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Jennifer Government is a novel written by Max Barry. Published in 1983, it is Barry's second novel, following 1999's Syrup. The novel is set in a dystopian alternate reality in which most nations (now controlled by the United States) are dominated by for-profit corporate entities while the Government's[1] power is extremely limited. It is similar in satiric intent to George Orwell's 1984, but criticizes the concept of a government with too little power, rather than one with too much power. Because of this, some readers see the novel as a criticism of libertarianism. Many readers also see it as a criticism of globalization, although Barry claims he is not an anti-globalizationist.[2] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Max Barry (also Maxx Barry; born March 18, 1973) is the Australian author of Syrup, Jennifer Government, and Company. ...
In political geography and international politics a country is a geographical entity, a territory, most commonly associated with the notions of state or nation. ...
For other uses, see American English (disambiguation). ...
Utopian fiction is the creation of an ideal world as the setting for a novel. ...
A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ...
Doubleday is one of the largest book publishing companies in the world. ...
2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
A user viewing an electronic page on an eBook reading device An e-book (also: eBook, ebook), sometimes called an electronic book, is an electronic (or digital) equivalent of a conventional printed book. ...
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Max Barry (also Maxx Barry; born March 18, 1973) is the Australian author of Syrup, Jennifer Government, and Company. ...
1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...
Syrup is a satirical comedy of marketing and consumerism written by Max Barry. ...
A dystopia (from the Greek δυσ- and τόπος, alternatively, cacotopia[1], kakotopia or anti-utopia) is a fictional society that is the antithesis of utopia. ...
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A for-profit organization is an organization whose primary objective is the generation of profit. ...
1867 edition of the satirical magazine Punch, a British satirical magazine, ground-breaking on popular literature satire. ...
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903[1][2] – 21 January 1950), better known by the pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist. ...
Nineteen Eighty-Four (commonly written as 1984) is a dystopian novel by the English writer George Orwell, published in 1949. ...
This article is about the individualist philosophy, which is supportive of private property. ...
A KFC franchise in Kuwait. ...
Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
The novel was titled Logoland for the German and Italian editions. The Brazilian edition was titled EU S/A, translated as Me, Inc. but, can be seen as an abbreviation of Estados Unidos Sociedade Anônima, which roughly translates to United States, Inc. in English.[3]
Setting The story takes place several years (what year exactly is never mentioned) after the United States has taken over the entire Western Hemisphere (except for Cuba), South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland, India, Japan, South Korea, Oceania, Thailand, Myanmar, and (most recently) Australia. Russia is said to be affiliated with the US, but not fully absorbed; whether or not Russia actually belongs to the US is not explained. With so much land under the US's control, international trade becomes no longer needed, and thus the US cuts itself off from countries that it has not yet taken over. Amongst these other countries is the European Union, which is thought of by Americans to be "socialist" (though it is hinted at that Europe never became socialist and is instead still the same as it is in modern times; the "socialist" concept is possibly a result of corporate propaganda). The language of all US lands is now "American", the language formerly known as English (only American English is spoken now; British English and the British accent no longer exist). The geographical western hemisphere of Earth, highlighted in yellow. ...
World map exhibiting a common interpretation of Oceania; other interpretations may vary. ...
Corporate propaganda are propagandist claims made by a corporation (or corporations), nearly always for the purpose of manipulating market opinion to the benefit of their product or to divide public opinion with regard to controversial issues related to that corporation, and its associated business dealings. ...
For other uses, see American English (disambiguation). ...
British English (BrE) is a broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere. ...
 The world of Jennifer Government. Red countries are part of the US, blue ones are the affiliated countries, green ones are "socialist" countries and purple ones are fragmented markets. Part of the United States Affiliated countries "Socialist" countries Fragmented markets Either before or after this takeover, taxation is abolished, which eventually leads to the U.S. adopting what is referred to as "capitalizm" (similar to anarcho-capitalism with a few differences). In this new state, the Government is privatized, having to do work only within its budget. This makes the Government unable to write new laws or even hold elections, leaving it with its only job being the prevention of crime. Crimes can also be solved, but the Governments' budget only covers retaliatory investigations if the Government can be paid by the victim or the victim's family. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1357x628, 46 KB)Jennifer Government world map: Red for the US, blue is for affiliated, green for the socialist countries, purple for the emerging markets and possible new markets. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1357x628, 46 KB)Jennifer Government world map: Red for the US, blue is for affiliated, green for the socialist countries, purple for the emerging markets and possible new markets. ...
