"this is the conception of mass culture as sheer manipulation, sheer commercial brainwashing and empty distraction by the multinational corporations who obviously control every feature of the production and distribution of mass culture today."
(Jameson, 1979)
Reification and Utopia in Mass Culture
Fredric Jameson
Social Text
No. 1 (Winter, 1979), pp. 130-148
“You don’t even want to know,” says Estonian designer and clothing waste researcher Reet Aus, who spends a lot of time following unwanted garments out of factory gates. “You see it by the side of the road being sold, or just dumped, but a lot is burned,” she says. “I know a brick factory near the garment district where the main fuel is garment waste. You can’t really see anything around there, the pollution is terrible. Remember that thanks to the chemicals and finishing agents, used textile waste is basically toxic waste.”Globalisation
- the initial spread of the mass market
- mass consumerism
- groth in advertisement
- urbanisation/ industrialisation
Mass Media
- mass media telling everyone they need to look/dress/eat a certain way
- fast fashion went from 4 seasons to 52 seasons
- On average, just one person in the UK will produce 70 Kg of textiles waste per year – that is a lot of clothing. Cheap, fast fashion means we are spending less yet buying more.
- would cut up old clothes just to make people buy more faster - short lived trends
Environment
- environmental effect of clothes being dumped
- our waste goes up - plastic toys / advertisement to children
- co2 used to fuel this consumerist market - transportation of goods - mass production = directly or indirectly reaching a majority of people
Main points:
'dumbed down culture' - how can these ideals be presented in the most simplest of forms to have an impact and bring about change
Globalisation
- Western culture infiltrating eastern - fast food
- Globalised economy
- mass production
- The Internet connecting everyone and spreading a unified culture spread through social media impacts body image and unrealistic expectations of physical appearances, growth in eating disorders / mental health issues
Mass Media
- advertisement and more recently social media presenting distorted ideals
- current technological age
- use of music/ art/ film/ tv / documentaries to spread awareness
- Celebrity involvement and power through industry providing huge platforms
- populist schemes to raise awareness/ promote change/ all inclusive and aimed at mass audiences, top down
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