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Gender Studies and Cultural Studies The reason why cultural studies are an important part of forming socio-political policies is because they allow policy makers to make people to believe that their consumerist drives are culturally defined. In its turn, this creates a psychological comfort for the average individual, which is one of the necessary preconditions for maintaining a structural stability in society. There is no doubt that consumers cultural preferences are being artificially influenced, in order for them to be adjusted to the consumerist worldview, which is being promoted now as the most important principle, upon which the functioning of society is being based. Simon During points out to the fact that we cannot refer to the modern consumerism outside of cultural context.
In fact, consumerism became an integral part of existential mode for many people. This is why we need to think of its in terms of cultural phenomenon. Peoples worldview is becoming increasingly affected by the factors of socio-political reality. This leads to the fact that cultural categories are slowly beginning to change its essence.
For example, even as recent as two hundred years ago, English language was much richer, in the semantic context of this word. However, the economic realities of our time, which can be defined as something that derives out of peoples inner strive towards rationalization, results in situation when there less and less culture can be found in its pure state. Nowadays, political economy cannot be thought of as something that is only concerned about economic dynamics, within society, because in post-modern era, these dynamics often come as secondary factor. We cannot talk about demand and proposition being shaped on rational principle anymore.
A successful advertisement campaign can affect the essence of economic dynamics, on the local level. This is something that Marxism theory had failed to understand. In its turn, in order for the advertisement to be effective, in needs to be able to appeal to the way people view themselves. Their image of themselves is formed by the influence of popular culture. There are many instances of people buying things only because they believe that this is a part of modern day living. Today, Consumerism tries to present itself as something different from it really is.
Economy is being sustained by peoples collective work. However, today it is not enough for them to have their immediate urges satisfied, in order to remain productive. More and more people think of their economic activity as something necessary but not the essential. Popular culture is meant to confirm them in such belief, even though that this is an illusion.
In fact, people in modern societies are being simply incorporated into a social machine, which only allows a minimum of personal freedom. The task of popular culture is to make people to associate freedom with freedoms artificial manifestations, because this can increase the effective's, with which these people are being exploited. For example, majority of men subconsciously associate freedom with the image of mountains and eagles. Why not exploit it for increasing the sales of Marlboro cigarettes? The more images of freedom and happiness we can see around us, the more there are chances that these images do not correspond to objective reality and are just a part of some advertisement campaign. Cultural studies are interested in cultural consumption, because this consumption defines the essence of socio-political reality in our days.
Just as before, we can only talk about politics and economy as being affected by peoples cultural perception of reality. However, nowadays, this cultural perception is often being artificially formed, as we have mentioned earlier. This is why, it is impossible to talk about such categories as culture and economics, without understanding that they are closely linked. The only reason why consumerism was able to become a dominant philosophy, in Western societies, is the fact that it knew present itself as something different from what it really is.
Peoples inborn idealism is being used to make the process of economic exploitation even more effective. This is what define post-modernism, as a historical period.
Free research essays on topics related to: socio political reality, consumerism, popular culture, cultural studies, make people
Research essay sample on Socio Political Reality Cultural Studies
