Scribd Logo
Cargar

¡Te damos la bienvenida a Scribd!

  • Shopping Religion and The Sacred Buyosphere

    Cargado por

    Jacobo riquelme
    223 vistas10 páginas
    Los nuevos templos del consumidor

    Título original

    Shopping Religion and the Sacred Buyosphere

    Derechos de autor

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Formatos disponibles

    PDF o lea en línea desde Scribd

    ¿Le pareció útil este documento?

    ¿Este contenido es inapropiado?

    Denunciar este documento
    Los nuevos templos del consumidor

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Descargue como PDF o lea en línea desde Scribd
    Marcar por contenido inapropiado
    223 vistas10 páginas

    Shopping Religion and The Sacred Buyosphere

    Cargado por

    Jacobo riquelme
    Los nuevos templos del consumidor

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Descargue como PDF o lea en línea desde Scribd
    Marcar por contenido inapropiado
    de 10
    Shopping, Religion, and the Sacred “Buyosphere” SARAH MCFARLAND TAYLOR ‘Are shopping mulls sacred spaces? s shopping religion? Whatever he answer may be to each ofthese questions the fat chat so many com mentaorson culate (bth academic and otherwise) speak of consump. Yion and shopping in religious terms shoul make us sit up and ake noice. What does it etn 10 refer to shopping “arade” as Walter Besjanin did in describing the glas-covered Parisian shopping corti= dors of his ime, or eo contemporary shopping mulls as» umber of sociologists now do, a "empl?! In Conmcrinn a2 Wy of Lif, St Yen Milesidentifis consumerism as not celigion in the late twentieth ‘century but “Be eligon ofthe at twentothcentry ‘ations scolar Julia Corbett goes one step fuether, contending eat more than semply “way of o a particla “sligion,” consumer ‘aptlsm inthe eweney-firstcenrury indeed forms the “aster logic" ofall social relations. It constitutes wha meds theorist Asthar Ass Berger emphatically names an *llpomerfal force” ‘That religions idiom is repeatedly wed to expres the nature of institutions, enviton- ments and experiences related to shopping and consumption signals thar these things are being given a cersin weight or seriousness, It communicates and claims s degree of nzensiy or commitment shop Ping and/or « eighuned degre of what Ann aves would term as he commoni- Shpping eth Baber” | a4 “species co capitalist consumption, Acs of sansumersm take on situal import and even sugastsaperatunal specs 10 the very prac- cesses and powers of consumption. These aspects or qualities contest otherwise commonplace secular categorizations of the contemporary consumer capitalist economy" As with the proces of defining religion in general ikea Rorschach psychologic ino et, the naming and hming of consumer cular, commodity sacery, and capitalist con- sumer practices as religion tls us much move about those who name and the very proces of naming than i des abowt the phenomenon in question ° Inhis history of shopping, F Va Thu! How We A come Shoppes, the American caltuel rte Thomas Hine cons the rtm the "buyosphere™ to designate the "eal" where thse in developed countries are condi- ‘ionod ideally tlie most fier lives *Thisis, once, at of physi ca and viral paces, and a ste of mind, The buyosphere ia series of ‘windows chrough which weave eager to gimp all sorts of possibi ‘ies Sounding positively grostic, Hine says dat we come to know urselies noc ceough God be throogh our experinces ax consumers inthis mystical realm: “The buyosphere i oe civic space, bat its ove chief arena for expression, theplace where we learn most about who we are, both as people and as individuals” Whats more, this sacred buy: ‘osphere elicits powerful emovions ins, and Tike “a be in 4 Fld of Alowers” Hine writes, “the stopper in our slling-sturted world is constancy bing simulated, yr shins in danger of exhaustion Although not named as such, we get a spaally developed sense of this "sacred buyophere” in theft phenomenological religions eri snalsis of enclosed shopping malls in the United Seas. Inthe wos, Ira Zepp e's Te New Reon Image of Ul dmrcs The Shopping Mall 4 CeeminalCevrlaoked at shopping ull archtecrure and loo plans 248 [Pie Cale ar Rigs smoch inthe way Mircea Eliade ha analyzed acrod cities of the world i his books on comparative religion? Zepp theorized that planners Sle the central mall strum with beatiful pays of water and idy- lie vegetation o recreate an Edenie world of prec bln election, ‘The mall center, Zepp comment in Hladean fashion, “wih all the pts leading ro the mile, is replication ofthe primordial world in ais harmony