CA Blog: Fake Community?

The readings that were assigned this week were very interesting, they discussed the way technology had changed the lives of the people who bought them. I thought an interesting not to the readings was how important radios became culturally throughout all the different types of people. It literally revolutionized the way that Americans were entertained at the time. The type of customization and ingenuity that people were doing so that they could receive better radio signals I thought were remarkable. The impact that items had on everyday people is what is really worth noting throughout the readings. Americans from all economic scales could now afford more things due to installment plans, this made the average American worker not feel so repressed because they could afford some of the "finer" things in life.

Wow, it is amazing how far we have come in terms of technology. The commercial depicted in my blog shows the original cell phone ad for the Centel . This phone was a gigantic brick, it is hilarious to see this gigantic contraption coupled with the cheesy early 90's styling of the people in the commercial. The most important part of the commercial if you look closely, is the man in the Jeep Wrangler driving like a mad man, all the while the cell phone is up to his ear. Today if you are seen with a cell phone while you are driving, you could very well lose your license. The point of this observation, is that once cell phones hit the masses there is now a certain etiquette that must be observed with their large usage. In Lizabeth Cohens article about mass consumption culture, it noted that the idea of the theatre had changed because of who's community the movie house was in. It is pretty amazing that people had developed a certain style of doing things to adapt to their tasted and needs.

This makes the question clear, is their really a point to maintain a community when most of the stuff that is being passed through it is for a mass market anyway?

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptbJZ9HBw2k

CA Blog: Technology in America Life

Amanda Smith - Section 01
Between the 1890s and 1930s technology began to enter into people's home lives more than it ever has before. It came in the form of cameras, electric appliances, and phonographs (later replaced by radios.) In American Consumer Society, 1865-2005 Regina Lee Blaszczyk stated, "...Americans began their love affair with technologies that altered time, sound, light, and distance. Technology allowed people to join a wider community while simultaneously creating their own personal space" (p. 137). Middle class Americans would always try to keep up with the latest trends of technology. The upper class would first purchase the new item then the middle class that might not necessarily be able to afford the item would work to be able to have a Kodak camera or Victor phonograph in their parlor.
The process that people during this time would go through to get pictures developed and what they would spend for records is something this generation cannot truly relate to or appreciate because most of us have "smart phones" that allow us to take a picture and intantaneously up-load, or mupload (mobile upload), to the internet. After sending the image from our phones to the internet, people all over the world can have access to viewing the picture. Cell phones now can also play the music that we chose to play either for multiple people to listen to or just for their own listening by using a pair of headphones.

Smart phones today also allow people to make video calls and actually see the person they are talking too. Apple's iPhone 4 has many features that change the way people communicate with one another. Apple's features video (from youtube) shows all the features this cell phone offers. People during the early 1900s were overwhelmed by the ability to take an instant image and have a copy of that and today we can talk to someone across the country in real time and see this person. If there such a thing as too much technology?

In addition to all the features cell phones offer, cars are also programming themselves to accommodate cell phone users. As people who first began buying the Ford Model T would finance thier new vechile, the same holds true today. When peole first purchased personal cars, it changed the way of life for Americans; the slow paced community was changing due to the fact that people could travel further and get there quicker. Today people can make voice requests to call a friend or family member and the car will do so. Do people need to be in such constant contact with people that they cannot drive from point A to point B without making a phone call or checking social media networks? Although there have been very useful and beneficial technological advances are people allowing technology to control their lives opposed to just being a part of it?

Kristin Egnatowicz Section 80

From the end of the 1800s to the beginning of the 1900s, Americans were introduced to a variety of new technologies. Some examples of these are the radio, camera and bicycles. During this time, only public places had electricity.
I found some connections between this period, and present time. For example, many people are excited about the latest developments in photography and music playing technology. Another similarity I found was the exercise movement. In the 1890’s many Americans were introduced to new sports such as cycling, golf, and tennis. The book discusses cycling as “liberating for woman”. I never thought of this but if it made athletics more acceptable for woman to participate in, that makes sense. Something else I thought of while reading is how people started biking places for transportation. In the 1890’s people did not have cars, so bikes made it easier and faster. Today, people are using their bikes for a fun and more environmentally friendly mode of transportation.
Something else I learned was that in the beginning of the century, most people did not have electricity in their homes. I thought they at least had light bulbs and maybe a way to play their radios. People were afraid of electricity, and most did not have electricity until 1930. I was not surprised to learn of the fear of fires. This shows that safety was always a concern among consumers.
Music has been a part of American entertainment. In the 1800’s people would play instruments in their homes or go to the opera on occasion. With the invention of the phonographs, people could play recorded music in their homes. At the end of the century, we had cassette tapes, CD’s and digital music. People have always enjoyed listing to music to relax and it keeps getting smaller and more portable.

