Entry 3: "Setting the Course"

"The "real work" of American collegians in the 1920s was responding positively to fads in dress, speech, music, and dance. While such a recreational culture placed a premium on superficiality, it also taught the useful skills of adjusting rapidly to change and of conforming to group norms. This commercialized peer culture provided a transition to an adulthood of companionate marriage, corporate-business "getting-on", and status-conscious consumption."

I chose this particular quote because although it is referring to a specific time period in the past, the 1920s, I sometimes feel like this applies to college life today. College students are constantly being bombarded with expectations and pressures to do certain things, buy certain products and conform to certain trends. As college students, we are no longer adolescents, but not quite adults, and corporations take advantage of that buy creating products and marketing them to seem appealing and "affordable" to college students. Many of the trends that Cross discusses are repeating patterns that still exist today. It would seem that consumers would learn from history, but corporations and manufactures keep us in the dark.

"It appealed also to the immigrant or uprooted American, for whom new consumer goods offered a relatively quick way of assimilating in a city or suburb."

I think that everyone that is not of white color or upper class feels the need to assimilate one way or another. I remember growing up my parents use to buy things just because it was what white people do. We would spend so much money buying products that we saw on TV because that is what the media was telling us to do. The media wanted us to fit into their mold of what richer people were, and we as consumers ate it all up. Even today, Americans are still living outside their means.

"Houses and their furnishings allowed some people to join the group giving others a way to exclude the "unworthy." Consumption became a means of waging class war--but at a personal level and with a minimum of overt violence" (18).

Gary Cross's observation aptly describes consumer society because it can be viewed in two disparate ways simultaneously. The first lens that one can view consumerism through is that it is democratic. All members of society take part in it--willingly or unwillingly--because all modern goods are a part of the system. The second lens casts consumerism as inequitable. While all may participate in consumerism, not all people can engage in it at the same rate. Society values modern fashion, high-class appliances, and name-brands, which are too expensive for the majority of society. Therefore, consumerism has superficially bound society through perpetuating the myth of equality while eroding its very core--the feeling of equal access.

"Social status and birth were no longer relevant in this ultimate democracy of spending."

I feel this statement is significant because it shows how society began to change and become a little bit more accepting while also creating new ways to exclude people. I say society became more accepting because clothing and material goods could be acquired by anyone who could afford them. Items were no longer limited to certain classes or races. However, despite the fact the new consumerism allowed people to define themselves with their clothing and material things, it made America seem divided by class and burdened. Technically anyone could buy anything, but obviously everyone can not afford it. Shopping can be a defensive response to insults from a class above or an offensive response to the class below.

"Name brands did more than create dominant companies. They served also to democratize American life at a time when social differences were extreme."

I believe this statement highlights a moment in history where a new national identity was created. As is demonstrated throughout the article, the onset of mass production made products more easily accessible to everyone. Name brands created recognizable images that became ingrained into everyday American life, and that closed the gap, to a degree, between the high and lower classes. The country came to be defined by the spokespeople and names that every citizen could identify, and markers of high society trickled down to the middle class.

"In the generation after 1900, consumption had became a substitute for conversation in a society where rituals of communication were already weak and growing weaker."

This quote is important because substituting conversation for consumption is becoming more and more relevant in today's world. Society seems to have a constant need to have the newest version or the best known brand of all the products on the market, disregarding practicality of whether or not the newest version is necessary. Consumerism allows society to constantly engage more so in the electronic world than the personal and social world. Face to face conversations are replaced with texting, or facebook messaging, and video games allow a consumer to live in a virtual world rather than their own real world.

"To consume took on whole new meanings..."
Coming from an poorer country than the United States, I have been noticing many consumption excesses since I have first landed in the US on September 2007. It is true that this article refers to the years of 1900-1930 but this same quotation can be used today. To consume is now ingrained in our values and attitudes. It is something we can't stop unless we have a big societal change. In my opinion, this excessive amount of consumption is caused by an increasing purchasing power of American population but also with a lack of care for the population's health.

