Abstract

This chapter talks about status anxiety by drawing examples from Veronica Mars. There are differences in status, in one's standing in society. Some are at the top, some are at the bottom, and some are in the middle. Everyone is worried about where he or she fits on the hierarchy of standing and importance. Some lower primates sort themselves, with alpha males beating their chests, feeding first, and claiming privileged mating rights. We humans would like to think we are above such vulgar displays, yet a quick glance at Neptune or at our own town reveals that we may be more subtle, but only a little. Where we fit in, what our status is, matters. It matters to the way others treat us, but, maybe more importantly, it matters to the way we think of ourselves. The way others treat us influences the way we think of ourselves.