"Time Flies When You're Having Fun"

 

Elizabeth Caldwell Hirschman and Morris Holbrook

 

Needless to say, it was very flattering being asked to tell 'the story' of how "Consumer, Fantasies, Feelings and Fun" was written. It was also kind of stunning to realize that twenty years had gone by since it was published. Holy cow! Where did the time go? After thinking about that major existential issue for a moment (i.e., it can't have been twenty years ago, I'm still only 25 years old, OK, I guess I must have been five years old then), I realized that the time had gone where good time (as opposed to hard time) always goes­ into living and exploring stuff that was, and is, interesting-and fun.

Back in 1982, Morris Holbrook and I were living across from each other on 86th Street and Riverside Drive in New York City. Morris is still there. In the meantime, I have moved to Connecticut and New Jersey, but still make bi-annual treks back into The City to see Morris, the old neighborhood, and have lunch on the Upper West Side. Just as the Upper West Side seems both familiar and novel to me on these treks, so does the idea of thinking about the paper Morris and I wrote back in '82. I remember its ideas and emotions. How could I forget; by the time all the revisions were done on it, I think both Morris and I had memorized every line by heart! At the time we were writing we were both lowly assistant professors; he at Columbia, me at NYU. We had no clue about how 'the field' operated, about the trajectory of academic careers, about how things were supposed to be done or who was supposed to do them. This was probably very fortunate for both of us, because if we had realized how presumptuous we were and how out-of-line our ideas were and how futile such radical efforts usually were, we never would have written it. Instead we would have played it smart and safe, followed the wise ways of our elders, minded our business, and behaved ourselves. (Boy, I like to think that's what we would have done, if we had been better in-formed. But in all honesty, we probably would have just gone on and written the paper anyway. We were stubborn, reckless and obnoxious like that).


"I do truly believe that it is best for people to
do the kind of science that suits them best..."



I do truly believe that it is best for people to do the kind of science that suits them best; and I also truly believe that we do our very best science when we are free to choose both the topic and the method. Trying to be like others, to mimic their style or follow in their footsteps is a sure path to personal unhappiness and crushed creativity. Morris and I , in our ignorance, idealism and minority-of-two mentality, simply sat down and wrote about consumption as we actually experienced it - full of daydreams, emotional responsiveness, impulsivity, music, imaginary events, playtime, recreation, vacation, playing hooky and all those other aspects of existence that so characterized our own lives - and continue to do so. At this point I have been running around the planet for a long time and no one, ever has commented that I seemed particularly organized or systematic or analytical. Oh, I've had my moments; I do manage to pay bills, compute grades, develop course syllabi, and write up the list of references at the end of papers. How-ever, these activities are a struggle and I minimize (run away from) them as best I can.

Morris and my great conceit and hypothesis was that other people/consumers acted in the same disorganized, imaginative, spontaneous way we did. They might see a car that they really liked the moment they laid eyes on it and then spend the rest of the day concocting a sound, financially sober rationale as to why it was the best alternative available. (That's how we bought cars). They
might hear a live band or album, be completely overwhelmed by how wonderful the music was, and go buy every recording available by that performer (That's
how we bought records). They might get an idea that was completely, overwhelmingly interesting and just pursue it for weeks and months (or even years) until they had figured out its meaning. (That's how we did, and do, research). In essence, this was the message and motivation behind "Experiential Consumption". Life and consumption are not activities we can reason or plan our way through. They are adventures, victories, tragedies, challenges; they can twist and turn in unknowable ways; they are both familiar and mysterious.

So do I have any closing words of wisdom? Only these: Devote yourself to the mysteries that most intrigue you, pursue those challenges that most stir your soul, and have a great, happy, wonderful time while you're doing it!