from the normal lifestyle of a youth , from shy , bashful , introverted girl to prom queen winning the heart of the guy she adored was the exact template for cool girl transformation . This is what the pop culture has put us into .
The transformation cost a lot of cash , obviously . Julia Roberts in the movie ‘ Pretty Woman ’ who was a prostitute , was portrayed wearing fishnet stockings and flashy top and she have to spend money to look like proper lady . Looks may be deceiving but the way we dressed is a way of self-expression . Our freedom of expression is doomed because of our how the popular culture has molded the way we view ourselves . We ended up buying more and more stuff in order to fall into the description of perfect and beautiful as deemed in the movie .
The pop culture had caused us to buy more stuff . The iPhone is an example which a form of technological advancement that was once used to allow the users to have a better experience in communicating but nowadays it is viewed as a need , as a possession or a status of a social ladder . The music videos featured by the pop culture never fail to cease our attention by making us feel insecure and not enough with our current lifestyle . The music video is designed to show and portray the lifestyle of the riches . Just name it , the clothing , the car , the house and the fashion accessory used in the music video . Being a millennial , we cannot afford to live the life where materialism is the number one priority in this struggling economy .
Juggling in between two jobs , in order to fulfill the requirement of the needs in the Maslow ’ s Hierarchical Needs , we cannot fit in to the lifestyles that are lived by the Kardashians nor Cardi B . Quoting Tyler Durden in the movie Fight Club , “ advertising has us chasing cars and clothes , working we hate so can buy shit we don ’ t need .” All of this is the impact of pop culture and its relation to consumerism . To hustle and make money , better yet to fall under the spell of the pop culture , by idolizing the riches does nothing but harm . Spending within our means is the way to go .
The pop culture always has a special place in our heart as its idea is densely based with the American Dream , the place where everyone can dream and be everything they dreamt of . The rags to riches story is not a dream or a fairytale . Putting our priority wrongly would cost us suffering and trouble in the future . The hard earned cash , deliberately spent to buy unnecessary items due to the influence of the pop culture in a long run is a ticking time bomb .
Consumerism is what we spend our money to , how we spend them and the reasons why we spend them . The pop culture has a serious impact on consumerism and what are we going to do about that ? Only time will tell .
SASARAN JURNAL KRITIKAN MEDIA . 41