previously published by me elsewhere:
"More people get their news from CNN" is that deep-voiced refrain frequently heard as that particular news station advertises itself to those about to switch the channel. What is it about standing out from the crowd that so drives our society?
Last night I lay down on our rather threadbare couch to begin a book I picked up from the library, solely based on its intriguing title, which is always my way of choosing my next read. It's called "Hello, I'm Special: How Individuality Became the New Conformity", and already the first several pages fit into a certain outlook I have, so I continue to flip because it preaches to my choir.
I'm instantly reminded of one of my favorite "Simpsons" episodes from the fifth season called Bart's Inner Child. In it the town gathers to listen to a motivational speaker who grows a certain fondness for Bart's lackadaisical and youthful attitude toward life. Soon enough the entire town is doing 'what they feel' and Bart loses his rebel status. The book's theory either comes ten years too late, or "The Simpsons" were once ahead of the curve. Maybe the curve rotated a lot slower back in 1993, and now with life being so instantaneously gratifying we are a little bit more spoiled, and therefore demanding.
On a recent visit to see my sister in Tallahassee we were in the downtown area at a holiday festival of some sort. It was full of bright lights, overpriced fried foods, and excessive stimulation for children. Our four year old niece was enthralled by it all, especially a region that had machines feathering fake, soapy, snowflakes onto the kids and their unsuspecting adult tagalongs. As any proud uncle might, I crouched onto the damp ground to snap digital pictures of my niece playing in the manufactured post-global warming nature. I had taken two or three pictures before some little kid, who stood no more than three feet, approached me saying "Let me see". The era of waiting for anything is clearly gone.
I want it now! Instant cash, status, and fame are the things we are birthing in our culture, at least in an Andy Warhol timeframe. There's even something self-congratulatory about doing nothing to get a pulpet from which to scream here on Myspace (*previously), and I don't miss the irony of saying these words here. Every word, especially the misspelled and made-up ones, all feed the machine of setting the tone for the 'you'; the 'you' that wins recognition on the cover of Time magazine. Honestly, though, I don't know a single person who reads that rag, so does their canonization of the pronoun matter to me? Really?
Some might say presenting an air of difference and importance are respected attributes to gain buzz in the film industry, but in a myriad of ways showing similarity and acceptance of norms becomes the way to show 'them' you can replicate what already makes them money. Sometimes rebellion only seems to be respected in hindsight. For some reason I'm reminded of this novelty picture frame the wife and I were given some years ago. It's like the ones that are so prevalent at every gift shop in the greater U.S. with the thick wood framing with random words and phrases etched into it. One statement stands out for me: each one is different, yet unique in their own way.
I have a close friend who went to New College for their undergraduate. All of the things I have heard about the place shows a strong acceptance of freewill and whatever floats your boat type mentality. When I was in high school several people thought I'd fit in there. Wasn't it the point that no one fit in, thus redefining the aesthetic of everything? Interestingly the recent movie "Accepted" kind of dealt with a school founded on those same principles, yet for something about non-conformity the movie itself clings heavily to the expectations of its genre.
Can you have it both ways? I think my ramblings have definitely had it both ways. This is the culture where alternative has the easy to devour mainstream connotations and the purist middle finger in permanent rigor to anything that sells perspective. This is a very masturbatory success by numbers culture and for some fucked up reason I dream to be a part of it.
