John Fiske’s writing, “Shopping for
Pleasure,” offered a different perspective in that shopping centers serve as
spaces for women to resist against their expected roles which have been formed
by cultural pressures. Although he has
made a good argument, I find it hard to believe that these shopping centers do
not hold women back at the same time, in several ways. By continuing to shop in
these shopping centers, women perpetuate the cycle of capitalism and
neoliberalism, and the hegemonic power is therefore reinforced. Now although
these shopping adventures serve to release some of the tension from their lives,
the act of shopping at these malls does not appear to be all that effective.
The one positive result, or benefit, from this act of women shopping in these
malls for “retail therapy,” as one might say, is that these women feel a sense
of relief, and the shopping essentially is their way to vent their frustrations
about their lives. This reminds me of that previous reading about small acts of
resistance, and although I agree with the argument that large rebellions against
the dominant group might be futile, these small acts of resistance do not seem
to stand in comparison to the larger picture of forces at play. John Jordan’s
writing, “Art of Necessity,” kind of fit into this whole thought process for me
as well. This is because the DIY protest group, Reclaim the Streets, also takes
part in relatively small acts of resistance, but they seem to be accumulating a
more effective result than the women resorting to shopping as an outlet from their
oppressive, cultural roles. It was a bit of a difficult reading compared to
Fiske’s writing.
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