Transconsumerism and Transdisciplinarity

TRANSCONSUMERISM

s£X ORGASM

YOU CAN BUY , BUT YOU CAN’T OWN AN

H. BEDDER

FRONT COVER: Club 2000, Harriet Bedder edit, 2015 INSIDE FRONT COVER: Wil Fry, ‘Expensive Jacket’ (A/W 2013) INSIDE BACK COVER: Banksy, ‘Sorry the Lifestyle You Ordered is Currently Out of Stock’, Canary Wharf, 2011

This book was written, designed and developed by Harriet Bedder.

With special thanks to everyone who has supported me, given me great feedback and been excellent guinea pigs with the content of this book.

All rights reserved. For educational purposes only.

You Can Buy Sex, You Can’t Own an Orgasm is a collection of research and both developed and curated supporting image for MA Graphic Design and has no commercial value.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission from the publishers. © 2015 MA Graphic Design, University for the Creative Arts @ Epsom. The views expressed in You Can Buy Sex, You Can’t Own an Orgasm is that of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the course, its staff or the University of the Creative Arts @ Epsom these parties cannot be held responsible for them.

TRANSCONSUMERISM YOU CAN BUY SEX, BUT YOU CAN’T OWN AN ORGASM

01 02 FOREWORD

THE INSTABILITY OF CONSUMERISM AND HOW THE BRAND TRIGGERED IDENTITY CRISES

TRANSCONSUMERISM AND TRANSDISCIPLINARITY

08

12

46

03 04 05 THE UNIVERSAL EPIDEMIC OF CULTURE LOSS

THE BENEFITS OF COLLABORATIVE CONSUMPTION AND THE SEARCH FOR GLOBAL HAPPINESS

TRANSCONSUMERISM (ii)

62

94

110

– Ralph W. Sockman

“

Our growth depends not on how many experiences we

DEVOUR but on how many we digest

R E WOR D

Moving through and beyond what is considered to be the traditional ‘consumerist’, we enter the age of the ‘transconsumerist’. We could understand the idea of being a ‘trans’ consumerist as someone who no longer aspires to solely obtain physical and material possessions to define their identity, but instead as someone who takes into account the unsustainability of consumerism and aims to acquire transient or enduring and invested possessions around these themes. The disposability of fast fashion, technology and cars is prominent in consumerist culture; the idea that everyone is striving to own the best of each aspect of possession at any given time. i.e. it’s not enough to have settled for the latest designer handbag, the aim is once acquiring the handbag of the ‘now’ you begin to immediately aim to acquire the ‘next’, the same applies for clothing and technology.

By being a transconsumerist, the idea of ownership as the sole basis of defining identity is rejected and instead replaced by selective consumption; constructed with the idea of borrowing, experiences, the acquisition of knowledge (learning) and investment in durable, quality possessions.

In doing so, the key problems associated with passive consumerism - the many issues under the banner of ‘Liberal Concerns’ – (climate change, exploitation of human rights and the violence and conflict caused by unequal income distribution) are more likely to be considered replaced by an engaged awareness of these problems and the implementation of temporary ownership.

Instead of amassing a repertoire of possessions that form a collection of things that not only identify you as a consumer, and as an individual, it creates a chameleon identity that changes so constantly that you can no longer be identified by it, because technically you don’t own it, and therefore it cannot define you. It is exhilarating and sustainable; two things that consumerism tends not to be.

For example, some people may save money for a year to buy the latest handbag, but the transconsumerist rents their handbags at a cheaper price from an online shop as and when it suits them.

The peer-to-peer sharing economy has changed the landscape of consumption. Instead of owning a luxury second holiday property following years of hard work and saving, the transconsumerist rents a property from a likeminded peer through a website such as AirBnb - designed to fill a designated house or apartment in the country/city of choice whilst the legal owner is away. Drivy and Buzzcar are other examples of this, allowing peers to sign up and ask to use another’s car when not in use, billable by the hour or day and insured through the company.

This is not to be confused with a money saving technique as it allows the user to travel through life without definable possessions, or responsibility

for consumer goods when they are not in use and not needed.

So what is the identity of the transconsumerist built upon, if they have a select few quality possessions to define them? Does this freedom let the individual become more cultured - if they can ‘borrow’ property worldwide? Does it make them more illusive? And does this matter? If they only ever rent films or television box sets, is there no longer a need to outwardly show their passions and interests through ownership? Or does it prove a more holistic interest in everything? Perhaps it confuses their identity more due to their ever-changing nature.

Transconsumerism does not outwardly affect any of these things; instead it allows the experience to play a more important role in the life of consumerism than possession. This touches on Derrida’s principle of ‘free play’ – or interplay - replacing the tyranny of Capitalism with the more Transdisciplinary principles of borrowing, experiencing, sharing, art culture, The Slow Movement etc. The experience of the spaces between; unfounded, not fixed and therefore, expendable.

Geir Berthelseni created The World Institute of Slowness - later known as The Slow Movement - as a rejection of the fast life, where we rush to get things done and don’t savour the moments they comprise of, or those in between. The movement highlights the importance of having reflection and togetherness in our lives, resulting in a greater sense of awareness and appreciation of the everyday. The movement ranges from food to fashion and rejects disposable consumerism. It focuses on localism, socialism and non-hierarchy of business. Transconsumerism can be seen as the umbrella discipline in response to a speeded up culture of Capitalism and The Slow Movement among its values by using Marxist principles as a tool to examine the structures of society.

Consumerist society holds to the ‘I shop therefore I am’ adage used by Barbara Kruger – a witty pun on the original Descartes’ phrase translated from Latin, ‘I think therefore I am’, highlighting how it has become the thing that defines each of us; to shop and consume, as natural as fundamental human functions. Pictures and words can be manipulated to form propaganda and have the ability to shape who we are and who we aren’t. We see an estimated thousand adverts a dayii, making escaping consumerism in moderation near impossible when we’re being constantly persuaded to spend.

Advertising is Capitalism’s propaganda. If we are to begin to acknowledge the role of advertising influence in our everyday life, and people were to become reluctant to be identified or defined by their possessions, this may change Kruger’s adage to ‘I do not shop, therefore I am not’.

9

01 02 03 0405 04 05 06 0708 07 0809 09 1011 10 11 12 1314 13 1415 15

/ THE INSTABILITY OF CONSUMERISM AND HOW THE BRAND TRIGGERED IDENTITY CRISES

“In the almost complete absence of other sustained macro-political and social narratives - concern about global climate change notwithstanding - the pursuit of the ‘good life’ through practices of what is known as ‘consumerism’ has become one of the dominant global social forces, cutting across differences of religion, class, gender, ethnicity and nationality. It is the other side of the dominant ideology of market globalism and is central to what Manfred Steger calls the ‘global imaginary’.”

j

- Globalisation and Culture, Vol. 3, 2010 PAUL JAMES

01 Social media has been a fundamentally changed and increased the quantity and speed of information access, it has also had a vast detriment on the advancement of our individual social development. Comedian and writer, Louis C.K., said on an episode of popular American t e l e v i s i o n p r o g r a m m e C o n a n , ‘ E v e r y t h i n g ’s amazing but nobody’s happy’. The benefits of Capitalism shattering, C.K. suggests, would be a short-term advantage for a generation that fosters impatience. We assume that technology should be as advanced as human thought and that the world is constantly in debt to us, because of being constantly sold products that heightens this exp ec t at i o n an d d e v e lo p s o u r s e n s e o f entitlement. Take, for example, the fetishism in technology. Throughout the late 90’s until the mid 2000’s, consumers became obsessed with the idea of mobile phones becoming smaller and smaller – forming a myth like link between size and cutting edge technology. Small and mighty. This was even satirised in the 2001 film Zoolander iii where the main characters spoke to each other on 2cmx3cm mobile phones to reflect our irrational relationship with technology. We might also examine this use of parody alongside a common saying, suggesting that the virility of man is defined by the size of his phallus, yet used here as a comparison with his mobile. With numerous satirical films, memes and debates surrounding our relationship with our extreme fetishisation of social technology, we learn that with a step back from social media we would in turn be a fraction less distracted and discouraged by it as a modern day virus of procrastination and vanity through the need for instant gratification.

16

An alternative way to combine beneficial technology with Transconsumerism - rejecting the passiveness of mundanely scrolling through ever-changing timelines and newsfeeds - is interaction with a free mobile web application ‘ Dérive ’. This app[lication] is inspired by The Situationist International’s critical theory of psychogeography – dérive or ‘to drift’.

The concept encourages individuals ‘to drift’ unplanned through an urbanised landscape by focusing on architecture and being influenced by geography in order to reach the end goal; obtaining a new and authentic experience in a familiar and otherwise disengaging environment.

