...The Story of Stuff: A Review The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute film aimed at raising awareness on the dangers of excessive human consumption. Presented by Annie Leonard – an activist for consumerism and environmental sustainability (Story Of Stuff Project, 2013) – this video provides a simple yet well researched explanation on the ‘behind-the-scenes’ management of the life-cycle of common items consumed daily in the United States. From mining and manufacturing to distribution, consumption and waste, this presentation takes viewers on a journey to explore many missing fragments that are hardly ever reported in the system (Leonard, 2009). Watched by over 12 million people worldwide, and translated into over 15 languages (Roosevelt, 2010), Leonard has received both applauds and criticisms for her unapologetic condemnation of humans (especially Americans) – for their excessive consumption and wasteful habits – and her rather conspicuous allegation of the devious relationship between the government and private corporations. One significant issue that Leonard (2009) presented in the video was that, due to human activity, natural resources around the world are rapidly diminishing. Natural resources such as minerals and trees are constantly mined and felled to satisfy men’s insatiable appetite for more goods. The presentation revealed that in the last decade, one-third of the world’s resource base has depleted. Furthermore, it is said that only four percent...
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...Abstract This essay employs a visual analysis to compare and contrast Andy Warhol’s ‘Blue Marilyn’ with Roy Lichtenstein’s ‘In the Car’ in association to the postmodernist theme of Consumer Culture and more explicitly, the introduction of Pop Art, born from post-war consumerist societies. The argument refers to eight scholarly research sources, three of which are scholarly journal articles. POSTMODERNITY AND CONSUMERISM: WIT, INVENTION AND THE AFTERMATH OF WAR Research Statement: Using a visual analysis, compare and contrast Andy Warhol’s Blue Marilyn with Roy Lichtenstein’s In the Car in association to the postmodernist theme of Consumer culture and more explicitly the introduction of Pop Art; born through post-war materialisation. The Postmodernist Cannon of the latter twentieth and twenty-first Century Art is a crucial anthology, signifying radical and innovative movements that differentiated from Modernist art practices. It signifies a period of time whereby practitioners sought to contradict the rebellious experimentational aspects of Modernist art through re-visioning and revitalising media to fit the metamorphosing culture. Incorporated within the Cannon were several movements that were heavily influenced by the rise of Consumer cultures, dictated by the post-war explosion of advertisement in the 1950’s, compelling practitioners to manipulate and transform their style in either awe of the perpetually adapting society or in rebellion towards the mass produced...
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...Introduction The role of hyper-consumerism on culture as a source of control and power relations has been discussed by a variety of scholarly voices. Among the most prominent is Michel Foucault, who described the various ways that consumer markets circumscribe public spaces, placing important distinctions between class members. In particular, Foucault discusses heterotopia – the public space which carries both physical and psychological gravity. For Foucault, public spaces are characterized by existing without truly existing. The heterotopia serves as a metaphor for a larger context while having the appearance and characteristics of other everyday spaces. Tyndall takes this notion a step further by developing social rules that are attached to consumer places, such as malls and shopping districts (Tyndall, 2009). This version of consumer-driven rules – culled from qualitative research and personal interviews – depicts a new notion of public-ness that is less egalitarian than ever before. It is a version of public space that is not entirely open to the public. Baker adds to this perspective by historicizing the commercialization of public space, dating the use widespread use of public space for advertising purposes to before the dawn of the 20th century (Baker, 2007). This argument inextricably links the notion of “culture” with “consumerism”, and sets the stage for the potential for access to public spaces to be consumed, or purchased. Finally, Klingle underscores this...
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...The Attitude of Youth Populations toward Globalization What exactly are the youth views on globalization? First let’s start by defining globalization. Globalization refers to increasing global connectivity, integration and interdependence in the economic, social, technological, cultural, political, and ecological spheres. Globalization is an umbrella term and is perhaps best understood as a unitary process inclusive of many subprocesses that are increasingly binding people and the biosphere more tightly into one global system (Wikipedia, 2007). Next let’s verify the term youth. Youth is "The time of life when one is young; especially: a: the period between childhood and maturity b: the early period of existence, growth, or development" (Wikipedia, 2007). “Globalizing issues have effects on four major areas of international relations theory and practice. First, the interconnectedness of the plethora of subissues within health, environmental, and human rights issues affect international bargaining” (Mingst, 2004). These issues are talked about daily in the news. Often times when health issues are brought up it is related to youth whether it is HIV, STD’s, or just simple obesity. Often times these issues when viewed at by youth are things that do not affect them in actuality it affect them more so than adults. “Second, these globalizing issues themselves may be the source of conflict” (Mingst). With this being said it is evident why the world goes through epidemics...
