Blog Post #8 The Desire to Desire Nothing

Our overwhelming need for “stuff” is what has led to over-consumption and the exploitation of objects. The obsession many Americans have with acquiring things is what prompted the television show “Hoarders”—a show in which unnecessary items pile up and swallow their consumers; but the consumers are so attached to these objects or the purchasing and owning of these objects they just can’t seem to let them go.

The Horrors of Hoarding (From “Hoarders)

However, we need things. We really do. Do I need my lace doilies or my rock collection? No, not in the sense that I couldn’t survive without them. But I need things for my own mental stability, personal well-being, and emotional growth. The things which we consume can end up consuming us if were not careful–the ultimate paradox. This overabundance of objects can smother our identities and lead us towards an existence which forces us to sleepwalk through our lives. On the contrary, things can be extremely helpful in our daily lives. Cars make it easier to travel long distances, phones make it easier to communicate over long distances, and clothes are just awesome to have sometimes. The act of consuming is definitely one that requires balancing. For instance, I try not to spend too much time on the computer and more time outside, with no electronic devices on me. That separation of self and object is good for me. I’d like to not rely on my things so much; if the apocalypse comes soon, I’ll need to know how to make a fire and survive off of plants without Google as my aid. A lot of my friends express this mindset that they don’t want anything and can live off the land. They have a profound desire to connect with nature and shun all things material. For example, my friend Alice*name has been changed* is in Costa Rica–I was recently told that there her cell phone and purse had been stolen; her response: “yeah, it’s okay, I guess it’s just a sign from the universe that I don’t need those things.”

However, my friend’s abhorrence with objects doesn’t take into account their cultural significance. For instance Lakeisha says

“Baby wearing wasn’t something special like it is in western cultures, woman worked hard and it was just what they did to cope. Mothers worked hard and didn’t have time to entertain babies. It was used to make life easier, each country in the world use a different type of baby carrier to fit their needs. For example, it depended on the climate, type of work they did. In addition, to the culture and traditional wearing position.”

Objects can benefit us socially and culturally–providing us with insight at foreign lifestyles and linking us to other beings as well as allowing us to become more in touch with who we are.

Timeline Reflection: What are Necessary Objects? -Final Reflection

My daily routine consists  of the same pattern.. After turning off alarm at 4:15 A.M. on my iPhone 6, I roll out of my comfortable bed groggily, stumble to the bathroom, hi on hte light and while waiting on the shower to heat up, I grab my Colgate toothbrush and toothpaste and began brushing my teeth. After I clothed myself, I start my car, and while it warms up, I brew myself a cup of coffee, grab a banana and soon I’m out the door. WIthin minutes of waking up, I am totally dependent on objects around me. Without my phone, how would I ever wake up on time? WIthout my shower and toothbrush, how can I ever expect to keep up my hygiene and appear presentable in society? WIthout clothes? UNfortunately society won’t permit me to live as a nudist.

Objects dictate our lives. Living in a materialistic world, one cannot help put only attempt to fight the urge to keep up with the latest fashion, technologies or cars. Everyday, society reminds us what objects are ‘necessary’ for a happy, productive, fulfilling life. Yet in our contemporary society, pushing aside the massive amount of propaganda directed towards consumers, what objects can be deemed truly necessary?

Growing up, my parents never placed significant evidence on materialistic objects. My family and I lived in a modest house, in a modest surbia. My father, a frugal man, would rather save than spend. My mother, an artist, enjoyed creating new out of old. Hene their lack of materialism rubbed on me. When I discovered this project would be based around objects, I felt lost. How can I write about objects when i feel no personal connection or attachment to such things. But once I began this course, with experiments such as the Reflective Free Writing and the Photo Study Project, I discovered I could write well when describing objects I developed a connection with. These connections I developed with objects formed through different reasons. Some objects such as the blacket my grandmother made for my when I was five remains significant to me and only me through the memories and experiences I associated with my blanket. Objects such as currency and my car provide necessary functions that would make everyday living difficult. WIth this newly discovered concept I learned most objects are deemed ‘necessary’ though individualistic prerogative. For some objects like phones or cars, the need or want for an object remains completely subjective. Yet objects like toilet paper, and warmth and shelter are necessary for man’s survival.Objects’ significance is determined through individualistic opinion and also the emphasis a society may place on such objects.

