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Lead Us Into Temptation: The Triumph of American Materialism
 
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Lead Us Into Temptation: The Triumph of American Materialism [Paperback]

James B. Twitchell (Author)
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
Price: CDN$ 25.97 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
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Is consumerism a spiritual dead end? Isn't it true that mere things can never make us happy? Why, no, says James B. Twitchell, in a sequel of sorts to his popular Adcult USA. We are what we buy, says Twitchell, and we like what we buy. After food and shelter, the next step in the needs hierarchy is self-actualization--and in contemporary society, what better way to self-actualize than to co-opt the mojo of recognizable name brands? The semiotics of purchase are important, he argues: durable goods make us comfortable, provide us with a sense of security in an age when religion no longer works the way it was designed to. The new high priests are celebrities who hawk basketball shoes, cars, telecommunications infrastructures, Carnival cruises, cosmetics, nicotine patches, and medications. Shopping, in this sense, may even be the ultimate act of self-identification with the divine principle. Radical though it may be, the hypothesis of Lead Us into Temptation is strongly supported by the evidence. Never before has the science of selling been so well understood, the market's ability to measure consumer satisfaction so complete. Read Twitchell and weep--or better yet, go shopping. --Patrizia DiLucchio --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Chronicling America's increasing absorption in materialism, "the most shallow of the twentieth-century's various isms," Twitchell (Adcult) examines the cycle of conspicuous consumption. Comparing the influence of contemporary marketing and advertising to that of the Renaissance-era Catholic church, Twitchell, who is a professor of English at the University of Florida, contends that both "sell peace of mind either in this world or the next." He finds celebrity spokespersons such as Michael Jordan "priests" of marketing, the subject of "hagiography" in television commercials that are "an almost perfect mimic of religious parable[s]," which pay for sitcoms that instruct Americans in "how branded objects are dovetailed together to form a coherent pattern of selfhood, a lifestyle." Twitchell runs out of steam (and metaphors) halfway through the book as he discusses the evolution of branding and how shopping has become integral to the construction of the modern self, charging that infomercials and home shopping networks are the ultimate conspiracy, with their one-sided, two-dimensional falsely "interactive" setup. Though illuminated by some bright ideas, Twitchell's academese and arch stance make for some strained arguments. (June) FYI: This is the final volume in the nonfiction trilogy that began with Carnival Culture: The Trashing of Taste in America and Adcult: The Triumph of Advertising in America.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
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 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
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Average Customer Review
3.2 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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1.0 out of 5 stars Just Dreadful, Jan 12 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Lead Us Into Temptation: The Triumph of American Materialism (Hardcover)
As an academic who loves to shop, I was hoping this would provide a more balanced account of the rise and impact of mass consumerism. He is certainly right that academics and other relatively privileged strata have something of a knee-jerk animus to mass pleasure. But the book is a complete failure. It amounts to little more than a defense brief for mass consumerism--and like a good defense lawyer, he ignores evidence that doesn't fit his case, distorts the arguments of his foes, and offers a rosy, unreal view of his client. ... Skip.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Pragmatic view point on consumerism and advertising, Aug 15 2002
By 
G. Powell (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Lead Us Into Temptation: The Triumph of American Materialism (Paperback)
An interesting read about the invasive consumerism of the 20th century. His basic take is we buy what we want, it isn't foisted on us by advertsing. All that you see on TV is an ad, including the "news", the sitcom set, ie house, clothes, pots, pans, lamps and has been since the beginning of TV. And that "Democracy" is the freedom to buy what you want when you want it.

He makes a good case that this has been what people "really" want since time imortal. And that no amount of whining about how it isn't good for you can compete with the almighty dollar. Simply put, if you really didn't want it, you wouldn't buy it.

I do agree that he can get long winded in his arguments.

Anyone looking to start up another .com company would do well to read this first.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Pretentious twaddle disguised as scholarship, Mar 11 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Lead Us Into Temptation: The Triumph of American Materialism (Hardcover)
First, it was quite obvious that the author has some sort of animus against non-materialism, since he seems to glory in taking gratuitous chops at environmentalists, the voluntary simplicity movement, and pretty much anyone who doesn't agree with him. I was thoroughly sick of it by the end of the first chapter.

Second, he does not back up many of his assertions, despite a plethora of footnotes. For instance, he asserts that kitchens have gotten smaller in the last few decades (seemingly as a way of proving that we eat more take out and less home cooked food), without stating whether he means suburban or urban kitchens, new construction or remodelling, apartment, condo or detached kitchens...you get the picture. There are similarly unsupported assertions about trash disposal, landfills, and teenage buying patterns.

Finally, it was *dull*. The only parts that were even vaguely entertaining were the last few chapters, when the polemics were replaced by personal reporting of his trip to a mall. I learned very little about American materialism, and far more than I wished about the author's political biases.

A huge disappointment.

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