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Hello, I'm Special: How Individuality Became the New Conformity
"Hal Niedzviecki is one of the wisest, funniest and most acute cultural critics writing today."—Naomi Klein, author of No Logo Hal Niedzviecki has a blunt message for the army of tattoo and piercing enthusiasts, bloggers, skateboard warriors and anyone else walking around with the smug certainty that they are one of a Individuality is the new conformity. Niedzviecki’s meditations touch on everything from designer religions to webcasts, from reality TV to the endless “everybody is a star” platitudes of global pop culture. The result is a smart, witty and impassioned argument that shatters the you-can-do-anything pop myth and exposes the paradox of individualism. Hal Niedzviecki is the founder of Broken Pencil magazine and the author of We Want Some Underground Desire and the Reinvention of Mass Culture .
259 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
14 people are currently reading
254 people want to read
About the author
Hal Niedzviecki
16 books51 followersHal Niedzviecki is a writer, culture commentator and editor whose work challenges
preconceptions and confronts readers with the offenses of everyday life. Hal works in both the fiction and nonfiction genres. He is the author
of books including, in fiction, the novel Ditch, and his latest novel The Program. In nonfiction, his most recent work is The Peep Diaries: How We're Learning To Love Watching Ourselves and Our Neighbors (www.peepdiaries.com). He is the
current fiction editor and the founder of Broken Pencil, the magazine of zine culture and
the independent arts ( www.brokenpencil.com). He edited the magazine from 1995 to
2002. Hal’s writing has appeared in newspapers, periodicals and journals across North
America including the Utne Reader, the Globe and Mail, the National Post, Toronto Life,
Walrus, Geist, and This Magazine. He was the recipient of the Alexander Ross Award for
Best New Magazine Writer at the 1999 National Magazine Awards and has presented his
work at events across North America including the International Festival of Authors in
Toronto. Once dubbed the “guru of independent/alternative action” by the Toronto Star,
Niedzviecki is committed to exploring the human condition through provocative fiction
and non-fiction that charts the media saturated terrain of ever shifting multiple identities
at the heart of our fragmenting age. For excerpts, reviews, samples of past articles and
more, visit Hal’s website: www.smellit.ca
preconceptions and confronts readers with the offenses of everyday life. Hal works in both the fiction and nonfiction genres. He is the author
of books including, in fiction, the novel Ditch, and his latest novel The Program. In nonfiction, his most recent work is The Peep Diaries: How We're Learning To Love Watching Ourselves and Our Neighbors (www.peepdiaries.com). He is the
current fiction editor and the founder of Broken Pencil, the magazine of zine culture and
the independent arts ( www.brokenpencil.com). He edited the magazine from 1995 to
2002. Hal’s writing has appeared in newspapers, periodicals and journals across North
America including the Utne Reader, the Globe and Mail, the National Post, Toronto Life,
Walrus, Geist, and This Magazine. He was the recipient of the Alexander Ross Award for
Best New Magazine Writer at the 1999 National Magazine Awards and has presented his
work at events across North America including the International Festival of Authors in
Toronto. Once dubbed the “guru of independent/alternative action” by the Toronto Star,
Niedzviecki is committed to exploring the human condition through provocative fiction
and non-fiction that charts the media saturated terrain of ever shifting multiple identities
at the heart of our fragmenting age. For excerpts, reviews, samples of past articles and
more, visit Hal’s website: www.smellit.ca
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
July 2, 2007
This review is hella long because I wrote it for Amazon:
Hal Niedzviecki is the guy who bums a ride with you and then criticizes the way you drive, tells you when to turn, and tells you where to park. He is the guy who walks into your kitchen and asks to be shown what you are cooking, and then makes unhelpful suggestions as to how to improve your recipe. He's the guy who crashes your party and makes snide comments about your taste in music, and how he was into it 'before they went all mainstream'. In short, he is a know-it-all ironic hipster killjoy.
