Once in a previous life I attended a going-away office party for someone I’d never met. Now that’s awkward: "Hello, nice to meet you. Goodbye and best of luck in all your new endeavors." I had thought it would be a good break from the daily grind and followed several co-workers over to the studio lot where everyone gathered in one of the more swanky (swankier?) executive conference rooms. Five miserable minutes inside and I had already let the shame of my blatant opportunism get me down, so I skulked alone to one end of the room, uneasily balancing my drink and cake. I noticed some visual aids left behind from a marketing meeting – great! something to help me look engaged. There were three or four large poster boards pasted with the bright logos of popular television shows, movies and magazines, each poster depicting the typical tastes of a particular demographic category. Amused by the ad-people’s confident classification of just about everyone, I looked to see if they’d figured me out yet. I found my group, 18-34 and female, and attempted to identify with it. Let’s see, fashion and gossip glossies like Cosmopolitan and People, TV shows in the vein of Ally McBeal, Sex and the City, Alias, Oprah, American Idol and The OC (ok, so maybe the latter two weren’t out at that point, but they would’ve gone there), many examples of that beast they call the ‘romantic comedy’ featuring actors like Jennifer Lopez, Reese Witherspoon or Kate Hudson…wow – I hadn’t realized how completely out-of-step I am with my own social group! None of their entertainment options for 18-to-34-year-old women appealed to me. Where were the products I regularly consume? – the Fox TV network’s Sunday line-up, MAD magazine, comic book movies (which definitely aren’t my favorites, but I see them more impulsively and willingly than those romantic comedies) – ?? I found them all with the teenage boys!
Let this tale serve as a sort of disclaimer for some of the content I’m about to post.
I completely agree with your sentiments. With great curiosity I’m awaiting your next post …