Once I got to the end I was surprised by how little damage the train wreck actually *caused* -- so the opener's a good hook (way to make us already sympathetic to the main "characters"!) and the whole piece is far better at reeling me into the experiences of people I'd never want to hang out with than, say, On the Road, which I despised.
I think the cult leader aspect is dead on (and is even referenced in the book, which is kind of cool -- Strauss is no dummy, and he knows how things correlate, and exactly how to degrade the lifestyle to the point where you sympathize with him while not really regretting any of it himself; it's a neat trick of manipulative narrative). And I think the similarities between the Game and marketing are quite striking. But I already burbled about that above to asakiyume, so for now, I'll leave it at that. :)
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-08-21 05:25 pm (UTC)I think the cult leader aspect is dead on (and is even referenced in the book, which is kind of cool -- Strauss is no dummy, and he knows how things correlate, and exactly how to degrade the lifestyle to the point where you sympathize with him while not really regretting any of it himself; it's a neat trick of manipulative narrative). And I think the similarities between the Game and marketing are quite striking. But I already burbled about that above to