CA Blog: Gendered Consumerism

The social aspect of consumerism and how relations and interactions with others affect how we want to be perceived by using what we consume as a method of defining what type of people we are (or at least who we want to be). Marketing has taken advantage of this fact and through advertising, has created effective ways of selling products, merchandise, and paraphernalia by strategic advertising. These industries have also taken an extra step to gendered marketing. A type of marketing that is targeted towards women has been loosely labeled as “pink marketing” where in an interview Kristina Couzyn (MD Brand Activation) explains how marketers “tend to see female shoppers in two roles…either as a care-[giver] or as a career woman.” Although this strategy can be seen as outdated now, evidence shows how women and men were targeted differently according to social values and beliefs of what either category of gender and sexuality would be interested in.

Technology has played a major part in facilitating this gendered marketing. It seems as though technology has plagued our minds to the point where it is less used to facilitate and increase our quality of life and more utilized to parade our worth or method of self-expression, and being a man or woman means different weaknesses to marketing. Marketing strategies constantly try to find what consumers need or what they will eventually persuade them to think they need. Marketing to females as well as males was a method used in the early 20^th century, especially with the boom in radio and the Jazz Age. Before discussing the rage in radio’s popularity, it is important to note the precursor to this new invention. Regina Lee Blaszczyk’s book, American Consumer Society, 1865-2005, shows evidence of such marketing when she explains how the phonograph introduced musical options into the home. The Victrola phonograph soon became a household piece of furniture that went past the outdated look into a sleeker version, which then allowed women to coordinate their furniture according to their own tastes. Women were in charge of phonographs because they were a piece of furniture and “women dominated the lively market for phonograph records” once the Victrola was introduced as an item of beauty for the home in 1906. (Blaszczyk, 142)

Fast forwarding a bit to the Jazz Age, music became a hobby and a pastime that men were able to appreciate. Blaszczyk notes that “Jazz played an especially important role in turning music listening into a male hobby” (151). The melody and style of Jazz was seen as a masculine purview that “stood in contrast to the safe, staid conventions of feminine parlor music” (151). But, lo and behold, women began embracing musical options as well once the American radio had the first romantic matinee idol for women to swoon over. The radio industry gift-wrapped singer Rudy Vallee and “as broadcasting’s answer to Hollywood’s Rudolph Valentino, Vallee attracted the attention of millions of women who swooned over his commercially sponsored radio show” (Blaszczyk , 151). In this sense, it should be noted that there is a disparity to how marketing will approach men and women, especially during the technological boom of the early 20^th century.

Extra Link: George Carlin on Consumption

Section 01

CA Blog: Innovation for mass consumption

The innovation boom in the late nineteenth century through the early twentieth century began to change the culture of many Americans as the transition from the Victorian Era to the Modern Era took shape. Regina Lee Blaszezyk the author of American Consumer Society illustrates, “Between the 1890s and the 1930s, Americans began their love affair with technologies that altered time, sound, light, and distance. Technology allowed people to join a wider community while simultaneously creating their own personal space” (Pg. 137). The development of new consumer goods such as the bicycle and the personal camera created a new excitement for many consumers at the latter part of the nineteenth century. In addition, the residential use of electricity yielded to new domestic products; iron, lamp, phonograph, and mainly the radio hit mainstream consumers at their most cherished place, their homes.

The power of the radio drastically increased, in 1924, 11 percent of American homes had a radio; by 1940, more than 81 percent owned one. Blaszezyk states, “As it became ubiquitous, consumers incorporated radio into their daily rituals. They could listen attentively, dance to the music, or simply treat it as background noise while performing a task” (Pg. 149). By the late 1930s radio listening was the nation’s favorite pastime. The innovation of the radio brought families, friends, and neighbors together as listeners tuned in for news, sports, and commercial broadcasts such as, “Amos ‘n’ Andy”, a show that reached an estimated 40 million listeners. As todays modern innovation of the internet which connects the world together in mere seconds, nearly one hundred years ago the radio connected the nation together on comparable principles. Similarly to the radio, the innovation of the automobile assembly line that allowed the middle-class Americans to enjoy the luxurious that were once only enjoyed by the wealthy triggered the automobile-consumption phenomenon.

