The Mighty Image (RL6)

2.) Johnson begins his essay by stating several hard questions Americans have to answer for themselves on a daily basis. What to wear, what to buy, what to drive, where to shop. The questions seems simple enough, but I agree with Johnson in that they are in fact difficult to answer at times. This is so because there are so many influences that weigh on each question, things like pressure from society and the status quo along with gazillions advertisements and images and the emotions and feelings that they evoke. By stating these questions and in the tone at which he did, Johnson displays to readers that he sees those influences on the simple things in daily life as a bad thing. That things like ads and images produce a hunger in people that cloud their better judgment and logic. It is trickery. He goes on to say that "people do make free choices only insofar as they are free from overt oppression, but they do not make choices that are free of culture." This quote reminds me of a memorable line from Supernatural- "Free will is an allusion." In today's culture, this reigns true. Yes, people make their own choices technically. But at the same time, those choices are not made in a right state of mine as average Americans are tricked and lured into a web of consumerism that has no true "escape...solitude and security." It only holds the allusion of all those things. So it seems that American culture is something corrupt and flawed and not something to be very proud of, and that is one tough pill to swallow even if it is true.