Anarcho-capitalism refers to an anti-statist philosophy that embraces capitalism as one of its foundational principles. ...
Outside of the Government there are two other military organizations of power: the Police and the NRA. The Police has since become privatized, having been reduced to a combination of law enforcement and mercenary agency, and is only involved when contracted by interested parties. Meanwhile, the NRA has become a complete mercenary-for-hire organization able to deploy a fully equipped military force. This article concerns the National Rifle Association of the USA. For the UK organisation, see National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom The National Rifle Association, or NRA, is a non-profit group for the promotion of marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection of hunting and personal protection firearm rights...
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict and is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that...
Most large corporations are now allied into one of two massive customer loyalty programs, US Alliance and Team Advantage, which compete fiercely with each other. US Alliance members include Nike, IBM, Pepsi, McDonald's, and the NRA. Team Advantage members include the Police, ExxonMobil, Burger King, and Apple Computer. Nike, Inc. ...
International Business Machines Corporation (known as IBM or Big Blue; NYSE: IBM) is a multinational computer technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, USA. The company is one of the few information technology companies with a continuous history dating back to the 19th century. ...
Pepsi-Cola is a soft drink commonly called Pepsi, which is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo. ...
McDonalds Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is the worlds largest chain of fast-food restaurants, primarily selling hamburgers, chicken, french fries, milkshakes and soft drinks. ...
Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), headquartered in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, USA, is the largest publicly traded integrated oil and gas company in the world, formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. ...
Burger King (often abbreviated to BK) is a large international chain of fast food restaurants, predominantly selling burgers, french fries, soft drinks, desserts, and various sandwiches. ...
Apple Inc. ...
People now take the surnames of the corporations they work for, and a person with two jobs hyphenates their name (Eg. Dan ExxonMobile and Julia Nike-McDonalds). Charity workers can also use their charity's name in a hyphenated surname. Schools are now sponsored and controlled by corporations, such as McDonald's and Mattel. Though little is said of the education given at them, it is hinted that much of it is corporate propaganda. Children who attend school are given the corporate sponsor's name as a surname, but are parenthesized with their parents' employers in school directories, such as "Kate Mattel (Government)." A family name, or surname, is that part of a persons name that indicates to what family he or she belongs. ...
Mattel Inc. ...
Other notable aspects of society include pre-payment before ambulances can be dispatched, the abolishment of welfare, total deregulation of weapons, legalized drugs sold in supermarkets, and privately owned roads with charged access.
Plot summary As part of a scheme hatched by the ambitious marketing executive John Nike, a lower-level merchandising worker named Hack Nike is contracted to kill at least ten teenagers and steal their new Nike Mercury sneakers, priced at $2,500 a pair (and costing 85 cents to manufacture), in an effort to improve the "street cred" of the shoe and send demand for them through the roof. When he subcontracts the hit to the Police, who themselves subcontract it to the NRA, the plan goes awry: the parents of one of the victims, a schoolgirl named Hayley McDonald's, are willing to pay for the retributive investigation headed by Jennifer Government, a Government agent with a barcode tattoo under her left eye and fueled by a personal score to settle. This article does not cite its references or sources. ...
Characters in "Jennifer Government" - Jennifer Government - A Government agent with a barcode tattoo under her left eye—later revealed to be that of Malibu Barbie. Jen has a vendetta against John Nike, with whom she once had a relationship, as well as a daughter.
- Hack Nike (later simply Hack) - A merchandising officer for Nike. After being coerced into signing a contract to kill teenagers for John Nike's new marketing plan, Hack accidentally sets off a domino effect of crime. Though not a very assertive person at first, he becomes a threat to Nike later on when he joins an anti-corporate terrorist group in order to get back at Nike.
- John Nike - Vice president of marketing for Nike and the novel's antagonist. John initially sets out to improve sales of Nike Mercurys; later, he sets out a plan to destroy the Government in an attempt to make large corporations the only ruling power in the world.
