Jonathan Chapman is telling his audience why he took his hi-fi to a marriage guidance counsellor. it was the usual story: lack of communication. Chapman would come home from work and talk about his day, and the hi-fi would just sit there. Sometimes it would play music, but only if he told it to. Chapman doesn't know when it happened, but one morning he woke up and realised he no longer loved his stereo.
This may sound like a stand-up routine, but Chapman was addressing a meeting of top designers in London last year and he was making a serious point. He is fascinated by our relationships we objects, and how these change or fail. "I like the term 'adulterous consumption'," he says. "Relating to our material possessions is parallel to tech idea of adultery, of making a commitment to one thing and then becoming quickly distracted by a younger model. It's so rare now that there's anything in life we are tied to forever. Everything is temporary is we want it to be." (from New Scientist, January 2007)
I've just been involved in a few "cases" of marriage relationship issues and the notion of 'not being tied to anything/anyone forever' and/or 'Everything is temporary if we want it to be' seems to be the "story" that is coming through.
Are our relationships with each other, even marriage, being more & more viewed in this regard? Do 'celebrity' marriages give support to this way of thinking?
No comments:
Post a Comment