Entry 5: Reponse to Two Articles

Just to get things started, here is a quotation from Lasch worth mulling over:

The insubstantiality of the external world arises out of the very nature of commodity production, not out of some character flaw in individuals, some excess of greed or “materialism.” Commodities are produced for immediate consumption. Their values lies not in their usefulness or permanence but in their marketability. They wear out even if they are not used, since they are designed to be superseded by “new and improved” products, changing fashion and technological innovation. (pages 35-36 in Reader).

I don’t know. If I were to hit my head against the wall, I think I might, from the pain in my head, conclude that the wall—part at least of the external world—is quite substantial. But I know Lasch is not a stupid guy so he must be talking about something different—clearly that different thing is the commodity. So he is talking about the insubstantiality of the external world to the extent that it appears in commodities. And like the people in the documentary, he seems to believe people buy things not for use or permanence but because they have been marketed as say “new and improved.” I think I might understand what he is saying and there’s something scary about it.

from "Consumer Society"

"needs are in reality the fruits of production" (pg.64)

while reading the article I was surprised that this comment had yet to be made. As soon as I read it I understood the essence of this statement. Not only did I understand it but as a young adult I am able to comprehend it and accept that it is a truth. The consumer society as we know it has become not only a economic priority but a necessity as well. As years go by, us Americans watch as new products are revealed and advertised. From the moment that a product is released, we are already wondering what the upgrade will look like in a couple of months. "Needs" are in reality what drives production; whether these needs are revealed through survey, personal opinions, or a outspoken demand, our "needs" are provided by production companies to fulfill are demands. Yet, the sad truth is that the production companies do not provide us with our "needs" as a mean of courtesy, but rather as an attempt to stimulate our economy and put their brand name and label on the map. Americans make their voice heard on issues that really matter (according to them) and they range from individual to individual. When a consumer wants to be able to purchase a certain item he takes some sort of initiative. Say for example Iphone users; when the first iphone was released, it only took a few months for internet blogs and newspaper articles to comment on the possibility of upgrades for a new version of an iphone. Now, the dedicated consumers attended the yearly Apple conference and were then told a new version was to be released, the 3GS. It goes to show that production companies will provide items, and goods that seem to be "needs" for consumers on the market and available for purchase. These "needs" by consumers have caused production companies to become profit based companies. In reality, that is why companies exist in the first place, but they cannot speak that openly, yet by our "needs" it has turned into a characteristic that all production companies now hold. Our "needs" have become essential of our every day life and production companies have relied on our "needs" to make a profit. Manipulation by advertising is a result from this trend. To conclude, our consumer society has created and will continue to maintain a profit based production nation.

Boy this Baudrillard guy is difficult. I assigned it because I think there’s something in it. Having just re-read it, I think there is something in it but it’s very difficult to get to.

Part of the problem may be that if one does start to get to it, one understands that his message is pretty bleak. How to put it. THERE IS NO WAY OUT OF CONSUMER SOCIETY OR BEING WITHIN IT A CONSUMER. Advertising, I think, he seems to say, does not create desire. Rather human beings just desire, and advertising directs that desire across an endless parade of objects to be desired and consumed. Also, he seems to say there is no difference between need and desire. Or rather there is no way, within the system of consumerism to make that distinction (and we are all within that system). The need/desire for an ipod is the same as the need/desire for a hamburger. But here is a quotation:

The consumer, the modern citizen, cannot evade the constraint of happiness and pleasure, which in the new ethics is equivalent to the traditional constraints of labor and production. Modern man spends less and less of life in production and more and more in the continuous production and creation of personal needs and personal well-being. He must constantly be ready to actualize all of his potential, all of his capacity for consumption. If he forgets, he will be gently and instantly reminded that he had no right not to be happy. He is therefore not passive; he is engaged, and must be engaged, in continuous activity. Otherwise he runs the risk of being satisfied with what he has and of becoming asocial (67).

