Review of James Tiptrees "The Girl who was plugged in"
Review of James Tiptree Jr’s “The Girl Who Was Plugged In”
James Tiptree Jr.’s “The Girl Who Was Plugged In” provides a very interesting critique on society leveraging a futuristic story. Considering that Mr. TipTree published this in 1973, his insight into the corruption of society and individuals remains incredibly applicable to today’s world.
His critique focused on three primary topics. First and foremost is our obsession with youth, beauty, and celebrities and our desire to look like them, dress like them and have what they have. As laid out in the story with their fabricated celebrities: “Three young-bloods, larking along loverly. Dressed like simple street-people but . . . smashing. See their great eyes swivel above their nose-filters, their hands lift shyly, their inhumanly tender lips melt? The crowd moans. Love! This whole boiling megacity, this whole fun future world loves its gods. You don't believe gods, dad? Wait. Whatever turns you on, there's a god in the future for you, custom-made. Listen to this mob. "I touched his foot. Ow-oow, I TOUCHED Him!" We remain obsessed with celebrity life and lifestyles. They influence styles, fashion and culture. Many today feel the need to ‘Keep Up with the Kardashians’, no matter how shallow and undeserving those individuals may be of their influence on society. Mr. Tiptree basically predicted the advent of reality TV with shows such as the Wives of Beverly Hills and the impact they can have on fashion, purchasing and even what is deemed as acceptable behavioral habits. Delphi becomes the ultimate reality TV star, although in the world depicted in this story, there is nothing but reality TV – however it isn’t reality – it is 100% controlled by the fake advertising of GTX. This even touches on all of the product placement that occurs in our TV shows which is advertising camouflaged as entertainment.
A second key topic is the issue with identifying a problem and over reacting with
James Tiptree Jr.’s “The Girl Who Was Plugged In” provides a very interesting critique on society leveraging a futuristic story. Considering that Mr. TipTree published this in 1973, his insight into the corruption of society and individuals remains incredibly applicable to today’s world.
His critique focused on three primary topics. First and foremost is our obsession with youth, beauty, and celebrities and our desire to look like them, dress like them and have what they have. As laid out in the story with their fabricated celebrities: “Three young-bloods, larking along loverly. Dressed like simple street-people but . . . smashing. See their great eyes swivel above their nose-filters, their hands lift shyly, their inhumanly tender lips melt? The crowd moans. Love! This whole boiling megacity, this whole fun future world loves its gods. You don't believe gods, dad? Wait. Whatever turns you on, there's a god in the future for you, custom-made. Listen to this mob. "I touched his foot. Ow-oow, I TOUCHED Him!" We remain obsessed with celebrity life and lifestyles. They influence styles, fashion and culture. Many today feel the need to ‘Keep Up with the Kardashians’, no matter how shallow and undeserving those individuals may be of their influence on society. Mr. Tiptree basically predicted the advent of reality TV with shows such as the Wives of Beverly Hills and the impact they can have on fashion, purchasing and even what is deemed as acceptable behavioral habits. Delphi becomes the ultimate reality TV star, although in the world depicted in this story, there is nothing but reality TV – however it isn’t reality – it is 100% controlled by the fake advertising of GTX. This even touches on all of the product placement that occurs in our TV shows which is advertising camouflaged as entertainment.
A second key topic is the issue with identifying a problem and over reacting with