The thesis of "Hello, I'm Special" isn't entirely clear: there is a vague sense of Niedzviecki complaining about the ubiquity of pop culture and how 'just being yourself' has been commercially appropriated, propped up sloppily by largely irrelevant quotations from academic figures like Foucault. Basically, anybody who tries to do anything 'different' is snidely and rather pettily criticized and scrutinized, from progessive Catholics, to Found Magazine founder Davy Rothbart, and the very people who trustingly gave Niedzviecki feedback. In fact, I am on his list of bumbling bourgeois wannabes simply by virtue of writing a review on Amazon (and no, this is not my attempt at earning 'glory' or 'fame'. I simply don't want anyone else to endure this book.).
Despite protestations in the introduction (following a lengthy retelling of his disaffected wealthy suburban youth, druggie days, various print accomplishments, and so on) that the book is not about him, the book is steeped in the context of Hal Niedzviecki: *I* received an email from so-and-so; participants in an alternative publishing event that *I* coordinated said; *my* friend did this; *I* think; *I* believe, etc. Niedzviecki constantly puts down and criticizes people and movements from the outside, without attempting to become involved or develop a personal understanding, and reserving none of this scathing judgement for himself (because publishing an interview with a male stripper who sodomizes himself with a cooked chicken is waaay more revolutionary than protesting the WTO).
As a result, the whole book smacks of sour grapes. Niedzviecki comes across as a disillusioned person who is overcome with jealousy that he is not the sole person in the universe capable of attempting nonconformity. Rather than criticize or act against the institutions and systems which appropriate nonconformity and create a homogenized world, he instead directs scorn towards people, mostly teens and young adults, who are simply rebelling in the only way they know how.
The one thing I learned from this book is how to assert yourself as a true individual: publish a book mercilessly slamming anyone and everything that has ever tried to do anything different, while constantly inserting yourself and your ego in the center of the action.
Hal Niedzviecki is the guy who bums a ride with you and then criticizes the way you drive, tells you when to turn, and tells you where to park. He is the guy who walks into your kitchen and asks to be shown what you are cooking, and then makes unhelpful suggestions as to how to improve your recipe. He's the guy who crashes your party and makes snide comments about your taste in music, and how he was into it 'before they went all mainstream'. In short, he is a know-it-all ironic hipster killjoy.
The thesis of "Hello, I'm Special" isn't entirely clear: there is a vague sense of Niedzviecki complaining about the ubiquity of pop culture and how 'just being yourself' has been commercially appropriated, propped up sloppily by largely irrelevant quotations from academic figures like Foucault. Basically, anybody who tries to do anything 'different' is snidely and rather pettily criticized and scrutinized, from progessive Catholics, to Found Magazine founder Davy Rothbart, and the very people who trustingly gave Niedzviecki feedback. In fact, I am on his list of bumbling bourgeois wannabes simply by virtue of writing a review on Amazon (and no, this is not my attempt at earning 'glory' or 'fame'. I simply don't want anyone else to endure this book.).
Despite protestations in the introduction (following a lengthy retelling of his disaffected wealthy suburban youth, druggie days, various print accomplishments, and so on) that the book is not about him, the book is steeped in the context of Hal Niedzviecki: *I* received an email from so-and-so; participants in an alternative publishing event that *I* coordinated said; *my* friend did this; *I* think; *I* believe, etc. Niedzviecki constantly puts down and criticizes people and movements from the outside, without attempting to become involved or develop a personal understanding, and reserving none of this scathing judgement for himself (because publishing an interview with a male stripper who sodomizes himself with a cooked chicken is waaay more revolutionary than protesting the WTO).
As a result, the whole book smacks of sour grapes. Niedzviecki comes across as a disillusioned person who is overcome with jealousy that he is not the sole person in the universe capable of attempting nonconformity. Rather than criticize or act against the institutions and systems which appropriate nonconformity and create a homogenized world, he instead directs scorn towards people, mostly teens and young adults, who are simply rebelling in the only way they know how.
The one thing I learned from this book is how to assert yourself as a true individual: publish a book mercilessly slamming anyone and everything that has ever tried to do anything different, while constantly inserting yourself and your ego in the center of the action.
