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Ways of Seeing by John Berger

One thing I agree with John Berger is that "publicity turns consumption into a substitute for democracy (149)." It's easy for me to find out what is the popular item or what the consumer prefer to buy through looking at the TV commercials and advertisements in magazines. Particularly it is obvious in the fashion world. All the fashion magazines show "must have items" of the season throughout the year and urge people to buy those items, otherwise they'll be no longer fashionable .

One thing I disagree with John Berger is that he thinks publicity makes people "envious" of themselves as they might be by getting the products. I assume that John Berger uses "envy" meant by "admirable" or "desire to have," and it might be true. However, I don't think everyone is in that way. A person who doesn't have a driver's licence won't get any attraction to the ad of luxury car. Or a person who has diabetes would feel anxious for seeing excessive publicity of super-sized humbergers or fatty shakes. So I believe it totally depends on each individual since we're all have different tastes and interests.

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on October 29, 2007 9:12 PM.

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