“The only thing that justifies treating them as a group is that all of them reject the diagnosis of our society as ‘narcissistic’. As Yankelovich puts it, the ‘American quest for self-fulfillment’ cannot be reduced to the ‘pathology of narcissistic personality disorders.’ Narcissism ‘is not the essence of the recent American search for self-fulfillment.’ ‘Far from being its defining characteristic, narcissism is a betrayal of it.’” (pg.32)

While I begun to read this article, I came across this quote which captured exactly what I was thinking. Personally, I agree with Yankelovich because I do think that “narcissism” is too strong of a word to use to describe today’s society. When someone says that word, I automatically think of a negative quality in which that person is in love with themselves: someone selfish. Narcissism should be used to describe the government, or the producers of technology (or consumerism), because they are the ones who only think of themselves and their money. They are the ones who do not care yet advertise with “caring”. They are the ones who have corrupted society by producing gadgets that are suppose to “change” your life or make you a better person. Society is not narcissistic. As described in the article, producers of technology are like the “breast” which feeds an infant (society). Society cannot live on its own; they need rules and regulations in order to move further. So how can this author possibly say that society is narcissistic? People of society are mainly the ones who donate money to relive natural causes all over the world; it is society whom volunteers to make the world better. It is the big corporations who could care less about the world and only care about themselves and ways on how to make money. So who here is narcissistic: the people who produce and advertise with “care”, or society whom knows no better than to consume for their empty selves?

Consumer society: Strictly speaking, men of wealth are no longer surrounded by other human beings, as they have been in the past, but by objects. Their daily exchange is no longer with their fellows, but rather, statistically as a function of some ascending curve, with the acquisition and manipulation of goods and messages:..."(59).

This quote just continues the conversations we have been having in class. It answers to whether in reality we are getting more connected to others or getting disconnected. Objects keep turning into more and more important things than the people around us. More often we get distracted by our gadgets than by the people around us. We are so surrounded by the objects that we have contaminated our whole mindset. It has become something that controls our behavior, our values, and our society as a whole. Needs and desires are now too hard to set apart and the only thing left are ads directing us to which objects to get out of so many.

"The repeated experience of uneasy self-scrutiny, of submission to expert judgment, of distrust of their own capacity to make intelligent decisions, either as producers or as consumers, colors people’s perceptions both of themselves and of the world around them. It encourages a new kind of self-consciousness that has little in common with introspection or vanity.” (p. 34)

I think Lasch is making a very important point here. He’s showing how the consumer society has increased our dependency on it so that we are unable to make decisions on our own. I personally find this to be true because whenever I go shopping I feel the need to consult my friends or someone working at the store to reaffirm my decision to purchase something. It’s something I do without even thinking about it. Many people do this or something similar to it, because they need the approval of society (or a representative of it) to deem something as good or bad. It’s not that we as individuals don’t have the mental capacity to make our own decisions; we just seek praise and approval from outside sources. Lasch also argues that our reliance on society’s judgment on things “colors” our perception. I’m not sure what he meant by colors, but I interpreted to mean that society’s influence on our consumption and production of good taints our perception of the world and limits what we are able to understand or appreciate in the world. It also affects our perception of ourselves because we are unable to see our true selves behind all of the societal forces acting upon us. Our self-consciousness is no longer based on the flaws we feel about our physical attributes or personality, but is now based on how the consumer society presses its unnecessary products on us and causes us to feel inadequate and inferior if we do not meet its standards.

“Needs are not so much directed at objects, but at values. And the satisfaction of needs primarily express an adherence to these values. The fundamental, unconscious, and automatic choice of the consumer is to accept the lifestyle of a particular society…(63).”

It seems as though society is constantly conforming to the new trends and outbreaks that are constantly coming in and out of the market. Baudrillard makes many references to the idea that we no longer can make clear what we really need and want these days. The distinction between what we once valued in the past to what our culture currently values through consumption has become entwined. New commodities have become society’s new language of socialization and it hypnotizes one to forget that they are not as valuable as we think they are. For example, people have become extremely satisfied having a cell phone with them at all times. They have become so satisfied and accustomed to this complex little widget, that in their mentality, it has turned into a need rather than a want. If I am interpreting Baudrillard correctly, one turns their wants into needs because commodities are our desires that we place on valuable pedestals unconsciously.

From "Introduction: Consumption, Narcissism, and Mass Culture"
"The social arrangements that support a system of mass production and mass consumption tend to discourage initiative and self-reliance and to promote dependence, passivity, and a spectatorial state of mind both at work and play"(33).
This quote, I believe, encompasses the main argument of the text. I argue that this "consumerist society" is truly leading the human race down the drain. Hard work has almost diminished to nothing (at least in the First World, that is).Humans as whole have lost their touch with what its like to truly be alive, to work hard and play hard, to have meaningful relationships, to rely on oneself to get the job done. Consumerism has allowed for people to buy an identity rather that going through experiences in order to gain one naturally. Consumerism has lead to the redefinition of beauty, especially for women, whose never-ending "beauty consumerism" is evident enough. People have lost their tough with nature; we will never be able to support ourselves on the land that sustained us for millions of years because of this dependency for "the industrial life" we've developed. We are socialized to consume from the moment we are born. Thats what lifes all about, right? Mom and Dad go to work to pay for our house and food. The cycle is never ending. In today's society, we are nothing without the ability to consume. Thus, our dependency on the system will remain this way until the day the last dollar is burned.

