Consumerism Essays (Examples)

Consumerism Zombies

Culture of Consumerism

Much of the estern orld has been transformed into a Cult of Consumerism and grounded in Fashionable Consumption. As the Limitations of the Natural orld become more clear, something must be done to Challenge Consumerism

It can be hard to pinpoint a definition for consumerism. However, generally the term is used to describe people that conflate wants and needs. For example, some people might identify the new iPhone as a want that would be nice to have. hile others actually would describe this as something "need" in order to be happy; to the extent that they will actually wait in line for hours on end to be the first to purchase the new iContraption. Consumerism can also include the concept of fashionable consumption. Fashionable consumption goes beyond what an individual actually needs in terms of their physical well-being.

For example, we all probably need coats…

"The things you own end up owning you." This quote from Tyler Durden, the protagonist in the movie Fight Club, sums up the message of this movie. The movie, Fight Club takes a critical stand against consumerism. Unlike Sex and the City which accepts consumerism with open arms, embraces and celebrates it, the characters in Fight Club are portrayed to be enlightened, resists and fights consumerism. Tyler Durden especially, the protagonist, is portrayed to have an internal battle, the battle of confirming with societal pressures toward consumerism and the battle of asserting his realizations about consumerism which ultimate aim is a life not driven by consumption and consumer goods.

In the movie, Tyler Durden said, "Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need." This quote drives home the point that the movie wants to make, that consumerism has become…

And yes -- so she breathed in the earthy garden sweet smell as she stood talking to Miss Pym who owed her help, and thought her kind, for kind she had been years ago; very kind, but she looked older, this year, turning her head from side to side among the irises and roses and nodding tufts of lilac with her eyes half closed, snuffing in, after the street uproar, the delicious scent, the exquisite coolness (oolf 18).

Literary depictions of the two cases are polar opposites of one another. The differences also reflect the complicated nature of capitalist market economies and mass consumerism. hile Clarissa's ability to buy flowers and gloves at her leisure time is the demonstration of how consumerism makes people happy, "Miss Kilman's need for a petticoat is in direct opposition to the needs being met, encouraged, and created by modern consumerism" (Abbott 204).

Miss Kilman…

To this day, high-end automobile companies make cars by hand for the luxury market, and those vehicles still are demarcations of status.

The increased complexity of modern consumer society reflects the increased complexity of our social strata. We are no longer characterized in broad categories of nobility, bourgeoisie, workers and peasants. Our society today has a near infinite number of strata. This has taken consumption as a marker of status to near-absurd levels. Comparisons of products are endless. We compare the square footage of our houses, the engine power of our cars, the number of DVDs in our collection and the size of our television screens. Each slight improvement is another increase in our status. This shift has taken us from a society with only a handful of social strata to one in which the social hierarchy is a continuous progression. This in turn fuels near-continuous consumption in order to…

Many of the products we see in developed countries seem really cheap. For example, consumer electronics in the United States are cheaper than in many developing countries although the income level is much higher in the United States. So, how do manufacturers provide consumers with cheap products? According to Leonard, manufacturers force workers and Third World natives pay the price. Distributors in giant supermarkets such as Wal-Mart pay their workers the minimum wage, while manufacturers that outsource labor pay Third World workers even less, forcing them to work in hazardous conditions. The natives pay for the cost of manufacturing (aimed primarily at consumers in rich countries) with their health, their environment, and sometimes even their lives (Leonard, 2008).

Distribution leads to the major component of the material's economy: consumption. The facts associated with consumption are indeed frightening. It is estimated that 99% of finished products are trashed within six months.…

Daniel Harris describes this coping mechanism the "kitschification of Sep. 11." Harris's main argument is that we stopped asking critical questions about the actual reasons of why 9/11 happened. Instead, he says, we resorted to mythologizing history, viewing ourselves as the absolute good and depicting the enemy as the absolute evil whose actions could never be explained with reason. I think, Harris is pretty harsh in his scathing criticism of our response to 9/11. But looking back at what happened and the consequences of government response, I think, his criticism is justified. The only point where I disagree with him is in his suggestion that we turned our commemoration of 9/11 into a national euphoria and became "excited." I do not remember any sense of excitement over the tragedy though Harris might have been more alert than me.

Reading William Hart's article was also eye-opening. It gave me a different…

The entire research constitutes three different studies, each of them dedicated to a distinct stage in problematic usage of mobile phones.

Study 1

A multi-dimensional psychometric measure was developed for the behaviour, described as problematic use of mobile phones (PUMP). The four-factor 16-item solution included behavioural dimensions of problematic use as follows: (1) impulsive use, (2) mounting tension, (3) dependency, and (4) control loss. A fifth dimension (denial) was removed during the EFA stage of scale development. Data was collected from a large developmental sample of 2364. Scale reduction and validation analysis involved EFA, CFA and nested model comparison.

Following scale development, theoretical analysis was performed on the PUMP model to enhance conceptual understanding of each of its four dimensions. This analysis utilized the frameworks of time-inconsistent preferences theory (Hoch and Loewenstein 1991) and the theory of automatic behaviour (Bargh & Gollwitzer, 1994); frameworks which supplement the dominate informational-processing approach…

(Assefa and Degefa, ND, online at (http://www.hmbasha.net/Starbucks_Ethiopia.htm)

Until, very recently there were many upscale coffee drinkers that assumed that the nations that hold a geographic monopoly on the coffee market (as coffee can be grown in a very limited region) were benefiting from the overall growth of the success of coffee as a preferred drink all over the world. They were wrong, nations that sell coffee usually in its raw form are suffering at the hands of corporate greed and dominance a clear example of divergence of both voice and income.

