In fashion magazines, self-improvement is about products, as well as "strategies." You could argue that sex quizzes and tips on how to acquire a 16-inch waist form basic text-based methods that offer enlightenment/improvement on consumption, much like a book with a six-step process for success - in that sense, *Cosmopolitan* is different from Covey only in format.
However, the real model of self-improvement peddled in fashion mags is improvement through acquisition. The Gucci bag and the Lanvin frock are advertisements for perfection; it's the magazines' job to convince you of their centrality to the perfect life. This is not to say that fashion magazines are nothing more than glossy classifieds or that fashion itself is all commerce and no art, but like all popular culture they are products of economics first and foremost. It would be interesting to see where a self-improvement book, or series, places in a corporate ecosystem. Does it confirm or contradict "corporate values" [such as broad consensus can make them]? What else does it induce you to buy? Would an organisation distribute copies of Covey among employees as readily as it would, say, Goldratt? Supriya. On Sat, Apr 11, 2009 at 12:45 PM, Kiran K Karthikeyan < [email protected]> wrote: > > Yeah, and could you please > > start that thread, kiran? Can't wait to see the drift. > > Here goes... > > Can't remember why, but somewhere in between the half intoxicated > banter, the conversation shifted to self-improvement books a la > Stephen Covey and his ilk. > > I typically stay away from them with the same amount of revulsion some > feminists have for balemia-inducing fashion magazines. Since I've not > read any of them, I may not be the best judge - but a title like > "Seven habits of highly effective people" is enough to make me turn > away. Neither am I interested in people of a spiritual disposition who > sell their Ferrari. > > Chris (the Frenchman with the tolerable accent Venkat brought along > for the silkmeet) had an important point - that some of such books can > provide strategy on self-improvement, rather than just glorifying the > end-product (which fashion magazines do). > > I remain unconvinced. > > Take it away Venkat... > > Kiran > > -- roswitha.tumblr.com