During this project, I primarily employed logos ( by explaining my reasoning), as my rhetorical device. Objects and its condemnation of necessary or not is subjective. Hence I chose to rely on logic and reasoning to convey this. Preference and opinions fall into pathos.I believe if I attempted to use emotion to convey my message concerning objects, it would appear I have an emotional attachment to objects myself ruining my personal ethos. Overall I enjoyed this project. I enjoyed the combination of research and then combining that research with creative writing. I enjoy historical context and by being able to write my opinion with absolute freedom and few restrictions concerning my writing remained a new concept which I enjoyed immensely. My major complaint was the amount of technical issues I had with this project. Entering my own information into the template was simple. But any additions I added to the original template proved troublesome. My primary problem was when I added new rows, the new categories would not adjust the date to accurately fit in the timeline. The car and tree slide belonged further up but manually moving them in the columns still would not change their position. My final technical issue was entering dates. I had many dates before the year one A.D. but the system never allow me to enter B.C. dates rendering my timeline’s dates not as accurate as possible. All in all, other than my frustrating technical issues, I’m proud of my final product.

Blog Post #8: Wanting Things

In their responses for Blog Post #7, Daniel, Sneezy Deezy, Lakisha, and Alex all take up issues related to how we produce ourselves and our culture through the consumption of objects. For example, Daniel muses about how post-modern consumerism may contribute to the construction of an extended, but ultimately alienated self:

Here, I reach the crossroads: Belk and Marx present related, but contrasting points of view- does having enhance or alienate the self?  I tend to think it’s a paradox– both things are happening in real time– the multifaceted existential concepts of self (Sartre via Kinneavy) could, at once, be at odds with one another within the individual, creating a sense of an enlarged and alienated self.

Sneezy Deezy explores how desires created by the marketplace may be feeding (pun intended) our unhealthy obsession with food. It’s an obsession unhealthy not only because it might make us physically sick, but also because it may distract us from significant intellectual work:

Do you think that Americans are obsessed with food? If so, where do you think this tendency to place our emotions on our eating habits comes into play? Is this why obesity and other health problems are an issue? Society focuses so strongly on food that people are becoming famous for their eating habits, or their food creations. For instance, The Guy who Survived on Pizza for 25 Years , now has his own documentary and is famous for having a complete obsession with pizza–his fridge is stocked full with the item–he only eats cheese pizza and claims to never eat pizza. Surprisingly, this so-called “Pizza King” is still healthy, according to his doctor, but is his obsession with one food? The main existence of food is to provide sustenance. What else does it provide and is this a beneficial thing or is it detrimental?

Image “Consume” by What What on Flickr.

Where Daniel and Sneezy Deezy take a look at how modern or post-modern consumption practices may be contributing to social alienation and mental and physical deterioration, Lakisha and Alex take an interest in how consumption of objects may actually help us form personal and cultural bonds that sustain individuals and strengthen societies. As Lakisha observes,  baby carriers not only make it easier for mothers to return to the labor of everyday life while caring for an infant, they can also promote bonding between mother and child by encouraging physical closeness between them. In thinking about how objects help forge connections between individuals and their culture–as well as between individuals and their families–Alex argues that cultural heritage objects function as aids to remembrance and communication of the cherished social experiences and learning processes from which they emerged.

Image “consume” by Nathan Siemers on Flickr.

Taken together, these four blog posts seem to suggest that, although consumption of objects–food, tools, art, etc.–is essential to human existence, satisfying our need for things can involve costs as well as benefits. What are some of those costs and benefits? How do you balance those costs and benefits in your own habits of consumption? What personal experience have you had that might help to illuminate the risks and rewards of our desire for things?

Carefully read or re-read the posts by Daniel, Sneezy Deezy, Alex, and Lakisha. Use those posts and some of the resources to which they link and cite as a starting point for some careful examination of your own consumption practices. Have you ever had to make a purchasing decision in which convenience or personal preference suggested one course of action, and the “greater good” weighed in favor of another? What is the most significant purchase or use of an object you’ve ever made, and why was it so important? How do you see the costs and benefits discussed in these four posts and their sources playing out in your own consumption practices?

