The native tribes in the Pacific Northwest had a ceremonial custom where they would give away much of their wealth. At these Potlatch ceremonies, tribes and clans would engage in a massive gift giving exercise, to strengthen social ties and to gain status. Indeed, there was a competitive aspect to this, where wealthy clans would vie to see who could give away the most wealth, and thus gain the most status. At the extreme, some of the nations had the custom of actually destroying particularly valuable items, as a display of their wealth and power.
It seems that this custom is still with us, as demonstrated by some teenagers who bought an iPad and filmed themselves destroying it.
This video is going viral, which shows that the power of the Potlatch can still move people. My first reaction to this was what a bunch of maroons. Having thought about it, I'm not so sure. Sure, they were motivated by the lure of their 15 minutes of fame. It's unlikely that they thought about indigenous ceremonies.
But like an oriental painting, where the majority of the canvas is left blank so that the viewer can fill in the picture in his own mind, this invites us to ponder the fleeting nature of the technology cycle, or of fame in the Internet Age, or the futility of status seeking. Or just click to the next link, which is kind of the same thing.
They're just accelerating the natural life cycle of the thing. In two years you'll be able to buy one on Ebay for less than $100 and most people that bought one this week will have moved on to newer hardware.
ReplyDeleteWe used to do something similar with used cars when I was younger...
Should have used a wooden bat. I hope they enjoyed Earth Hour when they turned out the lights and turned-on the darkness.
ReplyDeleteIf they were smart, they'd use it as a college documentary, depicting American Society greed, wealth and lack of concern, or just label it Idiots Rule the World.
ReplyDeleteLooks like just another strain of ADS (Apple Derangement Syndrome) to me.
ReplyDeleteDude - you're reading too much into it. You were right the first time (what a bunch of maroons). It's just some buttheads trying for their 15 minutes of fame.
ReplyDeleteUnlike the oriental painting, the canvas is blank because they're too stupid to figure out what might go there.
I strongly suspect (though I have been wrong once or twice before) that it didn't cost them much - even if they bought it retail. It could even be somebody else's.
ReplyDeleteI also doubt that any of them has even heard of the potlatch.
Think of it as "conspicuous consumption".
Rephrasing Graybeard's accurate comment:
It's blank because their minds are.