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Why do we need to have shopping malls
Anne norton the signs of shopping published
Essay on why we need shopping malls
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In Anne Norton’s “The Signs of Shopping” she discusses shopping malls and their integration into American society. According to Norton, shopping allows individuals to purchase items they most identify with. And no better place offers a wider variety of stores, shops and boutiques than a suburban shopping mall. Norton claims that shopping isn’t just for material things, but it also helps build one’s identity. This is especially true for married women. In relationships, the women take care of the house and kids while the husband is the primary, or sole, earner in the family. But through shopping, especially at malls, women are able to spend time with their friends “in an activity marked as feminine, and enjoy it” (106). Norton is implying that …show more content…
shopping allows women to break free of their housewife lifestyle, even if it’s only for a brief period of time. She also mentions how certain brands or products are more desirable because they represent a lifestyle that peaks the consumer’s interest. One brand she mentions is Ralph Lauren. The recognizable logo of the polo player evokes feelings of “the broad lawns of Newport” or the Ivy League universities. People who find these feelings desirable will more likely purchase Polo brand products, as long as they can afford the hefty price tag. “Masters of Desire: The Culture of American Advertising,” written by Jack Solomon, discusses advertising and its influences in America.
Solomon argues that advertisements in America “manipulate us to buy us into buying their wares (543). He discusses how Americans crave status symbols, and because of that, American companies advertise and sell status symbol products at a high rate. (544) Status symbols like nice cars, nice homes, and dogs that fit in your purse are all seen by just flipping through a few channels on the television. “The object itself doesn’t really matter” but what does matter is the message it sends out to others, a symbol of power. (544) One specific brand that Solomon brings up is a commercial made by the car company Porsche. “‘If you were a car,’ the commercial concludes, “you’d be a Porsche’” (548). Companies produce higher class products because, as a society, American’s crave higher status. Manufacturers continue to thrive off of Americans’ desire to have nice …show more content…
things. Both Norton and Solomon touch on how certain brands and products are succeeding because they show off an upper-class lifestyle.
Norton does it by writing about Polo and Solomon talks about Porsche and also mentions Rolls-Royces and Beverly Hills mansions. But Norton is discussing how the Polo brand evokes a sense of wealth and upper class, whereas Solomon’s bit on Porsches is more about how advertisers are trying to manipulate the American public in ways such as people fantasizing about becoming a sports car. Their arguments build off of each other because Norton writes about how a specific brand reminds consumers of a high-class lifestyle and Solomon shows how high class brands like Porsche try and influence people to buy their car – by giving them a brief glance into a way of living
extravagantly. Rickie Fowler is one of the brightest young golfers on the PGA Tour. He is also one of the flashiest dressers on tour. His main clothing sponsor Puma, decks him out in every color of the rainbow for major tournaments such as The Masters and the U.S Open. Before Fowler, Puma as a golf brand was nearly nonexistent. Now one cannot visit a sporting goods store without seeing neon green, sky blue, and bright orange golf polos, hats, belts and pants influenced by Fowler’s stlye. His commercials on television show him sponsoring one brand or another, but he is always wearing his signature bright orange polo and pants. This relates to what Norton was saying because now, if consumers see the Puma logo on golf attire, they immediately think of Rickie Fowler and his assortment of bright outfits. Fowler’s actions also relate to Solomon’s argument because that is exactly what Puma wants to happen. They want you to see their golf brand and think of Fowler and his impressive golf game, and then buy the Puma gear not only to look good, but to play reminiscent of Fowler as well. Puma knows what they are doing. People buy Puma golf products because they want to be like Rickie, especially the younger generations who enjoy the showy clothing. But is it okay for brands like Puma (Fowler) or Nike (Tiger Woods) to target consumers with underlying beliefs that the consumer will play like Tiger or Fowler? Fowler is one of the best players in the world right now and Tiger is arguably one of the greatest golfers to ever play the game. One would have to train and practice in order to do so, and most casual golfers do not have the time or the talent to even come close to the skill sets of Fowler or Tiger. Fowler has come under fire since breaking into the PGA Tour for his flashy clothes, which some claim is him being cocky. But is dressing in bright colors or wearing well-respected brands like Polo cocky, or is it just helping shape one’s identity? One can argue that wearing expensive and flashy clothing gives someone an air of arrogance. They want others to think that they are wealthier or, in relation to Puma, want people to think about that person as a great golfer. Advertisers pursue consumers on a subconscious level and give them multiple reasons to buy a Ralph Lauren polo or bright orange Puma pants, regardless of the high price.
