Consider the profusion of products that overwhelm our shopping centers, how many are completely useless? How many are we purchasing because we saw them first on television either used by one of our favorite stars or in an incredible new commercial? Hollywood is the birthplace for hedonism, which may simply be defined as “seeking pleasurable experiences and pleasure may be defined as a quality of experience which can be judged to be present in all sensations” (Campbell 22). Celebrities constantly make purchases for their own pleasure, consider Beyonce who purchased a pair of leggings for $100,000, Rachel Hunter who purchased a $15,000 dog house, and Hugh Hefner who has a zoo with monkeys in his backyard. Watch an episode of Entourage to see Vinny Chase decorate his home with an aquarium complete with $15,000 sharks and purchase a Lambhorgini when he doesn’t even have a drivers license. All of these purchases are absurd, unnecessary, and most importantly not practical, yet the purchasers are ecstatic and derive pleasure from the exchange, willing common people to make lavish purchases as well. Hollywood is to blame for our hedonistic culture and disillusioned view of reality. Campell states, “Only reality can provide satisfaction, but both illusions and delusions can supply pleasure” (23). The birth of Hollywood allowed for disillusionment, daydreaming, and hedonism, because before the glitz and glamour individuals were traditional consumers who were satisfied after purchasing products. Prior to Hollywood and the Golden age, hedonistic pleasures were not as conspicuous if at all. Sure people had wants and desires and they were satisfied as they were created as discussed in the Galbriath article, but the birth of Hollywood allowed for immense affluence and unrealistic depictions of wealth, toys, and possessions readily available to only a few. As Hollywood grows and technology booms, we cannot keep up with one another yet we can only keep tabs on what others have allowing us to constantly see what we do not have. We constantly feel as if we are missing out making our wants and desires grow hungrier and more insatiable and unaffordable. Rachel Botsman, the lecturer from the TED conference brings up valid points of community many people may want to reconsider after hearing the outlandish purchases made my celebrities of our time. Is our society capable of returning to a more primitive era, a more communal type Botsman speaks of? Has Hollywood ruined individuals and made them insatiable brainwashed robots? Campell wrote his article decades before even the most absurd of purchases were made, what would he think of the society we live in now, and would he agree with Botsman?
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