The Savage Girl - Alex Shakar [71]
CRITIQUE OF A, B, C = PURCHASE OF D, E, F
“Traditionally, irony has had two major functions in Western thought. The first is what we call ideological critique, the work of analyzing the internal contradictions of ideologies. The second is what we call dialectical reasoning, the work of synthesizing opposites and building new and improved ideologies. But the Volkswagen campaign showed marketers how to short-circuit these traditional world-disclosing and problem-solving functions of irony. It showed them how to co-opt and subvert any ironic critique of consumerism by harnessing it to the support of a chimerical ‘alternative consumerism,’ as represented by a set of products proclaiming themselves to be free of—even somehow outside of—the lies, cynicism, and trickery of commercial culture. Furthermore, by absorbing the critique of the pitch into the pitch itself, they created an environment in which there seemed to be no outside to consumerism, no dialectical antithesis, thereby bringing all attempts at dialectical reasoning to a screeching halt. Whatever effects this ongoing shell game of corporate-sponsored irony may have had on civic culture—and these are arguable but are generally acknowledged to include increased cynicism, apathy, depression, amorality, and political malleability—its effects on consumer culture are very clear. Consumption has skyrocketed. Remember, consumerism thrives on dissatisfaction, and mass, co-opted ironic doubt is dissatisfaction made into a way of life. Which is why it is perhaps not a great exaggeration to say that it was the successful incorporation of irony that won the Cold War.”
Chas pauses for a moment. The young Indian executive next to Ursula reels with concentration, one hand clutching the side of his head and the other gripping his mother-of-pearl pen like a set of brass knuckles. She turns around in her seat. The whole audience seems caught between frozen fascination and wide-eyed horror. She locates James T. Couch, lounging in the back row in a neon-blue muscle shirt. He sees her looking at him and smiles and shakes his head, as though to say, That Chas. . . .
“So much for the history lesson,” Chas says. “Let’s move on to the here and now. I’m here today to break the news to you that this forty-year party is over.”
He picks up a copy of the trendbook and holds it up as he speaks, his clip now rapid and urgent.
“As you’ll see from the charts and sample responses in appendix A and chapter three of this season’s trendbook, our research shows that irony isn’t working as well on today’s younger consumers. In fact, the younger the consumer, the heavier and more virulent the irony has to be to get through at all. More alarming still, in the studies included in appendix B and cited in chapter four you’ll find the evidence we’ve gathered of what we believe to be an entirely new form of consciousness emerging in society at large: a postironic consciousness. And in chapter six you’ll find our argument that this postironic consciousness is the beginning of nothing less than the next step forward in the evolution of consumer culture.” He slams his palm against the unseen button, and a new slide appears:
CRITIQUE OF A, B, C, D, E, F . . . = PURCHASE OF A, B, C, D, E, F . . .
A generalized murmur rises from the audience. The spiky-haired woman turns to the Asian man and whispers a question. The Asian man responds ambiguously, folding his arms and beetling his brows.
“Impossible, you say?” Chas says, stepping out from behind the podium. “Take a look at our trendbook. Read our case studies. Not only is postironic consumerism possible; it’s already here. My tireless agent James T. Couch has spent the last six months traveling to the far corners of the World Wide Web, to the outermost edges of the Virtual Imperium, and there has discovered whole new ecosystems of postironic consumers. People who collect Mickey Mouse paraphernalia because they’re obsessed with the death count in Disneyland. People who spend all their free time