What a phrase!
It's amazing how much invidious comparison I facilitate in my own everyday. Most of my academic career has [sadly] been fueled by invidious comparison. [See image right] In my undergraduate music program, our entire selection, promotion and testing processes relied on students' invidious comparison. One of the benefits of this text was becoming conscious of this potentially destructive engagement. C'est vrai! We are more than the sum of our publications, possessions or first-chair wins.
I was also taken with the concept of conspicuous consumption. In our small group discussion, we all agreed that none of us felt like we purposefully displayed our wealth. Clearly, we're all in denial. The clothing, transportation, tools and toys we select say SOMETHING [perhaps many things!] about us. I love my Apple computer and my iPhone, but the giant Apple symbol on the back of the phone is displayed every time I make a call. It says something about my status, whether I intend it to or not. Conspicuous consumption has a mythological feel to it, much like Barthes mythologies. It is always with us, but rarely are we aware of its presence.
If you type conspicuous consumption into a google search,
this image appears on the first page.
Yes, it's a diamond-laden pacifier...
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