The Goal of Being Rich & Vacuous

Jeff and I decided to take Rachael to see the new “family” film, Barnyard at her request. She saw the commercials for the funny cows and wanted to see them, so despite our suspicions that she would run around bored in the theater, play musical chairs and demand way too much popcorn, because the movie plot would be a little over her head, we took her anyways.

It was during the previews that I happened upon the culmination of a disturbing trend that has been targeting young, American women for the past few years. Hilary Duff and her sister are starring in a movie called Material Girls where they play young, rich, vacuous women who own a family cosmetics business that suddenly finds itself in bankruptcy. Of course, the entire plot of the film was revealed in the preview, which makes me wonder why anyone in their right mind would pay to see it, but this film is targeting ‘tweens, and they’ve made Miss Hilary a buttload of money, so her new flick is probably safe. Anyways, they save their company in the end by stepping up and running a business, but the synopsis of the film appears to be that a young girl should want nothing more than to be a hapless fashion addict who spends their day obsessed with celebrities and spouting off useless conversation with other vacuous fashion addicts. Oh, they also have to be rich. They don’t tell girls how they are to come into this money, but they should have a lot of it.

With the rise in popularity of Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, Prince William, Kimberly Stewart and other young and rich kids, it seems that popular culture is cool with selling young men and mainly young women the idea that the perfect lifestyle includes expensive clothing, cars, parties, pampering, and optional plastic surgery. In this world of money, young people are told that they should also have only one long-term goal: to be famous for being rich and attractive. The only problem with this pop culture future is that they don’t bother to tell kids ways to go about making the money or achieving fame. They also don’t happen to mention the real cost of designer fashions and accessories, or what happens when the credit card bills come in the mail.

This kind of trend has existed before in American society around the turn of the previous century when the lifestyles of the Rockerfellers and Vanderbilts were splashed all over mainstream newspapers. However, their lives were portrayed more as fantasies that were completely unreachable by working class people, whereas today’s batch of young, wealthy celebrities are seen as contemporaries. Reality television and constant media attention gives regular kids the idea that if Paris was hanging out at Starbucks, they might actually have a chance to sip lattes with her. Those of us who are older and wiser see a far different scenario, where Paris’ ultra-buffed bodyguards clear the entire Starbucks out before Miss Hilton enters. Then they order her coffee drink for her and stand in close proximity as she text messages her latest Greek fling. The closest an average person will ever get to Paris Hilton is maybe two yards, if they happen to wait overnight at a premier and get a good, front seat spot at the velvet rope. As for conversation, I don’t think so, unless of course you are waiting on the table at the nouveaux cuisine restaurant she hits while shopping on Rodeo Drive.

My point is that there is a strong disconnect taking place between fantasy and reality that has never existed prior to this generation, and my concern is for the future of these kids who think that the only thing in life that makes you successful is the ability to consume high-priced goods and achieve fame. What happens when these young people, particularly girls, find themselves declaring bankruptcy at 21 years old, because they have tried to keep up with their so-called “contemporary’s” lifestyle? How is that young dude going to feel when he hits 23 and hasn’t been the star of a reality TV show, and doesn’t have paparazzi following his every move?

Thankfully, I’m a parent and I can give my child a better perspective on things. I’ll tell Rachael that achieving wealth and success is possible, but it takes a tremendous amount of hard work. I’ll also tell her that fame and money isn’t everything and that she should take the words of the Dali Lama into consideration by telling her to judge her success by what she has “to give up in order to get it.”

As for the rest of the upcoming generation, let’s hope that the government develops a stronger college student loan program, so that when fame and fortune don’t magically hit them by the time they are 22, they can get educated and make an honest contribution to society. Maybe we will all luck out and once they enter college they will develop a healthy distain for the bourgeoisie lifestyle, and finally the glorious day will come when we don’t have to see anymore previews for stupid Hilary Duff films while waiting for our animated family flick.