Feed (2002) is a cyberpunk, satirical, dystopian, young-adult novel by M. T. Anderson, focusing on issues such as American hegemony, corporate power, consumerism, information technology, data mining, and environmental decline, with a sometimes sardonic, sometimes somber tone. From the first-person perspective of a teenaged boy, the book takes place in a near-futuristic American culture completely dominated by advertising and corporate exploitation, corresponding to the enormous popularity of internetworking brain implants called feeds.
Plot
Context
The novel portrays a near-future in which the feednet, a huge computer network (apparently an advanced form of the Internet), is directly connected to the brains of about 73% of American citizens by an implanted device called a feed. The feed allows people: to mentally access vast digital databases (individually called "sites"); to experience shareable virtual-reality phenomena (including entertainment programs, music, and even others' memories); to continually interact with intrusive corporations in a personal preference-based way; and to communicate telepathically on closed channels with others who also have feeds (a feature called m-chatting).
In the book's setting, the natural environment is deteriorating, with natural clouds having been replaced by trademarked Clouds™, and many parents have their children custom-designed. The corporations responsible for the feed have immense power and even run the school system, which is now known as School™. Throughout the book, corporations appear to hold the true power in the United States, leading to the destruction of the environment and leaving the president virtually helpless as the Global Alliance, a coalition of other countries, begins contemplating war with the U.S.
Synopsis
Titus and his thrill-seeking teenaged friends meet teen girl Violet Durn, whose critically questioning attitude is completely new to the others. While at a club, a man from an anti-feed organization hacks all of their feeds. They wake up in a hospital to find, for the first time in most of their lives, that their feeds are unavailable: partially deactivated while under repair. During their recovery, Violet and Titus become sweethearts. Eventually, their feeds are repaired enough for them to return to Earth; however, Violet's feed is not completely fixed.
One day, Violet reveals her idea of resisting the feed to Titus. She plans to show interest in a wide and random assortment of products to prevent the corporations that control the feed from developing a reliable consumer profile of her. The two go to the mall and create wild consumer profiles, by requesting information on certain random items, then not buying them. Later, Violet realizes that someone has been accessing her personal information through her dreams; this soon becomes a normal occurrence for many feed users. Violet calls FeedTech customer service but receives no help. Later, she tells Titus that her feed has been severely malfunctioning, and she may even die, having had the feed installed later in life (and so with greater accompanying risk). Due to her deteriorating feed, various parts of Violet's body are shutting down. Throughout the novel, there is also a presence of lesions appearing on the characters' bodies. At first it is something they hide, but eventually, the lesions turn into a trend. Violet, disgusted with this latest fashion, declares that everyone has become the feed. After this outburst, she collapses and is taken to the hospital.
As a side effect of the malfunction, Violet loses memories of the year before she got the feed installed. To avoid losing more memories, she makes large virtual records of things she can remember. She sends them to Titus for safekeeping, but, not knowing how to emotionally handle this burden, Titus deletes them. Violet's body parts continue shutting down. She and her father cannot afford repairs, so they petition FeedTech for assistance.
Meanwhile, an environmental disaster affecting Mexico causes the Global Alliance to prepare to go to war with the United States. Titus drives to Violet's house. He falls asleep shortly after arriving, but, while he sleeps, Violet shares her bad news with Titus in the form of memory: FeedTech has decided not to help Violet because of her bizarre and unreliable customer profile. That weekend, Violet comes to Titus's house to ask him to go with her to the mountains. He is reluctant at first but ultimately agrees. While in the mountains, Violet makes it clear she wants to have sex with Titus, but he refuses because he feels like it would be like having sex with a zombie. They begin arguing and eventually part. On the way home, Violet's arm stops working and when she arrives home her leg fails as well. Titus drives away. The next day, Violet apologizes to Titus via feed, but Titus does not answer.
Several months later, Titus receives a message from Violet's father saying that Violet wanted Titus to know when it was "all over". He informs him that the time has come. Titus goes to Violet's house, where she lies in a coma, barely still alive. Her father blames Titus and shows him memories of parts of her body and brain shutting down and the pain she experienced. He then sarcastically tells Titus to be with "the Eloi". Titus asks what that means, but Violet's father refuses to answer, telling him to look it up. They fight, and Titus goes home. In an act of grief, he sits on his floor naked and orders the same pair of jeans continuously over the feed until he is entirely out of "credit", which is their form of currency.