The application provides the user with a new ‘card’ every three minutes that sets a task to complete, for

instance, ‘Find silence’ and ‘Move north’. The app, created by Eduardo Cachucho, allows participants to alter their experiences with technology, to ultimately have a better relationship with their environments, something that Marx highlights in his theories essential to multiple methods of societal analysis, ‘The Consciousness of Alienation’, mentioned later on. The need for dérive helps to divert us momentarily from the treadmill of life, to throw experiences at us that we would not have otherwise and gives us a chance to explore not only the towns we live in, but the cities we visit and have a totally ‘authentic’, non-generic tourist insight into our surroundings.

17

h The first mention of The Treadmill Theory was cited in Robert Burton’s ‘ Anatomy of Melancholy ’ (1621) v. St Augustine talked of how ‘desire hath no rest’ and likened it to the endless nature of the ‘horse-mill’. Modified in the late 90’s by British psychologist Michael Eysenck, today the concept is more commonly known as The Treadmill Theory or Hedonic Adaptation. It is a model that we have come to accept, the pursuit of happiness as an on-going process to achieve a sense of long-term fulfilment that cannot be met despite the constant ‘pace’ kept on the treadmill. Whatever level of wealth or material goods you own at any present moment, you always adapt to it, and in turn want more.

The happiness from a promotion at work or a sudden increase in material goods is temporary, before your consumer quest on the pursuit of happiness returns to its baseline level, or ‘walking pace’. We learn that the happiness and pleasure that we receive from objects is transitory.

At a point in our lives, when we realise that The Treadmill Theory is in play, we have to deal with the realisation accordingly. The self-triggered, brand-activated identity crisis. Some have more extreme reactions than others, whilst some ignore them altogether and are satisfied with life on the treadmill. Individuals such as Michael Landy (2001) and Neil Boorman (2006) have decided to use this realisation to make conceptual art pieces to pass comment on the destruction of their worldly possessions as a protest to modern consumer culture; being a slave to what you hold closest to you. The former, Landy, explored how memories, in photographs, letters, objects etc. along with branded clothing and objects - among a whole spectrum of other items - define a person, and how the complete decimation of this allows for a new persona to be developed – a mid-life-rebirth born from a mid-life realisation. Landy’s work teaches us that you are tied down by what you own, whether in a positive way - by taking comfort in your possessions - or in a negative way, by feeling constrained by them.

18

Mouth-watering vanilla, strawberry and key lime ice cream with a smooth, rich, milk chocolate sauce.

Complete with chunks of melting belgian chocolate squares, topped with a sprinkle of cocoa shavings and a curiously crumbly melt-in-the-mouth 99 flake.

Small drone, easy to manoeuvre and accesses places and views the human mind could only wish to capture on a regular high definition camera.

Finely crafted leather saffiano handbag with duotone leather, the soft calfskin dyed to the exqusite repeated Louis Vuitton logo, the inside lined with fine silk cotton.

The must-have, timeless bag that reassures sophistication, class and style to its owner.

Sleekly engineered despite a full-size experience.

The Macbook is the lightest and most compact to date, with increased performance speeds, immaculate retina display and impeccable graphics throughout.

Classic luxury gold Rolex, world-famous for its performance and reliability.

Oozes class and responsibility for the high flyer. 18K Yellow Gold ensures the wearer ultimate style, and a timeless piece that can be worn every day.

The Lamborghini Aventador represents a whole new level of performance.

With a carbon fibre frame and body, V12 engine and capable of a top speed of 217mph, the Aventador can go from 0-62 mph in 2.9 seconds.

Eight bedroom house in Belgravia, Mayfair.

With patio doors overlooking a large garden, a private residents-only park across the square and a large swimming pool in the basement. A stones-thow from the houses of Parliament, this house includes a gym, cinema and a grand kitchen/main living area, not to mention a seperate maid’s entrance and quarters.

Have you ever felt as if you’re living your life on the Treadmill?

TOPE: Michael Landy, Breakdown, (February 2001) BOTTOM: Neil Boorman, Bonfire of the Brands, (September 2006)

Art Binvi – Landy’s project following Breakdown - looks at the value of failure in society, or as Landy describes it, ‘a monument to creative failure.’

The Art Bin invites other artists to dispose of the work that they are unhappy with, and in doing so questions the significance of emotional attachment and - dependent on contributor - both the perceived value and the commercial value of the work. It also explores the concepts of authorship and ownership and how we apply these labels to the things in our lives. In this art piece, one failure contributes to another persons work and the exhibition is a shared user experience that creates Landy’s idea as a whole.

Landy highlights that when we become aware we are unhappy with something, we can let it go.

The latter, Boorman, struggled with his entire identity being a collection of brands carefully chosen throughout his lifetime - consciously dating back to his childhood - until a few months before the final destruction of his possessions in a bonfire.

His motive was to pass comment on society’s reliance on consumer culture and the evolution of the cult of brand.

Whilst Landy’s concept was to destroy all meaning, including personal, and Boorman’s 34

to destroy pre-loaded meaning by reflecting on brands, both Landy and Boorman came to the same conclusion. Life without brands, life without being tied down by the restriction of self-defining material possessions, is a form of personal cleansing and the ultimate opportunity to start again.

This idea of objects and their meanings leads us to anthropomorphism. This is a term suggesting that we give inanimate objects the characteristics of people. For example, replacing posters of pop stars and actors - holding pride of place on our bedroom walls, those who we once admired with their own brand values - with posters of products, of objects that also carry their own brand values such as the phenomenon of Disney. This is the produce of hyperreality, and hyperreality - when projected on to objects causes anthropomorphisation – and leads to the triggering of brand activated identity crises. When you develop an idealistic attachment to a thoughtless, emotionless object, what meaning does that relationship hold? One of the things we learn from Boorman in Bonfire of the Brandsvii is that semiotics play a huge role in the construction of identity.

The teenager is the most targeted market.

Middle class youths in economically developed countries worldwide live increasingly similar lives.

They all want Nike trainers and the latest iPhone , so they all fit into the mould that is cast for them.

Mostly all are influenced by popular television shows and have access to MTV. Instagram feeds and other social media ‘life-building’ outlets show images of ‘fashion goals’, ‘make-up goals’, ‘body goals’ and even ‘friendship goals’, as we can assume by the popularity, ‘goals’ have mass appeal to their target audience. It is easy for brands to employ marketing strategies on these same popular platforms that the teenagers subscribe to socially, as they are easily accessible and readily available to teenagers - and

36

young adults who have grown up alongside this technology – to ‘Buy it now’ and in doing so, project their new make-up, clothes and gym membership online for other people to see. This causes a chain reaction in product popularity and trends.

John Berger, art critic and winner of the 1972 Booker Prize, puts this eloquently by saying, ‘the purpose of publicity is to make the spectator marginally dissatisfied with his present way of life. Not with the way of life of society, but with his own within it. It suggests that if he buys what it is offering, his life will become better.’viii The media acts as a great catalyst for this discontent.

As Boorman makes us aware, it is possible to build an identity constructed from brands, or ‘self

Art Club 2000, Untitled (Times Square/Gap Grunge I) (1992-93)

aware brand building’. Throughout Boorman’s youth there was a more tactile approach to constructing an identity, by looking at films, sports idols, musicians and cleverly positioned advertising in popular magazines. Boorman highlights that he was aware of brand values from a young age and that if you didn’t have the right clothes, you couldn’t join his ‘tribe’.

Some buy without consciously knowing that their identity is being constructed by an amalgamation o f these different brand values, but semiotics a r e becoming increasingly used by all of us to judge those around us - strangers on a train, a couple on a date – through our internal program practising brand snobbery.

He’s got an iPhone, so he likes to follow the crowd and is probably subscribed to the religion of Apple.

Most of his friends have iPhones, and he thinks he can get laid more with it than with an Android.

He’s wearing Adidas, so he’s probably quite liberal and he’s wearing standard 501 Levi jeans, so isn’t much of an extrovert and doesn’t like change after finding something classic. His hair is a number one at the sides, with a longer crop on top. Most of his friends have the same hair, he likes to fit into the crowd and so has the same cut too. He wears a Daniel Wellington watch - despite it being slightly out of his comfortable price range - as he wants to appear as if he has more wealth than in reality, in order to impress those around him.

37

In fact a 2012 study by the Department of Psychology a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f K a n s a s ix i n f o r m s u s t h a t though most of us are guilty of judging a person’s characteristics by their shoes alone, it has actually been determined that 90% of us actually get that preconceived judgement correct based on income, age, gender, attachment anxiety, political stance etc.

This idea of having a perceived notion of wealth is common in society, and we can apply it to the drinking of wine. Part of the enjoyment of drinking expensive wines, it has been widely said, is the knowledge that the wine is expensive.

