Commodification of Christmas

Christmas was first a Pagan holiday. The winter solstice was celebrated on December 21st. Yule logs were burned in the fire places to keep away the night since December 21st is the longest night of the year. It was celebrated to welcome the returning of the sun because after the 21st, the days become gradually longer.

Christianity reitified the winter solstice into Christmas. It kept many of the same traditions but changed the basic meaning. The halos of the angels were taken from the halos that the pagans wore to honor the sun gods. The day was changed to match when the winter solstice would be on the Julian Calender, December 25th. The holiday no longer welcomed the sun, but instead welcomed Jesus Christ, who was born on December 25th. Pine trees which were originally used by the pagans were used by the Christians. Many of the festivities remained the same, including being "merry" and having "feasts", but the overall significance of the holiday was drastically changed from one symbol to another.

So what about the Christmas season is commodified? Christmas trees are no longer cut down from our back yards. Now we either go somewhere and buy one that's already cut or we buy simulations of pine trees that even come pre-lit. We buy lighting to simulate the stars. We buy nativity scenes. We buy gifts and food and seasonal dinnerware that will only be used this one time. We buy decorations that simulate snowflakes, santas, snowmen, pinecones, etc.

The better question is: what about the season isn't commodified?

Is that Natural? -How has NATURE been commodified

National Parks attract the masses because they protect virgin areas of the natural world. An Annual Pass is only $80.

Ironically, the best way to see parts of the "natural world" is to pay money. The point of preserving these natural areas is to keep parts of the world that are unaffected by man and hopefully they will remain that way so other generations can appreciate them. National Parks are a simulation of nature because they are no longer really nature. In reality, there is absolutely no way to allow man to view these areas by not affecting their natural-ness. Pathways that are handicap accessible must be built. Flags are put into the ground to mark pathways. There's nothing more natural than a yellow flag telling you where to go.

Nature is one of the most popular commodities. Snow plays a huge part in the commodification of nature. Snow itself becomes a commodity when stores sell fake snow or other simulations of snow. There are the snow villages and songs about snow and paintings depicting snowy scenes.

You can pay to go camping to experience nature first hand. You pay money to have nature simulated for you. It doesn't get a whole lot more up close and personal when you 30 feet away from a family with five kids when you yourself are destroying nature by reading a book around a campfire with you 5th wheel in the background. You feel like your experiencing nature because your in the Great Outdoors, but in reality, campgrounds are nothing more than low-grade motels that receives responses through its simulations, whether it be nature or retro or art deco.

So the next time you go to experience nature, remember how it has been commodified and consider staying home in your backyard. You might not have as great of a view, but you will not have to contend with public restrooms.

Commodification of Vampires

With the release of Twilight, I find it appropriate to discuss how vampires have been commodified. Out of all of the mythological creatures, we, as humans, are drawn most to vampires. They have eternal youth, speed, grace, etc. So how are vampires consumed by popular culture?

HBO released a new series called TrueBlood. It plays up to the suture of a pretty human girl falling in love with a slightly older vampire. It appears that you cannot have a vampire story if you do not have a story of forbidden love between a vampire and a human. TrueBlood does not disappoint. It also has a cultural analysis of the gay community and the African American communities in the "Deep South." Bill is constructed by the culture industry to be everything popular culture expects a vampire to be: handsome, modest, and deadly. He is your vampire with a soul. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? And that leads us to:

Buffy itself is a perfect analysis of popular culture. There are enough references to popular culture alone to write a blog, if not a complete, fully detailed essay. Buffy also has the suture of young, pretty girl falling in love with an older, handsome vampire; in this case, his name is Angel instead of Bill. Buffy is a commodity that has been further commodified. Buffy commodified the idea of vampires which in turn has led to the commodification of Buffy itself. There are Buffy books, t-shirts, and dvd's of every season. Speaking of books:

How Twilight has commodified vampires: all four books: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, t-shirts, posters, the Twilight movie, movie memorabilia, etc. Twilight: a story of a pretty human girl...falling in love with a handsome vampire.

Guitars: Pop Cult Icon and Commodity

When I think of guitars, I think of singing Kumbaya around the campfire. I think of the plain wooden acoustic being pulled out of its hard case. I think of friends laughing and having a good time, because that's how it's constructed to look.

You have all of your friends sitting around in a circle, all equals. Some of them have blankets; most are bundled up. There's the fire itself. And lastly, there's the guitars.

