Authenticity: Brands, Fakes, Spin and the Lust for Real LifeDavid Boyle guides us through the next big thing in Western living -- the determined rejection of the fake, the virtual, the spun and the mass-produced, in the search for authenticity. The charms of the global and virtual future we were all brought up to expect, where meals would be eaten in the form of pills and machines would do all our work, have worn rather thin. It's not that we don't want all the advantages of progress, we just want a future that manages to be local and real too. Tracking the struggle for reality from Japanese theme parks to mock-Tudor villas and from Byron to Big Brother, Authenticity explains where our reactions against spin and fakeness come from -- and where they are going. The current revival of real food, real business, real culture flies in the face of expert opinion from politicians, economists, advertisers and big business -- and they're having to run to keep up as our hype attention-span gets ever shorter. Optimistic, witty, highly thought-provoking and packed with fascinating stories, Boyle's search asks whether coolness is dead, how real reality is and whether realpolitik can ever change into real politics. He puts authenticity firmly on the map, lifting the lid on all the other symptoms of this powerful new phenomenon -- revealing the unexpected force that looks set to change all our lives |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
actually Adbusters advert advertising American Authenticity Wars banks become believe brands British call centres campaign cent cities communities consumers cool corporate creative customers demand for authenticity Dogme 95 downshifting dream economic Elizabeth David ethical FAKE REAL feel film future global going human idea increasingly industry intelligence Japanese Jaron Lanier John Naisbitt kind Living Real look machines managed McDonald's means measure million modern Norrath numbers obsession Ocean Dome organic organic food Out-Counter-Culturing people's poetry politicians Pot Noodle predicted problem Real and Virtual Real Business Real Culture Real Food real politics Real Relationships Realists robot says search for authenticity seems sense shops simple Slow Food somehow stories success supermarkets talking television there's things truth unreal virtual real virtual reality virtual world wabi-sabi whole wrote