In various studies conducted it has been reported that participants who have been blindly asked to state whether their glass of red, white, or pinot is cheap or expensive have given the incorrect answer roughly half of the time. x Not only has it been found that price affects taste, but also the conditions that the wine is drank in. For example, a ‘Forbes’ journalist went to a wine tasting with a number of other acclaimed journalist tasters, and they all individually guessed two glass of wine to be different types. However, they were told that both glasses were in fact from the same bottle but had been affected by the variable of temperature.xi Frédéric Brochet, a researcher from Bordeaux states that “It is a well-known psychological phenomenon – you taste what you are expecting to taste… What we perceive is a mixture of thought, vision and taste.”

Knowing that temperature is enough to affect the palette of a refined wine taster’s predictions, it comes as no surprise that we continue to judge the quality of produce, such as wine, by their labels and thereby the brand that produces them, rather 38

than the experiences we have whilst consuming them, which ultimately – scientifically - plays a more important factor to their enjoyment.

Consumers don’t actually believe that there is m uch of a differ ent between br anded and unbranded products; it is instead the emotional tie that one has with the brand - and its outwards brand perception to others - that influences the consumers’ purchasing power. ‘The original notion of the brand was quality, but now the brand is a stylistic badge of courage,’xii graphic designer Tibor Kalman suggests. When everything is branded, how do we know what is best? People’s values and beliefs have been suspended in order to buy into the concept ‘this is better’ because it is branded better, or has a more popular advertising campaign and is a more respected and well-known household product. They are more likely to buy one brand over the other so that when they offer this product to an acquaintance, their consumer choices are approved of in a patronisingly unavoidable, materialistic way.

The product is a brand given a form that we as consumers can buy into. We are now at a point where we construct identities for ourselves by referencing brands beyond clothing and technology - from our toothpaste to our coffee - and though we feel we are immune to their marketing but savvy to their overarching brand beliefs, we end up either rejecting or projecting the values into our everyday lives. Brands are responsible for revealing what the consumer already knows or wants the brand to represent in order to justify its role in their preconstructed, personally branded identity.

By looking at the semiotics of coffee - in particular the Starbucks brand and experience - we are able to look at what the brand values stand for, and what type of customer is attracted to not only the product, but the lifestyle surrounding it.

Most expensive indicating better quality Fashionable Name references literature (Moby Dick) - academic Founded in Seattle - Emerald City host to Amazon and Microsoft, elite Half the amount of shops than Costa, seeking out ‘better’ coffee Associated with 90’s grunge, Seattle grunge scene - ‘hip’ World leading retailer Celebrities don’t drink Costa because it doesn’t exist in the US Most featured in films Ethical coffee options advertised to justify spending despite economic turmoil The familiar exotic Coffee of the month feels personal to the consumer High class locations Atmosphere regarded high with complimentary wifi Wide variety of products in store and supermarkets allowing for the Starbucks experience at home Less family oriented, no annoying kids, just annoying teenagers No unwanted company Healthy sandwiches and salads Supplier stories in store to feel ‘closer’ with the origin of the coffee responsibility Creative hub External living room and office The business of coffee - most professional environment indicated by number of job interviews conducted The informal formal place to chat Acceptable location for late night date Seasonable changing drinks Secret menu - exclusive and illusive 39

Taking a look inside handbags is not only interesting but itnformative. It allows us to develop a rich understanding of the owner, without the need of having to meet them. You can tell a lot about a person by what they wear and what they carry around with them on a daily basis.

In fact, in a 2011 TedTalk by Morgan Spurlock, ‘The Greatest TedTalk Ever Sold’, Spurlock asks a number of people on the street to describe their personal ‘brand’. People then go on to describe their jobs, ‘really nice clothes’, and one describes himself as being ‘like a Mercedez Benz’.

B r a n d s h a v e c o m p l e t e i n f l u e n c e o v e r our purchasing power, so ‘if we could only ‘subvert’ them to better represent us, they could save us instead’xiii, our identities, our complex consumer characteristics, perhaps even our finances. It is not an abhorrent thought, that we could be manipulated through branding in order to benefit us individually and as a society, rather than the multinational companies that truly reap the profits of our choices.

40

Instead we are marketed the identities that the brands want us to have. They don’t want us to be cultured or travelled, unless they can sell us a new holiday wardrobe and a matching luggage set for Coachella ; perfect for the algorithmically identified personality type.

It is for this reason why we are led to feel that we have the power to buy what we like, but we really have very little option at all. Our choice interactivity and freedom is at risk by brands. Despite all of these judgements and brand loyalties, no sense of longstanding fulfilment is granted to the consumer upon purchasing, but instead the transitory pleasure before the Treadmill is boarded once again.

“By hiding in a brand, our own personal integrity is ™

Over the last two and a half decades, we have seen brands lose power over people on a major scale as a result of the economic recession. The first was when the recession hit in the early nineties, bargain conscious shoppers started to focus more on prices than prestige, buying frugally and breaking brand loyalties. The second time was when the recession of 2009 hit, and consumers stopped spending so frivolously on credit cards, and instead began to use money that they were aware they had; taking advantage of multi-buy offers and buying with value in mind. Both of these times - as we have weaned our way out of the recession - marketing strategies have improved and drawn us back into blindly following the everyday brands.

Therefore, the brand that strives and succeeds to be ‘cool’ is what influences our buying power. Is there any sense of individuality when we mindlessly purchase an Apple product, because it’s ‘cool’, without research? We feel as if we have already been sold the brand, by its brand values and marketing promotions, and then almost automatically care less about the individual project - though we’re not ready to admit it. There is nothing wrong with the idea of brand loyalty, as long as we’re aware and okay with knowing that the brand we’re buying into now says something about who we are as a person.

As Boorman suggested in Bonfire of the Brands , alongside other commentators, members of society can be conscious and unconscious consumers; we purchase whatever identity best fits us off the rack.

By hiding in a brand, our own personal integrity is disguised.

43

ENDNOTES

FOREWORD i HonorĂŠ, Carl (2004). In Praise of Slow. London: Orion Books. ii Sharilee. (2014). How Many Advertisements Do We See Each Day?. Available: http://blog.telesian.com/ how-many-advertisements-do-we-see-each-day/.

CHAPTER ONE Conan (Episode Unknown, Aired 2009) USA. TBS iv Zoolander (2001) Directed by Ben Stiller [Film] USA. Paramount Pictures v Burton, Robert (1621). The Anatomy of Melancholy. USA: NYRB Classics. vi BBC (2010) What Do Artists Do All Day?: Michael Landy. [Documentary] Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ programmes/b04mb194. vii Boorman, Neil (2007). Bonfire of the Brands. Great Britain, Edinburgh: Canongate. viii Berger, John (1972). Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin Modern Classics. [Also available as a four part documentary series, BBC] ix Omri Gillath, Angela J Bahns, Fiona Ge, Christian S Crandall. (2012). Shoes as a source of first impressions. Available: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092656612000608. x Professor Richard Wiseman. (2013). Research Reveals That Expensive And Inexpensive Wines Taste The Same. Available: http://www.herts.ac.uk/about-us/news/2011/april/research-reveals-that-expensive-andinexpensive-wines-taste-the-same. xi Bell, Katie Kelly. (2012). Is There Really A Taste Difference Between Cheap and Expensive Wines?.

Available: http://www.forbes.com/sites/katiebell/2012/07/09/is-there-really-a-taste-difference-betweencheap-and-expensive-wines/. xii Kalman, Tibor. (1988). Variations: A Cover Story. New York Times Magazine. 124 xiii Klein, Naomi. (1999). The Triumph of Identity Marketing. No Logo. New York: Picador. 107-128. iii

44

01 03 0102 0405 04 05 06 0708 07 0809 09 1011 10 11 12 1314 13 1415 15

/ TRANSCONSUMERISM & TRANSDISCIPLINARITY

"

E

M

Karl Marx discusses the Consciousness of Alienation in ‘Capitol’, which examines how we as humans can no longer be considered as being in a proper relationship with the key parts of our lives and our human nature; people, things and activities.

He suggests we are being brainwashed by the produce of Capitalism - material goods. ‘Money is the universal, self-constituted value of all things.

Hence it has robbed the whole world of its proper value. Money is the alienated essence of man’s labour and life, and this alien essence dominates him as he worships it.’ xiv Marx implies that it is for this reason we are permanently unhappy and dissatisfied with our lives, because we utilise them by producing material goods that benefit the lives of those that sell them for significant profit instead of our own. Work for many is about production as opposed to happiness and fulfilment. Nature and relationships are at the core of our social wellbeing as humans and the functions in which we consider ourselves to be completely free in are those shared with other species; sex, the satiation of hunger and thirst, and pleasure. The ONS has conducted a 2015 reportxv highlighting the importance of this, by exploring ‘relationships with family, friends, relationships within the wider community and relationships within the workplace.’ It also focuses on ‘our satisfaction with our social life, and 48

02 loneliness.’ The distortion or estranging from these needs by displacement of less valuable activities is the form of self-destructive alienation that Marx speaks of.

