Democracy Of Goods In Contemporary Consumer Culture Media Essay

Democracy Of Goods In Contemporary Consumer Culture Media Essay The term democracy was defined as equal access to consumer products and by depicting the everyday functioning of that democracy with regard to one product at a time, these tableaux offered Americans an inviting vision of their society as an incontestable equality According to Onufrijchuk in Leiss et al 1997: 50 the course of the 20th century has seen a dramatic and sustained rise in the real income and purchasing power of the average person in western societies, where most people have access to a huge and constantly changing array of goods this may rely on the fact why Marchand argued the fact that the 20th century allowed for equal access to goods because individuals for example the working class individual in society were continually earning more, and what better way to spend the extra money they have than to buy products that the upper class would usually use, thus, they can then believe that they are having shared experience with the upper classs taste, whereas the upper class are getting furious because they have to continually look for ways in other to differentiate themselves from the other classes. Bourdieu in Gronow (1997: 11) argued that the taste of the ruling class is always the legitimate taste of a society, but in his own opinio n, this legitimate taste is not genuine good taste: in fact there could be no possible genuine good taste. He went on to argue that legitimate taste pretends to be the universally valid and disinterested good taste, whereas in reality it is nothing more than the taste of one particular class, the ruling class. The term Trigg 2001 calls trickle down, leap-frog and trickle down. Taste would be considered later on in the essay in relation to democracy of goods. This could be said as to why Marchand suggested that the early 20th century advertising offered access to goods and a vision of society of incontestable. Schudson 1986: 180-181 illustrates better as he argued that there was a new sense of scarcity of time, accelerated by the increasingly large array of choices available to people. There was more choice, or a sense of more choice, in part because the newspapers, movies, and radio bought to people a strong sense of other social worlds, and other possibilities. The advances in mass production methods made goods and luxuries unheard of a generation before potentially available to a large number of people. In the supermarket there were more product categories, and within these more brands to choose from. The different media outlets made people think or feel that they had many choices and that they could experience the world of the upper class just by buying certain products to make them blend in to the crowd of the upper class. With the i ncrease of mass production of products, it made it possible for the working class to have the shared experience and for the fact that there was an increase in mass product, goods were produced cheaper. Hence, Marchand 1985: 218 arguing that there were no discrepancies in wealth could prevent the humblest citizen, provided they chose their purchases wisely, from retiring to setting in which they could contemplate their essential equality, through possession of an identical productGIVE AN EXAMPLE LATER This can be said to be what is happening in our current contemporary society The advertising parables offered comfortable rather than distasteful truths. They usually sought to persuade more through insinuation than confrontation, and sought unthinking assent rather than active thought or new insight. They encouraged readers to assimilate the product into their present lives in order to force them to a decision to live by a different logic. Marchand 1985: 207. Advertising products makes the audience feel like they need to purchase certain products and that if they do not acquire the products, they cannot be satisfied in their lives, Marchand 1985: 207. The parables of advertising promised reads no insurmountable limitations and offered a reality easily within the reach of their hearts desires provide any one with the ultimate satisfaction (ibid: 218) GIVE AN EXAMPLE LATER) According to Marchand 1985: 217-218 Democracy of goods is the wonders of modern mass production and distribution enabled every person to enjoy the societys most significant pleasure, convenience, or benefit. The definition of the particular benefit fluctuated à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the cumulative effect of the constant reminders that any woman can and every home can afford was to publicize an image of American society in which concentrated wealth at the top of a hierarchy of social classes restricted no familys opportunity to acquire the most significant products. Daniel Boorstin in Schudson 1886: 181 stated that there was democratization of good. Products that once held some kind of uniqueness to them by being available only at certain times of the year or only certain parts of the country were increasing available all year-round and throughout the country, thanks