In the film The Century of the Self: The Happiness Machine, Adam Curtis claims it is possible to feel happiness, that is through consumerism. Edward Bernays idea of manipulating the masses by linking mass produced goods to people's unconscious desires is an idea widely used today. Through the media, and living in a day and age where staus is everything we are constantly consumed with wanting to have and wear the newest items available. When we see advertisements of smiling people happy with whatever they're promoting, we tend to relate our happiness to having that particular item. Bernays came up with the idea of what makes us happy is fullfilling our inner most selfish desires, and that if you link products to people's emotional desires and feelings you can persuade people to behave irrationally. An example of this was Bernays persuading women to smoke. Women smoking was seen as challenging male power. A women who smoked was looked at as more powerful and independent. But the actual concept of women being made more powerful and free by smoking is irrational.
I think that if based around consumerism, then we can never really be truly happy. We become happy when we buy something new, but eventually that happiness fades as the excitment for the new item wears off, or we learn of something new that we decide we want. There will always be something new to buy, and advances in technology are continually allowing new items be to created. We can only truly be happy when we realize that our happiness is not based around all the material items we own, but really with what type of person we are and how we choose to live our lives.
Niki, this is a strong engagement with Curtis' ideas. However, I would have liked to see a more in-depth look at real-world examples to support your argument. There are so many examples in our society of 'buying' happiness.
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