- Anti capitalism
standing point?
- Times Square –
The saturation of advertising in our existence – bombarded with advertising
that screams out at us that we should “do this”, “buy this”, and “behave like
this”.
- The saturation
of these images change how we think, act and judge other people.
- Even if you
aren’t overtly sucked in, the constant bombardment of it must reinforce a
message.
- In the 90’s
there was an average of 11,000 new TV commercials made every year. This has
grown hugely since Sky, Freeview etc..
- 25 million
print adverts are produced in Britain every year. These range from billboard to
magazines, to somebody selling their shed in a local newspaper.
- Wherever we go
we will be confronted with a message, convincing us to buy something.
- Advertising is
everywhere. Even on social media – it seeks us out.
- Karl Marx -1818 – 1883 – Communist
manifesto, 1848. Lots of theorists in the 20th C consider themselves
as Marxists. They analyse consumer culture on how he would. He was a theorist
who analysed the system we live as exploitative, unfair and de- humanising. He
suggested the possibility of a fairer society – Communism.
Critique of Consumer/ Commodity Culture
- Mass
consumerism – A society that organises itself around the buying and selling of
things. To constantly perpetuate, through the trade of commodities. It’s ideal
form came post WW2, in the mid century.
- Within consumer
culture, there is a tendency for people to start to construct their identities
through the things they buy, instead of their abilities or the things that the
do. People thing they can define themselves by the materialistic trappings that
they have gathered.
-Steward Ewen
defines this as “the commodity self”,
as oppose to the psycho analytic self.
- “Instead of
being identified by what the produce, people identify themselves through what
they consume” (Williamson 1991:13)
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5 things I buy As Commodities:
- Clothes
- Food
- Cocoa Butter
- Tobacco
- 35p Energy Drinks
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- Even the
essentials such as food have been branded, and give away something about your
personality. “I will only eat M & S instead of Tesco”.
- Fairtrade,
shoes, diamonds etc…
- Music – Bought
because it fits a style, or another band that fits that style. Maybe your
friends like bands?
- Even things
that are needed are bought because of something else.
- If the world
was autonomous, and people had no brands, how would judgements be made? People
would make more of themselves, and they would be judged as people, rather than
a collection of superficial signs of who they are.
-We invest a lot
of symbolic power in “things”. Through the purchase of these things, we will
access that symbolic power. More negatively, in our society, we cannot be
without consuming. You are nothing unless you own certain things, a hollow
existence.
Proof In Advertising – Symbolic
Associations
-“The Stanley Cooker” Vs “The Uncle Sam
Range”
- One is sold on its product, one is sold on
the idea of a “better life”.
-Adverts aren’t
successful on selling the virtues of things, but they are on attaching
connotations, and have become incredibly successful in doing this.
-CK One Commercial
-Sold on the idea
of style: “cool, edgy”. It associates you with buying the product. To buy it is
to feel as if you are in the same sphere as a sophisticated, glamorous, high
fashion group. Black and white – sophistication. Androgyny – to buy this is to
be metrosexual, modern sexuality. To be young.
- Perfume is
flavoured water. It’s made incredibly cheaply, but can be sold at a high price.
Advertising hides itself in a glamorous jacket.
- Largely through
publicity such as advertising that surround commodities, we are manipulated
into believing that to be popular, accepted or successful, we have to buy
things. In this sense, the reality is that we believe we need them. We need to buy
them to become the people we want to be. A system that revolves around the
creation of false needs.
-Advertising is
so successful in creating these false needs that we are in reality poorer, but
feel richer, and believe we are these people superficially. This sort of life
is a de-basement and shallow form of human existence. Because we believe we
achieve these things, we never feel exploited. We feel as if we have choices,
despite these being bankrupt.
-If people aren’t
buying, we have no method of social organisation. The system has to perpetuate
in order to function.
How does commodity culture perpetuate
false needs?
Aesthetic Innovation – Just in a re-design, an artificial need
is created. Fashion – relies on aesthetic innovation – “capitalism’s baby” – It
constantly comes up with new and innovative looks. It works on season cycles:
Winter collection, Summer etc…
Novelty – If something is brought out as “new”, we feel as if we
need the newest thing. If we don’t obtain this, we feel out of touch.