The opposition movement is an attempt by forward thinking individuals to warn blind consumers about the dangers of globalization when it goes into the market unchecked by the needs of the people it buys raw goods from. The divergent camp, apposed to globalization would say that the poorest countries in the world deserve a share of the earnings that…

The result is the problem: that humans loose the connection to what it means to be human.

What is the end or goal of transformation?

The end goal, regardless of ones religion, is happiness. However, the definition of happiness differs greatly from one religion to another. In religions such as the Lakota, happiness is found by making the gods happy, or Mother Earth, by learning to be one with nature. Other religions have a similar goal of happiness, where one obtains happiness by serving their god. However, in consumerism happiness can be bought yet is never actually attainable because there is no end to the possessions one can consume.

What are the means of transformation?

For the Lakota and other traditional religions, the means of transformation are the service of one's god. Typically this involves such things as loving others, not sinning, doing good onto others, and so forth. In…

Online Consumerism

Internet usage has been on the rise in recent years, and consequently is the increase in the number of online consumers. This research explores the attitudes, behaviors, and motivations of this new type of consumer in the market. The online consumer behavior has been considered for over 2 decades and will undoubtedly make a contribution to many future researches as internet consumerism expands. This paper will be guided by the following research question: (1) how previously researched factors influence the purchasing adaptive skills of online consumers and (2) what are the important consumer behaviors that affect internet consumerism while considering both the positive and negative side? People are known to shop online for experimental reasons, goal-oriented and instrumental reasons. esearch methodology will include administering questionnaires randomly to respondents both face-to-face and through emails, interviews and gathering information from selected internet sites that provide different goods and services. Data…

So denotes the Pope in his 2009 remarks, which do not call for an end to globalization and its implications. Indeed, as his remarks demonstrate a clear and studied understanding of the patterns of globalization, so too do these represent a realistic evaluation of how best to address its inequalities. It is here that the Pope calls for a recasting of the approach taken to global trade liberalization. Here, the Pope indicates, "there is no reason to deny that a certain amount of capital can do good, if invested abroad rather than at home. Yet the requirements of justice must be safeguarded, with due consideration for the way in which the capital was generated and the harm to individuals that will result if it is not used where it was produced." (Pope Benedict XVI, 40)

This is to suggest that proper regulation of private enterprising and global oversight f the…

Consumption Consumerism Important in Contemporary Global Society

The economies of the world today are subject to inflation and depression, and both are related to the market forces. Today it has become global. To ignore these market forces is not possible. The major market forces basically are termed 'demand' and 'supply'. These underlying forces are determined by two sets of persons or two principal classes of decision makers in the economy: businessmen and consumers. The decision making of businessmen is concerned with the choice and use of resources in firms; the decision making of consumers is concerned with the choice and use of resources in households. This entire volume deals with the many and diverse implications of decision making by consumers, and consumer decision making always has a macroeconomic impact. (Cochrane; Bell, 1956, p. 60)

Consumer behavior is studied at length because it is the basis of production. Entrepreneurs are actually…

The interests of one umbrella organization may conflict with the interests of another. This is the reason why so many umbrella organizations have emerged and why there is little unity between them.

5) Privatization is turning over government assets to the private sector. Federalization is returning something to the government. There are a few tradeoffs. With privatization, there is the risk of price gouging, in particular when newly-privatized assets constitute a monopoly (a bridge, for example). With federalization, it is often viewed that the assets are not managed in accordance with maximum productivity. Privatization is often best when the product/service in question is going to be subject to competition (for example state-owned liquor stores like those in New Hampshire or Utah). Federalization is often best when the product/service falls under auspices normally reserved for the central government, such as issues of national security. There are problems, however, with both. Privatization…

Gender & Consumerism

Thomas Hine compares sex to shopping. In every culture, sex is different depending on gender. In many cultures, the male gender retains more power with regard to sex. Shopping is usually considered a past time for females, even though shopping in general is encouraged in consumer cultures. Some people derive the same kind of pleasure from shopping or from finding a great deal as they would from having sex. Hine comments that the mentality regarding sex is similar to attitudes and even behaviors regarding shopping, such as some people are proud and announce it whenever they do it and that some people hide their consumer activities the same way they might hide their pornography or other behaviors people are ashamed to make public. Gender is just as much a factor in consumer behaviors as it is in sexual behaviors.