Posting: Group 1

Commenting: Group 2

Category: Wanting Things

In your Blog #8 post, you should do more than offer a list of answers to these questions. Rather, you should frame your post around the description of a central experience or practice from your own life, and an examination of what that experience demonstrates about the relevance of consumption to you as an individual and perhaps culture or society more broadly. Please carefully read and follow the guidelines and posting information for this blog as they’ve been outlined in the Blog Project Description.

Feature Image: “CONSUMED” by Mark Colliton on Flickr.

Timeline Reflection: Which Things Do We Actually Need?

My daily routine consists  of the same pattern.. After turning off alarm at 4:15 A.M. on my iPhone 6, I roll out of my comfortable bed groggily, stumble to the bathroom, hi on hte light and while waiting on the shower to heat up, I grab my Colgate toothbrush and toothpaste and began brushing my teeth. After I clothed myself, I start my car, and while it warms up, I brew myself a cup of coffee, grab a banana and soon I’m out the door. WIthin minutes of waking up, I am totally dependent on objects around me. Without my phone, how would I ever wake up on time? WIthout my shower and toothbrush, how can I ever expect to keep up my hygiene and appear presentable in society? WIthout clothes? UNfortunately society won’t permit me to live as a nudist.

Objects dictate our lives. Living in a materialistic world, one cannot help put only attempt to fight the urge to keep up with the latest fashion, technologies or cars. Everyday, society reminds us what objects are ‘necessary’ for a happy, productive, fulfilling life. Yet in our contemporary society, pushing aside the massive amount of propaganda directed towards consumers, what objects can be deemed truly necessary?

Growing up, my parents never placed significant evidence on materialistic objects. My family and I lived in a modest house, in a modest surbia. My father, a frugal man, would rather save than spend. My mother, an artist, enjoyed creating new out of old. Hene their lack of materialism rubbed on me. When I discovered this project would be based around objects, I felt lost. How can I write about objects when i feel no personal connection or attachment to such things. But once I began this course, with experiments such as the Reflective Free Writing and the Photo Study Project, I discovered I could write well when describing objects I developed a connection with. These connections I developed with objects formed through different reasons. Some objects such as the blacket my grandmother made for my when I was five remains significant to me and only me through the memories and experiences I associated with my blanket. Objects such as currency and my car provide necessary functions that would make everyday living difficult. WIth this newly discovered concept I learned most objects are deemed ‘necessary’ though individualistic prerogative. For some objects like phones or cars, the need or want for an object remains completely subjective. Yet objects like toilet paper, and warmth and shelter are necessary for man’s survival.Objects’ significance is determined through individualistic opinion and also the emphasis a society may place on such objects.

During this project, I primarily employed logos ( by explaining my reasoning), as my rhetorical device. Objects and its condemnation of necessary or not is subjective. Hence I chose to rely on logic and reasoning to convey this. Preference and opinions fall into pathos.I believe if I attempted to use emotion to convey my message concerning objects, it would appear I have an emotional attachment to objects myself ruining my personal ethos. Overall I enjoyed this project. I enjoyed the combination of research and then combining that research with creative writing. I enjoy historical context and by being able to write my opinion with absolute freedom and few restrictions concerning my writing remained a new concept which I enjoyed immensely. My major complaint was the amount of technical issues I had with this project. Entering my own information into the template was simple. But any additions I added to the original template proved troublesome. My primary problem was when I added new rows, the new categories would not adjust the date to accurately fit in the timeline. The car and tree slide belonged further up but manually moving them in the columns still would not change their position. My final technical issue was entering dates. I had many dates before the year one A.D. but the system never allow me to enter B.C. dates rendering my timeline’s dates not as accurate as possible. All in all, other than my frustrating technical issues, I’m proud of my final product.

