The center of this lecture was consumerism as an ideology and a social system. A social system, perhaps, that we enter into, with the belief that society expects us to.
MAIN IDEAS IDENTIFIED:
-A civilised society is not attainable
-Human instinct and desires are not compatible with civilised society
-Persuasion of necessity through desirable qualities
-Micro-production to mass-production
-Society saturated in goods
-Competition invites humanization of products and brands
-We become a collage of our possessions
-Short term gratification as futile
As Freud unveiled the true human nature through his Id, Ego and Super-ego, it became clear that a civilized society was futile, as human desires and instinct were paramount to civilized operations. I am interested in this idea of futility. If as humans, we are so charged by desire, than why does consumerism appear to be such a formulated issue? I would almost suggest that humans could conform to consumerism without such levels of persuasion. But it is this mass-subscription to consumerism that demands brand competition, and as such, persuasive tools become necessary.
The visual literacy and language employed by advertisers seemed to assign desirable qualities to rather undesirable objects, almost elevating them to not only a level of necessity, but a level of desirability. The move from cigarettes as being a male object to an object for women, is characterized by imagery of power, freedom and autonomy. Allowing objects to foster desireable qualities demonstrates that there need be no boundary between subject and audience, and as such, it is no surprise that society became over saturated with goods and manufacturing.
It seems then that the self-conscious consumer needed some reassurance from brands, telling them that they were buying something human and necessary. The humanisation of products through assigning names and characters became a tool for persuasion. Selling 'Aunt Jemima's pancake mix' because the consumer thought it offered the qualities and characteristics of home-baking. Perhaps then it is notable that consumers were subscribing to a lifestyle, as well as a desire, and as such, lives started to become a collection of objects selected for their characteristics and powers.
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