Jean Baudrillard, in Consumer Society in American History,…

Until that time, the lower classes, as they were known, would produce most of what they needed at their own homes, and the upper classes would simply employ the lower classes to produce whatever goods they needed and subsequently purchase them, or employ craftsmen to produce 'quality' goods that were usually required by noblemen. (Elemental Economics: Intermediate Microeconomics)

There were also firms that would purchase goods and services and these would be the 'inputs' in the production process of the final products and services. Those goods or services that are purchased by such firms are generally known as either 'intermediate' or as 'producer' goods, and style and taste hardly have any significance here; rather, it is either the price or the technical quality of the good that becomes more important than anything else. (Elemental Economics: Intermediate Microeconomics) in a nutshell, a consumer good can be explained as something that is…

The trap of consumerism
The youtube video indicates the various levels of consumerism, the religious take on consumerism, the negative impacts that it has on the contemporary society and what needs to be done to reduce consumerism. This documentary shows how companies have used false advertisement to sway consumers to feeling like they are likely to be shaped or molded to another entity by simply amassing more materials within their possession. The result is a lopsided economy and massive wastage since people get to own what they do not need. The wastage then leads to filling of dumpsites with waste that ends up chocking the natural environment and the water bodies. The increased demand also means more production, a cycle that leads to greenhouse gas accumulation that leads to global warming.
Who then is to blame for the excessive consumerism? This takes a dual dimension since the consumers have allowed…

QI Plan- Consumerism

The difference between performance measurement and quality improvement processes

Performance measurement provides quantitative values and objectives to subjective experiences. Execution of performance measurement fosters the desire to achieve improved quality. Performance measurement and quality improvement depend on each other. It is possible to identify an improvement has been achieved using data. Performance measure is a mechanism used in assigning a quantity to an attribute by comparing to criteria (Meisenheimer, 2007). A clinical performance measure is a mechanism used to assess the magnitude at which a care provider safely and competently delivers medical services appropriate in the optimal period. Quality measure is applied when assigning quantities of care services based on a criterion comparison. Therefore, performance measure leads to quality monitoring. Healthcare professionals in improving the quality in different ways apply information gathered through quality monitoring. Measure performance is the only approach used in evaluating whether care is…

McDonald's in Hong Kong: Consumerism, Dietary Change, and the Rise of a Children's Culture, by James L. Watson

James Watson starts his article recollection of a conversation he had in 1969 with a Hong Kong resident whose ancestors had settled in New Territories of Hong Kong six centuries ago. Mr. Man vividly described a feast he had eaten fifty years back, so around the second decade of the twentieth century. Mr. Man's memories and pride about this kind of Cantonese food were characteristic of his generation in those days in the Hong Kong and the province of Guangdong.

The author's starting point, Mr. Man's boasting about the Cantonese cuisine, serves the purpose of what the former considers a legitimate question that would require his attention in an attempt to find the possible factors that led a particular situation related to the food industry in the area. He is asking himself…

In the Personal Form, on the other hand, individuals do not get away with moral transgressions. Their personal approach to life is colored not by materialism but by core spiritual ethics and values. The Person is elevated above the commodity and not vice-versa.

Prayer is also made communal: as such prayer has the power to transform not just the individual but the community as a whole. Moreover, the prayer is not about the individual but it is about the common Christian values of the community. Prayer is made public because the individual is empowered in the Personal Form. The Commodity Form devalues human dignity by denying spiritual presence altogether. In response, the Personal Form elevates human dignity to the extent that Prayer becomes a major mode of communication and change. Similarly, Catholic sacraments are woven into the community structure in the Personal Form, imbuing spiritual rituals and religious rites with…

Consumer Culture and the Destruction of the Environment

The consumer culture that exists as a result of our current global economic system has resulted in the destruction of the environment on a substantial scale. As collapsitarian Dmitry Orlov (2015) notes, "the terminal decay and eventual collapse of industrial civilization" is imminent, one of the reasons being that the means of extracting and processing the fuels needed by industry have become too expensive in relation to the profit margins. Other corporate entities are destroying the environment by attempting to "modify" nature's organisms, like wheat -- which as a GMO has been shown to be toxic to both people and land. Yet, the consumerist culture that for so long kept Industry in tact is now shrinking as the financial world continues to rape and pillage unchecked on a global scale and the purchasing power of the middle class continues to decline. That…

Barbie doll top ten viral commercials as of 2013 rely mostly on You Tube, Dailymotion, Facebook and Twitter.

The third doll brand, subject to this study is Bratz. As evidenced from the four commercials assessed in the course of this study, Bratz deploys a slightly different mode of advertising, which involves marketing adult entertainment to kids. Social psychologists have argued that this strategy is very effective within the realm of modern-day material culture. Adult entertainment, which often involves depiction of violence, sex, strong language and obscenity, has become very popular among children

. For Bratz, one of the most popular commercials involves cowgirls in Texas fighting crime modelled along the risque film group Charlie's Angels. The use of guns to depict violence is central to this commercial, which has since increased the brand's digital reach through pervasive advertising on TV and in the internet. In a similar commercial, Bratz acquired…

The end of the chapter talks about how the face of the woman has changed over time form the 1900's to 1970's. The end of the chapter also expresses the impact that consumerism had on the American family, and how this has become more driven by what they have ( materials) rather than the structure of the family and the time they spend together. Now, there is a push of why settle when you can have the next big thing. The author explains that consumerism poses a threat to the work ethic. The writer states that the drive behind a work ethic and consumerism are the same.

One thing is evident, the role of women has changed dramatically since the early 1900's, this chapter does a great job of drawing the time line, as well as shows the markers of significant change. Another thing pointed out is the way that…

In a report on recent research in this area, Hickman (2008) states that, "Although the public recycle newspapers and bottles, only one eighth of clothes are recycled through charity shops

About 70 per cent goes straight to landfill or incineration" (Hickman). This is telling example, of the way that Fast Fashion can affect the environment.

