Okay, that was a shameless ploy to get people to look at my blog. I know that title will come up on your Bloglines thing and you just won’t be able to resist. Well alright, so last night’s midnight posting was a little dry so I’m going to try to have a bit more fun tonight. Whoo. Okay that’s all the fun I had left in me. Actually, it is pretty difficult looking in the mirror right now. I have that pale, white, tired look that a lot of university students get from a) prolonged stress b) lack of sleep and c) the weather. I mean really, I can frollick in the snow but this wind? Forget that. I have not been outside for days except to walk back and forth from my car. As far as I am concerned, there should be a tunnel from A-hall to the phys ed building. So I feel like I look like that dude from the DaVinci code…
But enough about me, on to mass media! I plugged through the Bourdieu (do you think he could have more vowels in his name?!) reading today. I have to say I really understood what he was saying about people with culture learning how to read art through a certain code that sets them apart from the general viewer. The emphasis in these codes is the form and technique of the creator and not the content, because content is everywhere but it takes an artist to subordinate it into an artwork. Therefore, the viewer should not comment solely on the comment but rather on the choices of the artist and the form, such is the cultural capital of knowing a thing or two about art.
Reading this really took me back the first time I went to an art gallery with my fine arts boyfriend (whom the university had been teaching cultural capital in this area for at least a year already). I almost ended up crying because I would say something like “I really like…insert something to do with the content of a picture here… I really like The Scream because it makes me feel sad and creepy, etc etc” And he, not wanting to be mean but for sure knowing I was wrong, said “mm.. uh huh”. Since then, I have taken an interest in his art practice (quite a bit due to the fact that many contemporary art endeavors have sociological concepts), taken ArtNow, and learned a few things. In no way does this make me an expert or even as knowledgeable as a first year art student but it has sure taught me to keep my mouth shut. I have learned that, usually, unless you have something informed to say about a technique or detail of something’s portrayal the safest sentences are “That’s cool” and “I don’t really like that”.
I also zipped through The Rebel Sell reading, which was very surprising because I had endeavored reading the book last year and failed to get past the first chapter because school was so busy that I would immediately fall asleep each time I opened the book. This article though was concise and clear and finally I was able to form ideas about what I enjoy and dislike concerning Heath and Potter’s argument. Yes, anti-consumerism/anti-capitalism movements are forces of consumerism in themselves, no doubt about it. I went on the Adbuster’s website the other day looking to see if they had links to some of the (fairly intriguing) pictures that are usually included in the magazine and over half the website is just about merchandise. $10 for the calendar, $100 for a foundation package, some amount for the black spot shoes. Let me ask, why can’t rebels just put black spots on their own shoes? I really do not understand that.
So yes, the punk that is making a statement about not buying Abercrombie and Gap is still buying products from whoever makes combat boots and spiky belts. However, capitalism is set up in such a way that we cannot really abstain from purchasing altogether. The Rebel Sell seems to take the steam out of individual initiative, it points out that individual non-conformists are wrong, laughs at them in their naivety, and highlights the only solution as waiting for the government to do something. Come on, be real, what government that is rolling in oil revenues is really going to outlaw gas guzzling SUVs? Therefore, here I am, the stupid, disempowered individual, a sitting duck in my Smartcar 
I am not cool with that. The one thing that I feel these authors do not discuss (and maybe they do in the book) is what I would like to call the conscious buyer. Someone who acknowledges s/he must buy to stay alive but does not necessarily need to buy the most expensive, sought after, individuality forming products. The idea is then no longer a rebellion against mainstream consumerism that is expressed by making other frivolous purchases, it is a rebellion of buying less at a better price. Who can say that I am being duped if I find perfect fine merchandise at the thrift store? I do not need to be a kook and buy my underwear there too, but if I buy a shirt for $5 rather than $35, then I think that is a statement against consumerism. Therefore, I believe there is value in not needing the best car, best clothes, best everything. Perhaps the authors would say that a shift to purchasing other, low priced goods would cause the price to rise. Well that is fine, if $30,000 cars rise in price then I’ll buy a BMW because the price will have fallen by then. The consumer still does have some power. This is not just about bargain hunting, it is about the routes that consumerist rebels touch on but get distracted from in their individuality purchases. Therefore, it includes buying fair trade, being aware of producers that don’t use child labour or sweatshops, purchasing environmentally friendly products (not Swiffer Sweepers!), etc.
I am not saying that all these things are possible to do all the time, nor is it a measure of morality or anything like that. I am just saying that it does not hurt to be a conscious buyer, aware of the consumer world and how it affects everyone, globally, intensely.
