Consumer Culture - Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Consumer Culture - Research Paper - Essay Example The television, however, in itself has brought great detriment to the human society. In the twenty-first century, the television is a major contributor to consumerism. A hypothesis on the beginning of American consumerism builds from the context of the mid 1940’s to the 1950’s. The Keynesian reconstruction principles and the spurred economic growth delivered new products delivered increased per capita income to families. Jobs were abundant, wages surged, and the Americans saw a promising country that would deliver previously suffocated promises. People married and bore children at unimagined rates. In addition, people bought homes as suburbs rapidly expanded. From the mid 1940’s to the 1950’s, consumption was a form of patriotism. In this sense, individuals did not lonely indulge in irrational material desire but viewed such a behavior as delivering the goals of the American nation. It is speculated that this view is attributable to the Keynesian economics which proposed consumption as the only way of raising the American economy out of the depression. Family life and the home was the epicenter of consumerism. This expl ains the high level purchases of items such as washing machines, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, cars, and the television. The American psyche believed that such machines would inject modernity in their homes. For instance, between 1945 and 1959, Americans bought 21.4 million cars and 20 million refrigerators (The Tupperware 1). The television, especially, became a key symbol of modernity and lives of people began depending on the then marvelous gadget (Gray 23). Such hedonism would not have been possible without an overwhelming influence, the television. Television has the emotions that spur a hedonistic culture whereby individuals highly respond to visual impulses. In such a setting, individuals constantly daydream about products that can fill their lives. The American business landscape