Popular Culture and Consumer Capitalism - Essay Example

Name: xxxxxxxxxxx Course: xxxxxxxxxxx Institution: xxxxxxxxxxx Title: Popular culture and consumer capitalism Date: xxxxxxxxxxx The relationship between popular culture and consumer capitalism Introduction Popular culture can defined as the totality of perspectives, images, ideas and attitudes among many other factors that are preferred within the mainstream of a particular society through an informal consensus. In his book, “Cultural Theory and Popular Culture”, John Storey equates popular culture with mass culture. He considers popular culture to be a commercial culture that is mass produced for mass consumption (Storey 2006). On the other hand, consumer capitalism can be defined as the notion that consumption influences the capitalist economy through the corporate manipulation of consumers to continuously purchase material goods (Schrader 2011). Several studies portray a close link between popular culture and consumer capitalism. This paper seeks to examine the relationship between popular culture and consumer capitalism. Foremost, this paper will examine the concept of consumer capitalism and popular culture. Subsequently, this paper will establish the link between poplar culture and consumer capitalism. The concept of popular culture Popular culture can be considered as a culture that is largely based on popular taste and is disseminated widely on a commercialized basis. Popular culture is often characterized by brand names, popular music, fashion, television shows, sports and movies among many other factors. (Fiske 1989). Storey (2006), equates popular culture to mass culture. This is viewed as a commercial culture that is mass produced for mass consumption. Storey observes that there exists a political dimension of popular culture, according to the “neo-Gramscian hegemony theory”, popular culture is a site of struggle between the forces of incorporation that operate in the interests of the dominants groups within the society and the resistance of subordinate groups of people in society. Furthermore, Storey accentuates that popular culture surfaces from the urbanization of the industrial revolution that identifies the term “popular culture” with mass culture (Storey 2006). Moreover popular culture has been broadly associated with life practices and common aesthetic in both qualitative and statistical sense. Over the years, theorists have used this term to allude to a culture that has arisen in the modern era. Unlike folk culture and high-culture, pop culture is mass produced and mass consumed. Popular culture is important in that it influences consumer behaviour. For example, the fashion or clothing style of celebrities or pop idols greatly influences consumer habits of young people. Most young people are bound to purchase what they see celebrities purchase so as to identify themselves with the alleged celebrity (Danesi 2008). Popular culture can be thought of as a central force in society that influences what people do, watch, think about and wear (Dolby 2003). In addition, popular culture boost economic growth since it promotes consumerism. Gramsci’s theory of hegemony offers an important way of analyzing the role of popular culture in society. Gramsci argues that dominant classes do not preserve control through the use of manipulation and control. Rather Gramsci suggests a process of winning the consent of subordinated groups or hegemony (Dolby 2003). The concept of consumer capitalism The concept of consumer capitalism has often been redefined following the introduction of popular culture in the early 1900’s. It is a commonly used term derived from sociology and psychology and is used in mass market of consumer goods. In most cases consumer capitalism refers to the notion that consumption influences the capitalist economy through the corporate manipulation of consumers to continuously purchase material goods. In his book, “Propaganda” Edward Bernays argues that the organization of a democratic society entails the manipulation of the wants and desires of consumers by groups from the upper class. In this definition Bernays portrays the picture of the concept of consumer capitalism (Bernays 1993). The complete framework of consumer capitalism is predicted on the notion that the value of a product is influenced by the desire of individuals despite of the actual need or necessity of the product. For example a consumer may think that he or she needs or want a product and just as long as the desire for this product is sustained the value of the product will continue to increase. Basically, consumer capitalism operates on the general economic paradigm involving supply and demand, nonetheless without regarding the intrinsic value of a product (Schrader 2011). Evidently, trends of consumer capitalism have contributed to the rise of a disaffected public which has effectively cut off from themselves and the society in general. By being bombarded by a culture of consumerism, it was estimated that the public is exposed to over 2,000 advertisements daily (Schrader 2011). Consequently, individuals in society may loose sight of their self-worth in pursuit of materials things. Moreover, people are bound to fill the spiritual and emotional gaps in their lives by purchasing products rather than having real connection with others. This is evident in social networking which seems to have replaced real actual face to face social contact and the pitfalls associated with it such as stalkers and identity theft. Conversely, consumer capitalism can beneficial, for instance economic growth in industrialized countries has accelerated in the last 2 decades largely due to consumer capitalism. Following the advent of cheap oil in the 1900’s the desire for material and commercial products continued to rise and this in turn drove the prices of goods upwards thus increasing the economic growth of industrialized countries around the globe. It is not uncommon to see long queues of consumers eagerly awaiting the releases of video game consoles (Play station), the latest smart phones (Iphone) or