The Culture of Narcissism - Lasch

This is Charisse. I am writing this post in response to Professor Nerio's notes on The Culture of Narcissism by Christopher Lasch.

“Narcissism is not self-love and self-aggrandizement, but inner emptiness” (Nerio notes on Lasch).

It is this line that spoke to me the most. In our culture, it is the case that people are obsessed with themselves, but not in a way that implies conceit. Rather, people in our culture our guilty of the “protective shallowness” that Lasch notes as a symptom of narcissism (239). People are more concerned with their physical appearance than the effect of their actions (mostly their constant need to compare themselves to the images of beauty in the media) on their emotional selves.

In the last twenty years or so, plastic surgery has become more and more popular. People want a straighter nose or higher cheekbones. There are more programs dealing with weight loss and body-toning and very few of these programs show photos of average-sized men and women. More often than not, the after pictures show extremely thin people in little to no clothing. Furthermore, make-up, hair products, and other items that improve one’s physical appearance, take up a large percentage of advertisements. This obsession with make-up, plastic surgery, weight loss, and other services that improve one’s looks may appear to be a sign of vanity. However, Lasch would argue and I would agree that they are a sign of fear.

In this society there are two things that are prized – youth and beauty. People are not spending their time looking into the mirror or sitting in salons because they think that they look amazing. They are doing these things to make sure that their beauty is still apparent. They have to check the mirror to insure that the make-up they applied in the morning is still perfect. The trip to the plastic surgeon reassures them that no wrinkles are invading their forehead. There is a constant form of monitoring and hiding one’s aging.

Another one of Lasch’s points that interest me is the idea that Americans have moved into a mindset that thinks only of the individual self. He saw this happen after the 1960s. While I would argue that the basis of America’s ideology is the emphasis on the individual, I can concede that there was a sense of unity among people that may not exist anymore. It appears that after seeing the little to no influence that the collective voice seems to have on life overall in America, people found that it was better to work on what they could change.

Lasch shows how society has moved from an idea of unity to an idea of self and that psychological problems are more of a concern now than spirituality. This thought paired with Lasch’s view on technology caused me to think about how humans are a species that simply needs to need things. Since the beginning of time, man has been adding to the list of things that are necessary for life. First there was food and shelter, and then we needed fire and clothes. Next there was the desire for a life partner and stable place of residence. Fast forward a few hundred thousand years and we see the need for radio, television, and internet.

Now, food is not enough. People must be able to afford to go out (to restaurants) every once in a while. Regular television led to movies and bigger television screens.  The list goes on and on, but the point is that technology does more than solve needs; technology makes needs. The more that we get the more that we think we must have. And now that society has come to a point where things are faster and better every day, the individual has to find something to need. So, they have moved to a focus on self and psychological issues. This field can be explored indefinitely and with it comes the need for depression medication, energizing dance classes, etc. . It will be interesting to see what society needs next.