Wings Macklemore Analysis

In the song “Wings” by Macklemore, the artist uses a typical seven year olds’ perception on society to explain the concept of consumerism. He shows how in the long run, this concept of objects defining our value, individuality and status is merely another illusion. Consumerism is yet another flaw in today's society that most people don’t see as a threat. The song starts off with a boy talking about his first pair of Nike’s, “This is the best day of my life/ On the court I wasn’t the best, but my kicks were like the pro’s”(5-14, Macklemore). At age seven, the boy already was desperate to fit in with his peers. He realized that in order to prove his worth, he had to have something that other people couldn’t afford. He felt as if these sneakers
He thought that owning a product that “he” has (in this case the cool kids) will make him be “cool” and better than the others. The boy believes that those Nike’s would make him superior. Towards the end of the song, the boy comes to realization that this idea of buying your value is yet another trap. He says, “My movement told me to be a consumer and I consumed it/ They told me to just do it, I listened to what that swoosh said/ Look at what that swoosh did/ see it consumed my thoughts”(42-45, Macklemore). Nike’s logo is “Just Do It” and that’s what the boy did; he just bought his first pair, his second, his third and soon it consumed his thoughts. He began thinking that what he wears and owns is much more important than his personality and individuality. He soon realized that these Nike’s did help define him as a person at first, but in the end they were simply another pair of shoes. The message portrayed in the song points out the flaws in today’s society. Society made people think that owning expensive items will make you superior and help define you as an individual but you can not buy your value or