"The Story of Stuff" and "Narcissism

Monica

We don’t usually think about where manufactured products cause shortages in resources. We as Americans only feel the necessity to have the feeling of satisfaction. In American society one is looked down upon if one does not contribute to consumption. In “The Story of Stuff” a systematic blue print is used to show the process before and after consumption. Also the narrator tells us that this layout doesn’t reveal the “dirt” behind the issue of consumption. In her opinion, which I agree on, we are robbed of our identity as people. In both the video and in “The All-Consuming Self” it talks about our identification as consumers. We are not seen as mothers, daughters, friends, etc, but as people who buy products. This identification we have imposed on ourselves is the result of commercial and ad exposure. Through commercials and ads we are told that everything about us is “wrong”, and that we should go out to buy products that will make us right and “full”. According to Allen Kanner and Mary Gomes this feeling or “syndrome” is considered as narcissism.
You might think that narcissism refers to people who love them selves, but it also has
another meaning. It is a psychological idea that we have which tells us we are void inside. Void in a sense that we are not up to date in technological advances. Through us it is a feeling to strive for materialistic objects that we don’t have. Narcissistic people tend to work in order to have that satisfying feeling that holds their “false image”. The false image we have implanted in our minds is the result of people’s words that tell us we are not like them. We feel a lack of belonging and in some sense of love as well. The consequence of our idea when working to gain materialistic objects is less leisure time we spend with our loved ones. The routines we imposed on ourselves is of work, television time (when time is granted), and sleep. As a result of narcissism is the fact that we New Yorkers shop for unnecessary products while contributing to the big picture that surrounds us. The issue of good consumption is a leading factor of what is now known as global warming.