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Previous societies had to fear death from Mongols and
Vikings and cholera and smallpox, and what we fear most
is criticism: "People will think I'm not cool." It's permanent
high school. I mean you're 50 years old and you're still
worried about what your friends think about your records
and stuff like that.
—Joe Queenan, author and columnist
Satirist Joe Queenan grew up working class but is now a
successful author and journalist. It's given him a unique
perspective on baby-boomer consumption patterns, and in
the first extended scene in People Like Us he takes
on a gimlet-eyed tour of some upscale Santa Monica, California
shops. As Queenan skewers the current fascination with all
things Mediterranean (balsamic vinegar, fancy Italian kitchenware),
he notes that feeling "one step ahead of the curve, one
step ahead of the great unwashed" seems to be an important
middle-class trait, and part of a lifelong desire to try
to fit in and impress our friends.
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