I know that there will be a variety of people at the party, and I also know that there will be a lot of different conversations to join. For instance, I read last week that Americans are growing in their fascination with pets. In fact, Americans own over 100 million dogs and cats, and sixty percent of Americans have some kind of pet ("The Great American Animal Farm," 58). Since Americans are spending at least $2.5 billion dollars per year on pets, it seems as if there is still enough money left to lavish on animals.

There will also probably be a group that wants to talk about esp, parapsychology, and reincarnation. 1974 has been a year that has had numerous television and other media events surrounding the paranormal. In fact, traditional academic research is now trying to make some scientific sense out of the para

"The Randalls: BestLaid Plans," Newsweek (30 December 1974):

Kutler, Stanley I. Looking For America. New York: Norton,

The Exorcist was just the type of movie most Americans seemed to want. Besides the occult, people wanted movies that were grand in scale, albeit "dark" like The Godfather, and The Parallax View. In both these movies, the results were obviously successful, yet also seemed to provide Americans with even more escape from the mundane ("Hollywood's Image Makers," 65).

"Hollywood's Image Makers." Newsweek (22 July 1974): 657.