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emerging consumer culture
emerging consumer culture
Essay on consumer culture
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Consumer culture has developed over the years for many different reasons such as the demise of the social class and embourgeoisement which are both key factors in capitalism and has therefore led to the argument that consumer society merely reflects the rise of capitalism which I plan to discuss within this assignment. The origins of consumer culture have been discussed by Grant McCracken (1998) who argues that there is minimal agreement in regards to the origins of consumer society. McCracken took on the viewpoint that it would not be beneficial to look at a specific point in time in which consumer culture arose but to primarily focus on patterns of changes within culture and how these pattern of changes led to the reformation of society. McCracken identifies three crucial changes in history which elaborate the development of modern consumer culture. During the sixteenth century and at a time of Elizabethan politics Queen Elizabeth I introduced the use of objects to her highly ceremonial court. The use of objects within her court meant that without her actually directly communicating with her subjects she could use the objects to communicate her authority and power to others. The second would have been the massive increase in the involvement within the marketplace during the eighteenth century in Europe. This signified a change in consumer culture because it meant that people from different social backgrounds could all get involved in the marketplace due to the high influence of the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution caused the marketplace to expand and therefore created a huge space for consumer choice. This also meant that members from the middle and lower class began to recognise the social significance ... ... middle of paper ... ...furt School. However McCracken and McKendrick show how historical examples relate to the rise of the consumer society. Works Cited Arato, A & Gephardt, E. (1982) The essential Frankfurt school reader, London: Continuum Publishing Brewer, J. Mckendrick, N. Plumb, J. (1982) The Birth of a consumer society, London: Harper Collins Benjamin, W. & Doherty, B & Jennings.W.M & Levin.Y. T .(2008) The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility, and Other Writings on Media : Harvard Univeristy Press Marx, K (1849). Wage Labour and Capital. Germany: Neue Rheinische Zeitung. Accessed at: http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/wage-labour/index.htm accessed on 27/03/2011 McCracken, G. (1989) Culture and Consumption: New Approaches to the Symbolic Character of Consumer Goods and Activities, Bloomington IN: Indiana University Press
The chosen article is Two Cheers for Consumerism by James Twitchell. In this article he talks about consumerism, commercialism, and materialism. He argues the stand point of consumers and the role they live by every day. In other hands the critics, Academy, gives the consumers and overview description to their consumers.
The Sex of Things concludes with selected bibliography by Ellen Furlough, highlighting gender and consumption in historical perspective. The bibliography includes histories of consumption and consumer culture as well as theoretical contributions and contains a number of categories rooted in feminist research on consumption. These categories include: sites of consumption, marketing and design , spectatorship and reception, production of representations, domesticity, sexuality, appearance, and politics and ideologies of consumption. Each section ranges historically from the Middle Ages to the present. Unfortunately, the bibliography is dominated by Western perspectives; only a few of the sources are non-Western in orientation.
The massive amount of consumerism and materalistic ideology came from the decade of the 1980s and proved to be the time of wanting to have luxrious items throughout the daily routine of being an American citizen. The American culture of massive consumerism of the 1980s was influenced by the elements of the American Dream, the iconic pop stars and events, the deep recession troubling the lives of many, and the nationalistic pride that was shown through the actions of recreations and sports. Not only was the 1980s influenced by the culture of consumerism, but it impacted the future generations to only want to become a bigger and better version of the 1980s.
America’s current standard of living is going to cause our demise. Consumerism is a problem throughout Americans culture since mass production began in the late nineteenth century. The obsession with consumerism has led to mindless wastes of resources, a diseased society and economic instability. Rick Wolff, a professor of economics at University of Massachusetts, states “economics of capitalism spread consumerism—now uncontrolled, ecologically harmful, and fiscally disastrous—throughout the United States”. Wolff’s viewpoint on consumerism aligns with mine. Believing that an economy based on promoting endless consumption is volatile and unsustainable. Consumerism can be analyzed and seen to be embedded by corporations and politicians.