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...Beyond Consumerism: New Historical Perspectives on Consumption Author(s): Frank Trentmann Source: Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 39, No. 3 (Jul., 2004), pp. 373-401 Published by: Sage Publications, Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3180734 . Accessed: 21/03/2011 08:15 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at . http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=sageltd. . Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. Sage Publications, Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access...
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...November 18, 2014 Consumerism: Gotta Buy ‘Em All It is the day after Thanksgiving, known colloquially to Americans as “Black Friday”. Hundreds of thousands of shoppers line up outside of department stores, anxiously waiting to get their hands on the latest of gadgets and gizmos to purchase for families, friends, and loved ones for the holiday season. Many of the retailers in America have offered attractive promotional sales on this day to attract high traffic and volume in their stores. Realizing this, consumers in America who take a part in Black Friday see this as a fight to the death. This “fight to the death” literally came true in the year 2013, as one death and fifteen injuries resulted from the madness of the shopping event, according to BlackFridayDeathCount.com. On the flip side for businesses, Americans spent an average of $407.02 from the Thursday through Sunday that bookends Black Friday, as stated by the National Retail Federation. This topsy-turvy day recognized by a vast majority of American culture has been seen by many as the yearly peak of the country’s ever-increasing trend towards consumerism. Consumerism, the belief that goods give meaning to individuals and their roles in society, has presented itself to Americans in both a positive and negative spirit. On the one hand, consumer spending drives the economy, gives consumers a vast myriad of retailers to choose from, and renders shopping as a social experience. On the other hand, consumerism can render...
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... Subject: CONSUMERISM Working Title: consumerısm and the mıllenıum generatıon INTRODUCTION Topic: how does consumerısm affect the mıllennıum generatıon? Definition/Explanation: consumerısm : the state of an advanced industrial society in which a lot of goods are bought and sold • disapproving when too much attention is given to buying and owning things (taken from dictionary.cambridge.org) Millenium generation : The millennials have different characteristics than any generation before them and in order to serve them better, K-12 education and colleges and universities are having to change the way they do business. The millennials have grown up in a society that is very different than any group before them. They have been plugged into technology since they were babies, are a safe generation, are the first generation for which Hispanics/Latinos will be the largest minority group instead of African Americans and have the most educated mothers of any generation before them. They are the most scheduled generation ever, are true multi-taskers, expect to have 6-8 careers in their lifetime and are attracted to diverse environments. Taken from http://www.cpcc.edu/millennial Disagreement about this issue: Thesis: although some people may disagree, consumerism has affected the millenium generation negatively by damaging their physical health,damaging their psychology and damaging their relationships. BODY 1. Argument supportıng your opinion: consumerısm affects youth...
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...Mark Cruz Professor Wood ENGL 1302-316 16 February 2015 Essay One: Theme Analysis of “The world is too much with us” by William Wordsworth In the poem “The world is too much with us” written by William Wordsworth, the speaker is almost condemning the human race as a whole for not appreciating the everlasting beauty of the nature around us. There was many themes in this poem but the one that was most prominent was the relationship between man and nature. The reader is given the feeling of guilt and I believe he was trying to open eyes of those that could not see this beauty. Wordsworth’s wordplay and metaphors in his poem reveals the importance of nature and the lack of appreciation we give it. The speaker in the poem wastes little time to begin to show his frustration with those that “lay waste our powers” (2). We are “Getting and spending” too much and are so caught up with consumerism that we are blind to the world around us (2). We spending all of our time and money on material things and are so selfish to not enjoy what beauty nature can give us for free. Wordsworth’s wordplay shows the faults that we possess and is hoping to change our ways. Even though this poem was written more than 200 years ago, Wordsworth still presents an issue that can relate to today. The speaker continues his rant and expresses his frustration even further when stating, “Little we see in Nature that is ours; / We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!” (3-4). People have taken...
