The images above were taken in the wee hours on 'Black Friday'. Ironic to me that one resembles a soup kitchen line...
The shopping day following Thanksgiving, known as 'Black Friday' was coined such after retail marketing encouraged consumers to shop for more and for longer hours and it was seen to have a very measurable economic effect. Arguably one of the busiest shopping days of the year, 'Black Friday' turns retailers bottom line from red to black (off the charts).
This day is a perfect example of how our popular culture feeds the consumer bingers we have become. Buy buy buy buy. The more we buy the more we waste, and more rubbish we make. More energy is consumed to make what we buy. More human rights are violated (How do you think Old Navy makes $5 T-Shirts?). Sadly enough, we should all know by now that more stuff does not equal more happiness, but we are addicted to consumerism.
Kalle Lasn, the King of culture jamming and ADbusters has called to our attention that America is "no longer a country but a million-dollar brand". How can we stop this consumer binge? We must look deep into the heart of the matter: what our culture is made of. Lasn has proposed that we adopt a 'Buy Nothing Day', in turn, we could all learn a thing or two about being resourceful and "making do" with what we already have.
What do you think about 'Black Friday' and what it says about our country?
What do you think about the fact that young N. Americas have the highest debt rates in history?
How is this connected to our culture and the tendency to buy buy buy?
Elaborate on 'Ecology of the Mind'...
What are you thoughts after reading 'Autumn' (Lasn, K., Culture Jam)?
If you plan to buy less- how and why? Propose a 'self plan'...
This is also open to any lingering thoughts you may have after discussion.
17 comments:
While reading the last few pages of Autumn, I was immediately struck by a particular passage's likeness to the article we read earlier about Nature in the Mall. On page 45, Lasn cites author Ann Beattie who remarked on her travels with a group of japanese tourists who absorbed the city's greatest icons only through the lens of their camera. That concept, that ideology which dictates the only way to enjoy something is to own it is so perverse and wrong but perhaps irreversibly ingrained into us. I cringed while reading Lasn's criticism, that "nothing becomes real until you can make it fit into the spectacle, or make the spectacle fit into it." Just as we read in Nature at the Mall, it was a case in which the overriding instinct to buy, to own monopolized on the most un-ownable thing of the earth: Nature. The result is fake and lacks any authenticity. Nature became a brand.
More and more it feels that we as a culture are cultivating the idea of something--of one's self, of being 'green,' of happiness, of personal relationships, of tangible interactions-- rather than the thing itself. Could this be part of the reason so many people are dissatisfied and empty? We're missing out on the experiences that make us feel truly alive, and instead perpetuating their phantoms so as to ensure expediency and availability to all. Lasn connects it to the fact that he believes nothing is 'hard-won' anymore, and without the satisfaction of working toward something, we are without meaning. "Eat as soon as you're hungry and you'll never find out what your hunger is for."
So how are we, as artists, any different from the multitudes of zombies out there? Well, maybe we're not. We still consume, still work to fit in (or not fit in), and create products. But I think that we're people whose job is to think differently. Find the better creative solution. If all life is to strive and endure, then I would hope we're on the striving part. In this age of virtual reality and instant success, happiness, pleasure, etc., I think that our 'duty' is to create valid, authentic experiences.
Materialism is such a difficult concept to wrap around. It's easy to assume that the rise of industrialism at the beginning of the 20th century created a rising purchasing among working classes, which in turn bought many of the commodities they themselves were producing.
However, materialism is a much longer occurrence. Lest we forget, as early as the 1840s transcendentalists were calling for a movement back to nature, away from the mechanical beasts. So there must be pre-existing conditions to our current status of of materialism.
The first and most important, is a movement from banality. The vast majority of the human race has been in some form of indentured servitude or harsh condition for epochs. Just a select few, like royalty, enjoyed a consistent environment and food source.
Earlier humans were much more preoccupied with the maintenance of shelter and procurement of food, not finding time for excess goods. Even here though, we can can see many traits of a materialist society.
