English IO Essay
With the exponentially rapid growth of technology in the recent decades, there
has never been such unprecedented ease in purchasing products today. From
ordering online to swiping a credit card, society’s endless obsession with
consumerism knows no bounds, to the point where it even has detrimental
effects, primarily on women, leading to my global issue being how Consumeristdriven societies lead to the degradation of women which falls under the field of
enquiry of beliefs, values, and culture.
This cannot be highlighted further than in Carol Ann Duffy’s poem “Work”
released as part of her “Feminine Gospels” anthology just past the turn of the
century and Barbara Krugar’s thought-provoking “I Shop Therefore I Am”
graphical poster displayed in 1987. The former tackles the degeneration of
women fuelled by consumerism through the depiction of society’s prosperity and
technological advancements in tandem with the inhuman burdens forced on
women whilst the latter serves as a commentary piece on such a society which
enables this behaviour, thus critiquing the people who succumb to consumerist
values and inspiring reconsideration and critical thought.
Duffy's "Work" serves as an allegorical depiction of the relationship between the
advancements of society spurred by consumerism and the degeneration of
women. She accomplishes this through establishing a linear timeline structure
whilst portraying the brutal effects this societal growth has on women. On the
surface, this poem is a mere exploration of the female role throughout eras of
humanity and mapping out the responsibilities women bear as mothers and as
caretakers of society. The underlying metaphorical message to absorb is that
societal revelations much like the industrial revolution and development of new
age technology -sparked by consumerism- take advantage of and degrade women
as cogs in their system. This poem aims to highlight the injustices normalised
which are rooted deeply in societal values and beliefs regarding the
responsibilities women must bear and their detrimental effect.
One emphatic method Duffy implements to portray this is weaving in asyndetic
lists throughout the poem as can be seen in lines 5 to 7, where “to feed two, she
worked outside, sewed seeds, watered, threshed, scythed, gathered barley,
wheat, corn.” By doing this, Duffy conveys the pressures and responsibilities
women absorb through long lists devoid of pauses much like the unrelenting
barrage of obstacles and duties women have faced in all eras of society. Zooming
in within this asyndetic list, the sibilance in “sewed seeds” connotes slyness and
perhaps an undetected feeling of unappreciation for the work women have to do.
Focusing on the semantic field of growing and nurturing life, the double
entendre here highlights both the familial responsibility women are expected to
do in raising families in addition to the agricultural labour the woman here is
carrying out. Later on, in lines 24 to 26, “she flogged TVs, designed PCs, ripped
CDs, burned DVDs”, the asyndetic list here sheds light on a different aspect which
is the quick pace of the new technological age, connoting a lack of a pause or
opportunity for women to catch their breaths, furthering hindering, and
overworking them. This is further accentuated by the temporary rhyme scheme
which hastens the tempo and flow of the poem; representative of the rapidly
changing pace of society and perhaps replicates the anxiety women feel caused
by the urgent need to catch up, amassing to an alternative psychological
degradation. In addition, incorporating technical jargon such as “ripped CDs” and
“burned DVDs” exemplifies the developing technological age which opens up a
new world full of different responsibilities women face and further progresses the
established linear timeline structure of the poem, clearly depicting a correlation
between society’s progress and women’s burdens. Notably, in line 36, the titular
verb “worked” in conjunction with the ghoulish visual imagery in “to the bone”
explicitly shows the physically demanding responsibilities women must take on.
Moreover, the previously mentioned theme of urgency and lack of time is further
emphasised by the colloquial phrase, “twenty-four seven”, encapsulating the
never-ending strain forced on women.
In relation to Duffy’s other pieces in her “Feminine Gospels” anthology, “Work”
encompasses similar themes surrounding the relationship between women and
consumerism with “The Woman Who Shopped”, in which a woman falls prey to
her insatiable consumerist addiction through shopping, leading to her downfall as
she metaphorically devolves from a person into a building, as “she was stone, was
concrete and glass” [line 29]. The semantic field of construction connotes
development and infrastructural growth, highlighting the parallelism between the
advancements of society and the simultaneous deterioration of women who fall
prey to their consumerist urges.
Alternatively, “Standing Female Nude” tackles the same issue, in which a woman
is degraded through objectification, in the form of a painting, in the aims of being
valued as a monetary asset to be sold in a museum and “represented analytically”
[line 5].
