4 ms·

'poorly educated white men' hitting middle age in past years typically lived in a warm bath of feel good US TV BS. In our current era television and social medi

'poorly educated white men' hitting middle age in past years typically lived in a warm bath of feel good US TV BS. In our current era television and social media are very abrasive and aggressive. Matt Taibbi's forthcoming book Hate Inc is very good on this. I wonder whether the corrosive effective of this is an element in the mass depression claimed by the Economist. Chris Hedges and Taibbi discuss on RT https://youtu.be/8_vla4l-AX8 https://youtu.be/8_vla4l-AX8

sjg007 7y ago
For sure media has a big impact.
- beenBoutIT 7y ago
  Most Americans are obese or overweight and 40% of Americans wouldn't be able to scrap together $400 in an emergency. Suffering from one or both of those conditions at middle age would be good cause for situational depression.
  - xvedejas 7y ago
    Obesity rates in the US are at about 30%, which I don't think counts as "most". https://www.stateofobesity.org/adult-obesity/ https://www.stateofobesity.org/adult-obesity/
    - fat-people 7y ago
      When you think about what "obesity" actually means, 30% is a staggering number. Remember that being overweight is not the same as true "obesity" and that no individual finds their way to obesity without first being overweight for a time. Knowing population distribution curves for what they are, if 30% are obese, how many more are simply overweight?
    - oska 7y ago
      The majority are obese or overweight. The GP comment forgot the second half of the formulation.
      - sjg007 7y ago
        60% are overweight or obese, which is the majority. Clearly we can survive on less.
        oska 7y ago
        It's now reached the two thirds mark (67%) in some countries, including the US. This is the case in my own country of Australia where it's roughly one third normal weight, one third overweight and one third obese. [1] [1] https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4364.0.55.001~2017-18~Main%20Features~Key%20Findings~1 https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject...
- rchaud 7y ago
  As a non-American, shows like King of Queens puzzled me because it paired a massively overweight delivery guy with a svelte, stylish wife. I originally thought it was an opposites-attract kind of show, but the same template is there in Family Guy, According to Jim, The Honeymooners, Two and a Half Men, etc....all highly successful shows that ran for many season and continue to rake in the cash on syndication. Conventionally unattractive, cartoonishly dumb middle-to-lower class white man with fashionable spouse with witty one-liners and putdowns. Initially I thought these shows were simply lampooning the "working stiff", but as time went on, I think the "lampoon" bit was lost, and the audience actually began to see the show as symbolic of the reality they feel they should be experiencing.
- agumonkey 7y ago
  I don't think it's the medias per se, it's a whole bunch of changes due to the experience gained by society. In the 80s the goal was glamour. Everything was so lush and shiny. I used to find it gross but todays false structure and analytic realism creeps me deep. Both are lies, one of them makes you aiming at happy though.
seppin 7y ago
Wow when did Chris Hedges become a Russian propagandist? I used to really represent him, how did he get banned from western media?
- olivermarks 7y ago
  I think you are confusing Chris Hedges, ex NYT, and RT which is the Russian equivalent to 'voice of America'. Chris Hedges appears on lots of media including RT. He is not 'banned from Western media' as you will see with a simple search.
  - ak217 7y ago
    RT is not comparable to VOA. VOA has journalistic standards that are similar to those of NPR. RT's standards are below those of Fox News - it routinely engages in fabrication, misinformation campaigns, selective and reactionary reporting, and extreme editorialization.

sjg007 7y ago

For sure media has a big impact.

beenBoutIT 7y ago
Most Americans are obese or overweight and 40% of Americans wouldn't be able to scrap together $400 in an emergency. Suffering from one or both of those conditions at middle age would be good cause for situational depression.
- xvedejas 7y ago
  Obesity rates in the US are at about 30%, which I don't think counts as "most". https://www.stateofobesity.org/adult-obesity/ https://www.stateofobesity.org/adult-obesity/
  - fat-people 7y ago
    When you think about what "obesity" actually means, 30% is a staggering number. Remember that being overweight is not the same as true "obesity" and that no individual finds their way to obesity without first being overweight for a time. Knowing population distribution curves for what they are, if 30% are obese, how many more are simply overweight?
  - oska 7y ago
    The majority are obese or overweight. The GP comment forgot the second half of the formulation.
    - sjg007 7y ago
      60% are overweight or obese, which is the majority. Clearly we can survive on less.
      - oska 7y ago
        It's now reached the two thirds mark (67%) in some countries, including the US. This is the case in my own country of Australia where it's roughly one third normal weight, one third overweight and one third obese. [1] [1] https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4364.0.55.001~2017-18~Main%20Features~Key%20Findings~1 https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject...
rchaud 7y ago
As a non-American, shows like King of Queens puzzled me because it paired a massively overweight delivery guy with a svelte, stylish wife. I originally thought it was an opposites-attract kind of show, but the same template is there in Family Guy, According to Jim, The Honeymooners, Two and a Half Men, etc....all highly successful shows that ran for many season and continue to rake in the cash on syndication. Conventionally unattractive, cartoonishly dumb middle-to-lower class white man with fashionable spouse with witty one-liners and putdowns. Initially I thought these shows were simply lampooning the "working stiff", but as time went on, I think the "lampoon" bit was lost, and the audience actually began to see the show as symbolic of the reality they feel they should be experiencing.
agumonkey 7y ago
I don't think it's the medias per se, it's a whole bunch of changes due to the experience gained by society. In the 80s the goal was glamour. Everything was so lush and shiny. I used to find it gross but todays false structure and analytic realism creeps me deep. Both are lies, one of them makes you aiming at happy though.

seppin 7y ago

Wow when did Chris Hedges become a Russian propagandist? I used to really represent him, how did he get banned from western media?

olivermarks 7y ago
I think you are confusing Chris Hedges, ex NYT, and RT which is the Russian equivalent to 'voice of America'. Chris Hedges appears on lots of media including RT. He is not 'banned from Western media' as you will see with a simple search.
- ak217 7y ago
  RT is not comparable to VOA. VOA has journalistic standards that are similar to those of NPR. RT's standards are below those of Fox News - it routinely engages in fabrication, misinformation campaigns, selective and reactionary reporting, and extreme editorialization.