Another Draft by Ruqayyah

Have you every questioned why fads and trends occur? Most likely you haven't bothered to worry about it. As a society, when it comes to what is the latest thing to wear or the coolest word to say, the majority of us either jump right into the loop of things or take a convicting stand as to why we choose otherwise. Surprisingly enough, there is a term for this behaviour known as the bandwagon effect. The bandwagon effect is when people choose to follow others without thinking over their actions. The bandwagon effect grows as more people join on and eventually can lead to something huge (Smith). Effects can be positive, such as a movement to stop global warming, or negative, such as the numerous amount of people who believed in Hitler’s ideas of eradicating the Jews.

Dr. Seuss's story, “King Looie Katz”, has succeeded in demonstrating how a bandwagon effect can be started and how it can end. In the story, the King of Katzen-stein, King Looie, decided his tail was too lovely to drag on the ground. Thus he ordered another kat, Fooie, to hold up his tail. Fooie, upset with his tail dragging on the ground, ordered another cat to hold up his tail. This charade caught on and spread, until all the katz were holding onto one another’s tails. The last kat, being the only one left with his tail dragging on the ground, decided against the unfair situation to throw down the tail he was holding. This then continued until all the katz were no longer holding anyone's tail, other than their own. This story, regardless of being fiction or intended for children, tells a very real and common story, of how one cat carelessly following another can create a much bigger affect. It is then easy for one to see how the plot from the story can be related to many real-life situations, whether in the fashion industry, in social networks or even among children’s toys. “The bandwagon effect happens on almost every level of human interaction,” (Smith).

Looking at a very popular social-network known as Facebook, it is clear that there are many similarities between the story of “King Looie Katz” and this website. In Dr. Seuss’s story, Fooie who was the kat, told to hold Looie's tail, didn't really object or question him. Was this because of Looie's authority, his influence upon the people of his city? Avril Autopsy, a regular Facebook user says “I felt pressured into opening my Facebook account. All those invitation emails and questions from friends pushed me to set up my profile. When I didn't have my account I felt out of the loop and I wasn’t invited out as much. Facebook allows me to see what everyone is up too and to add myself into the picture.” Feelings of acceptance are vital to humans as we constantly need reminders of importance to others such as family and friends. Perhaps the reason the katz followed King Looie was because they didn't want to feel left out, or punished. But how was it that the tail-holding caught on so fast? Avril says “I first started to notice Facebook when invitation emails began filling up my inbox.” Facebook allows you to import all of the contacts in your address book into invitation emails, that way you can inform everyone you know in a matter of seconds, this being “one of the most powerful viral marketing strategies” (Newton). Similarly, the katz in Katezen-stein most likely used some form of communication to spread the word or otherwise just made the other Katz aware by visual advertisement.

In fashion, the bandwagon effect is almost always present. Many fashion trends become popular after people see them on a celebrity or someone that is admired. In “King Looie Katz”, the king was the figure that every cat looked up to. If it was an ordinary cat, other than the king, that asked Fooie to pick up his tail, chances are, the bandwagon effect would not have taken place. Usually, fashion items that being fads are around long before they’re made well-known. The bandwagon effect allows something that would normally rather go unnoticed to be appreciated by all. Perhaps King Looie allowed the katz to realize the importance of taking care of their tails and therefore taking care of themselves.

When it comes to following trends and fads, it's no surprise that the fashion industry is the creator of many large bandwagon effects. Hot Pants were very popular among young women in the 70s, but frowned upon in the workplace because they were so short and revealing. Surprisingly, this fad only lasted during colder months and faded before the warm weather came, probably because showing legs was more shock-provoking during the winter months when they weren't expected (BadFads). The bandwagon effect is present in this situation because people went along with what others were doing, even though their whole legs were exposed in freezing weather.

Another fad, which has become popular again in today's date, is Chuck Taylor's Converse. First made in 1917, Converses only became extremely popular in the 1980s when the famous basketball player, Chuck Taylor adopted them as his preferred shoe. After this was established, billions of pairs were sold worldwide. Despite the cheap rubber and canvas material, people pay approximately $70.00 per pair, and buy many different pairs. This is another example of the bandwagon effect because people jumped on the Converse Wagon, without thinking about whether they're worth the money. (Darien, you need to possibly take the idea of how they only became famous after Chuck Taylor wore them and relate that to the fact that the King held authority when he started the band wagon in the story)

Another place where bandwagon effects are regular occurring is in the toy industry. During the 1980's Cabbage Patch Kids were a big fad. Each came with their own birthday, adoption papers, and birth certificate. Every single one was unique and “one of a kind”. In the year of 1985, they sold over $600 million in record sales. On a smaller, but just as odd, scale, Pet Rocks also seemed to hit it big with the kids in the '70s. In fact, the original rocks were just ordinary gray stones, brought from store, and marketed as live pets. Other similar phenomenons took place with Raggedy Ann Dolls (1910's), Mr. Potato Head (1950's), Beanie Babies (1990's) and Barbies (first launched in 1959). But what made these toys so popular? What made each child want to have one? Similarly, what made the cats want to hold up another cat's tail?

These examples all relate to the bandwagon effect, where a group of people do things because many other people do the same things, without really thinking for themselves. Many times, people follow others by word of mouth. The cats in Katzen-stein, held up another cat's tail because some one told them to. Since everyone was doing it, they felt that they should do it too. In retrospect, parents of the 80's, or any generation for the matter, were most likely following the trend of the time by observing and listening to what other people had to say. Or it was because someone told them to. Most people aren't too keen on buying something, or following something that isn't popular or valued highly by the majority. However, when people hear good things or see other people with a certain product, they feel more comfortable to “jump on the bandwagon”.
In essence, “there's a comfort in large numbers” and this follows through not only with the cats in Katzen-stein, but with toy industry as well.