Happy Consumerism!

It always bothered me that stores displayed Thanksgiving and Christmas paraphernalia so early in the year. It bothers me that corporations broadcast their wide array of products, capitalizing on the ingrained consumerism during the holiday season and ignoring the bleak disenfranchisement of Native Americans and religious significance of Christmas. Let's not forget the irony of having store wide sales to perpetuate consumerism the day after people give thanks for what they have. The concept of promoting consumerism through commercialism, however, is not one that is new to society.

The early 20th century was marked by dramatic commercialism and consumerism where "the rich [got] richer and the poor [got]- children" (95). Towering billboards blanketed  America, constantly blaring products and seducing consumers. It was easy to feed into corporate greed. In The Great Gatsby, even the "valley of ashes" (23), a gray and desolate city sandwiched between two prosperous cities, contains an obnoxious billboard. The billboard, displaying the "eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburg" surrounded by a pair of "enormous yellow spectacles," presents a stark contrast between the wealthy and the poor. It establishes that those belonging to respected professions and the wealthy are quite literally above the poor as the billboard towers "over the solemn dumping ground."

Corporations have made it easy to tap into the taught consumerism and to ignore the wealth disparities among the population. While the early 20th century was a time of economic prosperity for some, many more were not able to enjoy the commercialized luxuries. Now, at a time of exponential wealth inequality, it's especially important to discuss the alluring power and redefine the role of commercialism.

So Hipster

Everyone knows what Tetris is: a retro arcade game with funky background music. You move around shapes called Tetriminos, trying to fit the blocks in the right slot to eliminate lines before they stack up too high. Besides offering me a nerdy- and exhilarating- study break*, Tetris taught me that trying to fit into the conventional only catalyzes the disappearance of personal identity. Perhaps that's why I find Modernism so appealing.

*You should know that I reached the highest rank on Facebook Tetris. That reveals two truths:
                  1) Yes, there is a Tetris hierarchy
                  2) I take a lot of study breaks.

As I was researching Modernist literature, it soon became evident that a common trend in Modernism is the pessimistic denouncement of growing capitalism and traditional viewpoints. Modernism marked the growing lack of faith in Western power and culture; it exposes the chasms among race, gender, and class, and it attempts to bridge the divides. Recognizing societal faults, so that we address the issues before it becomes "much too late" (206), is imperative to progressing society.
Among the gender and racial turmoil, we forget about the increasing class division. Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing the necessary dialogue needed to correct racism and sexism: The Bluest Eye proves that we have grown so used to those societal toxins. While we still need to address a spectrum of issues regarding racism and sexism, the modern-day wealthy inequality and class as a result of unchecked capitalism needs to be added to the conversation.
I do think that I'll enjoy studying Modernism, mostly because it gives me an excuse to be angry about societal flaws. In a way, it'll provide me a healthy psychiatric outlet to express my thoughts on the top one-tenth of one percent (spoken like a true Berniecrat). What can I say, I like being angry.

Thank You Trump

I'm thankful for Trump.
He has demonstrated that the "roots" of our country- unification, acceptance, equality- have "grown accustomed to the poison" that allows for racial and socioeconomic chasms. He has revealed that as a country, we have work to do to rectify our giant leap backwards. On November 8th, we validated racism, Islamophobia, homophobia, bigotry, and sexism. I cried tears of red, white, and blue, but they weren't for me. They were for minorities, Muslims, the LGBT community, and immigrants- those who are equally protected under our Constitution.
I'm thankful for Trump.
He has shown that people have stopped listening to each other. In a time of anger and confusion in our political atmosphere, it's crucial that we take the time to listen to the opposing side because our country is truly stronger together. No, not all liberals are abortion-loving, tree-hugging, and stoned hippies. No, not all conservatives are uneducated, incestual, white rednecks. Years of political divide and fearful, angry political rhetoric have given rise to extremism on both sides of the political spectrum- Trump being a direct result of that.

While those on the Right have launched attacks on minorities, Muslims, the LGBT community, and immigrants, those on the Left have, admittedly, launched attacks on the white man. I declare, as a concession on behalf of liberals, the white man is not the common enemy. He never was. He is only a physical representation of an imperialistic and broken system that "created the situation" of equal rights to be unequally granted.
Though November 8th will have a disappointing stain on world history, it exposes our country's superficial progress in the acceptance of all people. This is a wake-up call for many, but we're prepared to be the catalyst for uprooting injustices in all aspects of life to preserve the idea that all people are created equal.

The Thing to Fear

Growing up, it was easy to see definitive physical differences between my classmates and me. It was difficult, however, to discriminate and alienate classmates based on these differences, an action which seemingly grew easier for everyone through time. In elementary school, skin color, hair color, and gender didn't decide who I became friends with or who I talked to. As we grew older, we allowed these differences to form societal cliques, and it was easy to label others based on physical attributes: nerds, Asians, jocks, the "popular" ones. The desire to want to seem "cool" or to fit in with "popular" people seemed almost an innocent, childlike act at the time. With the passage of time, however, this desire grows into an unhealthy adult obsession to attain beauty ideals established by a broken and enabling society and reinforced by repetitive images present in "every billboard, every movie, every glance" (39).

In The Bluest Eye,Claudia realizes that her enemies are not "the Maureen Peals of the world" (74); rather, they are the those who decide what constitutes beauty and who insinuate these beauty ideals. The aggressor and "the thing to fear"(74), therefore, would mainly be society. In most cases, it's easy to blame society for the wrongs that need to be written right. In doing so, we remove any intimacy and responsibility from taking part in perpetuating societal standards. Furthermore, simply placing the blame on society does nothing in light of progressing solutions to the longstanding beauty ideals. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all of us, regardless of race or gender, to abandon and stop consuming society's standards.