In 1905, the retail price for a new automobile ranged from $600 to $7,500, with the average annual income of $450 per year. These prices made the automobile an exclusive purchase for the very wealthy Americans. In 1908, the Ford Motor Company developed the Model T by building it on the industry’s first assembly line. By 1916, the price for a Model T was $360, and making it affordable for the average middle class American. In 1908, Ford sold 6,000 units of the Model T, the number of cars sold in 1916 went up over ninety six times to 580,000 cars.

With the development of new technology that yielded to new innovations in which created a consumer frenzy society for the leading consumer products. Market competition and advancements in technology products that were only enjoyed by the rich were now made available to the masses. Similar occurrences of consumer frenzies have occurred in our generation, flat screen televisions once sold for $5,000 to $12,000 per unit, nowadays those same televisions range from $500 to $1,200 dollars making them affordable to the masses. So it is needless to ask based on our past history of one hundred years that, as technologies continues to amaze us as it advances into the twenty-first century, will we ever as society find the balance between innovation and mass consumption?

http://articles.cnn.com/2005-01-03/tech/cnn25.top25.innovations_1_airbag-hypertext-transfer-protocol-innovations?_s=PM:TECH

Free Blog: Collaborative Consumption

Rachel Botsman's TED Talk about Collaborative Consumption

CA Blog: No Age Limit for Dreaming

Throughout Regina Lee Blaszczyk’s American Consumer Society, 1865-2005, she examines the various cultural factors that have shaped consumerism in the United States of America from the mid 1800’s to early parts of the 2000’s. One of the more outstanding subject matters in the reading pertains to advertising directed by companies towards children. Seemingly, numerous companies recognized that the minds of adolescents are far more porous than those of mature adults. As Blaszczyk states, “ if a boy collected trade cards from Arbuckle Coffee, he might drink this brand when he grew up.” (p. 129) Once a youngster is introduced to a product from a particular brand, the likelihood of that child using or purchasing other items from that brand increases. The propensity for adolescents to purchase products they are accustomed to is illustrated when Blazczyk states, “ modern ads taught children to recognize brand names and distrust those products not found in magazines.” (p.129) Without a doubt, advertising directed towards children comprises a major part of modern day marketing strategy; the messages conveyed to the youth of America have severe repercussions. Unconsciously, these youngsters are contributing to the mass consumption of society; in many ways, children are in pursuit of the “American Dream” far before they are even aware of what this dream encompasses.

Despite the mammoth monetary gains received from advertising children’s products, marketers and companies should not forget their ethical responsibilities as citizens of society. There is no wrong in doing one’s job; however, the trends in obesity and usage of technology of adolescents in modern day America calls for some form of change. Even though children’s advertisements benefit society economically, the cons of this form of advertising may outweigh the benefits when considering the harm done to the health of these children. Advertising through television, Internet, and schools have created an environment centered on consumerism and the emotional responses that this form of consumption provides. As Blaszczyk states, “these wholesome images encouraged children to identify with kids in the picture and to believe that the right cereal would make them perfect, too.” (p. 129) The most common form of advertisement aimed towards kids comes in the form of food products. During the course of the attached scholarly article, it is summarized that the majority of the foods advertised to kids are high in fat and sugar. In other words, the foods being marketed to children are appealing, tasteful, and highly damaging. Although the manufacturers of the children’s food products are prospering economically, one might not say the same about welfare of those purchasing such products.

In accordance with the various themes and concepts presented during classroom discussions, the industry of child advertising in modern day U.S.A exemplifies the hedonistic nature of today’s society. Children’s food products can be compared to Americans search for pleasure; in that, when consumed, children are given a feeling of pleasure from food and technology in the same way as the adult American consumer would when purchasing any form of novel goods.

