What Is The Relationship Between Popular Culture And Consumer

What Is The Relationship Between Popular Culture And Consumer What Is The Relationship Between Popular Culture And Consumer Capitalism â€" Essay Example > The relationship between popular culture and consumer capitalismIntroduction Popular culture can defined as the totality of perspectives, images, ideas and attitudes among many other factors that are preferred within the mainstream of a particular society through an informal consensus. In his book, “Cultural Theory and Popular Culture”, John Storey equates popular culture with mass culture. He considers popular culture to be a commercial culture that is mass produced for mass consumption (Storey 2006). On the other hand, consumer capitalism can be defined as the notion that consumption influences the capitalist economy through the corporate manipulation of consumers to continuously purchase material goods (Schrader 2011). Several studies portray a close link between popular culture and consumer capitalism. This paper seeks to examine the relationship between popular culture and consumer capitalism. Foremost, this paper will examine the concept of consumer capitalism and popula r culture. Subsequently, this paper will establish the link between poplar culture and consumer capitalism. The concept of popular culture Popular culture can be considered as a culture that is largely based on popular taste and is disseminated widely on a commercialized basis. Popular culture is often characterized by brand names, popular music, fashion, television shows, sports and movies among many other factors. (Fiske 1989). Storey (2006), equates popular culture to mass culture. This is viewed as a commercial culture that is mass produced for mass consumption. Storey observes that there exists a political dimension of popular culture, according to the “neo-Gramscian hegemony theory”, popular culture is a site of struggle between the forces of incorporation that operate in the interests of the dominants groups within the society and the resistance of subordinate groups of people in society. Furthermore, Storey accentuates that popular culture surfaces from the urbanizatio n of the industrial revolution that identifies the term “popular culture” with mass culture (Storey 2006). Moreover popular culture has been broadly associated with life practices and common aesthetic in both qualitative and statistical sense. Over the years, theorists have used this term to allude to a culture that has arisen in the modern era. Unlike folk culture and high-culture, pop culture is mass produced and mass consumed. Popular culture is important in that it influences consumer behaviour. For example, the fashion or clothing style of celebrities or pop idols greatly influences consumer habits of young people. Most young people are bound to purchase what they see celebrities purchase so as to identify themselves with the alleged celebrity (Danesi 2008). Popular culture can be thought of as a central force in society that influences what people do, watch, think about and wear (Dolby 2003). In addition, popular culture boost economic growth since it promotes consumerism . Gramsci’s theory of hegemony offers an important way of analyzing the role of popular culture in society. Gramsci argues that dominant classes do not preserve control through the use of manipulation and control. Rather Gramsci suggests a process of winning the consent of subordinated groups or hegemony (Dolby 2003). The concept of consumer capitalismThe concept of consumer capitalism has often been redefined following the introduction of popular culture in the early 1900’s. It is a commonly used term derived from sociology and psychology and is used in mass market of consumer goods. In most cases consumer capitalism refers to the notion that consumption influences the capitalist economy through the corporate manipulation of consumers to continuously purchase material goods. In his book, “Propaganda” Edward Bernays argues that the organization of a democratic society entails the manipulation of the wants and desires of consumers by groups from the upper class. In this def inition Bernays portrays the picture of the concept of consumer capitalism (Bernays 1993). The complete framework of consumer capitalism is predicted on the notion that the value of a product is influenced by the desire of individuals despite of the actual need or necessity of the product. For example a consumer may think that he or she needs or want a product and just as long as the desire for this product is sustained the value of the product will continue to increase. Basically, consumer capitalism operates on the general economic paradigm involving supply and demand, nonetheless without regarding the intrinsic value of a product (Schrader 2011).