In this short monologue, Tom Guarriello, Ph.D. reflects on the concept of snobbery in American culture, questioning what kinds of snobbery we each harbor. He highlights three culturally salient examples—NASCAR, Walmart, and American Idol—describing how each elicits a mix of admiration and embarrassment. Guarriello admits to being a "recovering NASCAR snob" after enjoying a recent race, notes the polarizing labor and supplier practices of Walmart, and points out the massive viewership and voting numbers for American Idol that make people feel guilty about their enjoyment. He asks viewers two questions: (1) what type of snob they are, and (2) why these particular brands provoke snobbery, framing them as "guilty pleasures" that reveal deeper social attitudes.
Chapters
Well, hi guys, it's Tom. I have a question this morning about something that all, I think, all of us engage in, but that none of us is necessarily all that proud of. And the question that I have to ask is, what kind of snob are you? Yeah, alright, well, The word snob sort of rubs against the grain of our, at least in America, of our kind of egalitarian sort of belief system, you know, that nobody's better than anybody else and so on and so forth. But let me just say 3 names to you or 3 words and Tell me the reaction that you have. Okay, ready? Here's the, here's the 3 names: NASCAR, Walmart, American Idol. Yeah, I have to admit that those were 3 that I'm guilty of snobbery about a couple of those. I'm a recovering NASCAR snob. I say recovering because I just watched the Daytona 500 last week and it was terrific. It was a great race, an amazing display of skill, and very exciting, and that was, it was just terrific. Now, that doesn't mean that there aren't still lots and lots of snobs out there about NASCAR. There are plenty. Now how about Walmart? Well, you know, Walmart is one of those companies that is guaranteed to galvanize people's reactions, right? You know, their labor practices, their practices with their suppliers, their— there's a lot of things about Walmart that— their rural heritage, for example. There are a lot of things about Walmart that engender a good deal of snobbery in America. Okay, well, what about American Idol? Now, American Idol, I think, is one of those classic snob stories. Why? Well, because people are embarrassed to say that they're sitting there along with— at least on Wednesday night of this week— 33 million other Americans and watching American Idol, watching people sing and watching people who have been embarrassed. You know, we've had the early part of the season where the tryouts took place, and, um, you know, now we have the, the part where America gets to vote. Well, uh, 33 million people were watching on Wednesday night On Tuesday and Wednesday night of this week, 32 million people voted. 32 million people voting. Now, even if, even if a lot of those people voted multiple times, that's a lot of people voting on a talent contest. So why do we say that we're— why, why are we feeling guilty about these brands and these, um, uh, and enjoying these guilty pleasures. So that's my question today. Two questions: what kind of snob are you? I always believe we're always snobs about something. And secondly, what is it about these particular, uh, brands, let's call them all brands, that brings out the snobbery in people. NASCAR, Walmart, American Idol, guilty pleasures, targets of snobbery. How come? Thanks, and I'll see you again soon. Take care. Bye.
