Inquiry into the celebration of Firsts, part 3

It's capitalism, says Grandma R. Firsts can be easily commodified. How does one make spectacle of 100 days? Unwieldy, too specific and too general at once. But Firsts are ongoing, ripe for stirring memories--cards, keepsakes.

Is nostalgia a byproduct of capitalism? Is that a ridiculous question?
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thegayrecluse said…
That question is so not ridiculous! I don't even think it's a byproduct, but a flat-out product. Culturally, I think we're suffocated by both capitalism and nostalgia, which explains in some part the emergence of fundamentalist extremes, which tend to reject both; hence they terrorize us.
January 30, 2008 at 1:10 AM
Muttering said…
Interesting point about fundamentalism and its allures. Makes sense in a tragic kind of way. . . So, this is the trade:in an effort to rid ourselves of nostalgia or sentimentality, a fantasy of current time, we forfeit our humanity. That is, our ability to choose. Or to be in time. Just reading this morning about the "near" enemy and "far" enemy in Tibetan Buddhist thought. The near enemy of joyfulness is overexcitment; the far enemy is envy.Perhaps related (how our own desires become our enemies)?
January 30, 2008 at 11:26 AM
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