and pristine ordee" Frequent, Zepp points vt, this “iniarare wold” fearuts some sore of word tree or world center. A more recent example of such a feature since he publication of Zepp's book, would be the cwo-sry:high oak tre athe center of Norh- brook Court mal in Northbeok, lio, When the deteriorating mal veas remodeled i dhe ipo to “revitalie” a lgutic ence was alded inthe mum, complete with treehouse foc len to cli. Wheexs the Nowtbrook mall eatures installations of ylicgandens and foun ‘ns the colosal faux *woed ee" provides ee distinct center of mall -commoaity and activity. Blide termed this Kind of symbolic steed ‘ener an “omphalos” or “world nal” and assented ie with the pres- sence ofan "axis mundi" or "word axis” which e theorized provided a ‘pont of acred connection berween the humas word andthe world of ‘the gods? Whether stegcaly and ceneally placing Edenie foun- ‘tains, cosmic mountains, oF world tees, Zepp argue, mall designers “do asthe gods did in the beginning” enguged in an sna Dei by ‘rafting an idylicenvronmeae designed to els Feeings of redness and perfection, Malls had become the new “temples of worship” Whats nore, for Zepp these temples possess a dite advantage over more ‘ratiional religous spaces “The shopping mal, open almost everyday fom 0 AM. t 9 PM... i 4 more inclusive and egalitarian center (ebay ose chuches""® Looking at descriptions and. photogrsphic images of turn-ofhe- century department stores inthe United Seats, Leigh Schade ana- yas very empl bac Kacres nd westhrcs fond inthe seed boyospheres of famed grand department sors, sch as Philadelphia's ‘Wanamaker’ Using historical examples of popular material cles, Shypingandte Benen” J 45 Schmidt shows how, during the holiday season especially, ae sores ‘became magical wonderlands, “enchantment of consume cls” and “Christmas cathedrals that fostered the convergence of shooping with ‘Prowestant church aesthetics, The i installation of an ora organ in the splendid marble-trimmed atrium of Wanaraker’s completed che plctare of store that was achorch adie customers the ful, Wan- maker's wos evenmully subsumed uadee other department xore ames, and the later part ofthe twenveth century marked the decline of stand-alone department stores, but stores such as Macy's and Bloomingtales tok on new roles as “anchor” stores on either side of large-scale enclosed malls. Inside these cliate-conteolled retail rt= rata, anchor deparment stores (ra period of time) regained some of ‘thir mystical ars, 1a Bchoningo Disochnted Word Cominaty and Changi be Cate dls of Consngron, Geoege Rite points 0 the soiologal mecha- nisms by which shopping mals serve wo “re-enchanea “disenchanted” ‘world, Shopng malls have been described a places whee poole goto practice tht “cones rlgon” Ibs en comtended ht shopping malls re impre than comarca sd foci eoterpins they have mich ame ton withthe celgious centro tradknalcvizations Like sock eli sous cents, ll ae seen 25 Fling peoples need wo ene with ‘ach ther nd with ate ses, plans, fone a wel a tei nee pipe in fetal Mals provide che kind of cencednes raion ally provided by religions temples, and they ate constructed have sa Tarblance, symmety, nd ore The ara ually oer connection nature chroogh water and regen People gai a seas of ommaity ‘welt more speci ommunity vices. Ply isla vival pat of rligioo pact, nd mall provide pace he fod cour for pope ‘ofr Smiley mals oferaseingin which peopl can pane ince. ‘onal mel, Malle clesly qualily fir he label of exes of “Mach as Water Benamin characterized areades as consune ‘hoses the scholar of design List Scharoun eats the consuction of 246 [Pr Cla: Relig comtemporary shopping malls s “eam spaces" micros of pian longings rife wih save imagery and supernatural intimations!” But unlike Ts Zepp, who sees malls as largelyspplantig in function more traitonal religious spaces, Scharoun poinesmore toa model af conver ence In dmerit a be Mall Be Cabal Rl of Ret Up she draws less of distinction chan do other analysts between malls enchanted secular spaces or sacred buyoepheres, and more tradicional religions spaces, chronicling a vavety of religions commie thet have now infkraed mall space!* Zepp cites the Mall Area Religious Council (MARC), conglomeration of wenty-ve gio groupe inthe ace of the Mall of America that works co create cosnections herween religions groups and malls spaces, and Scharoun farther points tothe busing of| these boundaries With the growing poputy of religios srorefeons| inal, rather than competing against mals as "athedrale of cons tion” that sipbon off the faithful, savvy zegiows groups Ive instead inegeated thoi storefonts and chaps inn hese spaces, occupying retail space where they, lke thir retail neighbors, spite on “Foe ‘ra and “window shopping” To use Laurence R. Moore's pets, ‘when “selling God a8 with any other retail enterpise the three mast important hing ate “locaton, loston, andlocation.”