Guitars have a lengthy history. Instruments similar to the guitar have been popular for at least 5,000 years.

Electric guitars were introduced in the 20th century and continue to have a profound influence on popular culture. "Everyone" can play a guitar. It's the preferred instrument of struggling musicians. with an acoustic, everything you need is right there with you: no plugs or wires. If you want to make your music sound more edgy or if you want to play loud enough to make glass vibrate, plug in and away you go.

It's versatility and simplicity has made it a craze in popular culture. There's a wide rang of sounds and pitches that can be produced by the instrument. You can play chords on your own. It's the only instrument you need to start a band; you don't need anything else.

Being able to play a guitar has a suture to being hip. Being able to play the guitar and write your own songs means that you must be hip. With the struggling coffeehouse, bearing-your-soul musicians popping up everywhere, who can help but be attracted to them? They're normally young, sexy guys who write touching lyrics about a girl they used to love...but left them a couple of weeks ago for their best friend (or something very similar to that).

How Popular Culture Came to Desire...Socks

Socks: you don't think of them as an artifact. Well, as a commodity, they have been constructed to be an artifact of popular culture.

We went from

to

and even

Socks have become more colorful and fashionable. They have become more desirable because they are more fashionable. They are no longer a necessity; they make a statement!

Why is James Bond So Appealing?

James Bond has been featured in 22 films. The film series has grossed over $4 billion (£2 Billion) (nearly $11 billion when adjusted for inflation) worldwide, making it the highest grossing film series ever. Why has it been so successful?

You have guns and hot babes. You have the guy that kicks all of the other guys' butts and looks sexy while doing so. You have the chase scenes in expensive cars. Women desire James Bond and men desire to be like James Bond who get all of the ladies.




Bond is depicted as a member of a higher class because of his exclusive job and the nice cuts suits he always wears. He's smooth: he always knows what to say whether is be to his enemy or the "Bond girl." He can total cars and live. He can be poisoned and live. He can be tortured and live. And he can face every imaginable bad guy, kill them, and live. James Bond= invincible. Everybody wants to live forever when they're young. James Bond is the embodiment of that vision.

James Bond is one of the most commodified characters in the history of popular culture. Bond is a part of movies, books, posters, clothing, cars, everything. Anything depicted in his movies are automatically connected to Bond's appeal and will sell because of that connection. The Bond movies are instant hits when they come out, the reason being nothing more than because they ARE Bond movies.

With all of the sexy men playing Bond and all of the sexy "Bond girls", who isn't turned on by these movies? The culture industry really knows what they're doing when they pic the next characters for the bond movies, let me tell you. If the Bond movies don't shape and reflect consumer desires, I don't know what does. It reflects our desires for eye candy and shapes what we see that eye candy as: girls with accents or the latest Aston Martin they every Bond fan would die to drive.

How Our Senior Year is Commodified

Senior year: last year of high school. It signifies the last year we get acceptably leech off of our parents. It signifies our transition into the "real" world. Well, even a year of our life cannot resist the lure of commodification. Senior year used to mean getting your diploma. Now, it's just another reason to party.



Recently, senior year has been commodified into a movie, "High School Musical: Senior Year."


There are also senior pictures. Seniors pay anywhere from $50 to over $1000 for pictures of themselves. Actually, the parents of the seniors pay for the pictures that are a glamorized version (in most cases) of their "kids." The only other time these seniors actually look like the person in the picture is before prom (not after or during because at that point they're too sweaty and their makeup/hair is no longer fresh) or other important gathering. Most seniors don't look like their glamorized version on a daily basis.


Other areas that companies can make money off of a senior year includes graduation parties (decorations, food, rental of a hall), caps and gowns, announcements, and that new pair of shoes that HAVE to be worn with the cap and gown.


It is a part of American ideology to have senior pictures and a graduation party, even if the party is just close friends and relatives. Graduation and Graduation parties have arguably become a suture, even. When you think "graduation", most people think "kegger." So next time you go to a graduation party or talk with someone who is in their senior year of high school, just remember all of the commodities and the reason they have been incorporated into our American traditions: it's another way to make money.

Why do we desire Juicy Couture?

With a line like "Made in the Glamorous U.S.A.", who wouldn't want a Juicy Couture bag? If you want to be glamorous, you have to own something Juicy. Right? Juicy constructs their preppy image to make out consumer culture desire their products. The Juicy logo signifies a glam lifestyle so owning Juicy means that you too are glam.

