hello, i’m special!
have you read this book? it is by hal niedzviecki, and it definitely warrants a read.
the general premise is that individuality is the new conformity: everyone trained from youth to do their best, believe in themselves, and focus on what they want, … the doctrine of believing in one’s specialness … and what awaits us all is some form of pop culture celebrity. we’ll become rockstars, movie stars, celebrity psychologists, celebrity horse-trainers, celebrity biologists saving much-loved animals on the brink of extinction, or if none of those work out we might even become criminals who have surpassed all expectations and pushed the boundaries of the unthinkable just a little bit further …
hal argues a good case when he suggests that our infatuation with ‘the individual’ has dramatically changed how our societies are structured, and how they function … how our traditional institutions work, and the way we view and support them … and, by encouraging us all to focus on ‘me,’ our pop culture sensibilities have managed to trivialize even sincere forms of dissent and rebellion.
the book is good read, and at least does the job of encouraging us to sit and ponder why we are the way we are … it forces us to question the motives behind our ‘personal’ convictions (hal’s argument being that many of our personal convictions are really fancy ways of achieving some sort of pop culture credibility).
according to hal, the most troubling part of this tendency to be swept along in pop culture is that it lessens our ability to make real change, to suggest meaningful alternatives, and to speak in a voice and with content truly unique, different and challenging. what hal is really getting at is that we are losing our ability to think, imagine and create and the consequence is our societies are the lesser for it.
for another take on this book, check out this review …. or, just go buy the book (or visit your local library)!
c.
