On the road again
Like a minor David Brooks, I have ventured out into "America," got a glimpse of what it's like to travel on business midway through the first decade of the twenty-first century, and feel confident into parlaying those observations into a grand sociologic treatise.
A couple of things really stood out.
Even for someone like me, who actively sought out news and information during the trip -- surfing when I could back in the hotel and trying to listen to NPR through the static of the hotel radio -- the business traveller exists in a bubble which is pretty much impermeable to current events. Lots of talk about Sasha Cohen's silver medal, and not a word about our largest colony's downward spiral. Explains a lot about the Republican party's hold on power.
No one is subject to more seminars and training for ethics, diversity, and sexual harrassment (now often folded into ethics), than the modern corporate manager. What effect this has on sales of "movies on demand" at the hotel, I don't know. But I'll tell you, there's a lot of guys with issues out there.
Now, I love room service, but I never buy movies at hotels (there's something depressing about the very idea). This trip, though, I thought I'd check out the titles...for purely sociological edification, you see. When you click on the menu item, the first thing you're reassured, "No movie titles will appear on your hotel bill." So -- again, only out of intellectual curiosity -- I clicked on "Adult." From a mere perusal of the titles, these aren't movies intended to get couples' engines revving during a weekend stay on the town. Nope. These movies are pretty clearly "targetted" to male business traveller who, because or despite of the hours of seminars and training they've received, have some serious and in some cases really demeaning attitudes towards "secretaries," Asians, and roving wives. For the rest, there's rough gay fantasies.
The odd thing is, I have no doubt those movies are immensely profitable for the hotels. And that's despite the fact that the particular conference I attended was made up of at least 60% women. So, there must be some very heavy users among the men on the road out there.
Again, sounds like a mainstay of the Republican Party base.
A couple of things really stood out.
Even for someone like me, who actively sought out news and information during the trip -- surfing when I could back in the hotel and trying to listen to NPR through the static of the hotel radio -- the business traveller exists in a bubble which is pretty much impermeable to current events. Lots of talk about Sasha Cohen's silver medal, and not a word about our largest colony's downward spiral. Explains a lot about the Republican party's hold on power.
No one is subject to more seminars and training for ethics, diversity, and sexual harrassment (now often folded into ethics), than the modern corporate manager. What effect this has on sales of "movies on demand" at the hotel, I don't know. But I'll tell you, there's a lot of guys with issues out there.
Now, I love room service, but I never buy movies at hotels (there's something depressing about the very idea). This trip, though, I thought I'd check out the titles...for purely sociological edification, you see. When you click on the menu item, the first thing you're reassured, "No movie titles will appear on your hotel bill." So -- again, only out of intellectual curiosity -- I clicked on "Adult." From a mere perusal of the titles, these aren't movies intended to get couples' engines revving during a weekend stay on the town. Nope. These movies are pretty clearly "targetted" to male business traveller who, because or despite of the hours of seminars and training they've received, have some serious and in some cases really demeaning attitudes towards "secretaries," Asians, and roving wives. For the rest, there's rough gay fantasies.
The odd thing is, I have no doubt those movies are immensely profitable for the hotels. And that's despite the fact that the particular conference I attended was made up of at least 60% women. So, there must be some very heavy users among the men on the road out there.
Again, sounds like a mainstay of the Republican Party base.
posted by John at 11:04 AM
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