"…Fordism and Sloanism. Both tended to discourage enterprise and independent thinking and to make the individual distrust his own judgment, even in matters of taste. His own untutored preferences, it appeared, might lag behind current fashion; they too needed to be periodically upgraded."
It is no secret that Americans are constantly looking for the "next big thing", we are in a rat race against our countrymen and even internationals to always have the newest, fastest, best clothes, cars, homes, dogs, etc. If somebody can put a price scanner sticker on it, we want it and then we want its newer model even though the old one still works fine. There is a show on TLC called "What Not to Wear", this show epitomizes the idea that our wardrobes need constant upgrading and that our own style sense may not be "right". On the show the hosts Stacy and Clinton take poor fashion helpless women who have traded in their hey day closet for a spinsters wardrobe, they then proceed to tell these women that in order to be seen as beautiful again they must upgrade their ugly clothes and go buy an entire new wardrobe with their careful guidance and instruction. At the end of the shopping trip the women once again regain their confidence, they feel sexy and more competent perhaps because they have learned that the "self-image [s]he projects counts for more than accumulated skills and experience." This is just one prime example of the constant need to upgrade Americans deal with on a daily basis. Another example, just for the sake of ridicule was the boom in popularity of Chihuhua dogs when Paris Hilton was carrying one around in her purse, however once she got tired of the dog so did the rest of her followers and animal shelters saw large numbers of these dogs being taken in as if they were a handbag purchased at a department store and not a living, breathing being. The problem lies in the seemingly uncontrollable urge to keep trading in and trading up has spread beyond just cars and wardrobes to the point that poor dogs and even people are preyed upon as a result of this infirmity. A friend of mine has a favorite phrase he likes to use to get under my skin, on any given day we will be having debate and he will say, "You dumb Americans" and unfortunately I think he's right. We are dumb, we're buying into this charade of being in control because we believe we are "so clever and classless and free" but in reality we are still "peasants as far as I can see." (John Lennon, Working Class Hero). We are not necessarily poor monetarily, but morally we are empty, we know nothing about ourselves only what we think we like because we see it on tv and advertised everywhere. Until we break free or at least control our urge to consume without understanding ourselves we will continue to be rats in the race for the cheese, except that cheese becomes harder to get each time.

“Thus consumption becomes, not a function of “harmonious” individual satisfaction, but rather an infinite social activity.”(64)

The consumer society has become a “freedom of choice” of which people are presented with the opportunity to choose how they identify themselves. They identify themselves through materialistic goods that are defined by cultural patterns. Consumption is no longer about utility; instead, consumption has turned into a means of social consciousness. The overproduction of goods has made it affordable for people to become part of the race of social mobility. It is about keeping up with each other and having accessibility that prior might’ve seemed immeasurable. To me this means that people look for happiness and satisfaction through consumption. According to Jean Baudrillard in “Consumer Society”, people look for a satisfaction to fulfill their “needs” when in reality one can never be satisfied. He claims that people’s obsession of consuming new goods has led to social control of the consumer. The consumer industry has convinced people that they make what is needed when in reality, people only feel they need it after it has already been made. In result of this the consumer no longer is the victim of advertisement and those who sale goods, but instead is the cause of production. The consumer is necessary to continue production. The advertisement companies have created the “myth of needs”, when the needs do not exist and in reality they create what people believe to be a need in order to get profit. Companies convince people that consumption has become a sign of patriotism and more accurately the “duty” of Americans in order to win profit. The consumer society implies that in order to be a “real” American one must spend. The buyer has become the “productive force” that allows the consumer cycle to continue; without people buying there would be no consumer society. The consumer society is no longer based on what benefits us but rather on what benefits the producers financially. We do all this to fill an “abstract happiness” that in reality cannot be filled. The only “freedom of choice” the consumer really has is not to his or her happiness but to accepting the life-style his or her society considers happiness.

