Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There, by David Brooks, is an insightful exploration of societal roles throughout the 20th and 21st century in North America. I believe this book provides a framework to understand how and why standards and class have developed in the way they have and, in my case, allows the reader to draw conclusions regarding their own goals and desires in their private and professional endeavours.
The term Bobo is derived from combining the terms bourgeois and bohemian. Brooks’ notion is that in present day we are living within the Bobo establishment, wherein the bourgeois and bohemian cultures have clashed to create a new social construct. Consequently, Brooks’ book is aptly named. Arguably, the Bobo’s were placed in the fortunate position of being able to create the world around them as they saw fit. We truly are living in a Bobo’s paradise, as every aspect of living has been fitted to the needs of a bourgeois/bohemian hybrid. Before staking this claim, it is important to understand the distinct differences between the bourgeois class and the bohemian. …show more content…
Being a great admirer of classic film, I had a very clear visual of what this class entailed as I read Brooks’ reflections of the early upper class. I recalled scenes depicting extravagant homes, much too large for the genteel families inhabiting them. Notably, films pertaining to the upper class often illustrate the hardships these families faced - which is an interesting juxtaposition between their aesthetically perfect existence and their actual reality. For example, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which revolves around the circumstance of a woman marrying into a significant amount of money and still finding herself unfulfilled in every aspect of her life. It is possible that the woman in this film was feeling the same stifling effects that the bourgeois class imposed upon individuals with bohemian
The term Bobo is derived from combining the terms bourgeois and bohemian. Brooks’ notion is that in present day we are living within the Bobo establishment, wherein the bourgeois and bohemian cultures have clashed to create a new social construct. Consequently, Brooks’ book is aptly named. Arguably, the Bobo’s were placed in the fortunate position of being able to create the world around them as they saw fit. We truly are living in a Bobo’s paradise, as every aspect of living has been fitted to the needs of a bourgeois/bohemian hybrid. Before staking this claim, it is important to understand the distinct differences between the bourgeois class and the bohemian. …show more content…
Being a great admirer of classic film, I had a very clear visual of what this class entailed as I read Brooks’ reflections of the early upper class. I recalled scenes depicting extravagant homes, much too large for the genteel families inhabiting them. Notably, films pertaining to the upper class often illustrate the hardships these families faced - which is an interesting juxtaposition between their aesthetically perfect existence and their actual reality. For example, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which revolves around the circumstance of a woman marrying into a significant amount of money and still finding herself unfulfilled in every aspect of her life. It is possible that the woman in this film was feeling the same stifling effects that the bourgeois class imposed upon individuals with bohemian