When it comes to Duffy’s execution in her bodies of work, she often transitions
her poems from realism to the hyperbolic to emphasise her exaggeration in the
aims of highlighting the deep importance of her subject matter in conjunction
with the female gaze to distinctly establish her female-driven perspectives.
Moving on, Barbara Krugar's thought-provoking critical graphic designs
implement dynamic colour schemes that are symbolic of designer clothing
brands, paired with declarative statements in order to criticise consumer-culture
and spark a movement of change in our societal beliefs and values.
The most prominent technique Kruger displays is her use of scale in shaping the
central text box roughly to that of a credit card in the palm of the hand in the
background. This symbolic item encapsulates the ease of spending money and
accessibility to the consumerism world. By the same token as “the world in the
palm of your hand”, Kruger demonstrates the heavy influence money has and
how we live in a money-centric world focusing purely on monetary decisions thus
spurring the development of civilisation. Alternatively, the notion being placed in
the palm of a hand also serves as a form of guidance and activism to the viewer;
informing them that the choice to be a part of this consumerist world is literally in
their hands.
Krugar’s renowned selection of typography further aids in her critique of
consumerism as she utilises a replica of popular designer clothing brand
“Supreme”’s font, which represents the epitome of needless consumerism. Using
this font paired with its signature white-red colour scheme immediately alerts the
viewers to the themes of her posters. Additionally, the two main clauses are the
same size, connoting that “I am” is equivalent to “I shop”, which reinforces the
notion that we are nothing more than just a receipt of our purchases.
Furthermore, the selected phrase composition devalues people further as
shopping is mentioned prior to establishing one’s existence using the conjunctive
adverb “therefore” in between to indicate a clear order, depicting how the
prioritisation of consuming neglects personal identity which one could argue is a
form of degradation. Additionally, Kruger’s declarative statement is a derivative
of Rene Descartes’ famous “I think therefore I am”, which originally served as a
testament to self-awareness and existentialism and has now been repurposed
into a critical statement in the aims of getting society to reconsider its values
considering consumerism’s detrimental effects and furthering Kruger’s activism.
Moreover, the composition of the blurry monochromatic background signifies
the contrast between the mocking quote and the glorifying representation of
consumerism represented by the iconic colour scheme, creating irony. The dull,
unclear background framed behind a luxurious, identifiable logo embodies the
truth behind consumerism; a bland, unbearable reality masquerading as a fancy
appealing sticker full of fantasy and temptation, a theme prevalent in Duffy’s
other poem “Money Talks”. On the surface, the growth of society sparked by
consumerism appears to be a good thing, represented by the designer branding
and the credit cards, but underneath the surface lies the negative effects it has on
people, alluding to the dull monochrome background devoid of life.
Exploring her additional works, Kruger’s signature use of the Supreme colour
scheme brands her entire catalogue as a criticism of our society’s values regarding
consumerism and the devaluation of personal identity. The underlying aim of her
work could be synonymous with civil activism, where she tries to change the tide
of public opinion on consumerist behaviour through the medium of feminist
discourse, which is what allows compatibility with Duffy’s anthology. This can be
seen in her other unnamed work referred to as “Your body is a battleground” in
which a woman’s face is divided in two, with one side turned into a photographic
negative. This exemplifies the state of limbo and conflict women are in, tying into
the semantic field of battle, which is representative of the conflict between
consumerism trying to commoditise women’s bodies and the women themselves
trying to gain autonomy and agency.
Duffy’s “Work” and Krugar’s famous poster both tackle the same issue but from
different angles. One details the arduous responsibilities women have faced for
centuries due to consumerism forcing societal growth and how that’s played a
role in women’s downfalls, the other critiques the society and its values that
enable this detriment on women, and how our consumerist behaviour
inadvertently harms others, especially women. In other terms, these two pieces
are two sides of the same coin, sharing the same ridge but facing in other
directions. The former takes its time to explain and inform the viewers of the
timeline of women’s burdens, whilst the latter quickly challenges societal
conventions to evoke thought and consideration in the present viewers and bring
about change.
After witnessing both, I always stop to think twice about what I feel like I have to
buy.