The Effect Of Advertising On Men As Consumers From 1880-1930 And Its Research Paper

The Effect Of Advertising On Men As Consumers From 1880-1930 And Its Impact On American Culture - Research Paper Example â€Å"Consumption has long been central to American identity, culture, economic development and politics† (Glickman 1), and it has been termed as the national pastime of the United States. Consumerism or the various ideologies and movements built around consumption forms the core of economics and politics. America is known as a ‘consumer society’, this concept includes material wealth, infrastructure, an economy dominated by mass production and mass consumption, political factors and the country’s national identity. It is essential to study the male consumer to break the association of consumerism and consumption with women and feminity which distorts history’s perspective of gendered consumerism. The Role of Men in Consumerism and Advertising Swiencicki (p.238) states that â€Å"American men consumed about twice as many recreational and leisure goods as women†, spending about 30 percent of the family’s income for this purpose. Further, male consumption and consumerism are neither marginal nor dependent on women. Late-Victorian, non-rural white men appear to have spent a great deal of free time consuming numerous goods and services. However, it would be inaccurate to consider either men or women as the primary consumers. Men are primary consumers of commercialized leisure, entertainment, and recreation; while women are primary consumers of domestic and family goods (Swiencicki 238). ... The Role of Men in Consumerism and Advertising Swiencicki (p.238) states that â€Å"American men consumed about twice as many recreational and leisure goods as women†, spending about 30 percent of the family’s income for this purpose. Further, male consumption and consumerism are neither marginal nor dependent on women. Late-Victorian, non-rural white men appear to have spent a great deal of free time consuming numerous goods and services. However, it would be inaccurate to consider either men or women as the primary consumers. Men are primary consumers of commercialized leisure, entertainment, and recreation; while women are primary consumers of domestic and family goods (Swiencicki 238). According to Heilmann & Beetham (pp.127-128), women are responsible for 75 percent of purchases, therefore advertising should be subtly modified to motivate women to buy. Women are understood as responsive to visual and emotional appeal. Hence advertisements aimed to offer a positive image of women which they would like to identify with. For example, using New Woman imagery, a series of advertisements for brandy run in BIZ in 1923 featured women several times larger than the men in the picture. These advertisements with an underlying flirtatiousness portrayed men as dependent on women who were stronger than them, and also appeared reassuring. While the woman is depicted as posing coquettishly, the tiny man pleads with her to allow him to have some of the brandy she holds in a bottle behind her back. Similarly, a robin in a top hat perches on a woman’s hand to drink the brandy she holds. On the other hand, Swiencicki (p.214) argues that â€Å"pre-Depression, white men consumed many commodities that were not purchased by women†. Many if not most men’s leisure and social

British Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

British Studies - Essay Example I have particularly concentrated on material I found and consulted in the Maritime London Gallery (level 1 to level 3) Neptune Court) of the National Maritime Museum, where it is described in depth regarding the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th Centuries as well as the fishing trade and exploration conquests of the British Empire during that period. The Cutty Sark Museum on the other hand is solely devoted to this fabulous clipper which became world famous and brought Britain laurels both in terms of trade as well as a living example of the perfection of the shipbuilding efficiency of the British shipyards in that time. The British Empire or Pax Britanica as it was called after the Waterloo Battle in 1815, was led towards an explosion of trade by the sea. There were many factors that influenced the growth of trade in the British Empire during 18th and 19th Century. The most important was that during that period the British ruled the seas by controlling the majority of the key naval trade navigational routes and thereby enjoying total sea monopoly; which was also the main trade highway of the period. The British Empire’s control was so powerful that it was even able to control China from the outside without any actual administrational or colonial involvement. British merchant ships were trading on a regular basis with North America and West Indies (after the acquisition on Virginia in 1607 and Barbados in 1625) and by the end of the 17th century , a huge number of people (apprx 350,000) managed to emigrate across the Atlantic Ocean with these very ships. These people base helped to propagate and facilitate new markets for trade and commerce from England. In order to cope up, the British Empire became the leading shipyard industry in the world. (National Maritime Museum) This continued to be so till mid 20th century when the Asiatic shipyards took over by producing