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An essay about Black Friday
Consumerism in America
Consumerism in America
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More handpicked essays just for you.
An essay about Black Friday
Consumerism in America
Consumerism in America
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Recommended: An essay about Black Friday
The article, “Shopping Trumps Turkey”, by Gregory Karp, argues between whether or not retailers should initiate Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving day. Karp considers that retailers should not commence the sales a day earlier. I agree with the author, due to the fact that the retailers that begin the sales on Thanksgiving day are careless and greedy, along with commanding people to not spend time with their families. Clearly, retailers should not release Black Friday sales a day earlier. To start off, experts say that the saying of retailers opening because the consumers are asking them to is false.
On September 24, 1869, the U.S. money related part slipped into disarray after renegade theorists Jay Gould and Jim Fisk endeavored to corner the country 's gold business sector. The looter nobles planned to make a mint by driving the cost of gold into the stratosphere, and to draw it off, they manufactured a system of defilement that stretched out from Wall Street and the New York City government the distance to the group of President Ulysses S. Stipend. The intrigue at long last unwound 145 years back on what got to be known as "The shopping extravaganza following Thanksgiving," yet not before Gould and Fisk had dragged the whole U.S. economy to the edge of fiasco. In the event that any pair of speculators had the money related clout and absence of second thoughts required to design the confusion of Black Friday, it was Jay Gould and Jim Fisk.
Many Americans love shopping, especially during the holidays, with its captivating discounts and sales, which lead to uncontrollable splurges on irrelevant things. According to Quindlen, this is an example of America’s crazed consumerism and it is absolutely absurd. In her article, “Honestly, You Shouldn’t Have”, she states that there is currently an assumption that purchasing American merchandises symbolize an act of patriotism and at the same time, build a strong economy. She also states that we, as Americans, need to acknowledge important spiritual values such as friends and family rather than material goods.
The thought of being observed without consent is quite troubling, disturbing even. Those who intrude on other’s privacy are seen as outcasts in society; spying is socially unacceptable. These individuals are often referred to as ‘voyeurs’, or most commonly, ‘creeps’. Malcolm Gladwell’s article, “The Science of Shopping” discusses the research that Paco Underhill collects as a ‘retail anthropologist’; which is obtained through hidden cameras.
What is your favorite store to shop at? Target? Walmart? The non-fiction article, “The History of Shopping in America'' by Mackenzie Carro is about the history of the Sears Catalog and how it developed with the economy. The non-fiction article “The Rise of Amazon '' by Makenzie Carro is about how Amazon was created, and how it turned into such a world wide known business.
The passage “Grand Mall Seizure” is the mall’s habits from a shopper’s perspective on the mall. Daniel Alarcon explains what it is like to be in a mall with over 500 stores. Alarcon explains that it is chaos, everyone is scrambling around and it is loud. Alarcon says, “Shopping centers that not only served a community’s physical needs, but its civic, and social needs as well.” (Alarcon, 293)
1 - Consumerism developed in America during the early twentieth century in large part due to the boom in industry created by Europe 's inability to create goods after World War I. Combined this with American inventions such as Henry Ford’s assembly line and Americans had money to spend (Schultz, 2013). With the advent of an electrical distribution system, Americans had electricity in their homes for the first time, which led to the desire for all types of electrical appliances to make life easier. All these new products meant that companies had to get the word out about their products which ignited the advertising industry, which led to even more consumerism. Mix into this recipe, the growing credit industry, and you had consumerism like
Joshua Shavel Consumer Nation 10/5/17 How Consumerism Changed America America is often described as a nation of consumers. This description usually has a negative tone, implying that Americans are materialistic, and in comparison to the majority of other countries, this is true. Many people accuse Americans of having a level of consumption that is actually wasteful in a lot of ways. Finding the difference between “needs” and “wants” is difficult in a consumer nation, where options are almost limitless. Consumerism can also bring about positive change, though, and this is especially true in the United States.
The 1920’s was a very interesting time in history to study. There are many controversial subjects and many improvements during this decade. The main parts that affected America back then and now are: Prohibition, The Ku Klux Klan, the Scopes or “Monkey” trial, consumerism especially around cars, and a change in gender roles. These pieces all go together in shaping society as it sits today, some good some bad, but America has come a long way. The 1920’s was a splitting time in history that created many differences in America that we still have today.
Consumption In Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”, the concepts of consumerism and utopia are continuously compared and discussed in tandem with one another to decide if any correlation between them is present. Although people may argue that the humans belonging to the World State are happy, their lack of simple human pleasures such as love, religion, intellect, free will, etc, denies the people of actual joy. Since the government is what controls these pleasures by glorifying consumption, the World State’s culture and consumerism must interrelate. The government's control of common human experiences and characteristics such as love, pain, religion, and free will result in the total dependence on the state.
A consumerism makes the community and economy stable which is the goal of the society. In Brave New World, the motto of the government is “community, identity, and stability” (6). Claim: A consumer economy makes the society of Brave New World which is when the most important in the economy is buying and selling of goods and services overall. Establish Evidence: In the Western civilization, Huxley would realize that consumers still make up most of the economy.
The concept of consumerism was first brought to my awareness in First Year Writing. I admit, before this intro course, I was indeed ignorant of the negative impacts that consumption had on society. FYS opened my mind to the dangers of over-consumption, and more importantly, helped me see beyond what meets the eye. Take for example, Disney, a seemingly innocent corporation, a company’s whose name is practically synonymous with the notion of childhood innocence. Upon initial judgement, one would assume that Disney is merely harmless family entertainment.
Commentary Essay on Shopping and Other Spiritual Adventures in America Today The American people are focusing more on materialistic items, people are shopping for pleasure more than necessity. This article comments on how people are shopping to release stress or to gain pleasure. Even though the article was written in 1984, it is still pertinent to modern time. In Shopping and Other Spiritual Adventures in America Today by Phyllis Rose, varied sentence length, different point of views, and anaphora are utilized to prove that society is becoming consumed in materialism.
The second article is by Julie Irwin, “Ethical Consumerism isn’t Dead, It Just Needs Better Marketing.” This article is a complete opposite from the first however it still seems that these customers still have their own idea of what is right and what is wrong. The first article, “Black Friday: Consumerism Versus Civilization” is arguing about Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Andrew Leonard states, “ I am not opposed to vigorous sprees of retail spending. For the sake of the U.S. economy, I would love to see a robust Christmas shopping season and I plan to d o my part.
Consumerism intrudes with the workings of society by overthrowing the standard judgment wish for an adequate supply of life 's necessities, a steady family and solid associations with a manufactured continuous journey for things and the purchasing power with little respect for the genuine utility of the item purchased. In today’s World World, there is a high level of consumption which has been described as a major threat on sustainability. Even though consumerism has positive effects like motivating people to work harder in order to improve their social status and well being, it has adverse effects on the environment and the social aspect of life. Consumerism, according to the new Oxford English dictionary, means the preocccupation of society with the acquisition of consumer goods. Sustainablity, on the other hand, according to the ‘brudtland report’ was broadly defined as Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.