As my final project I would like to present a teaching unit of the social and historical idea of consumerization and how the media impacts and affects consumerization. I would like to discuss the historical and social views of advertising and how it is changed over the course of the 20th century into the 21st century. I am really interested in the idea of consumerization and I think it would be a good topic to discuss in its relationship to media. There are also many historical, social and technological advances that have come through media. I also like the idea of how this has shaped America in general and what is so famously called the American Dream.
The first topic within this unit that I would like to discuss with my class would be a brief history of advertisement and the media. When newspapers, journals, catalogues and perhaps even television first came out in the United States there was no such word or concept of media. The advertisements that were around in the beginning of the twentieth were quite different than what we would expect. Although there was such thing as mail and the telegraph, these things were not as common or widely dispersed as newspapers and magazines. During this part of class I would give a brief history of the first American newspapers and magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post that was first published in 1821 and is known as one of America’s first successful magazines. It was also published weekly until 1969 and after that only sporadically. For this topic I was thinking that I could have my students look through the archives online at http://saturdayeveningpost.com/Archive/. For instances, they have many covers from past and historical elections and I could have my students choose an older magazine or newspaper and compare it to one of the covers of a Time, US Weekly, or New York Times cover and see if they spot any similarities or differences and why this might be. Particularly the visuals and captions the students could analyze. The visuals could be what kind of shot is it, up-close, medium, long and what this does for the candidate. Also, what the candidate is doing, maybe the candidates from then and now are doing the same thing, again ask how and why this pose or action is so effective for covers of the magazines. Also, could ask why these covers are not effective in their purpose.
While either reading the captions or articles the students could discuss who the targeted audiences were, could also ask if there are any specific stereotypes of either a certain race or gender and if that stereotype still exists. Other questions that might be relevant to the captions include what was the point of the message? Do they think the message was conveyed properly why or why not?
These types of magazines would give a good historical background of what was shown in the media back in the days before television and the Internet. I would also have them, if possible, to go online and do the same type of exercise as above but with the sears catalogue. Having students look individually and as a class at some of the very first forms of advertisement through magazines and newspapers would give them a historical context of how the media got started.
Not only is the historical context important but also the social impact of these magazines and newspaper. When The Saturday Evening Post was first published many Americans were probably not well educated. Only middle and upper class citizens could read and write and even more importantly most minorities could not read or write. Given this background, many of the newspapers, magazines and catalogues were targeted for the middle and upper social classes in the United States. It is important to have students analyze these old materials and take into context who were the targeted audiences and how that has changed and even perhaps reversed in today’s society. On the other hand, upper class women could read and would go through catalogues such as the Sears Catalogues to choose which products, clothing, and other household items that the family might need.
A good idea for this type of analyzing would have the students break up into groups and each group analyze who would and who would not read what newspapers, magazines or catalogues. Since these were the only forms of media it would be important to understand the cultural and social context of how and to whom the media was being distributed to during these early, pioneer days of the media.
The years leading up to and after the First World War are called the New Era. There were many new ideas and cultural changes taking place in many American homes and businesses. In the economic and business world there were a few changing factors that had an enormous impact on consumerization. First of all there was a new standardized mass production, higher production meant higher wages and there was more demand for consumer goods. The war also stimulated a need for numerous older industries including steel and petroleum and also for new industries like plastic. The worker productivity increased which led to more money in the hands of Americans to become better consumers.
The years after the First World War there were many cultural changes occurring in the United States. The idea of consumption was not all that new. In 1898, an economist by the name of Thorstein Veblen coined the term “conspicuous consumption” in his book The Theory of the Leisure Class. However, the 1920s was the time period that many of the new technological advances were made available to many middle class households for the first time. Electric appliances such as vacuum cleaners, toasters, washing machines and refrigerators became available for women to purchase. Henceforth women became one of America’s greatest consumers. Such things were no longer classified as luxuries but rather as necessities.
The automobile industry had the greatest mass production rates during this time period. With all of these consumer good becoming available for the mass public there was the novel idea of credit however back in the 1920s it was called the installment plan, in which case many Americans could purchase consumer good thus becoming better consumers. Henry Ford did not invent the automobile but he profited heavily from it and with the use of mass production he become a very powerful man in the business and cultural world. Ford once said the very controversial, “ Americans can have any kind of car they want, and any color they want, as long as it’s a Ford and as long as it’s Black.” Henry Ford was a great man and perhaps one of the most important men during the 1920s, however like many high-end businessmen he was at the center of much controversy during his time. His controversy dealt with his newspaper and the anti-Semitic articles. This goes to show that even the famous businessmen who are in the spotlight can be at the center of such debate in the public eye. Although, the media press was not as bad as it would be today. Along with Henry Ford’s controversial newspaper, there was also a case of two Italian immigrants, Ferdinando Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. These two Italian immigrants were accused and found guilty of robbery and murder. Like many publicized murder trials today, this controversial case was the cover of the newspapers and radios. When Sacco and Vanzatti were executed in Massachusetts in August 1927 there was plenty of protests and mixed feeling throughout the United States and on an international level as well. The students could research this trial or another trial and compare it to one of today’s controversial trials or dramas in the media and report the similarities and differences, including how the media was used and what role did it play and if there were any biases. The next step in the phenomena of media and consumerization deals with the radio, telephone, the early years of television, and all electric record players and radio phonographs. All of these things increased consumerization in different types of media. The telephone was invented in 1876 and the radio in 1895. The telephone did not become a major player in the role of the media until the 1980s. With the industrial revolution and more specifically with the automobile industry the idea of mass production, which is at the core of consumerization began its impact on the American cultural. The idea of mass production has been around in other parts of the world centuries early with the invention of the printing press. One of the most popular forms of media came through electric record players and the radio.
