Entry 4: Respond to "Why the Self is Empty"

Some Reflections on Paper 1 and the Last Class (Monday)

Paper 1 will be based, in one way or another, on the different readings we will do in this first three weeks or so. No other research is necessary.

I just want to lay down the outlines, as it were, of the consumer society through these readings to establish the general importance of that topic for our understanding of our society and to provide a context for your research paper.

I thought people were hitting at some of the main ideas (or themes) that might provide a backbone or line of reasoning for paper 1.

First people noted, drawing on Cross, (and the documentary notes this too) that at the beginning of the 20th century (or somewhere in there) people began to buy "goods" based less on practicality or necessity and more for purposes of "self-expression." This is itself one of those "big" ideas that could easily take up the four pages necessary for paper one.

Another big idea related to this one is Cross's claim that the consumer society help to soothe tensions between the classes and between generations and additionally assisted immigrants in the process of assimilation. This too is a possible four pages. What does he mean by this? What is the upside and what is the downside.

Another idea has to do with the question of why these changes took place. What changed in the way Americans lived that helped the transition to the consumer society and that even made the consumer society necessary in a way. Remember the documentary where it is suggested that those in power, the elite, saw the consumer society as a way to control people in a potentially unruly democracy.

I am just throwing out hints here to suggest that if you really tried to burrow into some of these big ideas (using Cross, maybe the Empty Self, and stuff from the documentary) that you can easily produce an organized and interesting four pager.

"Since the end of World War II the configuration of an empty self has emerged in the middle classes. It is empty in part because of loss of family, community and tradition. IT is a self that seeks the experience of being continually filled up by consuming goods, calories, experiences, politicians, romantic partners and emphatic therapists in an attempt to combat the growing alienation and fragmentation of its era" pg 18.

I understood this to be a core idea of the entire article. This concept grabbed my attention, begging be to ponder what the author meant by this theory and whether I could imagine any evidence of it myself. After some consideration, I decided that this interesting theory may have to validity to it. World War II surely marked sorts of social change in America (and globally as well) with such issues as prejudice, politics, propaganda and war being brought to the forefront of society. Cushman argues that the self is constructed and reconstructed with consideration to its era in history. He says a new construction of self occurred in the post- World War II era that was empty as a result of events from the previous era (World War II). Many people lost family members to the war, lost faith. It is because of this, he says, that the self began to yearn for compensation of this emptiness through the consumption of goods amongst other things. It's interesting to consider this theory along with the others we have covered thus far about the origins of consumption culture. I feel they all have some merit yet maintain individuality through their approaches.

"Humans do not have a basic, fundamental pure human nature that is transhistorical and transcultural. Humans are incomplete and therefore unable to function adequately unless embedded in a specific cultural matrix." The idea in this article that humans are basically empty blank canvasses that need to be culturally shaped is one that I have never heard or thought of before. I'm not sure I really agree with the author's idea that the self has been shaped by advertising and the government...but maybe that's because I don't like the idea of it. We all want to think that we are individuals and not empty inside. Obviously a major part of what we think about has to do with outside influences...what would our beings think about if not for the world around us? It seems like this idea could go around in circles forever.

“We would do well to remember Foucault’s warning that the changes undergone by the Western self are not developmental changes brought on by an inner logic, the unfolding of a secret genetic code, or the peeling of layers of enlightenment”( 19)
I found this quote interesting because this is how I always thought of development. I thought that our society was changing in a way to constantly be making life and the world better. Slowly people are becoming more accepting of being homosexual, racism is considered a bad attribute for a person, and a mobile phone allows for a person to call for help anytime they need it. These are all positive developments over the previous way of life and they have only recently developed in the last fifty years. However the author is probably correct in saying that western society is changing but not towards a great ideal—just changing. In fact even using the word ‘developing’ is incorrect. Developing carries with it the connotation that it is moving forward towards something with an positive ending point. This is not true. Society will never be stagnant even if it reaches this perfect world. Also sometimes society is improving for the better—with the examples above—and sometimes it is not. The increase in the price of college tuition, and the continuous decrease in the amount of people who vote are also all recent developments and they are arguably not positive.