Link to Scholarly Article: http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/1/1/3

-Dhrupal B. Patel, Section 01

Sample Blog: Victorian Values Return SAMPLE BLOG

Victorian values are reappearing in the twenty first century- in the form of advertisements. Victorian values including simplicity, doing well onto others, and valuing the home and family are apparent everywhere, specifically the latest State Farm jingle “like a good neighbor State Farm is there”, and in the latest hotel slogans “let us stay with you”. Putting emphasis on the consumer and making them feel like the prize instead of the product was a idea prevalent in the Victorian Era. Victorian ideology maintained much comfort, coziness, and prosperity. For example, “Victorian iconography also depicted consumer products as symbols of fecundity, tangible proof that America was a fertile land of plenty” (Blacsyck 25). Victorian era presented simplicity in values like doing well onto your neighbors and enjoying simple things in life which is why these notions are so prevalent now in ads. State Farm Insurance has a motto, “like a good neighbor, State Farm is there”, implying good neighbors should be there for you. Many people today do not know or communicate with your neighbor, but in the Victorian Era neighbors were considered family with one another. Life was simple, family was most important, and those are ideas to be treasured. Simplicity is gratifying, and retailers are trying to sell these notions with brands hoping consumers will take comfort in these thoughts and therefore comfort in their brand and develop a relationship with a customer. (Blascysk 30) Applebees has instituted a new campaign along with many fast food chains displaying fresh, home cooked meals. Fresh, home cooked meals were considered normal in the Victorian Era, cooked by housewives and families expected nothing less. Applebees newest slogan includes, “there’s no place like the neighborhood”, because neighborhoods were places of family, comfort, and good times. The return to good old fashioned values is wonderful given the state of society with avarice and greed overwhelming our inhabitants. The Ritz Carlton’s new campaign of “let us stay with you” rather than “please stay with you” reflects on Victorian values in an emotional way, “to encourage travelers to evolve from measuring a stay in the number of days to measuring a stay in the number of memories, so you get your memory’s worth, not just your money’s worth” (NYT). A conscious effort is required to move back to Victorian values, however it is a rewarding movement to reinstate values and morals American society has long forgotten about.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/business/media/luxury-hotels-market-the-memories-advertising.html?_r=1&scp=7&sq=home%20advertising&st=cse

Sample Blog: Hedonism in Hollywood SAMPLE BLOG

Consider the profusion of products that overwhelm our shopping centers, how many are completely useless? How many are we purchasing because we saw them first on television either used by one of our favorite stars or in an incredible new commercial? Hollywood is the birthplace for hedonism, which may simply be defined as “seeking pleasurable experiences and pleasure may be defined as a quality of experience which can be judged to be present in all sensations” (Campbell 22). Celebrities constantly make purchases for their own pleasure, consider Beyonce who purchased a pair of leggings for $100,000, Rachel Hunter who purchased a $15,000 dog house, and Hugh Hefner who has a zoo with monkeys in his backyard. Watch an episode of Entourage to see Vinny Chase decorate his home with an aquarium complete with $15,000 sharks and purchase a Lambhorgini when he doesn’t even have a drivers license. All of these purchases are absurd, unnecessary, and most importantly not practical, yet the purchasers are ecstatic and derive pleasure from the exchange, willing common people to make lavish purchases as well. Hollywood is to blame for our hedonistic culture and disillusioned view of reality. Campell states, “Only reality can provide satisfaction, but both illusions and delusions can supply pleasure” (23). The birth of Hollywood allowed for disillusionment, daydreaming, and hedonism, because before the glitz and glamour individuals were traditional consumers who were satisfied after purchasing products. Prior to Hollywood and the Golden age, hedonistic pleasures were not as conspicuous if at all. Sure people had wants and desires and they were satisfied as they were created as discussed in the Galbriath article, but the birth of Hollywood allowed for immense affluence and unrealistic depictions of wealth, toys, and possessions readily available to only a few. As Hollywood grows and technology booms, we cannot keep up with one another yet we can only keep tabs on what others have allowing us to constantly see what we do not have. We constantly feel as if we are missing out making our wants and desires grow hungrier and more insatiable and unaffordable. Rachel Botsman, the lecturer from the TED conference brings up valid points of community many people may want to reconsider after hearing the outlandish purchases made my celebrities of our time. Is our society capable of returning to a more primitive era, a more communal type Botsman speaks of? Has Hollywood ruined individuals and made them insatiable brainwashed robots? Campell wrote his article decades before even the most absurd of purchases were made, what would he think of the society we live in now, and would he agree with Botsman?

http://celebritat.blogspot.com/2007/08/top-5-most-outrageous-celebrity.html

http://luxpresso.com/photogallery-lifestyle/most-outrageous-celebrity-purchases/7072/5

