Sato 1Chris SatoJessica GeorgeENG-W 13112/6/12 The Less Desirable Becomes MoreIf you have ever been to an amusement park, you have probably noticed the longevity of the lines for each ride. This is because people seem to do things or go places that offers some sort of experience. They go to places such as Indiana for the State Fair aswell as the Indy 500, Kentucky for the derby, Florida for spring break as well as the Daytona 500, and New York for the Empire State Building and New Year’s in Times Square. What is interesting about this is that people seem to go to these events regardless of the negatives that may come with it. This phenomenon can only be from the result thatpeople’s hunger for conceptual experiences outweighs the repercussions. The photograph titled NYC New Years 1950 demonstrates the lengths people are willing to go to be apart of the experience. People gathered by the thousands have joined together in Times Squareto celebrate the coming of a new year, but what is not expressed in the photograph as wellas in the infant-like faces of the people awaiting the new year is that these people are attracted to these events with the knowledge that they offer less enjoyment than a place that is less populated and more enjoyable. The way the photographer captured the moment of New Year’s Eve in Times Square expresses the way that people have “made themselves at home” as they celebrate this tradition.In this photo, thousands of people crowd around Times Square in New York with enthusiasm to celebrate the coming of the New Year. Vectors created by the Bond building lead the viewer to continue to look down the street of the photo, capturing the enormous crowd that has come to see and participate in the event. The shot was takenSato 2from a distant social distance, trying to capture this phenomenon in Times Square. Although this picture was taken in black and white, the viewer can still see all of the neonand flashing lights that Times Square had, reinforcing it’s fascination to the locals as well as the tourists back in 1950. In some form or another, people have the option to customize their comfort levels in private as well as public spaces. The photograph depicts Times Square as a place that can become the optimal places for creating a different type of “home,” to which relaxation is found. The people in the photograph are surrounded by friends and family where they are all having a good time. In the photograph, they have come by the thousands, which represent David Brooks’ claim that although materialistic goods such asthis experiences is already desired, it is even more sought after because it becomes “shot through with enchantment,” (Brooks, 65). Living in this pragmatic and materialistic America has hooked the consumers making experiences a necessity. They allow fear to be brought in. However, this fear is not the kind that makes people afraid, but it is used tonormalize and enforce as described in Jeffery Jerome Cohen ‘s essay “Monster Culture: Seven Theses.” Fear is what attracts us to our desires, and these desires become our needsto gain experiences, like going to Times Square on New Year’s. These enchanted desires become conceptualized by fear and this fear is what drives us to go out and experience new and unusual experiences. At the same time, experiences in places such as Times Square allows for a safe place that these monsters can become exposed without question or judgment. Out in public, this kind of safe and home-like environment must be customized in order to maintain its purpose of a safe setting. Greenbie sees this as, “in the public placesSato 3of towns and cities we are largely on our own as individuals; we exercise control over others to the extent of our position in the ‘absolute hierarchy,’ which is based on personal capacities derived from social or economical status, physical or psychological strength, orsimply the possession of knowledge, that is, being ‘street –wise,’” (Greenbie, 248). In this sense, this ideology becomes the system for creating a new “home” in crowded places such as Times Square, which allows for a different way to grasp the housewarmingfeeling in a public setting. The law also adds to this factor, as described by Greenbie, if they become involved and extends its hand to the public streets, they are more likely to become more attractive to natives as well as visitors. Using this thought process, people are given the ability to adapt their comfort levels out in public to a certain extent. It makes less pleasurable experiences more pleasurable, continually making the materialistic American want to consume more.Regardless of the ability to customize their own comfort in public, the photographer displays some of the negatives of a real home are also expressed out in public. Anat Keinan and Ran Kivetz see this marketing trend through, “Productivity Orientation and the Consumption of Collectable Experiences.” These trends suggest that many materialistic consumers are attracted to new and exciting experiences that are “predicted to be less pleasurable and enjoyable,” (Keinan and Kivetz). Due to the rarity, some experiences become more desirable than others. Only a certain number of people can fit in Times Square, so the limited quantity becomes more desirable. These rare desires are the enchantments to which Cohen describes in his essay. The people desire theless pleasurable, and with that desire comes enchantment to which people go the extra mile to get the most out of an experience. In the photograph there seems to be a person inSato 4every space on the street, which results in little to no wiggle room. The people stand outside in what could easily be below freezing temperatures and because of the lack of movement, the cold is able to seep through the layers of clothes that they wear. The photograph only becomes a snapshot of how long the event actually lasted, which in turn makes the conditions worsen as more time goes on. Greenbie claims that one must control the amount of privacy and publicity they have in their home. At Times Square, one cannot do that allowing the experience to be less pleasurable. It becomes apparent that people are more captivated with gaining each new experience that they seem to forget about their well being all together.As time goes on, tradition remains the same. Just as a house needs to be refurbished, the photo shows that the thousands of people