Fast cars, big houses, more money, better jobs. These are just some of the things that America portrays in their advertisements. If you don’t have the it product or if you don’t have a certain style, then you’re not good enough. You’re not in with the rest of the crowd. Remember back in elementary school when there was a certain pair of shoes or a certain type of jacket that everyone was wearing? If you didn’t have that brand or that certain type of clothing then people looked at you less. You didn’t fit in.
As human beings, we want to have the feeling of belonging, wanting to fit in. So it’s human nature for us to buy or consume the same products that everyone else has. We feel that we always need to be better than the other person sitting next to us. We have the mind set that nothing is ever good enough; we’re never completely satisfied. Not being satisfied pushes us into consuming more products, even if we know that they we are not going to have them for that long or even if we know that they are completely useless.
In the short story, At the Auction for the Ruby Red Slippers by Salman Rushdie, people are bidding on things that don’t have any real value to them. At this auction there are masses of items that hold some sort of special value. They have things such as collections of Tin Mans, Scarecrows, Lions, Witches, and Totos. Yet the main auction item of the night is the Ruby Red Slippers that Dorothy wore in the Wizard of Oz. People from all over have come and they are sectioned off by their social status. Even the clothes that they wear reflect their status. Throughout the story, the author talks about the different views of the slippers and how each person feels like the slippers can help them in some way. “Orphans arrive, hoping that the ruby slippers might transport them back through time as well space…they hope to be reunited with their deceased parents…” (93). For the voice of the main character, he wishes that they ruby slippers will bring back his lover, Gale. Yet it isn’t until the end of the story that our main character realizes the powers that the auction has had on him and comes to reality about the red shoes, therefore dropping out of the auction all together.
When one thinks about the red slippers from this movie, we get the vision of Dorothy clicking her heels three times and repeating “There’s no place like home”. In this story the slippers reflect the bidders wanting of going “home”. They want that sense of belonging to something again; they want the feeling of comfort. Many of them feel that by them purchasing the slippers that the slippers will help them get something in return. For the orphans it was for their parents and for our main character, it is for him to get back Gale. Each person felt that by possessing that certain item that they would get them somewhere or something. It would help them escape their problems and take them somewhere where they would feel content. They needed the shoes to help them feel complete since they felt that they were missing out on something in their life.
I believe that in today’s society, we always look at what other people have to define them. What you owe shows what kind of person you are; it shows your status. Sadly, the advertising world has everyone in the palms of their hands. They are able to make anything seem valuable. They give you the feeling of not fitting in by showing you what you don’t have and what everyone else does. Just like the shoes, they want you to feel like you’re missing out on something. Just like the shoes, they want you to believe that once you possess this item that you will finally feel content and satisfied.
I personally think that the feeling of being satisfied never really happens. We might get something and for a certain amount of time and be happy and content. But after time passes, the need for having something more urges us to go buy more. For myself, I know I get this when it comes to shopping and buying things that I don’t really need, but they make me happy for the time. I know I don’t need those pair of heels, but they would look so cute with that top that I have in my closest. As the Rolling Stones stated in their song about not getting satisfaction, I too believe that our society will never be satisfied. Because in order to be satisfied, you need to be content with what you have, you need to already have the feeling of being and belonging. You need to have conquered the feeling of being somebody.
4 comments on Wanting to Belong
Add a comment
To add comments without entering your email and image verification, you must be logged in. Login or Join Blogster
Great article and I agree with pretty much everything you say.
We are surrounded by images of what corporations say we need and should want. Do they say this to benefit us as individuals? Heck no, they say it in order to pad their bottom line. They tap into our deepest emotions to try to sell products to make themselves and their clients rich. We may desire to have those shoes you speak of, but 2 years down the road, what, and please be honest, has more value to you, the shoes, or your photo album full of memories of good days from your past. Shoes wear out, as do most material items, but memories are what add value to our lives, not some article with a popular name stitched into it's side.
It's nice to see somebody with similar opinions to myself. That is what makes you "cool", not an article of clothing or gadget.
When we've passed on, people won't remember us for what we've owned, but for who we are. That is more important than any item with Gucci, Prada, or Rolex stamped on it.
Thanks for the nice read.
Great blog
I guess the advertisers' only way of making want to belong is to make us feel we are not part of the crowd because we lack "their product". Good connection to the story.
It also pushes individuals to commit white collar crimes, just so they can keep up with the Donald Trumps in this world!