I'm Special....

Hello, I'm Special: How Individuality Became the New Conformity by Hal Niedzviecki #2

In addition to wanting and trying to become a “special” person, or known for doing something or being someone, the “I’m Special” lifestyles that we see celebrities living makes us crave what ever it is they have even more. As Niedzviecki writes about this phenomenon of celebrity status and this goal of being/becoming someone special, I have begun to see a pattern in how he describes the how and why people are affected so much by certain things and why they do certain things. These are all efforts to become something other than themselves. More of this and a bigger this and a different that. Having certain things makes people feel special, of course it does, but the need and struggle to reach that celebrity status and be that special is something I’ve found very overwhelming. Niedzviecki says, “This material all promotes a whole new relationship to the self: a philosophy of “I’m Specialism,” a belief that not only do we want to live in fancy houses and drive fancy cars like pop stars to, but we also desire their all-powerful sense of self, the validation they exude just by being who they are.” We want what ever it is that we see that celebrity’s have and they have what they have because they are special. Peop0le see this and feel that they need what ever it is in order to reach the same level and be as special as that celebrity on TB. As Madonna puts it “we are living in a material world,” and it’s becoming a growing problem. That is because as a society our focus is being taken away from more important things and problems which material possessions, money, and celebrity statues are not going to fix. 

"Where We Are Now"

Hello, I'm Special: How Individuality Became the New Conformity by Hal Niedzviecki #1

Part One: "Where We Are Now"

Part one discusses the issues currently consuming the everyday person on their quest to become their, very own person. Original, unique, and one of a kind. But while attempting to be as unique and as “special” as possible, certain things are beginning to take a back seat, being more of an after thought. Traditions are being rewritten, religions are redefining and rewriting themselves, and what success means and what it symbolizes and what symbolizes it. Niedzviecki writes: 

“This is the new conformity: part sociological phenomenon, part (pop)cultural practice, part challenge to the old orthodoxies of institutional expertise, and part expansion of an me-first agenda long promised by the abundances of techno-capitalism.”

Different people want to be special in different ways, seeking celebrity status any way they can. Today, society says that you can become a celebrity for almost anything. Niedzviecki says, “Where once scandal might have embarrassed those included, today it is welcomed as a way to get noticed.” Describing those who become famous for something they did which in reality they should be more so ashamed of. 

“If there is a single constant in the emergence of individuality as the new conformity, it is the ubiquitous preserve of celebrity” he writes. Celebrity doctors, celebrity chefs, celebrity entrepreneurs are just a few of the examples Niedzviecki gives as being new celebrity categories. He gives these examples as evidence to his argument that there exist more celebrities today than ever before and despite that fact, new categories of celebrities are popping up increasingly. 

The beginning of this book points out what nobody wants and has wanted to hear before and that is that it is almost impossible to be 100% special or unique and that many people try so hard to achieve that level of status that becomes less and less unique as people catch on. Everyone wants to be able to say that they are special, thus causing people to search for more, new, and different routes or ways that will allow them to be the person, the “special” person they want so much to be. But a reacurring problem conflicting with achieving the “I’m Special” status we all seek, is that there is always something could be better or something more that would help us and make us better and more special.