''Processed World'' is an anti-capitalist, anti-authoritarian
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
focused on the oppressions and absurdities of office work, which, at the time the magazine began, was becoming automated. The magazine was founded by Chris Carlsson, Caitlin Manning, and Adam Cornford in 1981.
No new issues have been produced since 2005.
The print magazine was widely distributed to and read by office workers in
Downtown San Francisco during the years the print magazine was published from 1981 to 1994.
[Carlsson, Chris]
"Processed World: A Political History,"
''Notes From Below'' (June 8, 2019). Originally from ''Logout'' #7. Retrieved June 17, 2019
Publication history
''Processed World'' began publication in April 1981 and was printed on an irregular basis, approximately quarterly to semi-annually until Winter 1992. There were 32 published printed issues.
There have subsequently been three more issues published on the
Internet — number 33 in 1995, and two more issues, one in 2000 and one in 2005. These last two issues are numbered 2.001 and 2.005. All of the issues of the magazine are now available online.
Themes
The magazine is about the absurdity and futility of modern employment practices in which a large number of
college-educated people are often forced to seek
temporary work with no
employee benefits
Employee benefits and (especially in British English) benefits in kind (also called fringe benefits, perquisites, or perks) include various types of non-wage compensation provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries. Inst ...
. The magazine details the subversive attitudes and sense of humor required for workers to be able to get through the day when forced to perform dull, degrading and boring work as
wage slaves
Wage slavery or slave wages refers to a person's dependence on wages (or a salary) for their livelihood, especially when wages are low, treatment and conditions are poor, and there are few chances of upward mobility.
The term is often used ...
doing modern office work such as working as a
computer programmer
A computer programmer, sometimes referred to as a software developer, a software engineer, a programmer or a coder, is a person who creates computer programs — often for larger computer software.
A programmer is someone who writes/creates ...
,
word processor,
call center
A call centre ( Commonwealth spelling) or call center (American spelling; see spelling differences) is a managed capability that can be centralised or remote that is used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of enquiries by telephone. ...
operator,
data entry operator
A data entry clerk, also known as data preparation and control operator, data registration and control operator, and data preparation and registration operator, is a member of staff employed to enter or update data into a computer system. Data is o ...
,
telemarketer or
file clerk
A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service c ...
.
Contributors
Writers that have had work published by the magazine include founder Carlsson, Manning, Chris Winks, Denis Hayes, Greg Williamson, Jim Swanson,
,
Adam Cornford,
John Norton,
Jesse Drew
Jesse Drew is an American artist, author, media activist, and educator.
Biography
Jesse Drew was born at St. Vincent's Hospital in Greenwich Village, New York. He spent his early childhood in Queens, before the family moved to Hicksville, New Yo ...
, and
Donna Kossy and many more. The magazine featured
cartoon
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
s by artists such as
Tom Tomorrow,
,
,
[Morley, Madeleine]
"1980s Mag Processed World Voiced Resistance to the Digitalization of the Workplace,"
''Eye on Design'' (January 23, 2018). Retrieved June 6, 2018. Jay Kinney, and
Paul Mavrides.
Many of the magazine's contributors, such as
Dan Perkins
Tom Tomorrow is the pen name of editorial cartoonist Dan Perkins (born April 5, 1961, in Wichita, Kansas). His weekly comic strip, ''This Modern World'', which comments on current events, appears regularly in more than 80 newspapers across the ...
, e.g. "Tom Tomorrow," adopted pseudonyms to avoid retribution from potential employers.
See also
*
Anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...
*
Temporary work
Further reading
*
*
*
*
* Elias, Robert
"Tom Tomorrow. (the Progressive Interview),"''The Progressive'' (March 2003).
*
References
{{Reflist
External links
Processed World at the Internet Archive a complete run of the issues is available except for issue 33.
Quarterly magazines published in the United States
Anarchist periodicals published in the United States
Defunct political magazines published in the United States
Irregularly published magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 1981
Magazines disestablished in 2005
Magazines published in San Francisco
Zines