Sample Blog: Modern Innovators: College Students SAMPLE BLOG

Galbraith’s article, “The Dependence Effect” holds many truths regarding American consumerism, marketing, and advertising and although it was written nearly five decades ago. The diffusion of innovation has remained constant and modern innovators can most commonly be seen in the form of college students. College students, males and females roughly 18-24 years of age, have malleable young minds and are exposed to a bevy of brands while they are first on their own away from mom and dad. They are making their own decisions on what to purchase, the perfect time for brands to target them with their products, and offer them free samples and incentives to hopefully make them a lifelong customer. College students are curious, passionate, and most importantly, in the right place at the right time. At Rutgers, the amounts of brands around young students are irrepressible. Pepsi drinks inundate our dining hall, AT&T, and Snickers logos saturate our t-shirts and newly named High Point Solutions Stadium (another brand), Rutgers Intramurals has a new deal with American Eagle Outfitters, Scarlet Apps is now merged with Google, Target offers students private shopping during the first month after hours as a private endorsement deal, and our bookstores are now owned by Barnes and Nobles Bookstores. College students fall victim to powerful branding and marketing strategies during their years at college, and they will never forget them. Not only will students not forget the product they were given, but how they received that product and the whole marketing scheme involved in receiving that product because, according to Galbraith equal amounts go into research and advertising. “Outlays for the manufacturing of a product are not more important in the strategy of modern business enterprise than outlays for the manufacturing of demand for the product” (Galbraith 22). Every college student - every person, loves receiving coupons and free items, and they certainly arrive in bulk on college campuses. College students influence purchases of their younger siblings and parents, bringing news of their newfound likes and dislikes home. College undergrads are referred to as “bridges” in a recent New York Times article titled, “Marketers Are Everywhere”, “They will have influence back in the home and influence going forward” (NYT). As soon as brands have built a relationship with an individual and that individual passes word on of that brand consumer demand is not in existence wants become dependent on production and expectation rises with attainment, basically Galbraith’s cycle begins and marketers must begin creating more wants for consumers. (Galbriath 23) Students nowadays are being sponsored by brands themselves, like energy drinks and even clothing labels. Brands employ students to be their brand ambassador offering them free products in bulk as a reward to share and spread brand awareness around campus. Peer to peer marketing is the most effective tool, as it is a direct stem from word of mouth marketing, which will forever be the most popular and effective marketing tool. College students are prime innovators, not their parents with money, mothers watching QVC, or their younger siblings but college students for their age, curiosity, and willingness to learn. Brands target students at a crucial point in their lives, when they are at the point of making their own preferences and managing their own money, and setting trends making them the most effective demographic.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/business/at-colleges-the-marketers-are-everywhere.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&seid=auto&smid=tw-nytimes

CA Blog: Buy Now, Cry Later

Having a bad day? How about some retail therapy? Stop at the mall and make an exaggerated and unconventional purchase, to make yourselves feel momentarily better about your life.

Sounds Great, Right?

Can you imagine this happening 100 years ago? I’m sure in some cases maybe it did, but not as freely and senseless as we “choose” to shop in today’s society.

While reading chapter 3, the concept that stood out to me was the entire shopping experience and the long term value and importance of the actual purchase. It was about the entire process of shopping, not just the item. Back then shopping served a number of purposes. The first being necessity, then a social and entertaining quality of the experience.

Blaszczyk discusses how new products and goods became readily available to the American consumer through catalogs and department stores. The term “palaces of consumption” is used to describe the first department stores which catered to the “comfortable classes”. This new kind of store, ornately designed and “palace like”, created an entire shopping experience, a shopper’s paradise and a place to enjoy. Women would go from store to store, spending the entire day browsing and socializing. This helped to make the satisfaction of purchasing, long lasting.

This differs so much from today’s impulsive needs to have the latest and greatest, only to buy a newer model next year. It’s also the ease of shopping, with the internet and apps on your phone, a couple of clicks, and it’s yours! This has a truly created a shopping monster with credit card debt and a closet full of things you may never use.

Today it’s the immediate, but generally short lived gratification, or possibly that emotional purchase you’ll regret next week. As consumers in this society, for the most part, our purchases aren’t as” thought out”, or carry nearly the value they did 50 or 100 years ago.

