Analysis Of Benoit Denizet-Lewis Connection To Consumer Culture

Without even noticing, consumers can be. Majority of the people are already apart of consumer culture. Producers entwine consumers in their webs of persuasion; they are already cult-like members. Kalle Lasn is a founder and journalist who wrote “The Cult you’re in” a chapter from Culture Jam: How to Reverse America’s Suicidal Consumer Binge- and Why We Must. In Lasn’s essay, he explains that people have lost their identity due to consumer culture and he urges readers to resist the influence before they lose themselves. Benoit Denizet-Lewis is a writer that studies suicide in teen life and he thinks that teen suicide has some connection to consumer culture. In the article from an online magazine called Salon.com, “The Man behind Abercrombie
& Fitch,” Lewis explains Abercrombie’ marketing strategies and the influence the brand has on teens. Lewis’s article reflects Lasn’s arguments about the atmosphere being comfortable, consumers being brainwashed into roles they did not consciously choose, consumer culture placing structural institutions on its members, dreaming the same dream, and people at a young age are recruited into a metaphorical cult.
Lewis could concur with Lasn’s argument of how effective recruitment was amongst people at a young age.
Lasn claims:
A long time ago, without even realizing it, just about all of us were recruited into a cult. At some indeterminate moment, maybe when we were feeling particularly adrift or vulnerable, a cult member showed up and made a beautiful presentation. “‘I believe I have something to ease your pain.’” She made us feel welcomed. We understood she was offering something to give life meaning
(378). Lasn thinks recruitment of majority of the people at a young age trapped them into the consumer maze. An age or moment where we were not capable to consider the decision that, we will have to live with. The recruiters persuaded us with temporary happiness that made us feel welcomed. They gave us meaning to our, apparently, dull meaningless life. Lewis explains Abercrombie targeted demographics, “For the kids there’s Abercrombie, aimed at middle students who want to look like their cool older siblings. For high students there is Hollister, a wildly popular surf-inspired look for ‘“energetic and outgoing guys and girls’” that has quickly become the brand of choice for Mid-western teens who wish they lived in Laguna Beach, California. When the Hollister kids head off to college, Jefferies has a brand- the preppy and collegiate Abercrombie & Fitch”(366). Lewis reveals the company targeted demographics. Their strategies seem like a cycle. They start from pre-teen ages to adult years. According to Lasn, the recruiters of the consumer cult lured many people because of American consumers have the inability to think due to their vulnerable state. At that age, the general population wanted to establish an identity and what the recruiter was offering was an easy solution for one. Lewis could agree with Lasn because A&F appealed to children who did not establish an identity yet. A&F first targeted kids who wanted to be like their older siblings. Then as the kids transitioned to teens, they wanted to be like the attractive meatheads or the cute bikini models.
Lewis satisfies Lasn’s argument about the majority of the people dream the same dream by providing report of kids who consciously choose to lose their identity. Lasn believes “Yet the bulk of the population is dreaming the same dream. It’s a dream of wealth, power, fame, plenty of sex, and exciting recreational opportunities” (380). Lasn believes most people dream the same dream; the traditional American dream is outdated. Most dream of considerably the life of a celebrity. Lewis mentions Emma Blackman once told him, ‘“There are kids starving themselves so they can be the ‘Abercrombie girl,’ and there are guys who think they aren’t worthy if they don’t look exactly like the guys on the wall”’ (371). A&F has so much influence on children life. Girls want to be skinny and the guys want to have masculinity. They would do anything to become a part of the influential involvement. They consciously choose to lose their identity to live their dream, being an ‘Abercrombie girl or boy.’ Lewis satisfies Lasn’s argument about the majority of the people dream the same dream. Although the dream does not have to be wealth, fame, and power; most people dream of acceptance, like the children who are starving themselves to be a part of the brand. Lewis could support Lasn assertions about the “cult-like” nature of consumer culture because of the detailed analysis of A&F culture.
Lasn exemplifies how people are recruited into roles they did not consciously choose. Lasn believes, “We wear uniform- not white robes but, let’s say, Tommy Hilfiger jackets and Airwalk sneakers. We have been recruited into roles and behavior patterns we did not consciously choose” (378). Lasn believes metaphorical cult members are wearing popular brands, not traditional cult clothing, but brands that are advertised or influenced by others. According to Lasn, we have been recruited into roles we did not consciously choose for ourselves. Lewis points out, “Just about everyone at A&F headquarters wears flip flops, torn Abercrombie jeans, and either a polo shirt or a sweater from Abercrombie or Hollister, Jefferies brand aimed at high school students”(365). Considerably, A&F would be considered a cult. Everyone is forced to wear the same shoes and clothes. If they were not forced then there would be a variation in the A&F uniform. Lasn mentions, that cult-like members wear the same uniform. The members have been recruited into a mentality they did not choose. In comparison to Lasn, A&F wears a uniform that was not optional. Employees have been recruited to roles and behavior patterns they did not consciously
choose.
Lewis could support Lasn’s arguments because Lewis describes A&F as a place that does not seem un-Moonielike. Lasn makes a distinction between the feeling of independence and the rules. Lasn mentions, “The atmosphere is quite un-Moonielike. We are free to roam and recreate. No one seems to be forcing us to do anything we don’t want to do. In fact, we feel privileged to be here. The rules don’t seem oppressive. But make no mistake: There are rules” (378). Lasn emphasized the comfort the consumer culture creates for its members. The ambience of the culture he considers a cult is supposedly free and unrestricted. With that feeling, Lasn believes, one becomes so welcome that they feel privileged- they belong here. The rules of the metaphorical cult do not seem overwhelming, but there are still rules to a place that is supposed to feel free. It is a contradiction; a place that feels free, but still has rules. Lewis acknowledges:
The outdoorsy, summer camp feel of the place is accentuated by a treehouse conference room, barnlike buildings and sheds with gridded windows, and a plethora of wooden decks and porches. But the campus also feels oddly urban-and, at times, stark and un-welcoming. The pallid, neo-industrial two-story buildings are built around a winding cement road, reminding employees that this is a workplace, after all (365).
Lewis describes the A&F atmosphere. It feels like a summer camp, a place Lasn would agree where we are “free to roam and recreate.” One might feel privileged to work there because only select groups are allowed to work there, attractive people. However, the welcoming atmosphere is conflicted by the appearance of the buildings; it is like a reminder that it is still a workplace. Lasn could agree that the appearance is like an unspoken reminder of a rule to keep employees or to his understanding, cult members, under control.