Americanization of Europe After 1945

Americanization of Europe After 1945

The author of the book is Victoria de Grazia. She is currently a professor at Columbia University, teaching history, which is the same area in which she obtained a Phd. The other books which she has written demonstrate a clear interest for the understanding of the mechanisms through which societies are transformed, as well as the connections which can be made between the important economic changes and the cultural ones. Among these books we can mention "The sex of things: gender and consumption in historical perspective," "How fascism ruled women," "The culture of consent: mass organization of leisure in fascist Italy."

The book under review is entitled "Irresistible empire: America's Advance through twentieth-century Europe." Just as the title suggests it, the purpose of the book is to identify the influence that the United States had upon the European continent during the twentieth century.

The thesis that the author supports is that America played a fundamental part into changing the European cultural patterns. The main means through which this was made possible was represented by a new model of consumerism and a new proposed identity of both men and women. The technological advancements allowing for the manufacturing of new goods, as well as the development of the mass media, together with a new vision upon marketing and communication are the main factors which are considered to have recreated both the public and private spaces, thus imposing new values and identities.

This radical changes are rooted in the United States and de Grazia attempts to analyze them and explain them as best as possible. From this point-of-view, the book can be considered as dealing with a subject which can be classified under the category of history. The book is full of details regarding a variety of social changes. However, the author does more than enumerate and describe those happenings. She attempts to provide the reader with a reasonable explanation. From this point-of-view the book can be evaluated as a philosophical analysis which includes judgements which are valuable from both a cultural and a social perspective.

The readers are also given insight about the changes in the conception of advertising and marketing, which are considered fundamental engines for the changes which are under analysis. From this point-of-view one might consider Victoria de Grazia's book as a contribution in the areas of marketing and advertising.

As far as the target audience of the book is concerned, it could be stated that it is pretty numerous. On the one hand, it might represent an interesting point-of-view for all the persons studying the areas which have been mentioned above. Both professors and studies in the area of history, sociology, marketing, advertising and even anthropology would benefit from reading this book. Since the argument regards the area of communication, all the people who are interested in the communication mechanisms which help transform the world are also likely to be buying this book.

The argument is very interesting since it presents a sort of confrontation between two powers, Europe and the U.S.A.: The language employed by the author is not a strictly scientific one. This means that the book is available for people who are not operating in the academic field. It can be read as part of a leisure activity, just to get a better understanding of the world we live in. As far as the geographical borders are concerned, the book is interesting for both Americans and Europeans. It must be underlined that the book is not an interpretive essay based on a subjective and personal perspective, but the result of years of meticulous research, which makes it all the more valuable.

The main themes which are addressed by the book are represented by consumerism, culture and the social values. De Grazia deals with the consumer behaviour that could be observed in Europe and the United States during the twentieth century and the social values which imposed them. The book is structured in nine chapters, plus an introduction and the conclusion. Just as the titles of the chapters suggest it, the arguments which they cover range from the ethics of service to corporate advertising and concepts such as supermarketing and the citizen-consumer.

Chapter number nine is called a model Mrs. Consumer, How mass commodities settled into the hearth and home. Just as the title suggests it, the main idea transmitted here regards the production of mass consumption goods and its effects on society. Mrs. Consumer is a name which suggests a new identity for the woman of those times, with the implications regarding the importance of the woman in society. The status of the women is apparently connected with the impact that mass consumerism had upon the household and the family.

The thesis that Victoria de Grazia supports is that the European continent is a field which has been conquered by the American cultural empire. One might argue that Europeans stick with the European values and cultural patterns, but on a closer look it can be observed that Europe is full of institutions and customs which have been imported from the U.S.A.

She begins the chapter with the description of the so called laundry revolution. In the 50s the companies manufacturing detersives such as Unilever, Procter and Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive were investing huge amounts of money in advertising their products. It seemed that the whole world was built around detergents. What really happened was that society was beginning to change.

The technological advancements allowed for the above mentioned companies to invest in research on the one hand and in more aggressive marketing techniques on the other one. The main role of the woman back then was to take care of the family and the household. Under these circumstances one can surely understand the importance of the products meant to help the woman with the cleaning process, either by reducing the employed time or by improving the quality of the process results.

