Is Our Consumer Culture Leading To Disaster

881 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Consumer culture problems

Andres Maduro
Suffolk University
P.AD 201
Feb 27, 2014
Social Change Video

Consumed – Is Our Consumer Culture Leading to Disaster? Is a thought-provoking documentary that reveals the astonishing secrets of the human mind that contribute to the destruction of the world. The documentary explores the issue of consumerism, which has become significant in the recent times yet many people are not aware of its harmful consequences. This documentary uses theories of evolutionary psychology to highlight the issue of consumerism, which is affecting man because of his desire to satisfy his insatiable appetite. The psychology theories used in the documentary help to understand human psychology and the modern society. The documentary mainly targets to address consumers, with the goal of enlightening them on the adverse effects associated with consumerism, which is deemed to be caused by the deep-seated secrets of the mind. The populations covered in this documentary are in England and the United States.
The documentary shows that by understanding the mechanisms of our brains, we are then able to understand our culture. I have learnt that once man has satisfied his most basic needs, such as food, shelter, sanitation and medication, he moves on to satisfy other needs such as sexual and social needs. To satisfy the sexual and social needs, man relies on the use of language. Man obsesses a lot more on these two later issues, than anything else once he has satisfied his basic needs. In a bid to seek status and appreciation from others, man uses products, which serve as symbols that help to define his position in the society. This means that products have become a significant way through which man promotes himself beyond language or talking. Th...

... middle of paper ...

...f consumerism, discussed some of its consequences and provided a way forward for people to change their behaviors and attitudes toward consumerism, which is highly detrimental to the society.
Through this documentary, consumers should appreciate the fact that consumerism is a scheme by marketers and advertisers to sell their products and maximize on their profits. I have learnt that consumers need to shift their focus from consumerism, especially of the cheap products to products that are more sustainable in a move to control the negative effect that consumerism has on the environment. This documentary has enabled me to comprehend the magnitude of the problem, including the numerous negative consequences of consumerism, which places me in a position where I could have a positive influence that could possibly bring about the change required to mitigate the problem.

Show More
Related

  • An Analysis of the Article, Two Cheers for Consumerism by James Twitchell.

    603 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Graham Hill Consumerism

    2231 Words  | 5 Pages

    Graham Hill, an entrepreneur that values environmental sustainability, narrates his negative experiences with consumerism after selling an internet consultant company, for so much money that it made his head spin, in “Living With Less. A Lot Less.” He begins by talking about his current minimalist lifestyle, and then jumps back in time to the late ‘90s, right after he sold his business. He claims that the stuff he bought with his newfound wealth seemed to be controlling his life, and that he became more stressed out as time went on.

    Read More

  • Consumerism and Faith

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    Consumerism is the idea that influences people to purchase items in great amounts. Consumerism makes trying to live the life of a “perfect American” rather difficult. It interferes with society by replacing the normal necessities for life with the desire for things with not much concern for the true value of the desired object. Children are always easily influenced by what they watch on television. Swimme suggests in his work “How Do Kids Get So Caught Up in Consumerism” that although an advertiser’s objective is to make money, the younger generation is being manipulated when seeing these advertisements. Before getting a good understanding of a religion, a child will have seen and absorbed at least 30,000 advertisements. The amount of time teenagers spend in high school is lesser than the amount of advertisement that they have seen (155). The huge amount of advertisements exposed to the younger generation is becomi...

    Read More

  • Lessons from Walden Two

    1268 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the most hazardous aspects of our society is that we are a consumer society. People are driven to spend money; the advertising industry has become a very successful and profitable industry by effectively convincing people to spend money. Many people have more money and possessions than they will ever need, while many more people will never have enough. People are driven to make as much money as possible so they can belong to a higher social class.

    Read More

  • American Materialism

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    The advancing American market and excessive, yet deceptive advertisements, leads to the nation’s consumerism culture that challenges our well-being spiritually and economically. As stated in his essay, Henry David Thoreau underscores the corrosiveness of materialism and the continuous toil to the individual's humanity and spirit...

    Read More

  • The Story Stuff

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion, everything that we have learned this quarter has shown the truth about the current state of consumerism. That it is a state that has been created by a lie, and has grown with lies, and it is a state of existance that stomps on the human race each day with a huge iron toe boot. And I believe that this state will be changed into a perfect state of being, a state that will not view humans as expendable resources, but as living and breathing people.

