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guest_
· 5 years ago
· FIRST
There is validity to both points. People often like to give and get surprises- and there is a power dynamic there between the giver who has knowledge and the receiver who is in essence “at their mercy.” We also know that there is power in physical items. There’s a part of the mind that just reacts differently to things we can touch and have in front of us. So having an item that one can sort of feel, sort of touch, but is also kept from us, is often more tantalizing than an abstract idea of a “surprise” which exists only as a hypothetical to us. The forced delayed gratification that often comes with recieving a wrapped item and having to unwrap it both tantalizes the mind and senses between the time we see the wrapped item and open it. Wrapping also is a form of art and shows effort. Two pieces of bread are exactly the same except one is a putrid green. Two cakes but one has smooth icing and the other is wavy and lumpy. Any chef will tell you that simple presentation can change alot.
6
guest_
· 5 years ago
However- we have also been conditioned to the idea of wrapping gifts and related wasteful behaviors. One can achieve many of the same effects as a fancy commercial wrapped gift by thoughtful use of recycled and reusable materials, and the stereotypical aesthetic of a “perfectly wrapped gift” is in itself a construct of society. It’s an image seen in cartoons and movies and ads and so we came to accept that as the way to go. An example of how those with more resources than they can reasonably use will invent luxuries of excess for novelty, then those without will emulate it aspirationally, and an industrial capitalism will then seek to provide that luxury to the masses in a way they can afford. Usually that then means that the wealthy must again distinguish themselves from the standard through a new extravagant method, and the cycle repeats.
2
mrfahrenheit
· 5 years ago
it do be good as fuck
5
sm19
· 5 years ago
That's why you wrap the gift in something reusable (scarf, cloth bag, etc.) or recyclable ( old news paper, old papers, etc). If gift wrap that is mass produced today was recyclable, it would still make gifting fun but also environmentally sustainable!
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tusabes
· 5 years ago
I give a lot of gift cards. I put them in a brown paper bag and say I don't do wrapping. It's up to them to figure out if the bag held a burrito or a tall can of Steel reserve.
garlog
· 5 years ago
Was it society or gift wrap industry people? Make up your mind.
