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More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editionsCute, Quaint, Hungry, and Romantic: The Aesthetics of Consumerismby Daniel Harris
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Why has the ring of the telephone become a beep? What ever happened to the bumpers and fenders of cars? Why do food commercials never mention hunger?In this encyclopedia of low-brow aesthetics, Daniel Harris concentrates on the nuances of non-art, the uses of the useless, the politics of product design and advertising. We learn how advertisers exaggerate our sensual responses to eating, how close-up nature photography exaggerates the accessibility of the natural world, and how the mutated physiology of dolls invites our pity and affection.In studying its aesthetics, we find consumerism instills disappointment rather than gratification, convincing us that our lives are deficient and wanting. If we are what we buy, then we must buy in order to be. Book News Annotation:From Harris' (freelance writer, no university affiliation)
introduction: "This psychic voyage into the aesthetic unconsciousness
places the refuse of consumerism under a microscope and concentrates
on minutiae, on the uses of the useless, the significance of the
insignificant.... Each chapter defines one broad principle that
governs the appearance of popular culture, of movies and Saturday
morning cartoons, of posh designer clothing stores on Madison Avenue
and Piggly Wigglys in suburban Tallahassee malls. The aesthetic road
map that emerges, while admittedly incomplete and based on my own
idiosyncratic interests, delves into the ways in which the ostensibly
purposeless appearance of consumerist debris affects us
psychologically, even if it serves no pragmatic function..." No
index. No bibliography.
Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Synopsis:The author of "The Rise and Fall of Gay Culture" presents a psychic voyage into the aesthetic unconscious of the consumer, examining the broad principles that govern the appearance of popular culture, from cuteness to quaintness, coolness to cleanness, the natural to the futuristic. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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Related SubjectsHistory and Social Science » American Studies » Popular Culture
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