iCult?
i’ve been thinking more and more about this since Father’s Day.
i went to the Apple Store on the Plaza that day with my brother. he’s not really an apple fan. as an IT guy, he works mainly with PCs and Microsoft but he obliged my desire to go browse around. first, i had never seen so many people in one store before. after i climbed through the moshpit, i browsed through all the bright, white and silver apple store had to offer. obviously, this wasn’t my first trip to an apple store but it was the first time i saw apple in a different light and felt pretty sick about it.
the billion types of iPods, the iPod speakers, the iPod alarm clocks, the iMac, the macbooks, the iBooks, the Bose SoundDock Digital Music System, apple TV, the iLap so your macbook doesn’t overheat, the iClear screen cleaner and of course the posters upon posters and banners and banners of the mother of them… the frickin’ iPhone. i too was excited about the iPhone until i saw the pricetag ($500+) and not to mention what it will cost just make it functional each month ($80+)… all that on top of a minutes plan. no thanks. my sprint treo 700p i found for 1/3 the price on ebay is working well enough for me.
i don’t know about your local apple store but this one didn’t even have check-out counters. just men and women holding scanners, walking around asking, “wanna purchase a ——- today?” dressed head to toe in apple gear. apple hat. apple polos. apple t-shirts. and probably apple boxers.
there was also nothing on sale or anything useful under $100. i saw people throwing hundreds and hundreds down on an mp3 player and an alarm clock. seriously. because it has an apple icon it?
eventually i was so caught up in this whirlwind of their (and my own) apple-worship i had to get some air. my brother had already walked outside. the first thing he said to me as i walked out was, “what a frickin’ cult”. since he hasn’t bought into this whole apple phenomenon and has an outside perspective, it makes me wonder…
i enjoy apple products and believe that my macbook performs better than any PC i’ve ever used and apple is generally “fresh” and “innovative” but at what point does it just become too much?
is there an Apple iCult? i’m beginning to think so.
Sounds like you just described most “mega churches”
a glimpse into my subconscience, perhaps?
i totally agree about the mac domination. yes, they’re sweet..but its becoming an american obsession…gag me now.
It was definitely more fun to be an fan of Mac (iFan?) when they were the underdog with the best stuff. But I still like the commercials. :)
Great Post. As the Mac line morphs from product to deity, I’ve seen more and more friends, who are normally very steady emotionally, getting sucked spiral-eyed into the maelstrom. It’s disconcerting at the least. Of course something in me always rebels at doing what the masses are doing, and it’s easier to resist when it’s so expensive.
No qqestion. Mac makes a great product. But $600 for a PHONE? I know, I know, it’s much MORE than just a phone.
Good grief.