Commercialism has become a common practice in the United States and other countries in the world. Gary Ruskin and Juliet Schor speak of the growing nature and effects that commercialism has brought upon society in their essay “Every Nook and Cranny: The Dangerous Spread of Commercialized Culture.” The essay provides numerous statistics on how commercialism affected schools, the internet, television shows and movies, the government, and children. Some cities have even signed marketing deals with companies as a mean to gain some revenue for the city. Schools have also done the same in an effort to gain revenue or other electronics like television sets or computers. According to the essay, companies pay television shows and movies to place their product in a few scenes of the television show or movie. It also comments on how commercials are now aimed towards children and that the “average child was exposed to 40,000 TV ads annually” by the mid-1990s.
The surprising statistics that the authors provided in their essay kept the reader enticed. Though some of the words and acronyms were hard to decipher, the essay was overall interesting. It is surprising to know that cities have signed contracts with companies so that the city can get some income from the profit that the company is gaining. One of the most surprising facts that the author provided was that Greece has banned toy advertising between the hours of 7am to 11pm.
I feel like the issues that the essay covered is very important in today’s times. The fact that financial success is more important than the “life goal to ‘develop a meaningful philosophy of life’” is a bit troubling. People should wish to find happiness and peace in their lives. Financial stability and success, in my opinion, is not worth much in the long run. It will provide someone with the money he or she needs to live his or her life, but in the end, it will not mean much. Teachings and lessons are much more valuable than money. Although money pays for things, lifelong lessons will prove to be useful in difficult situations.
In conclusion, Gary Ruskin and Juliet Schor’s essay was very entertaining to read.
