Konsumpcja w ujęciu studiów kulturowych

PostMarxist perspective perceived consumption primarily as an instrument of alienation. Cultural studies offered a different view. Focusing on using and reconstructing (both symbolic and physical) of goods, they argued that consumption may be a mechanism of authentic expression, a way of articulating consumer’s personal meanings. Cultural studies also demonstrated that consumers, through the process of consumption, can actively manifest their resistance to the market (or any imposed ideology). The paper traces the development of reflection on consumption within cultural studies, deriving from the work of Stuart Hall and Michel De Certeau, through the writings on subcultural and popcultural (in the sense of John Fiske) consumption, to contemporary subversive activities. It reveals the broad application of the notion of consumption for the purpose of describing contemporary social reality. The text discusses the concept of tactics and strategy, incorporation, as well as various forms of subversion. The author illustrates these concepts with observed examples or cases obtained from desk research. The paper examines the opposition potential of consumption, considers the cultural and social changes resulting from certain styles of consumption. It also poses the question of the status of consumer in today’s market. It offers different ways of interpreting the above problems present in the area of cultural studies.