The car is the most important object in the twentieth century where it is viewed as freedom for movement and escapes from troubles. Since the introduction of automobiles, artists and wealthy individuals have used it as a subject and object used to perpetuate modern myths. This is also through the past stories of winged horse Pegasus which helped finish various dangerous aims but it lost at the end because of warriors’ excess ego; this also applies directly to the human race. Cars then pose a lot of dangers to a beautiful future.
Consumerism is a word or a term that is used to illustrate and describe the end results of equating personal happiness with the power of purchasing material possessions and their usage. Karl Marx and Thorstein Veblen were among the first to criticize consumption even though it started with human civilizations. Car culture is the idea behind current skepticism and the direct rejection of the automobile as a metaphoric savior.
After the Second World War, the economies of the western world developed and boomed. This led to the birth of consumer-based economies that seemed endless. The idea of having a car developed as early as 1920, but the great depression and World War II made it difficult and expensive to own a car. The factors that led to this include government reducing the speed limit from 40 miles per hour to 35. This was to reduce the gas used and take care of the car tires. (Lee, 2000) This changed the consumers’ minds and they started using trains and buses.
During these periods consumers worked hard to be able to purchase cars when normalcy returned and also to provide for their basic needs. After World War II the boom period of cars developed because there was a change when military car manufactures decided to switch to private cars. Then, these new automobiles (private cars) became the most used for movement. This for the government side led to the development of more roads and also rules and laws were passed for the control of these automobiles. (Fox and Jackson, 1983)
During this period after World War II, men have perceived as breadwinners and most of them used their private cars to commute to work or to nearby trains and bus stops so as to enable them to continue their journeys to offices or factories. On the other side, the women used these cars after dropping their husbands to at work to take the kids to school and pick them up later in the evenings and also they used them for shopping. Teenagers were not left behind, the automobile to them was freedom and credibility of the status to their peers whether they were going to colleges or using them for leisure. The era of race cars also motivated the manufactures and the buyers, that is, after a car won a race the consumers could order the car and this boosted its manufacturing. (Aaker and George, 1994)
During this car consumerism period, the power of owning a car mostly was viewed as a certain social class privilege and also to some was a demand. In this period some consumers owned more than one car. Also, the compensation that the soldiers and people obtained during and after World War II gave them enough money to purchase these cars.
Reference
Aaker, David A., and George S. Day, eds. Consumerism: Search for the Consumer Interest, New York: The Free Press, 1994.
Fox, Richard Wightman, and T. J. Jackson Lears, Eds. The Culture of Consumption: Critical Essays in American History, 1880–1980, New York: Pantheon Books, 1983.
Lee, Martyn J., Ed. The Consumer Society Reader, Malden Mass.: Blackwell Publishers, 2000.
Van Doren, Charles, ed. Webster’s American Biographies, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1984.
Bibliography
Cross, G. Time and Money. The making of consumer culture, New York: Routledge, 1993.
Lee, M. J. Consumer Culture Reborn, London: Routledge, 1993.
Miller, D. Acknowledging Consumption, London: Routledge, 1995.
Williamson, J. Consuming Passions, London: Marion Boyars, 1987.