posted on October 15, 2001 12:17:00 PM new
Just a few random thoughts...
Having watched the first few episodes of the new Star Trek series, "Enterprise", I must say I'm not overly impressed. The production values are certainly good, but I just don't find the stories or characters to be engaging. Of course, I caught a few reruns of "Next Generation" last week [which used to be one of my favorite shows], and I found I wasn't all that impressed by THOSE episodes, either. I guess maybe my tastes have just changed [I still love watching classic Trek in reruns, though!]
Speaking of changing tastes, can anybody explain why things go in and out of fashion? Whether it be clothing, hairstyles, automobiles, what have you, it seems that anything which is "in" eventually becomes "out". I mean, look at 70's fashion -- at the time, we were all convinced [well, not all of us, I grant] that bell-bottom jeans and wide collars were "cool", but now we laugh about how ugly everybody looked. In the 80's, corderoy pants with thin knit ties were the height of fashion, and now you wouldn't be caught dead in them. Is it simply a craving for something new? Or are we such complete slaves to Madison Avenue that we can't decide for ourselves what looks good? I mean, I see new styles coming out every year that I wouldn't be caught dead wearing, so it can't JUST be the fact that we like what is new and what we are told is cool. But if not, why do our tastes change so often?
And does anybody else get annoyed at the fact that every single advertisement these days, whether on TV, radio, or in print, just HAS to have a statement at the end or at the bottom of the page [the "fine print"] that essentially negates all the other claims that the ad makes? I remember this being mocked on The Simpsons on numerous times, but I'm just wondering why advertisers are allowed to get away with this. I mean, the same federal regulations that force advertisers to "tell the truth" should also force them to tell it in a way that it will likely be noticed, don't you think?
Yeah, I realize these aren't exactly deep philosophical ruminations. So sue me....
Barry
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The opinions expressed above are for comparison purposes only. Your mileage may vary....
[ edited by godzillatemple on Oct 15, 2001 12:17 PM ]
posted on October 15, 2001 01:26:58 PM new
Blame the trends on Madison Avenue, Martha Stewart and all the other trend setters. Way back before all this media exposure we used the term keeping up with "The Jonses". They were the folks who always had the newest, fanciest whatever and all the neighbors aspired to have the same avant garde item.
In colonial times you wore it til it was unwearable (worn through to sheer) and then you cut out the good parts and used them for something else. We are now a disposable society never happy with what we have, always wanting more, bigger, better.
With very few exceptions (I am one of them)
that is how people measure their success. Me I long for the on/off switch on just one appliance, I don't want to have to program a remote, I do not want a TV that takes up half the room or a toaster that does 6 other things...plain, simple straight forward is all I long for. I couldn't buy a replacement electric can opener without a knife sharpener. Ya know what, I sharpen my knives with a steel and get a better edge without eating away 1/4" of the blade to get that edge, by doing it by hand. I have the same quality knives I bought in 1970. I have the same coffee pot that we recieved in 1962, Farberware. Everyone compliments us on the great coffee..yup I use a filter and perk it super fast.
Ahhh well, the good old days weren't all that good either but they sure were simpler and less expensive!!
posted on October 15, 2001 02:11:44 PM new
Before the Idustrial Revolution only the wealthy could afford to follow fashion and dispose of otherwise perfectly good garments. It was, as now, a status thing. With the coming of the indusrial revolution it beame possible for the lower classes to do so.
posted on October 15, 2001 02:46:19 PM new
Barry - I recommend a book called "Bellwether" by Connie Willis - it's science fiction, and it addresses the question of fads ... I think you'll find it amusing.
El
"The customer may not always be right, but she is always the customer."
posted on October 15, 2001 04:28:04 PM new
eleanordew - That story by Connie Willis is great and it is one of three short novels by Willis in a book called Futures Imperfect.
posted on October 15, 2001 04:47:12 PM new
gravid - Yes, Willis is a great writer. That particular story has also been published as a separate book (it's a short book, but a book nonetheless...). She is a fairly prolific writer - one of the more recent is a collection of short stories called "Impossible Things." I never got past the first story - "The Last of the Winnebagos" - it was so well-written that it scared me!
El
"The customer may not always be right, but she is always the customer."
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