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Happily Ever After?: Selling a Consumerist Fairy Tale Under the Guise of Self-fulfillment

Happily Ever After?: Selling a Consumerist Fairy Tale Under the Guise of Self-fulfillment. Jackie Annon, MA Professional Communication Specialization in Intercultural and International Communication. Definition of a Fairy Tale.

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Happily Ever After?: Selling a Consumerist Fairy Tale Under the Guise of Self-fulfillment

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  1. Happily Ever After?:Selling a Consumerist Fairy TaleUnder the Guise of Self-fulfillment Jackie Annon, MA Professional Communication Specialization in Intercultural and International Communication

  2. Definition of a Fairy Tale • A story, usually for children, about elves, hobgoblins, dragons, fairies, or other magical creatures • After a few trials, protagonist usually gets what she/he wants and lives happily ever after

  3. What is Priv-Lit? • Literature for the privileged • But targeted to people of all socio-economic classes • Preys on readers’ unhappiness • Marketed as inspirational, but really about consumerism • E.g., “Eat, Pray, Love,” by Elizabeth Gilbert

  4. Eat, Pray, Love • Miserable with comfortable, middle-class life • Thirty-something Gilbert took year off to travel and “find” herself • Left her husband, apartment in Manhattan, country house outside NY, lucrative travel writing career • Went to Italy for pleasure, India for devotion and Indonesia for balance • All with an author’s advance

  5. Book Becomes Sensation • New York Times Paperback Nonfiction Bestseller for over 200 weeks • Over 10 million copies in print since 2006 • Movie starring Academy Award winners, Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem, in 2010

  6. Study Goal • To critically analyse the phenomenon of priv-lit • Do women think these books are primarily about enlightenment and finding oneself?

  7. Spiritual Consumerism • Oprah encourages her viewers to “Live Your Best Life” • Her best is rooted in consumerism • E.g., one of her most popular shows is “Oprah’s Favourite Things” • Gives her audience expensive gifts…and they lose their minds • Clip courtesy of VW on their YouTube channel

  8. Method • Collected data from amazon.ca, an online bookseller • Read book reviews posted by women who read “Eat, Pray, Love” over a three-year period, from 2007 – 2010

  9. Results • Two rating mechanisms on amazon.ca: a rating out of five and then a section for comments.

  10. Results • Taking the top two ratings together reveals a positive result • 24 out of 40 compared to the bottom two, 14 out of 40

  11. Positive Comment 5.0 out of 5 stars A Transcendental Experience..., Sep 29 2010 • By Machushka (Canada) This memoir is an amazing journey trough Gilbert's mind and soul that touches you deeply and inspires you to go on your own soul-searching quest troughout (sic) the world.

  12. Negative Comment 1.0 out of 5 stars Self-indulgent pulp for the affluent and self-absorbed, Jan 10 2010 • By Debbie Strong I looked forward to reading this book but couldn't get through "Eat", let alone "Pray" and "Love". I tossed it aside in disgust. I vehemently disliked the protagonist and couldn't care one whit about her self-indulgent journey. The message I got from the pages I managed to read was "when times get tough, take a year off, travel the world and focus only on your self", as though the average person has that kind of luxury or would really even want to do that.

  13. Discussion • None of the women disclosed their economic statuses • However, it seemed most identified closely with Gilbert and her “struggle” to attain fulfillment • Positive words used consistently: inspiring, transcendental, authentic, and courage or brave.

  14. Conclusion • Study was not definitive about whether or not some women were embracing the consumerist fairytale to find themselves and, consequently, happiness • Researcher would need to conduct interviews with subjects one-on-one or in a group setting to get a better understanding

  15. Conclusion • Priv-lit will continue to thrive as long as there is consumerism • E.g., newest members of the privileged, travel-memoir club are twenty-something, New Yorkers Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett, and Amanda Pressner • Wrote “The Lost Girls” about year-long experience travelling the world

  16. Group Activity • How do you define happiness? • What do you do for yourself to feel fulfilled? • Do you believe that money can buy happiness? Please explain.

  17. Questions

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