to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ other technological and other social developments. Not only the means of production but the modes of became a continuous process' Boorstin argued that products became democratized in three ways. Firstly, they became more standard as they come to be produced for the mass audience. They are easier to handle, easier to do it yourself without great skill on the part of the user; both a mediocre cook and a great cook make equally good cakes from a cake mix à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ standard products and standard situations for shopping make it easier for the unskilled consumer to avoid embarrassment and to become equal to the adept consumer. Secondly, products become not only more standard but milder and easier to use. They become convenient à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Convenience is an attribute that has much to do the social uses and social meaning of a product as with its engineering. The more convenient a good, the more it is equally available for the use if men and women, adults and children à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Thirdly, there is democratization when goods are consumed in increasingly public ways. To liberate from society, we ought and must was not for Marcuse a problem. What the problem the problem specific to society which delivers the goods was that for liberation there was no mass basis few people wished to be liberated, een fewer were willing to act on that wish, and virtually no one was quite sure in what way the liberation from society might differ from the state they were already in Bauman 2000: 16 One such issue was the possibility that what feels like freedom is not in fact freedom at all; that people may be satisfied with their lot even though that lot were far from being objectively satisfactory; that, living in slavery, they feel free and so experience no urge to liberate themselves, thus forsaking or forfeiting the chance of being genuinely free Bauman 2000: 17 is liberation a blessing, or a curse? A curse disguised as blessing, a blessing feared as curse? Bauman 2000: 18. other popular addresses for similar complaints have been the embourgeoisement of the underdog (the substitution of having for being, and being for acting, as the uppermost values) Bauman 2000: 19. However Gronow 1997: 9 argued that taste was an ideal means on making social distinctions. Any parvenu who tried to act as a gentleman could always be put in his proper place by letting him know through small gestures that even though he thinks he is acquainted with the right etiquette, he still does not master the requirements of good taste. This can us be used as a criticism in relation to democracy of good in the sense that even though there was mass production of goods, the working class were not accepted even though they tried fitting in, into the upper class. Thus it can be argued that the democracy of goods created an illusion of democracy, as it made working class ind ividuals Boorstin 1993 and others have suggested that mass consumption created democracy of goods. Schudsons account is somewhat different. Yes, goods became more uniformly available, more standardized, more convenient, and more likely to be consumed in public ways. Yet, although the goods displayed in a department store are in theory available to everyone, in practice they are available only ot those with the resources to make the purchase. Schudsons analysis reminds us that the displays of mass consumption creates a democratization of desire and envy (1984 pp 181, 151) Advertising reached its modern form around 1900 rather than simply describing products technical virtues, ads increasingly addressed consumers deeper concerns. Instead of extolling the cleaning powder of a particular soap, for example, the new ads emphasized the social embarrassment of body odor or the sex appeal of the skin (Fischer 2010: 65) The parable of the democracy of goods always remained implicit in its negative counterpart. It assured readers that they could be as healthy, as charming, as free from social offense as the very nicest (richest) people, simply by using a product that any one could afford (219) The parable emphasized the affordability of the product to families of modest income while attempting to maintain a class image of the products the preferred choice of their social better (221) The most attractive aspect of the parable to advertisers was that it preached the coming of an equalizing democracy without sacrificing those fascinating contrast of social condition that had long been the touchstone of high drama (221) They dressed up Americans wealthy as dazzling aristocrats, and then reassured readers that they could easily enjoy an essential equality with such elites in the things that really mattered GIVE AN EXAMPLE CHERYL COLE ADVERTISEMENT (she worked her way up, the general working class public could identify with her background and where she has come from. Thus suggesting that if they work really hard they could get to where they want be and be what they want in society