"I believe that after the war the configuration of the empty self coalesced and finally became predominant as a consequence of the loss of community and in order to match the needs of the new economy"(23). The part of this quote that I agree with is that consumerism began to develop because of the feeling individuals had after the war. Advertisers took advantage of the desired happiness of these individuals. The author goes on to discuss how a constantly improving lifestyle was of great value at this time. I would not say that this means that people felt empty if they did not consume. I think it was more about wanting the best for your family.

"Culture 'completes' humans by explaining and interpreting the world, helping them to focus their attention on or ignore certain aspects of their environment, and instructing or forbidding them to think and act in certain ways" (19). I disagree with Cushman's explanation of culture's formation of human behaviors. Humans create culture. Although culture influences the behaviors of the masses, it is up to some to create the culture for others to follow. According to the rest of the article, the consumer culture of the 20th century made Americans empty in comparison to the rich culture of the Victorian era. In my opinion, neither is richer than the other or more empty, Culture of the Victorian era and consumer culture of today are simply different, neither is superior or inferior. Although I do agree that culture influences the behavior of the masses, I disagree with the fact that our current culture makes us empty selves as a result of consumerism,

"It is therefore difficult for us to imagine the self as other than the way it is in our era or to consider it a legitimate subject for study" (17).

We do not take the time to study the self because we take the concept of the self for granted. The social construct of self is ingrained into us. Even sociologists who spend their days examining the way society molds us have issues deconstructing the concept of "self". Many of our theories about the way society shapes us are based on the fundamental idea of the self. Without a self to adapt can we be socialized? As Cushman is arguing, the idea of the self was created for socialization. The entire concept of the self as an entity is constructed. And we cannot separate ourselves from the self that was created for us by the society that we live in.

“A good case could be made that many current advertisements…are less a type of benign guidance and more a kind of coercive attack. Ads seem to criticize and condemn the average consumer while glorifying the model, extolling a standard of beauty and mastery impossible to achieve… By surrounding themselves with the accoutrements of the model, by ingesting the proper liquid while wearing the proper clothing, all the while exhibiting the proper shape, customers seek to “become” the model.” (23).

I think this quote is a perfect example of how innate the plight of the empty self is, and how successfully advertisers appeal to its desires. Almost every consumer is affected by the empty self, and is constantly seeking to satisfy the empty self. Advertisers appeal to this by making us feel their products will fill the void of the empty self. Many do this by presenting information that is processed shallowly, and often unconsciously. Therefore we automatically make associations about the product, the attractive model selling it; believing that we will become more like the model if we buy the product. We often are unaware of the associations we make, and therefore often do not consciously realize that it is the advertiser’s appeal to the empty self that is making us buy the product. The amount of people who “surround(ing) themselves with the accoutrements of the model” are proof of how effective advertisers are at this. I believe this excerpt is important to the argument of the paper because it illustrates how the empty self is a prominent force driving every day consumers.

"Culture 'completes' humans by explaining and interpreting the world helping them to focus their attention on or ignore certain aspects of their environment, and instructing and forbidding them to think and act in certain ways."
I used this quote because I agree with it wholeheartedly. Only one of the many examples supporting this claim is the fact that people growing up in certain places mostly have the same religion within that area and actually believe in it. If people thought for themselves, instead of blindly following their cultural traditions, there probably wouldn't be so many roman catholics or other cults for that matter.

"...Americans in the post-World War II era came to need self-improvement in a form and to a degree unknown before. As the individual's growth, enjoyment, and fulfillment became the single most valued aspect of life, several industries grew up to minister to this newly created need. The cosmetics industry, the diet business, the electronic entertainment industry, preventive medical care, and the self-improvement industry all came into prominence" (22). I feel that this quote exemplifies that the style of advertising from post World War II has continued to be successful in today's society. As we discussed in class, most commercials on TV are aimed at 'improving people'. Whether it is a Maybelline commercial that offers a more natural-looking foundation or the new miracle pill that somehow transforms one's body without diet or exercise, it serves to give viewers a life-style solution to fill the void. The idea that Americans are empty has been extremely easy for advertising to exert influence and control.