Costco? Why do we go there? Because it is appealing to buy 5 or 6 gallons of milk for the price of 2 gallons in a regular store. Because Costco sells 5 30oz steaks for the price of two in a regular store. This is all good right? No. It is not good because people are consuming way more than what they need. If you have a big family than maybe it makes sense to buy 5 to 6 gallons. But there are lot of people that go to Costco that don't have big families and also purchase those quantities of food.

Lets take a look at another example. You go to a restaurant in Europe and you pay for the bread they serve you, no-refills are allowed for your drinks, and the quantity of food in your main course is perfectly appropriate for one person. You go to a restaurant in the United States and you don't pay for the bread they serve you, re-fills after refills are offered to you by the server every 15 minutes, and the smallest size in your main course feeds two hungry people. Sure it is way better to go to an American restaurant but doesn't anyone see what this is doing? People are used to getting large amounts of food in every meal which no matter how think you are, no matter how much you exercise, "little things" like cholesterol levels, stomach ulcers and diabetes start getting messed up. Just something to think about...

"Nevertheless, consumption often ameliorated tensions. Jewish immigrants, who had little desire or opportunity to return to the ghettos and persecution that they had known in Europe, were often committed to forging a new American identity."

I found this passage particularly interesting, because this was very much the culture that my grandmother grew up in, as a daughter of Jewish immigrants. While they lived in a glorified ghetto, my great grandmother emphasized the importance of looking "put together", and dressing above their social class. I believe this was her best effort at assimilation, influenced by consumerist America.

"Listerine mouthwash became a necessity in the bathrooms of millions of Americans when, in the 1920s, ads warned the insecure that 'halitosis' unbeknownst to them could ruin their careers, love lives, and friendships unless prevented with the daily use of Listerine."

It was interesting to read about the birth of consumerism and the strategic changes in advertising that came with it in the early 20th century. Today, cosmetics and other personal products seem so ingrained in our society, but it is clear that advertisers had to play to people's insecurities in order to create the necessity for many of these products back in the day. I feel like the article really shows where the insecurities about image and social status, which still trouble American culture today, came from.

"Affluence was about far more than rising personal income or even rising standards in housing, transportation, nutrition, clothing, education, and health care."

Technology and the industrial capacity in America hold the potential for advancement in these important fields. While all these categories are being furthered, being affluent, as the author mentions, is more about the personal benefits in physical comforts, leisure and pleasure. Because ours is a consumer-driven and on-demand society, that which makes the consumer happy now will triumph over that which will make the consumer happy later. Thus advancements in education or nutrition, whose effects are felt years or generations later, are, by many, abandoned in favor immediate gratification.

"Doubtless many Americans would have agreed with the explanation by a "leading citizen" of Lynd's Middletown of why people judged others by their houses and cars: "It's perfectly natural. You see, they know money, and they don't know you."

I find this quote important because it talks about how society eventually became fixated on the external consumer products which help shape a specific image of how they want to be displayed to others. This formulated image is a creation based on external products, whether for physical appearance or for possessions that give the look of wealth. The major focus of material goods led to a decline of in depth communicating between people since they could simply determine status based upon appearance and belongings.

One of the most profound quotes I found in this reading was directed towards American consumerism and the rise of American power: "The point was not that the United States experienced universal prosperity, but that high productivity made cheap manufactured goods quickly available down the social scale".
This quote speaks to all classes and ethnicities living in America at the time because of all of the productivity that made climbing social stratums possible. If you looked well enough, or middle class, you were able to succeed in pursuing the American Dream. Having that said, the consumption of goods such as cars which were luxury items, when produced efficiently after Ford, were available to a majority of Americans through an installment plan. Therefore, the need to purchase more and more grew because as technology and productivity increased, so did societal pressures.

"Social status and birth were no longer relevant in this ultimate democracy of spending."

I found this quote interesting because it shows how no matter what your status is society, if you were making money, you could choose to spend it on whatever pleased you. So rich or poor could have similar clothes. With the spending came about this materialistic view in the society. People were spending money on things that only a couple of decades of go were obsolete or not invented yet.