History Of Babywearing

Baby carriers have been around for a very long time. Parents dating back to the early 1900s, wore a wide range of long cloths, shawls and scarves to snuggle their babies. In my opinion this was very creative. These items were formed into baby wearing. The idea was to allow their hands to be free by attaching their babies to their body. This allowed mother to do chores around the house. Men also wore them, but for a very long time men worked out in the field doing hard labor. However, as time progressed and women went out to work baby wearing became even more popular.
Baby wearing wasn’t exactly something special it’s just what was done to cope, because mother work so hard, it just wasn’t enough time to stop and cater to baby. In fact many types of traditional carrier are used in developing countries. Baby wearing was considered totally normal, basically a necessity and way of life. Each country or area of the world has a traditional baby carrier according to their culture. For example, Mexican people use the Rebozo, with babies usually on their back. European mothers used a mixture of wrap, pouches and cloth carrier to name a few.
When studying this object it was interesting, this object was used for different reason. It started as a way of managing mother busy life. As equally important this object formed an attachment between mothers and babies. Also, allowing the baby to still have the sense on feeling comfort, basically feeling snuggled as if they were still in their mother’s womb.

The History and Influence of the Fender Jazzmaster

When creating my timeline, I quickly realized that my greatest challenge with this project would be how to go about detailing the history of Jazzmaster guitars in a way that would properly convey the deep connections that players have with these objects. The control, the connections, the feeling of metaphysical extension, all of these sensations felt understandable to me, but I knew my discussion could quickly be confused as mere idolatry if clear developments of sound, style, and culture were not included into the conversation. In order to understand why the way the jazzmaster “breaks the rules” of traditional playing and sound, the reader must first understand said what rules/sounds the instruments deviated from in the first place. As a result, the first half of my posts focus on the steady evolution from lutes (and other stringed instruments) to the familiar look and sound of the electric and classical guitars we use today. Using audio, video, and images greatly assisted in this process, as so much about these guitars cannot be described and understood, they can only be witnessed. Once the groundwork was laid out, my focused shifted onto the guitar itself: the story of the model’s rejection and triumphant return is almost baffling, and remains a testament for how this guitar, quite unlike any other, possesses so much potential for the player to develop a rather unique relationship with it. Ironically, much like the young 80’s rockers who wielded them, early jazzmasters were initially ignored, and only became noticed by the public once they became a symbol for disharmony and raucous. Within a few short decades, an instrument which may have easily been lost to time, instead became a symbol for a booming independent rock movement, and was even popular enough to eventually be reproduced.

Time And How We Tell It

My timeline spans the groundbreaking inventions in the way we tell time. My focus is on clocks and how they reflect our thinking as a civilization. There may have been some additions, like the atomic clock, built in 1949, and is the worlds most accurate clock to which all other clocks follow, that I’ve omitted; but, I don’t think entries such as this would find a comfortable place on the list because of its obscurity. I want to focus more on the everyday timepieces. From the ancient sundials in Egypt to the cell phone watches that are becoming reality, the look of the device used to track time has changed, but the motivation largely remains the same. The farmer and the business worker must adhere to their own particular schedules, whether it is the rooster call that signifies the beginning of the work day, or the rooster call alarm on the I-Phone. There is work to be done and the clock helps us manage it.  Towards the end of the timeline there are entries that are not merely clocks. The cellphone and computer have infinite, practical uses that I think vastly overshadows the utility of the entries preceding them (I can guess comfortably many kids in ancient Egypt tried scaling the obelisk). Multi-functionality with clocks and watches is another component that I want to explore further, whether it is timing for the forty-yard dash or a decorative piece above a mantle, they have different uses with the same principle.

Brands: A Brief History

Branding itself impacts life on a day-to-day basis.  Taking time to read a little more about the history of brands, what the word actually means, and the trajectories of these two companies, and some of the studies on branding will give one a deepened appreciate for the complex nature of the relationship between the person and the object.

The following is a brief look at the prehistory, genesis, and evolution of branding, with a particular focus on two local Georgia brands: Coca Cola and Delta.

This timeline focuses on advertising and the history of the brand concept with an eye toward modern day.

Through the object study of Delta and Coca Cola’s brands and considering a portion of their history, the relationship between brands and culture seems direct and responsive.  Coca-Cola and Delta are both local and global brands­– these companies impact life on a global scale.  According to Delta.com, Delta serves over 165 million customers per year.  Coke claims that their products are consumed at the rate of 1.8 billion units per day.  That’s a lot of Coke!