"The consumer lives surrounded not so much by things as fantasies. He lives in a world that has no objective or independent existence and seems to exist only to gratify or thwart his desires." (35)

Out of the whole designated reading, this quote seemed to be the most important. It not only proves a point with what it is directly saying, but also explains the other main points that are made in this reading. As I continued going through the material, it made complete sense to me that people are not being “individuals” when consumerism is taking over a human’s way of acting, dressing, and behaving in the presence of other humans. Consumerism is telling someone how they should be behaving, and in the end, is making them dependent on the market. For example, in the reading on page 35, it refers to commodities and how they “are produced for immediate consumption.” To me it was a huge slap in the face because it made me realize that this is how I behave. When you think about all the products that exist, most of them are made purposely for a certain amount of time; not because they will wear and tear with time, but because there are products that are “new and improved,” “changing fashions, and technological innovations.” Humans do not live with only what they need, but more with what they desire and what will satisfy them socially and psychologically.

“The display window, the advertisement, the manufacturer, and the brand name here play an essential role in imposing a coherent and collective vision, like an almost inseparable totality.”

Have you heard of the quote that says that two are better than one for if one falls down the other can help him up? Well as I came across this quote I realized how display window, advertisement, the manufacturer and brand names work together hand in hand. If an advertisement does not convince a person to buy a product then the back up, window display, will most likely do the job. There area many ways to convince a customer into buying unnecessary stuff. For example, whenever my friends and I go shopping we always end up buying more than what we need. Why? Because every time we go inside a shop to buy what we need we find that the item is part of a perfectly combined outfit. The shirt or jean that we want is being display with other items that gives it a perfect and stylish look. In my opinion, this is a very successful and useful tactic that sellers use to get costumers to buy their clothes, goods, products, etc. This is because not only does the seller get to sell one item, but because chances are that the display’s arrangement will convince the customer to buy all the items that together make a perfect combination with the one item that you wanted to buy.

“A culture organized around mass consumption encourages narcissism—which we can define, for the moment, as a disposition to see the world as a mirror, more particularly as a projection of one’s own fears and desires—not because it makes people grasping and self-assertive but because it makes them weak and dependent.”

When contemplating consumerism Lasch states that most people think about narcissism and the never ending apatite to consume. Lasch however, considers narcissism a way to deal with the insecurities and fantasies of life. As people begin to consume reality becomes more and more distorted as they began to hide their issues with what they consume and start to live unauthentic lives. Consumption only allows for a brief reprieve from the harshness of reality, because of the “immediate obsoleteness” of consumed object society is forced to enter a self-feeding cycle of consumption which in turn leads to more narcissism. The cycle has been going on for so long that there are some members of society, usually the extremely wealthy, that have been born into a world of absolute distortion and self-pleasing fantasies. As the number of consumers grow so does their dependence on consumption leading to a society solely driven by instant gratification and the urge to make themselves “feel better” by escaping into their desires. The ad line “Live your dream” embodies the essence of the consumerism and appeals to the consumer on a narcissistic level.

"The whole discourse on consumption, whether learned or lay, is articulated on mythological sequence of the fable: a man, ""endowed" with needs which "direct" him towards objects that "give" him satisfaction." (62)

Jean Baudrillard appears to believe that we as humans have lost the capacity to comprehend reality as it actually exists and in turn comprehend it as we are told it exist; thus, our endless “needs.” He depicts a picture of our society always in search for meaning in our lives and thus an individual searches for happiness through objects expected to provide the maximum satisfaction. Resulting in a fruitless search for total knowledge, leading to a kind of illusion. In Baudrillard's view, humans may try to understand objects, but because the object can only be understood according to what it signifies to the human, it never produces a desired result. To completely understand humans is impossible, and when people are seduced into thinking otherwise they become drawn toward a simulated version of reality. Making the people of such societies more susceptible to the manipulation of advertising thus leading to a total social control of us (the consumers). Production is no longer the product of needs; rather needs are products of production as advertisement continuously seduces us in to the idea of a new need just as a new product arrives and always with the idea that this product will be the one to bring us happiness and understanding. In our modern day consumer society “freedom of choice” has become more fictional than anything as our freedom extends as far as getting a blue or green ipod, if that but none the less making an ipod a must.

“Technology thus comes to serve as an effective instrument of social control—in the case of mass media, by short-circuiting the electoral process through opinion surveys that help to shape opinion instead of merely recording it…”

This quote caught my attention because it proves how much influence technology has on our society. We do not notice it but through the mass media (i.e. news, advertising, etc.) our opinions are influenced and sometimes sway people’s opinion to a certain idea. If we actually take a moment and think about everything we see in the mass media and how it has influenced you in some way, I am convinced you will be surprised and say, “Wow, it has had somewhat of an influence on me.” Another thing that caught my attention was how the author said it has become an effective instrument of social control. Up until the end of the cold war people were afraid of communism, which in fact can be a form of social control. The media indirectly provided the people of the United States with a concept they were afraid of. Technology had become a big part of our every day life and I believe has led to the mass consumption because of advertising and it has also led to the idea of self fulfillment because of the things we see and how the mass culture is taking up this new ways of life. People feel the need have what they see and demonstrate higher social status.

