Consumerism

Before taking this class, I never really thought about consumerism and what it really entails. Of course, it is necessary that we keep some consumerism as it is a integral part of society and how we go through life, but is the fast paced, buy and go life style one we really need. In addition, do we really need to apply it to all aspects of life. Like Didion points out in Marrying Absurd, Los Vegas weddings are a perfect example of how Americans have applied excessive consumerism to something as important and significant as weddings. If we think about, weddings are a big commitment and they aren't to be taken lightly. They usually take months of planning and preparation. However in Los Vegas, this practice had to be interfered with. Los Vegas is the ultimate destination for a unplanned and impromptu wedding. When reading marrying absurd, I was shocked to see that the justice of peace, Mr. Brennan, had even considered marrying the couples en masse. However looking back, it makes sense that the thought had crossed his mind given that the weddings weren't meant to be significant and beautiful ceremonies, they are meant to be economical. There are many things to which this economical and consumerism based life style has been applied to. Streaming movies is an example. Before streaming was a thing, people would have to go to the movie theaters to see their movies. They couldn't just wait 6 months for the movie to be uploaded to the internet. However, Americans needed a way to watch movies that was more efficient.