The fact that these fashions are relatively cheap means that they are more easily discarded that would be the case with more expensive garments. Furthermore, the finding that almost all discarded Fast Fashion is not ecologically processed in an environmentally friendly way is a central factor that will be explored in detail.

The same study by Hickman referred to above contributes to the overall picture of the potentially negative outcomes of Fast Fashion in countries like the United Kingdom. " aste volumes from the sector are high and growing in the UK with the advent…

omen and Men as Consumers

Consumer habits: Men vs. women

"Men buy, women shop" (ilder 2007). This statement succinctly sums up the differences between the sexes and their approach to consumerism. omen shop as a social experience for pleasure, men view entering a store as a goal-directed activity. This is immediately seen in how retailers lay out stores, depending on whether the store is primarily directed at women's shopping habits or men's shopping habits. For example, "women are happy to meander through sprawling clothing and accessory collections or detour through the shoe department. They like to glide up glass escalators past a grand piano, or spray a perfume sample on themselves on their way to, maybe, making a purchase. For men, shopping is a mission. They are out to buy a targeted item and flee the store as quickly as possible" (ilder 2007).

Setting up a store so that premium…

1950s Fashions

Fashion and makeup trends in the 1950s reflected shifts in popular culture and were heavily influenced by film stars and television. A thriving youth culture contributed to changes in fashion, which were generally less conservative than in past decades. The exception was men's fashions, which became more subdued in the 1950s and included dark gray, blue, brown, and black suits. However, the Beatnik generation also contributed to fashion trends, and leather, denim blue jeans, and sneakers were also popular in the 1950s, especially among teenagers. Rock and roll also influenced the "greaser" look that developed around that time. The cult of the housewife similarly impacted new looks developing throughout the decade. A rise in consumerism encouraged many people to amass large, colorful wardrobes.

One of the most well-known fashion trends from the 1950s was the poodle skirt. Poodle skirts were round-cut, calf-length, full skirts, cinched at the waist.…

Selling (to) Kids: Advertising, Children, Youth and Commercial Culture
Advertising for children and youth has always had a special appeal. Gen X’ers remember the Toys ‘R’ Us song, “I don’t want to grow up, I’m a Toys ‘R’ Us kid,” and link it to their childhood—even if they never went to a single Toys ‘R’ Us store. They invariably saw the commercials multiple times if they had a TV in their home. The commercials showed children blissfully happy because they had toys galore—and the aim of the ad campaign was to get kids interested in consumerism. On the surface, it seems like a harmless engagement. However, from the standpoint of critical theory, turning kids into consumers perpetuates the power structure of the capitalist system in the U.S.—that is how the Frankfurt School would argue it. This paper will use critical theory—the idea of the Frankfurt School that media can be…

.. To an active fashion accessory. Most significantly the logo itself growing in size, ballooning from a three quarter inch emblem into a chest-sized marquee."

From the perspective of social stratification and social stratification through branding, today, our main motivation to consume is our desire to be similar to some people and different from others. Consumerism stands rudimentary to social stratification, or vice versus. According to Miller (2013), "Social stratification may be defined as long-standing power, wealth, and status between groups within a single society. These groups are typically separated into classes or castes, but may also extend to ethnic separation." Miller (2013) contends that "placement into a social hierarchy is dependent on an individual's access to valued resources: stratification is a system where groups are treated differently based on their societal roles or social status." Members of society can align with various social status groups or separate themselves from…

The price of most health care is felt subjectively. Therefore, it is felt that no one else can make better decisions other than patients themselves. Only few would argue against the significance of the active association of consumers in their own healthcare to attain affordability along with quality as well as security. (Vitt; Werntz, 2008)

2. What is the impact of Bachman's five building blocks of healthcare consumerism for health care managers?

Healthcare consumerism is thus changing the health benefit strategy of employers into one that vest the price and also the decision making power with the consumers. It involves the provision of relevant information and all support to make the decisions they actually require, of course with financial incentives, rewards and advantages that enhance the personal association with variation in health and the purchasing patterns in healthcare. Healthcare consumerism is free from the plan design. Healthcare consumerism associates the…

Online Consumer Behaviors

Consumer Behavior

Consumer Perceptions of Online Shopping and how this Influences Purchasing Decisions

Exploring Online Consumer Behavior

Internet usage has increased rapidly in the past few decades. Accompanying this trend has been the increase in online retail shopping by consumers. However, many consumer behaviors, motivations, and attitudes toward shopping via this medium are still being researched and there are many opportunities for further research. This paper will examine the following research questions: (1) How do factors previously researched affect the online purchasing behavior of consumers and (2) what are the significant consumer behaviors both positive and negative that affect internet consumerism? The purpose of this research paper is to integrate the varied research information together and draw coherent linkages to how consumer thoughts, attitudes and motivational behavior affect online buying, thus building a broader framework of analysis in which to build upon. By identifying these relevant factors,…

"Lady Gaga in part because she keeps us guessing about who she, as a woman, really is. She has been praised for using her music and videos to raise this question and to confound the usual exploitative answers provided by 'the media'… Gaga's gonzo wigs, her outrageous costumes, and her fondness for dousing herself in what looks like blood, are supposed to complicate what are otherwise conventionally sexualized performances" but this complication does not necessarily lead to a feminist liberation (Bauer 2010).

