Themes, Consumerism - Persuasion, Brand, Society, Culture

"We believe that through consumption our desires can be met"

I have chosen to look at consumerism as i feel it is something that effects everybody within the world in some way unless you are living on your own island and fully self sustainable. I also believe many people take not of consumerism and try to break the system as much as possible and try not to over consume. Where as other are completely oblivious and are so busy consuming that they don't even realise they are doing so. Above is my image that i have taken for consumerism, i felt that when i saw people walking past the homeless man sat outside one of the biggest corporations in the uk, i couldn't not take a photograph as i was so shocked with people ignorance. You have just been in a shop and probably bought many things that you didn't need or plan to buy when you walked into the store, but when you saw the sale signs or brightly colour packaging or even had a craving for sugary sweets, you bought into the system everything is stocked and shelved to perfection to made you feel this way. Then even though you walk out of the store with more food than you need and probably won't all get eaten, the rudeness and ignorance of people to then walk past somebody whom is in need and doesn't have money to buy bare necessities never mind over consume. They say ignorance is bliss, but i feel that this image portrays true ignorance of human kind. Across the world people are starving because of capitalism and consumerism, yet when adverts come on tv asking you to donate you get a sick feeling in your stomach seeing under nourished children and adults on the tv but you feel fine again when a chocolate advert comes on straight after and your comfortable in your warm, safe homes. Then when you have somebody in front of your own eyes whom is in need of help, you stroll right past without even acknowledging that it is a human being on the floor. People want the world to change but nobody is will to go out and change it, society has become lazy and ignorant. I decided to frame the image like this as i wanted to capture all the advertisements with the image, but also wanted the homeless man to be in the right bottom corner and that is usually the last place your eyes read which i feel links to how in the street the people seem to be aware of everything but the man. I also decided take the image in black and white as i wanted to reflect the mundane situation and didn't want my audience to be distracted and drawn in by the over populated range of advertisements.

I feel that my image and rationale relate to the quote used above, as like previously mentioned i feel everybody wishes for a better way of living yet very few people go out of their way to change how things are. I believe that people believe that the feel of being 'one with the earth and other people' is being suppressed by advertisements and the media trying to dumb is down in to believe that there is nothing more to life than working to buy and buying to live. Yet i feel many people do not see past this and believe that "through consumerism our desires can be met".