01 Nov Contrarian’s tenuous connection to pop culture
The frailty of my connection to pop culture exposed at Sobey’s:
Checkout Person: Are you collecting Jamie Oliver stamps?
Me: Someone asked me the same thing yesterday. [Leaning in, sotto voce] WTF are Jamie Oliver stamps?
CP: For every $10 you get a stamp, and when you get enough stamps, you can get some… [with this she made a vague hand gesture] …knives.
Me: So…. Jamie Oliver is some sort of… chef?
CP: [smiling benignly] Yes.
Me: You have a great weekend.
This conversation caused a stir when I posted it on Facebook, as a result of which, I now know Oliver is a UK television chef with a cute accent and a studied, informal air who uses his celebrity to promote better nutrition, especially in schools. Several commenters recommended his TED talk, which I watched to the 7:30 mark, when he began fat-shaming a tearful homemaker and I had to avert my eyes.
I hadn’t meant to make fun of Oliver, but rather to lampoon my own cluelessness on matters pop cultural. Female commenters generally knew who Oliver is; many male commenters did not.
The stamps turn out to be a Sobey’s promotion involving a knife set (although the company’s subpar website makes no mention of it). Many commenters entreated me to collect the stamps on their behalf, even hinted I was selfish when I demurred. A continuous avalanche of paper slips already strains my mental health; no room remains for tiny, self-adhesive stamps and fussy little books in which to affix them.