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This free essay has been submitted by: Mary Olabi

Manufacturing Desire

In "Manufacturing Desire" Flood argues that America has become a country overwhelmed by consumerism. Flood talks about the "hyper-inflation of the concept of 'enough'"(Flood 3). What was enough yesterday just isn't enough today. Even worse, what is enough today won't be enough tommorow. Individuals strive to reach the top, to accumulate more and more, enough is never enough. Flood supports his claims by pointing out things that are physically blatantly obvious to us. When describing the decadence that many Americans live in Flood says,"It's leasing, rather than owning, a fine German automobile so you can exchange it for a new one in ten months"(Flood 2). But not all of us live this way, Flood points out. It is true; some of us simply can not afford to live this way. But nevertheless, it affects us. Enough is still never enough; we all want to look like models and play the guitar like Carlos Santana. We all want to be rich like Bill Gates. Flood points out the less tangible but just as real psychological evidence when he says," As the beloved stars appear on the screen, predictable thoughts materialize in the primitive hindbrain of the viewer: I want your hair. I want your money. I want to see you naked on the internet"(Flood 2).

Flood concludes by predicting a dark forecast for the American future. Consumerism has driven decadence and in turn decadence drives consumerism. It all comes down to one simple idea. Americans want stuff. Some of them get stuff, some of them do not. Eventually there will be a time when the economy does not support the amount of consumerism taking place, when the Dow crumbles and the people scream in outrage. When the people keep buying until there is nothing left to buy. When they scream because of all the horrors that could take place, there is nothing left to buy. "Because, the thing is," Flood says, "the desire doesn't go away. The manufacture of desire won't slow down, even if the manufacture of everything else does"(Flood 3).

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