SOC317 - Shopping and Society

What is Consumer Culture? Consumer culture is an interconnected system of commercially produced images, texts and objects that attempt to make collective sense of the environment and orient members’ experiences and lives Consumer culture includes markets and brands that create meanings for products. It goes beyond the simple materialistic value of a product (Ex. Shoes, where the basic function of them is to stay warm, comfortable and avoid injuries. However, advertisers do not emphasize on thes

Central Questions How do classical theorists approach consumer culture? How are they similar? How are they different? Arno and Horkeimer Video 1 The first video is about the culture industry. The culture industry involved various mediums that were consumed by individuals, such as music, videos, television The culture idea aims to convince the mass culture that everything is working consistently Adorno and Horkheimer Culture is the same everywhere and it is putting distinctive stamp. The main obj

Central Questions How do contemporary theorists approach consumer culture? How are they similar? How are they different? Eckhardt, Belk and Wilson In the past, branding was LOUD and obvious to viewers. However, the main idea with inconspicuous consumption is to move away from loud, visible brands, to more subtle, less visible brands Three phases of the shift from conspicuousness to inconspicuousness, provide explanations, outline implications of this shift Suggest that the relationship between b

Central Questions What is the sharing economy? How does it create a different consumption experience? How prevalent is it? Benefits of the Sharing Economy (Video) In the in-class video, the emphasis is on the millennial generation (opposite of the baby boomer generation) that is always connected through various technologies available in the economy. Allowing people to share on a global scale. People share data and information amongst each other Furthermore, people are moving into cities where t

Central Questions What consumption options are available for discerning consumers? What is ‘authentic’ food? How is food, and its consumption, being represented on social media? Kovacs, Carroll and Lehman Video 1 The whole idea behind the YELP video is to see how authors and critics review foods. Kovacs, Carroll and Lehman Authentic refers to local, small scale, organic, or whole foods. Additionally, some people view authentic foods as those available only in certain countries No studies in th

Central Questions How do consumption theorists approach the case of coffee? How can we apply classical theory? How can we apply contemporary theory? Bookman Bookman’s work focuses on three of the most prominent coffeehouse brands in Canada (Starbucks, Second Cup and Tim Hortons), and draws on qualitative data from a study conducted in the city of Winnipeg during 2007 and 2008. She aims to show how the brands are mediating relationships between coffee and class How do brands provide frames for co

Central Questions How do consumption theorists approach the case of fashion? How might classical theorists approach this case? How might contemporary theorists approach this case? Mears Video 1 Editorial vs Commercial Modeling: Editorial modeling refers to the inside of a magazine, where all images of models need to be attractive. Commercial modeling refers to modeling for a brand such as Diet Coke, McDonalds, a department store (it is common and the model does not look different) However, Me

Central Questions How do consumption theorists approach the case of smartphone consumption? How might classical theorists approach this case? How might contemporary theorists approach this case? Phonearena.com: Living without my Galaxy S5 (Video) The individual in the video shares his experience of living everyday without his smartphone, as an experiment for two weeks Several days in his experiment, he began to see benefits of not using his smartphone, such as not being distracted by notifica

Central Questions How do consumption theorists approach the case of video games? How might classical theorists approach this case? How might contemporary theorists approach this case? Brock 2017 Initially, video games started in arcade format, which later transformed into console gaming Brock argues that the video game consumer derives value from the deeply conflictual, yet profound challenges that are presented during play, because struggling during gameplay is the reward for the player. Thus,

Central Questions How do consumption theorists approach the case of music? How might classical theorists approach this case? How might contemporary theorists approach this case? Bartmanski and Woodword Video 1 Record players are making a comeback Many bars are having jukeboxes. Nostalgia is good for customers as well since it attracts them to the bar Vinyl had a play left in it. Thus, more bands began to press and selling records Up 35 % in 2014 Easy to hear the difference between vinyl a

Central Questions How do consumption theorists approach the case of brick and mortar vs e-commerce? How might classical theorists approach this case? How might contemporary theorists approach this case? The main focus when discussing about the case of brick and mortar vs e-commerce is on acquisition of a product / service Schultz and Block Video 1 In the video clip, the discussion evolves around the issues within retail, in which people are not spending their money in brick and mortar. Instead

Central Questions How do consumption theorists approach the case of millennials? How might classical theorists approach this case? How might contemporary theorists approach this case? Mundel, Huddleston and Vodermeier Video 1 The video discusses the millennial generation and their money attitudes. The millennials ranges from 19-34, where some individuals are employed or unemployed The millennials are actively starting their own businesses, thus there is the rise of entrepreneurships. This indi