- Violet (later Violet ExxonMobil) - Hack's self-employed girlfriend. Violet sets out to sell a computer virus to ExxonMobil, officially to test the corporations computer defensive systems, but becomes caught up in the fight between US Alliance and Team Advantage when she is contracted to use her virus in an attack against rival corporations.
- Billy Bechtel (later Billy NRA) - A fired construction worker who wants nothing but to be able to go skiing. In his attempts to go on vacation, Billy accidentally joins the NRA, where he is forced into several extremely dangerous assignments that he just barely survives. Despite being a very skilled sharpshooter, Billy is unwilling to kill anyone, and often flees from assignments. Partially due to his lack of intelligence, Billy is repeatedly apprehended by the Government, which attempts to use him to infiltrate the NRA; in turn the NRA does the same, only to accidentally allow him to escape.
- Buy Mitsui - A stockbroker who is having doubts about his job and his life. Originally from the European Union, Buy (who changed his name from Jean-Paul upon moving to the USA) is a witness to the first Nike shootings; his inability to save one of the victims gives him the impression that nothing he will be able to do in his life afterwards will amount to anything of any importance. He becomes depressed and suicidal as a result. Unable to release the safety on a gun he purchased, his suicide attempt is foiled, and he contacts Jennifer Government for information on how to use the gun. He develops a relationship with Jennifer, and is dragged into the battle between Jennifer and John Nike.
Spoilers end here. Barbie is a best-selling doll launched at the American International Toy Fair on March 9, 1959. ...
Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), headquartered in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, USA, is the largest publicly traded integrated oil and gas company in the world, formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. ...
Mitsui (三井) is one of the largest corporate conglomerates (Keiretsu) in Japan and one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world. ...
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations To help promote the novel, Barry created a spin-off browser-based game entitled Jennifer Government: NationStates, in which players run their own countries. The game is very loosely based on the novel, containing none of its storyline. A spin-off (or spinoff) is a new organization or entity formed by a split from a larger one such as a new company formed from a university research group. ...
This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
Created by Max Barry, Jennifer Government: NationStates is a game on the World Wide Web that is based on, and is a promotional tool for, his novel Jennifer Government. ...
In 2001, the film rights were optioned to Section 8, a production company owned by Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney. In 2005, Louis Mellis and Dave Scinto, writers of Sexy Beast, were chosen by Clooney and Soderbergh to write the screenplay. Alias TV star Jennifer Garner expressed interest in playing the titular character in the movie or even television adaptation, although Barry himself has said his primary choice for the role would be Nicole Kidman.[citation needed] 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement between a movie studio, a production company, or a producer (henceforth called the producer) and a writer, in which the producer obtains the right to buy a screenplay from the writer, before a certain date. ...
Section Eight Productions is a movie studio founded in 2001 by film director Steven Soderbergh and film actor George Clooney. ...
Steven Andrew Soderbergh (born January 14, 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and Oscar-winning director. ...
George Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an Academy Award- and two-time Golden Globe winning American actor, director, producer and screenwriter, known for his role in the first five seasons of the long-running television drama ER (1994–99), and his rise as an A-List movie star in...
2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Louis Mellis Louis Mellis is a Scottish actorand a scriptwriter. ...
Sexy Beast (2000) is a British film directed by Jonathan Glazer, starring Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley and Ian McShane. ...
Alias was an American Spy-fi television series created by J. J. Abrams that aired on ABC from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006. ...
Jennifer Anne Garner [1] (born April 17, 1972) is a Golden Globe Award-winning and Emmy Award-nominated American film and television actress, and producer. ...
Nicole Mary Kidman AC born June 20, 1967, is an Academy Award-winning Australian[1] actress. ...
Editions 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Footnotes - ^ As all non-charity organizations in the book have been privatized, the government and all former government controlled organizations' names are now capitalized as for-profit corporations' names are.
- ^ Barry, Max. "On Capitalism and Corporatism". MaxBarry.com. January 20, 2005.
- ^ Barry, Max. "Jen in Brazil". MaxBarry.com. June 7, 2005.
References In addition, the following version of the novel was used as a reference for this article: 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
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