Klavan On The Culture » Michael Jackson and The Gorp Syndrome

Klavan On The Culture

July 8th, 2009 10:02 am

Michael Jackson and The Gorp Syndrome

I lived outside of the US for many years and it was an excellent way to get a fresh perspective on the country. One phenomenon I observed from afar that I’d never noticed up close was what I came to call The Gorp Syndrome. It works like this. Private minds create a useful product to meet their needs: like Gorp, or trail mix, a blend of raisins and nuts made by campers to deliver a natural and healthy blast of energy during a hike in the woods. Some smart company gets the idea to package and sell the product. After the product reaches its full customer base of, say, hikers and health-minded snackers, the company seeks to expand the product’s appeal while maintaining its identity. So they add carob or yogurt covered raisins: sweeter, so more people will buy it, but still arguably “natural,” and “healthy,” although now with quotation marks. Then someone at the company says, well, hey, if people like sweet stuff so much, why not add something really sweet like, say, M & M’s? So ultimately Gorp, while weirdly retaining some completely undeserved aura of healthiness, is transformed into sugary garbage.

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