Consumerism places a very large role in domestic identity. Life in the United States has gotten to the point where it is all about competing against the Joneses. Companies spend billions of dollars on advertising trying to make people that if they buy a certain product they will be loved more or feel more happy. We see this every day from examples as basic as candy commercials on television marketing to young children to designer jewelry company Tiffany and Company creating a webpage called What Makes Love True (http://www.whatmakeslovetrue.com/) suggesting that if you buy someone high end jewelry that will legitimize your relationship. This type of lifestyle is unsustainable in many ways and needs to change course. The first way it is unsustainable is environmentally. We will not have the ability to forever purchase and waste so many resources. The second way it is unsustainable is it is not financially sustainable. We currently are living a pseudo-prosperity. Ever since the US Dollar became the reserve currency the United States has not needed to produce anything. We could become a nation of importers and never have to work and just export our currency. Nowadays, unfortunately our greatest export is not American products but American dollars. We must change our ways and create more exports in order for the United States to have long term prosperity.
Consumerism is a major part of the domestic identity in that what you choose and buy for your home will be seen as how you live your life. As in the video what the mothers purchase is directly essential to what is needed for the family. If you can choose the right furniture, fabrics, and colors for your home it will give an individual identity to the home. Also if you buy the newer nicer things for your family you will be seen differently by your neighbors. It’s like the neighbors will judge you by what you put in it. The video almost implies that if you don’t pay attention to every little detail of your home your family will be worse off for it. Which is ridiculous in my opinion home economics is a good tool for a starting base but I don’t think it’s a necessity as pointed out in the video. Schools don’t even offer home economics anymore. The one thing I agree is necessary is an understanding of the spending and ways to get what you need while remaining within a predetermined budget. This is why places such as Sam's Club and Walmart do well with buying in bulk and at cheap prices it allows people to save and shop smart something that is major in our consumer society. Our society now is entirely based off buying the bigger better things to live. It’s very similar to the video the only difference is our technology advances much faster.
The domestic identity in the United States, relies on consumerism. Life in the US is based on how much you can afford. The video in ways is hilarious to watch, but scarily true. It sounds like a culture that is so far fetched; however, it is in a way engrained in our society. It is "important" in the US to have a well decorated home and provide the best things for your family. It even talks about teaching women how to shop for their families, be it food or fabric. It's scary how even in schools girls and boys alike were being taught what they needed to have/own to live happy and successful lives.
Consumerism plays a central role in domestic identity. Without material wealth there is no identity that can be created within a home. Domestic identity is defined by the things people place inside of their homes. In the 1950’s consumerism was key to creating a successful household. Women were persuaded to buy the latest technological gadgets from the thousands of ads they saw every day, pressuring them to spend more and more money on the newest “useful” household items. Without consumerism a women could not replicate the “ideal home” that the ads were pushing for. Businesses convinced and in many cases brainwashed many Americans into believing that a family was incomplete and could not function properly without the right appliances (mixers, vacuum cleaners, detergents, frozen diners). Consumerism was placed at the forefront of the American dream. It was viewed as a way of facilitating and liberating the housewife from her household duties even though it plunged many families, struggling to keep up with the mainstream, into debt, burdening them with gadgets that constantly need to be replaced by the latest invention of the time. Consumerism created competition among households as well, since Americans take pride in their material wealth, and are motivated by status. These trends can still be felt today, as we constantly rush to buy the latest phone, flat screen TV, or newest car model in some part to secure bragging rights and feel more accomplished in our lives.
Consumption is the means through which people develop their domestic identity. As we read in the Ideas House, consumerism has always been tied to home ownership. Different companies offer different type of decor and yes, a man's house is his art. Again, I think of the way my father always decorates his house. While he tries to use local items, the matter still stands: No matter where is buying his decoration, whether IKEA or a Colombian tribes woman, consumption is still involved. No one's house is empty. People made a cognitive, personal decisions to purchase the furniture and decor in their homes. It makes a statement, even if that statement is a minimalist design seeking to create the illusion that one means to seem unremarkable. Even people who criticize consumerism see it in their homes. Everyone has to get plates, everyone needs spoons and we all need fridges. The fact is that unless you are able to make everything you need to survive with your own two hands, you are a consumer. Unless of course, you live in a mud hut and eat raccoons, you've bought into it. Even the home itself is a product.
Domestic identity is heavily influenced by consumerism. In order to make your house appealing and attractive you must buy all different types of things. Whether it is decorations for the outside of the home, or high end tables and chairs for the inside; I believe we are all influenced by the need to show off. But besides the fact that we need to buy all these different kinds of things related to the home, the most important factor is that we must know how to use them. Meaning, that women must learn how to entertain and set up the items that society has almost forced us to buy. Because after all, it seems like it doesn’t matter if you have the best of the best if you don’t know how to use it. The video illustrated this so clearly. Watching it now it seems funny and almost like a joke, but many of these same principles still exist today.
Consumerism unfortunately plays a pivotal role in the domestic identity. As the video displayed. we are encouraged to buy items (such as furniture and appliances) not only to use them but to try and keep up with society. Society pressures us to have the 'right fabric' or the 'right shade of wall color' in our homes. Companies that produce these goods prey on people who look to advance themselves socially through advertising and marketing to them. Even the average person who does not think he/she cares what society thinks of them still needs the basic essentials which require them buying/consuming items. Many industries have capitalized on consumers' obsession to fit the right mold and have the right house in efforts to "keep up with the Joneses."
