Consuming One's Self

Have you ever felt like you’re not up with the trends, or try to fit in but found that you’re always behind the mark? If you have, it’s not that big of a surprise because modern societies set standards of beauty and success that are physically and/or financially impossible for most of us to obtain.

As illustrated in the lyrics of “Posters”, these standards have a detrimental affect on how we see ourselves and others. For example, the first several verses of the song describe a man who feels inadequate in comparison to the “posters on the wall”. Instead of analyzing what the posters are trying to accomplish, or trying to understand if these posters portray an accurate or reasonable depiction of masculinity; the man “ties it up, he tucks it in, he pulls it back, and gives a grin”, and then laughs at himself because he knows that he is being inauthentic, and he knows that nobody—including himself—loves him.

This is the same scenario in the next several verses, but with a woman who feels inadequate about herself in comparison to the “body of the dolly”. Like the man in the previous verses, this woman does not analyze the images of femininity portrayed in popular culture. And, as a result, she does not realize that these images are nearly impossible for most of us to obtain. Instead, she “straps it on, she sucks it in, she throws it up, and gives a grin” and laughs at herself because she knows that she is superficial, and that nobody—including herself—loves her.

The problem with both these scenarios is that neither person analyzes the constructions of gender which they are pursuing. However, if we analyze different ways that masculinity and femininity is portrayed in our culture, a number of interesting things will be revealed. For instance, we’ll see that representations of gender will usually serve to reinforce dominant conceptions of what a ‘normal’ man or woman is supposed to look and act like.

This process of normalizing gender begins at a young age—as little boys are given toy soldiers so they can play war, and little girls are given dolls so they can play house. This process will continue throughout adolescence and adulthood, with femininity stereotypically depicted as passive, caring, and domestic; while masculinity is stereotypically depicted as rugged, adventurous, and outdoors like.

In light of identifying gender as a social construction, we should also observe that there is not a necessary way that gender must be constructed or depicted in popular culture. As a result, we should recognize that the contemporary portrayal of gender—found in things like posters and children’s toys—which attempt to inform how we should look and act, are liable to serve the social, religious, or political interests of someone else. Accordingly, we should assess social constructions—like gender—and stand ready to challenge oppressive social constructions which set standards that are physically and/or financially impossible to pursue. Challenging these constructions is important because it will help us avoid the pursuit of unattainable standards, and instead, allow us to pursue other goals which are more conducive to our wellbeing.

In addition, an assessment of the representations of gender in advertising and marketing campaigns will also tell us about our economic structure. Specifically, we need to analyze the messages that we receive from advertising and marketing, because they are not designed to produce images that promote our wellbeing. Rather, they are designed to create needs that will drive us into the market to purchase certain products, or influence our decision to buy a particular brand once we are in the market.

For example, the posters on the wall might depict a fit sports model to make us think that if we buy a certain type of running shoe we will be able to run and get fit just like the model. Or, the poster might show several ‘good looking’ people dressed in designer clothing to make us think that if we dress in the same clothing we will also be surrounded by ‘good looking’ people. As absurd as this may sound, and as much as you may think that advertising and marketing doesn’t make you buy one particular thing over the next, just take a look at your closet or in your drive way. And if that short investigation doesn’t convince you, take a look at the annual profit of a few major companies, and the amount they spend on advertising and marketing. It should be readily apparent that the billions of dollars made by major companies is connected to advertising and marketing campaigns; they simply would not spend all that money if it wasn’t helping them sell their product.

Nevertheless, it’s hard to analyze and be critical of the images and messages that are produced in advertising and marketing campaigns. As Johnson points out in his lyrics, we can lose our “ability to think clearly” when we get so caught up in pursuing unattainable standards that we forget how to “relax”. As a result, it’s not a surprise that the characters in the lyrics suffer such mental anguish. They simply do not have the time or the know-how to analyze the messages they receive in marketing and advertising campaigns.

On top of being critical of the representations of gender that are projected in advertising and marketing, the lyrics in “Posters” also raise a deeper issue about individuality. In particular, the lyrics serve as a foundation for reflecting on how individuality is constructed and used to support and sustain consumerism and economic growth. To better understand this deeper issue of individuality, let’s look at the critique of materialism and consumerism offered in The Consumer Society, by Jean Baudrillard.