Two days later, Titus goes to visit Violet again. He tells her any stories he can find in the information available through his feed. Finally, he tells her the story of their relationship in the form of a movie trailer. The book ends with Violet's life systems becoming progressively weaker, and the feed ironically repeating the advertising slogan "Everything Must Go" in progressively smaller font.
Characters
; Titus
The narrator Titus is the teenage son of an upper-middle-class family. For the most part, he is content with his consumerist lifestyle. When he meets Violet, Titus begins to help her "resist the feed", but ultimately abandons this project as he gives in to peer pressure and the alluring advertisements. Titus was genetically designed to look like Delglacey Murdoch, a two-star actor.
; Violet Durn
Violet is Titus's girlfriend throughout the majority of the novel. She was raised by her eccentric father and was homeschooled. Violet did not get a feed until she was seven, unlike Titus and his friends, whose feeds were implanted when they were infants. Violet views the feed negatively, different from Titus and his friends. She also comes from a lower-middle-class background.
; Lincoln "Link" Arwaker
Link is one of Titus's friends. He is described as being very tall and physically unsightly. His family is also depicted as much wealthier than Titus's family. Link is a clone of Abraham Lincoln and lives in a gated community. Calista and Quendy compete for his attention throughout the book.
; Marty
Another of Titus's friends, Marty is described as being good at any game. He is loud and obnoxious at times. At the end of the novel, Marty purchases the "Nike speech tattoo", causing him to insert the word "Nike" into all of his sentences.
; Calista
Calista is Link's girlfriend throughout most of the novel. She is the ring leader of the group of girls and was the first to get "cosmetic" lesions. Confrontational and outspoken, she instigates a major fight she and the other characters have with Violet.
; Loga
Loga and Titus used to be sweethearts. By the start of the book, the relationship has ended, but they are still friends. Loga is the only one of Titus's circle of friends who is not hacked at the Rumbla Spot.
; Quendy
Quendy tries to replicate Calista. She tends to be jealous and ever-competing with Calista for attention from Link and the group. After Calista has lesions cut into the back of her neck, Quendy takes the trend to the next level and has lesions cut all over her body in an act of competition. At the end of the novel, Titus and Quendy become sweethearts.
; Titus's father (Steve)
Steve is depicted as obsessed with both consumerist desires and status. He works for a corporation, somewhere in the realm of banking, and buys Titus an upcar. Towards the finish of the novel, it is exposed that Steve is possibly having an affair with a woman he works with
In addition, the story's text interrupts the narrative with commercials for consumer products, Feedcasts, pop songs, and news snippets. The constant media/consumerist presence positions readers to analyze how adolescents are exposed to consumerism. The degradation of language and heavy use of slang is not only a matter of youth, but also present in the speech of Titus's parents. The novel offers comment on the language use of adults and proves, through examination of Titus's parents, that the adults possess an immature worldview.
Throughout the novel, Anderson emphasizes his created slang and adolescent vocabulary specific to the society in Feed. This reinforces the idea that critical thinking is not a necessity in the interest of the corporations.
- Honor 2003 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction
- Winner 2003 Golden Duck Awards Hal Clement Award for Young Adults
- Nominee 2005–2006 Green Mountain Book Award
In 2020, Feed landed the 68th spot on the American Library Association's list of most commonly banned and challenged books in the United States between 2010 and 2019.
The New Zealand singer Lorde claims that Feed influenced her when she was writing the critically acclaimed album Pure Heroine.
Adaptation
A feature film adaptation by 20th Century Studios was announced October 22, 2022. Stanley Kalu has been selected to write and direct the adaptation.
References
Sources
- Blasingame, James. "An Interview with M.T. Anderson." Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. Newark: Sep. 2003. Vol. 47, Iss. 1; pg. 98.
- Hepperman, Christine M. "Feed." The Horn Book Magazine. Boston: Jan/Feb. 2004. Vol 80, Iss. 1; pg. 26.