FEED Response (2 page reflection)

Ellis Orozco
English 4
December 15, 2008
Feed Response
Feed is a story about love, and the influence the media has over people. It is a story about a girl who lives outside the “norm” she, unlike every other teen, is obsessed with knowledge and trying to exploit how the media tries to get people to conform to their idea of what is cool. The author, did a good job at getting the message across that teens are so obsessed with becoming the next best thing that they don’t realize that they are being manipulated to become what big corporations want them to be. There is a quote in the book that goes, “the media makes us better consumers, not people.” This couldn’t be truer. I too like many teens have fallen into the trap that advertisers set up, that being that if you buy their product you will be “cool” or “hip.”
Feed has in a sense opened my eyes and reassured an assumption I already had. That the media is constantly trying to get everyone, teens in particular, (because they are the easiest to manipulate) to give in to what they want. To get them to buy an iPod or cell phone that will make them a “cool” person or part of the norm. That by listening to a specific type of music you will be able to “fit in” with a specific group of kids. The media has completely taken away individuality. It has kept people from truly being who they want to be because they see all these other people buying a product so they want to too.
The basic message behind Feed is don’t be like the many people who have become obsessed with being the next best thing. Just because a product is promoted more than another doesn’t necessarily make it better. I think the author M. T Anderson wants us to be just smart buyers. Don’t be afraid to buy something just because it may make you look weird or it may make you and outcast. Don’t be afraid to break away from the norm. Live life the way you want to not the way others do.
I would highly recommend this book to people of all ages. It is a fascinating read about what happens when people give up their individualism to be “cool.” This book does a good job at exploiting the harm that comes when people become obsessed with their appearance and how others will perceive them.
One character that I really liked was Violet, I could in a sense relate to her because throughout the book she was trying so hard to fit in and be normal like Titus’s friends even though she was not like them. I feel as though at times I try to hard to fit in with groups of people. Feed has inspired me to be the person I want to and to not be afraid to do what I feel is right and not what society feels is right. I am inspired to be an individual not someone who conforms to what others expect.