Review of 'The American Man at Age Ten'

Susan Orlean started the essay off with an interesting tag-line; "If Colin Duffy and I were to get maarried,". It struck me as an odd opening statement, and made me wonder what kind of person was actually writing this essay. With out any background on the author, I might have been worried, but instead, I was intrigued.

Orlean's essay dove into the mind and thought process of the 10 year old boy growing up in, what I can only think of, as the mid 1980's. The days of Nintendo and going to the store down the street to play video games with the weeks allowance brought back fond memories of that time in my life. The idea of what makes up a 10 year old in this era was spot on. He had his strong plans of what WAS going to happen when he grew up, and knew what it was like to BE grown up and be able to take the car to the store and get candy whenever he wanted. His plans in his mind were his reality... yet at the same time, that quarter HAD to be up on the video game console, reserving the next game.

I find it interesting that the group he grew up in was almost a type of control group. Attempting to mold the children of tomorrow by giving them equal opportunity to make decisions and learn what was rite and wrong in the world. He grew up with dolls and soldiers, mom and dad... and still wound up with the strong idea that women were a little beneath him; even in the video game worlds that surrounded 10 year old boys of that time. The question comes up in my mind, "Are boys pre-programmed with these thoughts?" but they can't be... I came out differently under very similar circumstances.

Orlean's analysis (invasion?) of the 10 year old psyche was very interesting to read. She picked up on small subtleties that I might have missed, if I were doing the observing and analysis. The essay actually helped me build some of my questions for my interviews. Part of me wishes we had more time to dive into the communities we've chosen to investigate... What might I learn from my community if I were allowed to observe and partake in the day-to-day workings of their lives? What will I miss out on with just a short Q&A session with select members of the community?