And handbag renting? Even when I was only a young boy I had more sense that that…

And I suppose there really are people who change their handbags every week ..

And if buying or renting an outlandishly expensive handbag “allows people to really play [and] have fun” then they need to get out more. And how will the rest of us ever manage to play and have fun when we we can’t afford these things? Maybe I’ll just have to go for a walk, or spend time with my friends, or sing instead!

I saw her reach toward the Forbes magazine too and for one split second I thought they were actually going to show her reading something grown-up and maybe (heaven forbid) decide to do something sensible/non-narcissistic with her life for a change…but of course, no, she just reached past it and grabbed the Vogue so she could idiotically obsess about her ex-boyfriend some more. Overall I didn’t mind the TV show; it had its moments. But this movie was just so wildly out of joint with reality; it really left a bad taste in my mouth.

But I envisaged a family spending an afternoon in their lush, abundant vegie filled backyard, playing in the sun and enjoying themselves… their harried neighbour, who’s just finished a full day in a job they hate and is going to eat a plate full of rubbish for dinner asking “how do you do it?”

The idea is to turn people “green with envy”.

This is why you need a TV Rob – you would have known to avoid it like the plague, LOL!

I was unfortunate enough to catch about 5 mins of an episode once. It was enough to gather that the main character was a columnist who got PAID a six figure salary FOR writing a column about her experiences with SEX.

Basically a slightly upmarket whore. But a whore nonetheless. I’m amazed you sat through it!

It just goes to show how low we can sink.

Thankfully I and my family have never been swayed by designer labels, not just from the point of view we cannot afford, if I had the money I still wouldn’t be so precious.

Most designer stuff is ridiculous in my opinion, it is after all just dress making etc in the end, nothing at all special. Why would someones name add huge amounts of money to the product? These people live off the backs of the stupidity of people who are greedy, social climbers believing that to own or rent something like this makes their lives better. How deeply saddening.

I once watched one of these programmes(not all the way through I might add, it made me want to throw up it was the biggest pile of cow poo I have ever seen and I fail to see how they could make a film from it and I can’t understand how normal sane people can pay those huge cinema prices to go and see it.

Thank God most women are not all like these sad, no hoper, narcissistic nymphomaniacs in real life.

Calling people who are caught up in the consumerist ideology “vacuous” seems particularly counter productive to getting them to change their behaviour. Perhaps this is like blaming the victim: She must be vacuous given her consumption (or hiring) of handbags. She flaunts her brand names, so she mustn’t have deeper feelings or concerns. Don’t you realise that these people have been bombarded with consumerist messages since they were born, and just responding in the ways the larger culture has asked them to?

Rather than focus on the women’s peculiar love affair with shoes and handbags, an alternative focus would be to see through the surface and look at the relationships between the four women, and how these were far more important than the stuff the buy, wear or hire. And ask them (not tell them) to reflect on how more important their relationships were to their well being. In fact the movie does deal with many emotional and big issues – raising children with love, dealing with infidelity, relationship break-ups, being honest to your true self, being supportive of your friends when they are doing it tough – aren’t some of these behavious critical to a transition culture? Of course the issues are raised through the froth and bubble of a lightweight soapie – this is not deep and meaningful cinema, and nor does in pretend to be.

Lighten up! Granted, the world’s in a huge mess, but let’s also remember to rejoice and celebrate in this time of change. And include the buyers of brand names in our celebrations.

As ROG says above, the transition movement needs to be accessible to people who love designer handbags, as well as all the other addicts of society. Let’s be compassionate with these people. Don’t “bag” them!

And don’t call them vacuous.