A review by underseer
The Consumer Society: Myths and Structures by Jean Baudrillard

Really enjoyed this. I wanted to read this book after going on TikTok (my first mistake!) and wondering how so many young early-career women like myself were being drawn to an identical constellation of seemingly useless products and accessories, most of which I had never heard of. There is certainly great food for thought here for those similarly interested. However, the most interesting concept in this book for me was Baudrillard's investigation into how "rebellions" against consumerism (destructive violence, anti-consumerism, somatic/psychosomatic physical revolts) are prefigured by mass media and consumerist models and templates of behavior just as much as is "obedience." I found this book to be very readable and engaging, although I would recommend getting some basic semiotics terminology in your system beforehand. It is written with considerable flair, and I will be thinking about it for some time.