So many things in this world that I don't understand. Reality being manufactured and sold as a commodity is one of them. Advertisements used to sell products are one thing. I get that if an attractive person is shown eating, drinking, wearing, wiping, riding or just walking by a product, chances are good that that particular product will 'sell' at least in the short term. One hopes that any future sales of this product may be attributed to the quality and value of the product. One hopes that the wheat will rise from the chaff or, better yet, that things that suck won't sell. This is not always the case (think lite beer) but there is no accounting for some people's taste.
Selling a product placed within a particular made up 'reality' is one thing. Selling reality itself is another. Entertainment shows are being created that analyze other entertainment shows. So called 'reality' programming proliferates our airwaves. 'Real' people doing 'real' things are followed around by cameras and film crews so that our self referential voyeuristic needs are met. How do our own personal realities compare? Can they? There exist self help groups for people who are genuinely bummed out that the world depicted in the movie 'Avatar' is not real.
People are attempting to create space for themselves within this new market. Remember the boy in the balloon? As people watched this 10 minute crisis unfold over the airwaves the parents were figuring out how they could swing a sequel. In today's paper, a short corner of page article told of a woman in the UK who had forced her child into a wheel chair in order to pass him off as the 'sickest boy in the world' in order to gain free trips for them both to Disney World. She injected him with glucose to simulate diabetes and ... ok, I stopped reading at this point because it was causing the Americano I was drinking to curdle. It boggles the mind and sickens the heart.
I was given a television last year because it was noticed that the one I used was too puny. It never bothered me but seemed to bother my friend that I was living in the dark ages. Even this 'new' tv, however, would be seen by many as passe. It is not a flat screen. It is not HD. I don't feel a need to own HD. When I want to see something 'real' I look out the window or, better yet, walk outside. Now with the current influx of 3D movies (what, is it the 70's again?) new technologies are being created to provide folk with yet another 'can't live without it' product. 3D television sets! With the market already saturated with HD I wonder how these will sell. There are also potential dangers linked with this new device. Apparently, watching a lot of 3D may make one experience nausea (although I tend to feel nauseous already when watching my 'normal' tv but that could be linked to a combination of horrible acting, pitiful writing or the graphic prime time violence depicting decapitations, gun shots and brutal torture scenes).
I was weirded out when water started being sold in bottles. I raised a sardonic eyebrow upon hearing about oxygen bars. Reality as a commodity seems to be an all time low. Thing is, it started off so slowly and innoucously that it was hardly noticed. What is now considered the 'norm' was once dreamed of only in sci fi texts. I shudder to think of what is coming next. Until then I guess I'll put on my coat and boots and take a walk in the sunshine and just be real.
