Soft-Soaping Empire: Commodity Racism and Imperial Advertising - Essay Example

From the reading, one gets the perception that life without commodity fetishism may be boring and somewhat unbearable based on the realization that the dominant relationships in the world today involve the exchange of money and commodities in market trade. Commodity fetishism not only affects our public and private lives, but has become a determining factor in industrial modernity, racial relations, and economic competition (McClintock 131-135). Although it is almost impossible for the world to run without commodities as they are deeply embedded in our economic, political, social, and cultural systems, a good alternative would be to use norms and subjective value systems that have no bearing on racial and imperial symbolism, cultural representations, or commercial expansion.

However, such a world may not succeed in reinforcing the tenets of commerce and industry. The reading demonstrates advertising as “the central cultural form of commodity capitalism” (McClintock 131). Modern advertising as we know it has affected my views in terms of developing subjective perceptions about products, igniting consumerism, and reinforcing impulsive buying. I am unable to meet some of my goals (e.g., saving for my education) when I spend compulsively on nonessential products advertised in mainstream media channels.

Advertising has affected how I view other people by forcing me to develop racial, socioeconomic, and imperial symbolism of people who use certain commodities. The reading is clear that advertising not only influences class values and class control but also entrenches perceptions of superiority and imperial civilization (McClintock 133-138). There is no culture that is yet to be affected by commodity fetishism based on the fact that the world today is governed by capitalists who aim to generate commodities for the exchange market and invest heavily in advertising to remain competitive.