The innovations in the area of technology allowed for the manufacturing of washing machines. This meant that a new product entered the household. It was not only a fashionable trend, but an item which would contribute to make one's life easier. The new object defined a new style of life that everybody considered desirable. The design of the household was a clear reflection of the family life style and also of the family's financial status.

The distinction between the bourgeoisie and the members of the working class could be made by observing the items which they used in their homes. Owing a washing machine was the equivalent of a high standard of living and naturally everybody aspired to it. Since washing was the task of women only, it is natural that the companies wishing to sell washing machines and detersives could do nothing else but target the woman.

From this point-of-view one can notice a change at the level of social identity. The woman is no longer only a mother and a wife, but a client. This means that she has the power to decide what to buy. Since she is the one spending the family money, then she must be treated with importance by the media. This is what actually happened and what contributed to a more fair treatment of women in society.

On the one hand, we can speak about women being given more importance in society. The fact that the number of employed women increased in a significant manner during that period is a proof of what was going on, but also a supporting element for the change. If a woman was working, it meant she had more independence from her husband and her family. And if she was earning as much money as a man did, then there was no reason to assume that a woman was less important or less efficient than a man. This was a huge change in the social values and it underwent a circulation which spread from the U.S.A. To all the territories of Europe.

On the other hand, one could speak about the equal treatment of women as clients. The fact that they had either the acquisition power or the power to decide what to buy made them important for the various companies. But these companies did not target them on a personalized basis. All women were equal between them.

Another element that de Grazia analyzes is the so called culture of security which is reflected by the consumer behaviour of those times. The increase of the industrial demand reflected the need for security that was manifested at three levels. The fist level is represented by the family who wishes to achieve a better standard of living. The second level is represented by the nations.

Having access to more goods which make your life easier, allowing you to have more time for leisure is a proof of living in a welfare state which is concerned with the well being of its citizens. From this point f view, it is highly important to underline that the citizen begins to be defined as a consumer. The ideological implications are more than obvious. The third level is the international one. The Atlantic community is now united by the same patterns of consumer behaviour and by the same need for security which contributes to the diminishment of conflict risks.

What the author does in order to bring further support for the importance of the changes which were taking place at that time is mention how the terms from the military language, such as launch day, Dday or mobilization passed into the language used by people dealing with marketing. From a war zone they passed into daily life proving that a new war was going on, that is consumption on a daily basis.

And indeed de Grazia brings into discussion the so called Detergent wars. America is the place where the first PR and advertising agencies were born. This fact was naturally a consequence of the economic realities of those times. It also contributed to the development of a culture of advertising which afterwards influenced advertising techniques and consumer behaviour in other continents among which Europe.

The advertising language is to be considered of fundamental importance since it imposed new values, new ideals of life and self-identity, new ways of perceiving the surrounding world. A relevant example in this direction is represented by the slogan which came out in the 50s for Unilever's detergent Persil: "Persil washes whiter than white." The truth is that the word Persil became a sort of synonym for whiteness as far as laundry and cleaning were concerned and the expression Persil-white was commonly used.

The fact that the companies manufacturing detergents were investing billions of dollars into advertising and research is a clear proof that there was a huge market for detergents and the values that they stood for. The situation continued after the second world war and important developments took place, since there were enough funds to be invested in this direction.

Not only were new all purpose detergents invented, but companies hired agencies to improve packaging and distribution channels. By the 1960s advertising underwent a clear boom and the public space was being redefined by a new language proposing new public values. Roland Barthes is quoted as he was saying that advertising was the best proof of how things which were not natural were perceived as being ordinary because ads promoted them as being like that.

Under these circumstances, by the 1970s the detergents became a clear symbol of the new consumerism pattern. What detergents did was actually define the new social roles which both men and women were assuming. If man's role was more of a historic one, dealing with the conception and the creation of a new and better world, the role of the woman was to manage the day-to-day existence now flooded with all sorts of "gadgets" symbols of status and identity.

