Consumerism and Satisfaction

The world of the future as depicted by Anderson in Feed is a place where the wealthy can have what they want. It is filled with a feed supplying online shopping that is marketed to the individual and is limitless and ever changing. The world has travel to planets and the Moon and upcars that float in space. However in this seemingly utopian world, the impact of consumerism is immense and despite the seemingly exciting façade, its citizens suffer from dissatisfaction.

Titus is bored by his trip to the Moon and unimpressed with Mars. He is too melancholy to do well at school and often forces himself to have fun when he knows he should. He is even disgruntled with the feed, always flipping through, looking for the next sale or the next distraction, and made excruciatingly more so when his group’s feed is disconnected and offline for a period after a hacker’s attack. Threatened by boredom again, the group invents games and leeches off one of its members, Loga, who didn’t lose her feed, and who updates the girls on what’s trending so they change their appearance.

Boredom is chased away with distractions like parties, the feed, and consumerism. When moods are low, the feed senses the melancholy and advertisements instantly appear suggesting shopping sites. Sometimes the group will go into ‘mal’, or deliberate malfunction, which acts like a drug. Another motif in the novel is the idea that people use violence to amuse themselves: Titus and his friends collide in a club on the Moon, Link and Marty play virtual wargames and their parents attend parties where they are choked.

Above all, the feed supplies a consumer experience to placate the masses. The instant gratification of shopping is predominate in society. Even school, now a corporate trademarked company, teaches students how to negotiate the consumer world. The result is an addiction shared by most of the characters. Violet, who resists the feed, is the exception. She purposely delays shipping and opening purchases to deliberately savour the experience. Titus, by contrast, misses shopping the minute his feed is shut down and makes purchases the instant it is restored. He buys clothes in the middle of the break up in his relationship with Violet.

The by-product of this consumerist attitude is catastrophic; the environmental impact alone can be seen as villages in South America are swallowed by black substances and pollution. The constant pressure to change trends forces the group into an endless cycle of purchases that hinder them from seeking deeper truths or questioning the world around them. The trends become so intrusive at one stage with groups stopping in their tracks as their nostalgic trend catches up and overtakes the present day, causing them to malfunction and freeze. The consumer world as a reward, such as Titus’ parent’s gift of a new car, substitutes for any real meaningful interaction between the family.

Violet’s father, who has successfully resisted this world, sees the destruction it causes and the attitude it breeds in which all things can be bought, sold or thrown away when not wanted. He sees that even his daughter has been a victim of this cycle of needing to conform, then being discarded.

Consumerism and Satisfaction Quotes

We went to the Moon to have fun, but the Moon turned out to completely suck. Part 1.1

I just remember that everything in the banners looked goldy and sparkling, but as we walked down to the luggage, all the air vents were streaked with black. Part 1.2

I tried to concentrate on all the stimulus, and the fun, all of it. Part 1.2

Quendy bought some shoes, but the minute she walked out of the store she didn’t like them anymore. Marty couldn’t think of anything he wanted, so he ordered this really null shirt. He said it was so null it was like ordering nothing. Part 1.5

We had a party at the end of the week over at Quendy’s, because her parents were off choking somewhere. That was when everyone was having those choking parties. I mean, it was completely midlife crisis. Part 3.1

She would wait for days until she couldn’t stand it anymore to take it out and try it on. Part 3.12

She said, ‘I want to feel something. Let’s feel vertigo together.’ (Violet) Part 3.15

You low? said a banner. Not for long — not when you find out the savings you can enjoy at Weatherbee & Crotch’s Annual Blowout Summer Fashions Sale! It was a little embarrassing, but I did order a jersey. I did it really careful, in case she was tracking my feed. (Titus’ feed) Part 4.15

It was like I kept buying these things to be cool, but cool was always flying just ahead of me, and I could never exactly catch up to it. I felt like I’d been running toward it for a long time. Part 4.17

‘We Americans,’ he said, ‘are interested only in the consumption of our products. We have no interest in how they were produced, or what happens to them’ — he pointed at his daughter — ‘what happens to them once we discard them, once we throw them away.’ (Violet’s father) Part 4.19

Everything must go! (Titus’ feed) Part 4.20

Control and Resistance

There are clear lines of power and control within the novel, the first of which are class related. As wealthy individuals the group of young adults can have what they want, they are also treated with respect. On the trip to the Moon, despite their unruly behaviour, they are not admonished because one member had purchased large quantities of cologne from the attendant. The position of wealth can be seen clearly when comparing Titus and Violet. Titus has had access to the feed all his life and can travel where and when he wants. Violet has not had the same opportunities and when her feed breaks down she is left fighting corporations that imply better help could be available at a cost that is outside her range. The extension of this are the communities impacted by pollution or violence, forced to labour to make the goods demanded by the rich.

