Identity: the distinguishing character or personality of an individual.  A person�s quest to discover exactly who they are, and where they fit in this world may be the most important, and most difficult journey they face in their lifetime.  Some will find it in the place they were born, others may travel to the ends of the earth searching for it.  While some people use theirs to touch the lives of many, other people live and die without ever fully discovering theirs. 

	Andy Warhol believed that mass production robbed us of our identities.  Since the material items a person has seem to be such a symbol of what kind of person they are in modern society, this theory proved to be very accurate.  Before mass-production was the standard, people had hand-made, one of a kind goods.  These unique items showed us a glimpse into both the person that made them, and the person that possessed them.  After mass production, that kind of variety and personal touch no longer existed. If you bought a washing machine in the mid 1900s, chances are it was a big white box.  If you had shaving cream, it was white and came in a can.  If you had a phone, it was probably black with one loud, annoying ring.  Warhol�s Campbell soup cans and Brillo boxes illustrated this impersonal side of mass production, and how it reduced the consumer to a faceless wallet.  It also showed how ridiculous this notion was.  I believe it was Edie Sedgwick that said he was �turning the assembly line into a punch line".

	In today's world, however, things have changed.  We are seeing washing machines in not only white, but every other color in the spectrum.  There are razors for both him and her, with any number of blades to choose from.  We make cellular phones in a multitude of different shapes, sizes, and colors...and the �ring� can be replaced with practically any sound/song we desire.  People now sift through endless shelves and catalogs of differently styled goods, choosing each one carefully to custom fit the self-image they have created.  Mass production no longer destroys our identity, but rather sells it to us. This raises a very important and sensitive question�has mass production evolved to that complex of a level, or has our definition of one�s identity become that simple?  Personally, I lean towards the latter.