"He has become somebody... Is it not the automobile entitled to the major credit in this elevation of citizenship."

This commercial pitch utilizes the myth of mobility, the American dream of elevation through hard work and embodies the materialistic essence of American values. The words of this advertisement by Chevrolet in 1924 clearly attempts to demarcate the owning of a car as a standard of citizenship and an icon of self-worth. Political and civil ideology are undermined for the bottom line: profit and consumption of capitalism. From this brief historical overview of consumer society, it is easy to see why international relations and world politics are controlled by transnational corporations, as power empires that dictate the fate of the masses through capital and purchasing power. The commoditization and emphasis on physical appearance has evolved from buying clothes, gadgets and cars to physical mutilation and purchased appearance by the billion dollar industry of plastic surgery.

Consumer goods have transformed and defined every element of American life. Spending and purchasing is far more than buying an product off of a production line but a symbol of materialism, of wealth, and of a pathetic self-assurance of capability- it is the American way.

“Parents got their way while indulging the child, when they bought the right stuff. Adults persuaded kids to do what was necessary (drink milk, wash their hands, or eat dinner) by favoring them with Thompson’s’ Malten Milk, Lifebuoy soap “wash up charts,” or a Squibb Chocolate Vitavose food additive,” (29).

This quote shows how parents and children are target in consumerism. Even when parents think they are in control of their child’s growth- they are not. There is no doubt that parents want to keep their children safe and will feed them the necessary. As we know, not everyone is educated and if they hear through tv propaganda that something is good for you, then they will believe it. I don’t know about your parents but mine barely understood English when I was a child- and if they heard of something being healthy they would most likely believe it. However, since parents fall for these types of things instead of conducting their own research and actually knowing if it is a healthy product, they would simply fall into the consumerism trap. When walking through Costco- there are multiple stands were people have the opportunity to taste their newest products. However, this is only another strategic move to cheat people into consumerism. If people like how it taste, they will buy it.

"Shopping sometimes was a defensive reaction to insults from the class above or an offensive response to the intrusion of the classes below...Consumption became a means of waging class war--but at a personal level and with a minimum of overt violence."

I thought this particular quote from the reading can apply both to the 1900s and present day. It was interesting to read about how this modern consumerism brought upon a "waging class war" back in the earlier 1900s, because I can still see that today. Just a few weeks ago, before fall quarter began, I went shopping with a friend on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. There are basically two parts to this shopping strip: the upscale end and the end that features gritty boutiques and less expensive retail. My friend and I ended the shopping trip in the upscale end, where we did more eye-shopping than actual purchasing and where we came across a few stuck-up employees at high-end stores such as Fred Segal, Chloe, and Marc Jacobs. We could assume that our style of dress (which fit in more with the crowd in the gritty part of Melrose) and the fact that we failed to carry any shopping bags emblazoned with brand names were the reasons we were being snubbed. My friend was so offended by this that she ended up purchasing an overpriced scarf at Fred Segal.

"Packages seduced shoppers with the subliminal appeal of their color and shape and made them loyal consumers with the predictable flavor and feel of their contents."

This particular quote is one of the reasons why consumerism has increased over time. Back in the early 1900's there weren't that many name brands. People would still buy their produce by the pound and pick out of the barrels, but now we have so many brands and flavors to chose from its crazy. One can be stuck trying to decide whether they want chocolate milk, soy milk, 1% reduced milk, 2% or even fat free milk and once you get the percent out of the way you are stuck to chose between the brand of milk and price per gallon. There are so many options out there that has opted the competition to a higher level. Not only has this affected the food section but the personal hygiene section as well. I recently went to Walmart with my bestfriend and she was so amazed by the new tampons that Kotex had come out with. They are very colorful and easy to carry due to their compact size. She ended up buying these tampons because in her words they were "cute and colorful," despite the price which goes to show that shoppers are seduced by the appearance of the products.

