It has been unmistakably apparent that American culture is
flawed upon reading several passages like “Marrying Absurd”. It is the obsession
with “boldness”, convenience, and popularity that has promoted satirical pieces
to be written and call out these self-centered principles. I think that there
is another driving motive behind the satirical pieces that we read in class as
well—the fact that these focuses of society are promoted. People do not see the
wrong in them anymore. For example, in Joan Didion’s essay, she uses the “plastic
pink flamingo” as a vessel to criticize America’s consumerist culture. Caught
up in the flashiness and popularity of the product, Americans of the time disregarded
their history of having “hunted flamingos to extinction in Florida” and instead
focused on the monetary value of the poor creature’s symbol of extravagance.
I find it rather pitiful that it takes
a mocking essay for people to realize the faults in their actions or in the society
that they are apart of. But is this enough to spark a change? Would the girl
described in the last paragraph of “Marrying Absurd” see the irony and ridiculousness
of her wedding if she looked at herself from a third point of view? While some may individually avoid the pull
towards trends or selfishness, it is doubtful that society as a whole will
change completely. The dark past of America and today still hold the same primary
motive in society—to fulfill self-interests.
