Sarah Banet-Weiser

(Author)

Authentic(tm): The Politics of Ambivalence in a Brand CulturePaperback, 15 October 2012

Authentic(tm): The Politics of Ambivalence in a Brand Culture
Temporarily out of stock
Free Delivery
Cash on Delivery
15 Days
Free Returns
Secure Checkout
Buy More, Save More
Part of Series
Critical Cultural Communication
Part of Series
Critical Cultural Communication (Paperback)
Print Length
279 pages
Language
English
Publisher
New York University Press
Date Published
15 Oct 2012
ISBN-10
0814787142
ISBN-13
9780814787144

Description

A stimulating, smart book on what it means to live in a brand culture

Brands are everywhere. Branding is central to political campaigns and political protest movements; the alchemy of social media and self-branding creates overnight celebrities; the self-proclaimed "greening" of institutions and merchant goods is nearly universal. But while the practice of branding is typically understood as a tool of marketing, a method of attaching social meaning to a commodity as a way to make it more personally resonant with consumers, Sarah Banet-Weiser argues that in the contemporary era, brands are about culture as much as they are about economics. That, in fact, we live in a brand culture.

Authentic(TM) maintains that branding has extended beyond a business model to become both reliant on, and reflective of, our most basic social and cultural relations. Further, these types of brand relationships have become cultural contexts for everyday living, individual identity, and personal relationships--what Banet-Weiser refers to as "brand cultures." Distinct brand cultures, that at times overlap and compete with each other, are taken up in each chapter: the normalization of a feminized "self-brand" in social media, the brand culture of street art in urban spaces, religious brand cultures such as "New Age Spirituality" and "Prosperity Christianity,"and the culture of green branding and "shopping for change."

In a culture where graffiti artists loan their visions to both subway walls and department stores, buying a cup of "fair-trade" coffee is a political statement, and religion is mass-marketed on t-shirts, Banet-Weiser questions the distinction between what we understand as the "authentic" and branding practices. But brand cultures are also contradictory and potentially rife with unexpected possibilities, leading Authentic(TM) to articulate a politics of ambivalence, creating a lens through which we can see potential political possibilities within the new consumerism.

Product Details

Author:
Sarah Banet-Weiser
Book Format:
Paperback
Country of Origin:
US
Date Published:
15 October 2012
Dimensions:
22.61 x 15.24 x 1.78 cm
Genre:
Sociological
ISBN-10:
0814787142
ISBN-13:
9780814787144
Language:
English
Location:
New York
Pages:
279
Weight:
408.23 gm

Related Categories


Need Help?
+971 6 731 0280
support@gzb.ae

About UsContact UsPayment MethodsFAQsShipping PolicyRefund and ReturnTerms of UsePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice

VisaMastercardCash on Delivery

© 2024 White Lion General Trading LLC. All rights reserved.