Weekly Post

Hey blog. Was there ever an item for sale that you felt you absolutely needed in your life? Lotโ€™s of people have felt this way about items that after purchasing, werenโ€™t actually that necessary. This situation in a more extreme form is known as materialism, valuing material items as a source of happiness or status. This is something I noticed in a show we watched in class, Back in Time for Dinner.

 

The show follows a modern family experiencing life throughout different decades and as we are studying the 50โ€™s, of course we watched the episode for that decade. One of the themes I noticed in the episode was the amount of effort that was put into looking โ€œperfectโ€ in the 1950โ€™s. Families that wanted to keep up this appearance of perfection could purchase many different items to accomplish that, from house decorations to clothing. The episode included clips from commercials which encouraged housewives to buy the latest kitchen appliances.

Thatโ€™s what made the 1950โ€™s seem like a more materialistic time, unlike the previous decade when people didnโ€™t really have the time or money to spend on material things during WWII. The materialism we see in the 50โ€™s has continued into today in many ways. People use items to gain a certain status, which we can see with things like clothing with brand names printed on them. More evidence that this has continued today is that some people feel that a materialistic life is negative, and will turn to minimalism. Minimalism could be considered the opposite of materialism since it is about only having the things that you truly need. Some people argue that minimalism is actually more materialistic than owning many unnecessary items because if everything you own is carefully curated and only what you need, then you hold more value over your belongings. Another viewpoint is one that is against minimalism. Many people today feel that minimalism, especially within fashion and interior design is un exciting and bland. This can show that materialism has continued in some peopleโ€™s lives since the 1950โ€™s, but the way it is viewed has changed for some people who see it as a negative part of their lives.ย 

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