Commodity fetishism refers to the transformation of human relations formed from the exchange of commodities in the market. Human relations form between people of trade in goods and services in the market expressed in terms of the objectified economic relations among currency. Commodity fetishism allows the ability to transform individuality, conceptual aspects of financially viable value into objective and real things that people think have intrinsic value. (Rubin, 1990,5)
Karl Marx states social relation between people assumes in their eyes to form a relation between things therefore commodity fetishism is religious due to the involvement of supernatural status to assume a belief in something not there. Humans use their brains to create commodities
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The emerging of object is completed as a commodity fetishism assigned a monetary value for equivalent universal exchange, fetishism means that consumers come to believe that the object has intrinsic value in and of itself. Object value appears to come from commodity rather than human labour produced. In the "Wings" lyrics Macklemore associates this process of commodity fetishism with athletic shoes, Nike Air Max as a child he believed that the shoes made him feel and think he was Michael Jordan the superstar athlete. the value of Nike shoes displaced from the labour time put into creating these shoes infused with an intrinsic value came into being a celebrity with endorsement deals and symbols of iconic Nike "Swoosh". Wings becomes a statement on how market capitalism seduces people to purchase the product promised. Macklemore comes to a realization in the song that "Nike tricked us all", before finally realising towards the end of the song that "its just another pair of shoe," He explores the darker side of consumption, urging listeners to critically rethink the messages imposed to us in capitalist societies that make us feel constantly consume the product. The video is used to teach and distinguish Marx's notion of use-value and exchange-value, as well as concept of surplus value which is profit earned by capitalist above and beyond use value required to make the product. Viewers are urged to identify the use exchange and surplus values of the Nike shoes in the video, like why are Nikes $180 and Sneakers are $20. In addition the video bolsters discussions of power of symbols and significations creating a cultural meaning embodied in commodity signs. Jacques Lacan's idea of signifier and signified
In Nicole Fleetwood’s Troubling Vision Chapter 4 – “Iam King”: Hip-Hop Culture, Fashion Advertising, and the Black Male Body, Fleetwood examines the rise of the hip-hop fashion and its relationship to the black male body in the 1990’s. Fleetwood views the advertising strategies of Russell Simmons’s Phat Farm brand, and the public presentation of P. Diddy’s Sean John as sites of a “visual resignification” of the symbols, meanings and social conditions of post-industrial black life. For decades, racialized embodiment and self-presentation has operated as material limit and the prospect of black self-definition.
Nike's decision to feature activist and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick in a 2018 advertising campaign was viewed as controversial by some yet admirable by others. The campaign was centered around the tagline "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything," which highlights Kaepernick's protests against racial injustice by taking a knee during the national anthem at football games. The ad itself was a powerful depiction of the message, using an emotional appeal that tugged at the heartstrings of viewers. In this essay, we will analyze the Nike ad campaign with Colin Kaepernick, focusing on its use of logos, pathos, and ethos.
Nike, one of the biggest sports brands in the world, brings in a little over $30 million annually. The company was started by Phil Knight, who, in his self-written memoir “Shoe Dog”) talks about the start of the company that much of the world knows today. Using unique dictation, creative style, and rhetoric devices, he opens up about his true tone and feelings toward the worldwide company Nike. Throughout the book, Knight expresses three main tones including joyfulness, seriousness, and the final tone of disappointment. All three of these tones can be clearly identified by the reader due to many stylistic changes in the way the book is written.
The commercials that are highly anticipated annually always have an A-list celebrity promoting some product or another, it’s an appeal to those who think “If they have it, then I must have it.” Usually the main audience these promotion commercials are targeted are those in a lower social class, such as ghettos and low-income cities. These people of a lower social class see this celebrity and their products and think, according to the Symbolic Interactionist Theory, that they need it in order to be seen as a different person, much like the celebrities; these average people try to reflect the bravado of these upper-class individuals. All of the previously stated stances, both pros and cons considered, add to the diversity and synergy within the Structural Functionalism Theory, Conflict Perspective Theory and Symbolic Interaction Theory and how they are all crucial for specific functions within the Super Bowl. Likewise, there is a sense of codependency within America and the Super Bowl and these sociological factors contribute to the profit and positive social interaction, the need to conform to the Super Bowl time contributes greatly in shaping just
To do this, Nike appeals to the audience’s emotions by getting into your softer side by making the commercial animated and opening the audience to not only male soccer players but to everybody. The video was about 5 minutes long and it was trying to tell you a story that you can relate too. Nike uses a classic story of failure and then success type of story that many advertisements use to appeal to peoples’ pathos appeals. They also used pathos with the music in the background. When the mood changed in the video so did the music in the background to get the viewer more engaged.
