Vicarious Living, And Conspicuous Consumption By Diana Kendall: Article Analysis

In “Framing Class, Vicarious Living, and Conspicuous Consumption” Diana Kendall argues that mass media immensely affects our view of social classes which is not necessarily a real reflection of the situation. According to the author in media being rich is represented as something desirable and achievable through unnecessary consumerism promoted by wealthy celebrities, whereas being poor as something must be avoided and humiliating. As a result, people who excessively watch television tends to have more debts since they are spending more in the pursuit of having luxurious lives of the rich promoted by media. Kendall further elaborates on framing of different social classes in media. She points out that the poor are mostly depicted as people