Producer Culture

Maybe it’s time to step back and look at the bigger picture. There’s a problem with the American dream. The Real Housewives of Orange County? Keeping Up with the Kardashians? We’re surrounded by such distorted representations of the glamorous life that we’ve begun to expect the tacky McMansion, the 50” plasma TV, the Cadillac, all delivered (with 26% APR) at no effort on our part. I don’t expect the consumeristic attitude to change without a collective American temper tantrum.

But change has to start somewhere. So turn off MTV Cribs, cut up the credit card, ditch the catalog, and make something. Instead of going to Pier 1, build your own bookcase. Don’t go out to dinner; cook it yourself. Forget the cinema and invite your friends over to shoot a short film. For decades, Americans have been told that these things are best done by the experts. We have heard this tired refrain for so long that we forget that we’re not as helpless as the retail industry wants us to believe. The transition to a producer culture starts in our own homes.