even shoes (Air Jordan) (Gordy 2006). According to Gordy (2006), consumer capitalism has outpaced long standing political and economic ideologies even in former communist states. When consumers fail to consume products the industrialized economy may enter recession or the economy might decline (Schrader 2011). The link between popular culture and consumer capitalism According to Franz & Smulyan (2011), popular culture boosts consumer capitalism. Franz and Smulyan note that popular culture has played an integral role in the political and economic expansion of nations. They also note that consumer capitalism continued to grow in America as a result of popular cultures such Disney products, jazz, Italian sports cars, movies, McDonald’s, Starbucks among many other cultures. These aspects further led to the expansion of American markets and other markets around the world. Based on the sentiments of Franz & Smulyan (2011), it is evident that the link between popular culture and consumer capitalism is based on the fact that popular culture facilitates the increase of consumer capitalism. In order for the masses to be influenced towards consumerism or in order for corporate to manipulate consumers to continuously purchase material goods, there is need for a popular culture that is preferred within the mainstream of a particular society (Franz & Smulyan 2011). The relationship between consumer capitalism and popular culture is embedded on the emphasis of money rather than meaning or value. At the simplest level both consumer capitalism and popular culture entail a user not simply consuming a commodity but rather reworking it and treating it as a cultural resource. Both consumerism and popular culture are characterized by commodities that are difficult to escape even if one wanted to. The role that these factors play in society particularly in the economic sphere is that they ensure the circulation and generation of wealth and commodities. Some of these commodities may include basic necessities of life, inessential luxuries and non-material objects such as television programs, star’s name and women appearance among many others (Fiske 1989). Popular culture is a tactic used in consumer capitalism to manipulate the demands of consumers to the advantage to the advantage of sellers. Often times, consumer capitalism employs mass- marketing techniques that incorporate the use of popular culture in order to coerce consumers towards the purchase of certain products and services. Fiske (1989) notes that popular culture can be considered as a culture that is largely based on popular taste and is disseminated widely on a commercialized basis. Popular culture is often characterized by brand names, popular music, fashion, television shows, sports and movies among many other factors. A good example of how consumer capitalism employs popular culture to coerce consumers is evident in the marketing strategies employed by Nike. Nike is known using celebrity endorsements as a marketing strategy. Over the years, Nike has used celebrities such as Michael Jordan to market its shoe brand product known as the “Air Jordan line.” Nike also endorsed Tiger Woods, world’s most famous golf player (Hatfield 2003). Consequently, Nike products become a popular culture since a good number of fans and sports men acclaimed themselves to the Nike brand and religiously purchased them due to their attachment to these celebrities. Celebrity endorsements are also the order of the day in many countries with the dominant sportsmen used as a powerful marketing tool for a range of products. The concept of self image and popular culture amongst consumers is among the factors that lead to mass consumption of Nike brands. For consumers purchasing products or brands endorsed by celebrities is a way of finding their identity or affirming their aspirations of becoming like the celebrity in future (Kotler, Cunningham & Turner, 2001). This is consumer capitalism at work since consumers have been coerced towards the purchase of Nike brands through the use of popular culture in form of celebrity endorsement so as to influence mass consumption of the brand. Conclusion Popular culture can be considered as a culture that is largely based on popular taste and disseminated widely on a commercialized basis. On the other hand, consumer capitalism can be defined as the notion that consumption influences the capitalist economy through the corporate manipulation of consumers to continuously purchase material goods (Schrader 2011). The relationship between consumer capitalism and popular culture is embedded on the emphasis of money rather than meaning or value. According to Franz & Smulyan (2011), popular culture boosts consumer capitalism. Franz and Smulyan note that popular culture has played an integral role in the political and economic expansion of nations. They also note that consumer capitalism continued to grow in America as a result of popular culture. Moreover, the popular culture is a tactic used in consumer capitalism to manipulate the demands of consumers to the advantage to the advantage of sellers. Bibliography Bernays, E., 1993, Propaganda, Liveright, Michigan. Danesi, M., 2008, Popular culture: introductory perspectives, Rowman & Littlefield, Toronto. Dolby, N., 2003, Popular culture and democratic practice, Harvard Educational Review, Vol, 73, No.3, ISSN 0017-8055. Fiske, J., 1989, Understanding popular culture, Routledge, New York. Franz, K. & Smulyan, S., 2011, Major problems in American Popular Culture, Cengage Learning. Gordy, C., 2006, “Sales + Economy + Efficiency = Revolution”: dollarization, Consumer capitalism, and popular responses in Special Period Cuba’, Public Culture 18(2): 383-412. Hatfield, S., 2003,What makes Nike's advertising tick. Retrieved on July 15, 2011from 2011 from Kotler, P., Cunningham, M. & Turner, R., 2001, Marketing management, Pearson Education Canada, Ontarrio. Schrader, A., 2011, Consumer capitalism definition, Retrieved in July 15, 2011 Storey, J., 2006, Cultural theory and popular culture: an introduction, Pearson Prentice Hall, New York. Read More