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Consumerism places a very large role in domestic identity. Life in the United States has gotten to the point where it is all about competing against the Joneses. Companies spend billions of dollars on advertising trying to make people that if they buy a certain product they will be loved more or feel more happy. We see this every day from examples as basic as candy commercials on television marketing to young children to designer jewelry company Tiffany and Company creating a webpage called What Makes Love True (http://www.whatmakeslovetrue.com/) suggesting that if you buy someone high end jewelry that will legitimize your relationship. This type of lifestyle is unsustainable in many ways and needs to change course. The first way it is unsustainable is environmentally. We will not have the ability to forever purchase and waste so many resources. The second way it is unsustainable is it is not financially sustainable. We currently are living a pseudo-prosperity. Ever since the US Dollar became the reserve currency the United States has not needed to produce anything. We could become a nation of importers and never have to work and just export our currency. Nowadays, unfortunately our greatest export is not American products but American dollars. We must change our ways and create more exports in order for the United States to have long term prosperity.
Consumerism is a major part of the domestic identity in that what you choose and buy for your home will be seen as how you live your life. As in the video what the mothers purchase is directly essential to what is needed for the family. If you can choose the right furniture, fabrics, and colors for your home it will give an individual identity to the home. Also if you buy the newer nicer things for your family you will be seen differently by your neighbors. It’s like the neighbors will judge you by what you put in it. The video almost implies that if you don’t pay attention to every little detail of your home your family will be worse off for it. Which is ridiculous in my opinion home economics is a good tool for a starting base but I don’t think it’s a necessity as pointed out in the video. Schools don’t even offer home economics anymore. The one thing I agree is necessary is an understanding of the spending and ways to get what you need while remaining within a predetermined budget. This is why places such as Sam's Club and Walmart do well with buying in bulk and at cheap prices it allows people to save and shop smart something that is major in our consumer society. Our society now is entirely based off buying the bigger better things to live. It’s very similar to the video the only difference is our technology advances much faster.
The domestic identity in the United States, relies on consumerism. Life in the US is based on how much you can afford. The video in ways is hilarious to watch, but scarily true. It sounds like a culture that is so far fetched; however, it is in a way engrained in our society. It is "important" in the US to have a well decorated home and provide the best things for your family. It even talks about teaching women how to shop for their families, be it food or fabric. It's scary how even in schools girls and boys alike were being taught what they needed to have/own to live happy and successful lives.
Consumerism plays a central role in domestic identity. Without material wealth there is no identity that can be created within a home. Domestic identity is defined by the things people place inside of their homes. In the 1950’s consumerism was key to creating a successful household. Women were persuaded to buy the latest technological gadgets from the thousands of ads they saw every day, pressuring them to spend more and more money on the newest “useful” household items. Without consumerism a women could not replicate the “ideal home” that the ads were pushing for. Businesses convinced and in many cases brainwashed many Americans into believing that a family was incomplete and could not function properly without the right appliances (mixers, vacuum cleaners, detergents, frozen diners). Consumerism was placed at the forefront of the American dream. It was viewed as a way of facilitating and liberating the housewife from her household duties even though it plunged many families, struggling to keep up with the mainstream, into debt,
burdening them with gadgets that constantly need to be replaced by the latest invention of the time. Consumerism created competition among households as well, since Americans take pride in their material wealth, and are motivated by status. These trends can still be felt today, as we constantly rush to buy the latest phone, flat screen TV, or newest car model in some part to secure bragging rights and feel more accomplished in our lives.
Consumption is the means through which people develop their domestic identity. As we read in the Ideas House, consumerism has always been tied to home ownership. Different companies offer different type of decor and yes, a man's house is his art. Again, I think of the way my father always decorates his house. While he tries to use local items, the matter still stands: No matter where is buying his decoration, whether IKEA or a Colombian tribes woman, consumption is still involved. No one's house is empty. People made a cognitive, personal decisions to purchase the furniture and decor in their homes. It makes a statement, even if that statement is a minimalist design seeking to create the illusion that one means to seem unremarkable. Even people who criticize consumerism see it in their homes. Everyone has to get plates, everyone needs spoons and we all need fridges. The fact is that unless you are able to make everything you need to survive with your own two hands, you are a consumer. Unless of course, you live in a mud hut and eat raccoons, you've bought into it. Even the home itself is a product.
Domestic identity is heavily influenced by consumerism. In order to make your house appealing and attractive you must buy all different types of things. Whether it is decorations for the outside of the home, or high end tables and chairs for the inside; I believe we are all influenced by the need to show off. But besides the fact that we need to buy all these different kinds of things related to the home, the most important factor is that we must know how to use them. Meaning, that women must learn how to entertain and set up the items that society has almost forced us to buy. Because after all, it seems like it doesn’t matter if you have the best of the best if you don’t know how to use it. The video illustrated this so clearly. Watching it now it seems funny and almost like a joke, but many of these same principles still exist today.
Consumerism unfortunately plays a pivotal role in the domestic identity. As the video displayed. we are encouraged to buy items (such as furniture and appliances) not only to use them but to try and keep up with society. Society pressures us to have the 'right fabric' or the 'right shade of wall color' in our homes. Companies that produce these goods prey on people who look to advance themselves socially through advertising and marketing to them. Even the average person who does not think he/she cares what society thinks of them still needs the basic essentials which require them buying/consuming items. Many industries have capitalized on consumers' obsession to fit the right mold and have the right house in efforts to "keep up with the Joneses."
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