Morality and Relagion Essay

Morality refers to a set of principles that guide an individual on how one evaluates right and wrong. People believing in religion consider morality is shaped by religion because they believe that morality can be understood only in the context of religion; therefore, those religious people insist if there were no religion, people would be out of control. However, religious beliefs give people a wrong definition of moral value, indeed, morality is shaped only by instinct and environment. Regardless of religion, morality comes from instinct. Human beings are social creatures; they have to live in groups for reproduction and survival that has not changed at all since the ancient time. Looking back to history, people live in groups to share food, to take care of infants and build social networks to meet the daily challenges of their environment. Similarly, at the present time, people value their society for the same purposes. Even though the way to live has changed for instance, in the Stone Age people hunted and shared foods for their living, unlike people who do business for their living nowadays; they still depend on each other for reproduction and survival. Therefore, people instinctively have to keep their relationship between each other, and morality is formed to maintain the relationship. Consequently, every human being has morality regardless of religious beliefs. If the religious people insist that religions shape morality, non-religious people or atheists shouldn`t have morality. However, those people do have morality and they can judge the things right or wrong like other people who believe in religion. Furthermore, people who believe in religion said that the religion shapes morality, yet there are so many different religions around the world. Some people believe in Christianity, other believes in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam etc. Each religion worships different Gods, and has difference belief systems. Christians, for instance, believe in Jesus Christ while Buddhists venerate Gautama. Even though the same religion, there are different branches. Christianity, for instance, has Catholics and Protestants; on the other hand, Buddhism separate to Mahayana and Theravada. Therefore, if the morality is formed base on religion, the definition of morality should vary since there are many different regions. However, morality that people use in an attempt to do the right thing is the same. â€Å"Trolley Problem†, posted by Phillipa Foot in her 1967 paper, â€Å"Abortion and the Doctrine of Double Effect† help for clear understanding about morality (Clark). She was a British philosopher, and she explained if a person put in dilemma to choice for saving five people`s lives or a person`s life, he or she must choose five people`s lives to save instead of one no matter whatever religion he or she believes. Therefore, religion does not affect morality. If the religions control people`s moral values, different religions will define different moral values, and the answer about â€Å"Trolley Problem† may vary. On the other hand, not only humans but also animals have morality. Frans de Waal, Charles Howard Candle professor of Primate Behavior in the Emory University, shared the experimental results that showed the moral behavior in animals. Chimpanzees help each other to get food, and they reconcile after fighting. Those behaviors pretty much indicate their morality (Waal). Since both human and animals have morality, religion that only existence in human world could not be a source of forming moral. Environment shapes moral values. Religion does not affect moral values, but environment does affect because adaption on environment is very important for survival. Darwin`s evolutionary theory â€Å"Natural Selection† proved that all living organisms modified to adapt the environment. Consequently, moral value is different from each environment where people live. Western countries are more individualistic while Asian countries are more collectivistic. Americans, for example, individuality is a moral value; however, helping each other is a moral value in China. Mr Meier, ESL 33B professor, who has an experience for teaching both American and Asian students, mentioned that American students do not willing help each other during the test because they believe self-1 / 2 reliance as a moral value. Contrast, Asian students prefer to help each other during the test because using each other to achieve their gold is a moral value for Asian countries. Consequently, governments get involved in defining the different moral values. The US government has less control on the society; therefore, people have more freedom, and it leads to enhance the self- reliance as a moral value. However, Asian countries, where government strictly controls various aspects, have less freedom and people in those countries have to rely on each other to get to their goals. Therefore, those people regard helping each other as a moral value. In addition, cultures, which co-exist in different environments, also define the moral values. In Asian cultures, people are taught to respect and care elder people. Therefore, people from Asia believe respecting the elder and taking care of those people as a moral value. For instance, in Japan, national health insurance system is running very well because people are willing to pay insurance fees, which helps elder people who need health care services. People consider even though they do not need health services right now, elder people who need health care gain the benefits from insurance system, and they are happy to help those people by paying monthly insurance fees. However, in Western culture, people regard self-belief as a moral value, and they do not prefer to help elder people. Therefore in the US, national health insurance system does not exist, and even though President Obama tried to construct the health insurance system, it did not work well because of different moral values. Therefore, moral value is pretty much related to environment. Religious beliefs exacerbate the collapse the morality. Religion controlled its believers, and people believing in religion tend to believe whatever the rules that religion lay down. For instance, sky burial, which is take place in Tibetan Buddhism, is the most gross burial way if we think from our common sense of morality. Human corpses are placed on a mountaintop as a prey for birds such as vultures, eagles and other scavengers. Buddhist monks are subjected to the sky burial funerary. They go to the mountaintop by themselves to conduct the funeral ceremony. However, that is normal for people who believe in Tibetan Buddhism because religion teaches the believers â€Å"Humans are part of nature. (People) arrive in the world naturally and they leave it naturally. Life and death are part of a wheel of reincarnation. Death is not to be feared. † (Xinran 159). Therefore, they were controlled by religion to believe conducting sky burial is the way to return the body back to the nature. On the other hand, religious belief ignite the people`s competitive spirit that lead to break morality. Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is one of the examples that easy to understand for how religious belief stir the people`s competitive spirit. ISIS, the biggest Islamic terrorist group, attempts to create a new Islamic country in Middle East. ISIS has rapidly expanded by taking over Iraq and Syria territories. ISIS has killed so many innocents who do not follow Islam. This immoral behavior occurred because of ISIS, which was created by extreme Muslim believers, who regard their religion as the best on the world. They want to spread their religion; therefore, they force other people to become a part of Muslim believer by using immoral ways. Therefore, religious beliefs lead people to collapse the morality. In conclusion, morality is important to maintain our society. Every living organism that depends on each other to maintain life cannot survive without morality. However, humans misunderstand that religion shapes morality, but if we think critically, we can understand that morality is formed not because of religion but because of instinct and environment. Works Cited Clark, Josh. â€Å"How the Trolley Problem Works. † How Stuff Works. N. p. ,n. d. Web, 24 Oct. 2014. Waal, Frans De. â€Å"Moral Behavior in Animals. † TED. N. p. , Nov. 2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2014 Xinran, Xue. â€Å"Sky Burial. † Sky Burial. New York: Anchor Books, July. 2006. Print. POWERED BY TCPDF (WWW. TCPDF. ORG).

