Lecture 6- Consumption

In our sixth lecture of our course we studied about consumption and the influence it had in British culture. Consumption is important in cultural studies for two main reasons. First is for the theoretical purposes and the second is for the political reasons. Subculture defines themselves against consumption orientated groups. Similarly, Marx analysed consumption negatively because it led to alienation among people (Marx 1973/1844). However, some theorists who emphasis consumption as being more important than production relations are clearly critical of Marxist and neo-Marxist theories of class and class structure, preferring instead to consider the way in which lifestyles are much more diverse than the categories that the class structure suggest (Saunders 1987). Featherstone(1991) points out that consumer capitalism produces more and more of exclusive goods , thus lowering the price and thereby making them more widely available, to make profit. The mass media have eroded many of the old distinctions between high and popular culture. The increase of style magazines and television programmes also allows a wide range of social groups to acquire knowledge of fashion and taste. By 1950, five millions of teenagers spent 10% on lottery and 40% on market records. Furthermore, popular culture and popular music encouraged young people to cause violence.

In the seminar we watched a clip from the movie Quadrophenia, which explained the alienation of 1960s British working-class youth and the influence of pop culture among young people in Britain.