July 4, 2018
yazar, işe önemli bir tespitle başlıyor ve günümüzde bireyciliğin yükselişine dikkat çekiyor. sadece din gibi daha bireysel görünen alanlarda değil toplumsal meselelerde de bireyin kendini gösterme, bireyselliğini ön plana çıkarma çabasında olduğunu iddia ediyor. yazara göre şiddet olaylarındaki artış da yine bireyin sistem içinde görünür olma isteğinin bir parçası. bütün bu "istersen yapabilirsin"ler, kişisel gelişim âlemi de yine hep aynı bireysellik kapısına çıkıyor. sonuçta yazar iddiasını pek çok alanda yaptığı gözlemlerle kanıtlıyor yalnız kitabın arka yazısında belirtildiği gibi "dünyamız ve kendimiz hakkında düşünme biçimimizi kökten sarsacak" bir kitaba imza atmıyor. hatta kendisi de bizatihi bu "ben özelim!" akımından tam olarak sıyrılamadığını kabul ediyor.
hem "çağın ruhuna" dair veriler elde etmek istiyorum hem de çok sıkılmadan -mâlûm yaz- "light" teorik bir kitap okumak istiyorum diyenlere tavsiye ederim.
hem "çağın ruhuna" dair veriler elde etmek istiyorum hem de çok sıkılmadan -mâlûm yaz- "light" teorik bir kitap okumak istiyorum diyenlere tavsiye ederim.
July 22, 2009
A great book that would be much better but for the fact that, near the end, the author begins essentially going on tirades against capitalism, globalization, and other things that have done much, MUCH more good than bad in the world.
That was annoying.
For once, I'd like to read about culture and society without getting liberal/socialist bullshit thrown in with the bargain.
Also, frankly, I can't relate to any of the people he talks about--the ones who stand in a parking lot for hours to audition for some stupid American Idol spinoff, or the people who commit ridiculous acts in public to get attention, or the people who send their kids to an expensive summer camp to turn them into rock stars. Apparently, everyone in the 21st century is motivated by "I'm special" and "me me me" and, basically, a lust for fame.
Um...what?
Those people are the exception, not the norm. The only reason they SEEM like the norm is because they're so damn good at getting attention. But everyone else I know? Me, my friends, my family, my coworkers, the people in my community--here's what we're motivated by. We're motivated by love of family, by our desire to make the world better, by our various religious and ethnic traditions, by love for boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, or wives. Not because by a desire for attention from the whole world.
*shrug*
Just my two cents.
That was annoying.
For once, I'd like to read about culture and society without getting liberal/socialist bullshit thrown in with the bargain.
Also, frankly, I can't relate to any of the people he talks about--the ones who stand in a parking lot for hours to audition for some stupid American Idol spinoff, or the people who commit ridiculous acts in public to get attention, or the people who send their kids to an expensive summer camp to turn them into rock stars. Apparently, everyone in the 21st century is motivated by "I'm special" and "me me me" and, basically, a lust for fame.
Um...what?
Those people are the exception, not the norm. The only reason they SEEM like the norm is because they're so damn good at getting attention. But everyone else I know? Me, my friends, my family, my coworkers, the people in my community--here's what we're motivated by. We're motivated by love of family, by our desire to make the world better, by our various religious and ethnic traditions, by love for boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, or wives. Not because by a desire for attention from the whole world.
*shrug*
Just my two cents.
February 22, 2008
I nearly bailed on this book early in the first chapter because Niedzviecki seemed like a real whiner. Thankfully, I stuck with it. I learned a lot from "Hello, I'm Special" and it, along with several other books I've read lately, have thrown me into a bit of a crisis.
It's true: individuality is the new conformity. There are very few avenues for a rebel to choose if he/she wants to make waves. The waves are sold as quick as they appear. There's nothing new under the sun and, once there is, it's commodified. That's the way the world works today. It's suffocating and terrifying. Niedzviecki does a good job of breaking down this premise.
Like the beginning, the end was a little rough. The middle chunk of the book is great, though, and my fiance feels like he read the damned thing because I kept reading bits of it aloud to him as I went along.
