This candid group portrait reflects the anticipation yet the boredom that was going on in the front of the line at the Best Buy on Blanding Blvd in Jacksonville. Some people are smoking, some are chatting; some people are smiling and others are ready to finally get into the store. The police presence is also apparent. Some people seem to react negatively and almost paranoid when there’s a law enforcer around, as if they’re out to get them – as if they’re there to watch your every move.
How many televisions do you really need? How many will you buy in a lifetime?
The row of cashiers at Wal-Mart is always somewhat disastrous between the slew of people, hap-hazardous cashiers in crunch time, and the aftermath debris of receipts and plastic bags that is left on the ground. It can really be a war zone. On this day, this store had every single register open, each of which had a line several people long (almost all with television sets).
There’s something to be said about our cheap electronic and appliances. Sometimes, they’re just so cheap that they’re not financially worth repair and maintenance. For less than what it would cost to get some appliances repaired or fixed, say for a coffee maker or a toaster, you can get a new one. So you just throw the other one out. Where did our quality products go? One that you would buy once and would last you a lifetime?
That’s my goal when buying most things – buy it for life. Buy it once, maintain it, and have it last as long as possible.
The doors are open and the wallets come out. People scream with excitement. Young, old, men and women, all in search of the bargain electronic door busters.
It’s not even Thanksgiving and the decorations are already out. Big retailers are running Black Friday shop-til-you-drop-starting-at-midnight commercials, guaranteeing the lowest prices and even layaway. We are beckoned to “save” a little here yet spend the most in these four weeks than we did most of the year.
I’ve been bombarded with ads from Wal-Mart and Target, ads about spending on awesome toys for your husband and the kids so you can be that Super Mom that you hear about.
The Holiday Spending Season is upon us. It’s time to get my camera out. Some ideas are kicking around. I’ll see you on Black Friday.
While we are on the topic of consuming photography, how about consuming television and other media. Another possible topic that I was thinking about working on for my documentary project was television culture. Now that I think about it, that idea has a lot in common with the idea that I went with – consuming, making catatonic zombies out of us. Mindless consumption.
Again, I know this doesn’t apply to everyone completely, but I’m sure you do it sometimes. That said, some people do it a lot more than they should, if not all the time. You’ve seen them.