Tr a n s c o n s u m e r i s m d o e s n o t s u g g e s t a Communist society as a socio-political ideology to strive towards, but aims to hold Marxist principles such as the Consciousness of Alienation and the Fetish Concept close to its core values.

The concept of Fetishism was introduced to Marx by German philosopher, Immanuel Kant. Fetishism, Kant describes, is distorted thought which humans project on to a series of man-made objects in order to make them appear sacred, descended from religious thought r ather than as m eans of pr oduction.

This commodity relationship that we have grown accustomed to, like the Consciousness of Alienation, is responsible for our increasing alienation with our selves, and our individual identities.

Genuine social interactions, personal goals and achievements are what define us, as opposed to the sanctified emotion we attach to our possessions.

By working alongside Transdisciplinarity as a method of collectively determined thought, we are able to see how Transconsumerism allows for the exploration into different, more sustainable methods of consumption.

“Fetishism, Kant describes, is distorted thought which humans project onto a series of man-made objects in order to make them appear sacred, descended from religious thought rather than as means of production.�

49

m

PREVIOUS PAGE: David LaChapelle, ‘Jesus is my Homeboy’, 2003 Triptych to outline commodity fetishism; being brainwashed by consumerism and creating false idols.

‘Money is the universal, self-constituted value of all things. Hence it has robbed the whole world of its proper value.

Money is the alienated essence of man’s labour and life, and this alien essence dominates him as he worships it.’

FOLLOWING PAGE: Vanessa Beecroft, VB45, 2001 54

Transdisciplinarity is the middle ground between subject matter; the crossover between subjects and the results of their working c o a le s c e d . It aim s to look a t wh a t d is ciplines have in common, and study how they can be connected or integrated, allowing them to provide a r ic h e r u n d e r standing of hum an knowledge. For example, instead of focusing on design and politics individually, they can be combined and work alongside each other, therefore allowing transdisciplinarity between academic subjects. Transdisciplinarity is regarded by theoretical physicist Basarab Nicolescu as a system of thought held by three conceptual pillars; complexity, levels of reality and the logic of the included middle. After understanding that transdisciplinarity is essentially the reading between and the amalgamation of subjects, we can realise that it is comprised of the simultaneous consideration of ontology, epistemology, logic, ethics and also phenomenology.

55

There a many great companies like Fuseproject xvi and Framestorexvii that use a number of disciplines in order to inform an outcome. Scientists work with graphic designers and architects with fashion designers to combine their skills and knowledge in order to create a more holistic and ground-breaking – Transdisciplinary - output to their work.

Take, for example, the Manhattan Project, which saw the development of the first ever atomic bomb.

Robert Oppenheimer and Carl Saganxviii were among those who fathered it. Oppenheimer was a renowned theoretical physicist who worked alongside Sagan whose d i s c i p l i n es ex te n d e d to ‘a s tr o n o me r, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, science populariser, and science communicator in astronomy and other natural sciences.’ Without the combination of these disciplines, the controversial atomic bomb would never have been developed,

and scientific discoveries that have influenced many other works would not have been found.

In conclusion, transdisciplinarity is not a new subject or theory, but instead a term to describe the endless individual disciplines that must be combined and explored, in order to begin the examination of an initial representation of reality and the hinterland beyond which we are presently aware.

Transconsumerism is the interaction with this subject matter and the understanding that it cannot be owned. That instead of owning an object or definite knowledge of a subject, one must experience it. For example, we can look at the work of Italian contemporary artist, Vanessa Beecroft.

Her work is essentially live art installations made up of numerous human models positioned in a room or particular setting, for a certain amount of time.

You cannot own Vanessa Beecroft work. You cannot

collect it. It can be photographed, and documented, but the art itself can only be appreciated in the moment; it is transitory. It is the ordering and examination of the Complexity Theoryxix. It is crossboundary competence. This is transconsumerism.

Kosta Boda xx , a g la s s wo r k s in S to c k h olm , Sweden, invited clients to an auction whereby they could bid on pieces, not with money, but with the results of their biometric evaluation. The participants were invited to ‘buy’ based on emotion, and so galvanic skin response and heart rate was measured by attaching the body to a machine. When the artwork was shown to the participant, the emotional response was read, and whoever emotionally connected most to the piece ‘won’ it. Not only is this an individual experience, but it also shows that having an emotional connection with a material object is much more meaningful than purchasing

something that may be otherwise considered as impulsive.

By now, we have acknowledged that we are a consumer led society that is being driven away from frivolous spending of materialistic purchases by aspiring to obtain experiential, meaningful purchases and non monetary gains by incorporating the hunger for individual and original experience.

Feminist theorist and academic, Germaine Greer, once said ‘act quickly, think slowly’xxi. By regarding this as a method to make choices, we would be able to make the right ones in relation to our lifestyles, and therefore be able to experience more by displacing those bad or harmful choices we would have once acted irrationally upon, with ‘Slow’ choices.

By looking at Vanessa Beecroft’s work (previous page) we can see how the experience of art plays an imperative role in its development. We are only able to respond to installations such as this how they were intended to be received by experiencing them in person, instead of responding to a photograph of the original work.

Ole Martin Lund Bø’s ‘Deceptive Outward Appearance’ (pictured) is a brilliant example of Transdiciplinary ideas and the Transconsumerist experience. It shows that there are many parts of a whole that must be considered in order to be able to value and understand a final output.

By combining thoughts, subjects and ideas we are able to produce much more interesting and thought-provoking work.

ALL IMAGES: Ole Martin Lund Bø, ‘Deceptive Outward Appearance’, 2007

ENDNOTES

CHAPTER TWO xiv Marx, Karl. (1844). On the Jewish Question. Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher xv Randall, Chris. (2015). Measuring National Well-being: Our Relationships. Available: http://www.ons.gov. uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/our-relationships--2015/art-measuring-national-wellbeing--our-relationships--2015.html#tab-abstract. xvi Fuseproject (1999-present) Founder: Yves Béhar [Company] San Francisco, New York City. xvii Framestore (1986-present) Founders: William Sargent, Alison Turner, Jonathan Hills, Mike McGee, Sharon Reed [Company] London. xviii BBC. Carl Sagan. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/universe/scientists/carl_sagan. xix Byrne, David and Callaghan, Gillian (2014). Complexity Theory and the Social Sciences: The state of the art. New York: Routledge. xx Kosta Boda [Company]. (2014). THE WORLD’S FIRST AUCTION COMPLETELY BASED ON EMOTIONS..

Available: http://auctionbasedonemotions.com/en/. xxi Greer, Germaine (1939-present) [Theorist, academic and journalist]

60

01 02 03 0102 0405 04 05 06 0708 07 0809 09 1011 10 11 12 1314 13 1415 15

/ THE UNIVERSAL EPIDEMIC OF CULTURE LOSS

‘Two things were lost in the process of modernisation. The first was Aristotle’s telos, the idea that ethics is the way to help men go from what they are to what human nature, guided by reason, can allow them to become… ethics as a science of human improvement was largely abandoned.’

- World Happiness Report: Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue, 1981

03

66

David Bowie on the Ten Brixton Pound note.

It has been observed that older generations have a desire to protect their identities and consciously don’t buy into our branded lifestyle. They are fiercely protective of their nationality and pride, and a sense of community allows them to shy away from national supermarkets and instead support their local independent shops. Generations over fifty had parents who fought in wars because they believed the sense of nationality. It is common to hear war veterans talk endlessly with a love or passion regarding wartime, as it is the only time that they have felt they had true purpose to their lives, and that they were succeeding in something with value. Unlike benefitting the economy through general everyday work that we are acclimatised to, the c o m m u n i t y s p ir it d u r in g w a r time wa s something unbreakable and meaningful, developed through experience, despite the events often being traumatising and heart breaking.

Naomi Klein suggests in No Logoxxii that small companies and independent shops cannot begin to try and compete with the global companies with whom they are forced to. It is therefore important to support these businesses, as we are often encouraged to do. The introduction of The Brixton Pound - sustainable money bought in exchange for English pounds in the South London district of Brixton – is a scheme that was started in order to try and stabilise and maintain the economy of the borough, and allows the money spent in Brixton to stay there. This further supports and strengthens small businesses and rebuilds the once deteriorating sense of community.

Being admired by residents old and young alike, the Brixton Pound scheme is just one across the country showing the developing similarities between the once alienated generations. It has been considered that the prevalent generation, Generation Y, is seen to think and share ideas most likened with the ‘over 50s’, both in terms of the growing interest in technology and passion for today’s politics. xxiii The older generation has settled with their own deep-rooted sense of culture, nationality and patriotism mentioned previously, whilst a vast proportion of the younger generation is desperate to break away from the now pre-paved road to a life constrained by brands – with a desire to have more

GL OBA

vs.

l oc al

culture rather than less. The current trend of clinging to 90’s nostalgia is now influencing the fashions and mind-sets of the millennials. The millennials and the baby boomers are united for these reasons, but the corporations still market to the younger generation because once they’re cornered, the whole family’s buying habits slowly change and influence the future consumption of that family, and conscious consumers are still in development, leaving them targets for multinational persuasion.

