Black Friday was a real doozy, this year. No doubt about that. And I ain’t talkin’ about the bargains.
I’m sure you’ve read all about the consumer feeding frenzythat took place in shopping churches (oops, I mean malls) across America, the day after Thanksgiving.
Pepper spray has suddenly increased in popularity (thanks to Lt. John Pike of the UC Davis police department) to the point where it’s now become a “must-have” to secure the very best deals when looking for the new Xbox. Niiiice.
A consumer society fueled by materialism to the point of foaming-at-the-mouth violence is truly a spectacle to behold. Gives you hope for mankind, doesn’t it? As this insightful piece points out, the whole scenario is reminiscent of the type of dystopian culture offered by the usual suspects like Huxley and Bradbury, as well as by works like these:
Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut
Uglies by Scott Westerfed
The 1% must be pretty stoked when the 99% occupy Walmart instead of Wall Street. Keep ‘em yearning for flat screen TVs and there’s less time and energy for revolution. Simple.
But it isn’t just consumerism gone wild. As the Daily Kos points out with its great TIME Magazine cover comparison (truly elucidating), big media also keeps Americans nice and sedated through what amounts to nothing less than passive coercion.
While the rest of the world learns and reads about actual events that will affect everyone’s lives here, like…oh I don’t know…the potential collapse of the European Union, we’re fed a steady diet of crucial topics like “the chore wars.”
But enough distractions, like this blog post.
Gotta get ready for Cyber Monday, tomorrow.
{ 3 trackbacks }
{ 0 comments… add one now }