Style over substance?

February 4, 2010 by David Bell 

Our unstoppable obsession with looks continues to work to our detriment.

Here we are in fabulous Las Vegas. When most people think of Las Vegas, they think of an amazing beacon of dazzling lights. They think of going to the casinos, seeing spectacular shows, staring at nearly-naked women, partying and basically anything else that the movie “The Hangover” says Las Vegas is all about.

To most, Las Vegas has a ton of style.

On the other hand, the Las Vegas Valley has been my home all my life. I went to elementary, middle and high school here.

I work a simple job at a recreation center. Most of the time, I don’t even go near the strip in an attempt to avoid the insanity that contributes to the style of Las Vegas.

I see our little corner of the world for its substance. I see the place I grew up in, rather than that amazing beacon of dazzling lights.

Unfortunately, the world has little interest in substance. Dazzling lights and beautiful looks are what the world looks for, not only in a city, but in general. The world is always looking for the next beacon of light to swarm to. In this world, substance takes a back seat to style.

This is evident nearly everywhere you look. One example is the music industry. Frequently, a group or individual is better known for their eccentricities and their looks rather than their abilities.  When it comes to shining beacons of eccentricity in the music industry, Lady Gaga comes to mind.

While she is not without talent, in reality, she is much like most other pop stars – except in the aspect that she wears extremely strange outfits and does strange performances on stage.

Despite the fact that her music is little more than average modern pop music, her (so-called) style is what makes people pay so much attention to her. Rather than finding the most talented musicians, people often look to the ones that do so-called stylish things.

In a more real-life example, people are far too often obsessed with personal style over the substance of their character.

Too many times, I have met individuals that spend ridiculous amounts of time and money to look more “stylish,” all the while ignoring the evolution of the substance of their characters.

People try to use superficial means to cover up deeper problems. Rather than trying to inspect character flaws and find solutions to improve themselves, they attempt to cover it up with expensive clothes, make-up and hair styles.

Scores of girls keep up with the Kardashians and too many of them admire “Gossip Girl;” tons of boys love “Jersey Shore” – all to feed an obsession for style over substance.

Clearly, this presents a problem.  This creates the superficialities that are rampant in society.  There are clear divisions within our society, many are strongly based on style and looks.

Because being “stylish” is often expensive, people’s styles are used to judge them from a socioeconomic standpoint.

Just by seeing cheaper clothes, some people automatically deem others to be somehow inferior and not worth the time to get to know.

Style effectively helps create pointless discrimination, and reduces our society to one of immaturity and ineffectiveness.

The most disappointing part of the whole situation is how ridiculously simple the solution is.  Rather than looking straight for the flash and style, look past them and look at the actual substance.

Rather than trying to cover up problems to make them look less troublesome, actually fix them. Giving a car that barely runs a paint job might give it more style, but the vehicle is still broken.  Figure out what is actually flawed and fix the problem.  Sometimes serious problems have serious answers, but this one doesn’t.

The complicated part is making people see the simplicity of the solution and getting them to follow through. People want the complicated, stylish solution, when in reality a little substance will fix many problems.

I know that there will have to be a cultural shift and that even though we know what the solution is, the process of getting there is not simple.

But that doesn’t mean we stop caring. Someone has to continue to speak out in favor of a society less obsessed with looks.