DECONSTRUCTING THE CHILDREN‘S CULTURE INDUSTRY: A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS FROM YOUNG PEOPLE by JENNIFER ANN HILL A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Doctor of Philosophy in THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Interdisciplinary Studies) (Social Work, Sociology, Psychology,) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan) April 2013 © Jennifer Ann Hill, 2013 ABSTRACT The children‘s ―culture industry,‖ meaning the mass production of popular culture by corporations, has systematically targeted children to persuade them to desire commodities while promising an increase in happiness. Media in all forms has become the conduit through which corporations have access to children and the means by which they influence, mould and profoundly impact children's lives. Indeed, consumer culture plays a dominant role for individuals living in such cultures, arguably more than any other institution including government. In the 1990s, the most intense commercial campaign in the history of childhood had commenced. Despite the pervasiveness of consumerism, there has been a notable gap in the literature to ascertain from young people, in their own words, what are the experiences of and meanings attributed to consumerism throughout their childhoods. Using a paradigm of qualitative research, the present dissertation provides a detailed description of how young people, those aged 18 or 19, perceive the presence of consumer culture in their lives, both presently and with particular focus on the past, as children. Data presented here suggest that most of the young people interviewed feel considerable pressure to conform to the standards of consumerism, including the adoption of brand culture, fads and a ‗buy-and-consume‘ modality. Furthermore, the very identities of young people are inextricably linked to the process of consumption including the desiring, acquiring and discarding of consumable objects. Nonetheless, the participants were adamant their individuality had not been altered by mass culture, and that they were free to make choices as citizens in democracies have come to expect. Overall, the participants‘ responses demonstrated a distinct lack of insight about the motives of corporations, the power of advertising/media and their far-reaching influence on thoughts and behaviours. However, hopeful signs of understanding and resistance arose among some of the participants, including two in particular, who strongly expressed their desire to not conform. ii PREFACE The research study upon which this dissertation was based was approved by the University of British Columbia Okanagan Behavioural Research Ethics Board on May 17, 2011. The UBC BREB number is H11-00447. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ii Preface .......................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgement ........................................................................................................................ xi Dedication .................................................................................................................................... xii Introduction.................................................................................................................................... 1 The Presenting Problem ....................................................................................................... 1 Background and Significance............................................................................................... 2 Statement of the Problem ..................................................................................................... 3 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................ 4 Rationale............................................................................................................................... 4 Significance of the Study ..................................................................................................... 5 Research Aims...................................................................................................................... 6 Overview of the Study.......................................................................................................... 6 Chapter One: Theories on Mass Culture ..................................................................................... 10 The Culture Industry .......................................................................................................... 12 Mediums of Mass Culture: The Delivery of Control ........................................................ 12 Television.................................................................................................................. 12 Music ........................................................................................................................ 13 Movies ...................................................................................................................... 15 Pseudo-Reality ................................................................................................................... 15 Commodification of Culture: Exchange-Value versus Use-Value .................................... 17 The Mechanism of Conformity .......................................................................................... 19 Culture Industry and Totalitarianism ................................................................................. 22 One-Dimensional Man and Totalitarianism ....................................................................... 23 The Inception of Mass Culture ........................................................................................... 26 Corporate Rule ................................................................................................................... 33 The Infantilist Ethos and Totalism ..................................................................................... 34 Inverted Totalitarinism ....................................................................................................... 40 iv Theoretical Implications for Children Living in Consumer Cultures ................................ 44 Chapter Two: Children‘s ‗culture industry‘: Literature Review ................................................. 47 Historical Growth of the Children‘s Culture Industry ....................................................... 52 Toy-Based Programming ................................................................................................... 53 Supersytems and Licensing ................................................................................................ 55 Marketing Strategies and their Effects ............................................................................... 56 Constructing the Tween ..................................................................................................... 58 Gauging Children‘s Health................................................................................................. 59 The Potency of Television and Advertising ....................................................................... 63 Usurping Play ..................................................................................................................... 65 Corporate Control of Children‘s Space .............................................................................. 66 Selling Cool ........................................................................................................................ 67 Violence in the Media ............................................................................................... 67 Sex in the Media ....................................................................................................... 70 Sex and Television ..........................................................................................................71 Sex and Popular Music ...................................................................................................71 Sexualization of Girls ......................................................................................................72 Alcohol, Tobacco, Drugs and Media Exposure ........................................................ 73 Stereotypes ......................................................................................................................... 73 Undermining Adults ........................................................................................................... 74 Empirical Research on Consumerism, Materialism and Well-being of Children .............. 75 Identity in Relation to Consumer Culture .......................................................................... 81 Theories and Definitions ........................................................................................... 81 Children‘s Identity in Modernity: the Double-Edged Sword of Technology ........... 85 Narcissism and Personality Disorders ...................................................................... 86 Branding...................................................................................................................