Materialism is principally a covetous emotion. We have always longed after what we do not have. So the gap between our pre-industrial and industrialized notions are much closer than one would initially assume.
The second point is the rise of excess capital. With housing and basic food sources secure, we were producing and able to indulge in various materialistic goods.
I would say this is why materialism is near impossible to stop. There is a rather archaic conservatism in trying to stop entirely the way human nature drives. Rather, a more salient solution is to change how we see materialism in order to more conscientiously own products.
The impact of this class on my view of our modern society is unfathomable. I had heard words like “consumerism” and phrases such as “ignorance is bliss,” but they never really registered in my mind until I was confronted with the facts put forth in Joe Trumpey’s lectures and in our readings. Now that my eyes have been opened to our obscenely consumer-oriented society, I want to do something. Change my ways. Stop consuming. But like we talked about in our discussion this past week, what can we possibly do to change people’s ways when it is so engrained in our society? With Black Friday quickly approaching and Christmas on its heals, it’s considered strange to want to cut back on “consuming.” People see it as selfish or “scrooge-like” not to buy gifts for everyone under the sun on Christmas. And while it’s considered a heartfelt alternative to make gifts for friends and loved ones, often people don’t have the time (which also ties in with our discussion of being overworked in today’s society). It’s going to take me quite a while to ease myself out of the mainstream consumer mindset, but I think it will take even longer to try and adjust our entire culture to something more sustainable and, I believe, meaningful.
Karin Alpert
ADP III
Weekly Response #6
Reading through Culture Jam just makes me feel disgusted to be an American living in such a consumer driven society based solely on progress through wealth and production, no matter how harmful are actions our to our world as well as ourselves. However, at the same time it is not just my society I can blame because I am at fault as well for allowing myself to be pulled into the trance and seduction of consumerism. I am also guilty of pampering myself with many unnecessary items just because I want them not because I truly need them. America truly needs to make a drastic shift in our lifestyle, but the question is how?
How can a society that is so used to having everything and more just one day decide to stop progressing or stop acting as consumers and change? Once people are so accustomed to a certain way of life it is extremely difficult to willingly give up many pleasures and comforts we have, even if we do know its for the better good. I believe that the only way this could truly be possible or work is if it is somehow enforced by law that we as a country take action, otherwise the few people who may take action on there own won’t make a dent that makes the difference we need. This must be a collaborative effort, but how we as a society get there and stop denying the fact that something must be done is a long ways away.
I as an individual would like to try and follow my own plan of action to try and make a small difference. Now that I am aware about exactly how dire of a situation our society is in, I would like to try and inform others, because awareness is the first step. I would also like to attempt to limit myself to necessities and not succumb to the brainwashing of the media to buy and consume and want everything advertised. This will hardly make the difference our nation needs, but every little step counts. Hopefully if enough people stop wanting and buying everything, production will be forced to slow down rather than continue to grow at this rapid and destructive rate.
Black Friday is a day that I myself have not participated in, mostly because of the lines. It never made sense to me why people would choose to shop on a day when you will be shoulder to shoulder with the other shoppers. There is barely room to walk around, and it seems impossible to see what you are grabbing. I wanted to learn more about Black Friday, see when it started, why it started and where the name came from. I learned that it is not officially a holiday but is celebrated by many American consumers as if it were one. It started for the people celebrating Christmas, so they can get a jump-start on their Christmas shopping. It is now celebrated by anyone who wants to participate. It does not necessarily have anything to do with the upcoming holidays.
It is a growing “holiday” and originally was not known as Black Friday because of the sales profits. Instead the name originated from the traffic caused on this day. This brought me to a realization. I did not even think what this day does to the environment. There are all the people shopping, crammed in stores, waiting in lines, but I never thought about how they got there. The traffic on Black Friday is just terrible. One cannot go anywhere without getting stuck in a traffic jam. It seems as if more people are on the road that day than there normally would be on any other Friday. The exhaust from the cars pollute the air, filling it wit black smoke, hence the name Black Friday.
