The Consumer Society Reader features a range of key works on the nature and evolution of consumer society. Included here is much-discussed work by leading critics such as Jean Baudrillard, Susan Bordo, Dick Hebdige, bell hooks, and Janice Radway. Also included is a full range of classics, such as Frankfurt School writers Adorno and Horkheimer on the Culture Industry; Thorstein Veblen's oft-cited writings on "conspicuous consumption"; Betty Friedan on the housewife's central role in consumer society; John Kenneth Galbraith's influential analysis of the "affluent society"; and Pierre Bourdieu on the notion of "taste." "Consumer society--the 'air we breathe,' as George Orwell has described it--disappears during economic downtruns and political crises. It becomes visible again when prosperity seems secure, cultural transformation is too rapid, or enviornmental disasters occur. Such is the time in which we now find ourselves. As the roads clog with gas-guzzling SUVs and McMansions proliferate in the suburbs, the nation is once again asking fundamental questions about lifestyle. Has 'luxury fever,' to use Robert Frank's phrase, gotten out of hand? Are we really comfortable with the 'Brand Is Me' mentality? Have we gone too far in pursuit of the almighty dollar, to the detriment of our families, communities, and natural enviornment? Even politicians, ordinarily impermeable to questions about consumerism, are voicing doubts... [and] polls suggest majorities of Americans feel the country has become too materialistic, too focused on getting and spending, and increasingly removed from long-standing non-materialist values." —From the introduction by Douglas B. Holt and Juliet B. Schor

The Consumer Society Reader is the most substantial collection of classic and contemporary readings on consumption and consumer society for students of cultural studies and sociology of culture. From Karl Marx to Jean Baudrillard, the volume introduces students and researchers to the topics, themes, and preoccupations of twentieth-century consumer culture.

This volume offers the most comprehensive and incisive exploration of American consumer history to date, spanning the four centuries from the colonial era to the present.

This reader offers an essential selection of the best work on the Consumer Society. It brings together in an engaging, surprising, and thought provoking way, a diverse range of topics and theoretical perspectives.

The developed countries, particularly the United States, consume a disproportionate share of the world's resources, yet high and rising levels of consumption do not necessarily lead to greater satisfaction, security, or well-being, even for affluent consumers. The Consumer Society provides brief summaries of the most important and influential writings on the environmental, moral, and social implications of a consumer society and consumer lifestyles. Each section consists of ten to twelve summaries of critical writings in a specific area, with an introductory essay that outlines the state of knowledge in that area and indicates where further research is needed. Sections cover: Scope and Definition Consumption in the Affluent Society Family, Gender, and Socialization The History of Consumerism Foundations of Economic Theories of Consumption Critiques and Alternatives in Economic Theory Perpetuating Consumer Culture: Media, Advertising, and Wants Creation Consumption and the Environment Globalization and Consumer Culture Visions of an Alternative This book is the second volume in the Frontier Issues in Economic Thought series, which provides surveys of the most significant writings in emergent areas of economics -- an invaluable aid in fast-growing fields where genuine new ground is being broken. The series brings together economists, sociologists, psychologists, and philosophers to develop analyses that challenge and enrich the dominant neoclassical paradigm. The Consumer Society is an essential guide to and summary of the literature of consumption and will be of interest to anyone concerned with the deeper economic, social, and ethical implications of consumerism.

A unique and definitive read on our "national passion"--buying stuff--and its consequences for American society, this landmark work of social criticism is sure to become the standard book on the subject.

Film and Television Stardom examines film and television stars as a collectively complex, intriguing social phenomenon from the early twentieth century to the present day. Its range of topics includes (but is certainly not limited to) the emergence and historical development of the star system, silent-film stardom, stardom and media spectatorship, stardom and consumption, stardom and the paparazzi, reality-television “stars,” stars in the news, and studies of individual stars. In addition to providing numerous new insights and approaches to exploring the phenomenon of film stardom (past and present), its various chapters significantly expand the comparatively nascent body of academic writing that has been devoted to investigating the historical and theoretical aspects of television stardom by focusing on both traditional television programming genres and the more recent phenomenon of reality-television programming. The numerous stars addressed in this book (including Roseanne Barr, Gertrude Berg, Ingrid Bergman, Cher, Sacha Baron Cohen, Bette Davis, Jodie Foster, Jerry Lewis, Carmen Miranda, Anita Page, Jessica Simpson, and James Stewart) are analyzed in relation to noteworthy performances in a variety of well-known films (including The Accused, The Broadway Melody, Cinderfella, Citizen Kane, Dark Victory, The Man from Laramie, Persona, and Singin’ in the Rain) and television programs (including Da Ali G Show, The Apprentice, The Goldbergs, Roseanne, and Survivor).