We can attribute liability to the multinational companies changing into global companies circa 1983 xxiv for our lack of culture. For a number of reasons, we are even able to hold them responsible for triggering our identity crises.

Multinationals started by marketing products catered to each country they held a presence in, or ‘glocality’ – producing global products for regional needs, such as Coca Cola’s taste changing between Canada and Qatar, or the recipe for KFC and McDonald’s altered slightly between Delhi and London. They then went on to change - due economic success - into becoming global corporations, selling one universal product unchanging intercontinentally and therefore using brand to replace cultural norms, for example, Kellogg’s cereal is a now a typical breakfast food sold worldwide that doesn’t change its recipe or marketing for different cultures. So, in pursuit of economic growth, countries have seen a great loss of culture.

67

L

PREVIOUS PAGE: Keiichi Matsuda, Augmented (hper)Reality, 2013 Looking at a graphic way of representing Jean Baudrillard, Umberto Eco and many others’ look at hypperreality, by combining the ‘completely real’ and the ‘completely fake’. Matsuda plays with mimicking a 3D output combined with the hype over the incline in the use of social media and recording personal and social development in his still work. He also explores these ideas much more thoroughly in his moving film.

With America’s fascination of the hyperreal – the inability to determine between reality and the simulation of reality – the distortion of how we perceive reality in our everyday lives has been permissible. As a truth generated from a number of ideals derived from various models. ‘It is a ‘real’ without ‘origin or reality’, a reality to which we cannot connect.’xxv Meaning it is a false perception of reality that we have been misled into believing is fact.

The model that is referred to is the conveyer of the medium, the real and the message simultaneously.

Reality that is different to this destroys what the sign refers to, and so the signs stop referring to real life and instead developed the warped notion of reality that is taken by the audience as authentic.

The extreme use of advertising has been the catalyst creating this hyperreal state. It has grown from promoting a specific product to advertising the entire social system in order to place it’s product in the right circumstances that is wished to be sold in. ‘For something to be visible and meaningful, it needs a scene,’xxvi even if this scene is a false truth.

‘The system juxtaposes its ideal (the advert) to its crisis (news, disaster movies, crime dramas, action films). But it is distributed in ‘homeopathic doses’ – in tiny amounts absorbed in other things. Hence, it doesn’t explode. It is constantly drip-fed to us instead. The world becomes non-representational through lack of signs. After meaning, we are left with manipulation, touch, circulation, ventilation.

It becomes a world of panic.’xxvii Yet America has become obsessed with the simulacra of life in the form of television and media.

After exhuming, documenting and rediscovering the real, they are then simulated through the media and in doing so exaggerated, into a landscape that is no longer true to its origin. Take, for example, the film JFK (1991) xxviii, which was advertised as a ‘docudrama’ focusing on New Orleans District 70

Attorney, Jim Garrison, and his investigation into the shooting of JFK. It is in fact loosely based on real events and also includes a number of conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This allows a historical event to be made into a counterfeit of itself for the sole purpose of entertainment, and in doing so changes the knowledge of the real event it was ‘loosely based’ on.

‘The ‘completely real’ must become identified with the ‘completely fake’… photo-realists produce a reality so well that it proclaims its artificiality from the rooftops.’xxix Eco suggests that hyperreality as a surplus of an object or thing rather than there being an end or multiple versions; like a coffee jug that never seems to run out, or the ‘next time’ endless continuation to a television show. The fusion of copy and original constantly seen in museums and where artefacts are found, but are not often indicated real or false. Take, for example, Hampton Court Palace, England. Some rooms have been recreated to show what life was like during the reign of Henry VIII, but it is not indicated which items are the originals and which are the exaggerated replicas, creating a complete simulacra, an unknowing hyperreality amid reality. The American concern with authenticity reaches the point of reconstructive neurosis. They provide us with the narrative ‘We are giving you the reproduction so you will no longer feel any need for the original.’xxx But for the reproduction to be desired, the original has to be idolised.

It is for this reason that the American craving for opulence goads them not only to create a sense of cultural imperialism – to industrially outshine the rest of the world - but flock to visit European cities as tourists with admiration of their truly authentic history. It is a constant reminder that wealth has no history.

Packaged Experience

q

The culture loss that we have experienced as a result of hyperrealism has allowed for the search of a wholly indulgent, gluttonous lifestyle whereby we are encouraged to pursue money as much as possible, a nd as we consider our ‘God-given’ r ights allow.

The unrestrained hyper-commercialism that resulted from this encouraged the growth of advertising in the 1980’s, selling us everything we would ever need, even if we didn’t yet know it. This shameless promotion has tainted our humility, patience and altruism, leading us to consistently regard every positive gesture extended by another as an ulterior motive, only offered to benefit themselves. Fundamentally, the worldwide economy is biased towards advertising and commercialisation because of the money made from it. Private corporations will always make more money because they can afford the PR and advertising that public goods cannot, boldly undermining family and local trading. This has allowed for the growing counter-cultures of consumerism, i.e. anti-consumerism, which aims at boycotting all massproduce goods. These groups insist on firm restructuring and distribution, sustainability and disengagement with capitalism.

72

The following labels are for a Packaged Experience, taking well known brands and tins, and transforming them into experiences we can pick up and buy, like millions of other consumer goods. You cannot buy these experiences, but it would make life much simpler if you could... just don’t forget to read the small print.

“Orig

Natu

High

HOW TO MAKE DELICIOUS NATURAL HIGH

1. Put 2 tablespoons (35g) of adrenaline powder and 2 tablespoons water together to make paste.

2. Mix into one pint of water 3. Heat the mixture on the hob, bring to the boil, stirring continuously 4. Leave to stand for one minute before serving *NB. All cooking appliances vary. These are guidelines only. Cooking times will differ from hob to hob. We do not recommend microwave usage.

Yo u

Adren Powd m

ak e

it s

pecial...

THE TRADITIO IN AN EASY TO

73

ade taste” ginal homem

ural

h

naline der

ONAL RECIPE O OPEN CAN

®

Each portion contains Calories

0

0%

Sugars

56g

0g

Fat

Saturates

Sodium

70%

0%

0%

0%

0g

0g

of an adult’s Guideline Daily Amount

INGREDIENTS Heart-pounding, stomach-churning, intensity, heightened feelings of strength, boost of energy, heightened senses, increased breathing, sweat, high blood pressure, euphoria, subspace.

Store in a cool dry place. Once made up, treat as food produce and consume in 24 hours.

WARNING: May reduce feelings of pain and awareness of pain threshold.

Natural High Original Adrenaline Powder

Contains No Artificial Colours

Packex is a registered trademark of Packex Ltd. Prepared and packed in the West for Packex Ltd., 38 Cotswold Road, Sutton, London, SM2 5NW, UK. www.packex.com Best before end: see end of can Net Weight

400g e

DE NIAL A NGER BARGAININ ANG ER BARGAINING DEPRE BARG A INING DEPRESSION A DE PRE SSION AC CEP TANCE D AC CEPTA NCE DENIAL ANGE O F S G E R G I A EF STNGER DE NIAL A BARGAININ ANG ER BARGAINING DEPRE BARG A INING DEPRESSION A DE PRE SSION AC CEP TANCE D AC CEPTA NCE DENIAL ANGE DE NIAL A NGER BARGAININ

HEINZ THE

F IV E

F END O A BL

DENIAL

PAINFUL WOE IN OUR DELICIOUS C LASS IC ANXIETY SAUCE

ANGER

BARGAINING

DEPRESSION

ACCEPTANCE

NG DE PRESSION AC CEP TANCE FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF FOR E S SION AC CEPTA NCE DEN IAL NATURAL AC C E PTADEVELOPMENT NCE DE NIAL ANGER NATURALLY HIGH IN DENIAL e 415dys NATURALLY HIGH IN ANGER DE N IA L A NG E RDESPERATE BA RGAINING NATURALLY IN BARGAINING NATURALLY LASTING DEPRESSION E R BARGAINING NATURALLY SLOWDEPRESSION ACCEPTANCE NG DE PRESSION AC CEP TANCE E S SION AC CEPTA NCE DEN IAL AC C E PTA NCE DE NIAL ANGER DE N IA L A NG E R BA RGAINING E R BARGAINING DEPRESSION NG DE PRESSION AC CEP TANCE

HOW TO CONSUME Empty can in saucepan and stir gently while heating. Do not boil.

Microwave ovens vary, the following is a guide only. Empty contents into microwaveable container and cover. Heat on full power for 1 1/2 minutes.

