Sociology 2275A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: De Beers, Semiotics, Overproduction

• School: Western University
• Department: Sociology
• Course: Sociology 2275A/B
• Professor: Doug Mann

Document Summary

Sign exchange value: sign the product gives off that makes you want to buy it ant not something else. Traditional advertising: product + image = commodity sign. Post 1985: brand name + image = commodity. Marlboro + cowboy image/music = cigarette for real men. Ads turn products into commodity fetishes: you forget about the labour that went into the product, all you care about what it costs and the commodity sign. Internal cultural colonialism: people are(cid:374)"t (cid:271)(cid:455) (cid:374)ature (cid:272)o(cid:373)(cid:373)odit(cid:455) people (cid:271)ut through so(cid:272)ializatio(cid:374) (cid:449)e (cid:271)e(cid:272)o(cid:373)e people who define ourselves through commodities. Callous cash nexus: you do more things for money. You (cid:272)a(cid:374)"t reall(cid:455) ha(cid:448)e a fu(cid:374) ti(cid:373)e (cid:449)ithout (cid:271)u(cid:455)i(cid:374)g a(cid:374)(cid:455)thi(cid:374)g. Individuality is defined as a package of satisfied wants. Buy things in order to define yourself. Crisis of overproduction: in order to create demand up you create ads. Symbolism: psycho-utility; from fixed meanings to floating signs (make anything mean anything)