Still, Gaga has been embraced by a generation of women, some who shun and some who embrace the feminist label. "Lady Gaga idealizes this way of being in the world. But real young women, who, as has been well documented, are pressured to make themselves into boy toys at younger and younger ages, feel torn. They tell themselves a Gaga-esque story about what they're doing. hen they're on…

American pop culture has been cultivated and molded by mass media. The recent iteration of mass media, electronic media, has a profound and significant influence on the daily lives, thoughts, perceptions and desires of every single person in the United States, whether people are aware of this influence, or not. The potential for media to influence people has been the subject of much debate since the earliest forms of mass media; newspaper, radio, and television have all contributed to our individual and collective psyche in America. This paper will discuss the roles that music, radio, television, and the motion pictures have played in the development of American popular culture as well as discuss some of the trends propagated by the electronic media and will provide a personal perspective on the relationship between media representations and consumerism, the human body and justice, law, and order.

Bagdikian (2000, pg. 185) notes that…

Live Concet Analysis

How Doing Good Makes Us Feel Poweful and Poweless at the Same Time

Design Activism vs. Design fo Social Change

The Awakening Consciousness of Designes 1960's

Manifesto

Thee has been lukewam inteest in public sevice design, social impact and design activism. But in most convesations, all othe designs wok to enhance the standad of living of the people; some of it must be activism. The agument is seldom boosted by the notion that achitectue has been impacted by intellectual movements and ats fo instance, modenism which fuels an idea of a evolutionay society. These movements had ideal poposals fo society's efoms. They wee elated deeply to commece and aesthetics as well (Jose et al., 2008). Conside the diffeence between modenism and activism fo that matte. The modenism idea states that people stand equals to each othe, while society became united in evey aspect fo instance uniting laboes,…

On some level, all art tells the viewer something about its sociological context. A painting by Vermeer says much about gender roles and norms in Flemish society; just as a painting by arhol says much about consumerism in American society.

One irony that Bennett points out is, "Art collectors have paid millions of dollars for some of arhol's pieces, but shoppers at Target, where the limited-edition soup cans are on sale, will have to shell out only 75 cents for a 10.75-ounce can." arhol's art is the ideal bridge between "low" and "high" art, evidenced by this differential in pricing. The "authentic" painting by arhol is worth millions, but the authentic item that arhol depicted on the canvas is only worth 75 cents. Consumers place a high demand on something that is deemed valuable and irreplaceable, but not as high of a demand on food.

Andy arhol's "100 Cans" points…

New Look

In the postwar year of 1947, fashion designer created a line he called "Corelle" which is the botanical term for the frail petals at the center of a flower (Christian). In his autobiography, Dior wrote that, "I wanted my dresses to be constructed, molded upon the curves of the feminine body, whose sweep they would stylize" (Dior). He theorized that women were tired of the uniformity and simplicity of the war years where they would have to dress without excess. Dior wanted to create clothing that a woman would enjoy wearing and that would reintegrate her into the world of femininity. Experts in the industry would grow to call this line the "New Look." A 1947 issue of Vogue described the line saying, "from the era of Madame Bovary…wasp-waisted Gibson Girl shirtwaists, pleated or tucked…slow-sloped, easy shoulders…wrapped and bound middles -- barrel (almost hobble) skirts -- longer, deeply…

Mainstream Culture

The first installment of the Iron Man franchise can be analyzed in the context of whether it either reaffirms or criticizes mainstream culture. Indeed, the film does a bit of both. The movie script itself as well as the underlying method and motives of the filmmakers and actors in terms of how the film is being marketed and portrayed potentially irrespective of what is being asserted directly in the movie itself will also be assessed.. Iron Man and films like it play a two-sided game of both glorifying and condemning ideas that are political and ideological in nature but often does so in a way that is not even-handed or is otherwise not grounded in reality.

Iron Man Observations

hat is clear straight away with the interactions and the developments surrounding Tony Stark (Downey) and Obadiah is that the movie is making a statement about corporate greed and…

The following photograph illustrates the trend of modern McDonalds restaurant design:

If the golden arches were not displayed proudly on the screens, viewers would scarcely know they were in a fast food restaurant. Instead, the decor looks like a typical corporate lounge or a waiting area at an airport. Gone are the old fashioned swivel chairs and welcome are comfortable-looking and colorful cushioned seats with personal tables.

The design overhaul attempts to accomplish the bottom line of attracting new consumers to the fast food chain. However, Hunt would point out that it is not possible to eradicate the everyday from such a consumer-oriented place. Even this new and improved McDonalds has a sterile, impersonal, cookie-cutter feel to it. While the McDonalds looks better than its predecessors, it remains the ubiquitous restaurant with the predictable menu.