In the article, “Calling All Sneakerheads!” , in the third paragraph, the author explains, “Although some fancy pairs of sneakers can fetch up to $1,500, a pair worn by basketball legend Michael Jordan during Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals sold at an auction for more than $104,000.” So many people wanted Michael Jordan’s shoes, and they sold for a dumbfounding $104,000! Michael Jordan’s shoes also greatly helped sneakers become more popular. Sneakers are very popular today because many people enjoy wearing athletes’
There are many events where sneakerheads go to buy, sell and trade their shoes. A big one called, Sneaker Con, is one of the biggest, having such rare shoes displayed, that a single pair can cost upwards to $30,000. After seeing this huge number, you can see how people can make livings off the shoes. These die hard fans of the Air Jordan brand are taking love of the sneakers to a whole ‘nother level. They will
Materialism is a problem in American society, everyday people go for the next best thing just to show off their possessions. People show off what they have, and once they get tired of it, they begin to go for the latest, cellular devices, clothing’s, cars etc. According to Tim Kasser, “People develop ideals looking at the lives of their friends, neighbors, co-workers, and relatives” (Kasser52). What he is trying to say is, instead of every person helping each other expand in life, everyone is in rivalry with one another. In order to make an attempt at fixing the American society, making it less materialistic, people must become and think correspondingly of a minimalist.
Marx and Engels wrote that capitalist globalization was completely eroding the foundations of the international system of states in the mid-1840s. Conflict and competition between nation-states had not yet over in their view but the main fault-lines in future looked certain to revolve around the two main social classes: the national bourgeoisie, which controlled different systems of government, and an increasingly cosmopolitan proletariat. Over revolutionary action, the international proletariat would insert the Enlightenment principles of liberty, equality and fraternity in an exclusively new world order which would free all human beings from exploitation and domination. Many traditional theorists of international relations have pointed to the failures of Marxism or historical materialism as an explanation of world history. Marxists had undervalued the vital importance of nationalism, the state and war, and the implication of the balance of power, international law and diplomacy for the structure of world politics.
Introduction Critiquing this ad on how it attracts customer to buy their product. I will talk about what is motivating or attracting the customer. Sometimes it’s the meaning behind the ad or how the product is represented. Nikes is using one of the most popular strategies that are successful in promoting its product and increasing income. When I first saw this ad I immediately knew they were comparing the iron man suit to the shoes showed in the ad.
Capitalism is understood to be the “economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.” In modern society, capitalism has become the dominant economic system and has become so integrated that it has resulted in a change in the relationships individuals have with other members of society and the materials within society. As a society, we have become alienated from other members of society and the materials that have become necessary to regulate ourselves within it, often materials that we ourselves, play a role in producing. Capitalism has resulted in a re-organization of societies, a more specialized and highly segmented division of labour one which maintains the status quo in society by alienating the individual. Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim theorize on how power is embodied within society and how it affects the individuals of society.
This sociological study will analyze the problem of commodity fetishism in American consumer culture. Karl Marx’s theory of commodity fetishism is a major problem in the United States due to the inability of consumers to see the intrinsic value of a commodity. American consumer culture tends to become trapped in the “magical qualities” of a product, which makes them unable to understand the object as it was made by a laborer. This abstraction of the commodity is part of Marx’s analysis of capitalist products that is separated from the labor and become valuable objects in and of themselves. This is an important sociological perspective on commodities, which creates an irrational consumer culture in the American marketplace.
The key concepts that I will discuss in this assignment are the theories and ideas of Karl Marx on Alienation, Exploitation, Materialism and Class struggle. The objective of this assignment is to examine the literature written about Karl Marx in order to clearly present his main ideas and theories in relation to work and capital. In the second part of my assignment I will discuss what relevance these theories and ideas have in today’s world. Karl Heinrich Marx the philosopher and revolutionary socialist was born on the 5th of May 1818 and died on the 14th of March 1883. He was born in the city of Trier in Germany and studied law in Bonn University.
18th and 19th centuries are the start points of mechanization and industrialization .During this era, society was transformed from feudal structure to industrial society due to changing production systems. Europe was the most affected area within the changing production systems and building new type of society. Therefore, Many European thinker in that period built theories for the changing structure and reshaped it. Marx who influence following social scientists until today with his theories is one of those thinkers.
In the Communist manifesto, a well known quote of Marx, “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” This is introductory to the first part of the pamphlet and a conclusion to Marx’s theory about class struggle. Marx’s highly structured on how the class struggle emerges and affects the development of a society. The development of a society from the old and from the new is the result of the conflict of classes in the society.