Absolute: A form of activism in the education system

The following if an email I sent to Absolute; a very socially and globally conscious motivational entertainment organization who uses an exciting arrangement of entertainment media to captivate high school audiences and instill upon them messages of good morals, social responsibility, and the importance of the self. www.absolute.org.

These values compare nicely with some of Hannah Arendts' ideas. The need to use very fast-paced and highly visual presentations in order to maintain the attention of high school students, could be seen as a penetration of the mass entertainment culture into the sphere of education. Any group wishing to captivate the attentions of high school students, need to be aware of what it is that young people will respond to in terms of an entertaining presentation. The concept of action and the idea of actually doing something has to be stressed.

Here is the email I sent to Absolute:

Hello,

My name is W**** ***** and I'm writing this email as a response to the coincidental situation last night which brought me into contact with your organization's contact information. Last night I was part of a movement towards the universal and very realizable goal of abolishing poverty on this planet. I played guitar along with my band, The Very Excellent Goods, in the student center of McMaster University for the 'Stand Up and Make Poverty History' campaign. Halfway through our set, a woman approached our bass player and gave him a small sheet of paper with this email address along with a mailing address and the website name.

I did some research and watched some of your promotional videos. You seem like a very well organized and professional group of motivational leaders who are true believers in the causes that they are working towards. As time goes on, I begin to realize more and more that the best way to incite change is to do it using more intimate and personal forms of communication. It has to be exciting, captivating, and very visually stimulating. It has to be a spectacle that the audience can latch onto and derive meaning from. And above all, it has to leave a long lasting feeling of positivity and joy. We have to give these kids something to hope for. A happy person is someone who has hopes and goals to look forward to in the future and knows that through a combination of hard work and believing in yourself, you really can accomplish your dreams.

We find that music is one of the best and most accessible forms of communication. The medium is the message, so to speak. Music is a universal communicator and everyone can find something to appreciate about positive, meaningful music. The messages contained within the music will be inspirational and thought provoking. The spectacle will be entertaining and energetic. Some of my fondest high school memories are actually the times when we would get really good motivational speakers in to come talk to us, and I think it's so neat to combine that with professional live music and a much more visual show.

I am going to gather together a band resume and will send it to your mailing address which was given to me last night. Thank for your time! Take care,

W*** ******

-I'm currently awaiting a response.