Consumer Society

Throughout the semester, Dr. Strangelove has discussed the issue of consumption and the need for corporations to stay in power through the capitalist system.  For a capitalist system to work, the corporations must be in control of the production of things and the meanings that are associated with them.  Corporations aren’t just selling us a product, they’re selling us a meaning, a meaning that will keep us passive and buying, buying, buying. 

It is through the text, images and film that we consume that corporations embed values and beliefs that we will integrate into our system.  You know the television show Gossip Girl? That show completely oozes the message of the consumption of designer clothing.  You’ll always see in movies, especially chick flicks, a moment where the ugly duckling goes shopping and has a makeover performed on them.  This perpetuates the idea that we will find happiness and our identities through the consumption of products.  We all have a friend who comes to us saying “I’m having a bad day, let’s go shopping”.  Corporations know us; they know our weak points and what it takes to get us to buy something.  Perhaps the most powerful message of them all is the one that tells us “to set yourself from the crowd, buy this product”.  We’re always looking for ways to distinguish ourselves from others, and a message like this works.

This happens a lot in our society when it comes to marriage.  There has always been the rule that a man must spend 2 or 3 month’s salary on an engagement ring because “she’s worth it”.  Remember Kim Kardashian’s supposed 2 million dollar engagement ring? That thing was a weapon.

What’s interesting is that these messages have become orthodoxes, and the heresies of our time encourage us to do the opposite.  Messages that encourage us to reuse something or not buy something are rare and are few and far between.  You’ll never see a car company encouraging us to drive less and walk more, they’ll tell us to buy a newer car that uses less gas.