The phrase "the art of consumerism" stuck out to me. Consumerism really is an art that has been mastered by both the consumers and the corporations behind it. Beginning with the incentives to buy and consume, there is a list of planned incentives that persuade and seduce shoppers. Let's think of it as the carrot that tempts consumers into purchasing products. Now these incentives include the following: cheap, reasonable prices; availability to the large mass of Americans/Immigrants/citizens; the product serves as a means of achieving acceptance within society as well as being a basis of sharing something in common with others; and lastly, consuming serves as a means of personal expression by buying "stuff" that you enjoy and makes you feel good.
But it doesn't just stop there. No way! The large corporations have it all figured out and have designed a way to keep their customers coming back for more, for years to come. This is what I call the trap because once you take a first nibble of the carrot, you're hooked to consumption! It's not necessarily a bad thing though, it's what has kept our country alive and running. Anyway, so the plots to keep us hooked involve planned obsolescence, tapping into our humanity's innate nature of competition & pride, as well as other sale strategies that free up space for new products and have habituated customers to expect bargains and novelty.
So overall, we're trapped in this viscous cycle of consumption and disposal, but we carry on knowing this anyway. I understand that our nation is run by a Consumer Democracy but I don't understand how we can continue to live life so frivolously knowing we are being conned out of money for soon-to-be waste, every day...Perhaps we don't care as long as we're okay and alive. Or perhaps we're to lazy to want to understand. Perhaps ignorance IS bliss in the Consumers' democracy.

"Products increasingly embodied what people in a 'mass' society wanted, a reassuring and inspiring friend...Ads linked material goods to immaterial longings, blending social, psychological, and physical needs indivisibly."

I agree with this quote. The way ads get us to buy their products is by convincing us that we can't live without them; using their product will make us wealthier, thinner, happier, and more popular than we were without it. Consumers have a need to fit in with the crowd, and if advertisers tell us that EVERYONE is using a certain product, we're unconsciously pressured to use it too. A lot of the time, we do not buy a product because we know it to work, but because of the reputation that comes with it.

"As important consumer goods were liberating in ways that other expressions of self and society were not. Unlike racial or even class characteristics, cars and foods as well as hats and clothes could be put on and taken off, depending on social and psychological circumstances."

This quote further expands on the earlier quote that "To consume took on a whole new meaning." Consuming became a gateway to the identities glorified in society. People who may not have necessarily been well-off could now emulate the identities of the millionaires on the TV screen with the now affordable mass produced and comparable goods. Cross went on to say that goods could help people avoid "self-disclosure". With all the troubles in the world, whether financial hardships, racial discrimination, or even just the difficulties that come along with an 8-hour workday, people find comfort in being accepted by the people surrounding them. And this new consumer society provided access to mask all your problems, while attributing a commonality between fellow citizens regardless actual social status. This provides a deeper understanding of the reasons why people can so easily be caught up in the consumer society. Regardless the fact people probably shouldn't spend their money on things that are useless at the end of the day, we currently live in a society that has morals and values that are shaped around this instilled idea of "receiving happiness by consuming" that was established way before our time. At the end of the end of the day we are the sole determiners of our happiness, however, a large percentage of the population need to consume to assist in obtaining it.

“Such ads may have made people more superficial in their judgments of others and themselves, but these appeals were also rational and advantageous. In an increasingly mobile society, such reliance on ‘externals’ was a sensible way of communicating because many people important to Americans ‘really’ did not know them.”

I find it interesting that this statement, despite the era to which it refers, is significantly relevant to the present. In fact, it appears that the adverting strategies of the early 1900’s have become the basis of modern materialistic social culture. As much as we may try to deny it, we do indeed rely on outward appearances as a means to judge both familiar and unfamiliar individuals. In such a consumerist society, our possessions communicate a great deal about us. Given the vast variety and availability of options in the garment industry, the attire an individual elects to don immediately conveys a message about them to another individual. Such is not necessarily a negative phenomenon in principle, as long as the function of the outward appearance is not embellished or constructed to deceive. Accurate observation and analysis of the external offers insight into an individual’s interests, hobbies, profession, etc. and thus, may foster social exchange otherwise unlikely to occur.

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