Processed World

Processed World was an anti-capitalist, anti-authoritarian magazine focused on the oppressions and absurdities of office work, which, at the time the magazine began, was becoming automated.[2] The magazine was founded by Chris Carlsson, Caitlin Manning, and Adam Cornford in 1981.[3] No new issues have been produced since 2005.[1]

Processed World
Covers of several issues
CategoriesAnarchist
FrequencyQuarterly
Total circulation4,000[1]
FounderChris Carlsson
First issueApril 1981 (1981-04)
Final issue
Number		2005
32
CountryUnited States
Based inSan Francisco, U.S.
ISSN0735-9381

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.[4][5][6]

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.[7]

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. 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.[8][1][4][6]

Contributors

Writers that have had work published by the magazine include founder Carlsson, Manning, Chris Winks, Denis Hayes, Greg Williamson, Jim Swanson,[3] Fred Rinne, Adam Cornford, John Norton, Jesse Drew, and Donna Kossy and many more. The magazine featured cartoons by artists such as Tom Tomorrow,[9] Melinda Gebbie,[1] Ted Rall,[10] Jay Kinney, and Paul Mavrides.

Many of the magazine's contributors, such as Dan Perkins, e.g. "Tom Tomorrow," adopted pseudonyms to avoid retribution from potential employers.[9]

See also

Further reading
  • Laura Fraser (December 8, 1984). "Anti-computer rebels 'byte' back". The Globe and Mail. p. M11.
  • John Wallace (March 1, 1986). "The high cost of high tech; the dark side of the chip". The Nation. 242: 246. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  • Frank Clancy (December 3, 1986). "The 'Far Out' Utne Reader Digests Alternative Press". Los Angeles Times. p. 1. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  • Denise Caruso (July 14, 1991). "10 Years Of A Wonderfully Bad Attitude Computers & Technology". San Francisco Examiner. p. D14. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  • Elias, Robert, "Tom Tomorrow. (the Progressive Interview)," The Progressive (March 2003).
  • Amanda Plumb (October 1, 2007). "Zines From The Shop Floor". New Labor Forum. 16 (3/4): 152. doi:10.1080/10957960701279272. Retrieved September 16, 2012.

References
  1. Silverman, Jacob. "World Processor," The Baffler (July 2014). Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  2. Processed World home page:
  3. Jamie Beckett (January 20, 1998). "Activist Looks At S.F.'S Fabled Past "Shaping San Francisco" Is A Cd-Rom With A Purpose". San Francisco Chronicle. p. B3. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  4. Carlsson, Chris. "Processed World: A Political History," Notes From Below (June 8, 2019). Originally from Logout #7. Retrieved June 17, 2019
  5. "History and Themes," Processed World website.
  6. Paolo Pontoniere (March 24, 1997). "Cyberculture. The Cd-Rom By The Bay". Business. Los Angeles Times. p. 4. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  7. Index to the complete run of Processed World Covers and Issues, all available online
  8. Tom Hodgkinson (July 22, 2006). "Idle thoughts". The Guardian. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  9. Rhodes, Steve (December 1992 – January 1993). "Tomorrow Never Knows". Mediafile. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  10. Morley, Madeleine. "1980s Mag Processed World Voiced Resistance to the Digitalization of the Workplace," Eye on Design (January 23, 2018). Retrieved June 6, 2018.
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