Two Bear Market Cultural Trends in One
We covered the emerging bull market in torture on Monday and the impetus behind Barbie's corresponding bear market back in October. The merger of these two trends in the latest Barbie news item is an even more compelling sign of the power behind the gathering trend change. Notice how the boys remain “nostalgic” for their action heroes (i.e. bull market icons), while the girls are getting with the new bear market mood. It may seem twisted, but it appears to be part of their more "masculine, liberated" side that comes to bear on the female psyche in bear markets. Back in September EWFF tabbed it as a key element in the oncoming bear market. The Barbie study confirms that the female gender is leading the way into the next phase of decline. The symbolism is perfectly appropriate as EWFF noted in September that "women gain dominance in bear market periods.”
 The trend toward torture's bearish nature is self-evident. While the use of torture is no stranger to history, it seems somewhat unique as object of cultural expression, at least over the last several hundred years. A rapid rise in its media coverage is unmistakable. A search of Proquests data base of magazines, journals and major newspapers turns up 175 references in the last 60 days, which is only slightly less than the number for all of 1999, the last full year of the bull market. The cover of today's NY Post points to a sensationalistic appeal that seems to be building. Why now? We cannot say, but, here again, the unprecedented nature of the phenomenon probably has something to do with the importance of the peak and the imminence of its completion. |