We are much more of a disposable society, seldom satisfied and constantly seeking more. This type of extreme consumption has helped up to produce things like shopping anonymous, shopping therapy, books, like “Confession of a shopaholic”, and “Oniomania”, the actual shopping compulsive disorder. A new disorder that is talked about in the video link from msnbc.com is called the “returnaholic”, a person that is addicted to returning things. A landmark 2006 Stanford University study reveals between 17 million and 18 million Americans suffer from compulsive shopping/spending disorder. If our ancestors could see us now…

Is there any aspect of the shopping experience from 100 years ago that would appeal to you?

Is your typical shopping experience satisfying? And if so, for how long?

What percentages of your purchases are impulsive followed by regret?

What was your worst retail therapy purchase?

Returnaholic Video Link

“I like my money right where I can see it: hanging in my closet.”

-- Carrie from Sex and the City

CA Blog: Can Americans still consume to innovate?

Within American Consumer Society 1865-2005, Regina Lee Blaszczyk made me realize just how much the consumer culture we associate with being a recent phenomenon, while it is actually a product of decades, and centuries, worth of evolution. An evolution, which seems fueled by human nature, driven by fascination for our own ingenuity and love for experiences we never could have imagined.

First, we had the recognition and reinvention of the social space of these massive warehouse-like stores along with the rise of urban centers and new building materials.(pg. 76) People preferred to shop with organs playing the background, without the haggling over prices, and for women more so than men at the time, a safe and comfortable environment to browse, linger, and socialize. Wasn't it that needs were satisfied in this case rather than created? This was pioneered by The Cast Iron Palace, which captured people's imaginations. Are our imaginations has also inherent to human needs?

Later we see some stores which don't follow a luxury ideal, such as A&P which embrace the store's ties to quantity production and mass consumption. (pg. 81) Now to me, this seems more of fulfilling an individual's fantasy of grandeur, fulfilling the desire for a less stressful and intense environment in which to make decisions in?

By 1890, with French glass working techniques allowing huge displays, we see the unveiling of store windows as an event people looked forward to. (pg. 83) On almost theatrical levels, individuals would witness scenes for extraordinary periods of time. How could you not dream to be what you see through the glass when it seems so fascinating and extravagant? And how could you not share the experience with everyone you knew when its that incredible, and free?

But if we are really going to see how consumerism is just satisfying needs, then we can look to the mail order catalogs. With the boom of ordering, the U.S. Post Office's initiated rural free delivery sparked Sears's skyrocketing business sales from $746,000 in 1895 to $41 million in 1908. (pg. 87-88)

Now if we look at today in light of what I have said in tandem with our reading of Colin Campbell, what do we consume in our globalized digital and non-digital worlds? Are we still in love with these incredible experiences, truly interested in the newest and best, or has our era of passion for innovation passed in America?

EDIT:

I didn't really relate this as much to present culture and trends as I suppose I should have, so let me build upon this in a way that makes the question more interesting. If we see ourselves as trying to progress to the goal of experiencing incredible things that make us awestruck, whether it be through technology, culture, society, or others, then why don't we embrace retinal scanners in the United States as they become deeply integrated in places like Seoul, Korea? Koreans could continue to use keys, but what need or desire has driven them, and not Americans, to favor retinal scanners?

http://www.irisid.com/

CA Blog: Lousy commercials for lousy cars.

There is a really strange commercial that is on TV currently. The Kia motor company has marketed their new Kia Soul in a really awkward way. The commercial takes place in a futuristic wasteland that resembles the level of an XBOX 360 video game. The car then pulls up and three hamsters get out of the lime green Kia sporting all of the most up to date styling one could imagine. The music in the background music is none other than the hit song "Party Rock Anthem" by the group LMFAO, which was the number one song of the summer.

The reading that were assigned from Regina Lee Blaszczyk's "American Consumer Society, 1865-2005" informed readers about the early days of consumerism in America. These chapters are about how despite the young America being highly industrialized and garnering lots of capital, it still being influenced by its European Ancestors. Americans were seen by other developed nations as being "rough and tumble" so affluent Americans would use their resources to try and become as sophisticated as the Europeans. "Although it came from British conventions, the culture of refinement evolved into something distinctly American in the decades surrounding the civil war" (pg. 13) This meaning that it took the influence from Britain's culture and it became uniquely American. The largest part of the reading included that Victorian culture in Britain, is what was seen as the in thing to do. Americans would have to follow this modern wave in order to be considered true cultural aficionados.
A large part of advertisement and consumerism in general, is the populations way of fitting in with the in crowd, as our professor has pointed out. The commercial that i have linked my readers to is what is considered the social norm for our generation. Despite the heavy computer generated images and technicolor high tops the actual concept of making the consumer feel that he/she is not hip, is nothing new.Blaszyck states that Women of all economic backgrounds could afford the corset dress after certain advances had been made. So naturally, all women felt the need to have one so as to keep up with their friends.