Juicy Couture is known for their hip colors and eye-catching glitter. They have sophistication. Everything to your black punk with silver accents to hot pink and lime green can be found in the Juicy Couture line.

All of the bright colors and shiny "bling bling" only makes us desire Juicy more. The question is why? Why do we desire this label? What makes this label different from other labels? The answer is in the construcion. The Juicy line is part of high culture. The average person can't afford a Juicy bag when they average at around $200. Having a bag then, shows that you come from money. In America, there is the ideology that being rich is desirable. Buying a Juicy bag is one way to convey that you are among that desirable group even if your not.

Obama as an Artifact

Barack Obama was a member of one of America's subcultures up until the point were he became the Democratic nominee for President of the United States of America. At that point, Barack Obama, as a symbol, was obsorbed into the dominant culture. He was no longer only a part of the senetorial elite that the average person never hears of nor just a member of the African American community. Everyone in the country knows his name, whether they were for or against him.

After becoming President-Elect, he made his appearance in such places as the cover of Times magazine, in every newspaper in the country, and all of the major news stations announce fun facts and bio's. These newscasts and articles construct Barack Obama. We take their facts at face value because that's all we know; that's all we've been told. The culture industry controls how the dominant culture sees Obama.

With Obama being relatively new to the political scene, we only know what is presented to us through the different forms of media. Obama is becoming more and more "hyperreal." I don't know anybody who knows Obama personally who can describe what Obama is like. Instead, popular culture is becoming familiar with Obama through a simulation. Because we "know" Obama due to simulations, he can be constructed as more than the average person, making him "hyperreal." We don't see Obama's down time, his personal time where he isn't talking to cheering crowds or shaking hands with diplomats. We are only presented with images of Obama delivering his eloquent speeches and discussing his new policies. He is contstructed to appear that he's always busy, always doing something. He's more real than real. Get it?

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving: what is it really? According to dictionary.com, Thanksgiving Day is "a national holiday celebrated as a day of feasting and giving thanks for divine favors or goodness, observed on the fourth Thursday of November in the U.S. and in Canada on the second Monday of October."

Thanksgiving: how is it celebrated?

Holidays and commodities go hand and hand. Holidays offer the perfect excuses to commodify anything and everything that can be remotely associated with that Holiday. Every holiday has its suture: Halloween- pumpkins; Easter- bunnies; Christmas- Christmas trees; Birthdays- birthday cakes; Thanksgiving- turkey; etc. Every year, homes are decorated according to the sutures of that holiday/time of year. By decorating homes, these sutures are made into commodities. See the connection?

Here's something else to think about:

How many of the commodities actually have anything to do with the reason the holiday is being held?

The Skinny Fad- how has it been commodified?

Stores such as Abercrombie and Hollister have commodified "the skinny look." These stores only accommodate those who can wear smaller sizes. Because of this, not everyone can wear their clothes, making them more exclusive and thus more desirable. These stores construct their models to be young, pretty, and skinny. In doing so, they are creating an image.

Not only are these stores only skinny friendly, they are expensive. Not everybody can afford to wear Hollister and Abercrombie clothing where sweatshirts average at around $80 a pop. These artifacts might not be part of "high" culture, but they are definitely upper-middle class. Clothing from these stores have become a status symbol; their products are bought to say "Hey, I have enough money to buy these clothes. Do you?"

Why do people pay these ridiculously high prices for clothes with Abercrombie and Hollister labels? The answer: not everybody does or can.

There is a desire to be unique or to have "better" things than the other people you interact with. If you are wearing an Abercrombie polo and the other people you are with are wearing Jordache or Joe Boxer, you are making a statement. You are saying "I care more about my image, so I wear Abercrombie" or "I have more money so I can wear Abercrombie."

Now, have you ever seen an African American model for either Abercrombie or Hollister? Or any other label that is considered part of the upper-class's culture? When you walk into their stores, there aren't any pictures of African American models, male or female, sporting their clothing. You'll see the skinny white girl with her sexual appeal and the muscular male model, normally shirtless or with an open shirt, even more sexually explicit than the female models. There are no African male models strutting their shirtless stuff wearing Abercrombie boxers and cargo pants. There are no African female models looking up at you with her bedroom eyes in her Hollister tank top and short skirt.