Heath and Potter’s article was quite informative to me and I really enjoyed Monday’s presentation on the article. I think it resonated so much with me because of the filmic referencing of Fight Club and American Beauty, and more importantly, because of the four tenets of capitalism/consumerism, particularly the third one.
Heath and Potter’s third tenet of capitalism/consumerism is as follows: “Capitalism requires sexual repression. In its drive to stamp out individuality, capitalism denies the full range of human expression, which includes sexual freedom. Because sexuality is erratic and unpredictable, it is a threat to the established order. This is why some people thought the sexual revolution would undermine capitalism.” (Heath & Potter) Although this statement is quite true in its analysis, I think that capitalism attempts to stamp out individuality by means of promoting individuality – which then sets a double standard. For example, consider the hundreds of ads for weight loss products, acne medications, axe deodorant spray, or anything else that has to do with making us as consumers most desirable in the bedroom. The good majority of these advertisements are aimed at the average Joe/Jane and promise to transform them into the few/the elite/ best in show by clearing up acne, shedding that belly fat, making you smell good, etc.
Heath and Potter also reference Naomi Klein’s No Logo and state: “Unfortunately for Klein, zoning changes in Toronto (changes that were part of a very enlightened and successful strategy to slow urban sprawl) allowed yuppies to buy their way into her neighbourhood. This led to an erosion of her social status.” (Heath and Potter) This illustrates my point brilliantly; due to the fact that the average people started buying into Klein’s neighbourhood, it abolished all interest in it because it became the norm instead of promoting Klein’s individuality.
This whole third tenet provides a bit of a double standard, consider the scene in Old School where Will Ferrell and his new wife talk about their sexual fears with a psychiatrist. Frank (Ferrell) says the other day he found himself looking at the waitress serving him and wondering what kind of panties she was wearing, “Chances are they’re just plain cotton panties. But maybe they’re silk. Maybe it’s a thong… maybe it’s something so cool I’ve never heard of it” (Old School) In the drive to stamp out individuality (the plain cotton panties), the consumer society has provided us with a wide range of alternatives: thongs, crotchless panties, g strings, etc. Does this not then mean more alternatives = more individuality? And does society not deem that individuality is sexy in modern society? By this example, it seems that Frank is more interested in the waitress if she is wearing something ‘so cool he hasn’t heard of it’, instead of the norm. Therefore we can conclude that in the drive to eliminate individuality and repress sexual desires, consumerism sets a double standard that reinforces both consumerism and individuality.
Works Cited
Heath and Potter - "The Rebel Sell"
http://www.thismagazine.ca/issues/2002/11/rebelsell.php
Old School. Dir. Todd Phillips. Perf. Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughan.
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1 comment:
this is good reading of heath and potter. one of the major driving forces of consumer capitalism, they argue, is the distinction certain products confer upon the individual. if a product will enhance - or more perhaps more tellingly, will promise to enhance - particular aspects of my life/person, then i'm willing to pay for it because it will set me apart from the others. this ongoing quest for distinction, this "race to the bottom", ultimately leads nowhere, but it accelerates and helps sustain the structures of the consumer economy. are there ways of resisting these tendencies or refuting the dominant logic of consumer capitalism?
i.
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