More on Narcissism: Post by danah boyd

I discovered an excellent post called fame, narcissism, and MySpace by danah boyd, a PhD student at Berkeley and a fellow at USC.

Some excerpts:

Since the late 80s, the lottery system has become more magnificent and corporatized. While there’s nothing meritocratic about reality TV or the Spice Girls, the myth of meritocracy remains. Over and over, working class kids tell me that they’re a better singer than anyone on American Idol and that this is why they’re going to get to be on the show. This makes me sigh. Do i burst their bubble by explaining that American Idol is another version of Jerry Springer where hegemonic society can mock wannabes? Or does their dream have value?

And, even better:

Today, the Christian Industrial Complex has risen into power in both politics and corporate life, but their underlying mission is the same: justify poor people’s industrial slavery so that the rich and powerful can become more rich and powerful. Ah, the modernization of the Protestant Ethic.

This is a fascinating observation, particularly given that income inequality continues to rise.

Has parental indulgence spawned a culture that justifies and embraces extreme income inequality? Does the dream of being a sports star, raking in tens of millions of dollars a year, justify and require sports stars to make that much money? Are people encouraging wildly out-of-sync salaries to fuel their own dreams?