brace

i can't remember if i mentioned the book "funny girl" that i was reading and finished last week. it was about a young woman seeking to be a comedic actor in the 1960s (she wanted to be like lucile ball). at the end, it fast forwards to 2014 (which i found a bit weird, since the story was about this young actress). she reflects on how the industry has changed since she started out, and remarks about how nowadays everyone wants to work in entertainment, and how there are fewer people willing to do the undesirable jobs. i can't remember how she phrased it, but she talked about how entertainment has become the centre of our society, and i think she's right. that's why there are movie themed birthday parties, and children's clothes and backpacks with cartoon characters on them, etc etc.

i think she put her finger on what troubles me so much about an excess of pop-culture paraphernalia in stores. it always irritated me when i couldn't find just nice kids bedsheets without disney cartoons on them, and i couldn't put my finger on why. it's party because i like creativity, and i think there's lots of great artists and designers beyond disney, and i'd rather have a generic cartoon from an unknown artist than support an uncreative corporation. but i think it also makes me uncomfortable because it reinforces entertainment as something we should value, something to love. and i simply don't value that – it's entertainment only, not something more meaningful.

as someone who works in marketing, i'm also keenly sensitive to the subtle ways the we're constantly being advertised at. so i avoid any kind of brand reinforcement. because they're simply trying to make people form an emotional attachment so they'll spend more.