    Read More

  • Consumption and Identity

    1714 Words  | 4 Pages

    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)

    Read More

  • Relation Between Advertising and Our Consumer Culture

    2541 Words  | 6 Pages

    Sassatelli, R. (2007). Consumer Culture: History, Theory and Politics, London: Sage, Page 30, Page 126, Page 132, Page 133

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Green Advertising

    1155 Words  | 3 Pages

    The power of “green” advertising lies in its sheer ubiquity and its particularly charismatic approach to manipulation. It feels good to support a cause, and who could possibly be (openly) against the environment? Because of its broad manipulation coefficient, “green” advertising--advertising that panders to our desire to make the planet clean again--is making a comeback. Innumerable advertisements still contain the sublime appeal of helping the planet. Green still

    Read More

  • Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism and Consumer Society

    1828 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • An Inconvenient Truth: The Destruction Of The World

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    Humans have been destroying the planet since we were able to stand on two legs. As a society, we need to work to reverse these terrible effects that our existence has on the planet. Sustainability is one way to begin reversing these effects, while still living our daily lives. In 2006, Al Gore presented his documentary, “ An Inconvenient Truth”, as a way to show the world the evidence behind global warming, climate change and the destruction of our planet. This documentary shocked the world. It was clear that changes needed to be made, but the destruction was more intense than previously thought. SInce this revelation in 2006, companies have tried to cut down on their greenhouse emissions, as well as offered sustainable products to their customers. Through a debate of morals and

    Read More

  • Capitalism And Consumerism

    1427 Words  | 3 Pages

    Firms under capitalism are often incentivized to promote consumerism. Capitalism is necessary for firms to survive and thrive. Firms under capitalism depend on consumerism for their companies to do well and make the most profit possible. Consumerism is interesting because of the environmental impacts (that lead to some of the environmental problems we see in the world today) and because of the class implications. An example of consumerism is “McMansions” which are large houses, much bigger than necessary for healthy, appropriate living. There is a psychological aspect of consumerism because it stems from a response to social pressures. There is a high consumption rate in the United States. People may feel as though if they do not have a standard of living that feels “necessary,” then they may be failures as people. The consumerist culture of the US can be defined by the phrase “Keeping up with the Joneses.” People are always trying to 1-up each other with the things they own, the cars they drive, and the properties they have. There are consumption bias and pressure to become a hyper consumer built into capitalism. Consumption bias is the tendency towards promoting consumerism. Firms often advertise their products to promote their product, which leads to Americans being exposed to constant streams of advertisement. There is even an entire industry devoted to advertising and marketing. For example, the MasterCard ads have families on the beach having a great time, with the MasterCard symbol plastered on the page as if the company is selling some happiness. As far as consumerism culture, there are consequences. There are now new levels of consumption norms, and it gets harder and harder to know when one has arrived at an “acceptable level of consumption.” Consumption norms differ between working class/middle class and upper class society. In high-end stores, there is no need for price slashing whereas working

    Read More

  • What Are Sigmund Freud's Contributions To Society

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    Consumerism has grown quickly and effectively. It has become so integrated into our modern world that it is no longer singled out. Individuals revolve their life around material objects and repeatedly fall for commercials urging them to purchase unnecessary objects. This system was spearheaded by Bernays. All of our consumer needs are tailored to ensure they are overly fulfilled. A simple task such as going grocery shopping, has been micromanaged by companies; they can pay for product placement. Holiday shopping, sales, blowout events, etc. are all ways to trick the individual into the consumer spiral. Commercials and advertisements find ways to appeal to our so called repressions and bring out our craving to obtain that object. The film explained that most things are attributed to sexual desire, so an example is a perfume commercial with an oversexualized ideal of a woman or man. (The Century of the Self) The economy is only one of the ways we are limited. Freud’s ideas have worked both on an individual level and on a larger

    Read More

  • Essay On Greenwashing

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    The more experience you have putting these tips into practice, the more they will become instinct. And by making informed decisions and ensuring that the product’s claims are accurate, you can feel good about the choices you make and their positive impact on the environment. If more greenwashing means that marketers are increasingly responding to the demand for sustainable products, this could be a positive trend. If left unchecked, greenwashing creates significant risks. Consumers will give up on marketers and manufacturers, and give up on the hope that their spending might be put to good use. Recent developments suggest companies should be prepared for the new wave of measures. Greenwashing has become a buzz word for consumers and the media. Unfortunately, the rules are not always clear when it comes to responsible environmental marketing.

    Read More

  • Essay On Recycling Attitude

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    Joung and Park-Poaps (2013) concentrated their research on university students in America; their study of 232 people was based overwhelmingly on young, Caucasian (87.5%), females (91.8%). (Joung and Park-Poaps 2013). Their demographic characteristics could suggest a similarity in upbringing and background, which could in turn mean they have learned similar consumer behaviours as studies have shown young children learn their attitudes and behaviours from their peers and family members (Ward 1974).

    Read More

More about Is Our Consumer Culture Leading To Disaster

Open Document