Entry 1: Welcome

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Welcome to the fall quarter, 2012, blog for  Writing 2 ACE.

I will ask you to make comments on this blog.  These will be used as sources of class discussion and as a repository for quotations for writing.

Please note: this blog is out in public space.  Anyone can access it.  If you do not want your name on this blog, be sure to use a false name when you post a comment.  Be sure to let me know what that name is...and we will go from there.

In the meantime, once again: Welcome.

Nick

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Quote(''The Emergence of Consumerism'')
''A comment in 1747 noted;''A custom has prevailed among Grocers to sell sugars for the Prime Cost,and they are out of Pocket by the Sale;''but purchases of ''other Commodities''for which customers paid ''extravagant prices''made up for the loss. Consumer credit was widely extended,again,to help people buy what they don't need. Leading outlets gave gifts to notables, hoping that their example would inspire others to ''have to have''the same item.''

Why did I choose the quote?
This quote explains the methods used by Grocers/Salesmen to succeed in their attempt to fool consumers into buying the more expensive items. The main reason why Grocers constantly tricked customers into spending tons of money on their products was because at the time,sugar did not sell very well and they were losing money. In order for the Salesmen to recuperate all of the lost money, they had no choice but to increase on some of their other items. Not only were customers tricked into spending more money by the Grocers, but they were also given an extension in their credit to tempt them into buying more superfluous items. Stores would also manipulate people into buying their merchandise by giving away gifts to the wealthy, attempting to lure others into buying similar items and at the same time,increasing the profits of their businesses. To this day, many busineses are run similarly to the way they were run back in the 17th and 18th centuries because Salesmen still have the tendency to raise prices on certain popular items to compensate for the money lost on other unpopular items, and fool people into spending more money purchasing items they do not need.

The emergence of consumerism.

"The Wants of the Mind are Infinite, Man naturally Aspires, and as his Mind is elevated, his Senses grow more refined, and more capable of Delight; his Desires are enlarged (sic) and his Wants increase with his Wishes, which is for everything that is rare, can gratify his Senses, adorn his Body, and promote the Ease, Pleasure and Pomp of Life."

I chose this quote because I feel this is one of the best definitions for the emergence of consumerism. It defines it by saying that people will always want the newer, better, more efficient item rather than the old item. No matter how developed our society gets we will always want something new. This quote explains the feeling that we strive for in life. We work hard and we give ourselves a pleasurable life so that we can buy what we want. Society wants what society can and cannot afford. This is why people have credit cards, so that they can borrow money to buy the things they can't afford at the moment. Materialism is the best way to define consumerism. Materialism is the key idea of consumerism. This quote talks about the mind, needs, body, desire, and pleasure of consumerism. Some people consume because they are bored and feel that buying new things will help to make them feel better. In the early eighteenth century we didn't care about certain things. We didn't care if we got a little wet walking in the rain, but as soon as umbrellas came out it was a must have item. That is it those must have items. People feel that they have to have a certain thing to feel a certain way or to have a higher status. People want to look the part and to act the part so they need the materials to do so. There is always something new coming out whether it be a piece of furniture or a piece of jewelry or even a new cellphone, it is a must have. This is why there is an emergence of consumerism, because not only do people want things but the government also needs money.

"As individual's growth, enjoyment, and fulfillment became the single most valued aspect of life (Baumeister, 1987), several industries grew up to minister to this newly created need" (Cushman, pg. 29).
I personally was very interested in this article because it incorporated psychological aspects of consumerism. I am currently taking Psych 1 so it was very intriguing to me. I chose this quote because it makes human-beings seem like lost and helpless individuals. We needed the industries to "minister" our so called problems of needing to buy products to fulfill the emptiness in our hearts supposedly. Don't get me wrong, the industrial part of society was brilliant in coming up with this solution to get ahead in life and make enormous amounts of money. However, when doing this, they greatly underestimated the long term effects it would have on our country as a whole. The human emptiness was being filled with unnecessary products consumed by every individual. I, however, want to ask this question to my fellow colleagues: If the emptiness were not to be filled with consumer products, what would you suggest we do instead to fill that feeling of emptiness? And how would this change how our society is now?

"What is Wrong with Happiness?"

"Uncertainty is the natural habitat if human life- though the hope of escaping uncertainty in the engine of human pursuits."

I chose this quote because it summed up the entirety of the article in just one sentence. The overall aspect of consumerism and how it plays a role in everyday human lives is something so much greater than we perceive it to be. It has molded us into individuals who unintentionally decide everything at the drop of a hat and neglect the long term effects of our decisions when purchasing something. Why do we keep doing this you ask? We secretly hope that one day, this uncertainty will fade away and the only way this can be achieved is through continuously pursuing happiness through taking part in consumerism. Through buying unnecessary things and keeping up with the trends. What has consumerism done to us and how far does it go?

The Truman Show Plot Summary:

The Truman show is a movie about a man named Truman Burbank whose life is anything but ordinary. It turns out that his whole life is in fact a widely watched television show viewed by people all around the globe. However, the only person who does not know of this is Truman himself. Through the use of hundreds of actors and even more hidden cameras, the creator of this show is successfully able to manipulate and control Truman's life so it is able to appeal to the viewing pleasures of the individuals of the outside world, the real world. However, now that Truman is old enough to recognize and question the various mistakes made by actors, he is able to uncover the 30 year old hidden secret. As his world continues to fall apart, he grasps onto the memory of a college lover, Sylvia, to help motivate him to cut free from the strings unwillingly attached to him by the ventriloquist creator and to escape the puppet life into the real world.

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This page contains a single entry by Nick Tingle published on September 11, 2012 10:58 AM.

Blog Entry 2: Response to Emergence of Consumerism is the next entry in this blog.

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