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Working from the top, Brooks' candidates for pioneers of the new style are Bernie Cornfeld, whose flamboyant style ridiculed the low profile of international business; Governor Jerry Brown, the Jesuit-Zen candidate who flouted the rules of politics; and George Plimpton, the upper-class New Yorker whose characterizations as a dilettante in professional sports disguised a professional writer. But what of Gloria Vanderbilt, who declassed herself to become the Duchess of Denim, and of the homosexual parodists in entertainment and fashion?
Though Brooks insists that such people are the new wave, he presents a grim picture of a static middle class trapped in social pincers. Too insecure for parody, they attempt straightforward competitive display. Warns the author: "It may drive the not-quite-rich to bankruptcy, divorce, social disgrace, and misery. It may keep the poor in poverty despite rising wages and benefits. We deal with desperate people engaged in desperate actions."
Showing off, then, is a form of competition. But if the bulk of Americans cannot profitably throw themselves into the game, the future of parody display may not be as bright as Brooks would have us believe. For parody is a style that feeds on the growth of conspicuous consumption, which, in turn, is dependent on optimism and a vigorous economy. Brooks does not adequately address this point. This may be due to the book's format, which is mainly a collection of previously published magazine articles that, despite reworking, still lack clear organization. Ideas are too compressed to breathe, and generalizations in one place are frequently neutralized by qualifications elsewhere. In addition, Brooks' bibliography is superficial, consisting mainly of popular books and articles. One odd omission is the name of Tom Wolfe, the nation's preeminent journalist of styles and manners whose term "radical chic" is used without attribution. At its best, Showing Off in America is provocative enough to get readers thinking of themselves as social beings after a decade of bestselling ego-lit. At its worst, the book succumbs to irony as an unwitting parody of Veblen's sociology. — By R.Z. Sheppard
Excerpt
"Disproportionately little parody is to be found in current American speech, as distinguished from actions and gestures. Since words are the original home of parody, this may appear to be an enigma. Parody in discourse, as in writing, remains largely an elitist form, while in action and gesture it has become a democratic form. Perhaps parody in its original state is disqualified for democratic adoption by its connotations of intellectuality. To create parody, one must think; to utter buzzwords, only open the mouth and blow."