The radio was first used for navigation and communication in the military and government branches but then it spread to businesses and the public in general. In the beginning, when radio was first introduced direct selling of products was not allowed on the radio. One of the first acclaimed radio advertisements came from the Queensboro Corporation in New York City in 1922. It was on the radio station WEAF that was owned by AT&T. The early career start of AT&T and the radio is very interesting especially since AT&T was established as a government sanctioned monopoly in 1913. I could ask the class if they thought this type of monopoly could still exist today? Why or why not? How do you think this would affect its power and biases over the media?
Students could research major news/radio corporation such as Time Warner, Disney, the News Corporation and Viacom. The students would watch a program on the same topic and see if they notice any biases or differences within the different programs. The could write about how and why they think these difference occurred and what factors played into considerations and if they did not notice any differences what factors should be considered. As a project the students could choose a corporation and do a presentation or paper about the different corporations for example Clear Channel and Viacom may have different agendas in terms of who and what they are presenting for the mass audience.
Along with this would be the ideological agendas that were most prominent back when AT&T were first starting in the 1920s. The students could dig into questions such as, what was the social and historical context? How did world war one play into mass production and consumption? What were the major products that were in mass production i.e. cars, radios etc? Are they the same products as today? The years after the end of world war one and before U.S. involvement in world war two, how could one describe mass production and consumption? These concepts were still very new during this time period however; there was a large increase in mass production and with an increase in population especially in rural areas. Also, as social issues came to rise such as women’s rights, much of the advertising and products took on a different and wider audience. During this period the United States was one of the top in the world in terms of technological advances and with these advances more products become more available to people whom would earlier in time would not have gotten.
It was also at this time that the infamous Black Tuesday occurred and put mass production on a screeching halt. During the Great Depression many industries suffered and had to produce massive lay offs. Many businesses were shut down and the economic outlook was not good for the United States. Even with Roosevelt’s work with the New Deal, many people became homeless and were force to sell their goods lower than what it was worth. This depression led up through world war two. During and after world war two mass production and consumption began again. The war helped get the economy and mass production starting again. Many things changed with the Second World War including, higher taxes, labor unions, military draft along with the role of women in the workforce. The war promoted civilian support and the rise of patriotism. Since mass production was a downward slope, the United States government began rationing. Among the rations were tires, typewriters, sugar, gasoline and many other products. Many citizens who were once large spenders and consumers were now put on a tight budget. Many women whose husbands were at war had to find some way to support their family and they did so by taking over many temporary factory jobs especially in the automobile industry.
This war was the first time in which there was a large and/or propaganda influencing the public’s view. There was no direct censorship of the radio, newspapers and magazines but movie scripts did have to be pre-approved. Government agencies and major and local businesses asked Americans to boost production at their work and at their home. There were however, some cartoon characters that were directed to be more patriotic than one might expect. Some were openly anti-German and Japanese. A prime example of this is the Donald Duck cartoon entitled “ Der Fuehrer’s Face” which is supposedly an anti-Nazi cartoon. Another surprising media propaganda during the war was the Disney short film called “ Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi.” These are just two popular media cartoons representing the Nazis. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASW3UCc17AI&feature=related This is the Walt Disney’s short film.
Like many celebrities today who decide to announce their political beliefs to the rest of the country, Hollywood celebrities during this time period did the same thing. However, during this war there was much more support for U.S. involvement. Hollywood pursued an active role within the public to support the war. In 1936 the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League was formed with such stars joining as Dorothy Parker, Donald Ogden Stewart and Fritz Lang. This group, although was put out in 1942 promoted anti-Nazi propaganda. This organization also held rallies at the Shrine Auditorium. I was thinking that the students could research different American propaganda. There would be much to research but a lot of it is very interesting and is not normally talked about when one discusses the atrocities that occurred during this war. They could look into cartoons, movies, rallies, and posters and compare it to how Americans and Hollywood today are dealing with Iraq and the war on terrorism. It would be interesting to compare someone like Michael Moore to a Fritz Lang and compare the different types of movies and propaganda they promote. Movies such as The Best Years of Our Lives became very popular and focused on life after the war.
It is at this point in time where the media really starts to play a major role in not only popular culture, but also social and political aspects of the American life. Stereotypes have been around for many years but it was the years right after the Second World War that pressure of the perfect “Leave it to Beaver” family took over the American household. There was a rise of the idealized suburban family. The stereotypical of husband and wife took over, the wife would stay home and cook and clean while the father worked at the office 9-5. This shows the typical middle-class American family. The United States on social and cultural level turned to the conservative lifestyle, which lead to devastating chaos in the following decade. It was also during this time period known as the baby boomer time, more and more people were starting to have families.
