Our culture has bated the masses to become fixated on “a never-ending self-fulfillment” journey known as consumerism. (Frank 165) The electronics mecca of North County, commonly known as Fry’s, embodies our “desire for more”, “obsession with technology”, and frivolous, impulsive spending at it’s finest. To complement its massive size, the store features an ‘Atlantis’ theme that includes two 30-foot lightening pillars out front, two full fish tanks in the ‘commons’ and two eel tanks in the HDTV section. Not to mention the ocean-based painted walls and blue flooring. Fry’s desires that you feel ‘out of this world’ when you enter one of their electronics shrines, and the devoted following never cease to pay their tithes. They are entertained by the vast amount of choices to fulfill any want or impulse they have ever felt. The selection spans all electronics and entertainment departments, including: hundreds of thousands dvd’s, bluerays, and cd’s; hundreds of computers, laptops, and HDTVs; millions of computer gizmos and add-ons; or video games spanning all major platforms, including Xbox, Sony, Nintendo, PC and even Mac; almost giving the store the ability to say “if it’s not here, it doesn’t (or shouldn’t) exist.” The people shopping should not be criticized or feel bad for their purchases; they are the glue that keeps our debt-ridden economy churning. When looking around the store, you rarely see Thomas Frank’s atypical consumer, who “envision themselves as part of the great avant-garde tradition of edge-livers, risk-takers, and ass-kickers” (166). Instead you see a mom shopping for her son, some teens looking for that new DVD, and legions of inept people looking for their electronics ‘fix’. Upon leaving, I paid my dues for the newly purchased Apple headphones and felt invigorated, only spending $20 plus tax rather than the MSRP of $29.95.
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