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The Superficiality of the Social Hierarchy

It’s disconcerting to observe how rapidly a person’s behaviour alters in the presence of celebrities, politicians, and the like. These individuals merely possess a high status due to their popularity and/or financial superiority over those around them, leading to a starstruck response. The glorification of an immortal subject is problematic enough, but it becomes even more so when the same adulation is applied to individuals who are unmistakably human. In pop culture, celebrities are treated as akin to deities. It’s true that young people seek role models to emulate. However, these role models are often merely replicated by individuals or entire subcultures, resulting in groups that lack originality. As with most things that pique societal interest, the crowd always prevails. If a person has an established status through some form of social proof, then people will assume the person’s popularity to be justified—here, the unconscious mind succumbs to the appeal of popularity once again.

Countercultures, subcultures, and new generational fashion trends create the illusion of defiance against previous generations; that of going against the grain. Little do they know, their fashion is often a revival of old trends, offering nothing new. This revived trend quickly becomes the norm as it spreads rapidly throughout youth society. I was tempted to phrase it as “no longer defiant”, but that would be incorrect as they were never truly defiant in the first place, thus “no longer” doesn’t apply.

*This writing is featured in the book, Denial.