Now a day the name is about the profits but I do not think that the original thoughts should be disregarded. I do not believe traffic is better than it use to be. If anything more people participate in Black Friday than before, causing more traffic, more pollution and more consumerism.
I wonder if Kalle Lasn’s plan of “Buy Nothing Day” would actually be effective. Since it is only one day of the year, it is not going to prevent people from going shopping before or after Black Friday. It seems impossible to escape from this consumerism society we live in. What happens that day if no one participated in Black Friday? The stores will probably come up with a new gimmick. Maybe extend the day to a week. Bargain with its target audience to give them the best new deals, making it impossible to say no, and to not buy their product. If all the people of America participate in turning Black Friday into buy nothing day, would anything really come from it? Would people learn and begin changing from their consumer ways? Or would it only be effective that one day? Will consumerism stop for only one day, and then the next will America be the same, a name brand?
I guess I can understand why Black Friday exists, not that I agree with it at al, but makes sense that the United Sates would have such a holiday. I can see how it would be seductive for some people; they can get all of their Christmas shopping done in one day with unbelievable discounts. However, I don’t believe that Black Friday is beneficial to society at all. It is true that people are able to get what they want for very low prices, but what they don’t realize is that they are only able to pay so little at the expense of others in less fortunate countries. It would be interesting to survey the shoppers as they leave the stores to see if they have ever even thought about how the prices could be so low.
The tradition of Black Friday is just fueling our dependence on credit and steady decline into overwhelming debt. This is because we think that we aren’t spending very much, per item, when in reality we are buying large quantities of items for little money but it adds up to a lot of money. Then shoppers are able to trick themselves into thinking that they are saving money, while their credit card bill steadily rises.
From my experience as a gift store clerk I have found out that people are very willing to spend more than they had budgeted if there is a good enough sale, or if the item is “cool” enough. They end up buying enormous amounts of stuff just because it is “cute” or “interesting” but if asked what they would use the item for they wouldn’t know. It wouldn’t cross their minds as to what they could use the thing for.
That people buy things without thinking through what the uses are astonishes me. I find the vast amount of things bought on Black Friday, are useless and not necessary for one’s survival.
I have only participated in Black Friday once in my life. A friend talked me into it. We got up uncomfortably early, skidded on some black ice in the parking lot – narrowly missing other cars, and eventually gave up after seeing lines that wrapped around entire stores. It simply wasn’t worth it. So the idea to me of being herded almost like cows into long lines after a feeding frenzy of sorts just isn’t appealing. Last year, I was happy to find that around the same time online sites offered deals on free shipping and merchandise. I was much happier to take advantage of what sales I wanted on my own time, away from the craziness and flurry of buying when I could truly think about what I wanted, if anything. Although I now realize this still isn’t ideal as I was consuming and incurring environmental costs from packaging and shipping.
The whole idea of black Friday makes me think of Jevon’s Paradox, which we discussed in lecture. The idea was that by making coal more efficient to protect the UK coal reserves, coal-fired technology became more cost-effective and in the end more coal was used/consumed. I believe companies play off that very idea. For one day you drastically cut prices. People are thrilled, they are getting amazing deals, they can suddenly afford the things they never could before. The feel as if they are saving so much that they end up consuming ridiculous amounts. It’s some twisted addiction. The commercials always make me laugh that claim you end up with more money in your pocket. It could be argued that you might have gotten more products in return for your money, but ultimately you consumed. The money left your “pocket” and the companies benefited.
The idea of time running out also spurs on more buying. Whereas we usually might buy only what we need, suddenly we are faced with a deal that only comes once a year and a product that will sell out fast! We see the demand, and almost competitively we feel the need to snatch it up and in great quantities! Later we rationalize this hoarding of sorts, comforting ourselves with how much we saved and how many things we acquired for so little. Often we don’t truly need these things and we have fueled the consumer giant.
