Selling Out as an Inevitable Aspect of Consumerism Essay

From the sellouts' point of view, selling out is not as nefarious asone would make it out to be. Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorn point outthe various levels of capitalistic intrusion into the consumerism game.With this in mind, the argument could be made that the moment you get yourfoot in the door is the moment you sellout. The extrapolation of Horkheimerand Adorno's critical theory is that selling out is the result of theculture industry, which is propagated by the capitalistic society we liveunder. "No object has an inherent value it is valuable only to the extentthat it can be exchanged" (Craig and Muller, 2007, p. 442). Using musicalartists as an example, in order to make it big in the recording industry,you need exposure, which means you will need to sign with a reputable brandname recording company and make public appearances on radio, television,etc. Record producers will edit and fine-tune the original music to be morepalatable to the mass public. Rentfrow, Goldberg, and Levitin (2011)identified five preference factors in music, regardless of genre, thatappeal to music listeners. Most if not all of your Top 40 songs today willlikely contain at least one of these factors, which we can safely assume isnot by accident. By entering this game, the numerous levels of consumerismfrom the advertisements that are played alongside your music and thesketchy practices of these big businesses, you have already sold out onsome level. Even the most ideal musical act that has no intention of"selling out" has already done so by simply the pursuit of their musicalambitions. As a result, if playing the game is equivalent to selling out in someovert form and is painfully obvious if any time is taken to assess thesituation, then one must come to the conclusion that selling out is simplythe astute thing to do in the current environment. Unless there is anoverhaul of...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Character Analysis of Basil Hallward in The Picture of Dorian Gray, a Novel by Oscar Wilde Essay

The main character in The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian, is a man too easily influenced by his surroundings. He is quoted as saying, Basil Hallward is what I think I am Lord Henry is what the world thinks me Dorian is what I would like to bein other ages, perhaps (Wilde). This comparison falls in line with the moral of the story because Dorian is stuck with eternal youth and beauty even though he has a wicked soul. This causes different views of him by people who observe his daily life. Dorian is a sponge throughout the novel that absorbs everything and allows it to shape his personality, morals, and actions. Dorian Gray takes influence from Lord Henry, Basil Hallward, and the culture of society during which the novel was written. Lord Henry is the epitome of a wealthy, hedonistic gentleman seeking only pleasure, with little regard to cost or consequence. Lord Henry Wotton outwardly propounds hedonism, but it is his extreme egotism that drives him to manipulate both Basil Hallward a
Read more

Religious Symbolism in The Blessed Damozel, a Poem by Dante Gabriel Rossetti Essay

Dante Gabriel Rossettis poem The Blessed Damozel is full of religious symbolism. There is talk of saints, and the poem itself takes place in heaven. But underneath the religious symbolism is a deep sensuality, that makes one wonder if the white rose of Marys gift referred to in line nine is the gift of Mary the Virgin, or the somewhat less virginal Mary Magdalene. While the Damozel is in heaven, her appearance in heaven, her behaviors in life, and what happens when she and her lover are reunited suggest some less than virginal dealings, yet the damozel is blessed and resides in heaven. Rossetti was the child of liberals kicked out of Italy a heavily catholic country for their extreme political views. While Rossetti himself was not political, he may have espoused similar views regarding politics and religion as his parents. In the poem The Blessed Damozel, Rossetti was given the chance to essentially create his own heaven. Most everything he wrote seems to show that Rossetti espoused
Read more

An Analysis of the Character of Chichikov in the Poem, Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol Essay

Dead Souls takes place in the Russia of the late 1800s, where, unlike in America, one must be born into a prosperous family in order to have opportunities. The main character, Chichikov, is clever enough to develop a scheme in which he can rise from being a petty clerk to a respected landowner. In order to do this, Chichikov moves into a new town, pretending to already be a landowner, and begins a quest to buy the names of dead serfs who have not yet been officially reported dead. Each person that Chichkov presents this offer to has a different reaction, starting with the shy and introverted Manilov. Though he does not understand Chichikov's need for the names of these dead serfs, Manilov is a character that is so desperate for company that it does not take any effort to trick him into selling his dead souls cheaply. However, as Chichikov continues his journey, he starts to deal with more clever landowners who become suspicious of his scheme. Chichikov finds that the townsmen know
Read more