® Allee gliters isnot gold for the Lutheran theologian Jon Pahl, whose Shopping Mal and Osker Sacred Plc sees more snite forces lurking inthe mall Both Ritzer and Scharun pine to mall, despite their dreamy aesthetics, as providing real and importane comunity funetons In contrast, Pahl contends eae shopping malls wach asthe Mall of Americ, inall dei fantastic steribores, simulate che Kingdom ‘Gos fusing the mall with a palpable feeling of grace thas power fal yc ultimately fate The mall promises ts pilgrins pute happiness ‘nd fulinent through consuaprioe—sbapping a8 a path tos tion-intxicating the consumer with the exphoric prospec ofa better lite fee oF pain and discomfort. Yet, t some point, abl claims, chess promises do nor deliver and lave consumers feling depressed and haunted by their own emp hearts Highly rita ofthe malls liter Shopping onde Been” J 24) ing arifce tha promises salvtion but delivers none, Pabl anxiously lunges a reorenaton instead toward “eal” spaces i nate that ofr suthentic and sustainable spiritual nowrishment!® Ina somewhat ironic twist culeual commentators who have re ted abou che seductive enchantment ofthe mall supplanting Amesi- can churches, a trons out, # number of defunct oF so-called "end ‘malls are beg purchased and ssimilaed by eligiows organizations ‘Aer the Forest Park Mall in ios “ied in the igs, Living Word (Christian Ministries bought and took over the thity-three-are mall in yp" The defunct Forest Park Mall ha since been resurrected as Forest Park Plaza and houses the Living Woed Worship Center, che Living Word Bible Training Center, and the Living Word Mission ‘Center, among Christian retail shops, « Christan bookstore, and a (Christan eat, The once-desertedauditoriom now fled with high- definition “Jumbot” for worship services, nd the once conri- dors now hoc with the sounds of Chrsan rock bands pesfrming Tive atthe malls center Forest Park Plazas updated slogan reads "A place where the inegrty of God crete Iasting foundation for sue- cess and changes the economic destiny of the people” Here, we see promises of salvation and slicred destinies—vivione of economically ‘suecesfl futures and eansormed lines made poste by a worship and practic jn which "God has taken over che mall, and presumably hs been sbester matter and manager than the previogs owners Inscead of analyzing malls as “temples or “thodrals of consumption” ‘tha threaten to displace traditional religious institutions, anew wave of scholarship might instead exsmine mals themselves at “consumed” spaces, devoured and asinilted by religious iastsions Beyond the discourse on shopping malls the ew “temples” or eathe= Aral religious idiom ako pervades eiques of shopping fervor. A series of shopping-crush deaths 00s prompred Be Guan’ Julian Baggink 248 J Pipl Car a Ragin to publish a widely creole ric askirg whether shopping might not be “the ne eigon and Marnaon our new God." "The kid of ans hve’ mania thar infees some shops as they clos inom a ood dels ote akin to the imperatives of teligiouscevotion than those of pers finance” Baga asserted For him this kid of shopping yeas di ease that “infects” shoppers, presumably moch like the easton mechanism fo cigiosfinaticom, Crezed sopping iss cat as both ew “religion” anda dangerous pathogen. Bagi i certsinly no the ist 10 equate scigion wieh “ikea” Accosing to & number of sources, Inading Rertond Russel, he pre-Socec pileopherHessclcs of Ephesus (ca. sya. 495 BCE) called religion "a disease” ale «noble one! Sigmund Frew, most notably in ‘Te Far fn so, patho ized eclgion nigh of poshoanalyticteory ad the notion oF nero ss! Moe recently, Darel Ray has writenaboa “the Gd vies" andthe ays im which eligi infers ovr lives a cule So, in Bagg’ commentary, religous devin s+ good analogy for shopping "mani because ike infetius dee, comune, invades st, esses ny systemic problems or disorder, an an be“enught ge i of? In making 2st dacomentary titled The Sere ofthe Soper he [BBC filmmakers Adam Boome and Ale Riley made his lik bermeen Le disease of religion and the disease ofshopping even more explicit by subjecting both “maladics” wo high-tech medical diagnostic testing, Riley, who Keenly observed an example of shopping “mania” when Aiming the opening of a new Apple sere in London, writs: The scenes T winesed athe opening ofthe new Apple store