Does this seem right? Do certain products make people seem more "hip" to their peers?

http://www.youtube.com/user/KiaMotorsAmerica?v=4zJWA3Vo6TU&feature=pyv&cid=sem&ppc=y

CA Blog: Hollywood Sells the American Dream

CA BLOG: HOLLYWOOD SELLS THE AMERICAN DREAM
Regina Blaszczyk’s American Consumer Society, which examines the history of consumer society in America from the end of the Civil War to modern times, also discusses the role that Hollywood has played in shaping said consumer society. Blaszczyck tells of how “…movies exposed mainstream Americans to the goings on in style centers like New York City and Chicago.” (p. 103) In essence, Americans saw ways of life and lifestyles that they would ordinarily be exposed to in their small towns. For people living in places like Muncie Indiana, terms like Jazz Age, swing music, and flapper girls meant nothing to them until they saw them in films. Theatre houses served not so much as places of escape but more as gateways to other more fantastical worlds. “Movies expanded middle-class horizons by showcasing the lifestyles of the rich and famous, lives of adventure, glamour, and sexual innuendo.” (p. 105) Indeed, over the years movies have popularized many trends by showcasing subcultures such as flapper girls, motorcycle gangs, and artists, among many others.
It would seem however that in recent years, the power of cinema to inspire mass consumption and to popularize products has diminished. Few films in the last few decades have launched fashion trends or introduced words and terminology that have become a part of everyday vernacular. After the debut of A Streetcar Named Desire in 1951 the popularity of plain white t-shirts, such as the one sported by Marlon Brando’s Stanley Kowalski, skyrocketed. As did the demand for Triumph motorcycles after the same actor rode one in The Wild One in 1953. Films acted as advertisements because they “…showed Americans how others lived, exposing consumers to new outlooks and lifestyles.” (p.105) People would emulate screen characters in everyday life, not just for Halloween. Films used to inspire outfits, not it seems they just create costumes.
What are the social event films nowadays? Some might argue that franchises such as Harry Potter or the Pirates of the Caribbean have generated enormous profits from merchandising. But those films are few and far between, and those franchises already existed prominently in popular culture before their film adaptations. Some say that television and the internet have chipped away at Hollywood’s substantial control over popular culture. Television shows like Mad Men have been credited with reviving interest in retro 1960s clothing and hairstyles. But what was the last film to profoundly impact the way everyday Americans dress? My question is, do films still have profound influence on everyday consumer habits? Have they lost their touch, or has their influence simply changed? After all, the two aforementioned franchises have grossed billions of dollars in revenues from merchandise sales.
- Jeff Walsh Section 01

Welcome to the Blog!

Hello Rutgers Students -

Welcome to our course blog!  Please remember to check your syllabus and the blog requirements outlined below to ensure that your participation is adequate and on time.

Overall, the keys to a successful blog are:
1. An interesting topic that asks a question/evokes participation.
2. Significant textual support from the week's readings.
3. Synthesis with current events, trends, culture, etc.
4. Thoughtful Composition (Don't throw it together at the last minute...)

Additionally, please note the following rules/formatting requirements:

1. Do NOT compose your blog in the blog site. Instead, compose it in a Word Document and Cut/Paste it when completed…adding any of the necessary links, etc. You should NOT be saving your blog as a draft in the site because everyone has access to that. In addition, you need to post your link WITH your blog, not separately. If it's your Critical Analysis Blog, please title it accordingly: 

CA Blog: Title of Your Blog 

2. If you're posting a "free blog," make sure that you title it in this way: 

Free Blog: Title of Blog 

Using the appropriate titles will ensure that people are commenting at the correct times. 

3. Remember to sign your blog with your full name and section number.

Remember that these Critical Analysis Blogs are worth 10% of your grade...so treat them accordingly.

If you have any questions, please let us know!  

Happy Blogging!

Best,
Matthew Ferguson

Course Instructor (Sections 01 & 80)