Coffee and Tea Essay

Coffee and tea have existed in the world for a long time. Hundreds of years ago, people who lived in South America started to produce coffee, but the earliest drink likes coffee was made by ancient Arabian. They thought it was a kind of medicine used for stomach. After the 15th century, coffee was spread to other countries such as Egypt and Ottoman Empire by Muslims who were back from Hajj, while in ancient China, Chinese people started to make tea about 3000 years ago. Because of nice environment and weather, the first part of tea plants was discovered in southwest China. After, drink tea became an important culture of Chinese people, and tea began to spread into countries near China. Coffee and tea are similar, but different in some specific area. First, coffee and tea are similar but different in population. People from all around the world like them. For example, British people used to drink a cup of tea with some snacks when they have a rest in the afternoon. Western people enjoy drinking black tea, and some of them mix it with milk to make milky tea. Likewise, most people like drinking coffee, for it often tastes good. In China, more and more people began to drink coffee, and some of whom want to taste better coffee like blue mountain coffee. However, although these two drinks are both popular around the world, coffee is still drunk most by western people, while the most quantity of tea is used in East Asia. People lived in China, Japan, and Korea regarded tea as the main drink. Second, coffee and tea are similar but different in function. Both coffee and tea can refresh people because there is a kind of chemical matter, which is caffeine in both of them. This chemical matter can be used for nerves to make a person feel awake and lively. Also, some experts said that black coffee and green tea can help a person lose weight. But, in contrast, tea has some more functions due to another kind of chemical matter which can’t be found in coffee. This chemical matter that named tea polyphenol whose ability is to relieve the effect that is made by poison. Finally, coffee and tea have similarity and difference in origination. Both of them are made from plants. Thousands of years ago, people lived in Africa planted coffee trees in succeed, and now, Brazil has the most coffee trees in the world. In south of China, there are a lot of terraced fields that grow tea trees. On the other hand, people use leaves from tea to make tea, while they use fruits from coffee plants to make coffee. To sum up, coffee and tea are similar in their population, function, and origination, while they are different of their use in different place, their different chemical matter, and their different material. I suggest that people should drink both coffee and tea so that they can be healthier.

High School Vs. College - 1149 Words

Jessel Vitto Professor Grunow Writing 1010 October 26, 2015 High School vs. College Graduating from high school is what every student is looking forward to. However, going to college is a big accomplishment for all students. The first day of freshman high school and college feels the same, the excitement and pressured. As many students experienced, both high school and college could be compared their similarities. First, both students in college and high school are expected to behave in well mannered, attend to every class on time, and respect the teachers or professors. Second, being prepared in class is needed for the success whether the students are in high school or college. Third, high school and college allow the students to figure out and pursue their career. In contrary, high school and college have a lot of differences to each other. 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