in London's ‘Covent Garden were moe like an evangsical prayer meeting than ¢ ‘chance tobuy a phone or laptop” Riley snd his prodacer followed up ‘their ming by asking one esac Apple devotes, wh had made pil image to thirty diferent Apple tre oxnings around the work, co submit to an MRI diagnostic bran sca, Inthe fl, eam of neuro fetists place the Apple fan ins the HIRI scanner and show him mages of Apple's log and products. They then record his pysolgi- ‘ea responses and repore hat “the results gest) Apple was actully Siena the Bagaphn” J 249 stimulating the same parts of eh brsn a religions imagery des in his is an “b-hab” oe “gochs" moment in che fl, having seiencifcally draws this ink using scientific medical equipment designed specially to diagnose disie The historian Lawrence Witne echoes these asete links berneen teligious devotion and shopping fanaticism. Commenting onthe mab violence asocated with "Black Friday" he day-fter-Thanksiving’s cial star ofthe Crises shopping season), Witter observes *The feenzcd participants were ne searving, impoverished peasants or prod people of ith uctdeprved refugees from Commonist sation but reasonably com forable, middle-class Americans. Phir desperation was not driven by hung They simply wanted... wre” Witmer blames churches for “oe ‘opposing the corporate cultivation of untramniced greed among Amer- jeans” He argues that “chrches have let che doo open to the triumph of Ameria new eligion—os liberal ecolarism, but shopping”? Across a variety of platforms, expressions of popular cule dag nose the shopping “mana” of consumer capitalism as the equivalent of eligi fanaticism. What does chis tll us Is this a way to comm cate ieratonaiy, imense emotion, wubealthy obsession, extremism, and ukimarely something dangerous and ou of control? Whats more, cultural observes anxiously evoke the specter of “eal” or Yauentic® ‘elgion being subsumed or aken over by a virulent consumerism run amok. Bron the sociologist Sharon Zarkin (200) in he history of how shopning as changed American culture, sounds a decidedly prema ture death knel for eligion: “We shop because we lng foe valve—for 4 virtuous ea of value that we no lnger get fom religion, work, of poliis!24 No longer relevant, religion is replaced by shopping, the “new religion” as Wiener calls ic Rusell MeCurcheon pons out that “clin ia wonderfully asf setrial too tha packs significant thetoricl punch"ss Clasifiation matters ‘The fac that shopping is lasifed by variety of public cokual commentators in varity of mea contexts as being" eigion signals something very important shou perceptions of hopping, the societal role plays anxieties about 50 Piper Cue a Reig the plac of religion and cs power in society aswell a fears about reli= son's potential demise sworatuyat “Two weal after the horsfc enn of September, 201, the United Stes headed ino war, President Geoge W. Bash wed failies 0 head on "down to Disney Word” and to keep spending mney. A umber of political pundits incrpreted she administrations message as ‘one cat promised America salvation shrowgh consumption fAmeri- ‘ans stopped shopping then the teors had "won The sociologist Andrew Weer as called this kind of nentality the American ethic of consomprion” which expreses isl bas through evangeial pop lar culture. lonically, be says iti not this-wordy asceticism. but ‘hiswory cousumeriss® thas sgn of salvation ines ethic” eis the American Protestant tlevangelist who most skilfully haere home this message: “consuming © helping thee televangelis 9 con ‘sume, signals salvation, snd dhs povides tht supreme moive that all belioters seck" ‘This “mose American ef messages, sation throogh consumption” Weigert says, goes beyond the tlevangelise and sd ‘ence and permeates American culeure 1 so ding, efecively "aes [the sociologist Max] Webeds thesis [of Protestant ethical frugality and saving] and sandsicon itshead”” Presiden Bush did no use che exact word as some have claimed, “Go out and sho” Bu, especially for thote who share Bo erangolical fh his pening at me of extreme crisis about away to salvation rough Disney vacations and Fanly shopping es came across sa rexana invocation ofthis ethic ‘oFconsumeis.” In this extremely Faust cultural momen, the logics of capitalism (perennial growth, expansion snl poft and the gies of ‘erangeiclism (perennial expansion, incete, and gly reward) bore striking very public semblance. anyone "ges he resions betwoen the ether] aura of comporste rex dream worlds" and their darker cased specter, tis the New Siping end te Bayes” / a0 York peviormance artist and stcet theater activist Bill ellen, who takes