11/4 Black Friday

The suffocating shadow descends only once every year. It’s never lurking far around the fringes, though. As its time nears, its edges begin to spread, slowly smothering everything it touches until the world is hidden from the light. It has become a day of tattered common sense. Moral ambiguity. Lack of human compassion. It is the darkest day of the year. It is Black Friday.

                                                The original Black Friday in Philadelphia. 

The term Black Friday has numerous theorized origins. Many have incorrectly assumed that it derives from being in the black financially, and some even tie it all the way back to slavery. The real origins, however, seem to stem not much further from today’s definition. Black Friday was innocently conceived in the minds of Philadelphia cops dreading the hordes of people swarming into the city after Thanksgiving. The annual sales caused traffic jams, crowded sidewalks, and a general scene of chaos every year. This was during the 1950s (CNNMoney). Merely decades later, Black Friday has exploded passed those walls and has spread across every city in America like a virus. It has manifested into a behemoth, an inflated version of itself with an insatiable thirst for unending growth.

The name is so fitting. It cloaks everything it touches in an overpowering darkness, but even when the shadow begins to subside, it leaves a scar for remembrance that it will never truly be gone. After so much time, the event has begun to dig a cozy hole in our society. It waits at the bottom, prepared to seize the souls of its victims and drag them along into the blackness where the light can be fully extinguished. Once captured, it takes control over the entire body, creating its own version of brainless zombies. Minds become possessed with the knowledge of discounts, and hearts begin to beat with the adrenaline of competition. Nothing can stand in the way of this new army of bargain hunters.

This is one of its most frightening characteristics. It doesn’t just show the extremes people are willing to go for a discount; it reveals the darkest parts of human nature, the side driven by materialism. With the birth of the modern Black Friday, the materialistic culture of America has been solidified, becoming the norm for everyday life. Black Friday now represents the pinnacle of this consumerism, driven by the maniacs in business suits controlled by the ultimate power, money. No more do we value the possessions we already own or appreciate what has become old. Instead, we, zombies, are drawn to the shiny, new products. This is what gives us value now.

                                             

                                         Chaos ensues in a British store.

The damage that has occurred seems irreparable in a fabric already held loosely together by mere threads. Unfortunately, this beast doesn’t seem to be slowing down; if anything, its strength grows with every passing year. But even this is not enough for it. It is now being exporting across the seas, staining unsuspecting areas with its black ink. (The Telegraph) And it won’t be satisfied until its name is celebrated across the globe. 

Works Cited:

"Black Friday 2014 Explained - Retailers Gearing up for Day of Deals." The Telegraph. Telegraph         Media Group, n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2015.

"When Did Black Friday Start?" CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 28 Nov. 2014. Web. 30 Oct.           2015.


Images and Videos:
"Crazy Wal-Mart Black Friday Fight for TV." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2015.


Glanfield, Emma. "Stampede of the Sales 'animals': Black Friday Frenzy Turns Violent as Shoppers Fight over Bargains ." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 22 Jan. 2015. Web. 01 Nov. 2015.


popupperdiem.tumblr.com