That "wave speech" thing.
Take a look at this passage which is pretty famous from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_and_Loathing_in_Las_Vegas#The_.22wave_speech.22
So if you haven’t seen the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, you probably should. I will say that you need to be ready for absurd drug use and a lot of non-sensical discussion and dialog between the main characters “The Duke” and “Dr. Gonzo”. For the most part, FLILV is an adaptation of Thompson’s real experiences in Las Vegas during the hippie era. While I think that the excessive drug use in the story is quite entertaining and at times hilarious, the main theme of the story is relatively similar to other iconoclastic American literature. In my opinion, FLILV is the modern Great Gatsby and Thompson would probably agree if he were here today to compare his book with other similar stories out there (Thompson shot himself in the head in 2005 while on the phone with his wife).
Why am I writing about such a controversial novel and film? Well I think that the “wave speech” as it is called, is probably the most accurate explanation of the hippie era and the advent of mass materialism in America.
If you don’t know the background of FLILV, the two main characters are in search of the true American dream. And despite searching the “riches” of Vegas, they find the true American dream in a diner. The wikipedia article above explains the circumstances and to me this portion of the story is more of a downer than anything else the two experience during the stint in LV.
How does this pertain to what I usually write about? Well you’ll see if you read the wave speech that Thompson is showing the chaos of American culture. For example: “There was madness in any direction, at any hour…[t]here was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning…”
I find this section of the speech the most pertinent to social interaction because Thompson shows that society is so focused on the idea of moving in a specific direction, but we have no understanding of what American Dream will be most satisfying to us. Thompson’s story ends in disappointment - he finds the American Dream in shambles: A waitress with nothing to live for. I highly recommend watching the movie at least to see this specific scene.
Here’s where my theory comes in: Thompson’s characterization of the American Dream leads me to believe that social interaction is severely flawed and viewed as grim. The main warrant is that people are so fixated on attaining the “American Dream” but at the same time they have no idea of what the “American Dream” is or whether it will bring them happiness or not. Materialism has quite a bit to do with this because people horde objects to give them the perception they are “living high” or experiencing the Dream. As a society, we are moving in the direction of limiting our social interaction in order to make time for us to acquire more things and achieve what we perceive as success — whether it be money or a big house, yadda yadda…the American Exceptionalism that most people believe in.
I actually think that people will be better served by achieving social success. The fact that fewer and fewer people are meeting each other for social reasons is troubling. As a society we’re becoming more closed. We use cell phones over face-to-face interaction and we use chat and social networks as ways to hide our true personas because we’d rather hide than build our own confidence personally to allow us to enter social situations. I think the piece that was missing from Thompson’s characterization of American society and the direction it’s heading is the solution to the problem. For the most part, people need to understand that the true root of happiness is connecting with other people. Humans are notoriously good at avoiding social situations because it introduces ego, personality, and conflict into situations — the most common form of social interaction is confrontation which is also people’s second most feared act (behind public speaking) because of fear of humiliation or rejection. In societies where people are forced to meet face-to-face — a Kibutz for example — people are generally more utilitarian and happier.
If you get a chance, read Thompson’s book or check out the film. While it is a tough story to handle, there is no question its an eye-opener.