on the mesinicsreet-cornerevangslist personality of “Rever end Bll" la this acorn, there rch of wha David Chester ond Lionel Trilling, Jean Baudslla ad David Lowenthal before him) analyzes as “authentic fakes” the play and ipoviaion of religious forms in popular culture chat nmethcess do “real religions work Reverend Billy and his “Church cf Life Aer Shopping”ormerly the "Church of Stop Shopping”) stage pubic shopping “interventions” a corporate resis like the Disney Store, Starbuck, and Wal-Mart In these acts of what his group ells “ial resietnc,” they exorcise ‘ash reiteriluminat che envionment impact ad labor practices wed in manufacturing various poduets, and “snap people out of the Iypaosis" or the magical enchantment they fel while shopping Iden tifyng themselves asa “pos religious church,” Reverend Bly and his “Earthalojah Choie™ persistently ask consumers, ‘What would Jesus ‘bup?" Inthe 2007 documentary fle We Wold Jom Buy produced by ‘Mongan Spurlock, Reverend Billy prophesizes the "shopocalypse” prophecy that he says has now come to Fration, Tati, we are lieally "sopping ourselves en death” as rampant fosi-fuel-based capitalism nd obsessive consumerism have intensified climate-change-related natural disasters such a the 272 Prankenstonn,” Hurricane “Sandy” Marking the Mayan calendar docmsday, Reverend Billy andthe Life ier Shopping Church held an “End of the Work” ritual in Times ‘Square, seeking eo “torn back te Jvis of debe and detection, ely ing the of ect thro nave heels and save aL” Reverend Billy so ofers exorcism services wo east the shopping demons out of “shopaholics” who like many Anericans "walk in the valley of the sada of debe" He has perfomned exncisns directly on credit cards and investment bankers and bas astmped co cst the evil spe ig and “dark soul” out of British Petroleum (BP following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster cred by its lesking cil wel in the Gulf of Mexico In2008 Billy's church held a candlelight prayer ig in the parking le of Long Island Wal-Mart, where employee Jimytai 2 J Paper Cala Rigi Damour was temple to death on “Black Friday” by “out-of-control” Stoppers who broke down the store doors a five in the morning and sceppel over Damour’ mangled dead body in onder to make thee way to discounted plasma televon sts. As Wal-Mar employees informed shoppers over the PA system that an employee had bec killed nd they woul have to eave the ston, shoppers yelled bac tat they had been on ine since Friday morning. Refusing to Tere, they kept on shop ing ‘The killing of Darr by shopper stumped came just two ‘months after one ofthe wort dacs ever recrded from a eigions stampede, when 224 plgrine were trampled to det after 25000 wor shippers rushed the doors othe Charnanda Devi Temple in sorte Tndia during che 208 Kunth Mela festival” Bethany Moreton, autho of 1 Srse Gd and Wal-Mart The Mating of Cristian Free Berrise sight ache surprised by he juxtaposition of these to stampedes and the comparison between “liga temples® sd *vetilcemples” Inher history of Wal-Mare, Moreton tll che story of how evangelical vas ad fenmeworks came tbe embedded in Wal-Mart's corporate servcore and management strategies Notions onceps tht employees practice in theirown homes aad churches, came to define WalMart’ workince: Moreos observes: "Drawing on the new rel of "Christan service" and aule-ted family “headeip tionships among managers, employes, and eusomes in its tres and the company’s emerging service «thos honored [employees as Christan servants" Wal-Mart stores became insribed or encoded with language, imagery ad personnel dynamic that “read like buch “Christian bore” and “church 10 ts cramgcial patrons Ualike she lnuriows ornamentation of Philadel hin department sores sul as Wansmaker's that simlted the aes- thetcs of elite Proestane chutches,Wal-Mare’stsipped-down frog “warehouse” aesthetic fet nore like the modest contemporary rural tnd/or stoneiontcharches ts evangelical customers associated with ‘worship. Operation Rescue under and Chistian Coalition director Ralph Reed once famously alvsed political streets "M you want to ‘on the regional evangelical revi Sipping and eBay” 355 reach the Christian population on Sunday, you do ic from the church rds, you do tin Wal-Mace™ Tn this way, Moreton says, Wa-Mart came to sanctify enterprise” “servant lenershin® folksy fagaliey, while in a twist on ‘Aida Smith exalting che gospl of Gols invisible and inthe sanctity of neoliberal globalization, As wth “dead” mall, however, Wal-Mart that have expanded too ‘vicky, in a hcinkng economy, are being consumed themselves and ttansocmed