It's true: individuality is the new conformity. There are very few avenues for a rebel to choose if he/she wants to make waves. The waves are sold as quick as they appear. There's nothing new under the sun and, once there is, it's commodified. That's the way the world works today. It's suffocating and terrifying. Niedzviecki does a good job of breaking down this premise.
Like the beginning, the end was a little rough. The middle chunk of the book is great, though, and my fiance feels like he read the damned thing because I kept reading bits of it aloud to him as I went along.
November 12, 2010
Ugh. This was the first book I've read in a while that really disappointed. I expected some insight into why people all want to be different in the same way...like why do all the hipsters wear the same glasses? Unfortunately, the author makes the entire book about how everyone wants to be a pop star. His premise is wrong, and as a semi-famous author he just comes off as self-loathing. Additionally, he is a Canadian writer and tries to use the inclusive "North America" wherever he can, which ends up being distracting. Worse yet, he quotes statistics from the US, but all of his anecdotes and interviews are with Canadians. Not recommended for anyone.
August 13, 2007
The premise of this book was more enticing to me than bananas foster, and boy do I LOVE bananas foster.
Anyway, though there are many truths in what the author is saying, his structure was so sporadic and self-serving that I had a hard time absorbing his point. The end of the book is inconclusive, which negates his whole purpose for writing it.
Still, an interesting read, but I recommend not buying it. In fact, you can have my copy.
Anyway, though there are many truths in what the author is saying, his structure was so sporadic and self-serving that I had a hard time absorbing his point. The end of the book is inconclusive, which negates his whole purpose for writing it.
Still, an interesting read, but I recommend not buying it. In fact, you can have my copy.
October 12, 2009
Hal Niedzviecki sounds like a whiny, unhappy man who hates everyone and everything. In "Hello, I'm Special", his tendency to generalize, some of the examples he chose, and his cynical, angry approach (softened only in the last couple of chapters) to the theme of individualism make this reading often unpleasant. However, some of his observations definitely resonate with my own experience and have helped me make sense of many things I'm seeing.
July 23, 2007
I found too many contradictions and dead ends. I was expecting something more Alain de Botton-ish but instead felt I was just reading someone's long blog entry.
Want to read
July 27, 2007not mine.
October 17, 2007
interesting points, but couldn't finish it. it lost appeal after it got too repetitive.
September 19, 2008
Finally someone wrote a book about this.
February 27, 2009
I.e. you're not special. The rating only dips due to somebody taking it upon themself to point that out to people who probably think the book isn't talking about them.
August 15, 2020
günümüzde “isyankarlık ruhu her yerde!” Peki bu isyankarlık ne kadar gerçek? Mesela büyük bir kapitalist şirketin reklam sloganına dönüştüğünde hâlâ isyankar ruhtan, ayrıksılıktan, normdışı olmaktan ve hatta bireysellikten söz edebilir miyiz? Hal Niedzviecki bu kitabında paradoksal bir duruma, marjinalliğin trend oluşuna ve isyanın nasıl ehlileştirildiğine dikkat çekiyor. Popüler kültürün, şirketlerin yeni iktidarında onların avcına düşmeyen bir isyan nasıl mümkün olacak? Belki de en çok tartışmamız gereken sorulardan biri. Israrla tavsiye ediyorum, okuyun 👌
#okudumbitti #okumaönerisi #kitap #kitapönerisi #bookstagram #book #booklover #inzivadayımokuyorum
#okudumbitti #okumaönerisi #kitap #kitapönerisi #bookstagram #book #booklover #inzivadayımokuyorum
August 7, 2010
“Hal Niedzviecki has a blunt message for the army of tattoo and piercing enthusiasts, bloggers, skateboard warriors, and anyone else walking around with the smug certainty that they are one of a kind: Individuality is the new conformity.” That sounded very interesting to me. Unfortunately I have to add the following sentence to the cover blurb: Hal Niedzviecki is a writer who picks a good idea for a book, but can’t write it.