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...GERMAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO - MARKETING DEPARTMENT Antecedents To Consumerism The Role Of Marketing By Nabila Youssri El-Assar 22-3384 To Dr. Noha El-Bassiouny On 10/12/2012 1 Literature Review Outline 1. Introduction 2. Consumerism in perspective 2.1. Definitions 2.1.1. First stream of thought: Benign Definitions 2.1.1.1. 2.1.1.2. 2.1.1.3. First definition: Manipulative Techniques Second definition: Customer is King Third definition: Globalization 2.1.2. Second stream of thought: Destructive Definition 2.1.2.1. Evolution Of The Consumer Culture 2.2. Implications Of The Benign Consumerism Definitions On Marketing Strategy 3. The Consumer Culture And The Consumption Society 3.1. Distinguishing Definition 3.2. Conditions For A Consumption Society 3.3. Unhealthy Pillars/Consequences Of The Consumption Society 3.3.1. Materialism 3.3.2. Compensatory consumption: The "Shopaholic" Phenomenon 3.3.3. I Shop Therefore I Am 3.3.4. Living Beyond Your Means 4. Antecedents To The Unhealthy Consumption Pillars 4.1. Intrinsic/Personal Influences 4.1.1. Personality Characteristics: 4.1.1.1. 4.1.1.2. 4.1.1.3. Self-Monitoring Personality Trait Innovativeness, Fashion Orientation And Opinion Leadership Ethical orientation 4.1.2. Psychological characteristics 4.1.2.1. 4.1.2.2. 4.1.2.3. 4.1.2.4. Co-morbidity and the Joint cycle of compulsive consumption Obsessive thoughts and Risk Taking Propensity Low self esteem Dealing with Negative Emotions and life challenges 4.2. Societal...
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...5S\~t Controversial advertising has become more significant. Discuss in the context of the rise of so-called Post Fordism. (Figure 1) The two adverts depicted above highlight a development in what we have (as a nation) come to consider 'controversial'; the term itself refers to "A debate or dispute on a matter of... contrary opinions. 11f These adverts (Figure 1 and Figure 2) have this in common, at the time of each of these campaigns a flurry of controversy shrouded the message that the advert was aiming to present. In 1969 Saatchi and Saatchi presented a poster (on behalf of the Health Education Council) depicting a pregnant man (Figure 1) challenging the nation, particularly men, to think differently when taking precautions of a sexual nature. When one considers the current social issues at the time, the significance of the controversy increases; this campaign was rife during the early stages of the Women's Liberation Movement at which point such acts as the 'Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Act' were coming into effect thus guarantying the wife a share of the family assets on dissolution of the marriage 2 , entailing that historical context leads the advert to carry stronger social implications then at first may appear particularly from a 21 st century perspective. This Post-Fordist society highlighted J11 SS\~\ that "one threat of [this] consumer culture was the way in which is appeared to offer women forms of independence that undermined their traditional...
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...of different news and magazines. The key term of the title of this book – BOBO is Brook’s famous coinage, which uses to describe the new class that arouse after the 1990s. What is BOBO? It is the combination of bourgeois, those defend the tradition morality of the middle class and advocate capitalism, and bohemian, those flout conventions according to their wills and promote counterculture. These two cultures are usually regarded as two entirely opposite view against each other. This book first introduces the behavior of the bourgeois and Bohemian in their history, then analysis the characteristic and behavior of the new class - BOBO’s. The content of the book is mainly divided into six parts, the consumption, business life, intellectual life, pleasure, spiritual life and politics. The first part of the book mentions about the consumption behavior of BOBOs. It changed from the culture of consumerism of bourgeois in the 1950s, to 1960s which promoted the concept of haphazard and natural, one of the extreme cases was that “going up among the peers’ estimation by going down in lifestyle” in order to suit the image of bohemians. For the time of 1970s and 80s, the counterattack of the bourgeois happened with merging some characteristics of bohemians. It promoted the idea of prosaic but comfort society with unprecedented social mobility. In the part of business life, it introduces a new term “Latte Town”, a commercial with natural settings, organic grocery goods that make...
