| Mikes Rant | Davids Rant | Giancarlos Rant |
Oy! You can’t even walk down the street these days without being affected by Pop Culture and the media in some way. Its everywhere, on shoes, hats, cars, signs, clothes, even some dogs now are flaunting some brands on there fur. It’s insane; the consumerism of the developed world is out of control! People in Africa don’t even have pants that fit them, and I’m paying $120 for pants at American Eagle, $60 for a shirt at Stockholm, $70 For a hoodie at West 49, and then I’ve got to sport the latest pair of Nike shoes. We waste money on our selves just to have an “it” look, while people in other countries barley have enough funds to put food on the table. The Average North American spends about $1200 a year to clothe one child. Once that child reaches the age of 13, for guys the cost jumps to $1800 per year, if you’re a girl, congrats, your clothing cost just jumped to $2400 per year. This is all not including other trivial beauty things, like haircuts, makeup for girls (Yes, yes some guys do wear makeup to. Sit down and stop complaining MCR), bath products, and deodorants, like Axe, and TAG.
So who’s to blame for all this mass consumerism? The Media? The Corporation? Our Parents? Well it’s a combination of all of them. There are many sources of this problem (some might think that we are just be taken along for the ride, we are one of the main culprits.) The sudden rise of consumerism can be attributed to, believe it or not World War 2. After doing some research, I found that mass consumerism and advertising was first appearing AFTER the end of the second Great War. This, can be attributed to North America’s new found wealth, now the richest group of Countries in the world (Canada, United States of America) have some of the richest companies, these companies now start a mass marketing blitz to procure the new “American Dream”. After World War 2, the Americans suddenly had an urge to live luxurious lifestyles. This ushered in what many advertisers call “The Age of Persuasions”. This Golden Age of Marketing continues today, were Advertisers and the media have a firm grip on everything we do. As an example look at the (insert part of your house here) and count the amount of products with a brand-name on them. I guarantee you will find at least 5 brands. Consumerism is responsible for the rise of personalities such as Nicole Riche, and Paris Hilton. People who have no or almost no talent, who haven risen to popularity based on our lack of culture and self-esteem.