Introduction and Thesis Statement
Jennifer Government by Max Barry is s science fiction novel focusing on the individuals fighting to uphold the capitalist structure of society in a dystopian alternate universe where corporate entities rule a US-dominated international government. Sales Officer Hack Nike is compelled to commit a horrific crime to promote a new brand. This draws Jennifer State’s attention, a renowned company investigator working for what is left of the nation’s government, to the situation. Nevertheless, her interests fail to coincide with the government she works for entirely. Exploring globalization and capitalism themes and the intersection of collective and government interests, the book was accorded overwhelming critical acclaim for its relevant satire and unique world.
Max Barry was motivated by various problems to produce the text. The two most prominent issues are unrestrained free-market capitalism and privatization. The underlying assumption is that corporations will be completely free of governmental regulation. They no longer pay duties, and all services—from law enforcement to social services—have been privatized. Each person’s last name is changed to the name of the company they are currently employed. Buy Mitsui, John Nike, and so forth. The book is employed by the final vestiges of the US government, which only retains a sliver of its previous power. It is apparent that this book is very political, yet its politics are primarily universal and unrelated to current American events. Instead, it maintains the same political stance as in 2003, when it was released. With the United States’ poverty and other USA-style economies around the globe, matters are currently not looking good for the world. In addition to other endearing concepts, students are taught in school to believe that the impoverished ought to be left to die because of their sloth. John Nike, though, is a horrible guy, even by the situation standards. This doesn’t seem right, and it is the reason why the readers should care about the problem.
Contextual Description
Max Barry is the book’s author, and his background makes the material quality. It also plays a critical role in influencing the communicated message. He is an Australian author born on 18th March 1973. In addition, he writes a blog about a variety of subjects, notably politics. Barry also developed the online game Nation States, first developed to promote Jennifer Government but has since grown to its web-based community. One of these communities is The “Tales of Corporate Oppression” website. Hewlett-Packard employed him as a marketer before he became a writer. Currently, Barry lives in Melbourne with his family. He is one of the modern-day brightest and most promising young authors having written Company, Jennifer Government, and cult classic Syrup. Jennifer Government is, however, a best-selling book.
Barry spent most of his time working as a “miserable” salesperson for Hewlett-Packard. Later, he used that as inspiration for his third book, Company, a parody of corporate America. Barry worked as an HP company marketer. Here she had an unpleasant experience, but fortunately, it was this experience that inspired him to write materials on an alternative future with large corporations ruling the world. He is renowned for his imaginative writings, and his books were regarded as highly influential regardless that they were fictional. He writes ironic, anti-utopian, political, and speculative science fiction. Barry draws his audience’s interest by focusing on diverse themes that they find interesting. He accomplishes this via his blog, where he frequently interacts with the audience to learn about their interests. While his opinions are sharply focused on corporate greed, he may have come out as humorous and even silly in Jennifer’s Government book. He discussed the extraordinary power of words in the Lexicon, noting how, if not carefully considered and properly phrased, they can be used as weapons. He has always been fascinated with how systems dynamics affect how people adjust to changing environments. Therefore, he envisions a specific scenario where people initially feel safe but are forced to risk their lives before producing a novel. He describes the suffering people experience in such circumstances and how their stories wrap up. All these factors influence how Barry communicates with his audience.
The target audience in the Jennifer Government is the ordinary people. He claimed in his weblog that as he publishes more, he meets regular people in strange situations rather than the other way around, which implies that society is heading in the wrong direction. He frequently sends messages through his stories, elaborating on how humans create all kinds of new technology and ideas before becoming trapped by them since, at first, they were unaware of their limitations. People frequently focus more on their accomplishments than the potential outcomes of their actions, which is a grave error. Because Barry cares so profoundly about new technologies and his readers, he pours all of his expertise and creativity into his novels. Barry’s novels tackle difficult subjects, including politics, technology, and creation. He educates us via his novels about how all we produce has an impact on us. It is a good illustration of content advertising, and it demonstrates that Barry is aware of his target audience. As an advertisement for his book, Nation States contributes to the Barry brand by associating a fun experience with the final product, the novel.
Textual Description
Brief Summary
The book features an alternate reality where many countries in Oceania and the Americas are dominated by strong and powerful corporate coalitions and corporations and where the government has extremely limited power. The book portrays that The US has taken over all of South and North America and dominates the United Kingdom and South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, the Philippines, Pacific island nations, Japan, India, Iceland, and Ireland. Russia is associated with the United States but not assimilated, and it is unclear if it genuinely belongs to the United States. Global commerce is no longer necessary because there is so much land in one market, and as a result, the United States isolates itself from nations that it is yet to conquer.
Setting
The US adopts capitalism, a minarchical system that eliminates taxes and privatizes government. This prevents the government from passing new legislation or even holding polls. Although the United States office of the President is essentially ceremonial, they still maintain command of the nation’s military. Only cases that contravene the “new constitution” are handled by the judiciary. As a result, the government acts as a night watchman, with its primary duties being to deter foreign attacks and uphold the Constitution. People adopt the surnames of the companies they work for, and some who hold more than one job hyphenate their names, as in “Julia Nike-McDonald’s.” The protagonist of the book and other government staff members go by the surname Government. Companies like McDonald’s and Mattel support and have power over schools. Kids who go to school are assigned the names of the business sponsor in parentheses along with their parents’ surnames, for example, “Kate Mattel (Government).” The educational program is not fully disclosed, although many of the teachings appear to be business propaganda.
Central Themes and Characters
The central themes in the book include globalization, capitalism, and the intersection of corporate and government interests. The book got overwhelmingly positive reviews for its distinct world and timely satire, and Section 8 licensed the film rights even though no movie was produced before the company shut down. The characters include Hack Nike, Violet ExxonMobil, John Nike, Billy Bechtel, Billy NRA, Hayley McDonald’s, and Buy Mitsui.
Conclusion
Jennifer Government by Max Barry is s science fiction novel focusing on the individuals fighting to uphold the capitalist structure of society in a dystopian alternate universe where a US-dominated international government is ruled by corporate entities. He wrote the book aimed at ordinary people. He claimed in his weblog that as he publishes more, he meets regular people in strange situations rather than the other way around, which implies that society is heading in the wrong direction. The book features an alternate reality where many countries in Oceania and the Americas are dominated by strong and powerful corporate coalitions and corporations and where the government has extremely limited power. The book portrays that The US has taken over all of South and North America and dominates the United Kingdom and, South Africa, New Zealand, among other nations. The setting is a minarchical system that eliminates taxes and privatizes government. This prevents the government from passing new legislation or even holding polls. The central themes include globalization, capitalism, and the intersection of corporate and government interests. The characters include Hack Nike, Violet ExxonMobil, John Nike, Billy Bechtel, Billy NRA, Hayley McDonald’s, and Buy Mitsui.
Reference
Barry, M. (2003) Jennifer government. London: Time Warner Books UK.
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