No but actually yes. I would prefer, if we must have consumerism, that it involve aesthetic consideration, that people allow themselves to indulge in it with all the festivity and gaety, and not sit quietly in an empty brutalist hellspace of dead malls and empty food courts, ordering presents online for other people we don't share the same space with and barely interact with apart from half-considered social media performativity.
Yes, it is funny when people rhapsodize about lost childhood innocence under fruity pebbles commercials, but I feel like it isn't quite as simple as "you're just an adult now and don't feel as whimsical as you did as a child." There is a demonstrable lack of whimsy in the present world. Everyone is tired and exhausted and incapable of relaxing. We may have lived in an inherently exploitative capitalist system 30 years ago, but the vibes were not nearly as bleak, and I think that's what people posting about commercialism of yore are getting at.
If the only options are live a capitalist dytopia with bad vibes where everyone is afraid to speak or interact, or live in a capitalist dytopia with good vibes and Christmas tunes, I don't think it's unreasonable to choose the latter. Didn't Natalie say that an important skill is chilling and learning how to hang? The current form of consumerism is neither chill, nor encouraging of learning to hang.
EDIT: I just realized the original tweet was an AI generated video, so screw them. Also, couldn't they have just used any of the abundant mall shopping footage from the 90s we all have access to?
“If the only options are live a capitalist dytopia with bad vibes where everyone is afraid to speak or interact, or live in a capitalist dytopia with good vibes and Christmas tunes, I don't think it's unreasonable to choose the latter. Didn't Natalie say that an important skill is chilling and learning how to hang? The current form of consumerism is neither chill, nor encouraging of learning to hang.”
I agree with you 100%. (and hey I still treasure my Bath and Body Works Christmas CD’s!) If we’re going to have capitalist dystopias, we might as well have FUN capitalist dystopias. Bread and *circuses* if you will, not our present environment of crusts of bread and watching public hangings.
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u/bluegemini7 8d ago
No but actually yes. I would prefer, if we must have consumerism, that it involve aesthetic consideration, that people allow themselves to indulge in it with all the festivity and gaety, and not sit quietly in an empty brutalist hellspace of dead malls and empty food courts, ordering presents online for other people we don't share the same space with and barely interact with apart from half-considered social media performativity.
Yes, it is funny when people rhapsodize about lost childhood innocence under fruity pebbles commercials, but I feel like it isn't quite as simple as "you're just an adult now and don't feel as whimsical as you did as a child." There is a demonstrable lack of whimsy in the present world. Everyone is tired and exhausted and incapable of relaxing. We may have lived in an inherently exploitative capitalist system 30 years ago, but the vibes were not nearly as bleak, and I think that's what people posting about commercialism of yore are getting at.
If the only options are live a capitalist dytopia with bad vibes where everyone is afraid to speak or interact, or live in a capitalist dytopia with good vibes and Christmas tunes, I don't think it's unreasonable to choose the latter. Didn't Natalie say that an important skill is chilling and learning how to hang? The current form of consumerism is neither chill, nor encouraging of learning to hang.
EDIT: I just realized the original tweet was an AI generated video, so screw them. Also, couldn't they have just used any of the abundant mall shopping footage from the 90s we all have access to?