In “On Reading a Video Text,” Robert Scholes discusses the idea of cultural reinforcement within television commercials. Scholes claims that television commercials remind viewers of their social whereabouts and displays their association with society. Commercials are played year around and people have the chance to view and form their own values and beliefs based on what they see. For instance, Scholes blatantly describes to his audience that the Budweiser commercial from the 80s focuses on more than just advertising their product; they try selling a message. Two and a half decades later Budweiser is at it again. In a recent Super Bowl commercial they focus in on a similar aspect, the American Dream. Only this time it is a little more
Americans have long since depended on a falsified ideology of idealized life referred to as the American dream. The construct of this dream has become more elusive with the emergence of popular cultural advertisements that sell items promoting a highly gendered goal of achieving perfection. In “Masters of Desire: The Culture of American Advertising,” Jack Solomon states that ads are creating a “symbolic association between their products and what is most coveted by the consumer” to draw on the consumer’s desire to outwardly express high social standing (544). The American dream has sold the idea of equality between genders, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds, but advertisements have manipulated this concept entirely through representations
People are often deceived by some famous brands, which they will buy as useless commodities to feel they are distinctive. People require brands to experience the feeling of being special. People spend their money to have something from famous brands, like a bag from Coach or Louis Vuitton which they think they need, yet all that is just people’s wants. Steve McKevitt claims that people give more thought on features or brands when they need to buy a product, “It might even be the case that you do need a phone to carry out your work and a car to get around in, but what brand it is and, to a large extent, what features it has are really just want” (McKevitt, 145), which that means people care about brands more than their needs. Having shoes from Louis Vuitton or shoes that cost $30 it is designed for the same use.
Have you ever seen an advertisement for a product and could immediately relate to the subject or the product in that advertisement? Companies that sell products are always trying to find new and interesting ways to get buyers and get people’s attention. It has become a part of our society today to always have products being shown to them. As claimed in Elizabeth Thoman’s essay Rise of the Image Culture: Re-Imagining the American Dream, “…advertising offered instructions on how to dress, how to behave, how to appear to others in order to gain approval and avoid rejection”. This statement is true because most of the time buyers are persuaded by ads for certain products.
Although Shopping, written by Joyce Carol Oates, is fiction, the story portrays a relationship that represents many parents and children have in real life. The child is growing up and wants to spread her wings. However, the parent usually does not want to let go. Arguments and the awkward silences are frequent. The seemingly useless attempts to connect with the son or daughter are also frequent. Yet, what the child does not realize is that no matter how old she may get, she is still the parent s child. The mother is not going to forget how precious her little baby is, yet that is what the mother does in this story. Oates uses references to pregnancy to portray the relationship between mother and daughter. Mrs. Dietrich remembers what it was like to have her little baby. Through shopping, she tries to relate to her teenage daughter in the same cherished way.
...ife magazine from 1951, the advertisement for general motors shows a bunch of cars in what appears to be a wealthy town, and says that the general motor is the key to a richer life. Another advertisement from 1951, pictures a red shiny car with a woman in the background who seems to be wealthy based on her clothes, and at the bottom, it says that a beautiful dream can come true. What the car advertisements are saying about class is that the wealthy are the ones that own these enjoyable materialistic objects, because no where in the advertisements are there people who appear to be poor; the advertisements only include people who seem to be wealthy or at least middle class. The advertisements are trying to express, that by owning one of these cars it can give one status and power. Fundamentally, the companies are trying to sell the lifestyle that the car can give.
In the introduction, de Grazia lays the groundwork for why we should be concerned with how gender impacts the study of consumption. Simplistic notions of naturally or inevitably identifying the female sex with shopping sprees are challenged in favor of a deeper inquiry into the assumptions revolving around AMr. Breadwinner@ and AMrs. Consumer@(3). Instead of merely debating whether consumption is liberating or oppressive, these essays are concerned with the study of consumption in terms of the construction of gender roles, class relations, the family, and the state.