int ses of conveson. In 2%, the Cornerstone Church ‘ook ovr the Wal-Mart in Maio, Mii, nd turned tino an uncon- venronal 2000 square-foot voeship space In che sume yer, evan _ctical negachurch church purchases of Wal-Mart etal tres for con ‘erson imo worship space ranged from Wisconsin, Idan, ino and Nebraska to Flvia and Lonisinna* When giving « media tour of ‘Church of Bivens newly converted Wal-Mart bone in Jacksonville, A congregitin's new chilies sfiri-hemed “worship cate” sic ight fon the spot where he used to parchase his shotgun shells at Wal-Mart "Lite dil Sam Walon know ehat when he ws puting a Wal-Mart here, he was actoally part of bid the Kingdom of Ge the paste tected.” Bethany Moretous esearch for her book on Wal-Mart and the Walton family sggests otherwise —that Sars Walton mig be ay thing bu surprised by connections between his commercial endeavors and efor to hasten the Kingda of Gods areval™ pulp Ifyou want reach them on Christan fee ia, Senior Past Joby Martin poined out camera rem that the Demnostrating 2 Keen sense of he sacred buyosphere” and is poeta fv sinister “posesions” Reverend Bly has performs aumerous “ex ams" in Wal-Mart parking lots and ise the stil spuce,chaismat cally ctng demons ou ofthe egister with his mos exuberant preach cy ai” He is merely one of many doing bate with the “demons of sopping” Estimates of Americans with diagnosed “compulsive buying 254 |) Par Calarge iors" cte around gees lion alice Debeos Anonymous (A) foun in, which denis tcf as & “llowship" for compul- sive spenders, holds moe than fe hundsed weely meetings in fen countries, using an approach modeled on Alcoblics Anonymous’ ‘welve-sep program DA teimoniasfsquently recount how men bers came to terms with heie“isease” One anonymins member rea "I gradually came to realize my debing disease manifest ever time ‘sume that Iam so special can have whatever Twin, whenever I want i without having o earn ior py fo it" Althowgh DAs noe religious ‘oxganization pee se, 2¢ with Akholes Anonymous, belie ina “higher owes ey and those inreccvery frequently characterize their erg He to del with cei disease in spiel tems, ln Debtors Anoymmus, the srands of disease, sopping, and religion intertwine. Sophie Kise lasbestseling Sipe novel ves, mae into the 2009 film Cine fa Spats rooght the "seas" of compulsive spending and debeing ‘zo more widespread popular consioasnes, employing both comedic snd serious portrayals of rea adicon. Shopaholic "Rebecca" retail cooquess are eetatc experincs that se has longed fr since hil ood, when she would gaze ino the “ety world of perfect things" inside shop windows "There, we ate tol, be Would se “grown-up gil, Tike feces oe princesses, gettnganything they warned because they had “aie cards” Rebeca entramerent with the etl "ery world” is Sally broken bythe stark consoences feet cant deb a the pro psctofhomelesest in New Yor City. Like the twele-seppersin "DA" Rebecca goes on 2 “spiritual jones” whee she must confont the demons that fork undeenesth pty sik scarves and sparking inwy Choo shoes. Rebecca does not quite exclaim "Revol! in Revered Billy fshion, uc she does se th exo of er ways ad tugaes vane ash her "shopping demons” Ecerng the scted buyospere of Oprah Winky might insted ibe erate Rebocea fom migling with the demons of diction, redirect. ng het toward purchasing the eight things” and “shopping fr good,” ‘hus egcimatng er consumption as both socially conscious and spi= Shopping and be Bayapbon™ (336 irally aware. Shopping a2 mol solution cua conveniently solve the ‘moral problem ofcansumpion an license ren mare consumer spend ing Inthe chapter on "Practicing Porch inher 21 hook Opmate he Gap ofa an, Kutheyo Lofton illuminates Winfey’s“piriual api jam” and her pedaling "good news matali” trough purchasing recommendations and directives issued to what Lofion calls het “con regan For Lofio, Opraks approach in her tevision audience, ‘magazine readership, and online community i exec, Consuming he “eight goods" becomes s pathway to personal growth, spiritual improvement, an 2 meaning, purposefl ifn Winey’ capitalise ‘modernity, this materiale is spinal practice? and what “separates Winfrey's work is che soul saving sigiicton stacked 1 her recom rmendacions™* Oprah congregants “ase wold dhitthsie purchasing power is corclated 0 their moral mei. Indiv shopping choices ‘afer moments of posible piety "Our simp shopping decisions can protect the environment, save Family armen, villiges rom dest= ‘tion, and restore dignity to war-torn commutites™ In an age of lobal climate criss, scientists philosophers have come «ex the period oftime we