The consumer society: Has the signification of the product become more important than its functionality?

... The consumer society: Has the signification of the product become more important than its functionality? This paper aims to provide an explanation for the consumption of certain commodities for their signification, rather than their function. To illustrate the importance of commodities, the emergence of football as a middle class spectator sport will be analysed. This essay will try to illustrate what the processes are behind the changes in football spectatorship, as in recent years football crowds have become more diverse in relation to their class. Typical views surrounding the influence of the middle classes within football spectatorship, has centred on economic reasons stating that the working classes were effectively 'priced out of the market'. However, through the work of Baudrillard a different more subtle interpretation can be illustrated. This view shows that working class values have changed, and as a consequence of the consumer society, the working classes ultimately consume commodities

want to read more? →