Let's Think a Little

As we are nearing the end of our satire unit in class, I've come to learn how much of an impact satirical writing has on exposing issues that are already widely known or issues people haven't given much thought to. Satirical writing is able to take hold of an enduring problem and slap on some good humor to grab the audience's attention, as well as exemplify the issue by contrasting the seriousness.

In Joan Didion's "Marrying Absurd", she mocked how the people in Vegas were way too caught up in the moment, marrying "one bride out, another in, and again." The fact that people were willing to get married in these short, informal fashions that only cost couple bucks is one thing. But the fact that there are businesses that aid them in doing so is absolutely preposterous. Those that go as far as to create these type of weddings are diminishing a prominent symbol of love. This kind of business is the epitome of America's consumerist culture.  The people that embrace this country's consumerism take such a memorable moment in a person's life and not only markets it, but also markets it based on convenience with "show girls and baby Crosbys". America's consumerist culture is also visible in Jennifer Price's "The Plastic Pink Flamingo". Dating back to the early 1900s, America has already been working towards building the consumerism that is present today. America was able to manipulate and raise the popularity of a simple, pink bird and label it as "The Plastic Pink Flamingo" just to satisfy the consumerist needs. From there, America was able to create plastic souvenirs, pink souvenirs, and flamingo souvenirs. How convenient is that, am I right? As businesses are getting more greedy and citizens are getting more drawn to follow bandwagons, this consumerist culture will continue to plague our country. It is evident America circles around this consumerism and it's been a large part of our culture for a while, but this materialistic culture has gotten to a point where people no longer focus on the "Natural" but just the "plastic". 

America needs to open it's eyes to the real world and start thinking about subjects that actually matter.