I have pontificated on this blog numerous times about my adoration for Elizabeth Gilbert and Eat, Pray, Love. It is my personal bible of self discovery, bravery, humor, introspection and writing. When I heard it was being made into a movie I was pretty excited. When I heard they cast Julia Roberts as Liz I was truly disappointed. But now, I am a little bit appalled by the mass commercializing and merchandising of it. Everywhere I look there is Eat, Pray, Love merchandise- tea, fragrance, pillows, jewelry, clothing, trips, you name it, they’ve slapped EPL on it and assumed that women will but anything related to it. To me, this book, and even the movie, don’t jive with merchandising at all. It’s not like this is Transformers, or even Sex and the City, where material goods are relevant to the story. This is a story about self-discovery, inner landscapes, emotional struggles and personal relationships. How does one make a perfume of that? Does Eat smell like pizza? Does the tea taste like self-doubt and tears? I don’t get the correlation, and frankly, am a bit surprised Gilbert agreed to this exploitation of her book. I know, EPL has a massive captive market of women with money to spend, and she and everyone involved in the mind-blowing success of it need and want to make money off it. It keeps many people employed and fed, and I don’t deny their desire to keep the gravy train running. But this was taken too far in my opinion. Am I totally off base here?
Let’s take a look at just a little of what’s out there:
HSN has a MASSIVE Eat, Pray, Love store, sorry, “shopping experience“. Some of the items correlate, some don’t at all. Like, how are these over the knee boots and bag related to the book? Did I miss something?
There is something about EPL shower gel that just pisses me off.
Slapping the EPL label on normal Lancome Juicy Tubes lip gloss? No dice.
Ok, this bedding is kinda cute in it’s Suzani-ness, but the book cover pillow, not so much.
Jewelry, both literally translated and loosely.
Cost Plus World Market has another Eat, Pray, Love store with these items.
Dogeared did a line of jewelry, which I actually think has some cute pieces what are so much more subtle and pretty.
I am going to a pre-screening of the movie on August 10th and will be sure to post my full review for you all!
TOTAL sell out, and those Dogeared pieces would be just as nice (nicer?) without the tie-in. But, I have to admit that I LOVE those boots and PRAY they go on sale, because I wouldn’t EAT in order for my thighs to look good in them. Kinda misses the original point…
OMG, I was not aware of this. I just finished reading the book and can’t say I’m a huge fan but it was an interesting read. Like you, totally flabbergasted and surprised that she would let the name be used in this manner. Makes me wonder how much control she actually had in the way the name is being used, maybe she signed some sort of strange blanket deal not being aware of ramifications? Big turn off, kind of reminds me of the disgust I felt with the whole “Passion of the Christ” merchandising that went on, though I could understand how that could happen with that subject matter. But man, this makes no sense to me….and I’m kind of curious WHO is actually buying this crap? Eat, Pray, Love SHOWER GEL??
(btw, Ellen, funny post!)
I”m reading so I can watch…anyhow…LOVE the elephant teapot. I have that scarf and those shoes. xoxo
I did not know about all this merchandising. Don’t like it at all. It surely doesn’t jive with the book, which I loved. I probably won’t see the movie as I’m also disappointed in the choice of leading lady. I will definitely read your recap though!
whoa. i too loved the book and i’m actually quite looking forward to the movie (i actually like Roberts chosen as the lead and think she’ll do a great job) but whoa…i had no idea about all this stuff being sold as eat, pray, love stuff. i agree, totally not cool and i’m actually surprised gilbert ok’d it…but maybe she didn’t? kinda crosses the line and feels…unauthentic.
gross. sell out.
Greed. Greed. Greed.
Puke! I am SO disappointed by the casting of this movie as well, but the whole marketing piece…it kind of buzzdozes the message of the book…as I remember, it wasn’t about getting more stuff for happiness. Bummer…it ruins the authenticity.