Another philosopher that Victoria de Grazia quotes is Baudrillard. According to him, the new products such as the revolutionary washing machines and the synthetic detergents were nothing more than an agent meant to create a sense of community amongst users. Since they were approached as a community by the companies interested in selling it was only natural that after a while they began to consider themselves as part of a community. At ideological level this is interpreted as the creation of a depoliticized world. The depoliticized world is born in the public space where the language of advertising and marketing succeed to create a hyper reality where identity is defined by consumption.

The author mentions a slogan used in Paris by groups of young people reacting to the social and cultural changes, a slogan according to which "self transformation washes whiter than revolution." In other words, advertising was causing social changes which were more profound and more efficient than the ones which may have been caused by a revolution. People were taught a collective pattern of behaviour which expanded from the commercial area to the political one.

The successful editions of the Salon held in Paris, exhibiting the technological innovations are a solid proof of the success and appeal of the new identity that advertising proposed to the world: the consumer. The woman becomes Mrs. Consumer, important through her role of manager of the household and the family. Mrs. Consumer is not only a woman, but an economic woman, because her status is defined by the money she can and is willing to spend.

By wishing to acquire the newly available goods, such as the washing machines base don electricity, people were actually interested in acquiring a new identity. The life style that companies wished to sell was a must for everybody regardless of their social status. This is why the credits given to the members of the working class undergo a boom in this period. At ideological level, the fact that society is transformed into a homogenous community of consumers can be interpreted as the transformation of the individuals into equals. The thesis is that if we buy the same things than we have the same life style and therefore we are equal. Mass consumption turns people into a mass of components which are ideally equal between them.

The examples which the author provides regarding the mechanism through which America has succeeded into exporting its cultural products include the Rotary clubs, the supermarkets or corporate advertising. According to her, even if these institutions seem to be neutral, they are really carriers of an ideology which was not born in Europe. Although they serve various purposes, the truth is that they are social institutions which play an essential role in shaping society.

Capitalism is the main mechanism under analysis. In de Grazia's opinion, it shows exactly how and why things have changed. On the one hand, capitalism in Europe was represented by the small neighbourhood shop. It implied that people had a personal contact with the owners, sellers and the other customers.

The small size created a sort of intimacy and shaped the relationships between people. The U.S.A. exported another type of store, the supermarket. This was usually out of town, of huge sizes and provided people with a far greater variety of offers. People shopping here were no longer friends, not even acquaintances, but anonymous consumers. If the small shop favoured the manifestation of personal identity, the supermarket was all about standardization. While the small shop may have also provided a personalized offer, this was impossible in the case of the supermarket. In other words, standardized products implied standardized consumption which shaped standardized consumers.

It must be underlined that the argument the book deals with is perceived as being very important by both sides involved in the description. It is useless to say that the author was aware of the risks she would have faced by presenting a perspective which favoured either Europe or the U.S.A. From this point-of-view, it can be stated that she managed to maintain a balanced perspective. She insisted upon the areas where the American influence was strong and clear, but maintained the analysis within the borders which suggested long-term changes with positive outcomes for all the involved parties.

There are some areas which she does not deal with, such as the influence of the American corporations upon the European media controlling entertainment. The truth is that numerous companies from the U.S.A. bought television channels in Europe and that clearly influenced the perspective news ad entertainment were dealt with. It is safe to assume that she did not treat this argument with the purpose of avoiding unwanted controversy. Another argument that she does not cover is represented by the impact of mass consumption and mass production upon the environment on both continents. A further argument that she may have analyzed but did not is represented by the impact of mass production upon agriculture.

At a certain point Victoria de Grazia states that Henry Ford played an important part in deciding upon what Europe is today. This statement could be interpreted in the sense that Europe has become nothing else than a market for the American goods and values. When analyzing the situation, she takes into consideration the slow food movements. We are to find two opposite life styles in the way that people eat and think about food.

On the one hand, there is the American fast food restaurant. Behind it there is an entire culture in which people don't have time to dedicate to cooking but are always on the run in order to make money (by working). On the other hand, there are the Europeans who prefer to eat more healthy things and who probably put much more emphasis on leisure than on work. These are two different models of consumerism, but can it really be stated that Europe is a clear reflection of the latter one? This is one of the questions that the book makes the readers meditate about.