The only good part in this book is the introduction where the author introduces the phenomenon that he promises to scrutinize and explain in the main body of the book – the phenomenon being that individuality, rebellion, nonconformity, being-yourself, etc. are not only NOT punished or forbidden by society anymore, but they are actively encouraged and highly cherished. So what does it really mean to be a rebel when society urges you to defy and dissent? How can you really be different when being the-same is so deplorably uncool? The need to be unique and special (and of course display and prove it) is so prevalent that we get what the author calls the new conformity. Everybody strives to show their uniqueness and express their individuality, and nobody wants to admit that they’re just one-in-the-crowd. Then you get into the practical problem of individuality not really coming out as individuality – sort of like when half of the population decide to express their individuality by getting the same tattoo at the same spot. And then after a while being the-same can feel more different than being different – society in large becoming like a ghetto school where staying and passing your exams are the only true remaining form of rebellion.
Now, as for the book – it’s an entirely different beast. Once I was finished with the introduction, I had no idea what the author was trying to say. The book is a mishmash of various discussion on pop culture and mostly not related to the subject of that book – or at least I failed to see the connection.
The only good part in this book is the introduction where the author introduces the phenomenon that he promises to scrutinize and explain in the main body of the book – the phenomenon being that individuality, rebellion, nonconformity, being-yourself, etc. are not only NOT punished or forbidden by society anymore, but they are actively encouraged and highly cherished. So what does it really mean to be a rebel when society urges you to defy and dissent? How can you really be different when being the-same is so deplorably uncool? The need to be unique and special (and of course display and prove it) is so prevalent that we get what the author calls the new conformity. Everybody strives to show their uniqueness and express their individuality, and nobody wants to admit that they’re just one-in-the-crowd. Then you get into the practical problem of individuality not really coming out as individuality – sort of like when half of the population decide to express their individuality by getting the same tattoo at the same spot. And then after a while being the-same can feel more different than being different – society in large becoming like a ghetto school where staying and passing your exams are the only true remaining form of rebellion.
Now, as for the book – it’s an entirely different beast. Once I was finished with the introduction, I had no idea what the author was trying to say. The book is a mishmash of various discussion on pop culture and mostly not related to the subject of that book – or at least I failed to see the connection.
April 26, 2011
Nothing really revelatory in this book. This book probably in my college days would have caused more of a stir because it generally scratched the surface of many points and ideas I had learned. More or less, I started to second guess some of my own personal life choices, but realized that I did everything with my free will, I still actively seek out things to incorporate into my life on my on terms of both myself, my family, and community. I pick battles like everyone else and I keep myself more importantly, ground in reality. I think the pseudo-identity crisis he speaks of is something that people quite often grow out of. We all actively are influenced by what's around us and whatever media that is thrown at us on a daily basis, but we don't have to blindly accept what is handed to us to shape our world. Granted, it may be difficult to stay away from increasingly invasive things in our world, but its not all negative. Civilized life is largely the struggle for meaning and we all have the ability to change our minds and shape our world. I completely agree that in past generations, approaches to this search for meaning were perhaps a lot easier in comparison to the jumble of a world we have going for us now, but despite having and increased diet and appetite for crap, we still can get sick of it and change.
March 24, 2013
*****Disclaimer!*****DON'T READ THIS IF YOU ARE DEPRESSED!!!!!!! ZERO STARS*************************
As I get older I appreciate the art of subtlety, the ability to politely, not mention things that are perfectly obvious to anyone capable of abstract thought. I am disappointed that American culture has deteriorated such that a publisher would actually print this book. Growing up, we are given adages to live by. Our parents preach things like “sticks and stones…”, “do unto others…”, and the often overlooked “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.” I would advise Hal to reconsider the value of writing a book like this vs. his time and efforts spent doing ANYTHING else.
I read this book while I was in Iraq. The hidden benefit of a war is that you gain valuable perspective on life. I, personally, came to the realization that our time is finite, and wasting it being negative, or worse complaining for the sake of complaining, is pointless. So, my point of reviewing this book at all is to discourage those who might be considering reading it. Focus on improving yourself, this book will at best leave you spinning your wheels. It has an incredibly negative message that would bring down even the most optimistic of individuals. For your own sake, don’t waste your time.
And Hal, as we say in the serving industry, “I’ll see you next Tuesday.”