"Credit is only necessary when the individual's wish to buy outstrips his or her capital. Individuals do not wish to buy if they do not perceive a need for a product. But with an empty self people always need."

As a business/economics student and a person carrying more credit cards then necessary, I think I've assumed that credit has always been in existence and that it's also an important part of a strong economy. I never really questioned why we needed credit in this way until I read this article. If consumerism gave birth to credit, does this mean if we remove credit from people, will they stop overconsuming or merely find other ways?

"The self, as an artifact, has different configurations and different functions depending on the culture, the historical era, and the socioeconomic class in which it exists." I agree with this quote only to a certain extent. I agree that depending upon where you live and your economic background shapes you in who you are and even how you set your priorities. But I do not agree that the self is totally blank. I think that there are basic human needs and a basic nature that we all have and that transcends cultures. Genetics also plays a role in who we are- and helps to shape our self. In all I think the quotation is very broad and doesn't reflect the multiple influences that people experience.

"Writers such as Lears (1983) and MOdleski (1986) have argued that ads sell by convincing the public that a certain product is indispensable to their well-being or by implicitly addressing or exacerbating a personal fear in the customer that could be reassured or soothed by purchasing the product."
I can see why maybe they think that way because it seems people by a lot of things that are unnecessary for themselves. But I really do not agree with the writers way. I don't really think I have bought an outrageous fear. I think the quote pertains to the the thesis of the article because it talks about ourselves and how we are effected by advertising.

"the study of the self is also a crucial element in interpreting an era. By studying the configuration of the current self, we will come to have an enlarged perspective on the forces that shape it." I believe this brings up points akin to our discussion last class. The things that we incorporate into our every day lives shape who we are as people and on a larger scale, as a society. By studying the self though the technologies and practices one uses, the era of that time is better defined.

“In order for the economy to thrive, American society requires individuals who experience a strong “need” for consumer products and in fact demand them (Henry, 1963). Such an economy requires individuals who have an uninterrupted flow of money and a continual motivation to spend it” (pg. 19). I somewhat agree with this quote. Motivation to spend is definitely the key factor to consumerism. This can be brought about by numerous factors and vastly influenced by advertisements. When he states that “an uninterrupted flow of money” is needed he makes it sound like you need to be rich to spend, which is completely wrong. Overall, I agree with this quote because vast arrays of products are available for us to buy based on what people demand, what they need/want.

In order for the economy to thrive, American society requires individuals who experience a strong ‘need’ for consumer products and in fact demand them. Such economy requires individuals who have an uninterrupted flow of money and a continual motivation to spend it.
I agree with the first part of the quote because in order for Americans to continue to consume the goods put out on the market, they have to demand them, otherwise, the economy would not run properly; it is about supply and demand, but not entirely. On the other hand, I do not completely agree that people need to have an interrupted flow of money or a continual motivation to spend that money in order to get what they want. What about those who max out their credit cards and at the end cannot pay them, end up in a battle with the creditors and collection agencies, and finally are too overwhelmed with their debts that they end up filing for bankruptcy? Cushman continues to talk about the creation of “easy credit” and how that has helped in the creation of the society we live in now, after all that is how our system of baking works (and we still ask ourselves how we got into such huge debts).

Quote: "After the turn of the century, popularized forms of psychology and religion began to offer advise on how to impress others, become popular, and achieve success." (pg20)
The main idea of this academic journal is the development of the empty self through alienation of cultural ties. This empty self was recognized and a merger between psychology and business emerged, so as to capitalize on the insecurities of the individual. Advertisement was developed as an outreach instrument to all, as it provided new expectations geared towards consumption. The empty self requires cultural guidance which now is provided through an instilled requirement of constant consumption.

