Monday, September 16, 2013
Consumerist Morals
What does George Lipsitz mean when he suggests that working class ethnic sitcoms of the 1950s put the borrowed moral capital of the past at the service of the values of the present? Based on his essay and your viewings this Thursday, how did these sitcoms demonstrate how "wise choices enabled consumers to have both moral and material rewards"?
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Ethnic working class sitcoms held values of the past, such as in those of Mama and Papa in "Mama" of not wanting to buy something you couldn't afford outright, or being hesitant to invest significant money in stock, and then through the course of the episode subtly show how consumer values of today (the then-today of the 50s) would bring real material and emotional improvements to their lives. One example from the reading is when Aunt Jenny proposes a fireless cooker to that brings Mama appreciation for her family's love, as she greatly appreciates their generosity and thinking of her, even if she on the surface said she didn't want it, in "Mama's Birthday" (Lipsitz, p. 81-82). Through this, the morals of the past are seen as compatible with the consumer ideals of the 50s, as in Mama's appreciation and happiness that comes from the present of the stove, and how it is shown to bring the family together. Also, the old fashioned logic that Papa brings in resistance to purchasing the stove is overcome by Aunt Jenny's argument that his place as a husband-provider is not being fulfilled by his old fashioned prudence.
ReplyDeleteEven in episodes where old sense apparently wins, as in the episode we watched in class (about the fortune teller and her devious partner in crime selling phony stock), the episode win's the audience's approval by affirming their older principles, and then in the same episode pushes very hard to advertise for their sponser's coffee product. The audience feels pleased with the show's applause of their values, and is more likely not to resist so much the insistence it then places on buying the coffee. Also, by combining the affirmation of oldfashioned values and the advertisements makes them seem not as different as they might if looked at logically. The emotional satisfaction the audience feels at the joy of the show makes them more relaxed about listening to the advertisements, than if they were stand-alone advertisements.
I feel, as though what Lipsitz is saying, is that the morality of the ethnic middle class that was established during the Great Depression is being used to sway the audience into moving away from their old values without directly saying so. By establishing a connection between the cast and the viewer the audience will feel more comfortable adapting to the new ways or maybe will make them more inclined to making exceptions. Lipsits says on pg.72, “They display value conflicts about family, identity, consumer spending, ethnicity, class, and gender roles that would appear to be disruptive and dysfunctional within a communications medium primarily devoted to stimulating commodity purchases.” For example in Beulah, she feared for the marriage of her employers and how they seemed void of emotional relations, and her need to fix this by meddling in their lives to the extent of almost terminating herself for doing so, but toward the end of the episode the husband comes home with a gift and embraces his wife instead of prior when he just wanted to be alone. The wise choice being that when your marriage is rocky that buying your significant other a small but exceptional gift can bring happiness back into your lives, while reading too much into things can be an unwanted reaction, contributing to the moral and mostly material rewards.
ReplyDeleteLipsitz suggests that the working class ethnic sitcoms of the 1950s played off of a combination of nostalgia and sponsorship to spawn purchasing decisions in its viewers. For example, in the show Mama, the sponsor, Maxwell House Coffee, frequently plays off of the old-time family values that Mama and her family represent. After an episode filled with love, family cohesion, and thoughts of a simpler way of living, the sponsor’s name flashes across the screen, thereby synching up for viewers the emotions brought about by the episode and the sponsor’s product. Furthermore, this connection implies that if someone wants to experience the same love and classic family values that Mama regularly shows, they can accomplish this goal by purchasing Maxwell House Coffee. A similar instance occurs when sponsor’s products are injected into the narrative itself. For example, during one episode, Mama wants a fireless cooker so that she doesn’t have to spend all her time in the kitchen making dinner. This use of product placement implies to the audience that purchasing this product will fulfill their needs just as it will fulfill Mama’s.
ReplyDeleteIn both of these instances, the point is that the sponsor gets to use Mama’s family, their values, and the emotions inspired in viewers to sell products that have absolutely nothing to do with family values or their ethnic heritage.