Planned Obsolescence – A peak in consumption that slowly dips
off, then a new product is introduced. The products are only made to last that
period. Washing machines, TV’s, usually after the guarantee runs out. Eg. Car’s aren’t made out of stainless steel
despite it costs the same price. A mechanism is always needed to prompt
consumption.
Commodity Fetishism – Advertising conceals its true nature
under capitalism. The reality of a thing is hidden, or it’s “history”. The
reality of that commodities production is not made obvious. Eg. Nike: Shoes
were made under Indonesian sweat shops, under forced conditions of labour. If
you understood you were in a system of exploitation during the consumption of
these things, you wouldn’t participate.
Instead of people
having one to one direct relationships, these are shown through the abstract of
a commodity. Eg. Instead of friendship being conducted immediate based on love
for each other as friends, more often than not these can me mediated and
distanced from something else.
Reification – A bi- product of commodity fetishism. The
commodities themselves start to appear as if they have human qualities, which
is why we have to buy them. Things that are meaningless can be seen as sexy and
sophisticated. A jacket is not cool, a person is cool. A person is sexy, not an
object, eg Red Lipstick.
There is an
inverse way in commodity culture, where people have uniform characteristics:
“builders”, “blondes”, as if they have the same characteristics as an object. A
weird perversion of human relationships.
Frankfurt School: (set up in 1923), but closed down by the
Nazis. Herbert Macuse, author of One Dimensional Man (1964) – Commodity
Culture manipulates us and makes us think one dimensionally – it stifles us and
prevents us living full, meaningful and creative lives.
John Berger: Ways of Seeing. – The last chapter is a
good critique of advertising and its culture. He draws comparisons between
where Art was the dominant visual culture and has it’s own effects on the world.
Now the dominant visual culture is the mass media, and art has little
significance.
The goddess was seen as mystical and fantasy.
The model has now replaced the metaphor of godliness. But it is different as
the model is a human, and if you don’t look like them then you are not good
enough and judged. There is no study of beauty, but an implied criticism. The
way we solve this is through consumption.
Art was always
served as the rich, and displayed the power of the wealth of the subject.
Advertising also shows trappings of greatness and sophistication, but shows we
don’t have them and that we need them.
An increased
culture of anxiety, where we feel like we need these things.
Advertising can be used in ingenuity and breaking stereotypes (such as the United Colours of Beneton adverts), but can also emphasise them.
Advertising potentially manipulates, not obviously. People feel anxious to buy things they don't really need. It makes us into obsessive consumers, and acts like an addiction. Shopping has now become a leisure activity. To buy is to enjoy yourself. The more you walk down the street, the completeness of owning what you have creates anxiety and a need.
-It encourages consumers, especially children to want products and brands that they cannot afford, causing feelings of inadequacy and envy.
-It uses images that encourages us to buy products and brands that have the potential to be unhealthy.
- It encourages unnecessary production and consumption, therefore depleting the world's resources and spoiling the environment.
-More and more meaningless products are discarded when "obsolete" - "Kleenex Culture". We don't use a handkerchief that lasts years, we prefer to buy cheap disposables.
Summary:
- Karl Marx - Marxist analysis used to critique advertising - eg. John Berger's Way of Seeing.
- Commodity Culture
- Commodity Fetishism
- Reification.
Advertising can be used in ingenuity and breaking stereotypes (such as the United Colours of Beneton adverts), but can also emphasise them.
Advertising potentially manipulates, not obviously. People feel anxious to buy things they don't really need. It makes us into obsessive consumers, and acts like an addiction. Shopping has now become a leisure activity. To buy is to enjoy yourself. The more you walk down the street, the completeness of owning what you have creates anxiety and a need.
-It encourages consumers, especially children to want products and brands that they cannot afford, causing feelings of inadequacy and envy.
-It uses images that encourages us to buy products and brands that have the potential to be unhealthy.
- It encourages unnecessary production and consumption, therefore depleting the world's resources and spoiling the environment.
-More and more meaningless products are discarded when "obsolete" - "Kleenex Culture". We don't use a handkerchief that lasts years, we prefer to buy cheap disposables.
Summary:
- Karl Marx - Marxist analysis used to critique advertising - eg. John Berger's Way of Seeing.
- Commodity Culture
- Commodity Fetishism
- Reification.