WHEN the word ‘consumerist’ innocently came up during a chat time with a friend, little did we know that it would eventually become the jumping board to extra time for testimonies on how we’ve really been suckered by TV.
Our chat had simply started with the number of serials (rhymes with cereal) we’ve both watched on cable. Starting with the older ones like Game of Thrones, we then moved on to her many Korean specials (including the one with a whopping forty episodes).
Thereupon, my friend pointed out that, without our noticing it, whatever our favorite characters ate or drank in the show, there was a subconscious craving to do the same. Laughter. Demeaning as this might have been, the two of us had agreed that while, it was indeed laughable, it was true.
Of course, others might not admit it, but people are just simply impressionable by nature. Unbeknownst to many, because of this tendency to be copycats, we’ve actually played right into the hands of clever marketing.
This meant that Lord Tyrion and the rest of the Lannister clan consuming a whole house full of red wine during the length of eight seasons, was also meant to urge viewers to do the same. Thus, logic says, the more we and others watched, the demand and sales of wine would soar. I thought true indeed. At least, that explained my parched throat after watching each episode.
As an aside, we’ve also discussed that this feeling of ‘being one with your favorite character or TV idols’ might given rise to the birth of countless watch-parties, like in some countries. These get-togethers, where the fans gathered and held drinking sessions as they binged on their favorite shows had been the rage during GOT and other TV hits.
While fandom has indeed been that, drinking wine and such was just a part of a larger whole. Dressing up was another, and Comicon and several other related events add credence to this.
But going back to drinking and eating, I’ve decided that I will now stop watching those old Italian action flicks where all the actors ever do, is eat pasta and drink wine.
Our chat had then moved on to friends who’ve not only embraced other culture’s tele offerings, but have also gone to drinking the same brand of coffee which their favorite K-pop idols drank on set. I had said, how different are all these from the rest of us guys who opt to buy the same brand of footwear our idols in the NBA or the tennis circuit wear? Be like Mike comes to mind.
And we needed to end there. We’ve already agreed that like it or not, we have become true-blue consumerists. As she bid tnt, she said she still had to watch a “muk bang”. Instinctively, I looked it up and sighed. Oh, food again.