Stir then heat for further minute.

CONTACT US Packex is a registered trademark of Packex Ltd. Prepared and packed in the West for Packex Ltd., 38 Cotswold Road, Sutton, London, SM2 5NW, UK. www.packex.com

HOW TO STORE

INGREDIENTS

NUTRITION Servings per can -2 Typical values Energy:

Per Per %RI* 100g 1/2 can

Denial (10%), Anger (10%), Bargaining (5%) Depression (50%), Acceptance (25%) With anxiety sauce (20%), pain, suffering, suicidal thoughts, social anxiety, distorted patterns of behaviour, long periods of crying, sleep.

366kJ 758kJ 366kJ 87kcal 179kcal 87kcal Fat 0.2g 0.5g 70g - of which saturates (Trace) (0.1g) 20g Carbohydrate 13.6g 28.2g 230g - of which sugars (4.7g) (9.6g) 90g WARNING: May incur personal injury Fibre 4.3g 8.8g 24g Protein: 5.4g 11.2g 45g Salt 0.6g 1.2g 6g Best before end - see can end

76

Empty unused contents into a suitable covered container. Keep refrigerated and use within 2 days. However side effects will continue indefinitely.

GOOD TO KNOW

Defect free Suitable for all religions No artificial emotions Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance are part of a varied and balanced lifestyle and emotional range.

77

78

Just 1/4 of a can is enough to last 3 months

FALLING Classic

in

Love hand-holding, heart-racing, body-shaking, excitement, lust and aching

7.326 BILLION VARIETIES

79

G

CONTACT US Phone 07528125761 or visit www.packagedexperience.co.uk Please quote code on the can end, but be aware we are able to help little once produce is consumed.

ADDRESS Made in England 38 Cotswold road., Sutton, London. SM2 5NW Best before end - experience does not expire

e 415hrs

High value Enriching Encompasses all of the senses Unique experience in every can INGREDIENTS

Hand-holding, heart-racing, body shakes, excitement, lust, aching, longing, desire, stomach butterflies, first kiss, protection, long walks, nights out, nights in, leftover chinese, cuddles, head-nestling, hair stroking, candlelit dinners, long baths, hot massages, lie-ins, calling in sick, all-day sex, all-night sex, long drives, breakfast in bed.

WARNING

NUTRITION INFORMATION Typical values Per 100g Per 1/2 can GDA* N/A N/A 8400kj Energy -kJ N/A N/A 2000kcal -kcal (Calories) N/A N/A 24g Protein N/A N/A 220g Carbohydrate N/A N/A 85g (of which sugars) N/A N/A 70g Fat N/A 20g (of which saturates) N/A N/A N/A 15g Fibre N/A N/A 0.6g Sodium N/A N/A 4g Salt equivalent

May contain side effects including but not limited to; a broken heart, domestic abuse, a long distance relationship, intense heartache, stalking, unrequited love, polygamy, monogamy, marriage and suicide.

CREEPING

DEPRESSIO in a rich anxiety sauce

PRODUCED IN THE WEST

Creeping depression in a rich anxiety sauce.

Depression is grown in households worldwide but stems from a variety of causes, most unknown.

We get the best quality depression packaged and canned by those currently suffering.

G

ON

82

STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS Once opened, remove contents from can and consume. Must be used within 2 days, however side effects will continue indefinitely.

INGREDIENTS NUTRITION Creeping depression INFORMATION (70%), Typical values per anxiety sauce (20%), 100g crippling self doubt Energy: 00kJ/00kcal (10%).

Protein: 0.0g Carbohydrate: 0.0g Fat: 0.0g Fibre: 0.0g Sodium: No trace Packex is a registered trademark of Packex Ltd. Prepared and packed in the West for Packex Ltd., 38 Cotswold Road, Sutton, London, SM2 5NW, UK. www.packex.com

Best before end: see end of can Net Weight

400hrs e

83

84

Good to remember Great served with accompanying event, or with your favourite holidays.

Contacts us FREE 07528125761 www.packagedexperience.co.uk 38 Cotswold road, Sutton, SM2 5NW INGREDIENTS: A surprise lasting up to 410 hours. May be received well or taken badly. May be a good or bad surprise based on contents of can. Each can differs. There is no way to tell what surprise each can holds.

Includes nail biting and heart skipping, stomach sinking and either elation or devastation.

Not for infants under 12 months Shake well before opening For Best Before End: see end of can Once opened, consume in 4 servings preferably with complete party Consume at own risk

410 hrs

e

fe® Li

Good to know made using fresh surprises Rich in shock and emotion.

Have you tried.... d Experiences, Goo Go od

Using SURPRISE® Light and Exciting Times as a quick way to produce a great Birthday surprise for your loved one?

They’ll never see it coming...

NUTRITION Per Per INFORMATION 100 50 hr TYPICAL hrs serving VALUES

Energy 452kJ 227kJ 108 kcal 54 kcal 2.0g Fat 4.0g 1.4g saturates 2.7g 5.5g Carbohydrates 11.0g 5.5g sugars 11.0g 0.0g Fibre 0.0g 3.5g Protein 6.9g Salt 0.30g 0.15g Calcium 250mg 125mg 31%** 16% ** Vitamin D 2.6pg 1.3pg 52%** 26% ** *Reference intake of an average adult (8400 kJ/2000 kcal). **NRV: Nutrient Reference Value.

Contains 8 servings

Serving Suggestion

85

LIGHT

&exciting times

54kcal 3%

Fat

2.0g 3%

Saturates

1.4g 7%

Sugars

5.5g 6%

Salt

0.15g 3%

A GREAT VERSATILE SURPRISE

Each 100 hour serving contains

topping

Energy

of an adult’s Guideline Daily Amount

Surprise

®

SINCE 1937

WAITING HI

GH IN

OMEGA 3

Energy

One two hour period -132kcal contains: -7%

ALONE Fat

6.9g 10%

Saturates

2.5g 13%

Sugars

S

FA

TT Y ACID

Salt

0g

0g

0%

0%

Typical values per two hours: Energy -132kcal / -550kJ

IN A DULL SETTING

of the reference intake (RI)*

SINCE 1937

WAITING WAITING ALONE IN A DULL SETTING of the finest quality.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Waiting alone and RI* Typical values per 100 hours %RI* experiencing boredom Energy: 8400 kJ -550kJ 7% 2000kcal helps maintain a 70g Fat 6.9g 10% realistic expectation of which of a standard, 20g - saturates 2.5g 13% - monounsaturates 1.8g exciting life.

- polyunsaturates 2.3g of which Omega-3 2.1g Carbohydrate 3.6g INGREDIENTS: of which: Cancelled plans, 90g - sugars 0g 0% delayed trains, dead Fibre 1.1g Protein 0g phone battery, no 6g Salt 0g 17% entertainment or social stimulation, Can contains four portions. *Reference intake of an nothing to read. average adult STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Store in a cool dry place.

Once opened, expect long delays and unstimulating experience before affects wear off. Consume within 2 days. BEST BEFORE END: SEE END OF CAN.

88

PRODUCED IN THE UK for Packex Ltd. 38 Cotswold road, Sutton, London SM2 5NW UK 2020

Net Weight

400 hrs e

89

“The influence of power not through vinegar, but honey.”

Soft-power, derived and inspired from the harsh tactics of hard-power, is the influence of power over individuals not through vinegar, but honey. This can be seen as the state of present play; not only in the United States - through the use of adverts in school textbooks and school events being sponsored by larger companies – but also in the United Kingdom. Robinson’s juice manufactures offer sports equipment to schools for buying their squash, and the main supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s cling to their demographic audience by both handing out vouchers offering equipment for schools. When our children are target by advertising campaigns from such an early age, they grow up familiar with their messages and in turn can determine which to ignore. This in fact often backfires on large corporations as they see that we are becoming immune to advertising due to such high exposure; roughly 500 per day, or one advert or marketing message every two minutes.xxxi Obviously this changes when based in a city or just at home surfing the Internet and watching television.

After highlighting how our sense of culture has been damaged by consumerism and constant marketing aiming for the unreachable Utopia of hyperreality, Transcosumerists must take every message we read with a pinch of salt.

They decide to avoid solely living through absorbing simulated experiences of others through television, film, the Internet and video games by making their own more authentic and genuine. The Transconsumerist does not obsess with making their life seem like this Utopia or packaged promise. They do not aim to ensure that every moment of their day as a perfect photo opportunity waiting to be ‘shared’ with others.

The Transconsumerist absorbs, questions, explores, and engages with each experience, and by doing so develops greater as a person.