But as I read the other comments on this blog, I can’t help but think Erin makes a fantastic point. So what if we did stop buying for one day? Sure it might jam the system, there is no doubt about that. It might provide insight into unnecessary buying binges, but our consumer-based society is so ingrained that I feel the companies probably would come up with something different. Something that powerful just doesn’t back down. Unfortunately many jobs are also based on this consumer society, so as always the solution is dicey.
Still, I feel like I could definitely commit to not buying anything on that day if I felt it would make some impact. I definitely believe I will think deeply about buying as this holiday season approaches. Suddenly I think about how ridiculous it is that we have storage centers to store the excess things we have that we aren’t ready to throw away, that we incur so many hidden production costs in our products, and how we feed the very consumer-society we criticize. Brings a whole new meaning to a lump of coal in your stocking. More like a barrel of oil…
Sean Thompson
Green homes and architecture and home technology in general is important to understanding society and its impact on the surrounding environment. In the case of vernacular housing we find homes made from local materials and constructed in a way that is specific to the conditions of the area. For instance an adobe building in Africa is constructed from the clay and straw at hand and designed and oriented in such a way that the sun doesn’t shine into the windows in the heat of the day. Simplicity of construction is another characteristic that many types of homes share, The dome shape or Hershey kiss shaped homes and often preferred because of the simplicity of the construction method it allows. These types of homes are very different from what we today in America would consider a standard home. After the industrial Revolution and WWII housing materials in America changed drastically. Material choices are important and rarity, locality, recycle-ability, emissions, and embodied energy must all be considered.
Many artists and architects have taken the lessons of vernacular housing to heart and used localized materials to create artistic structures. Artists like David Nash use still living plants to create their art while others like the N architects create works from natural materials. All this keeps in mind the “energy” involved in the creation of the material used in order to have as little impact as possible.
I have to admit, that when it comes to retail shopping, I am as guilty as most Americans with over-consuming. I always tell myself that after this pair of jeans, or this t-shirt, it will be enough and I wont want anything for awhile, but I know this is a lie because there is always more out there.
But despite my love for shopping, I do not participate in Black Friday. I find it embarrassing how packed malls get, or how early people wake up to spend ridiculous amounts of money just because it is on sale. I have seen endless shows on American families in immense debt because they spend well beyond what they can afford on their children during Christmas. I understand that parents want to give the best to their children, but after some point its not about pleasing children, but putting on a fake facade to make it seem like theyre living the "American Dream."
I used to live next door to a family that had 5 children and not that much money. Instead of spending beyond what they had, they were just very creative in saving money. They never bought junk food or juice from the store, instead they would bake and make fresh juices. They made a lot of their clothes, and play dress up instead of video games. They would go to the drive-in instead of the actual movies. I had some of the best times of my life with them and had no idea that they weren't as well-off as myself. It's not about having the most, but making the most of what you have.
‘Black Friday’ represents the materialism most Americans have. People want more stuff; the more they have the happier they will supposedly be. And when large sales occur, it’s sad to know hundreds of people will stand outside in the cold just to get a bargain on more stuff they probably don’t even need. Because of such strong consumerism, young Americans have the highest debt rates in history. Consumerism has become addictive in America. It’s almost impossible to not be bombarded with advertisements persuading you that this new gadget will make your life better; or the updated version of that will make you happy. Advertisements, and endless amounts of new and improved stuff, have fooled Americans into thinking “the more you have, the happier you’ll be.” People feel they need to have the biggest and best there is out there. And every time something is updated, or improved we want it because it’s better looking, or easier to use, or more convenient. But is the latest and greatest really worth the money? Americans constantly want more; we are never satisfied. I know I am at fault for falling into the realm of consumerism. I always want more stuff, and whenever I’m shopping, I wish I had the money to buy everything I wanted. However, when I think about it, buying all the clothes and shoes I want probably wont make me any happier; I could definitely live without more stuff; and more stuff really wont make a difference in my life. Whenever I get that materialistic mindset at the store, I just have to sit and think about what it is I really need. Could I live without this? How will I feel about this item next month? Everything is always being updated, so no one is satisfied with anything they have. Once we have what we want, something new comes out and we want that. It is unnecessary and wasteful to be so materialistic. We, as Americans, need to realize the problems with consumerism, and more stuff does not bring satisfaction or happiness.