“Inner emptiness may be expressed in many ways, such as low-self esteem (the absence of a sense of personal worth), values confusion (the absence of a sense of personal convictions), eating disorders (the compulsion to fill the emptiness with food, or to embody the emptiness by refusing food), drug abuse (the compulsion to fill emptiness with chemically induced emotional experiences), and chronic consumerism (the compulsion to fill the emptiness with consumer items and experience of “receiving” something from the world).” (22)

I choose this quote because it was something I never thought of before. I never realized how all the problems mentioned about could relate to one having an empty self. The self has been left empty through the loss of traditions, a sense of community, and shared meaning. Once lost, people were unsure of how to see the world, what to pay attention to in their environment, and how to act in certain situations. These disorders are how people attempt to fill their empty self. I agree with the way Cushman relates the problems in the quote with an empty self. The part most important to the overall argument is the section about chronic consumerism. Advertising has offered people a way to fill this void. Some advertisers have convinced others that by buying their product they can feel happier about themselves. Consumers can take on the happy worry-free life of the models inside the ads.

"Broad historical forces such as industrialization, urbanization, and secularism have shaped the modern era. They have influenced the predominant psychological philosophy of our time, self-contained individualism; constructed the current configuration of the bounded self, the empty self; and developed the professions that I believe are most responsible for filling and healing the empty self, advertising and psychotherapy," (p.18)

You need the beginning of the quote to understand the context, but the part that really interested me was the end about the importance of the modern world's advertising companies and psychotherapy firms to the psyche and the "empty self." Earlier in the reading it points to today's lack of community, tradition and shared meaning due to the forces of urbanization and industrialization as the reason for this "empty self." It has put so many people so close together but with fewer ties and not much need for community realtions, leaving people feeling empty and straining to fulfill there lives in some new way. Before industrialization people's lives focused on the family economy: farming, in-home textiles, etc., and everyone in the family worked to make a living and everyone in the town came together to share those commodities and function as a bonded community. Now with industrialization and urbanization they didn't need to do that anymore. People were no longer dependent upon them in the same way, and people had more free time to do things and think about "themselves" in correspondence to the world, creating a feeling of a lack of self-worth or importance among the now realized vast amounts of people on the planet. Hence, the whole idea of the "empty self" and the need for advertising to bring a sense of shared meaning back to people through products, and psychotherapy to give people a sense of importance and individualism in the world.

"BY surrounding themselves with the accouterments of the model, by ingesting the proper liquid while wearing the proper clothing, all the while exhibiting the proper shape, customers seek to "become" the model. The customer's problems will simply disappear when the magical transfer takes place."

I thought this quote was interesting because the author uses the words "magical transfer." That is essentially what people think will happen when they buy something. They buy a single product and then as if by magic, they expect to be a different person. For example, they expect that by buying and using a certain perfume, they will automatically become irresistible...even in characteristics which are not related to the perfume at all, like hair or body shape. In a society where we are so accustomed to immediate gratification, this, in a way, makes sense to the customer when buying the product. With technology and the like we can do things at the touch of a button. So why would changing our physical appearance be any different. Why can't a single spritz of perfume make you who you want to be? Advertising companies take advantage of this by giving a simple solution to a perceived problem.

“The thesis of this article is that the current self is constructed as empty, and as a result the state controls its population not by restricting and impulses of its citizens, as in Victorian times, but by creating and manipulating their wish to be soothed, organized, and made cohesive by momentarily filling them up.” P. 18
Reading this quote unsettled me as I was unsure whether it was because I disagreed with the author or if it was because he had pegged the inner workings of an individual dead on. After thinking about it for awhile I had settled on the fact that his assertion was the truth. These days’ people are creating their individualism based on the things they buy, and most everything has been replaced with material items. This could go along with the belief that stuff is merely enhancing the non material message; however it seems now that material items are absolutely necessary in order to convey such messages. For example, to say ‘I love you’ flowers can be given, holiday cheers are spread through cards and holiday portraits, and a new car or fancy vacation home is needed to show off the huge holiday bonus. Without all the material items it seems like the self would be empty because people have grown so accustomed to having things that it would be difficult to even imagine how to interact and communicate without these props.

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