ENDNOTES

CHAPTER THREE xxii Klein, Naomi. (1999). No Logo. New York: Picador. xxiii Kantar. (2013). Over-50s in the digital age (infographic). Available: http://www.digitalstrategyconsulting. com/intelligence/2013/09/over50s_in_the_digital_age_infographic.php. xxiv No Logo, Naomi Klein, Chapter 5 The Triumph of Identity Marketing xxv Robinson, Andrew. (2012). An A to Z of Theory | Jean Baudrillard: Hyperreality and Implosion. Available: https://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/in-theory-baudrillard-9/. xxvi Robinson, Andrew. (2012). An A to Z of Theory | Jean Baudrillard: Hyperreality and Implosion. Available: https://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/in-theory-baudrillard-9/. xxvii Robinson, Andrew. (2012). An A to Z of Theory | Jean Baudrillard: Hyperreality and Implosion. Available: https://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/in-theory-baudrillard-9/. xxviii JFK (1992) Directed by: Oliver Stone [Film] USA. Warner Bros. xxix Baudrillard, Jean (1994). Simulacra and Simulation (The Body in Theory: Histories of Cultural Materialism).

Michigan: The University of Michigan Press. xxx Eco, Umberto (1995). Faith In Fakes: Travels in Hyperreality. London: Vintage Books. xxxi Sharilee. (2014). How Many Advertisements Do We See Each Day?. Available: http://blog.telesian.com/ how-many-advertisements-do-we-see-each-day/.

92

01 02 03 0102 0405 05 06 0708 07 0809 09 1011 10 11 12 1314 13 1415 15

/ THE BENEFITS OF COLLABORATIVE CONSUMPTION AND THE SEARCH FOR GLOBAL HAPPINESS

‘(GDP) does not allow for the

+ heal h of our

children,

ir

of the

EC DU A O IN

pla . play. lay. h

play.

o or the

of their

the

e

d

It does not include the beauty of our poetry, or the

STRENGTH oof ur

marriages

the

of our

PUBLIC

DEBATE

or the

INTEGRITY of our P U B L I C O F F I C I A L S

It measures neither our

COURAGE nor our WISDO neither our

nor our

learning neither our

i s

a s on p c

o

m

nor our

DEDICATION to our country,

it measures everything in short, except that which makes

LIFE worthwhile.’ University of Kansas, March 18, 1968 Robert Kennedy

04 The World Happiness Report - published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network - aims to measure happiness by considering an ethical perspective, as opposed to e cono m i s t , s o c i o l o g is t, p s y c h o lo g is t a n d philosophical viewpoints. The report states; ‘There is a focus on the log of GDP per capita (economic) years of healthy life expectancy (economic and psychological) perception of corruption (social and ethical) prevalence of generosity (ethical) and freedom to make life choices (all).’ xxxii We have therefore been encouraged to consistently foster the environment in which economic growth increases, and therefore believe that the richer the nations, the happier the inhabitants. Pre 1700, the key to happiness was recognised by living the ‘good life’, but now we have become too focused on this pursuit for economic growth.

Economist Jeffery D. Sachs comments on the Easterlin Paradox, ‘Man never did live by bread alone, and we have learned, painfully, that too focused a pursuit of bread leads not only to obesity, but the starvation of other human needs.

Including social connections, psychological balance and virtue.’xxxiii The World Happiness Report aims to promote the benefits of the search for global happiness by looking at ancient traditions of virtue ethics and happiness, and how we can use these to influence our consumer lives in a way that rejects hedonism and the perceived value of transient goods and instead accepts the values of transconsumerism by looking at moderation as compassion playing the most important roles in our lives. The Report effectively looks at quantifying the seemingly unqua n t i f i ab l e b y o b s e r v in g fa c to r s th a t a r e usually discounted.

The Report considers that study - and the hard work produced from this - training and self discipline are among the practises that we should be focusing on, and maintaining imperturbability by detaching ourselves physically from our commodity fetishism.

104

‘Man never did live by bread alone, and we have learned, painfully, that too focused a pursuit of bread leads not only to obesity, but the starvation of other human needs.’

‘... we are born into a range of happiness, with 50% of it being genetic, 10% circumstantial [and] 40% intentional behaviour.’

Chip Conley, is his 2010 TEDTalk on ‘Measuring what Makes Life Worthwhile’, touches upon the intangible measuring of happiness conducted by the country of Bhutan. Despite the whimsical nature of ‘measuring happiness’, Bhutan’s King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck spoke in 1972 of the measurement of GNH (Gross National Happiness), stating that Bhutan has decided to ‘create the conditions for happiness’ by helping control the economy and the practising of tradition whilst conserving community and encouraging ecological preservation.’ This means imposing a $200-a-day tourist tax – per person - to conserve the environment and the requirement of Bhutanese people to wear national dress at all times. This is adhered to by the citizens and remains an example of how culture can be protected.xxxiv Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan, states that he ‘wouldn’t want to live in a country where from childhood you are taught to live in fear and perpetual competition and to accumulate, accumulate and accumulate, and that everything is permanent.’xxxv Such is the West and Capitalist society.

It is not only encouraging an environment in which to reduce our consumerism that can be used as a good starting point for Transconsumerism to evolve.

Transconsumerist thought considers that though we can have what we want, and there is no restriction

on selective consumption, we must learn to want what we have in order to live a more fulfilled life and this allows ourselves to have more meaningful experiences when we have more gratitude for them.

It is said that once our basic needs our met; food, shelter etc., comes the realisation that there is only so many transient possessions that we can buy that truly makes us happier.xxxvi In fact, we are born into a range of happiness, with 50% of it being genetic and 10% circumstantial.

H o w e v e r, 4 0 % o f i t i s i n t e n t i o n a l b e h a v i o u r.

The dopamine – a neurotransmitter - levels in our brain are responsible for our levels of happiness, and from our teenage years onwards, we slowly lose dopamine and the synapses that they cross to reach the receptors in our nerve cells. But, we can make dopamine ourselves, and the best way of doing that is by aerobic exercise.xxxvii Training is an example of what is called ‘ Flow ’. This is doing something very difficult and demanding for no reason, i.e. not for money, other than because you like it. The fulfilment we get from experience, from hobbies and clear goals, is the feeling of a richer life, and being able to recover quickly from adversity through personal ambitions makes us happier people whilst living it.xxxviii 105

‘Borrow My Doggy’, ‘Airbnb’ and the ‘Visit Vegas’ advertising campaigns are all great examples of how the sharing economy is on the incline in our progressively Tranconsumerist society. There has even been development by BMW cars to develop a sharing economy car campaign. Everyone is asking, ‘Why own something, when you could borrow it for the same experience?’

The rental lifestyle is one that fits in well with the Transconsumerist, but overall, the Transconsumerist is a collaborator. They practise collaborative peerto-peer consumerism, sharing access to a number of services rather than owning it themselves.

This helps to demote the importance of money in communities and neighbourhoods, but encourage a level of sustainable payment - without including large corporations - by using fellow members of the community, in turn promoting a better sense of unity and municipal helpfulness.

Drivycar and Buzzcar , AirBnb , Über , and Rent the Runway, DogVacay and TaskRabbitxxxix some of which have been touched upon earlier are all perfect examples of using peer-to-peer sharing, or trading skills to benefit each other with money passing hands and without a middle man. This is the sustainability that the Transconsumerist wishes to promote.

The online trading websites where these skills are rented highlight Marx’s point on the Evolution of Capitalism, that job descriptions and professions 106

should not be regulated, but explored and more skillsets encouraged. The idea that someone could sell their skills in exchange for another skill online, whilst also having a job in a different area altogether is liberating, and allows the user to feel as if they have a sense of purpose by providing these services.

P. J . O ’ R o u r k e , w h o s a i d i n a 1 9 7 9 e s s a y for National Lampoon , ‘Nothing handles better than a rented car. You can go faster, turn corners sharper...’xl clearly highlighting that when we don’t own something, when an object doesn’t belong to us, we feel as if we can push it to it’s full potential and have the experience that we are owed, or that we have paid for. We have, as O’Rourke suggests, hired a rental car and will push it to its limits because – if anything happens to it, it is not our responsibility.

Our most valued experiences are those we have without feeling responsible for whatever consequences may occur. Those things that don’t define us, because we do not possess ownership of them.

www.borrowmydoggy.com

www.airbnb.co.uk

www.visitlasvegas.co.uk

107

ENDNOTES

CHAPTER FOUR xxxii Helliwell, John F., Layard, Lord Richard and Sachs, Jeffrey D. (2013, 2015). The World Happiness Report.