It is possible, however, to create the illusion that one is seated in a more…

Particularly, as
slavery and segregation had contributed to the establishment of a wealthy
ownership class in the United States, so had the nature of its 20th century
consumer culture helped to enforce separate racial societies. Thus, even
as white women struggled for recognition and equal rights, the climb from
domestic servitude would be a great deal more arduous for a female African
American culture which had been conditions through centuries of slavery
toward assumed domestic servitude. To this extent, the parallels which
Odem's text draws between slavery and female inequality bear a shared
relationship in defining America's gendered culture.
Today, women have in many ways been relieved of the domestic roles
once foisted upon them with no outlet of relief. Indeed, it is
increasingly common and standardized to find women in all walks of
professionalism and at positions of authority. Moreover, the premise that
the woman should be expected to…

During the Eisenhower Administration, America underwent a number of radical changes in its political and social arenas, the most important being the rapid rise in consumerism which before Eisenhower was limited to the wealthy and those in the upper classes. When World War II ended, American factories began to manufacture a huge range of goods which were then purchased by average Americans for use in their homes and businesses. This immense increase quickly led to the creation of millions of jobs which allowed consumerism to climb to new heights, thus creating an economic boom for all Americans.

In the late 1950's, the Civil ights Movement became a powerful American entity, mostly due to the influence of the Brown v. The Board of Education decision by the Supreme Court which made school segregation illegal. After the passage of a bill by Congress which enforced the 14th and 15th amendments of the…

But the cool tone of the images in arhol's works is one reason why a viewer might be tempted to read a kind of backhanded affection for advertising and consumption in arhol's series, as well as satirical parody. hat Hughes calls this affectlessness, a fascinated and yet indifferent take on the object, arhol does not obviously express a point-of-view, rather he simply deploys sameness in different contexts -- advertising in an art gallery, movie stars tinted with flat paints. hether he does this with love as well as humor might be possible, but because there is such a visual parallel between the parody or the art and the real, it is hard to assign a definitive tone, other than coolness, to arhol.

For instance, a viewer might ask, is there, in the repetition of stars' faces such as Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie O. And of course Marilyn, as well as Marlon…

If consumers robotically obeyed advertising messages, then 80% of all new products would not be destined for failure, despite the over 200 billion dollars (in 1997 figures) spent by producers to bombard the senses of the consumer through every possible venue, from television to the Internet. (45; 50)

Twitchell concludes that the presence of consumer culture paradoxically gives consumers the tools of empowerment by offering them new tools of self-fashioning. Through buying products and exercising individual choice, persons can remake themselves into new individuals, much like the rituals of the church provided similar tools of self-improvement and self-fashioning.

However, one must ask the question -- does the existence of consumerism replace other moral aspirations of humankind? For example, a person who believes the rhetoric of advertising might decide that personally buying an ecologically sound product is a replacement for actually writing his or her congressman as part of a widespread…

Oppressed Edible Woman

The Edible Woman -- Margaret Atwood

The Edible Woman offers a look at the conventionalized aspects of society that result in a version of cultural violence which is gender-oppressive. In kaleidoscopic fashion, the protagonist undergoes a series of transformations that are fundamental to her self-identity, her current and future places in society, and her rediscovery of mediating levers to overturn the cultural violence boulder that has come to rest on her shoulders.

The Warping of Marian's Self-Identity

The Marian the reader first meets is a liberated young woman with the clear-headed ability to assess the society in which she lives. She appears to have rejected the role that society has described for women her age. Her relationship with a young lawyer is relaxed by the standards of the day -- a time before hard-line feminism had been articulated -- and her job is meaningful and situated beyond…

media, even today, has such a profound impact on popular culture as that of print media. Since man first scribbled and chiseled onto stone tablets, words have persuaded and guided people to do, to conform, to think in certain ways. With the advent of Johannes Gutenberg's printing press, and the consequent development of movable type, words have served to mold and conform ideas. With the 20th century development of "yellow journalism," newspapers went beyond simply conveying information, beyond providing news to people, and served to sway people as journalists sought. This paper will discuss the roles that print media have had on the development of American popular culture as well as discuss some of the trends created by print media and how such trends have influenced consumerism, work, social responsibility, happiness, the human body, as well as justice, law, and order.

Print media has had a profound and significant impact…

American Higher Education

Higher Education is ading in Deep ater in 2014

Is there anything to celebrate about higher education in the 21st century? hat are the most troubling issues facing America's campuses that have emerged in particular over the past twenty years? These questions cry out for thoughtful, scholarly answers. On the one hand, there are crises related to university finances, student financial programs are bogged down by endless congressional haggling, federal financial backing for important research and development has withered away to a significant extent, and scholarships and grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have not been able to meet the demand of qualified scholars (Thelin, 2013). On the other hand, according to the Knight Foundation Commission, many university presidents (if not most) are admitting that they no longer have control of their NCAA-governed athletics programs, and moreover, deans in medical schools are being urged to…

Coplans, John. Andy Warhol. England: The Curwen press, 1989

Kinsman, Jane, "Soup can mania." Artonview, no. 49 (2007): 38-9.
http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/results/resultssinglefulltext.jhtml;hwwil
sonid=HJWLOMQXHRMITQA3DIMCFF4ADUNGIIV0

Ratcliff, Carter. Andy Warhol. New York: Abbeville Press, 1983.

Revy, Louisiana. Andy Warhol and his world: Nykredit, 2000

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Indeed, Rodrigue was very pleased to be commissioned in this way. Another artist who followed this trend was Yuri Gorbachev, painting the bottle during the early 1990s. After this, the artist created a "Christmas present" for tolichnaya. This proved so successful that the company retained this artistic service on a yearly basis. Many of these ads have found their way into collectors' homes, where they are framed and displayed. In this way, the boundaries between art and advertising have blurred even further.

