Meow: A Novel: Enlightenment, Social Critique, or Emptiness? Marketing Analyst Mostafa Farahini's Thoughts
- samaustenlit
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
This post is adapted from a popular LinkedIn post by entrepreneur and marketing analyst Mostafa Farahani, originally in Farsi.
Meow: A Novel: Enlightenment, Social Critique or Emptiness? By Mostafa Farahini
Nothing surprises me anymore, so Meow: A Novel came as a curiosity rather than a shock. The entire text of the book consists of 80,000 repetitions of the word “meow.”
From its Amazon page:
A novel for your cat, written in its native language. The word “meow” repeated 80,000 times, to rapturous effect.
Publisher’s Description: Meow meow meow meow meow, meow. Meow meow meow meow. Meow? Meow.
I suddenly remembered that I studied marketing and worked in the field, and wanted to analyze Meow from the perspective of marketing principles, as well as in the context of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
Here are some questions I’d like to pose to those curious about the marketing angle:
What human needs does Meow respond to?
Does Meow address a real need, or create a false one?
What exactly does Meow want you to experience?
Does the desire to buy or see Meow stem from the consumer’s need to self-differentiate?
Is Meow a response to an emotional or cultural need?
What needs make a consumer spend on something that doesn’t mean anything?
And the psychological angle:
At what level of Maslow’s pyramid is Meow located?
Does Meow interface with any basic human need?
Does owning Meow impart a sense of social belonging?
Is Meow a way to increase a person’s self-esteem?
Are people seeking self-actualization through Meow?
Is Meow a symbol of the need for things beyond meaning?
I am simply asking these questions to prompt an investigation into the psychological and market conditions surrounding such a book. I am neither for or against it—just starting a conversation.
The editors have appended some of the thoughtful responses to Mr. Farahini's questions below:
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