pics.
    I don't hunt because the word hunting infers the probability of failure. JOhNGchrist goes killing.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    berkeley
    Posts
    1,623
    Here is the moderately lengthy text of said paper. I apologize in advance for any formatting mistakes, however I am quite unexperienced in posts of such verbosity.

    The internet message boards on the Teton Gravity Research website are a collective of a vast array of people. Teton Gravity Research (hence forth referred to as TGR) is “the premier action sports entertainment and production house”. They established a forum to facilitate dialogue between their fans and sponsored athletes. However, since its inception at the beginning of this decade, the forum has evolved to become a conglomeration of people throughout the world. This group is comprised of everyone from professional skiers to dentists, 60-year-old men to high school teenagers. While the central theme of the forum is the discussion of action sports, primarily skiing, this message board has become a community in every sense of the word. This community can be easily interpreted through the writings of Erving Goffman, and the inherent structural hierarchy can be paralleled with the writings of Karl Marx. The interactions between members, who refer to themselves as “maggots”, are intricate and fascinating.
    As stated, TGR was designed to assist skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts in their pursuit of “living the dream”. This dream is to ski/snowboard on the most pristine snow on the planet. While some members make this dream a reality, others live vicariously through such members as iskibc and mtbakerskier. These particular members gave up careers in the corporate world in order to pursue “the dream”. Each of these men have since developed careers around their passion for snow sports. Iskibc (given name is _________) directs an outdoor education program in the Colorado Rockies in which he teaches people, young and old, proper safety and etiquette in climbing, hiking and backcountry skiing. By pursuing this career, he has afforded himself the time and resources to be able to climb and ski some of the most dangerous and remote mountains in the United States. Additionally, mtbakerskier (given name is ____________) has become a professional photographer specializing in shooting pictures of skiers and is a publisher of a magazine entitled The Ski Journal. He funds the realization of his “dream” taking pictures of individuals who share his passion of snow sports.
    The above mentioned members act the role of living the ideal life in the eyes of many members. While they are indeed fulfilling their own dream, by discussing it and making it known to other members on a daily basis they are acting their roles using TGR as their stage. Goffman would say that their endless supply of trip reports and pictures of skiing would be their props of choice in their conveyance on the message board. These performers are being watched by their internet audience every day and in doing so must constantly raise the bar for themselves. While years back a simple collection of skiing photos may have sufficed their desire to perform, they must continually improve by using such things as streaming video and even high definition films. Though their lifestyle is in fact genuine and their actions are their own, Goffman would see their daily portrayal of their everyday life as fulfilling a need to perform and satisfying their desire to appear to be “living the dream”.
    In contrast, there are members of the board who would like to be able to free themselves from the shackles of their lifestyle in order to spend their time in nature. These members range in occupation from dentists to engineers, lawyers to doctors. These people live the life of any normal individual in their given occupations, however they have what some may view as an unhealthy obsession with skiing or snowboarding. This is indicated by the fact that many users profess to spend multiple hours per day on the forum. It is denoted even further by pictures posted by user JimS, a radiologist in California, who has posted pictures of himself wearing his skis and ski boots to bed, on the treadmill, in the office, and even on the toilet1a. These members profess to spend their disposable income solely on skiing and endeavors which facilitate their skiing (such as equipment and clothing). They save up their vacation time throughout the year in order to provide ski trips for themselves and their families.
    These members would be seen by Goffman as performers as well, but they are audience members at the same time. These “maggots” relish the daily trip reports from some of the more prominent performers, but they also feel the need to carry out their own sort of acting. Since they are unable to provide the sort of pure skiing entertainment as such members as iskibc and others, they instead perform through their antics and in some cases through their biting sarcasm. One such member, cj001f, has been a member for many years now. However, while his original performance was similar to others in that he would often display his skiing prowess, it eventually devolved into little more than sarcastic remarks and witty retorts. His cries for attention may seem childish, but they do in fact play a role. Members such as cj001f keep the board on its proverbial toes and often spice up otherwise dull threads. His performance is easily recognized as an obvious attempt to attract his own audience to replace the one he lost years ago.
    There is another group of people on the board that are self-proclaimed proletariats. One set of members, Splat (given name __________) and TwoPlanker (given name __________) started their own ski company based on the support of the “maggots”. Their company, called PMGear, was created in order to provide the TGR community with a ski that would suit their demanding needs. PMGear (powder maggot gear), was established solely with the members in mind, and even incorporated their nickname into the name of the company. The company was founded by people who met on these forums and had a desire to create a ski company with complete customer satisfaction in mind. Their goal was to utilize the quality and volume of real-time information available from ski enthusiasts in order to produce a ski specifically to their demands. The opinions and feedback of the “maggots” was implemented in every stage of the design, production and sale of PMGear’s skis. As a result, PMGear hand makes their skis in their garage in Reno, NV. The owners produce their product with their own hands and have therefore eliminated their previous alienation from the product. They embarked on this entrepreneurial journey in order to break away from the unfeeling corporate culture of big-name ski companies. This undertaking became immensely popular amongst the TGR members, and as a result a very high percentage of the “maggots” have purchased skis and other equipment from PMGear.
    These members can be examined in two ways. First, they are putting on their own performance in which their acting is an attempt to please those around them. Goffman would see their attempts at crowd-pleasing an obvious act in which to gain an audience who will in turn purchase their product. However, this act is also very genuine in that this behavior is what attracts and retains their customers. On the other hand, Marx would see these two as social revolutionaries. They threw off the chains of the corporate ski culture and reduced the bourgeoisie’s stranglehold on the market. He would applaud them for taking their labor power into their own hands and thus creating an intimate connection with the fruits of their labor. When they threw off the fetters of the corporate world they took complete charge of their means of production. This development was clearly social and economical in its inception as the motivation behind their entrepreneurial endeavors was to take control of their own lives. To this day they work harder than most in order to earn their wages, but at the end of the day they have a tangible product with which they can associate their labor. Marx would see this as the ideal business model and would agree with their claims as being “core proletariats”.
    Last edited by smalls; 11-27-2006 at 09:34 PM.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    In the moment
    Posts
    4,024
    Quote Originally Posted by adam View Post
    I may be wrong, but I don't think yoga chick has a cock
    I hope not- I don't think I could handle another yogachick fantasy being destroyed.
    "There is a hell of a huge difference between skiing as a sport- or even as a lifestyle- and skiing as an industry"
    Hunter S. Thompson, 1970 (RIP)