“Choices are not made randomly. They are socially controlled, and reflect the cultural model from which they are produced. We neither produce nor consume just any product: the product must have some meaning in relation to a system of values” (pg. 62)

This quote made me realize how society has made us believe certain products are necessary in order to live a good life. The products you purchase come from what society believes are essential; consumers buy these products in order to adapt to a changing society. This article states how the satisfaction of purchasing these items is what keeps us attached to them and craving for more. Manufacturers take advantage of this consumer weakness in order to keep buyers active. I came to see the way society is split into various groups with similar interests, likes and ideologies. The certain products you purchase will reflect upon what group you belong to.

“The social arrangements that support a system of mass production and mass consumption tend to discourage initiative and self reliance and to promote dependence, passivity, and a spectatorial state of mind both at work and at play. Consumerism is the only other side of the degradation of work—the elimination of playfulness and craftsmanship from the process of production.”

Unlike that of the other readings, this excerpt by Lasch defends the consumerism of our time. In this quote, Lasch says that consumerism seems to replace values that were held in the past only because consumerism “is the only other side to the degradation or work.” Because we as a society tend to indulge in the things that other people work so hard at creating for our use, it takes up time that used to be set for family, religion, and personal reflection. I take Lasch’s main point as that consumerism isn’t driving us away from values that were once held and replacing self worth, but consumerism is the expansion of values for the present and reinforcing personal identity outside of the work place.

"In general then consumers, as such, are unconscious and unorganized, just as workers may have been at the beginning of the nineteenth century" (70).

Overall I feel that this article is belittling human beings and their ability to make their own choices. It is true that we at times give in to the advertising tricks. It is true that we live in a consumer society. But that does not mean we have lost our ability to make choices and we are definately not unconscious and unorganized. The choice to buy products is ours. We will always be a part of a consumer society so I do not think it is fair to judge whether or not we buy the latest products because everyone has different needs and wants. Who are we to judge what each individual's needs and wants may be?

"We have reached the point where "consumption" has grasped the whole of life;..." (Page 61)

This quote caught my attention because I believe it to be true. Today, consumption is more then just one aspect of our life,in some sense, it has become our life. We no longer organize our day with a range of activities such as: work, nature, relaxing, etc. Today, for the majority of us, most of our activities are combined into one. For some of us, our jobs fit into this category of consumption, and while we may not be spending during our work hours, we are thinking about, and shopping around, planning what we might purchase when we are off of work. I know personally I did this all the time while I was working at this gigantic costume mansion. Everyday at work, I would "straighten" the floor, but really I was piecing together a costume for myself. As a "consumer society" we are missing out on relationships with ourselves, others and nature because we have combined. We chose to walk around and "take in natures beauty", while scoping out little shops, or we take time to "evaluate" our life while picking out a new dress, and we "spend time" with loved ones at the mall with no conversation happening between us besides the occasional "how does this look?" I feel that the real gratification comes from things money can not buy, but we are blinded by the notion that we, the "consumer society" has imposed on ourselves. That instant gratification is best, and you get that self pleasure by spending money.

“It is misleading to characterize the culture of consumption as a culture dominated by things. The consumer lives surrounded not so much by things as by fantasies. He lives in a world that has no objective or independent existence and seems to exist only to gratify or thwart his desires.”

A bit earlier in the article before this quote appears, Lasch explains, “the individual learns not merely to measure himself against others but to see himself through others’ eyes. He learns that the self-image he projects counts for more than accumulated skills and experience.” It is this that helps to solidify his later claim that the culture of consumption is dominated by desires. Consumption is not necessarily characterized by a consumer’s obsession with material items, but more so by their obsession with the ability to sculpt alternate self-images through the items they consume. Therefore, if an individual is driven primarily by a desire to display an image that is socially accepted, his/her consumption is driven by this desire and not by material obsession. When marketing’s attack on independent thinking began, the essence of individualism was destroyed, thus creating the “empty self” discussed in an earlier article. Perhaps it is this desire to project multiple images of oneself along with the subconscious consensus that an individual’s self is determined by the products he consumes that has made us feel less of a need for social interaction?

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