Glitterati

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Does that mean that Glitterati is esthetics only? I wouldn't say so, but esthetics are the main dish, even if some ruminations about human society can be discerned. The problem is that those ruminations are fairly superficial and mostly standard too, so don't expect any thorough analysis.

According to Jean Baudrillard the cycle of fashion gets driven by 2 impulses that are contrary to each other: the impulse to belong and the impulse to stand out. I don't think the way fashion works in Langmead's book is realistic in any way, not even in the book's own terms: the social (fashion) rules of the Glitterati sub-society seem primarily there to amuse Langmead and Langmead's readers, they are not there to reflect human conditions, provide insight in our own society or say something about how creative fashions or art works. Again, it's mainly esthetics over ethics in Glitterati -- and by esthetics I don't mean theoretical esthetics, but neat shiny things. That's not necessarily a bad thing: satire also aims to amuse, and there surely is an audience for this.

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