Commodification of Identity

The theme of Commodification of Identity explores how personal identity in Horizon City has become a product to be packaged, marketed, sold, and exploited, often at the expense of individual autonomy and authentic self-expression. This theme is most powerfully explored through the tragic story of Matt Charadon in "Rock Star" and Rigby Barclay in "Culture Vulture," where we see how media corporations transform creative expression into commercial products while stripping artists of control over their own identities.

Corporate Ownership of Likeness

The most explicit exploration of this theme appears in "Rock Star," where Matt Charadon signs a contract with Spinning Disc Media that gives them complete control over his likeness:

"The contract with Spinning Disc Media was ironclad; sure, he could bow out of his residuals, but they still held the rights to his likeness in perpetuity and could make him perform any way they wanted to. His creative input was no longer required, or welcome, and his presence at the live events would be as an audience member."

This legal transfer of ownership allows the corporation to use Matt's identity in ways he never intended or approved:

"He made commercials for everything from toothpaste to vibrating male sex toys, which he graphically demonstrated the use of, finishing by squiring on the camera lens. After that, the pornos really got popular, and he would be seen screwing some new celebrity every week. At the end of each sex scene, he would always say, 'Baby, I was born to perform!'"

The irony of this catchphrase—originally Matt's authentic expression of his passion for performance—being repurposed for pornographic content he never participated in highlights how commodification can transform personal expression into commercial exploitation.

Media Personalities as Products

In "Culture Vulture," Rigby Barclay's anti-establishment persona becomes a valuable commodity for New Light Media:

"It was a brutally honest assessment of his position towards all things Horizon-esque, a well-informed synthesis of the actual state of affairs in reality through unapologetic eyes. His motto was, 'Truth at any cost.', and he made a living by exposing lies, especially those told by other talking heads on the TV. For his efforts, he was well compensated by New Light Media, because he brought the eyeballs, and eyeballs directly translated to money at NLM."

The commercialization of Rigby's identity creates tension between his self-image as a truth-teller and his role as a content producer generating value for a corporation:

"Joanna leans over her desk and puts her face right in Rigby's and says, 'I don't give two cycles if it's a billion yen, you fucking worm! What I care about is eyeballs, and none of this is about eyeballs. You have to generate content, not fuck prostitutes!'"

This exchange reveals how even seemingly authentic expressions of rebellion become commodified when they generate viewership that can be monetized.

Cloning and the Purchase of Self

Cloning technology in Horizon City represents perhaps the most literal commodification of identity—the ability to purchase a new version of oneself. This transaction transforms identity from something inherent to something that can be bought and sold:

"You had just said you can't afford more than three months here, and you had taken your last car out. That was... four hours ago. You went and updated your clone, didn't you?"

The economic dimension of this process creates a situation where identity itself becomes stratified by wealth, with the rich able to maintain continuity of self through regular updates while the poor must accept larger gaps or forego cloning entirely.

Branded Augmentations

Cybernetic augmentations in Horizon City serve not only functional purposes but also as branded identity markers that signal social status and affiliation. In "Deck Jockey," Kenji's deck is described in terms that emphasize its brand identity:

"Kenji's deck wasn't top of the line, as it was designed for portability, but it was of the illegal sort with expanded storage attached as a small black plastic box taped to the side, an upgraded tensor unit capable of running 4 Artificial Intelligence hosts in parallel, and a manual gain filter on his datajack."

The modifications to the deck reflect not just functional needs but also Kenji's identity as a serious hacker, showing how technology becomes integrated into personal identity in ways that can be marketed and sold.

Resistance Through Identity

Despite the pervasive commodification of identity in Horizon City, characters attempt to maintain authentic self-expression through various forms of resistance. Rigby's catchphrase represents one such attempt:

"I hate it here."

This simple statement serves as both a marketable tagline and a genuine expression of Rigby's feelings about Horizon City, illustrating the tension between authentic identity and its commercial exploitation.

Similarly, Matt's suicide can be understood as a desperate attempt to escape the commodification of his identity:

"You make it not more than eight months before you kill yourself. This last time it was four months."

This tragic cycle suggests that when identity becomes fully commodified, death may seem like the only escape from exploitation.

Social Impact

The commodification of identity has profound social consequences in Horizon City:

• Alienation: Characters become separated from their public identities
• Exploitation: Personal expression is harvested for commercial gain
• Stratification: The ability to maintain control over one's identity becomes a luxury of the wealthy
• Resistance: Underground movements emerge that reject branded identities

These consequences reflect broader themes of corporate control and technological dependence, showing how the commodification of identity serves as both a symptom and a mechanism of social control in Horizon City.

Philosophical Implications

The theme raises fundamental questions about authenticity, ownership, and the nature of selfhood in a capitalist society. If aspects of identity can be legally owned by corporations, what remains truly personal? If self-expression is always potentially marketable, can authentic expression exist?

These questions echo philosophical traditions including:

• Marxist alienation: The separation of workers from the products of their labor extended to identity itself, as Matt becomes alienated from his own likeness
• Existentialist authenticity: The challenge of maintaining genuine self-expression in a commercial world, as Rigby struggles to reconcile his public persona with his private self
• Postmodern identity: The fragmentation of self into marketable components, as Matt's identity is sliced into different performances across various media

In Horizon City, these philosophical questions become urgent practical concerns as characters navigate a world where identity itself has become a commodity to be bought, sold, and exploited for profit.

Connections Across Horizon City

The commodification of identity connects to numerous other aspects of Horizon City:

• Characters: Matt, Rigby, Katrina, and Chatana each represent different facets of identity commodification—from victim to collaborator to witness
• Locations: From Spinning Disc Media to Genetek Revival Facilities, corporate spaces facilitate the transformation of identity into product
• Technologies: Cloning technology, SimStim hardware, and designer drugs like Demigod all enable new forms of identity commodification
• Other Themes: Corporate control, disposability of human life, and the illusion of free will all intersect with the commodification of identity

Together, these connections reveal how deeply the commodification of identity is woven into the fabric of Horizon City, touching every aspect of life from entertainment to death itself.