The success of such advertisements, along with the associated respect for the artists involved, is indicative of consumer reaction to such advertising. The reason for this is ascribed to the qualities of fine art: the quality, strength and emotion associated with art is communicated to the product being advertised, which finds its way into the consumer heart and mind on a multiplicity of levels. Using art in this…

It is also interesting that, somewhat differently from the first advertisement, we are no longer looking for efficiency, productivity increase and lower costs. Since consumerism is the key to this advertisement, the word of order now is spending. This is why this is the "costliest process on Earth."

The three advertisement are very interesting, because, despite still reflecting well the period of time in which they were created, they are somewhat different. On one hand, we have a society that stresses the importance of higher productivity rates and lower costs to be able to face the current challenges. On the other hand, we have individuals simply enjoying their existence, despite the existent challenges.

ibliography

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2. May Tyler, Elaine. Homeward ound: American Families in the Cold War Era. asic ooks, 1990. Page 91.

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May Tyler, Elaine. Homeward ound: American Families in the Cold War…

Corporate Social esponsibility and Environmental Ethics

Abstract/Introduction -- No one can argue that the international business community is becoming more and more complex as a result of globalism. In turn, this complexity is driven by an increasing understanding of sustainability, going "green," and bringing ethical and moral philosophy into the business community. British Telecom, for instance, noted in 2007 that it had reduced its carbon footprint by 60% since 1996, setting itself a target of 80% reductions by 2016 (Hawser, 2007). Francois Barrault, CEO, BT Global Services, said that by supporting sustainability his company hoped not only to reduce its carbon footprint but also to attract younger people who prefer to work for environmentally and socially responsible companies. He didn't always think that way, though. Barrault said that when he first met former U.S. vice president and environmental activist Al Gore, who showed him pictures of icecaps melting, he thought…

Great Gatsby

Values in 1920 America were changing rapidly from the Victorian attitudes that preceded them, and the novel "The Great Gatsby," by F. Scott Fitzgerald clearly epitomizes these changing values. In business and in pleasure, the people Gatsby associates with are shallow, materialistic, nihilistic, and disloyal. These people lived hard, played hard, and often died young, as Myrtle and Gatsby indicate. They were celebrating the end of World War I and a new beginning for America, when it was prosperous and excessive. These new young Americans frightened their elders because they danced risque dances like the Charleston, smoked, drank, and spent large amounts of cash as often as they could. There were increasingly interested in material possession, including the ostentatious mansions of East and West Egg. Continually throughout the novel, Fitzgerald portrays them as shallow, uncaring, selfish, and incapable of real friendships and relationships. They are mostly interested in…

Consumer Society or Capitalism

Consumer society which evolves out of capitalism has its advantages as well as its disadvantages. But even with its disadvantages, consumer society has now become an accepted from of modern society.

Under the pressure of corporate politics, the commercialization of culture and the influence of mass media, the conventional literary values of Western society are deteriorating. For the public in general, the mixing and transformative experiences of culture have been restored by the joint viewing experience and by contribution in consumer trends. (Cronk, Consumerism and the New Capitalism) George Orwell described consumer society as the air we breathe. High worker output and high general levels of consumption typify efficiently improved societies of late 20th century. Though this prosperity is endorsed with making benefits like raised education and health care, it is also linked with much extended work hours, raised lose-lose social rivalry, uneven communities, economic disparity,…

These meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretative process that is used by individuals in dealing with the things they encounter (Blumer,

1969).

A proposed timetable of work is provided at Appendix a.

6)

Policy implications. There are a number of important policy implications involved with the proposed study, including the following:

1. An improved understanding of what compels consumers in the UK to pay a premium price for food products they perceive as being environmentally friendly.

2. An improved understanding concerning what green consumerism marketing methods are regarded as being effective when they are applied to food products, and why.

3. An improved understanding concerning what green consumerism marketing methods are regarded as being unethical when they are applied to food products, and why.

Taken together, consumers, government regulating agencies as well as companies which are competing in the food industry in the United Kingdom today and…

In a world that is marked by homogeneity, capitalism has favorable conditions to grow. However with changes in thinking and urban theory, instead of describing this concept in terms of production, it is now consumption that defines our times. We are living in a consumer society or a consumerist culture because consumption drives production instead of it being the other way around. People have now become more liberal in the way they live their lives. There are no specific rules to follow and changing lifestyles mean everyone would want something different. This results in increased variety and expanded range of goods and services at people's disposal. Combine this with more disposable income and you have consumerism on hands. People are no longer afraid to live their dream lives and this often means fewer savings. Interestingly, consumers are not worried about that. It appears as if the fears that drove people…

"

The analysis cited above continues to describe the ways in which corporate "life" (in the sense of how many different individuals and entities are vital to the running of a corporation in the current climate):

Businesses today must be consumer, profit, and publicly oriented. Only a few years ago, the first two would have sufficed. But, in support of our dualistic argument regarding the marketing concept, that is -- creating exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives more effectively and efficiently than the competition -- Philip Kotler (2000) has labelled marketing as inappropriate in a world of environmental deterioration, population expansion, world hunger and poverty, and neglected, under-funded, and business-like social services. Thus, marketing as exchange has been augmented by the need to preserve or enhance consumer and societal well being, too. Increasingly, this extends beyond 'seeming' to the needed 'substance' of corporate social responsibility.