inhabit, the Avhmpocene” ~ an age in hich human activity now consticmtes he dominant geologic force aMfectng earth Ae this ime, ie Beas considering the very rel impacts that consumer cleure, commodity society, nd the consumer patterns and practices ofthe fpr have had on tke Klee that oppor all life on che planec* Numerous environmental scents, economists, Policy wonks, and activists have cas the capitals dreams of endless prosperity abd uabridled consumption as anghtmare fr planet earth” Wher call the buyospice also populations might he mos socaly, economically, and environmentally Aevasetd by the consumption at ofthat" Hine clarifies tha hei ons Hine sas that “We live much of ou ive in rel 1 psc wh die“ is ad we 256 Popa area iin talking about consunersin the “developed woe” but there is consider able disparity in consumer power and level of consupeon workwide, More than a century ag, the economist and soicogst‘Thostsin Veblels famous seudy The Thy ofthe Lire Clas (9) asserted that regardless of economic stustion and scl sanding, “No class of oe ‘ty naceven the mos abject poor, forges all cutonary conspicuous consumption. The last tems of thie category of consumption are not sven up except under the srs of direct necessiy™ Thus, whether Possessing the power and resoures to purchase or not rch oF poor, we are drawn nto the cosmological defining “master logic’ of consumption, its social markers of identity, and inta the myst ana of the Bayo sphere and is ulimate promises. Returning, once agi, the soci psychological not es” the fst that hit patculae “nk oc of consumption is being increasing denied nd read in con- remporary popular discourse through the semantic denies of el sion” and che “religious” points 1 the ongoing cukueal politics of| representation. ‘To use the language of religion” rte sare” 0 rep ‘resent shopping and consumer culate sto assert kindof *conimon ese” ideolgy abouc both the nature of eligi and ths nature of shop ing The fac that popu alae become the primary site fr “naa talzing” the confation of religion, marke, snd consamption, while ts key site for equi chis convergence, speaks tthe central role Popular culture playin the eetested power and politics that both cen fore hegemony and call for socal change’ pth image of DISCUSSION QUESTIONS + Discus your own practices of shopping and consumption ‘What pleasures oases yo ge from isting the mall, or other shopping sites, and from the proces of acquiring bingy? 2 Some ofthe sources Tayo fearures in er chap sugges in ‘heir statements or cultural production tha shopping end Sepig ad the pt”) asp consumption canbe thought of frm of religion. What 4o you fnd compelling snd engaging about tis sugeston? ‘What evidence might ange agains this way of thinking about consumption? easing on che chapter and your own experience, discuss the shopping mall a destination, a place to be ised Discuss how smalls are diferent fom other places people might shop. 4 Inthe section headed *Shopalyjah” the author dscusescon- nections between shopping an patciotsn. Why isshopping potentially patitic act consumption e both religion and «patriotic ac, what does this suggest about the nature of shopping as 2 meaning-making activity? How doeligion and ptixism interact? “Shopping Religion and the Sate ‘Bayospere™ by Sarah MeFi Tay- Jor draws onthe essay "Shopping sa Conrupton in The Rae Compan iow Rigen pala ule Yok Rove, 20) 1 Walker Ueiamin, TB Aros Po rans, Howard Eilnd and Kerin McLaughlin (Cambie, MA: Harvsed University Pres, 9) Benin’ notes on the ade eed with he wef religions id, He ees othe smeadesas‘temples of commodity ceita”and chiatric th design ofthe tread 5 "Dream Houses arcde ar ave with le chpel 2 Seven Miles, Omarion a a ayo Lie (Thomand Oak, CA: Soe Jl Cort, Caving Nuendo Enon ‘ental Mes Washington, DC: Inland Pres, 206,949 and Actas Ara Beege, Shap" You Dp. Caer esa and Cosme Cin (Lata, MD: Row Liles soo) 4 For Ann Laver dscoston frelon and ts qulity of pein” see Ra Experi Reid ling Bh proche Sod of = ir and ter Speci Thing (Prisca, NF Princeton Univesity Prey 0, "2 On the mperacura asests acid withthe process and power of ‘onumption se David Chest, uth Fle Ragin and deri Popaar ulnar (erheley: University of California Pres, zsh i and exp. chap ssh | Py Cate a ig {9-75 “Plate Religion” onthe sopetatus aur of plc consumption in Toppernre markting ae averting 1 Thoass Hine Wont Tht! Hew Wel see She (es: ep, New York Harpe Peroni 203) nv, ‘tid 1. pp Je, The New Rl ae of Uke rie te Sappig Malar corm Caner (8 2 ed Ni: University Pres of Calera, 9, srs hi, Mircea inde, Te Sd adhe Pie Te Nee gon cas, Wil land Re Teak