Cohen concludes her “Prologue” to A Consumers' Republic with: “I hope that readers, aware of how my life has conformed to the large patterns set out in this book, will begin to contemplate how their own lives may also have been shaped by these economic, political, social, and cultural structures that reigned over the second half of the twentieth century and still are with us in many ways today… If we all are citizens and we all are consumers, how we choose to mix the two reveals a great deal about who we are as individual Americans as well as about the virtue of the America we live in at any particular moment in time” (15).
Please watch the video (see below) while thinking about the following questions:
(1) During discussion section we addressed different consumer ideologies. According to Annie Leonard, what is the current relationship between citizenship, consumerism, and nationalism? Is this an extension of the “consumers’ republic,” or something entirely different?
(2) How is our current government responding to our economic crisis?
(3) Is it un-American or un-patriotic to resist consumerism? Think of examples in your own life or around you (i.e. in the media).
(4) Any comments on the gender or racial logics addressed (or not addressed) in this film? Can you make connections to Cohen’s arguments?
(5) Any comments on the solutions Annie Leonard proposes?
You may also propose additional discussion topics/questions. And please feel free to comment on other student’s comments to this post as well.
-Isabel
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One of the questions posed to think about when watching this video was if it is unpatriotic to resist consumerism. I think especially in our current economic situation it is percieved to be unpatriotic if you are not spending your dollar to promote the American economy. One example is definately cars. I sometimes wonder if people are looking at me like I am the devil because I don't drive an American car. I feel genuine guilt about it at times because members of my own family have been directly affected by layoffs. At the time it was bought the economy was not like it is now, but I think - is this partly my fault that this happened? This is how deeply the consumerist mentality is ingrained within us.
ReplyDeleteI found her argument about leisure time to be very interesting. She said americans spend the majority of their leisure time either shopping or watching tv. Americans come home from work, sit in front of their tv, see commercials convincing them to spend, and then go out to consume-all of this is part of a vicious cycle leading to unneccesary consumption and excessive waste. She pretty much blames post war political leaders for publically supporting this by announcing the "demand for consumption" due to the booming economy.
ReplyDeleteI did not agree with everything this woman said. I did not like her argument against breast milk. She argues that there are toxins in breats milk which are harmful. There may be chemicals in breast milk but they are absolutly not outweighed by the benificial immunities in it. She also mentions how it is a "sacred activity" that the "government should protect". That is in no way a governmental issue. She contradicts herself at times like these. Overall I think she mentions important issues, such as natural resource exploitation, however sometimes she takes it too far.
Overall, I found this short clip to be fairly interesting, considering I do not really pay attention to the things going on around me like I should. In this clip she argues that Americans and the government are ruining the world by consumption. I think there are a lot of generalizations going one here. There is no doubt that pollution and deterioration of resources are starting to take affect on the world; and I agree that things need to be done to start promoting a more healthy living situation. However, I think it is hard to simply stop consuming. She blames politicians and even former president Bush for promoting spending and consumption, but I think that this country needs to spend in order to keep a prosperous economy, that is, unless we want to go back to a Feudal state. I think it is very important to look at the issues, such as she does, but I think her arguments are much more complicated than she makes them out to be. I think her argument about wanting to keep up with the latest fashion is common among most Americans, but the examples she provides are ridiculous. I have shoes that are 5 years old and I do not walk down the street and have people laugh at me for not keeping up with the latest trend. I think it is an internal problem that makes Americans want to be up to date, and I agree with her that commercials fuel that desire. But to say that high heels change every other year from big to small, and during those years you need to buy in order to not be made fun of or looked at, is not true.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that so much bad stuff is put into materials we use for six months or less and then the form of its waste is even more toxic. Leanord shows how the government and the leaders of consumerism try to make the American population feel like they constantly need to buy things to satisfy themselves when they're really only satisfying the corporations. I had no idea buying a simple thing such as a radio had such a wild and crazy history on how it was made! I found it especially interesting how companies design materials to live up to a certain potential before they break and force us to buy a new one. One common example that occurs every year is shopping for Christmas. The commercials and "deals" on t.v during the holidays are endless, promoting consumerism. I was aware of the other countries the U.S uses to get natural resources to make products One example is blood diamonds and I definitely think U.S citizens have a right to know about resource exploitation.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 3 asks if it is un-American to decline consuming. In today's society, I believe it is un-American to not consume. A specific example is in Obama's address to Congress in late February, he wanted to give an optimistic air to the economy. After the speech, the analysts said this optimistic air was clearly to encourage people to buy or consume goods. In fact, the recent stimulus package changed interest rates in order to encourage the American People to invest or buy big ticket goods.
ReplyDeleteWith saying this, I believe consumerism is imperative to the economy and our society. I know as Annie Leonard argued that consumerism basically ruins the environment. I firmly believe that if people think of more innovative, environmentally friendly ways to produce mass goods, people can still consume and the economy will not falter.
I thought this video was interesting, but certainly full of faulty appeals to emotion and fear. Is it patriotic to consume? I think it is, but I don't think that patriotism is the intention of the people who are consuming. We are all victims to advertisements and shopping. The government is obviously a big proponent of stimulating the economy. Yet, most people who buy things are not thinking, "Oh, I'm so patriotic."