Brands respond to and even possess the power to shape culture. Companies today are embracing the evolution of culture in the digital age, with the concerns of societal consciousness at the forefront of their current marketing strategies.  The in-roads between brands, philosophy, and psychology serve as mile markers on a wider study of the material culture of contemporary American life.

Awareness Ribbons — The Gold’s History

The symbolism in color is the core to adapting to this ideal of wearing a ribbon, looped and pinned above the heart as a way to show support for a particular cause. Beginning with the color yellow, which is seen in the 1800s painting, “When Did You Last See Your Father” by W.F. Yeames, the Puritan Army wears yellow sashes. Adding to this color symbolism, Napoleon Bonaparte is quoted, ” A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon.” Was this the start of manipulating a color into an object of awareness? This timeline exposes that audiences believes it to be.

In addition to these earlier references, songs and movies have been produced about a female wearing a yellow ribbon as a symbol of support for a loved one at war. These songs and movies are seen by most to be the beginning cause for “support” through the symbolism of color and a piece of fabric.

To show support of the hostage crisis in Iran, Penelope Laingen, wife of a U.S. Soldier held captive, took the 1973’s song, “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree” and literally tied a yellow ribbon around a tree in front of her house until her husband returned home.  She then donated that exact ribbon to the Library of Congress in 1991.

Since then, there are claims to the rise of the Pink Ribbon; however, the Red Ribbon in support for AIDS awareness was first seen on the 45th Annual Tony Awards. The ribbon is no longer tied around a tree but looped and pinned above the heart of the host, Jeremy Irons. Was this the beginning of a new fashion trend?

In 1992, as dubbed by New York Times, “The Year Of The Ribbon,” awareness ribbons exploded into justifying certain colors to particular causes. Today, each color means something…means support for a cause. But who is profiting or benefiting from this fashion trend?

Blog Post #7: “Buddy the Elf. What’s Your Favorite Color?”

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In her essay, Technological Styles: Transforming a Natural Material into a Cultural Object, Rita P. Wright characterizes the relationship between conceptual and physical contexts in correlation to creation and possession of an object. She argues that objects transforms from an association with other objects to “a social world of individuals who possess the object.”

A conceptual context refers to the creator’s mind [and] the physical refers to the association of the object out of its original, conceptual context as it moves from producer to consumer, out of the workshop and into its context…. The focus is not on the thing, the artifact, but on its makers and users as a window in to social relations. It is as ‘things-in-motion’ within the context of the social place of the artisans and users that the analysis derives its meaning. Thus the artifact is less a text to be read than a story to be told or unfolded about the social impact of the actions of people and their manipulations of objects through space and time.

During my research about the relationship between awareness ribbons, colors, and culture, I have learned the relevance of color in branding. According to Gregory Ciotti in his essay, The Psychology of Color in Marketing and Branding, color is important tool for persuasion yet controversial. Colors arouse various emotions depending on “elements such as personal preference, experiences, upbringing, cultural differences, context, etc.” as well as “broadly align with specific traits.”

"It’s not just about seeing it, it’s about the response we have to visual stimulus."
“It’s not just about seeing it, it’s about the response we have to visual stimulus.”

 

In Nick Carson’s blog post, “21 Outstanding Uses of Colour Branding,” he states that companies focus more on color usage than design and color ownership is vital to projecting an appropriate emotion. Thus, deriving off this color persuasion, marketers have targeted consumers through the color symbolism in awareness ribbons. We use these awareness ribbons, as a way to show support yet it has also become a fashion accessory from which marketers exploit our emotions as a profit.

Considering color is a symbol, Jacques Maquet suggests in his essay, “Objects as Instruments, Objects as Signs,” that we do not choose these objects as a sign/symbol at random. Rather we choose a “symbol [to correspond] the strong sense of…identity with what it symbolizes.” It was posed in our class discussion about Walter Benjamin’s “The Collector,” if could we be considered a collector in regards to our thoughts…

So, in knowing the attention manufacturers put into choosing colors when making a brand or object, I ponder whether color itself could be considered an object? What do you think? Also, Why did we choose to use a simple piece of fabric to fold, loop, and then pin above our heart as a way to show support for a particular cause? Are the colors that are used to portray a specific cause subjugated from branding?