As I get older I appreciate the art of subtlety, the ability to politely, not mention things that are perfectly obvious to anyone capable of abstract thought. I am disappointed that American culture has deteriorated such that a publisher would actually print this book. Growing up, we are given adages to live by. Our parents preach things like “sticks and stones…”, “do unto others…”, and the often overlooked “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.” I would advise Hal to reconsider the value of writing a book like this vs. his time and efforts spent doing ANYTHING else.
I read this book while I was in Iraq. The hidden benefit of a war is that you gain valuable perspective on life. I, personally, came to the realization that our time is finite, and wasting it being negative, or worse complaining for the sake of complaining, is pointless. So, my point of reviewing this book at all is to discourage those who might be considering reading it. Focus on improving yourself, this book will at best leave you spinning your wheels. It has an incredibly negative message that would bring down even the most optimistic of individuals. For your own sake, don’t waste your time.
And Hal, as we say in the serving industry, “I’ll see you next Tuesday.”
June 16, 2008
Certainly we're in a culture of heightened individualism facilitated by consumer culture: customized this, special-order that, niche media, reality celebs, and so forth. And as a journalist Niedzviecki makes some apt points and observations about this cultural context. But in addition to overlooking some important historical precursors and trends, theoretically what this book needs is a more serious consideration of power and politics. Underlining some of the snarky observations about the masses lurks problematic assumptions about power. Many of the discussions implicitly involve shifting gender dynamics, for example, but in most cases Niedzviecki elides a consideration of gender. He routinely juxtaposes "rebels" with "women," for example, and in the discussion of declining childbirth rates does not even mention how shifting gender roles play a role. There's this implicit creepiness that suggests that once women enter the game the party's over. Same goes for the discussions of religion and labor (I'd argue that it is corporate America that is less loyal to employees rather than the other way around, for example, which is what Niedzviecki suggests). I simply don't buy the thesis that all these cultural trends fall under the rubric of "I'm Specialness."
July 30, 2009
93 - […] preying on the naïve and hopeful has always been part of the pop legacy
117 – The pop system depends on shutting us out
118 – In real life, we pay the corporation to give us the feeling of defying their-our-world.
139 –
155 – The practise of exorcism in contemporary America is remarkably well suited to the therapeutic ethos of the prevailing culture. […]Exorcism is oddly at home in the shopping mall culture, purchase of happiness culture, of turn-of-the-century America.
186 – Implanted fantasies
The age of the individual is the age of extremist behaviour
201 - […] a pop culture that allows anything except real participation.
234 - “Perhaps I need to relinquish my dream of solitary, restless rebellion, subject of almost all the pop culture I have been exposed to since birth.”
164 – Paragraph 3 Once again, the paradox prevails
176 – Paragraph 3 They are not as interested in other people
187 – Paragraph 2 The more extreme culture gets
190 – Paragraph 2
195 – Paragraph 3
203 – Paragraph 1
208 –
218 – 1st section (continuation of paragraph on page 217)
223 – Paragraph 1
117 – The pop system depends on shutting us out
118 – In real life, we pay the corporation to give us the feeling of defying their-our-world.
139 –
155 – The practise of exorcism in contemporary America is remarkably well suited to the therapeutic ethos of the prevailing culture. […]Exorcism is oddly at home in the shopping mall culture, purchase of happiness culture, of turn-of-the-century America.
186 – Implanted fantasies
The age of the individual is the age of extremist behaviour
201 - […] a pop culture that allows anything except real participation.
234 - “Perhaps I need to relinquish my dream of solitary, restless rebellion, subject of almost all the pop culture I have been exposed to since birth.”
164 – Paragraph 3 Once again, the paradox prevails
176 – Paragraph 3 They are not as interested in other people
187 – Paragraph 2 The more extreme culture gets
190 – Paragraph 2
195 – Paragraph 3
203 – Paragraph 1
208 –
218 – 1st section (continuation of paragraph on page 217)
223 – Paragraph 1
March 1, 2010
I'm about halfway through this book and was immediately struck by how his style of thinking mirrors my own in a very eerie way. However, the major difference between him and I: I have done zero research into this topic.