ReplyDeleteLeonard thinks that this rate of consuming is bad for our nation and the world. I agree with her in ways, but her argument is faulty when she states that the people who want to consume are the ones contributing to the problem. It's very easy to make a problem known, and then put it on other institutions to solve it. She deflects the blame on American citizens, when Leonard herself claims the true problem lies within the production methods. The fact is that I really do believe that a capitalist society and economy cannot thrive to its full potential unless consumption rates are high.
Overall, I thought this video was intriguing, but a little bit over the top. Some of the claims she made were very questionable. For example, she makes it seem and argues that consumption is bad for the nation. She argues that consumption causes many of the problems in the nation such as pollution and pregnant women working in factories. In my opinion, this is way over the top.
ReplyDeleteI think that consumption is essential to the general welfare of the American public. Look at the Great Depression of the 1930s for example. Consumption rates were near all time lows and the country and the economy were just as bad. This is why I believe her argument that consumption is bad for the nation is faulty.
I also found this video very interesting. The commentator does a great job in illuminating some of the little known methods/consequences for our consumption. In regard the the patriotism of consumption, I fully agree with Zach. Consumption is a vitally important part of our country and our economy and when done with care can be beneficial. It is when that consumption is done to an excess that brings about problems. I don't believe it is prudent to label consumerism and consumption as the sole causes for an ailing world. As long as the public invests money in necessities and their fellow countrymen, then their consumption is indeed patriotic.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Zach. I believe that Leonard places too much emphasis on the idea that there is pressure to constantly consume newer products and goods because of the notion that it is a citizen's patriotic duty. I think that Leonard touches upon a lot of arguments that held within common knowledge already, and doesn't make any controversial or enlightening assertions. I believe that the real motivation behind the constant consumption in America is the desire to maintain appearances caused by social desires to prove one's economic value. I think that it today's modernizing and technologically advanced society, people are made more aware of others' material possessions and therefore there is increased pressure on people to show that they can afford the same goods as their friends and neighbors. I also think that there Leonard ignored the fact that the world is becoming a more consumeristic society, and even third world nations are becoming absorbed with materialism and ownership of goods.
ReplyDeleteI liked her argument but I hated how unrealistic she is in her desire for change. Just today, the NY times wrote about how the E.P.A is expected to formally declare "carbon dioxide and other heat trapping gases to be pollutants that threaten public health and welfare". Considering all the natural disasters this world has been through and it has taken this long to make something like this official, is sad. I think her argument is too grandiose and needs to start at the basic level. I also think she relys too much on "scaring the consumer" to a healthier environment.
ReplyDeleteIts crazy to think about how much we goes into making "stuff." I recently took an enviornmental class in which we learned about about the issue of overconsumption and the environmental consequences of our actions. I think that this video is a great way to explain the concept of overcomsumption and the need to allocate our resources more efficiently. The video, is very anti-American. In the very first segment of the clip, she said that the American government should be illustrated as a machine tank. I think that she is using this analogy to explain the ways in which and our consumption and the lack of enviornmental effort taken by the government can be seen as a destroyer. Overall, I liked this video, and I think it was an easy way to understand these concepts.
ReplyDeleteThis woman's argument against consumerism seems too negative. Obviously, our American consumer society values possessions, and consumption is the fundamental way to gain these. Although she makes it sound like obsolescence, both planned and perceived, hurts our society, she ignores the fact that technology develops at an alarming rate in today's economy, and obsolescence seems unavoidable. The high-heeled shoe argument she makes also seems unfair, since firms try to make a profit, and change is the driving force in that process. Additionally, consumption drives up America's GDP, which allows so many of us to enjoy such a high quality of life. Even though she brings up the fact that the one fundamental little computer part is purposely made into a different shape to force the public to buy an entire new computer, buying new computers benefits not only our economy, but also the economies of the other countries from where the raw materials are extracted. Obviously, this linear model she talks about does create a significant amount of waste, as it is not a perfect science. She only addresses history from the 1950s to the present, so we have not had all that much time to develop "green" ways of fixing the model. However, with our current devotion to finding widespread renewable resources, we are on the right path to fix this issue. One cannot expect change overnight, so I believe that this issue will be dealt with in the near future. Overall, her skepticism of government and corporations ignores the fact that we are trying to reach the goal of eliminating waste, pollutants, and use of nonrenewable resources.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting clip to watch, especially considering where our economy and environment are right now. From the information that Annie Leonard gave, I believe that when our economy rises our environment is adversely affected and becomes polluted. From Ms. Leonard’s model of the materials economy the main focal point is the golden arrow. This golden arrow gives Americans a sense of nationalism and binds us together through consumerism. This clip really opened my eyes to the way that American consumption affects the world. We displace people from their homes and damage the environment at the same time. There has to be some way to reduce consumption but stabilize the economy at the same time. There has to be a new way that we can define ourselves as American’s other than by the products that we buy. Finally, there has to be a way for us to reduce the pollution and displacement of people in other countries. This clip should be watched by everyone in future American Culture classes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of the above comments in that this video is particularly interesting given our current economic situation. Question 3 asks if it is un-American to resist consumerism. I think that, especially is tough economic times such as the current one, it IS un-American to resist consumption if one has the financial means to do so. Consuming is one of the best ways to get our economy rolling again, so those with the ability to spend comfortably should certainly be doing so. Obviously it would be irresponsible for someone with limited financial resources to spend excessively right now, but I do agree that it is patriotic to help boost our economy.
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