FEAR, ANXIETY, AND SYSTEMIC VIOLENCE: LEFTOVERS FROM THE LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH CAPITALISM IN MILLENNIAL NARRATIVES _______________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of San Diego State University _______________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in English _______________ by Angela Renee Pellerin Summer 2015 iii Copyright © 2015 by Angela Renee Pellerin All Rights Reserved iv DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to the artists and helpers, and all those individuals who dedicate themselves to the betterment of others, to improving the world around them, to giving without asking anything in return, to living without squandering, to loving without hatred and violence. To those who try to leave the world a little better upon their exit than they found it upon their entry. v The consumer society needs its objects in order to be. More precisely, it needs to destroy them. The use of objects leads only to their dwindling disappearance. The value created is much more intense in violent loss. This is why destruction remains the fundamental alternative to production: consumption is merely an intermediate term between the two. […] only in destruction are objects there in excess and only then, in their disappearance, do they attest to wealth. At any rate, it is clear that destruction […] is fated to become one of the preponderant functions of post-industrial society. –Jean Baudrillard The Consumer Society vi ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS Fear, Anxiety, and Systemic Violence: Leftovers from the Love- Hate Relationship with Capitalism in Millennial Narratives by Angela Renee Pellerin Master of Arts in English San Diego State University, 2015 The capitalist system is inherently based on, and thrives on, competition. This idea is the foundation of America itself, an enduring narrative steeped in the concept of Manifest Destiny, going West and taking what one feels entitled to by birth. The resulting sense of entitlement has in turn led to America’s notoriety as both one of the most affluent and privileged societies in the world, as well as one of the most violent. Americans have a conflicting sense of both awareness and ignorance of the violence of which they are intrinsically a part. Numerous authors, journalists, film auteurs, and other cultural icons have critiqued the link between capitalism and violence within American society, offering possibility of awareness to the masses. In this thesis, I aim to analyze their connections, as depicted in several turn-of-the-millennium narratives, including the 1999 films American Beauty and Fight Club, as well as more recent 21st century novels Feed and 10:01. Utilizing research in consumer psychology and cultural theory, including work by Jean Beaudrillard and Slavoj Žižek, I will argue that the American ideal of the pursuit of happiness becomes twisted through consumerism into both a quest for conformity and a battle against it, and in turn exists as the structural basis of violence within the capitalist system. The resulting psychological turmoil suffered by individuals is a form of “cognitive dissonance,” with the consumer being forever torn between whether to consume or not, and post-consumption, tortured with guilt for doing so. Yet the only comfort is found in further consumption, repeating the monstrous cycle. Many postmodern narratives depict in their characters a perpetual feeling of dissonance, inevitably leading to destruction and violence, manifesting along a varied spectrum, from breakdown of family, to rebellion against authority, to ecological crisis, to outright terrorist acts. The critical awareness of links between violence and consumerism offered by the postmodern narratives analyzed herein leaves us even more conflicted – in their fatalistic posture, they offer no alternative to the situation, adding further emotional turmoil and discontent. The only cure presented is, quite simply, to consume more, perhaps to the point of combustion. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 Postmodernism: An Existential Crisis .....................................................................3 Cognitive Dissonance ..............................................................................................5 Finding Meaning through Art ..................................................................................7 The Evolution of Violence .....................................................................................12 Ecological Crisis ....................................................................................................17 2 INHERENT CONTRADICTIONS: THE DUPLICITOUS FACE OF CAPITALISM..............................................................................................................20 Baudrillard’s Affluent Society ...............................................................................20 Modern Shackles ....................................................................................................29 Privilege and Alienation ........................................................................................39 Žižek’s Systemic Violence ....................................................................................42 Consumption of Violence ......................................................................................43 Postmodernism Transformed: A New Era .............................................................46 Consumer Psychology ...........................................................................................47 3 SYSTEMIC WASTE: CONSUMPTION, TRASH, AND ECOLOGICAL CRISIS .........................................................................................................................51 Planned Obsolescence ............................................................................................54 The Human Body = Waste .....................................................................................59 The Attack on Masculine Identity: A Spiritual War ..............................................61 4 POSTMODERN MALE ANGST: “I HATE MY JOB AND I’M SCARED I’LL LOSE IT” ............................................................................................................70 viii 5 DESIRE & FEAR: THE DUPLICITOUS FACE OF ADVERTISING ......................82 Planned Obsolescence: Waste & Anxiety..............................................................87 6 CONSUMER IDENTITY: SHOPPING FOR AN IMAGE TO FILL THE VOID............................................................................................................................93 7 CONCLUSION: POST-9/11-ISM: MEANING AMID THE CHAOS .....................102 Meta-Fiction .........................................................................................................106 Imaginary Resolutions: (Non)Reality/(Non)Fiction ............................................108 WORKS CITED ....................................................................................................................110 ix LIST OF FIGURES PAGE Figure 1. Protagonist after awakening in the future and looking out at a different world overrun by trash. ................................................................................................18 Figure 2. Image from Fight Club, in which Tyler Durden steals human fat from liposuction clinic. .........................................................................................................19 Figure 3. “Ideal” suburban neighborhood as depicted in American Beauty. ...........................22 Figure 4. Carolyn Burnham is the image of perfection and happiness. ...................................23 Figure 5. Scene from Fight Club in which items in the protagonist's condo reflect their Ikea catalog descriptions. ....................................................................................23 Figure 6. Frank waiting for train. .............................................................................................28 Figure 7. Frank lost in the shadows of the lonely crowd. ........................................................28 Figure 8. Traffic jam during morning commute. .....................................................................31 Figure 9. Samir in traffic expressing frustration and anger. ....................................................31 Figure 10. Traffic jam in Falling Down. ..................................................................................32 Figure 11. Protagonist in traffic, on the verge of breakdown ..................................................32 Figure 12. Lester's computer screen evokes image of bars from a prison cell, reflecting his emotional imprisonment. .......................................................................34 Figure 13. Peter in his cubicle expressing frustration ..............................................................34 Figure 14. Peter expressing satisfaction after knocking down his cubicle wall. .....................35 Figure 15. Milton with his cubicle slowly closing in on him.