Commodity/ Commodification and Cultural Studies

In modern capitalist societies, cultural products function as commodities that are manufactured and distributed to meet the demands of a consuming public. In literary and cultural criticism, “commodification” and “consumer culture” are terms that direct us to the intimate relationship between large‐scale economic systems, particularly market capitalism, and hegemonic cultural ideologies. “Commodities” are objects designed or promoted for purchase; the people who purchase them are “consumers,” a term that indicates the level of desire cultivated in the purchasing public for commodified things. In a consumer culture, one's desire for commodities feels like a need and is never fully satisfied. The public's perpetual acquisition or “consumption” of goods drives an economic system based on the production and circulation of commodities.

Commodity/ Commodification and Cultural Studies Journal Articles