After reading Lasn’s section “Winter” I grow increasingly frustrated with his discussion in relation to individuals. While I understand the power big businesses can assert because of the money they control, I feel that he misses a large point in dissecting the consumer’s role in this process. Lasn does ask us to act out against the consumer world through things like “Buy Nothing Day” and “Turn of the TV Week” but his stance on where consumerism comes from is more about the evil powers of businesses and less about the role of the individual.
Ultimately, businesses have to listen to the consumer; without anyone to buy the product or service the business will not be profitable. Because of this it is the demand of the consumer that creates the drive for what products are manufactured and sold. To say that we are merely brainwashed into buying things we do not need or want is a huge oversight.
There should be as much blame on the individual as there is on the businesses. The people that run the businesses are people as are we and are responding to what we buy and ask for. Just because someone, through advertising and similar processes, tells us we have to have a certain product or service does not mean we have no power to control ourselves. I am growing tired of this excuse; no one is making us buy McDonald’s breakfast everyday or forcing us into continually buying the trendiest clothes and latest electronics. A huge blame should be placed on the individual in falling for false advertisement and letting another person win in the first place.
Again, the businessman is a person just like everyone else. They use their money to make what they are selling look really good. It is their side of a debate. We can either roll over and believe this or refute and figure out if we actually need this item and whether or not it is the key to our happiness. The businessman has no power over us that we do not have over them.
In choosing to believe that they have some way of making us want and buy things we do not need is forgoing our individuality and placing blame on an outside source without considering our own personal responsibility. In this same case, businesses are not some magical thing that sprang up out of nowhere to control us like zombies knowing exactly what we will fall for; they are a response to what we wanted in the first place. In order to regain control of our lives we have to recognize that our power is equal to theirs, if not greater, because without us, businesses cannot survive. Every time we buy a product or service we use our voice and we have since the beginning. We have eliminated certain options for ourselves based on the choices we have made in consumption everyday.
Kelsey Sovereign
Knowledge is scary to possess. Everytime i leave Joe trumpey's lecture, i immediately call my mom and vent to her about all the destruction that is happening because of us, without us knowing what we are actually doing. it is such a difficult thing to wrap your head around because it puts responsibility in my hands. I feel overcome with not guilt, but ideas, and it becomes so much that nothing eventually gets done and i feel worthless. It is difficult to think about the health of our globe while focusing on my own day-to-day life. This task, however, is the only way i believe we are able to get ourselves out of a spoiled rut of being able to have anything we need. The earth is not able to have anything it wants, or else it would all be covered in untouched nature. And third world countries are the same, if they had all that they wanted people wouldnt be starving to death. There is room for balance here, and it lies in local action.
I recently visited with artists from the Beehive Collective, which is a non-prof organization where they provide artwork in the form of posters for other non-profs trying to get their name out and ask for support. These artists all live together and wear secondhand clothing. I told them, i wish i could do that, but it seems to be something you have to focus all energy on if youre going to do it right. They told me that is not true. They said that i can do small things, and help. Count the number of coffees you buy, or times you use the restroom and overuse toilet paper or paper towels. Simply take responsibility for your life, and account for your own actions.
And finally, they told me: use your art to inspire others, like we do.