I do think that we live in a very egocentric country that places comfort and self love - no, aggrandizement - as a top priority in life. I believe this affects not only adults, but has created a new generation of children who want to be regarded as Gods.
This has contributed to my view that this country is full of people who don't understand the impact of their interactions with others because of their inability to have empathy with someone other than themselves.
I suppose when a child is bombarded with constant messages telling her that she's a "super star!" and a "unique snowflake", they lead life with very inflated egos and a sense of entitlement.
I'd highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to understand how our culture is becoming more self-centered and arrogant.
I do think that we live in a very egocentric country that places comfort and self love - no, aggrandizement - as a top priority in life. I believe this affects not only adults, but has created a new generation of children who want to be regarded as Gods.
This has contributed to my view that this country is full of people who don't understand the impact of their interactions with others because of their inability to have empathy with someone other than themselves.
I suppose when a child is bombarded with constant messages telling her that she's a "super star!" and a "unique snowflake", they lead life with very inflated egos and a sense of entitlement.
I'd highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to understand how our culture is becoming more self-centered and arrogant.
April 24, 2010
I almost gave it 2 stars because even though the issues raised are interesting and having been mulling around in my head for awhile, blargh!...the author writes with an uninspired, high-strung and elementary style that ruins the potential messages that could be addressed by someone with more thoughtfulness and dare I say a special writing style to express otherwise valid points. Ultimately lots of arrogance with limited insight.
December 16, 2013
Big topic tackled in this book, which broadly argues that individuality is the new conformity. A bit wandering at times but I owe that to the nebulous nature of the topic and not author error. Definitely thought-provoking and an intense look at what our social structures, pop culture and the "culture of celebrity" do in terms of driving people to define their own specialness and be seen as something unique. An interesting read.
September 20, 2014
Everything you like is horrible because everything you like everyone else likes. You are the mass media greatest dream, and even though you think you are an "individual" you are not. -- pretty much the gist of this book so far. And way too much focus on celebrity and stardom. As if that's the only thing people aspire to anymore. This guy is full of himself and his alternative hipster, I'm cooler than you because I'm different attitude, is gross.
March 4, 2007
Great read - a little too simplistic in theory but trying to understand current climate of North American thought/ideas. Main theory is that we all have been raised to think we are special and this ultimately compliments the insanity of our consumerist culture - I mean that's a pretty simple explanation but anyway the book gets the juices moving.
July 21, 2007
This book seemed like redundant, "I've figured everything out, and you haven't" tripe. Maybe having grown up in metropolitan areas my entire life I fail to realize that everyone around me may have this complex of having to be special to fit in...Mr.Niedzvecki, two stars for making this jaded urbanite take some time to reflect.
September 5, 2011
When I read this book it blew my mind. Granted, it's a little pedestrian, but it was one of those "he's saying what I'm thinking" moments for me. The book is about American society's focus on the individual in the face of globalization, and how that has affected our sense of community and self. Very interesting.
December 5, 2012
Seemed rather redundant. Talked a lot around points, but never really came out and said anything productive. Hal's favorite word is apparently "ersatz" as he uses it in almost every chapter I think, in several cases where it is not the best word for the sentence. Another one of those books where I jived with the premise, but the execution of the text fell short.
May 3, 2007
right after i graduated i started missing my sociology reading, and this book helped quench that craving. not overly academic, this book explores the concept of conformity in a way that is unique to the children of boomers.
May 21, 2007
Decent...I suppose my expectations were higher than the book came out to be. I felt like Niedzviecki said the same thing a thousand times with a hundred different examples. Good points, however; it's a good observation about our current culture of individuality.
February 28, 2008
Interesting commentary on what constitutes a rebel when previously rebellious actions are now considered the norm. Makes you think about why you do the things you do, and who else does the same thing.
June 10, 2019
Nasıl oldu da kendimi 4 verirken buldum gerçekten bilmiyorum. Yazar tuhaf hissettiriyor. Tuhaf bir insan. Ama farklı bir bakış açısı ve bir sürü araştırma analizi içeren bir kitaptı o yüzden okurken mutluydum gayet. Ama adam garip cidden
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