I first heard of Black Friday a few years ago and in the interim it appears to have taken on form as a national institution. Black Friday sounds like the name of a horror movie and in its particulars really does sound like the plot of one. People poised at the entry of a big box store as if at the beginning of a race? Shootings? Pepper spray?
Evidently the excitement and festive group celebration that I might get out of a rock concert and someone else get out of a Ducks football game, a lot of people are getting out of competitive shopping at midnight. I suppose on one hand that if it makes people happy what’s the harm, but on the other hand I can’t help but believe this manufactured excitement is anesthetizing themselves to an empty pit at the center of their lives.
I’ve got nothing against stuff. I like giving and receiving stuff–warm, cozy, pretty, interesting, personal stuff. LIttle of that seemed to be on offer at the big box stores. People were clambering all over each other for what? Giant TV screens to stare at? Pillows?? Were they sleeping on the floor before this sale? Boots??? Were they shoeless? Was it really appealing to rush out right after Thanksgiving dinner into the cold and wet and stand in line at a shopping mall? Personally I preferred to sit by the fire sipping a glass of wine and playing games with my family. And what about the poor suckers staying up all night to work in the stores? What about their family time?
We certainly live in a bifurcated society when some people are in the cold and wet occupying Wall Street and others rush out into the cold and wet to occupy Wal-Mart. Except that one holds the potential, however distant, for social change while the other basically profits Walmart and fills our homes with impersonal, mass produced stuff that an awful lot of people are apparently convinced they want.
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This entry was posted on November 28, 2011 at 9:43 pm and is filed under cultural commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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money for nothing
I first heard of Black Friday a few years ago and in the interim it appears to have taken on form as a national institution. Black Friday sounds like the name of a horror movie and in its particulars really does sound like the plot of one. People poised at the entry of a big box store as if at the beginning of a race? Shootings? Pepper spray?
Evidently the excitement and festive group celebration that I might get out of a rock concert and someone else get out of a Ducks football game, a lot of people are getting out of competitive shopping at midnight. I suppose on one hand that if it makes people happy what’s the harm, but on the other hand I can’t help but believe this manufactured excitement is anesthetizing themselves to an empty pit at the center of their lives.
I’ve got nothing against stuff. I like giving and receiving stuff–warm, cozy, pretty, interesting, personal stuff. LIttle of that seemed to be on offer at the big box stores. People were clambering all over each other for what? Giant TV screens to stare at? Pillows?? Were they sleeping on the floor before this sale? Boots??? Were they shoeless? Was it really appealing to rush out right after Thanksgiving dinner into the cold and wet and stand in line at a shopping mall? Personally I preferred to sit by the fire sipping a glass of wine and playing games with my family. And what about the poor suckers staying up all night to work in the stores? What about their family time?
We certainly live in a bifurcated society when some people are in the cold and wet occupying Wall Street and others rush out into the cold and wet to occupy Wal-Mart. Except that one holds the potential, however distant, for social change while the other basically profits Walmart and fills our homes with impersonal, mass produced stuff that an awful lot of people are apparently convinced they want.
Like this:
This entry was posted on November 28, 2011 at 9:43 pm and is filed under cultural commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.