Response Paper

“Decadence is a difficult word to use since it has become little more than a term of abuse applied by critics to anything they do not yet understand or which seems to differ from their moral concepts,” as stated by Ernest Hemmingway. We can see that this concept is very true; when it comes to “decadence” and The Rules of Attraction we can see why we would see the actions and indulgences of Sean, Paul and Lauren as decadent. However, when juxtaposing the popular TV show, “That 70’s Show,” their lazy sophomoric actions aren’t labeled as “decadent,” although they essentially partake in most of the activities Sean, Paul and Lauren do. The characters in The Rules of Attraction are a perfect example of what the German philosopher Heidegger argues, simply put, that we as a society- as human beings- have stopped thinking in a collective consciousness and rather have become ego-centric, self-centered individuals who see everything and everyone as a means to an end, a tool to further their personal gains. Sean, for example, is a drug dealer, most notably in the movie Rupert is extremely upset, high on cocaine and really wants the money that Sean owes him. In a move to save his own skin, Sean tells Rupert that he can get Rupert’s money quickly, via his “rich” friends. This is a clear example by which we can see that Sean is using his connections- his friends- to save himself and try to pay Rupert off. At the same time we see that in “That 70’s Show” while the characters do use each other, it is to a much lesser degree. In one instance Hyde, a major character in the show, takes the blame for Jackie after she is caught of possession of Marijuana. After Jackie asks Hyde to do this, to no personal gain, he agrees to take the blame for the drugs and is taken away to prison. Rather than allowing Jackie to take the fall and be punished he lies and states that it is his pot; he gets taken away and gets no compensation for his actions other than jail. Here, Heidegger’s philosophy of people being a means to an end is exemplified.

Decadence especially in the ’80 is in par with the mindset of the time- a time when the country was experiencing deregulation on all levels and while the “free-love” hippie movements were giving birth to a “bastard era” under which people began experimenting with anything and everything. Under the guise of “free-love” and “spiritual- liberation” this generation indulged themselves with the belief that it was justified. The characters in The Rules of Attraction are simply bodily incarnations of all the un-relentless decadence of this time. Just like those of the past who felt that they were justified in their quest for “free-love,” the characters of The Rules of Attraction felt that they were right in spending their parents’ money and experimenting in all ways possible. Part of this can contributed to the lack of responsibility of the decade.

The lack of responsibility in The Rules of Attraction becomes apparent when the students talk about abortion as if it is just another method for birth control. The students here do not fully or even at all understand the consequences of their actions. The amount of sex that these students have, and with the number of people they have intercourse with is alarming because many of the students did not think about STD’s or getting pregnant. In “That ‘70’s Show,” the characters smoke weed and drink beer. They do not worry about tomorrow and think more about the here and now. Judith Butler talks about feminist and queer theory, part of her theory entails “a potentially important element in how the male/female distinction gets played out in any specific society.” (Barker 239) Many cultures attach the difference between men and women to various cultural expectations. In The Rules of Attraction, women are portrayed as objects of desire. In “That ‘70’s Show” the women although they do not always portray themselves as objects of desire, they do however illustrate that they do enjoy sex which is radical for the time. The women of The Rules of Attraction, as well as those from “That ‘70’s Show” are portrayed as radical because their enjoyment of sex and their pursuit of it is no secret. Moreover, the book Women Under Polygamy states that in the past, the punishment for women having more than one partner and committing adultery is death; whereas, men did not receive any punishment. It is radical to see how things have changed over the time span of less than a year.


Works Cited
Barker, Chris. Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2008.
Gallichan, Walter M. "Women under polygamy." Google Books, 1915.Web. 13 Oct. 2009. .