Processed World (magazine)
Encyclopedia
Processed World is an anarchist magazine about the absurdity of modern office work that was founded in San Francisco, California
in 1981.
, 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.
in which a large number of college-educated people are forced to work as temporary work
slaves with no worker benefits at uncaring and impersonal corporation
s large and small. In the United States
after the recession of 1981-1982, there was very little or no permanent work available because most of the permanent workers at many companies had been fired and companies preferred to hire temporary workers because they were easier to exploit. 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 doing modern office work such as working as a computer programmer, word processor
, call center operator, data entry operator, telemarketer or file clerk.
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 1992.
, Adam Cornford
, John Norton
, Jesse Drew, and Donna Kossy
.
The magazine has many cartoon
s by well known anarchist artists such as Tom Tomorrow
, Jay Kinney
, and Paul Mavrides
.
to workers in places such as India
.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
in 1981.
Publication history of Processed World
Processed World began publication in April 1981 and was published on paper in print on an irregular basis, approximately quarterly to semi-annually until Winter 1992. There were 32 published issues printed on paper. Since 1992, there have been three more issues published on the InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, 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 of Processed World
The magazine is about the absurdity and futility of modern workEmployment
Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
in which a large number of college-educated people are forced to work as temporary work
Temporary work
Temporary work or temporary employment refers to a situation where the employee is expected to leave the employer within a certain period of time. Temporary employees are sometimes called "contractual", "seasonal", "interim", "casual staff", "freelance", or "part-time"; or the word may be shortened...
slaves with no worker benefits at uncaring and impersonal corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
s large and small. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
after the recession of 1981-1982, there was very little or no permanent work available because most of the permanent workers at many companies had been fired and companies preferred to hire temporary workers because they were easier to exploit. 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 doing modern office work such as working as a computer programmer, word processor
Word processor
A word processor is a computer application used for the production of any sort of printable material....
, call center operator, data entry operator, telemarketer or file clerk.
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 1992.
Writers and cartoonists appearing in Processed World
Writers that have appeared in Processed World have included such people as Fred RinneFred Rinne
Fred Rinne is an American visual and performance artist. His cross disciplinary approach, outsider aesthetic and overriding cultural critique defines his work....
, Adam Cornford
Adam Cornford
Adam Cornford is an American poet, librettist, and essayist.-Biography:Adam Francis Cornford is the son of Christopher Cornford and a lineal descendant of naturalist Charles Darwin...
, John Norton
John Norton (author)
-Life:John Norton graduated from Boston College and the University of Pennsylvania with an M.A. and Ph.D. He taught at the University of California, Riverside....
, Jesse Drew, and Donna Kossy
Donna Kossy
Donna J. Kossy is a U.S. writer, zine publisher, and online used book dealer based in Portland, Oregon. Specializing in the history of "forgotten, discredited and extreme ideas", which she calls "crackpotology and kookology", she is better known for her books Kooks: A Guide to the Outer Limits of...
.
The magazine has many cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
s by well known anarchist artists such as Tom Tomorrow
Tom Tomorrow
Tom Tomorrow is the pen name of editorial cartoonist Dan Perkins. His weekly comic strip This Modern World, which comments on current events, appears regularly in over 90 newspapers across the U.S. and Canada as of 2006, as well as on CREDO Action and Daily Kos, where he is its comics curator...
, Jay Kinney
Jay Kinney
Jay Kinney is an American author, editor, and former underground cartoonist. A member, along with Skip Williamson, Jay Lynch and R. Crumb, of the original Bijou Funnies crew, Kinney also edited Young Lust, a satire of romance comics, in the early 1970s with Bill Griffith...
, and Paul Mavrides
Paul Mavrides
Paul Mavrides is an American artist, best known for his critique-laden comics, cartoons, paintings, graphics, performances and writings that encompass a disturbing yet humorous catalog of the social ills and shortcomings of human civilization...
.
Historical interest
The print issues of the magazine covering 1981-1992 are mainly of historical interest, as many of the lower-income jobs of Californian office workers occupied the 1980s and 1990s, such as word processor, call center operator, and data entry operator, have since been outsourcedOutsourcing
Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
to workers in places such as India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.