Well over break we all had the chance to once again enjoy a wonderful black friday. This year in light of all the information we have been learning, I chose to not participate. I saw it as a great opportunity to buy nothing, avoiding all of the mass consumption and enjoying my autumn day at home relaxing. It was funny to think that while I was under the covers, my friends and others from our nation were standing in line at four something in the morning ready to purchase away. I understand there are some decent deals at some stores, but to huddle like a bunch of cattle in front of doors to a Walmart and trample the person letting you in to death is just the most disturbing thing I have ever heard. I just cant believe how eager people are to buy "things." Where is our nation headed? Why do we feel it is necessary to buy three plasma T.V.s just because the price went down a little? "Wow, look we can watch HD T.V. in every room in our house now! We'll never have to go outside again! I find it interesting how we are encouraged to live beyond our means. It seems as though no one likes to actually save money to buy something anymore. We are encouraged to use credit because it will make our credit score look better. I just don't understand why americans don't know when to say they have enough.
The thing I find most ironic about Black Friday is that it follows a beautiful little holiday named Thanksgiving. One would think such a beautiful holiday, which celebrates the coming together of families to share a meal and formally update themselves on each other’s lives, would encourage us to make wiser decisions. Why are people able to so quickly forget the warmth and happiness, which comes from just spending time with, loved ones? It’s like “Isn’t family great, now let go get several thousand dollars in credit card debt!” I find that because we no longer handle money by using our magic plastic cards we are disconnected by what it stands for. Should we blame ourselves for easily taking a line of credit, with the only intention of making it look like we are well off? While on the subject of looking good, why the hell do we celebrate the birth of a man whose ultimate message was one of kindness and whole heartedness, with an obscene amount of material gifts in which the purchase will only bring us unhappiness when the bills arrive in January?
Black Friday is definitely an example of the consumer bingers we have become. It is so interesting to me that people will stand in line for hours waiting for stores to open in the early hours of the morning right after celebrating Thanksgiving with their families. Isn’t the whole point of Thanksgiving to reflect on what you have and be thankful for it? And isn’t it also focused on quality time spent with family and friends? Black Friday totally contradicts this notion. People living on the outskirts of Chicago will leave their houses at midnight after Thanksgiving and drive to the city to shop. There is so much congested traffic around 4 am in the city. I guess I just don’t understand what motivates people to spend their Thanksgiving this way. It just reflects on our country’s obsession with consuming as much as we can.
We are constantly bombarded with ads telling us to buy more. Products are routinely introduced that are better than previous models. For example, Apple comes out with new iPods every year. Even if the features are only slightly different than the previous ones, our country still feels the need to buy the updated models. We are always trying to outdo ourselves. Now with Christmas approaching, I am trying to be more conscious of what I really need and what I don’t need. Every year my mom and step-mom will spend money on little stocking stuffers that no one has any use for. I am trying to urge them to cut down on pointless purchases. This class has definitely put things in perspective for me and how wasteful our country is.
Black Friday is another Christmas, another Easter, another Mother's Day and another Father's Day, except in one regard. All of these are opportunities that are marketed by businesses as times to spend spend spend. What makes Black Friday different is that businesses are explicit about their intentions. While other holidays are ostensibly about celebrating something, Black Friday comes out and says it straight up: celebrate buying! And I know that I myself participate. However, I wonder how many people don't make purchases all year in order to buy on Black Friday knowing that this is when they will get the best deals on the things that they know they need to purchase? As for debt, this is a tough one to comprehend, especially with how the economy is going right now. We can see that the highest debt rates have finally come back to bite us, and it's bitten us all. Really, debt is the knowledge that you will be able to pay back what you have borrowed in the near or far future. What happened with our bad debt is that credit companies continued to say "Don't worry, pay it later and we'll make more money." Bad debt is the curse of kindness: not forcing someone to pay back their borrowing gives them the permission to continue the bad habit. So, a buying plan? No, I don't have one explicitly, but I definitely am aware of how much I purchase. I try to buy things that have low impact and high value. Food is an item like this. To the idea that buying stuff is gratifying, I feel that purchasing food items fulfills this for me.
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