Richard
Bisso
English
346
Professor
Simon
Blog
Post #2
Super Sad True Love Story Vs. 21st Century
America
Upon reading Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart’s, I couldn’t help but
notice some glaring similarities between the two. As discussed in class, no one
is really sure what time period this novel is supposed to take place, although
based on the context of the reading, we can assume that it’s not too far into the future just yet, as
there are some recognizable places that maintain familiarity for the
readers.
The first of the similarities was
the
äppärät that the author references. The
notion of being able to see what someone else is doing at anytime, in real time
–although interesting, does create this sense of claustrophobia for the reader.
Every time it was mentioned, I was thinking how Shteyngart might’ve modeled it
after the iPhone and how ubiquitous it has become in everyone’s day to day
lives (or smartphones in general). But I think that just being able to stream
something real time pushes the boundaries, as evidence by Eunice and Lenny
throughout the story.
In regards to the device, there
mentioning of ratings and tying it in with fuckabiliy—definitely is a
reflection on modern day social networking. Although not explicit, the idea of
rating people based on looks has become entrenched within our modern day
society. Sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter—all of them have become a
badge of validation, some by friends and family, many by people who we have
never met in real life and probably never will. This was probably the most
intriguing of the ideas that Shteyngart used, as I could definitely see real
time ratings becoming a popularized commodity. As it is, social networking
sites have become more prone to keeping up with the time, and because of that,
videos have become increasingly shorter (from YouTube to vine), and ideas
circulated in a similar manner (from discussion forums to 150 character word
counts on Twitter).
Our society, although Shteyngart has
clearly been inspired by modern day America, I don’t quite see our society
becoming the way he thinks it may delve into. Yes there is a fascination with
social media, but as any modern day reports show, teens are fleeing from
Facebook and twitter at an alarming rate, going towards the next thing that’s
popular. Not only is there a decline in interest (at least it seems that way),
privacy has also become a cornerstone conversation with regards to these
behemoth sites known for data collection. Now that leaks have shown Facebook,
which now owns Instagram, and Twitter all being complacent with handing over
their data servers to government requests (FISA Court), many people have shown
concern, flocking away from American located servers, in hopes of trying to
maintain any sense of online privacy possible.
Whether Shteyngart intended for
America to become this idea he has depicted or letting it roam as a mere idea
in an of itself is hard to say. Based on my own reading of the book, I think
Shteyngart was more or less inspired by today, rather than leading his readers
to believe this was his vision of America in the future; either way, there was
subtle commentary about technology and the roles it plays in our lives—one in
which Shteyngart and myself both agree: too much of it can and will be a bad
thing.
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