We Want More Power!

In class the other day we saw an advertisement with Usher on the face of a credit card. My first reaction was, “now why would I want someone else’s face on my credit card? In fact, why do we wear clothing with different names and brands on them, instead of just buying Wal-Mart brands?

The answer is pretty simple. They convey power. When we see a woman walking down the road with a Gucci purse, we can’t help but to automatically think “she’s loaded.” We live in a capitalist society in which everyone is struggling to get to the top. Sometimes in these rhetorical situations, we do not even realize that we are participating in this shallow cycle. This cycle pertains to participatory culture. This is the notion that we all are involved in the culture around us, and we can’t help it. Even if we don’t buy into a product, because we are aware of it and we understand the meaning and universal discourses associated with the product, that’s participating.

It’s human nature to want something we cannot have. Let’s take the iPod, for example. Even if we don’t like them, we still know what they are, and we still recognize them when we see them. When we do buy the product and support it, we are both participating and consuming. How many times has a new iphone come out, and we all envy those who have them? No sooner do we purchase these iphones, and there we go again saving up to buy the latest version. Not many people want to be seen with the old shuffle player, for actually fear of getting ridiculed and judged.

The enticing appearance of the power one could have if they purchased an iphone also persuades buyers into making these costly purchases. Their advertisements range from powerful looking men in business suits to everyday people who look like us, but happier. Just by watching and absorbing this information, we are participating in a consumer culture. Creepy, I know.