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...support. To better understand and analyze Quidlen`s essay we will refer to an essay on a related topic by David Guterson: Enclosed. Encyclopedic. Endured., published in 1993. This essay relates Mr. Guterson`s experience of a one week tour of the Mall of America, in Minneapolis, at the time the largest mall in the world. Mr. Guterson is much less ambitious in his claims but actually provides support by tracing the history of consumerism in America as expressed in malls. Mr. Guterson also draws heavily on his analysis of interviews and comments made by shoppers at the world`s largest mall. Sometimes considering when an essay was written is important to help us understand the approach the author took. It is noteworthy that Quidlen`s essay was published in December of 2008, right at the bottom of what is now known as the Great Financial Crisis and one year into an American recession. Admittedly with the benefit of hindsight it seems clear to me that Ms. Quindlen was reflecting the tenor of times in producing a piece that was long on emotion and very short on analysis. In contrast Mr. Guterson`s...
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...Labor economist Dr. Juliet B. Schor is currently Professor of Sociology at Bos- ton College. Prior to joining Boston College, she taught economics at Harvard University for nine years. She has written extensively on work and consump- tion patterns of Americans. As one of the nation’s best-known voices on the topic, she has received numerous honors. Her book The Overworked Ameri- can: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure received honors from Princeton Uni- versity, Business Week, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and others. Her more recent book, The Overspent American: Upscaling, Downsifting and the New Consumer, received the George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contri- butions to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language, awarded from the National Council of Teachers of English. Dr. Schor holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Massachusetts and a B.A. in Economics from Wesleyan University. Why Do We Consume So Much? by Dr. Juliet B. Schor “Why do we consume so much?” Observers of consumption have answered this question in many ways. Because it’s our human nature. Because ads tell us to. Because we can’t help ourselves. Because our economic system needs us to. Because we are trapped in a fruitless dynamic of desire, acquisition, and disappointment. Because he who dies with the most toys wins. Just because we can. These answers are inadequate. But I believe we can find more satisfying ones by a critical application of both economic and sociological theory, which will...
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...Consumerisms Effect Consumerisms Effect Consumerism is defined as, “the theory that an increasing consumption to goods is economically desirable; also: a preoccupation with and an inclination toward the buying of consumer goods” (“Consumerism,” n.d.). With this said, is consumerism healthy for anyone who is involved? From American cultures birth after the revolutionary war, this society has relished the flattery of consumerism. The search for wealth, material goods, and happiness has no boundaries in this society. Although some positive influences exist within consumerisms definition, a darker side to this phenomenon cannot be over looked. Consumerism reflects many negative human attributes and its increase is adversely affecting American culture, societal equalities, and the environment. Consumerism, in all its forms, has been around since the earliest times of American culture. From the earliest time of America, directly after the Revolutionary War, this attitude of need and want for material good and what was considered the best was very evident. One would think that during a life altering divide of nations the concept of consumerism would stop between them, but during this time, Americans still sought British goods. A high perceived value and thought pattern that these goods were of superior quality allowed these items to become a status symbol for early Americans. George Washington, weeks after signing a peace treaty with Britain, ordered a large...
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...Ryan Plunkett Ray Setters AMS 250 7 March 2013 The Culture of Narcissism Paper For over the past 30 years there has been a prevailing idea that American society has changed drastically. While it is undeniable that every person is different and there are always plenty of exceptions to the norm, in many ways our modern society has become very similar to what Christopher Lasch predicted in The Culture of Narcissism. Unfortunately, it would be safe to say that some modern people are in a state that is extremely pre-occupied with the self. The idea of narcissism came from psychology and is mostly attributed to Sigmund Freud. It was considered to be an extreme preoccupation with the self that distorted ones relationship to reality. This resulted in an inability to make a clear distinction between themselves as the subject and what existed outside them. They were so focused on themselves that they lost awareness of the real beyond them. Because the narcissist does not recognize the separate existence of 'the other' they tend to use reality as a mirror to reflect messages back to the self. The other is there to impress, to be admired by, and to get pity from. The Narcissist is so identified with his/her needs that the other person is simply there to be available for them. In his book The Culture of Narcissism Christopher Larsch describes the Narcissistic personality, “the Narcissist can function in the everyday world - and is often very charming. However, his devaluation...
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