Competitive consumption is a way to stay socially relevant. A way to separate yourself into a class of what Americans are now considering as “the elite”. Juliet Schor argues that Americans will pay whatever it takes for “premium status”- regardless of the consequences. There are these pressures that this competitive society has created to keep up with income and wealth- that can be met through purchases.
The way consumers make their bank account visible is to make the brands visible. Juliet Schor describes the American Dream as this never ending thirst for high ranking status quo that can be displayed. In the video, Schor describes the “Big Three” that Americans obtain to show off their bank accounts: the house, the car, and the branded clothing. One example, being the SUV. This vehicle has terrible gas mileage, is absurdly large, not that physically attractive and horrible for the environment. But the argument is that people want the status of the SUV, a boss on the road, a symbol of power. This comparison of SUV to power is one that is exceedingly similar to the attraction American men have to sports. As described in “The Sanctity of Sunday Football: Why Men Love Sports”, there is this relationship between sports and men that they “fit together so tightly, so seamlessly that they achieve their effects- learning to be a man, male bonding, male authority, and the like- without seeming to be doing anything more than tossing a ball or watching a Sunday afternoon game” (120). The more Americans tie essential life goals and feelings to products, the easier the money comes in. This is precisely the goal of corporate America, and they are succeeding. In this example, utilizing important passage ways to manhood, sports gear companies, such as Nike, can use this information, to create a need for their product.
The idea of capitalism is buying and selling and that will keep the economy in line. That means each company is on its own to distinguish itself by building a corporate power, a desireable face. This can be achieved through advertising. Brands visible, brands distinguished, among the correct target market. To distinguish, is to stand out, sometimes using racy messages. In the TedX talk “Killing Us Softly” Jean Kilbourne talks about this phenomena in the context of female portrayal in advertising. Kilbourne’s argument is the way that females are portrayed in paid messages indirectly normalizes dangerous attitudes towards women, creating this “thing” that is the elephant in the room in the arguments of female activists. This idea of looking at women differently because of the subliminal messages of authority, how they are posed next to men, how they are edited, to make them look unrealistic ways- this creates a society that expects women to be a certain way. This is one of the main problems of competitive consumption, it forces companies to create content that makes them stand out- regardless of the consequences to the bigger picture.
Competitive consumption runs my life, as much as it runs every other American’s. The American capitalist economy keeps this nation afloat. It paves the way for democracy, media coverage, and most importantly is the golden star in the American Dream. In our textbook it talks about how “concentrated corporate ownership affects representation”. This is exactly right, six main companies own 90% of all the media that American consumers see. There are other monopolies and oligopolies including but not limited to Nike, Polo, SUV, and even kinds of water that take precedence over any other brands that an American would choose to spend their money on. These companies are using advertising now, not to just sell a product, but to sell the idea, the brand promise of their product. Just as the SUV represents power, and FIJI water represents purity. Victoria Secret now uses those same tactics that Kilbourne described to make women feel powerful and sexy. The message the product portrays is now just as important as the product itself.
The competitive consumption in the United States is the way to keep Americans on the track to the dream that we all will not admit to as our goal- the American Dream. Whether it is showing up everyday to a nine to five job, showing off a certain brand, or buying items that are over priced- the American consumer is on the mission to keep up with rising incomes and wealth in the United States. And brands are the answer.
The way consumers make their bank account visible is to make the brands visible. Juliet Schor describes the American Dream as this never ending thirst for high ranking status quo that can be displayed. In the video, Schor describes the “Big Three” that Americans obtain to show off their bank accounts: the house, the car, and the branded clothing. One example, being the SUV. This vehicle has terrible gas mileage, is absurdly large, not that physically attractive and horrible for the environment. But the argument is that people want the status of the SUV, a boss on the road, a symbol of power. This comparison of SUV to power is one that is exceedingly similar to the attraction American men have to sports. As described in “The Sanctity of Sunday Football: Why Men Love Sports”, there is this relationship between sports and men that they “fit together so tightly, so seamlessly that they achieve their effects- learning to be a man, male bonding, male authority, and the like- without seeming to be doing anything more than tossing a ball or watching a Sunday afternoon game” (120). The more Americans tie essential life goals and feelings to products, the easier the money comes in. This is precisely the goal of corporate America, and they are succeeding. In this example, utilizing important passage ways to manhood, sports gear companies, such as Nike, can use this information, to create a need for their product.
The idea of capitalism is buying and selling and that will keep the economy in line. That means each company is on its own to distinguish itself by building a corporate power, a desireable face. This can be achieved through advertising. Brands visible, brands distinguished, among the correct target market. To distinguish, is to stand out, sometimes using racy messages. In the TedX talk “Killing Us Softly” Jean Kilbourne talks about this phenomena in the context of female portrayal in advertising. Kilbourne’s argument is the way that females are portrayed in paid messages indirectly normalizes dangerous attitudes towards women, creating this “thing” that is the elephant in the room in the arguments of female activists. This idea of looking at women differently because of the subliminal messages of authority, how they are posed next to men, how they are edited, to make them look unrealistic ways- this creates a society that expects women to be a certain way. This is one of the main problems of competitive consumption, it forces companies to create content that makes them stand out- regardless of the consequences to the bigger picture.
Competitive consumption runs my life, as much as it runs every other American’s. The American capitalist economy keeps this nation afloat. It paves the way for democracy, media coverage, and most importantly is the golden star in the American Dream. In our textbook it talks about how “concentrated corporate ownership affects representation”. This is exactly right, six main companies own 90% of all the media that American consumers see. There are other monopolies and oligopolies including but not limited to Nike, Polo, SUV, and even kinds of water that take precedence over any other brands that an American would choose to spend their money on. These companies are using advertising now, not to just sell a product, but to sell the idea, the brand promise of their product. Just as the SUV represents power, and FIJI water represents purity. Victoria Secret now uses those same tactics that Kilbourne described to make women feel powerful and sexy. The message the product portrays is now just as important as the product itself.
The competitive consumption in the United States is the way to keep Americans on the track to the dream that we all will not admit to as our goal- the American Dream. Whether it is showing up everyday to a nine to five job, showing off a certain brand, or buying items that are over priced- the American consumer is on the mission to keep up with rising incomes and wealth in the United States. And brands are the answer.