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).