Are you greedy? Do you have to have the new Gucci handbag each season? Do you have to wait in line the day the new PlayStation 2 comes out so you are the first of your friends to have it? Or do you simply have freedom to buy what you want? You have worked long hours and made decent money, so now you have the freedom to go out and spend it however you choose, right? Most people would agree that our society is consumer-based. But is this because we are greedy and want lots of things or because we are entitled to luxury?
Today, many people identify with and only purchase certain brands or labels. We, as a society, have begun to create our identities based on what we wear, what car we drive and what type of house we live in. To help us, the media presents all the coveted information about other people (especially celebrities) and what they have so we know our competition.
When looking at fashion magazines, watching advertisements on television or reality shows such as MTV’s Cribs, our eyes widen and the “I wants” begin to surface as we see others with luxurious cars and designer clothing.
According to the film “Overspent American,” media presents us only the upper 20 percent of people in our society. These would be the people who have the cold hard cash”- a small amount of people, I must add. However, because of this exposure, a new phenomenon has occurred. The film points out that it is not simply the rich competing against the rich for social status and luxury, but those who are in the lower brackets of society competing against them, too. The desire to consume has led people of all levels of society to work more hours to make more money to buy more stuff. Nowadays, we see three-car garages, not because people have three cars, but they need an entire car space for their extra stuff. Is this the new American dream?
So, who do we have to thank? Media. Advertisers have us in the palm of their hands. Through semiotics, the study of signs and symbols as elements in communication, advertisers have turned plain objects into status symbols. It is very unlikely to see an executive walking into a morning meeting carrying a cup of coffee from 7-Eleven. Blasphemy right? It has to be Starbucks. Why? Status. We buy to give ourselves status to form our identity. The question becomes: Are we purchasing because we actually want it or need it, or because the media tells us we must have this product?
The masses’ demand for designers in vogue has resulted in many companies and corporations outsourcing to increase production. The shoes you purchase for $500 might actually cost $5 to make. What does this say about the quality of the product we buy?
Consumers tend to think that the more money you pay, the better quality it is, but let’s look at the entire picture. A company may have large factories in China and employees working under considerably harsh conditions making products that they sell to you at high prices. I find it unlikely that in their efforts to cut costs and make lots of money, the company would buy the highest quality of materials.
Still we buy the cars, clothing and flat screen TVs. The idea of advertising sending subliminal messages is not new, but it can easily get lost in a sea of targeted marketing. It must be remembered that these ads have the power to recreate sexism, classism, heterosexism, racism and imperialism. Do not believe me? Take a look at the new Volvo logo. Does it look a bit masculine to you? Companies such as Wal-Mart, called out on their sex discrimination against women in the late ’90s, still advertises to mainly women. In the book “Selling Women Short,” the author, Liza Featherstone, outlines how Wal-Mart pays their women less, which puts them in a low-income level and then advertises for women who want a bargain to come shop at a friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart. They are in essence, creating their own supply of consumers for their stores.
Maybe you do not think much about where you shop and why you purchase what you do. We, as avid shoppers, in a consumer-based society must learn to control our wallets. The wants and desires come from media, so steer clear from it when you can. Before you buy, ask yourself what your true intentions are for purchasing items. Are you being manipulated? Do you want to support this company?
Even if we do not want to, we have got to become educated shoppers. We have to, because if we don’t, our society will plummet infinitely into a greedy amount of unplayable debt.
Jenna McDaniel is a junior art education major.