now ed, San Deg Harcourt Bree Joranovic, 98), ven, "Zep, New Rip ay, 80 1 Leigh Scheie Rice Th ging nd ling Aerie Hela, (Princeton, N} Pinon Unvesiy Pres. "8 George Rist, cong Dime rd Coty and Chon in und of Coin pr, La Ageless, 0) 15 Ti Bejsmin wees "he sade are sso pape ht have no ‘idee the dream? (Conrlte Lin) In Canoe Lip be rs to scales winter gees css pein ions lla eam ses ofthe ‘alle In Cone Li expe sine the arcade sb "ean ous” ae temple" Benin, dade Pros rns Eland ond MeL agin, 495% Son Buck-Morss wee, in patel, tina how “he Pah ‘Areas thts fined Besjin a thy dhe Serene Whose aera: is rapys’ beanie) eee pope these ufo athe ‘ders sopping mall Benin dines of vecng demas howe ea hese consuer dem hoses and any ther materi iets ofthe ne — from ai talloos to womens ins, Beas poy to Grendee ‘artons—asanicptios of iawn and sinataneuy. che fora ra ‘al pala eriqu” See Mor The Dati Seng ler Bono he ‘rns Pras (Cube, MA MIT Pres ph gg The quotation ane taken om Mons et mater” ove derpion fhe bok Lise Schr, Ameena be Mak he Cat Ble Red Capi Je feson, NC: Mead, se ‘5 Laurence R Moo, Sing Gt eri Ragin iv te Markco Ca- are New Ye: Orford Univerty Poe, "6 Jom Pall, Slaying ale ander Sane Place Puig odin Pa Reps etian (Bogen, Ore: Wi & Stock Publisher x] 109), ees cially ee fnodction snd p66, Staging he agape” J asp Rus Working, “Church Ownership 4 Mirce fr Mall Cia ‘ile, May 28, 09, hup/etileschiapoebanecom/oy-or28/news Jortioo88. shopping cotr-curc-bsinesachool "Jolin Ragin, "sembly Required,” Gury Feeeay 2005, mw _gurlianconk/busness/sos/e/ieonsumersaeshopping i. The pilogist Max Miller (8s}-1os) wrote that hile hee i no proof Herctius eer sell sid his cerily wound ike sme thing e might have sir more detailed dics, seis Malfod, Reif Gt ise of Thy 8 8th ed, Boson: Hagan Min, ish a6 “Sigmund Feu Te Far fn lao, ran. and Jes Strachey (New Yor: Newton, 9), 54-6 * Darel Ray, The od Vir He eign If Oa Live i Care (Bon er Spring KS IPC Pres, 20) 12 Alex Riley and Adam Boome, “Supstbrand' Saces Fase by Se, Religion, and Gasp” BBC Buna Now, May 204, wicca news| Possines-4698 1 Lawrence Witter, "Ameria Real Religion: Shopping” Haig or, December in, 109, wv buligtonpostum aveence wtner/americs ea ligion sopping ssi 24 Sharon Zukin oop. Pint of Pecan: Sw Slopping Chg Amricn Care New York: Roles, 209, 7 3¢ Rusell MeCatceon “Religion, re, and Dangerous Tings” Zora of she meric Ader of igi 9.1 (Ma 3004 7995. 26 Andrew Weigers, isd Emin Ceri Spy mod Undoing Anan Albany: Ste University of New York Press, 99 17 George Bush, yech t Oe Arprg, September 00. Se White out archive, pt songexbush whitehouse achivesg newest ovosfonageyhnl 28 See Lionel Tillig Sir an sei (Camids, MA Harvard Univesity Prev}, Badri, Saari, Pi osvand Ale ser Beil (New Yoo: Semtex) 8 David Lowenthal *Cooseret Ar Authentic ates?” font of Carl Proper yp 7905; ar hides, ni Fae, 2. 29 il Lane, “Reverend Billy: Preaching, Print, and Postini Flinerie” Dee Rei 4. (Spring 20357. 4. This descrip sean tom the writen acount vides, and sil phos of Rererend Billy ston 2 hifi web te. This ster pe ticular wa sourced a werrebillycomabt ho | Pipaer Cuba gon Joep Malis and Maro Chay, Wal-Mart Wore Dic in Back Fray Stamped” Lng Hen Ny. None oo weesay “como neas alae di bck day amped Sek 1 "Deal Samper Rigs Evens in Indi Since 0" ins Tine, Ferry, ty ethindste cme cones New [Deal sampeesstelins-tetn nics tenho 9 ethny Moron, 1 See Gd and Wal Mare Te Maing of Chin re acpi Cand, MA Harvard aieiy Pep. 4 Thy, 1} wrelonewscon/a//o/6iine church nde vewome-in sina 16 ne Ford Stevae“OMl Greats Wa Ma’ Terman ino Church Bsns” Ged Nr Ferry 5,205, ern geieldcom oewl- rene aars anormal "yee ‘Esc Bards sry “Local Wal Mart Converted am » Cho Sep tember ay som, ewinnonnenscom/nentapeo ssa oc Wi Martone ahr ain teen emote fom tn Hine Cos News web age whe i fv speed. Home ana your tote the reporters emits and ences he ony ne Church OF Berns Face pos, wor cna onChorchOFEleenspn fessaraes of Fru dcasion ofthe sly hoping exp nd Cia inthe United Sots se Deen Gros Te rng Brac Cg Sae Cnet Chinn Ne Yo Ox oe Prem) ‘For frher soll wok on cnossos bese pit posesions, taverns an apt acme of pon Ameren cle, ee Sean Melon, ris Meee iting Dre Conroy Cad St (New tk Oxi Usieray Pres) “Le Wor nd Dwi Paper, "Compaive Dying A Thee Feamevot? oma furs ayo br “4 Sec ww debormnoysng obec han {2 Seeedlronnonymausony/ soi hn. 4 Kathy Lotion, Op Te Gp of fin (ely: Univesity of lass, sn. ‘Tid, 2-5 pain ria Sopingad he ‘Bayopbon” | 6 45. Bids. +46 The Nobel lnree Pal Catzen proposed the en “Amthropacene” conference in 000 a8 1 way chance ur most recat Felis

    También podría gustarte