Corporations have seized control in the futuristic world. Not through military strength but through subtle and limitless gathering of information. The large corporations that run the feed garnish information about each person and tailor a feed to meet their needs. In doing so they can steer the masses one person at a time toward consumer products or dictate the type of news and information they will receive. Their greatest weapon is distraction. Even though the news is filtering in about riots, pollution, and talk of war, the feed fills the public with enough distractions that they don’t question the events. Even when the impact to society itself results in lesions, hair loss and skin falling off, the feed informs the public how to feel, even turning the lesions into such a trend that some people get fake lesions to appear more ‘brag’. The public have lost control as they lose the ability to think critically and self-reflect.

The Global Alliance obviously has some power but it has not acted against the United States. The peace watchdog is more bark than bite against the greed-driven machine, the feed. It highlights a world where well-meaning power groups have to wait before acting against a single nation that can be rogue. It shows the impact one country can have on a global scale and the measured response the world takes to curtail the problem. It reflects a world that has not changed over time, adopting a passive observer stance, often intervening in crisis well after the damage is done.

Resisting the feed and the corporations that drive it is seen as futile. Those that oppose the societal norms such as Violet, her father, and the Coalition of Pity, are seen as outsiders and freaks. The Coalition are blamed when something goes wrong even if it isn’t their fault. They are criticised as naysayers and opposers to freedom, that is the freedom of trade. The hacker pays the ultimate price being beaten to death for his opposing views. Violet tries to resist in a small way, trying to confuse the feed, but eventually it outlasts her resistance and she concedes her struggle was futile. Her father’s resistance, firm until the end, has left him ostracised on the edge of society.

Control and Resistance Quotes

They were protesting all these things, some of them even were protesting the feed. They were like shouting, ‘Chip in my head? I’m better off dead! Chip in my head? I’m better off dead!’ Loga rolled her eyes and was like, ‘Omigod.’ Part 1.5

Everything we think and feel is taken in by the corporations, mainly by data ones like Feedlink and OnFeed and American Feedware, and they make a special profile, one that’s keyed just to you, and then they give it to their branch companies, or other companies buy them, and they can get to know what it is we need, so all you have to do is want something and there’s a chance it will be yours. Part 2.5

One was a message from the crazy asshole, which said, You have been hacked by the Coalition of Pity. The other was a good sale at Weatherbee & Crotch, which, by this time, I had probably missed. Part 2.6

‘It’s the first thing my dad teaches the students on the first day,’ she said. ‘It means, “I came, I saw, I conquered”.’ (Violet) Part 2.11

‘What do you think about resisting?’ she asked me really hard. Her jaw muscles were sticking out.
I said, ‘It sounds great, as long as I get to wear the chemise.’ (Violet and Titus) Part 3.5

Now that School™ is run by the corporations, it’s pretty brag, because it teaches us how the world can be used, like mainly how to use our feeds. Part 3.8

There, I’ll be sorting and sifting, and trying to make life as easy and interesting as possible for you and your friend and all of our excellent customers at FeedTech — making your dreams into hard fact™. (Nina from FeedTech support) Part 3.13

I went, You know the part that’s the really ironic thing? The guy? The hacker? You almost agree with him. He completely fucked you over, and you almost agree with him. (Titus to Violet) Part 3.17

There was some shouting going on by the college campus. … We asked the people what it was, and they said it was a protest. We asked for what, and they didn’t know. So we ate our pizza … (Titus and Violet) Part 4.15

Price of Technology

Written a little over ten years after the internet started moving into homes, Feed was prophetic in its understanding of the pervasive nature of technology. Facebook had not even started when Anderson penned the idea of a feed that would contain chat and entertainment. Anderson admits at times he feels like he is often addressing the issue that ‘he told us so’. In Feed, technology has gone one step further and has been integrated into the neurological system of individuals. It is wired to the brain and muscles, and interacts with moods, movement and behaviour. Chatting can be done by thinking ad advertising can and will be directly inserted into your thoughts, so much so at times it can be hard to function, as Titus experiences on the Moon.

However, the message of technology in this text goes beyond the wonders of futuristic technology and focuses on the price of technology, that is, the cost to individuals and society. Apart from the obvious environmental costs, such as destroying a forest to make way for an air factory as it is more efficient, or pollution that can swallow entire villages in South America, technology has subtle yet devastating impacts. The supply of instant information raises a society that struggles to think for itself; most can no longer read or write, only a few, such as Violet take an interest in reading and exploring. The corporation known as School (trademarked) teaches how to negotiate the feed, allowing the feed to make decisions for them.