USA: The Sustainable Development Solutions Network. xxxiii Worstall, Tim. (2011). Jeff Sachs and the Economics of Happiness. Available: http://www.forbes.com/ sites/timworstall/2011/08/30/jeff-sachs-and-the-economics-of-happiness/. xxxiv Arora, Vishal. (2011). Would Bhutan’s happiness index work in Britain?. Available: http://www.theguardian. com/commentisfree/belief/2011/apr/14/david-cameron-bhutan-happiness-index. xxxv Arora, Vishal. (2011). Would Bhutan’s happiness index work in Britain?. Available: http://www.theguardian. com/commentisfree/belief/2011/apr/14/david-cameron-bhutan-happiness-index. xxxvi Gilbert, Daniel (2006). Stumbling on Happiness. London: Harper Perennial. xxxvii Gene-Jack Wang, Nora D. Volkow, Joana S. Fowler, Dinko Franceschi, Jean Logan, Naomi R. Pappas, Christopher T. Wong and Noelwah Netusil. (2000). Departments of Radiology and Psychiatry, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York. Medical and Chemistry Departments, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton; and Departments of Radiology and Psychiatry, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York. xxxviii Happy (2011) Directed by Roko Belic [Documentary Film] USA. Emotional Content xxxix Drivy (2014-present) Founder: Paulin Dementhon [Company] Paris.

Buzzcar (2015) Founder: Robin Chase [Company] Airbnb Inc. (2008) Founder: Brian Chesky [Company] USA. San Francisco Uber (2009) Founders: Travis Kalanick, Garrett Camp [Company] USA. San Francisco Rent the Runway (2009) Founders: Jennifer Fleiss, Jennifer Hyman [Company] USA. New York DogVacay (2012) Founders: Aaron Hirschhorn, Karine Nissim [Company] USA. Santa Monica, California TaskRabbit (2008) Founder: Leah Busque [Company] USA. Boston, Massachusetts. xl O’Rourke, P. J.. (1995). How to Drive Fast On Drugs While Getting Your Wing-Wang Squeezed and Not Spill Your Drink. In: National Lampoon original article (1979) Republican Party Reptile: The Confessions, Adventures, Essays, and (Other) Outrages of.... New York: Atlantic Monthly Press.

108

01 02 03 0102 0405 06 04 0708 07 0809 09 1011 10 11 12 1314 13 1415 15

/ TRANSCONSUMERISM CONTINUED

05 We have become so unhappy with our present lives, as Marx has said in Capitol among other writing, because we value commodity relationships over relationships with others. We must realise that in order for us to have the Good Life, we must be able to encompass a balance of needs based consumer goods, but ultimately place personal relationships and social interaction at the foreground of our conscious lives. We will only find value in how we are perceived by others and what legacy we leave behind from our experiences when we are no longer here.

We need to take the multiple opportunities we are given - such as recession, and the clarity it provides in relation to being frugal with passive and excessive consumerism - in order to change from mindless to mindful consumers.

112

Jordan Doner, ‘Auto Dali’, 2006 Looking at how we can perceive compositions in multiple ways in order to create a number of readings from visual work.

John Gerzema proposes in his 2009 TEDTalk, ‘The Post-Crisis Consumer’, that we need to ‘drive Capitalism to be less about ‘more’ and more about ‘better’.’ We must ‘continue to move away from clever brainwash marketing and more towards social sharing’ as a way to extract value from every purchase we make. Michael Sandel, Professor of Government at Harvard University, also agrees this viewpoint of too much being for sale in our societiesxli He argues that a market economy is a valuable and effective tool ‘for organising productive activity, but a market society is a place where almost everything is up for sale. It’s a way of life, in which market thinking and market values begin to dominate every aspect of life: personal relations, family life, health, education, politics, law, civic life.’ The market economy is a place where products that rely on word of mouth lead to advertising in order to gain sales.

When the market begins to dominate all of these things, dictating whether or not we are able to have aspects to these essential needs, it produces inequality and in doing so increases the concerns of a diminished sense of social and civic responsibility.

Sandel provides us with an example of this market economy affecting children in schools.

Some schools offer cash incentives to read books.

Though not a lot of money, it provides positive reinforcement whilst the child is in school. When the child leaves school, and is no longer offered money to read, they will no longer read. This changes the meaning of common practices that are worth caring about and affects aspects of later life. The restriction of access to services and education due to lack of finance increases class divisions. Some people live without crossing paths with those on a different social scale to them because of the restriction of money. The demand for this equality is increasing, and so too is the free nationalisation of all services. Sandel states, ‘the question of markets is no longer an economic one, but a moral one.’

Studies concerning intrinsic value - personal growth, relationships, community - over extrinsic value - rewards, praise, commodity, money, image, status - have shown us that we are all made happy by money, but this happiness has a limit. As mentioned in the previous chapter, The Benefits of Collaborative Consumption and the Search for Global Happiness, once our basic needs are met - we have a shelter and can provide food and warmth for those we love - the amount of money we have begins to correlate less with happiness. Instead, what we do with our lives shows this progressive linear narrative.

‘We have the ability to modify our perception, rather than change our reality.’

We have the ability to modify our perception rather than change reality. Marketing and advertising creates environments for this very well already, and so we should learn from our own ‘compulsive spending’ how to start ‘compulsive saving’ and ther efor e have m or e im pulsive exper iences.

Rory Sutherland questions whether we should be ‘changing the interface by which people make decisions for fundamental opportunities to change human behaviour.’ xlii Can we teach people that there is as much as ‘too much’? Can we foster an environment in where we are conscious about out consumer habits without the negative connotations of being considered ‘frugal’, ‘prudent’, ‘thrifty’ or ‘tight’?

We are aware that we are able to live lives as mindful consumers, realising that we all want authentic experiences and they are what brings value to our lives. By realising where we have come from; conscientious, altruistic lives that have been tainted by brands, multinational corporations, privatisation, credit cards and narrow-mindedness.

By investing in sustainable fashion pieces, cars and other commodity, and having more money to spend on the adventures, holidays that we can extract every possible bit of wealth from, and unique experiences, we become happier as a society.

113

Let us consider Transconsumerism as the new ‘ Middle Way’. Human beings are reliant on their own impermanent commodities and emotional connections to fleeting consumerist possessions.

Eventually, they become foundations of unavoidable anguish and distress through the displeasures of loss, jealousy and the increase of greed.

However, the individual is able to have a much more improved outlook on life by understanding the ephemerality and interdependence of all things, in turn, no longer wanting to increase, but to maintain.

One way of building relationships with others in order to benefit your own experiences, whilst spending money, is through random acts of kindness, or ‘paying it forward’. This selfless act has a much better return than spending money on ourselves, and if we are more pro-social with this money, then we are more likely to reap the rewards from somebody else ‘paying it forward’ in the future to us.

We’ve realised that we can’t buy happiness, but if we spend it on the right things, we can reach happiness through multiple, selfless facets.

By embracing life as a Transconsumerist, we are able to look at life in a completely different way, accepting what is important in relation to personal and social development, and what has no relevant influence on our experience of life. By rejecting Capitalism as we know it, and replacing it with a more sustainable root of consumerism - consumers of experience and quality - we are able to live much freer, more meaningful lives.

NOW, PASS THIS BOOK ON. 114

ENDNOTES

CHAPTER FIVE xli Sandel, Michael. (2011). Episode 12, ‘What’s the Right thing to do?’ : The Good Life. Available: http://www. justiceharvard.org/2011/02/episode-12/.

Sandel, Michael. (2013). Why we shouldn’t trust markets with our civic life. [TED Talk] Available: http://www. ted.com/talks/michael_sandel_why_we_shouldn_t_trust_markets_with_our_civic_life?language=en. xlii Sutherland, Rory (2009). ‘Life Lessons from an ad man’ [TED Talk] Available: http://www.ted.com/talks/ rory_sutherland_life_lessons_from_an_ad_man?language=en

‘By being a transconsumerist, the idea of ownership as the sole basis of defining identity is rejected and instead replaced by selective consumption; constructed with the idea of borrowing, experiencing, the acquisition of knowledge (learning) and investment in durable, quality possessions. In doing so, the key problems associated with passive consumerism (of climate change, exploitation of human rights and the violence and conflict caused by unequal income distribution) are more likely to be considered replaced by an engaged awareness of these problems and the implementation of temporary ownership….’

With the current interest in the sharing economy, ‘Transconsumerism: You can buy sex, but you can’t own an orgasm’ explores how we are able to change our consumption patterns by employing a more Transdisciplinary approach to our engrained Capitalist habits.

Transconsumerism aims to encourage people to think less about consumption and more about maintaining a greater balance of life experience to commodity. By the end of the book, the the reader will have less inclination to buy into disposable fashions and technology and think more about sustainable hobbies and cultural processes necessary to stray from becoming consumed by ‘The Treadmill’.

Harriet Bedder covers many topics including ‘The Treadmill Theory’, ‘The Slow Movement’, ‘Derive’, ‘Flow’ and ‘Fetishism.’ Applied ideas and concepts developed by Marx, Baudrillard and Nicolescu are included, whilst there is reference to artists such as Vanessa Beecroft and Michael Landy, great TEDTalk speakers; Morgan Spurlock, Michael Sandel and John Gerzema and authors Naomi Klein and Clotaire Rapaille.

RRP £11.99