h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hey folks, I'm gonna make a magazine on consumer society (largely negetive, I must add - plenty of cynisism) as a media piece for a course I'm doing.

I'd just like to know what comes to mind when you think of 'consumerism'? What brands, products etc? What are your opinions on them? Do you care what it took to make a product, or just about how much you end up paying for it?

Let me know!

Hello,

Well. I'd have to say that in my mind the brand that most typifies consumerism is Nike. They've elevated marketing to absurd levels, making sneakers (or trainers as you call them) commodities people have even been killed for (here is the violent USA).

Beanie Babies are another good example of the disconnect between "use value" and actual value. They're just little stuffed animals. But through scarcity and faddishness, some go for over $100. And these aren't necessarily gifts for children, but are usually held by adult collectors.

Anyway, just my initial thoughts. I'm sure you could come up with other examples (the fetishizing of Absolut ads, the image engineering of J. Peterman), where you're not just buying a product, you're buying a lifestyle embodied by a brand.

If you haven't read Adbusters, you should. Also, the Baffler is another great magazine on the subject. That editor's book "The Conquest of Cool" is a good chronicle of how companies embraced the notion of counterculture as an advertising tactic in the 60s and have been applying it ever since.

And in actual response to your question. I do care about the price and how it was made. For instance, it's hard to find things that aren't made in China or aren't linked back to some major multinational (for instance, boycotting Disney is much harder than you think). Also, try buying a piece of clothing without a prominent label on the outside these days (conspicuous consumption goes hand-in-hand with consumerism).

Yours,
Jake

ah, you obviously seem to have a similar mentality as me.

Abusters is a favourite site and inspiration of mine! GAP and Nike are already two companies I will write about. Beanie Babies is a good example I hadn't thought of. I've not heard of Baffler, I must check it out.

Well, I guess this not really an answer to your question but you might find it interesting anyway.
Just recently they made a survey in Japan (you know that high-tech-country ) and they asked people for the most important technological invention of the 20th century. No. 8 on the list was the pokémon (ah, you're already wondering, well don't waste your time waiting for medical developments or anything like that as) no. 3 was the walkman, no. 2 the karaoke bar and no. 1 the instant noodle soup. Imagine that most Japanese think that the most important invention of the 20th century was the instant noodle soup ...so what does this say about our consumerism...

Ok... due to lack of English vocabulary, I don't know what consumerism is... but I can answer you last question:
YES i do care what it takes to make a product, and that is why I am boicotting Nestle, just to mention one thing.

Hello,

The Baffler is another magazine out of Chicago. Sadly, it might not have much international distribution, and their website seems to not have much online (it's http://www.thebaffler.com/ btw). The main editor (Thomas Frank) has written a few books including a collection of articles from the journal you might be able to find (it's called "Commodify Your Dissent" if that helps).

His book "The Conquest of Cool" is all about advertisers and their missions to manufacture needs for products. Studies into branding might also be interesting (you don't create a need for the products, you create a need for the brand).

Otherwise, I'm still hoping to get a GAP ATHLETIC shirt so I can remove a few letters and make it " AP ATH ETIC" (thanks to Adbusters for that one).

Yours,
Jake

Consumerism is one of those things we'll never be able to escape since its all about profit. Entire economies are built around it and there is just little to nothing anyone can do about it. If enough people fight back against large companies, eventually the company will change or fall. Either way, another company will appear in the vacum of the previous one and manage to hide what it does better, under a prettier package. People generally equate consumer objects with wealth; the more you have, and more expensive it is, the richer and more powerful you become, the more status you aquire. The Romans knew it, and so did every single civilization since recorded history whether they condemned it or embrased it. So unless your a monk who'se forsworn it, you'll have to put up with it.

Companies: Pepsi. Coke. Disney.

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