Monday, October 17, 2011

Chapters 6 & 7

In this chapter, Jon Ronson witnesses the destruction corporate psychopaths can cause upon meeting Al Dunlap, an ex-CEO and corporate fat cat. Ronson goes to Shubuta, Mississippi, the previous home to a Sunbeam production plant. The shutdown of the plant created a derelict town and Al Dunlap was the cause of it all. After seeing the destruction Dunlap caused, Ronson arranges to meet with him in order to diagnose his psychopathy. Dunlap’s house is covered in gold, furnished with predatory sculptures and void of family pictures except majestic portraits of Dunlap and his second wife. With little diplomacy, Ronson asks Dunlap if he is willing to take the psychopath test. He agrees and although he fits many psychopathic traits, he affirms that they are not negatives but instead are the positive traits of leadership.

            While I liked both chapters, they were interesting for different reasons. Chapter 6 was an in-depth look at an executive psychopath. His weird obsession with gold and predators declares him not only a psychopath but also a serious creeper; even though he loves gold’s charm and luxury, it is really just tacky and gross. However, the superior of the two is chapter 7. The technique Charlotte Scott conceived using medication as an indicator to have a guest on TV is sickening. Preying on the mental illness of others for great ratings speaks volumes about our society. While what Charlotte did was unconscionable, she did so to appease a society obsessed with madness and shock. Who then is really to blame?

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