On Black Friday, I saw a tweet that stated: "Black Friday: Because only in America people trample each other for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have." This tweet really struck me, for why would it be accepted and understood that this kind of thing would happen "only in America"? What does this phenomena called Black Friday have that is so "American"?
Black Friday plays into the concept of the American Dream. People have an idea of what the ideal American person is, and many of the time that idea contains material things that demonstrate that, because someone has the latest trends, they have enough money, power, and success to be achieving their version of the American Dream. People want things to tangibly represent their success and their participance in society, and when they have the opportunity to buy things on "sale", they are willing to wait in line at two in the morning to achieve that goal.
Black Friday also plays into Robbins' ideology of the lawn, for just as people think that they are making their own choices about whether or not to participate in Black Friday, or participate in the chore of planting and maintaining a lawn, society is really influencing their decisions and actions.
The irony of Americans going out to buy things the day after they profess their gratitude for what they already have is evident, as is how Black Friday plays into the idea of the American Dream and the ideology of the lawn.
I too saw that quote on an ecard circling around pintrest a few days ago. I agree in some aspects that it is crazy that people will go out of their way, that late at night or early in the morning to buy “things” that in reality won’t necessarily make them any better than the people around them, especially after a day of being “thankful.” However, there is also a non-greedy and heartbreaking aspect to it as well. American culture has been so affected by this idea of the American Dream and needing to have the most money and the most tangible ”things” in order to be accepted in our society. America has become so materialistic that people have a desire and need to feel accepted by what they own. This can take such a toll and burden on those less fortunate, which is where Black Friday can actually be beneficial. There are many families in America that don’t have the appropriate funds to buy presents and gifts for their children, and this breaks their hearts because even at an early age, children believe that if you don’t have the latest and best toys, you may not be as good or popular as the other kids in class. For many people on Black Friday, it’s not about the idea of going out and being crazy and stingy with what they are buying, it’s truly because they realize this will be the best time for them to try and make their family feel like they can have what everyone else has, even if that means they have to crowd themselves around hundreds upon hundreds of people to just get a few toys because this is when they can afford it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with how out of hand Black Friday has gotten over the years. The ideals of the American dream could be connected to Black Friday in so many ways. For some it is not merely cheap prices on expensive object or a bonding experience with strangers. Black Friday allows social classes to equalize with one another. It could range form electronics to clothing. The once inaccessible items that define the wealthy such as huge plasma screen tvs or designer and brand name clothing would be available to the public at prices they can afford.
ReplyDeleteDe LaPena's idea of technology and its integration into the human body could as be applied to Black Friday as well. Humans, but mainly American, have this empty void that has to be filled with the latest forms of technology, and could never be truly satisfied. Black Friday, the years biggest event to buy electronics, allows this void to be filled with the various objects that humans desire and need to function. The consumer society of America and the deals of Black Fridays, truly shows the technology being part of the human body.
y'all are great. that's all.
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