上世纪中后期美国的消费观念研究

Paper代写范文:“上世纪中后期美国的消费观念研究”，这篇论文主要描述的是随着美国经济的发展，人们的财富有了显著的增加，大众媒体也开始向人民灌输着追求物质享受的思想，鼓励消费更多的东西才能成为一名开心的美国人，这也是人们开始陷入了对于物质的追求的消费主义当中，本文就为各位来解开消费主义背后的那片神秘的面纱。

Although it is not always negative, it will become devastating if Americans arecontrolled by material possessions and even worse it will become a big social problem forAmericans if they want to depend on the material to define their identities or to help themsuccessfully join particular groups within the society. From my point of view, consumerismis the best annotation of American consumer culture in the 1980s. At first, the word“consumerism” is used to depict the movement of protecting consumers’ rights, while thepresent criticism on consumerism pays more attention to society’s economic concept whichis in favor of mass consumption and the unimaginable important status which thecontemporary society confers upon material products. On the surface, consumerism seemsto keep the economy growing and allow individuals to pursue the happiness which comesfrom a shopping spree or bargain hunt, so it is thought to be good for the country and forthe individual. In the 20thcentury, pleasure is equal to consumption and consumption hasbecome an imperative which has replaced the moral imperative. Whether consumption isused to help people to fit in certain groups or whether it is used to help them stand out fromtheir fellows, their identities are decided by their material possessions. Although itseconomic benefits are clear, it has devastating effects on the society and on the individual toa certain extent.

Benton claims that “Consumerism is the drug that causes people to fall into moralsleep and remain silent on all kinds of public matters. As long as their little world of peaceand relative prosperity is not disturbed, they are happy not to get involved. It is against thisbackground of consumer complacency that all kinds of moral relaxation can arise . . . . “Aconsumer society is one that is prepared to sacrifice its ethics on the altar of the material‘feel-good’ factor” (Benton: 29). From another perspective, McGregor (2001) suggests thatconsumerism can be regarded as a kind of slavery to those who are over-consuming. Sheproceeds to say that the market’s logic has been so deeply infused into humans that theycan’t recognize their wrong behaviors which they have committed during the process oftheir consumption.

Chapter Two Research on Consumerism

2.1The Development of Consumerism

The modern consumerism has originated in the 18th century. Between 1800 and 1980,consumerism is developed step by step.In 1830, the first department store appeared in Paris. Large department stores hadpervaded central cities in Western Europe and the U.S.A at the end of 1850. What’s more,the first advertising agency was born and mail order catalogs started to appear, so a greatnumber of imports and goods became available for people.

In the 1870s, some famous retailers such as Marshall Field in Chicago and JohnWanamaker in Philadelphia set up first-rate department stores. It could be regarded as theorigin of shopping as a form of leisure activities. The period near the turn of the centurywas nicknamed “The Gilded Age” by American writer Mark Twain.Since the 20thcentury, the virtue of frugality has been gradually discarded byAmericans, and instead they were wild about over-consumption.

In 1919, the establishmentof The General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) carried out a new business ofmaking loans for auto buyers. Americans started to use the new credit plans on almosteverything. The idea that people buy things when they have enough money is out of date.In the 1920s, General Motors introduced a completely new automobile model. HenryFord proclaimed that as long as cars were black, they could be colored according tocustomers’ needs. This model change had exerted great influence on the consumer culture:commodities are no longer defined by their use value, but on its outlook. If the product nolonger looks pretty, it is out-dated and another new one will be wanted.From 1929 to 1935, the use of electricity and gas has popularized among the commonpeople, so refrigerators and radios also became popular in American households at thattime.

2.2 Reviews on the Current Research of Consumerism

This section is divided into two parts: one is the current research concerningconsumerism, especially its effects on individual; the other being the current research onthe given two novels on this subject.Consumerism has been studied from various perspectives by scholars both at homeand abroad. Friedman (1993) thinks that in a consumer society, the act of consumingeventually leads to materialism, defined as a culture where material interests are primaryand supersede other social goals. Durning (1992) claims that living in a consumer culture,people attempt to satisfy social, emotional, and spiritual needs with material things. Thismaterialism eventually blends into people’s physical lives, spirit, and community, because itonsumerism occurs because of humans’ insecurity in their hearts and minds and peoplefeel they can become a new person by purchasing those products which support theirself-image of whom they are, what they want to be, and where they want to go. As a matterof fact, it is not sustainable for humans to turn into their ideal images or to develop thesense of self through the endless consumption. The truth is that the constantly stimulatedconsumption has contributed little to their true satisfaction or higher utility of products. TheAmerican government and society has a few notable titles or symbols to award its mostsuccessful members, so some Americans purchase their own symbols to convey status. Thesociety in the 1980s has already established a high living standard for people by any kind ofmeans, and its evaluation for people is based on their material possessions.

Conclusion

White Noise and American Psycho stand out from the novels released in the 1980s.Borrowing the lens of the two novels, this thesis tends to show how consumerism distortspeople’s paths to happiness and well-being. As mentioned before, the key to differentiatethe normal consumption and consumerism is to see whether more than a “degree”.Consumption which is less than the “degree” is the consumption of righteousness, orbelongs to the normal consumption, while the opposite situation is consumerism.Consumption is regarded as the basic condition for human existence and development andit is playing a more and more important role in our daily life, as well as in our national life.The act of consumption is merely the act of using something, and we always use goods tomeet human’s fundamental needs. It is not rational for us to abandon consumption.Consumerism which is different from consumption has caused some problems. Goods canonly provide momentary satisfaction for consumers and the ultimate goal of consumerismis to make the consumer keep on purchasing more goods. Although we all consume in themodern society, it is more significant for us to pay more attention to social groups andrelationships which are beyond consumption, while we should also produce and becitizens.

As one of the representative works in the 1980s, White Noise has relativelycomprehensively demonstrated the phenomenon in the consumer society. The various kindsof products give people the sense of affluence. Frugality is not regarded as a virtue anymore and people prefer to purchase goods to fill their empty minds. Mass media really actas the driving force to promote consumerism during the whole process. In this novel, theGladneys are mass-media addicts, because their lives are bombarded with different kinds ofnews, just like TV, magazine tabloids and etc. As the product of social development,consumerism has made a great change on people’s daily lives. At the same time, it isvirtually inevitable that consumerism results in lots of negative effects. Delillo also satirizesthe violence in White Noise. As we have mentioned before, violence and prosperity coexistin this consumer society. Delillo acts as a spokesman of the consumer society in the 1980sthrough his famous novel: White Noise. Generally speaking, White Noise is a great book.

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