The above touches on…

birth of the phenomena known as the consumer society is unknown but there is no doubt that, at least in the western world, it has existed since the advent of the Industrial evolution.

In the consumer society a high value is placed on the use and possession of material goods. Prior to the industrial revolution, most of society was concerned about mere sustenance and there was little demand for goods other than those needed to live from day. With the advent of the Industrial evolution mass production became possible and suddenly the producers had an excess of goods and needed to create a market for them.

The concept of consuming more than what one needed did not suddenly emerge with the birth of the consumer society as the ancient omans and Egyptians were well-known for their hedonism but such behavior in those societies was limited to a select few in…

business culture and expansion trends that exist for American companies in India. The paper focuses on answering the following questions: 1. What are the major elements and dimensions of culture in this region? 2. How are these elements and dimensions integrated by local conducting business in the nation? 3. How do both of the above items compare with U.S. culture and business? 4. What are the implications for U.S. businesses that wish to conduct business in that region? The paper also tackles the following aspects: Dimensions of Culture, Communication. Different Meaning of Words across Languages, Verbal, Nonverbal, High Context vs. Low Context and eligion -- Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Shinto and Ethics; Definitions, The Issue of Corruption, Corporate Social esponsibility, Values and Attitudes, Variances in Attitudes across Cultures, Concept of Time, Dealing with Change, The ole of Gender, Social Status, Business Manners and Customs across National Cultures, Social…

Business Terminology in Health Care

The Health Care Industry, idealistically is a large conglomeration of helping individuals and organizations who's sole purpose is to help people become more healthy, be that through prevention of disease or treatment of disease. Yet, it is known among nearly all health care professionals and almost all people who have ever been treated in the health care industry, even in the most minor way, which includes nearly all of the population, that the "Health Care Industry" is just that, an industry. This industry is governed by profit and loss just as any other; possibly even more so in the sense that the more loss there is the less people can be helped.

Over the past fifty years, as technology expands and costs rise there has been a noticeable change in health care delivery, for better and for worse most would say.

Change in the United…

romanticism of man with imagination and the curiosity to attach meaning to inanimate objects spills over in many forms- dreams, art, literature, and of late pervades the space in commercial forms like films, advertisements, fashion exhibitions etc. Surrealism has enamored and consequently influenced intellectual and academic pursuits in the past in all fields- social behavior, politics, religion and culture. The import of psychological realms and psychoanalysis on surrealism has been multivariate. Key historical figures- Marx, Freud, Dadi have shaped surrealism since the beginning of the twentieth century. In modern times, fashion and clothing make use of surrealism to evoke extreme emotions by way of animating the inanimate as well as pushing the subjects (inanimate and women) to the limits of obscenity (over-consumption) and grotesque. An analysis of the travel of surrealism through the times shows that the original concepts continue to have an impact on the thought that goes behind…

Social Changes for the American Family: Today and in 10 Years

The next ten years will see a greater variation in the structure of families and marriages, with much greater variations and flexibility than has ever been the case in the past. This will be primarily driven by the recognition that children, regardless of the composition of a family unit, need the structure and stability of long-term relationships at the adult level of stabilize their emotional maturation

(Milot, 2001). This shift to as much greater tolerance of marriage structures in addition to a questioning of consumerism, and if economic conditions continue to be turbulent, anti-consumerism, will mark the next ten years. The American family will shift from the prototypical nuclear family definition to one marked by more of a polyglot of roles, responsibilities and lifestyles (Milot, 2001).

Analysis of the American Family Today and in Ten Years

Clearly the economic…

Flapper Movement

The Effect of the Flappers on Today's Women

The 1920's in the U.S. And UK can be described as a period of great change, both socially and economically. During this period the image of the women completely changed and a "new women" emerged who appears to have impacted social changes occurring in future generations of both men and women. This new symbol of the women was the Flapper. The Flapper was a new type of young woman that was rebellious, fun, bold and outspoken (Zeitz, 2006). This research paper explains the rise and fall of the Flapper in the 1920's, explores its historical and current impact on women in terms of culture, work, gender and social behavior and reflects on its long-term impact of the position of today's women.

Evolution of the Flapper

Flappers, most often characterized as the "New Woman," originally emerged in the 1920s in the…

Corporation Changed from Early 19th to 21st Century?

Corporate Change Over Two Centuries

Corporations today manifest a singularity of focus on earnings that enables them to slice unencumbered through consideration for outcomes that do not directly impact profit margins. In the book, The Corporation, Joel Bakan asserts that:

"The corporation's legally defined mandate is to pursue, relentlessly and without exception, its own self -- interest, regardless of the harmful consequences it might cause to others" (Bakan, 2005, p. 9)

Bakan argues that the institutional imperatives of corporations, coupled with their seemingly boundless capacity to become more powerful fosters a pathological orientation to doing business that poses grave economic, political, and social danger. Bakan's theory will serve as the primary touchstone in this exploration of the influence of corporate power on politics and the economy.

The first section of this paper centers on a discussion about the ways in which the…

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…