Approaching Consumer Culture (eBook)

Evgenia Krasteva-Blagoeva, Ph.D is Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, New Bulgarian University, Sofia. Her research interests are in consumer culture, ethnography of socialism and postsocialism, urban anthropology, communities and identities in the Balkans, names and name giving.  Member of the Executive Commitee of InASEA - International Association of Southeast European Anthropology (2007-2014, 2016-2018) and elected President of InASEA (2014-2016). She was twice guest lecturer in the Institute of Ethnology, University ”Ludvig Maximilian”, Munich (2006,2008) and in Konitsa Summer School of Balkan Anthropology (2006,2008). Leading scholar in several research projects such as ”Fast Food and Slow Food Culture in the Beginning of 21st century” and ”New Consumer Practices: Anthropological Perspectives”. Author of The Personal Name in Bulgarian Tradition (1999, in Bulgarian), editor in chief of Total Sale. Consumer Culture in Bulgaria (2014, in Bulgarian) author of more than 30 articles in refereed journals and edited volumes in English and German.

Preface 5
Contents 8
About the Authors 10
Consumer Culture and Its Futures: Dreams and Consequences 14
Introduction 14
Dreams of Consumption 19
Cockaigne and Peasant Dreams of Abundance 19
Court Society Dreams of Splendour and Luxury 20
The Birth of a Consumer Culture 22
The American Dream 23
Consumer Rhythms and the Timing of Consumption 25
Consume Productively 24/7 27
Profiling, Tracking, and Data Harvesting 29
Immaterial and Informational Lifestyle Construction 33
Consumption Experiences, Prosumption, and Curating Lifestyles 36
The Consequences of Consumption 39
Consumer Culture Futures 43
References 52
“You Are a Socialist Child Like Me”: Goods and Identity in Bulgaria 60
Introduction 60
Socialist Consumption: Coping with Shortages 61
Overvaluation of Goods in Socialism: “Be Mine Forever” 64
Postsocialism: The Unusual Consumers 74
Conclusion 82
References 83
Consumer Culture from Socialist Yugoslavia to Post-socialist Serbia: Movements and Moments 86
From Scratch: Affirming Consumption in Socialist Yugoslavia 88
“One Step Forward, Two Steps Backwards”: Continuities and Discontinuities 90
Changing Society 92
Changing Attitudes Toward Materiality, Materialism, and Money 96
Changes in the Imaginary Community of Consumers 97
Conclusion 100
References 103
Overview of Consumer Culture in Bulgaria: From Perestroika to Facebook 106
Before 1989 106
Bulgaria’s Transition to Consumer Society 108
The V-Like Structure of the Consumer Revolution from 1989 to 2008 108
The Bulgarian New Deal (1999–2008) 110
New Forms of Consumption After the Rise of Social Media 115
The Rise of Brands 115
Practices and Rituals 117
E-Consumption on Facebook 118
Names 120
Profile Pictures 121
Family and Relationships 121
Cover Photo 121
Timeline/Status 122
Likes 122
Albums 122
Conclusions 123
References 123
Consuming “Others”: Post-socialist Realities and Paradoxes of Appropriation in Serbia 125
Introduction 125
Consumption in European Socialist Countries and the Yugoslav Experience 127
Local Boutiques: The Dolls from Hell 130
The Case of Dorothy Perkins: The Deceit of Goods 133
Pandora’s Box 136
Conclusion 138
References 139
The Meanings and Practices of “Consumer Activism” in Postsocialist Bulgaria 142
Introduction 142
Consumers Between “Access” and “Choice” in Postsocialist Bulgaria 146
Distrust vis-à-vis Merchants/Stores 148
Distrust vis-à-vis Consumer Experts: Credible Consumer Information Should Be Free? 151
Concluding Remark: The Conundrum of Consumer-State Relations After State Socialism 154
References 155
Preserves Exiting Socialism: Authenticity, Anti-standardization, and Middle-Class Consumption in Postsocialist Romania 157
Eating (in) Socialism: Shortage, Depositing, and Thrift 162
To the West and Back: The Winding Aspirational Road of the Postsocialist Consumer 167
The Artisan Feel of Socialist Preserves 171
Preserving Authenticity: Quality Products and the Value of Artisanship 173
The Symbolic Repertoire of Meaning in the Artisan Market 177
Performing Domesticity and Simplicity: Fighting Standardization with Quality Signs 178
Ethics and Labor as Sources of Value 180
Giving New Meaning to Domestic Self-Provisioning: Jars and Productive Leisure Among the Middle Class 181
Conclusions 185
References 186
The Pleasures of Being Global: Cultural Consumption of Pizza and Sushi in a Bulgarian City 191
Introduction 191
City Restaurants 194
Pizza 196
History 196
The Culinary Grammar of Pizza 196
Morphology of the Dish of Pizza 196
Culinary Syntax and Semantics of Pizza 197
Domesticating Pizza in Bulgarian City Culture 199
Bulgarian Cuisine and Its Traditions 199
How Has Pizza Been Domesticated 202
Pizza in Bulgarian Restaurants 207
Japanese Food as a Symbol of Unfamiliar Otherness 209
Transformation of Japanese Food into Global 210
Features of Japanese Food: Sushi and Sashimi 212
Basic Ingredients and Preparation (Culinary Morphology) 212
Culinary Syntax and Semantics: Table Manners 214
Japanese Food in Bulgarian Urban Culture 215
Fish and Seafood in Bulgarian Cuisine 217
Who Visits Japanese Restaurants and Why? 218
References 226
Websites 227
Consumption of the Past: Constructing Antiquity of an Archaeological Site in Bulgaria and Marketing the Ideological Narrative 229
Approaching the Production of Antiquity of an Archaeological Site: Its Role in the Politics of Consumption of Nationalized Past 229
Archaeology as Historical Science in Bulgaria: The Context of Culture-Historical Approaches 231
Territorializing the Nation by Means of Ancient and Medieval Ruins: A Longue Durée Perspective 233
Production of Archaeological Narrative of the Site of Perperikon: The Archaeologist-As-Hero 239
References 244
Modernization and the Department Store in Early-Twentieth-Century Japan: Modern Girl and New Consumer Culture Lifestyles 247
Introduction 247
The Department Store and New Consumer Experience 248
The Birth of the Department Store 248
Department Stores as New Urban Spectacular Spaces 249
The First Japanese Department Store, Mitsukoshi 250
Window Display, Architecture, and Sensory Pleasure 251
Flâneur and Symbolic Consumption 252
Department Store and Women’s Public Sphere 254
Woman as a Domestic Engineer 255
Working Woman as a New Type of Woman 256
Shop Girl as a Symbol of Modern 258
Modern Girls and New Femininity 259
New Women, the Modern Girl and Consumption 260
Conclusion: The Aestheticization of Everyday Life 261
References 263
A Cultural Reading of Conspicuous Consumption in China 266
A General Review of Conspicuous Consumption 266
The Development of Conspicuous Consumption in China 268
Social Changes that Make Conspicuous Consumption Possible in China 270
Characteristics of Conspicuous Consumption in China 273
Conclusion 276
References 277
Middle Stratum Consumption Patterns as a “Key” for Understanding Japanese Society 279
Introduction: Japan Seen Through Its Consumption 279
Consumption Patterns and Middle Strata in Contemporary Societies 280
Postmodernization of Japanese Consumption Patterns and Lifestyle 282
Middle Classes: Stratified Consumption and Leisure 286
Conclusion: Middle Stratum Consumption Patterns of the Late Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Century 292
References 294
Index 296