Technology has patched holes as it goes. There is too much radiation for ‘freestyling’ a baby so technology provides conceptionariums, where designer babies can be made to order. Apart from the moral questions this raises, it also means that the problem of radiation is never addressed, just overcome with new technology. In the same way, the couple, Violet and Titus, wear masks at the seashore to cover the smell as the pollution has killed the ocean, after all, as Violet’s father indicates regarding technology, it came, it saw, it conquered.

Price of Technology Quotes

Suddenly, our heads felt real empty. Part 2.4

That’s one of the great things about the feed — that you can be supersmart without ever working. Part 2.5

‘My feedware is damaged.’ (Violet) Part 3.3

. . I remember, as the last forests fell . . . at about that time, we would see hawks and eagles in the cities. People walked outside more, back then. Part 3.4

‘Yeah. Jefferson Park? Yeah. That was knocked down to make an air factory.’ (Titus’ father) Part 3.10

We watched it move around. It was dead, but colourful. It was blue when the sun hit it one way, and purple when the sun hit it another way, and sometimes yellow or green. We had on suits so we wouldn’t smell it. (The sea) Part 3.17

Have you heard about this Central American stuff? Two villages on the Gulf of Mexico, fifteen hundred people — they’ve just been found dead, covered in this black stuff. (Violet) Part 4.11

Communication and Relationships

The underlying message that Feed reveals about relationships is the importance of education and communication. The most functioning relationship is between Violet and her father; they are educated and, more importantly, they rejoice in language and, as such, they share a bond not seen by any other characters. Violet is proud of her father, knowing what he does and exploring similar fields out of personal interest. In contrast, Titus’ family communicate with limited vocabulary; his parents sound like teen Californian surfers swearing and calling each other ‘dude’. They are largely estranged when Titus’ father comes to the hospital to visit, and Titus’ father is distracted by his feed and spends little time directly empathising with Titus’ situation. Later when Violet is in the hospital, her father arrives and is fully focused on her health and recovery. Titus’ parents communicate through gifting him a car. At the time, it brings them closer as they all seem happy but within a few months, Titus will remark that his car is not that cool and will seem unhappy with it.

The depth of relationships among Titus, his family and friends is largely superficial; they don’t have the language or focus to explore deeper feelings and commitment. Titus’ father may be having an affair with his VP of sales while the members of Titus’ group have at one time nearly dated every other member of the group. Titus had been with Loga months before he meets Violet and is with Quendy just weeks after he breaks up with Violet. Titus is drawn to a deeper relationship with Violet, who wants to talk to him and discuss deeper issues of the day and who is less about partying and shopping but more about having a relationship built on mutual sharing. Titus is frightened by the relationship and unable to perform at the level such a relationship requires. When it is time for him to commit, he leaves and purchases some clothes on the ride home with Violet after they’ve broken up. Ultimately, Titus understands that what Violet offered was the relationship that would fill the void in his life. He returns to the house as she is near death and talks to her, discussing news and telling stories.

Communication and Relationships Quotes

So we just sat there, together, and we didn’t say anything. And it wasn’t bad. Part 2.7

She rubbed my head, and she went, ‘You’re the only one of them that uses metaphor’. She was staring at me, and I was staring at her, and I moved toward her, and we kissed. (Titus and Violet) Part 2.10

I looked at her funny. ‘You write?’ I said. ‘With a pen?’ (Titus and Violet) Part 2.11

‘We’ve all been through this big thing together,’ she said. ‘It’s got to change us somehow.’ (Violet) Part 3.1

The place was a mess. Everything had words on it. There were papers with words on them, and books, and even posters on the wall had words. Part 3.11

‘He says the language is dying. He thinks words are being debased. So he tries to speak entirely in weird words and irony, so no one can simplify anything he says.’ (Violet about her father) Part 3.11

I asked her, ‘What did it feel like? At the party?’
She waited. Then, she admitted, ‘It felt good. Really good, just to scream finally. I felt like I was singing a hit single. But in Hell.’ (Titus and Violet) Part 4.3

‘I love you, Titus. This is going to be the most amazing night. This is going to drill eyes in the back of our heads.’ (Violet) Part 4.15

I tried to talk just to her. I tried not to listen to the noise on the feed, the girls in wet shirts offering me shampoo. I told her stories. They were only a sentence long, each one of them. That’s all I knew how to find. So I told her broken stories. The little pieces of broken stories I could find. I told her what I could. (Titus about Violet) Part 4.20