A Land of Plentitude

I found Culture Jam to be a total eye opener, I thought that the Kalle Lasn put into words exactly how many Americans behave, and it showed how much Americans value stuff and how we are constantly trying to keep up with our neighbors.  When I say that Americans value stuff I am talking about the chapter on plentitude.  Looking around my room I can see that I am guilty of committing plentitude.  I have atleast twenty pens sitting on my desk that I have accumulated throughout the school years, and I still bought new ones this year.  Why did I buy more?  To be honest I am really not sure, buying new school supplies is something I do every year before the start of the semester.  Another example of plentitude I found in my apartment was the three face wash bottles in my bathroom.  All three of them are half full, I bought them mostly because I saw them on commericals and thought "Hey, maybe this one will really clear up my skin".  However, deep down I knew they would work just the same as all of the other face washes I have ever bought.  On page 11 Lasne said "Most Americans have everything they could possibly want, and they still don't think  its nearly enough".  I found it sad how true this statement really is.  I have a closet full of clothes, shoes, purses, and coats.  I am thankful I have all of these items but, I still wake up every morning and say "Wow, I have nothing to wear."  I see what other people are wearing, and if I like it I am likely to go out and purchase something similar.  This continual spending is totally unnecessary, but I am probably not going to stop. 

Another passage that really spoke out to me was on page 18.  This passage is about how looking like a model will find you a mate, and how the media plays into this idea.  If we did not have all of these movie stars looking almost perfect, the standards we have for ourselves would probably not be so unrealistic.  One of the worst parts about stars being put in such a spotlight is that when they do look bad, or gain a few pounds magazines put it in their headlines.  In many occasions when movie stars gain a couple pounds they just look normal, and less fake.  I was watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians yesterday and one of the previews was for Kris (the mom) to get plastic surgery because she is looking "old".  This shows just how much Americans value looking good.  Aging is a totally natural process and plastic surgery takes away some of the natural beauty in life.  It gives average people false expectations of what they could look like.  There is no reason to volunteer to get dangerous unnecessary surgery.  In my opinion its ridiculous how many people are willing to take the risks that are associated with surgery just to look good. 

The poem we read - America, It's gotta Be the Cheese seemed to sum up a lot of the ideas in the book.  It mentioned how processed America and Americans are.  Plastic surgery is like processing a human, rather than a food item; it makes everyone look the same.  The statement "We manipulated the cheese until it suited our purposes" really stood out to me.  Scientists are creating genetically modified crops to meet our purposes.  The product may be either bigger, tastier, or grow better.  However, how do we know if these items are really safe and its hard to know when you're consuming them.  Overall, it seems like we are in a new age of consumerism and all we can do is try and keep up, or try and stop it.