Transcendental Pop Culture Project By Owen sneddon

Nonconformity

“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”

- Henry David Thoreau, "Walden"

Elon Musk, one of the most important noncomformists alive today. He was born in South Africa in 1971 and became a multimillionaire in his late 20s when he sold his start-up company, Zip2, to a division of Compaq Computers. He has been criticized for being over ambitious and has been told that landing a rocket on a barge out in the middle of the ocean would not be possible, byt he did just that. on April 8th, 2016, SpaceX (a com pany started by Elon Musk) landed a rocket o a barge at sea.

Everyone said that Elon Musk would not be able to land a rocket on a barge out at sea, but he did what he wanted and did not care what anyone thought. In the quote, it says that a person who does not walks with their companies is a person who might be listening to a different beat, and Musk listens to a completey different beat. He wanted to make rocket engines reusable (which has never been done before), so he did. He also co-founded Tesla in hopes of ridding the world of potent gaz-guzzling cars and replace them with fully electric vehicles. both Emerson and Thoreau would adore Elon Musk because he is one of the biggest noncomformists out there.

Self-Reliance

“Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self Reliance”

On January 12, 2012, three time Grammy Award winner, Kelly Clarkson, released her now wildy poluar song, titled "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)," in her fifth studio album, "Stronger." The song was inspired by the Friedrich Nietzsche quotation, "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." It has more of a figurative meaning than literal, and it is saying one can learn from past experiences and apply them to the futre.

In the song, Kelly Clarkson says, “Just me, myself, and I” and she explains that when she is alone, she does not feel lonely because she has herself to rely on. She trusts herself, and her vibrates to the iron string. What Kelly is saying is that she is completely self-reliant and does not need anybody else. Emerson and Thoreau would both like Kelly Clarkson for he need to be self-relaint.

Importance of Nature

“But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars. The rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him and vulgar things.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Nature"

An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with or advocates the protection of the environment. In other words, they love nature and it is important to them.

Nature is important to literally ALL enviornmentalists. It is so important, that they dedicate their entire lives to the protection, and purity of the enviroment. This quote really conncts to environmentalists and environmentalism beacuse an environmentalist would be able to go out and look up at the night sky, see the stars, and then be so hypnotized that they would forgrt about the modern world and think about the beauty of nature. Emerson and Thoreau would both love all enviornmentalists for their devotion to the importance of nature.

Favoring Intuition over Reason

“What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule... is harder because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance”

Steve Jobs was born in San Francisco, California, on February 24, 1955. Jobs experimented with different pursuits before starting Apple Computer with Steve Wozniak in 1976. Apple's revolutionary products, which include the iPod, iPad and more speciffically, the iPhone. Each product is now seen as governing the evolution of modern technology to this day. He died in 2011, following a tough battle with pancreatic cancer. On June 29, 2007, the first generation iPhone was released.

Steve Jobs is a great example of transcendentalism because his intuition was to try and create the very first smartphone, but people thought logically and said it was a waste of time. Because of his intuition and his way of thinking outside the box, almost every person in the world knows the name, "Steve Jobs."

Simplified Life

“Simplicity, Simplicity, Simplicity!”

- Henry David Thoreau, “Walden”

Shrek is a fictional, green ogre who was created by American author William Steig. Shrek is the protagonist of the 1990 book "Shrek" and the protagonist of all the Shrek films (released in 2001, 2004, 2007, and 2010) by DreamWorks Animation.

The quote by Thoreau says, “Simplicity, Simplicity, Simplicity!” And this is exactly what Shrek lives by. He bathes in mud, brushes his teeth with snail feces, and his house is part of an old tree trunk in a wamp in the middle of the forest, and he does not car whgat peole think about where he lives. Emmerson and Thoreau would both be very proud of Shrek for living a very simple life and not investing in materialistic things.

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