Response to Families' Analysis of "Affluenza" & Reminders for Next Week

There seems to be a consensus among the families that one of the most significant points made in the video, "Affluenza," had to do with the lengths to which business was willing to go to market to highly impressionable and vulnerable children. In light of this, I plan to ask the following question on the midterm exam:

(1) The families noted that aggressive marketing to children was one of the most significant points made in the video, "Affluenza." Identify ONE of two statements made at the so-called Kid Power Conference which clearly illustrates this point.(1pt)

ANSWER: (a) "children are a cash crop to be harvested" OR (b) "displaying anti-social behavior in pursuit of a product is a good thing."


Another point that was mentioned by a couple families had to do with advertising in schools, hence, the following question:

(2) In the video program, "Affluenza," what was the significance of the "7Up Bus?" (2pts)

ANSWER: This was an ad put on school buses in Colorado Springs which illustrates the penetration of advertising in schools, and it was justified by the head of the school district because they needed the money for schools since the taxpayers had not been willing to increase their support for more than 25 years.

LET ME UNDERSCORE THAT THE ABOVE TWO QUESTIONS WILL BE ON THE MIDTERM EXAM.

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Reminders: Essay I (a description of which I handed out last Tuesday, 2/26) is due this coming Tuesday, 3/4. Also, I plan to pick up the pace in covering our book, Affluenza, so, continue reading it; you should be roughly half way through by next Tuesday. See you then.

Winners of "Crazy Consumer Culture" Contest, Some Concluding Remarks on Class Lectures & A Reminder

First, winners of our little contest. Each will receive two bonus points:

#2 High levels of credit card debt brought on by social pressures on people to consume more. Status competition and addiction to instant gratification.
THE WINNER, 7 votes, Johnson R.

#3 Places like Sam's Club which encourage buying in bulk, which in turn encourages overconsumption, especially overeating and obesity when perishable food items are bought in bulk.
TIE FOR SECOND PLACE, 5 votes, Jessica G.

#17 Advertising that preys on people with bad credit; often leads people to become victims of foreclosure or re-possession, which only damages their credit and finances further.
TIE FOR SECOND PLACE, 5 votes, Justin S.

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Second, I'd like to add just a few remarks to my lecture yesterday in which I closed with a couple statements from E. Jordan and W. Morris which I believe describe a standard of what constitutes a well-ordered and healthy society.

A couple final observations are in order regarding those statements of a good society.
1. One can easily gather from them that such conditions as poverty, hunger, homelessness, unemployment clearly represent problems, both for the individual and the larger society. Meaningful work is especially important to individual and social health -- it is an ORGANIZING PRINCIPLE OF LIFE. We build our lives around our work, what we do. When there is a lack of work, meaningless or unrewarding work, or work that undermines or destroys that larger order of society, this is a serious social problem.

2. Insofar as our society, or any society, falls short of this standard of a healthy society described above (as all existing societies do in varying degrees), we can say that something is wrong, that social problems exist, that we have work to do.

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A REMINDER: Remember tomorrow (Thurs. 2/21) we'll be seeing the documentary, "Affluenza," on which the book is based. Following that, the families will get together to discuss it and address the questions I posed in describing this family activity. See Monday 2/18 post.

Family Activity for this Thursday 2/21

After viewing the video program, "Affluenza," on Thursday (which runs about 55 minutes), you will get together with your various families and discuss what you thought was most significant about the video. More specifically, I want each family to come to some consensus or agreement on what you felt was the most significant point or argument made in the documentary and what you felt was the most startling fact or statistic presented (which does not necessarily have to relate to your most significant point or argument). Each family will designate a spokesperson to present your findings at the beginning of class on Tuesday, Feb. 26th. I may incorporate the points you bring out in a question or two on the midterm exam. This exercise is worth 3 points. All family members have to contribute to earn the credit.

Follow-up to "Our Crazy Consumer Culture" Exercise

Before I describe a little follow-up to your first exercise, I want to remind those three students who have yet to submit a comment, that they need to do so by Monday 2/18 at the latest to get credit for the first exercise. Also, as I noted in class on Thursday, we will be voting for the two best submissions (or craziest things about our consumer culture) on Tuesday (2/19). You have to be there to vote; no absentee ballots. Please take a moment to look over the submissions of your classmates. I'll run through them briefly in class on Tuesday before we vote. Finally, I am working on a "family activity" in connection with viewing the video, "Affluenza," and I should have that posted on the blog by Monday or Tuesday next week.

Now, for the follow-up exercise:

In a paragraph, I want you to address the question: on what basis are you claiming some aspect of our consumer culture is crazy, or bad, or harmful? So, just give some more thought to whatever example you gave and discuss on what basis it is crazy. In this context, keep in mind my effort in class lecture to define a ground or basis for recognizing social problems; however, you do not necessarily have to relate your answer to my lectures. This follow-up exercise is worth 2pts, and I'd like everyone to respond by MONDAY, FEB.25.

Individual Exercise: Aspects of our Crazy Consumer Culture

For this first exercise I want each of you to post an example of some aspect of our consumer culture (product, advertising, entertainment, etc.) that strikes you as being crazy even if millions of people consume it. Briefly describe your example and tell why you believe it is crazy -- two paragraphs at most. I realize that some of you may have cracked open some of the books we'll be reading, which provide many examples of the craziness of our consumer culture. However, please try to ignore that for the time being; I'd like you to do your own thinking and come up with your own example and give your own reasons as to why you believe it is crazy.

Post your comments on the blog under this heading. The deadline is next Thursday, Feb. 14th (Valentine's Day). This exercise is worth 5 points. And once I have all of your submissions, we'll vote on the two best which will each be awarded an additional 2 points.