According to Baudrillard’s theory of consumption, modern democracies are characteristic of growth societies; and, growth societies have only one need: growth. As a result, “there is no place for individual goals in the system; there is room only for the goals of the system”. Because the real change in growth societies is to sell goods—not manufacturing them—the promotion of growth is concealed behind the promotion of artificially imposed needs, which are imposed through advertising and marketing. Every consumable good in a growth society is debased from their real collective significance and redirected toward perspectives of growth—even the ‘rational’ needs for things like education, culture, health, transport, and leisure. As a result, the individual becomes a target at which companies project an unlimited number of needs at, for the purpose of sustaining the system by promoting growth. Often these needs are imposed by constructing individuality around conceptions of gender that are nearly impossible for us to physically or financially obtain.

In growth societies, the individual is needed as a consumer. As a result, Baudrillard expects modern democracies to enter a “heyday” of promoting individualistic values in order to produce—what he calls—a consumer society. Although, his book was written over thirty years ago, I think it’s safe to say that Baudrillard has rightly depicted the current condition of rights and consumerism in America. Consumerism has reached a level that is unlike any other period in history—fueled by the invention of the credit card that has exponentially increased the capacity for private consumption.

According to Baudrillard, the consumer society not only supports the necessary growth of the system, it also creates a language out of consumption. By creating a language out of consumption, the things which are consumed become signifiers and symbols of social happiness. In other words, happiness is correlated with the signs and symbols—like those of fashion and luxury—that one can amass through consumption. As a result, we’ll find that members of our consumer society are—moreover—not inclined to become an enlightened scholar or a public servant. Rather, according to Baudrillard, most would prefer to exemplify heroes of consumption—like movie stars and sports legends—which have become the model for prestige and happiness.

Sadly, the consumers of modern society represent nothing. Because the consumer “remains alone next to millions of other solitary individuals, s/he is at the mercy of every vested interest’ ”. Thus, the consumer is stripped of their subjectivity as s/he becomes nothing more than a means for the vested interests in society to use for the purpose of bringing growth and profit to their enterprise. In other words, the consumer is reduced to a mere object of growth.

The objectification of the consumer is illustrated in society’s invitation to enjoy and indulge in material things. This results in consumption that not only represents a relationship of language between others, but also a consumed relationship of one’s self. Baudrillard believes this self-indulgence is primarily aimed at women, because society pressures “women through the myth of Woman”. In a consumer society, “Woman is sold to women…while doing what she believes is preening herself, scenting herself, clothing herself, in a word ‘creating’ herself, she is, in fact, consuming herself”. According to Baudrillard, everyone in a modern society finds his or her own personality in living up to the identifiable signs, models, and symbols of a consumer society.

In short, the individual in the modern growth society existence is defined in, and by, their consumption. And individuality is becoming narrowly defined in the terms of one’s freedom to consume. As a result, individualism is reduced to a commodity for the purpose of sustaining the growth that a consumer society needs.

In conclusion, we should be critical of social construction like gender, because the informing of gender can be oppressive when it detracts us from pursuing our wellbeing. For example, we should analyze the messages we receive from marketing and advertising, because those who produce these messages have a vested interest in controlling our consumer behavior. As a result, we cannot simply take advertising and marketing at face value, because it’s specifically aimed at manipulating the way we view ourselves, and the way we construct our individuality.

We should arm ourselves with a critical and reflective capacity that can breakdown the messages and motivations of consumerism in our society. And, actively reject attempts to inform gender and construct individuality in ways that obstruct our wellbeing. If we don’t, we’ll find ourselves like the characters in Johnson’s lyrics— “drunk” and “stuck on ourselves” to cover up feelings of inadequacy, or “caught up in the trends” and loosing our “ability to think clearly”. In short, we run the risk of “wishing that we were someone else” if we do not confront and reject the messages in popular culture that manipulate our behavior in ways that distract us from pursuing our wellbeing.