The consumeristic society of Brave New World, not so different from our own culture, began with mass production and caused a shift in where people sought meaning in their lives; this consumerism allowed for stability but took away
According to Slater (1997:26), ‘consumer culture is, in principle, universal and impersonal’. The notion behind this is that consumer culture is believed to be something that is in general for everyone and not specifically personal to you. The variance between production and consumption is growing larger for the reason that, individuals would now rather consume an item that is already available to them instead of producing items themselves. People would now work in their jobs to earn money just so they can spend it on items that someone else has produced as their job. It is a process that goes round in a circle; work, leisure, work, leisure. Slater (1997:8) also mentions that, ‘consumption is always and everywhere a cultural process, but ‘consumer culture’—a culture of consumption—is unique and specific: it is the dominant mode of cultural reproduction developed in the west over the course of modernity’. This explains the concept of meaning and how there are meaning of things in the uses of consumption. Things involve meaning for the reason that consumption is cultural. Meaning is created through the cultural val...
Jameson, Fredric. "Postmodernism and Consumer Society". The Norton Anthology of Theory & Criticis. 2001. Reprint. New York: Norton & Company, 2010. 1846-1860. Print.
With the rise of industrialization, globalization, and mass production, the manufacturing productivity has been dramatically increased and accordingly the availability of consumer goods. And with the rise of the mass media, various products have been targeted on broad groups of consumers. Consumerism, which is propelled by a system of mass production and high levels of consumption, has been one of the themes in art works from twentieth century till now.
There are a few number of people that believes counter culture does not exists anymore. They claim that it is now merely a commodity that can be bought and sold like any other product. Some others disagree. Personally, I agree with the former group. This piece of writing will analyse this statement of whether counter culture is only a commodity or not. First I’m going to explain how counter culture starts and what is consumerism. Then I’m going to analyse how it is commodified and the connection between consumerism. Then I will discuss how the consumerism affect counter cultural group’s lifestyle in the past. Then I’m going to give a few examples of different counter cultural people and groups from different countries and I will state my counter-argument. Finally I will conclude my argument and state my opinion on this.
However, the advertisers promoting these value and goods are not organizations, corporations, or governing powers, they are ordinary people. Annie White’s interactions with her Jamaican family living in America dictated the values she associated with American goods. According to White, many of her peers believed that owning any American goods meant an increase in status, because they saw America as a country which represented wealth and success (A. White, personal communication, October 15, 2016). As a result, many people rely on commodities and goods to indicate status. In his article, “Conspicuous Consumption” (1899), Thorstein Veblen suggests that “consumption of higher quality goods denotes his [or her] evidence of wealth. Being able to consume in due quantity and quality becomes an indication of inferiority” (Veblen, 2000, 190). In other words, consuming American goods– to indicate wealth and establish a social hierarchy in which they have the highest prestige over
Begin by describing the cultural context that will serve as the focus of your project. What is the historical relevance of the context? How did the current culturally accepted forms of consumption behavior become established over time (if available)? Or, if the trend you are focusing on is more recent, describe how it has evolved over the past five (5) years. You will be expected to pull quantitative research to support your insights.
Many theorists suggest that consumption is correlated to the identity of an individual, that by purchasing goods from the mass market, it enables us to visibly establish our position within society. This differs from previous times in which a range of factors such as family histories, character and personal achievements played a significant role (Gabriel and Lang, 2006). Instead, there is the idea that the consumer has the ability to gain pleasure over objects, not just solely by the manipulation of objects, but through the degree of control over their meaning. The degree of control is developed and achieved through imagination and provides greater possibilities of pleasure experiences. This suggests that modern consumption can be seen as device that enables individuals to ‘dream’ about the desires they wish to fulfill. (Campbell, 1989: 79) (Cited in Gabirel & Lang, 2006)
Many people become victims of consumerism, often aspiring to unrealistic heights or being unable to sustain the financial implications of passive consumerism. The difference between essential consumerism and euphoric consumerism is a very fine line that can be easily crossed over if control is not maintained.
James, Fredric. 1988. "Postmodernism and Consumer Society." In Studies in Culture: An Introductory Reader, ed. Ann Gray and Jim McGuigan. London: Arnold, 1997, pp. 192-205.
Sassatelli, R. (2007). Consumer Culture: History, Theory and Politics, London: Sage, Page 30, Page 126, Page 132, Page 133