Not because I need one, just because I want one. The one I have is fine: it's a Canon SD 110 Digital Elph with 3.2 megapixels, a 3x optical zoom and 6.4x digital zoom. The cover is a little scratched up ... not a surprise considering all the places I've dragged it.
But I WANT new one. Why? Camera envy, according to my sister. *sigh*
In elementary German we're working on subordinate clauses, which just means that I spend a lot of time asking students things like: What do you do when you're hungry? What do you do when you're thirsty? etc. because "when you're hungry" is a subordinate clause in German, with special word order. Anyway -- one of the questions I always ask is, "What do you do when you're stressed?" and this is what they answered, in no particular order: sleep, eat chocolate, watch TV, and ... go shopping.
Which all pretty much covers it for me as well, particularly the shopping. Not that I buy things, necessarily, but just thinking about buying something is fun sometimes. And finding an adorable top at a really good price is OH, so much fun.
There's a Whole Foods here in Birmingham now. It is fun to wander through the aisles, just to see what they have. They have fruits for sale ... piles of fruit ... that I've never even seen before. And they serve gelato. But what's cute, and maybe a little disturbing, or just an honest, open-eyed, sober look at reality, is that they have little shopping carts for kids with a big flag that announces, "Consumer in Training". Or maybe it's "Customer in Training," but I always see consumer. Either way.
And the night before last I watched "Fight Club" -- for those of you who haven't seen it, please do. It's a good movie. Not what you expect, or at least not at all what I expected. And the cast is amazing ... I mean, Meat Loaf is in it, for crying out loud. Anyway, there's this great scene in which the protagonist is talking about going to IKEA and finding the perfect endtable or set of glassware to fully express who he is. If our furnishings and choice of dishes are meant to express our essential nature, it makes sense that we would have to keep buying new stuff as our sensibilities changed. Not that our essential nature changes, but our sense of how to express it.
We can buy products mass-produced in a factory, or by some small children somewhere, and thus express our personal, unique, individual style. And we will be fulfilled, whole and integrated people ...
If my apartment is an expression of who I am, then I am some strange jumble of functional-modern and old, but not completely worn out, timeless elegance, strange, bizarre, eclectic, bohemian, the cheap K-mart radio and Big Lots! Lamp that won't stand straight, next to the beautiful China dishes I've inherited and received as gifts at different points; and sentimental little figurines, whose provenance is no longer clear; and a tea box made out of teak wood and inlaid mother-of-pearl that was made sometime towards the middle or end of the 19th century and stands as a testament to the time my great uncle, or perhaps great-great uncle?, served in India at the behest of the British Crown. And I'm a MESS! But with all of this stuff, why do I still walk into stores and think, "Ooh, I need that and that and that...."
And all of this brings me to the point --- around my elbow to get to my nose, to quote a friend -- Brian Ulrich has published a photo essay in Mother Jones: American Happiness and the Need to Consume. I'm quite sure no further comment is necessary.
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2 comments:
There is want and there is need. A new camera, to replace the current one that works fine and does everything you need it to do. But the new one will allow you to blow your pictures up to the size of an interstate billboard, as you do so often. Yes I know, I do have a new camera, but it is a companion to, not a replacement of my old beater. My little camera tucks away neatly in my pocket and is ready at a moments notice to snap in to action. It is beaten, scratched, and dented, and sometimes the shutter might be a little slow. How would my little friend feel if I replaced it with a new “hot young blonde with bigger boobs” model?? The old camera would be tossed in a box, still useful but unwanted, basically told that it’s not good enough. No I think not. My little friend will continue to ride along in my pocket on trips, at parties, or just when I am out and about, waiting to do it’s favorite job and capture that specific moment in time that is placed before it. My little beater will gain a few more scratches and scuffs, and loose a little more paint (not that there is much left) on our adventures and daily experiences, and take many more pictures before it takes its last. Then it will be placed in a place of honor, each scratch and scuff a medal of honor for its years of service. The new “big boobed” model I get after that will have a lot to live up to, but my old friend will know it served me well and will always be appreciated. There will always be a “hotter, bigger boobs” model no matter when you buy a new camera and somebody will always have one with more buttons and features. Will a new camera really do anything more for you than your current one does other than look new? Your sister is right you have camera envy. The shame…..
Umm, ok. What's up with all of the boobs? And I don't think cameras have feelings ... but point taken otherwise.
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