The 1960s was perhaps the most disorderly, muddled time period that the United States has ever seen. There was social unrest in every aspect of the American culture. The enormous issues included the Civil Rights Movement, women’s rights movement, Vietnam War and later the biggest political scandal Watergate. This time period itself could have its own teaching unit and with the media it is very hard to go into depth with how the media portrayed all of these events. What I would do with my class in this situation would allow them to choose a topic of interest or a stereotype, for example the stereotype of a hippie or the Civil Rights Movement and have them look for youtube clips or images of how these things were portrayed in the media. Asking questions such as who is the targeted audience? What are the media biases? Did these media biases change as a result of who was producing the product? How did this affect the United States as a country? How was Hollywood involved? What was the reaction to the war, Civil Rights Movement, and to other issues facing America? How can you relate these issues to today’s societies? Is the criticism that was received far?
During this time of political upheaval there were many technological advances as well. The United States was in a space race with the Soviet Union. The United States had won this race by putting the first man on the moon in 1969. Also the advancement of computers was starting, although computers and the idea of computers had been around for a while computers were becoming more and more capable of doing different things and in 1969 there was the first Internet called ARPAnet. Later on in 1971 the first floppy disk came out. This technological progress led to consumer spending, which was on a rise postwar. It would be interesting to have the students each choose something that was invented or advanced during this time period and see how it was advertised and sold to the public.
This decade set the United States into a cultural frenzy during the 1970s. The Watergate Scandal put a huge hole of distrust with Americans when it came to their own government. Besides the Watergate Scandal that was within the government, 1973 marked a time period in which there was an oil crisis. The United States supported Israeli troops rather than Arab troops which led to the United States and other western countries getting cut off with their oil supply. The United States was in big trouble considering alternative resources had not been that well investigated. Although the shortage of because of political disagreement, the impact of this crisis shows how much oil and what large consumers of oil Americans are.
The seventies also brought about different technological advances and consumer goods. Due to the energy crisis the auto industry had to change the way the produced their cars therefore many automobiles become more fuel efficient, smaller and made out of different material. Consumerization took off and never looked back, commercials for every product available at this time period were running on every channel. By this time most Americans had a television in their household. Once again, things that were once luxuries to the upper class were not made available to the general mass of the American population. Industries and businesses figured out that they could become much more profitable by targeting mass audiences rather than just the rich. A good idea for this section of history would be to have students compare commercials done in the fifties to ones produced in the seventies. Such questions could include how did advertising adjust to the Civil Rights and feminist movements? Are there certain products targeted to certain audiences? In such cases of feminism, how has feminism changed in terms of how it is portrayed in the media from then to now?
Another key aspect of the seventies was the introduction of one of today two most competitive and popular corporations Microsoft and Apple. Microsoft was founded in 1975 while Apple was founded in 1976. However, Microsoft computers and such was the leading and dominating business during the mid-eighties. They have been widely criticized for their business tactics as a result. It is hard to pin point exact details of the advertising companies from this time period up till the present. There are many representations and stereotypes in the media. With Ronald Regan as president the United States had a smaller government, lower taxes and overall the economy faired out well. Commercialism and consumerization also increased. Here is the youtube link to one of the first Apple Computer commercials http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtsvrUqW7_Q.
The concept and use of the credit card has been around since the 1920s but the use of credit cards skyrocketed in throughout the 1960s and throughout the seventies and eighties. In the 1960s more and more companies began offering credit cards therefore in the mid-seventies the United States Congress began putting restrictions and regulations on the credit card industry. However, in the 1996 court case Smiley vs. Citibank, the United States sided with the credit card company which lifted the amount of late fees a credit card company could charge.
The business and technological corporations over the last thirty or so years have changed their direction especially with technological gadgets such as computers and video games. With the massive increase in technology and its abilities corporations are targeting the mass audiences and their home lifestyle. Over the latter twenty years or so the advertisement industry has taken control over what is popular in today’s society and what is not. With the new expansion of the Internet with such things as blogs and facebook people are able to communicate much more rapidly and efficiently. Today’s society contains many different facets of life. There is a lot more expansion of what is considered popular and what is not depending on your style. Stereotypes have increased. Since there is such a wide variety of advertising and technology that is available for Americans today it would be hard to give an accurate and descriptive history of how far society has come.
For this last time period I would like to have my students examine commercials, and/or a topic that they find appealing and compare with how it looked in the 1940s and 1950s. How are things similar and how are they different? What is interesting? What do you think the media will look like in twenty years from now?
My goal of this entire teaching lesson was to have the students learn about the history of technology and the media, especially since it is not very often taught in school. Much propaganda from earlier in the century would be deemed inappropriate in today’s standards. Also for the students to take a look at whom, how and why the media industry is the way it is, the cultural background and history is key to understanding this. Consumerization is becoming more and more of an issue especially in oil and the automobile industries
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