Okay, so I'm currently reading "They Beauty Myth" by Naomi Wolf. Now, some may say that a book subtitled "How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women" might pretty much be nothing more than a shrill feminist screed. However, one thing I'm getting from it is that this story, of how we create unattainable standards for people and then convince them to spend lots of money pursuing them, is a story you could tell about many groups, not just women. This happens to be the women's version of the story. It's pretty head-exploding to ponder how much money is spent in our world on things that are supposed to bring you closer to some ideal that you may not even be aware that you're pursuing. Like, wealth. Or, fitness. Or, intelligence. Or, youth. Or, hipness. Or, fame. Or, some combination. Wow.
I make fun of this a lot in Brainwaves - because we buy things for so many bizarre reasons. Now I'm kind of wondering, with the general economic implosion, what happens next. The age of mindless purchasing of plastic gratification may be coming to a close. Or not. Probably not.