While some commercials may seem like they are trying too hard and essentially forcing consumers to buy their product, most advertisements have the same approach, hegemony. Instead of straight out saying “buy my product or we will hunt you down”, instead, companies will take their audience into consideration and move forward by attracting that specific group. Wall Street, for example, targets undergraduates because they can be easily persuaded and manipulated as most of them are still assimilating into the transition from high school to college; So, everything is new and open to interpretation. By exposing students to the lavishness and extravagance of an investment banker’s lifestyle, investment bankers can hook students and leave them yearning for more, as “they quickly become used to the respect, status, and impressive nods from peers” (Ho 179). Like getting addicted to a drug, these students are dependent on inclusion of investment banking when exposed. Because this is so ubiquitous, it is hard to notice. It is like the breathing, it is only when a person directs their attention to it that they start noticing it. This can be related to hegemony, it plays a role in a person’s daily life, but it is only when something goes wrong that a person will start investigating what went wrong. This is seen in Reading Lolita in Tehran, where Nafisi and a group of her
Advertising is so prominent in American culture, and even the world at large, that this media form becomes reflective of the values and expectations of the nation’s society at large.
Lots of people at a high level in society use the products they own to represent their social status. As what Solomon says in his article, “advertisers have been quick to exploit the status signals that belong to body language as well.” (169) Advertising gives them a good chance to show their material success, and the advertised products make them more of individuality. For example, Michael Jordan owns a Ferrari 512 which is a super sports car with an unaffordable price. Ferrari’s advertising tells the world how excellent and expensive the car is, so that his car could shows his wealth and success in his career and also his energetic and positive personalities. Being advertised, Jordan’s Ferrari is not just a vehicle but a symbol of his identity. There is no doubt that this advertised car makes Jordan much more of
Mall appreciators argue that the malls are centers of entertainment and pleasure for mall visitors. George Lewis in “The mall as Refuge”, asserts that “kids come to look around, meet and make friends, stay away from home and hang out- because there is nowhere else to go” (1990, P. 309). He believes that teenagers go to malls to socialize and to escape from the troubles in their lives and at home. Therefore, malls serve as a second home for kids. Similarly, Lewis says that with the controlled environment of malls, with the security and the central location of malls as a good reason why many retired, and old people visit malls. Here they get to meet up with old friends, exercise, eat out, and share experiences with their old friends. These two groups as Lewis claims are misfits in society because; the world considers them as unproductive. Jon Pahl also ...
First off, advertisements aim to deceive United States inhabitants into thinking that they can move up the social stratification. Jack Solomon, a semiotician depicts, “Americans, dream of rising above the crowd, of attaining a social summit beyond the reach of ordinary citizens. And therein lies the paradox” (Solomon 402). This connotes that, without inequality there is no such thing as being at the top in terms of social status. Advertisements create the falsehood that in America anyone can make their dreams as far as owning luxurious goods to be considered part of the upper class, a reality. The Chevrolet advertisement printed in red, white, and blue ink with the word “HOPE” printed under the image of
Advertising in American culture has taken on the very interesting character of representing our culture as a whole. Take this Calvin Klein ad for example. It shows the sexualization of not only the Calvin Klein clothing, but the female gender overall. It displays the socially constructed body, or the ideal body for women and girls in America. Using celebrities in the upper class to sell clothing, this advertisement makes owning a product an indication of your class in the American class system. In addition to this, feminism, and how that impacts potential consumer’s perception of the product, is also implicated. Advertisements are powerful things that can convey specific messages without using words or printed text, and can be conveyed in the split-second that it takes to see the image. In this way, the public underestimates how much they are influenced by what they see on television, in magazines, or online.
In the last nine weeks, I have been working on Cadillac’s commercial for its first electronic car as my object of study. Cadillac is a luxury car manufacture company and its target consumer includes politicians and middle class and upper class people all over the world. The commercial of 2014 ELR series is a debatable advertisement in America and it has hit 70,095 views on the YouTube. Through my analysis on its connotative and denotative meanings and a further study on how this video is related to American people’s consumerism and cultures and how the construction of general gender roles is formatted in this commercial. There are two questions having aroused my interest in order to continue my research based on this type of commercial:
Herrmann, A. (2002). Shopping for identities: gender and consumer culture. Feminist studies: FS, 28(3), 539.