I totally agree with you. Loved the book, disappointed about the move and Julia Roberts playing the lead. Love your blog I read every post!!!
janette
Totally over the top and ridiculous. It actually makes me not want to read the book.
I just laughed out loud at HSN’s “EAT” pillowcases! I’m sorry but eating/food is just about the last thing I am thinking of when I lay my head on a lovely pillowcase. OVERKILL. And I was really confused when I passed Fresh the other night and saw their new EPL line. Kind of makes me disappointed in them, too.
I was thinking the same thing, then I thought maybe I was just being crazy. Now I see that I may be the majority! I think that they shouldn’t have gone the superstar route in casting either. I wonder how much of a hand Liz actually has in all of this.
Did you also know the Dalai Lama charges $10,000 for a photo with him? Sad but true, those silks aren’t cheap.
I, too, am a huge EPL/Elizabeth Gilbert fan. I, too, was disappointed that Julia Roberts was cast as Liz. And when I saw the adds for the EPL merchandise in the Sunday paper, I was in shock. We all do what we need to do to survive and build a nest egg. We live in trying economic times with much uncertainty in our future. I don’t think Gilbert sold out, rather she found a market of products that some will buy. Cheesey, maybe. But if this is how EPL will reasch some, hopefully it will be for the betterment and more fulfilled life of that individual then it is worth it.
-Jen Burcham, Phoenix, AZ
Grace: Don’t not read the book! It is a wonderful, well-written piece about the turmoil of a woman, It is filled with wrought emotion. It is real. Skip the movie and the products, but read the book! I am currently reading Committed, the book that follows EPL.
Who WOULD you all have preferred in the movie?
Well said. I loved the book. I will look forward to hearing your thoughts on the movie.
Eat, Pray, Buy?
Agreed. Agreed. Agreed. But still looking forward to the movie.
I thought the book was ridiculous. What was the big deal? This woman is so self indulgent….
I really hadn’t noticed all the products, and I have to admit I love those boots. The sell out that irks me is that EPL was the sponsor of the Jersey Shore season premier.
I SO agree with you. This is getting ridiculous… I was kind of wondering if she’s been approving all of this hysteria too?
In Elizabeth’s defense, she sold the rights to her book to a film production company and that deal would have required her to sell all rights. Most of the time, all company’s do with those rights is make a film and do some small subsidiary things, if appropriate (soundtrack, etc), so odds are Elizabeth had no idea what this would be come, and odds are she is not receiving any of the proceeds, as the licensing rights would have been among the rights she would have sold — and, again, without being given any advance information on what they would do with those rights. This level of licensing is unprecedented for a film that isn’t animation or based on the kind of underlying franchise that usually results in Burger King toys (think Transformers or Shrek), so it’s doubtful Elizabeth’s lawyers even thought of this.
One of the things that happens when tremendous success occurs is that things happen that aren’t within your control and that you didn’t anticipate. If I thought she were getting the proceeds, though, I’d probably say good for her, since it’s often these kinds of opportunities, however vulgar they may seem, that enable someone who’s eeked out a living with their art to finally have a bit of added security of the kind that means that if you never have a best seller again, you’ll be fine. The book’s success and the film rights have already contributed a great deal in this regard, but having eeked out my own living as an artist, I could hardly begrudge someone if they took the money and ran.
Now I want to return my copies of Eat, Pray, Love AND Committed which I have not even finished. I’m so turned off.
OMG, I was not aware of this. I just finished reading the book and can’t say I’m a huge fan but it was an interesting read. Like you, totally flabbergasted and surprised that she would let the name be used in this manner. Makes me wonder how much control she actually had in the way the name is being used, maybe she signed some sort of strange blanket deal not being aware of ramifications?
I hadn’t heard about most of this merchandising, but then I read your blog post and soon afterwards saw the HSN “shopping experience” advertised on another network. And the Lancome lip gloss? For real?? That one in particular is pretty shameful.