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    berkeley
    Posts
    1,623
    However, TGR is not simply about the people who make up the forums, it is about the interactions and relationships between these people. These people have a special relationship within the confines of the internet, but what sets them apart is that they ski, talk, drink and work together in the “real world” as well. Every year there are “summits”, which are simply gatherings of the “maggots” at ski resorts throughout the world. There is always one primary summit which attracts 75-100 members each year. However, due to the fact that there are members in the United States, Canada, South America, Europe and even Asia, there are also mini-summits each year. For example, the primary summit will be in Colorado this year, but there will also be mini-summits in Washington, Vermont, British Columbia, Argentina and England. This ability for members to put faces with the names they see everyday as they scroll through the pages of the message board is a phenomena for two reasons. First, seldom does this sort of social interaction go this deep in any other media outlet. Second, when “maggots” do finally meet in person, they have a tendency to continue referring to each other by their screen name on the TGR message board rather than by their real names. Granted, if the in person friendship grows beyond a simple weeklong ski trip or a weekend rendezvous at the local mountain, then given names are deemed appropriate and take the place of the previous anonymous moniker.
    These relationships span differing classes and varying degrees of social performance. Marx would see these relationships developed out of class struggle as the majority of the “maggots” have a strong desire to abandon their current means of support in order to pursue a lifestyle more in line with their desires. While many members are in many different economic and social classes, they also share a common class. This class is one that wishes for an ability to utilize their own modes of production in order to be self-sustaining and fulfill their desire to “live the dream”. However, along with this class companionship comes what Marx would refer to as alienation. This alienation is developed when members realize that their own labor has in fact been completely separated from their own nature. Therefore, their own individual goals and inspirations in which they would change the world in their own small way are lost to a world which they do not desire to be a part of. This alienation can kill their spirit and therefore result in acrimony towards those people who were able to throw off the chains of the bourgeoisie.
    Often the depth of the connection between “maggots” is brought into question when the relationships developed through TGR are being discussed. However, it is quite apparent that the bond between members is sincere. This can be seen through one very prominent example, though there are many others. Several weeks ago iskibc and fellow “maggot” sheRa were skiing in Summit County, Colorado. During the day, they hid their skis in the woods while they went to retrieve their car. At some point in their 15 minute jaunt someone stole their equipment. Needless to say, this was a tough loss for both individuals. For two people who are “living the dream”, stolen equipment valued at approximately $700-800 per person was a tremendous emotional and monetary outlay. Both “maggots” had a very special bond with the skis that were stolen and were forlorn upon the discovery of their setback. However, in the midst of this adversity, the true “maggot” spirit came to light. Only two hours after iskibc notified the forum of the incident, a fellow friend and member (marshalolson) started a fundraising thread to help alleviate the cost of new equipment. Fewer than five hours later, the “maggots” had amassed enough money to buy new equipment for both iskibc and sheRa. These generous donations show the true spirit of the TGR community. Other examples of this kinship have involved raising money for a variety of causes. These causes include sending two cancer-stricken “maggots” on a heli-skiing trip, supporting Silverton Mountain, CO when it was in its formative years, supporting a skier’s family after he died in a skiing accident, and helping out “a friend of a friend” after his house burned down1e.
    These acts of kindness can be seen in two ways. The first is a Marxist view in which people of a common class would have a desire to aid their brethren in order to retain a sense of community. These people share similar burdens in that they are not able to afford to replace their lost products of a capitalist society. In recognizing this common burden, fellow “maggots” jumped at the opportunity to help one of their friends. As an added bonus to this act of assistance, those who provided financial aid may be entitled to reciprocation sometime in the future. In this case, Goffman would see these acts of generosity as another act to gain the attention of the TGR audience. By reading the thread devoted to the fundraising for iskibc and sheRa it is apparent that many people donated money simply to say that they did. Many people would submit a post simply saying that “money had beensent” or some other trivial response in order to ensure that the masses were aware of their seemingly unselfish gesture. However, this performance was an obvious attempt to gain front-stage attention and show everyone else how generous they were. There were a multitude of posts simply dedicated to the advertisement of individual generosity, which begs the question if those donations were of a genuinely generous nature or they were in fact a performance in which to display a fraudulent act of kindness.
    Regardless of the reasons behind the individual memberships on TGR and the behaviors which are associated with each member, it is apparent that this forum is a very unique social setting. In very few other places will one find such authentic Goffmanian actors or Marxist proletariats. The sense of community and camaraderie is exceptionally rare among a group of people who have seldom met face to face. This sort of social interaction not only intrigues me on a day-to-day basis, but it also brings to life otherwise indistinct and presupposed theories. These connections and friendships are extraordinary in and of themselves, but are even more exceptional when examined through the eyes of Karl Marx and Erving Goffman.
    edit: to note that it is not all that marxist, nor is it all that goffmanian. additionally, i wrote things that would fit what we've been taught. the goal here was an A, and i succeeded. beyond that, say what you will and flame away.
    Last edited by smalls; 11-27-2006 at 09:34 PM.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Making the Bowl Great Again
    Posts
    13,779
    I didn't read it but it doesn't sound all that Marxist.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Colorado Cartel HQ
    Posts
    15,932
    Really good read Smalls. No wonder you got an A.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    north by northwest
    Posts
    9,456
    edit: read through the whole thing, it reads very well. were you constrained for size? anyway, congratulations on the effort and the grade!
    Last edited by f2f; 11-27-2006 at 09:42 PM.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Southside of heaven
    Posts
    3,230
    Well written, and sheds new light on the forums.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Posts
    5,518
    solid! college is cool.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Bee Sea
    Posts
    252
    Nicely.

