TASTE, CLASS, COMMODITY

MK. Advertising & Consumer Culture

TASTE
While

taste is often understood as a biological concept, it can also be reasonably studied as a social or cultural phenomenon. Taste is about drawing distinctions between things such as styles, manners, consumer goods and works of art. Social inquiry of taste is about the human ability to judge what is beautiful, good and proper. Social and cultural phenomena concerning taste are closely associated to social relations and dynamics between people.

IMMANUEL KANT ON TASTE

Critique of Judgment: In his aesthetic philosophy, Kant denies any standard of a good taste Beauty is not a property of any object, but an aesthetic judgment based on a subjective feeling Taste is both personal and beyond reasoning, and therefore disputing over matters of taste never reaches any universality.

PIERRE BOURDIEU ON TASTE

Distinction:

A Social Critique of Judgment The legitimate taste of the society is the taste of the ruling class He rejects the idea of genuine good taste, as the legitimate taste is merely a class taste. Distinctions are never simply statements of equal difference: they entail claims to authority, authenticity, and the presumed inferiority of others Akses thd cultural capital menentukan selera seseorang Tdk semua orang memiliki akses thd cultural capital

PIERRE BOURDIEU ON TASTE2

Cultural

capital consists of accumulated knowledge and competence for making cultural distinctions. To possess cultural capital is a potential advantage for social action, providing access to education credentials, occupations and social affiliation The upper-class taste is characterized by refined and subtle distinctions, and it places intrinsic value on aesthetic experience

PIERRE BOURDIEU ON TASTE3

This

particular kind of taste was appreciated as the legitimate basis for good taste in society Consequently, members of the middle classes appeared to practice cultural goodwill in emulating the high-class manners and lifestyles.

PIERRE BOURDIEU ON TASTE4

The

taste of the middle classes is not defined as much by authentic appreciation for aesthetics as by a desire to compete in social status. In contrast, the popular taste of the working classes is defined by an imperative for choosing the necessary. Not much importance is placed on aesthetics

TASTE & CLASS

In

expressing and displaying taste through various everyday actions, people reveal much information about their positions in social hierarchies. People may strategically employ distinctions of taste as resources in maintaining and redefining their social status People desire to distinguish themselves from those with lower status in the social hierarchy and, secondly, that people will imitate those in higher positions.

GEORG SIMMEL ON FASHION

Members

of the upper classes are inclined to signal their superiority, and they act as the initiators of new trends. But upper-class taste is soon imitated by the middle classes. As goods, appearances, manners etc. conceived as high-class status markers become popular enough, they lose their function to differentiate. So, the upper classes have to originate yet another stylistic innovations

THORSTEIN VEBLEN ON LEISURE CLASS

He

argues that distancing oneself from hardships of productive labor has always been the conclusive sign of high social status. To demonstrate non-productivity, members of the so called leisure class waste conspicuously both time and goods. The lower social stratum are trying their best to imitate the non-productive lifestyle of the upper classes, even though they do not really have means for catching up

COMMODITY AESTHETICS
The

concept of aesthetics has been the interest of philosophers such as Plato, Hume, & Kant, who understood aesthetics as something pure and searched the essence of beauty, or, the ontology of aesthetics. Di era masy konsumen, komoditas pun dikatakan memiliki estetikanya sendiri Komoditas jg dianggap sbg produk yg berestetika (ingat konsep Marx ttg use & exchange value, serta konsep Baudrillard ttg sign value)

COMMODITY AESTHETICS2
Konsumsi thd barang/ produk lantas dinilai sbg tindakan yg berestetika Kemampuan utk membedakan produk yg dianggap berestetika dan yg tdk lantas erat dikaitkan dg kelas sosial Hanya kelas sosial tertentu yg dianggap pny selera yg baik, krn mampu mengkonsumsi produk2 yg pny estetika.

PERTANYAAN UNTUK DISKUSI

Apa yang anda pahami tentang konsep anti konsumerisme? Mengapa hal ini muncul pada masyarakat moderen? Apa saja yang anda ketahui tentang gerakan anti konsumerisme? Berikan contoh2 kongkrit tentang berbagai gerakan anti konsumerisme & apa saja yang mereka lakukan? Apa yang anda pahami tentang konsep sub-kultur (sub-culture)? Coba jelaskan dengan contoh kongkrit kelompok sub-kultur yang ada di masyarakat. Adakah keterkaitan antara sub-kultur dan budaya konsumen? Jelaskan pemahaman anda?