Consumerism is Bad

One of the main themes of White Noise is the idea that consumerism is bad. Specifically the brand of American, use up and discard consumerism that was developing in the 80’s when the book was published. Over the course of the book the main character, Jack :), initially lives deep within the throes of this brand of consumerism, until after his brush with his own mortality when he begins to cast off the excess needs thrust upon him by his society. This is a realization that I think we all need to come to at some point in our lives, that much of what modern society is based around, instead of being the parts of life that are meaningful and important, are instead excess fluff that distracts us from what really matter. White Noise obscuring the true meaning our lives could take on, if only we let them. It is important to remember especially in times such as these when much of the American economy is hamstrung by stay at home orders, that much of what really matters in life, isn’t available in a store catalogue.