    r.
    I ski because I was born without wings.
    RET

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    WYO
    Posts
    9,709
    Well written, my man.

    But I just want to say, cj001f is good people.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    PNW
    Posts
    128
    Well thought out and clearly written. You built a good case for your argument.
    Well Done.
    "A bone in the throat of all decent people"

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Not in the PRB
    Posts
    32,778
    Quote Originally Posted by 72Twenty View Post
    But I just want to say, cj001f is good people.
    prove it

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Ootarded
    Posts
    4,054
    Quote Originally Posted by 72Twenty View Post
    Well written, my man.

    But I just want to say, cj001f is good people.
    Sarcastic? Definitely.
    Cynical? Yep.
    Funny? If you get his jokes, yeah.
    A leftwing commie? Prolly.
    Childish? I don't think so. Did he piss in your Wheaties, smalls?

    He occasionally posts some cool TR from some far-flung section of the world that is just as interesting as any good skiing TR.

    But overall, I liked your report.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    amidst 5 mountains
    Posts
    3,854
    I feel like I've been watched and anylized.

    Solid paper though. It's cool to step back and really take stock in what goes on in these parts. On a social level it's very interesting.
    "In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, — no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes,) which nature cannot repair." -Emerson

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    9,300ft
    Posts
    21,938
    BETTER DEAD THAN RED!!!!!!

    i'll read the paper later
    Quote Originally Posted by blurred
    skiing is hiking all day so that you can ski on shitty gear for 5 minutes.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    a few blocks from the beach
    Posts
    2,992
    Bravo, A+ from me!

    Well researched, you used our forum to fit your theme, well-supported, well done. I thoroughly enjoyed that read, particularly the inside jokes, e.g., that we're a community of all sorts, including dentists. Now I understand Splat's user title, too
    .

Similar Threads

  1. Maggot Bar Review
    By Rusty Nails in forum The Padded Room
    Replies: 54
    Last Post: 02-06-2006, 02:00 PM
  2. cheap place in vail, co
    By Bobby686 in forum Hook Up
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 02-01-2006, 09:13 PM
  3. Book Review
    By lemon boy in forum General Ski / Snowboard Discussion
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: 02-03-2005, 05:58 PM
  4. Rerun... a funny review of "Hot Dog - The Movie"
    By Ubersheist in forum TGR Forum Archives
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 07-01-2004, 06:17 PM
  5. Replies: 8
    Last Post: 12-12-2003, 10:11 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •