A Cultural Biography of the Volkswagen Essay

in this paper I intend to introduce to the reader, the aims and objectiveswhich will hopefully set the foundations to the arguments which will be raisedin, the cultural biography of the Volkswagen.I shall be predominantly observing the Volkswagen beetle in my research,although, parallels will be drawn by also including the Volkswagen combi whichI believe will help demonstrate and strengthen my overall approach.We need to understand that the beetle is primarily an object which has beenproduced for a specific function to be consumed as a commodity and thereforehas an exchange value associated with it, albeit on a varying scale dependingon its cultural status at the time. The meaning of this consumer item will belooked at in depth and about the place this thing and its meanings havewithin society. This is an interesting aspect as the beetles cultural statusand exchange value have fluctuated along its historical timeline. The questionof meaning raises numerous questions which will be largely presentedthrough a discussion of semiotics about the relations between needs andobjects, nature and culture, meaning and social usage.In producing a biography of a thing, ie. the Volkswagen beetle combi we needto approach it in a way similar to that of composing a biography of a person.We need to ask questions such as, where does the thing come from and who madeit? What has been its career so far, and what do people consider to be anideal career for such a thing? What are the recognized "ages or periods inthe things "life ",and what are the cultural markers for them? How does thethings use change with its age, and what happens to it when it reaches the endof its usefulness.Today the beetle, for most people has lost its status as a purely functionalobject and has changed into an object full of signs and myths that allude to away of life giving the vehicle a certain status within society. We shall belooking at questions such as who and why would...