Column One
A friend of mine was visiting Ocean & Collins the other day and, while ordering a drink, was told by a fellow partygoer that the bar did not accept ‘Next vouchers.’ Elsewhere, in a lecture room somewhere, a class were being asked to write down the name of their favourite magazine (and why) on separate pieces of paper. A group of girls all wrote the same thing – Tatler, because, ‘I can see my friends in it.’ My hometown of Milton Keynes is often credited as a ‘chav’ stronghold and so it is with great interest and amusement that I now find myself in virtually the opposite.
One good initial difference are the girls who obviously have plenty more money with which to keep themselves looking attractive. The uniform of drainpipe jeans, gilet, ugg boots and large belt endures, yet its flattering effect makes it preferable to some of the fashion on parade in Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre most Saturdays. The men also drift towards certain brands as they do back home. In Oxford we have Jack Wills, in Milton Keynes it is Burberry. Beyond these surface stereotypes however, the behaviour of certain egos amongst both classes are identical...
It seems that a lot of people get caught up in anything that gets conveyed through the media regardless of importance or logic. The problem is that marketing organisations need us to be cut up into manageable groups so that they can target whatever they are peddling efficiently. This sectioning reverberates throughout the rest of our lives and causes confusion amongst people when there is no need. The search for profit is not without its side-effects. Many of the problems we now face as a race are side-effects of this quest, glamorised and democratised immeasurably over the last part of the previous century.
An outraged yet stalled reaction by liberals in the West along with ever-faster ways of communicating have brought the subject into the mainstream. We are told opinion is divided 50/50 in both the US and UK. Belief that statistics are definite proof of an assumption must be employed here however. This conflict that the media and marketing organisations both need and love loses its authenticity quickly. Most people I know get on with anyone regardless of perceived class and with a couple of amusing exceptions this has remained so since my time in historic Oxford.
One good initial difference are the girls who obviously have plenty more money with which to keep themselves looking attractive. The uniform of drainpipe jeans, gilet, ugg boots and large belt endures, yet its flattering effect makes it preferable to some of the fashion on parade in Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre most Saturdays. The men also drift towards certain brands as they do back home. In Oxford we have Jack Wills, in Milton Keynes it is Burberry. Beyond these surface stereotypes however, the behaviour of certain egos amongst both classes are identical...
It seems that a lot of people get caught up in anything that gets conveyed through the media regardless of importance or logic. The problem is that marketing organisations need us to be cut up into manageable groups so that they can target whatever they are peddling efficiently. This sectioning reverberates throughout the rest of our lives and causes confusion amongst people when there is no need. The search for profit is not without its side-effects. Many of the problems we now face as a race are side-effects of this quest, glamorised and democratised immeasurably over the last part of the previous century.
An outraged yet stalled reaction by liberals in the West along with ever-faster ways of communicating have brought the subject into the mainstream. We are told opinion is divided 50/50 in both the US and UK. Belief that statistics are definite proof of an assumption must be employed here however. This conflict that the media and marketing organisations both need and love loses its authenticity quickly. Most people I know get on with anyone regardless of perceived class and with a couple of amusing exceptions this has remained so since my time in historic Oxford.
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