Mass Consumption as Depicted in the Show Californication

The role of media and technology has arrived to a point where it connects humans on the planet to a centralized set of ideals. Everything from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram ensures that everyone is on the same page by constructing a homogeneous framework of perception. These frameworks, while static in the short term, are dynamic and constantly changing with the times.
The values on the show Californication, are a poignant reminder of where we are right now as a society in terms of our cultural framework. Even though this show is well over a decade old, it’s themes are still very relevant today. Through sarcasm and satire, episode 9 “Filthy Lucre” in particular is a reminder that our lives, and our humanity, should revolve around more than just the mass consumption of media and material objects that is propagated by forces external to our being yet centrally embedded within society.
The episode is a refreshing take on being an individual in a modern, consumer driven and a pop cultural driven America by humorously pointing out the homogeneity at the roots of society molded by the media. More specifically, it evaluates what it means to have an identity and the cultural expectations in regards to mass consumption of media and material objects.

For example, the very notion of having an identity and a place in society molded by consumption expectations is cleverly mocked in the show. More specifically, the mythology of the “wealthy consumer” as being a special type of person that consumes expensive luxuries is challenged in the episode. When the protagonist Hank Moody walks into a Porsche dealership to buy a new car, he is immediately approached by the saleswoman. She asked him “What do you do?”
“I’m a writer.”
Naturally, since the show is based in Los Angeles, the saleswoman appeared impressed and asked, “For movies? TV?”
“No. Novels and the occasional haiku.”
The sales woman’s expression changed to one of disappointment and callousness, which showed in her voice when she said dryly as she turned to leave, “Oh. Well let me know if you have any questions” (¨Filthy Lucre¨).
The saleswoman reacting in this way is indicative of how anyone society at large would regard Hank. He is dressed in a very plain manner, and writes novels for a living. How could he possibly afford a brand new Porsche writing novels for a living? Do people even read those anymore? Why should I even bother trying to sell him something that he cannot afford? Based on astute observations, and a crass demeanor on Hank’s part, the saleswoman shrugged off a potential customer based purely out of a mythology of the “starving artist” engineered by society.

The expectation resonates in society that consumers of Porsche vehicles must be people of a higher class. They are higher forms of life, beings descended from the heavens to consume the finer things in life. Little did the car saleswoman know was that Hank had been given a handsome sum for selling the rights to one of his novels to be made into a big budget Hollywood movie.
One could make the argument that the episode glorifies the mass media poured onto society by large Hollywood studios since the main character makes a living off of this very phenomenon. However, this is simply not the case because the main character at first did not care to accept the money from his agent — who had to convince him by saying, “thanks to the aggressively mediocre tastes of the American movie going public, you now get to reap the benefits” (¨Filthy Lucre¨).

In addition, Hank’s disapproval of the mass media reveals an increasingly skepticism toward the quality of entertainment offered by the modern mass media industrial complex. His skepticism is best exemplified by this humorous exchange between Hank and his agent, Charlie, when Hank reveals that he finally wrote another novel after a prolonged creative hiatus and was apprehensive about finally getting it published.
“I’m not so sure Charlie. Most likely it sucks.”
“Well yeah see that’s where I come in, right? You see, I will sell the shit out of it. By the time I get through spinning, nobody will be able to tell whether it’s a piece of shit, or a heartbreaking work of staggering genius.”
Hank then sardonically quips, “There’s a difference?” (¨Filthy Lucre¨).
In this case, the episode is poking fun at the immortality of mass media consumption even when the quality could be severely compromised. Hank’s sardonic quip in particular capture a sense of disillusionment with this state of affairs. There is no thought, imagination, or even ingenuity to the forms of art in popular culture. Everything is generic and homogenous and the homogeneity only lessens the divide between what is perceived as high and low quality forms of entertainment.
One need only look at popular music. It has a predictable structure consisting of a catchy hook, pitches in major key tonality with sparse variation and the increasing use of autotune technology that corrects for anomalies in pitch (Antares). Despite lacking originality and complexity, this very popular music sells.
Movies have also become increasingly formulaic, consisting of sappy dialogue, cliche and shallow characters, and unrealistically contrived happy endings. Despite lacking originality and complexity, these movies sell too.
The underlying question then becomes: with everything so homogeneous, how can one differentiate between what is a “piece of shit” or a “heartbreaking work of staggering genius? (Filthy Lucre).” His agent uses this unfortunate state of enduring commercialism for comic effect, and to prove this point: Anything — armed with enough hype — can sell and become implanted into the fabric of pop culture.
However, the irony is that it works as a serious statement. Charlie’s very identity and livelihood depend on being able to sell a product to the masses even when the quality is lacking. At the end of the day, it does not matter if the product being ferried into the public is genuine and original. Even a sub par product can be cleverly designed to get people to buy into it. The show condemns this type of mass media consumption by clamoring to solidify our humanity, on the basis of retaining our individuality in regards to consumption devoid of societal expectations.
The challenge is then to cultivate a collection of varied works congruent to one’s unique tastes in a society where everything is fabricated to be homogeneous, accessible, and mediocre. How would we even know that our tastes remain something unique to our individuality when it has been ingrained within the fabric of societal norms and expectations? The episode argues that the status quo of mediocrity does not have to endure simply because that is what is expected. This ideal is perfectly captured in a key scene between Hank and his daughter Becca when he took her to buy a guitar.
Instead of advising her to buy the latest and flashiest guitar, he suggested that she buy something with “character,” that looks as though Keith Richards threw up on it at one point (¨Filthy Lucre¨). Just then, a man down on his luck with a child in hand, walked into the store to sell his old guitar. Hank’s daughter immediately convinced him to buy the guitar off of him for the same reasons: character and Keith Richards’ legendary throw up.
A common theme in our American mass consumption enterprise rests on the expectations of a new product, fresh off of the assembly line, being inherently better simply because it is new and because is has been engineered to have allure of uniqueness even though it is essentially no different from the myriad of things that came before. Becca’s refusal to buy the newest guitar is in stark contrast to what is expected. She made a conscious decision to buy a guitar that looked old, used and unrefined, but that also carried with it a unique legacy and sound that no other guitar, new or otherwise, can replicate. His daughter is a manifestation of defying the status quo and represents Hank’s critical attitude toward consumption.
The episode of Californication pokes fun at the roots underlying popular culture in America, specifically, one’s place in society as derived through the mass consumption of media and material objects. Through humor and sarcasm, the episode shows that the consumption of a certain good should not form the basis for one’s identity or place in society — evident when Hank went to buy a Porsche- and that the forces underlying mass consumption can be challenged such as when Hank’s daughter went to buy a guitar. Even though the episode was released in 2007, the way society is depicted is still relevant today. What does it mean to have a soprano or tenor voice anymore, when just about anyone with charisma and some sort of persona can become a pop cultural sensation? The episode was a reaction against the very attitudes underlying American society, and it is anticipated to be very relevant for the foreseeable future.
Works Cited
“Auto-Tune & Vocal Processing Tools by Antares Products Auto-Tune 7.”Auto-Tune & Vocal
Processing Tools by Antares Products Auto-Tune 7. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 June 2015.
¨Filthy Lucre.¨ Californication. Perf. David Ducovny. Showtime, New York City. 8 October
2007
