Today's Consumer Culture: Bought Self-worth and Artificial Happiness

Boo radley, Tom Robinson, and the Cunninghams are all examples of people who have suffered a form of prejudice in Maycomb county. The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” was written by Harper Lee and published in the year 1960. The story takes place in a town called maycomb county and was during the great depression. The novel is about social phenomenons and is also reflecting real life situations in the late 20th century. In maycomb county: racial, economic, and gender based prejudices are all factors that take place, which affects all citizens of all ages and isolates them from the community.

It was the growing mistrust of this relatively new communist nation that led to the eventual fear of a global conflict between the two ideologies. This fear that was beginning to grip the American public was not only due the increasing military threat of the Soviet Union but also for fear of another internal economic crisis. The majority of the American population during this period directly experienced the great depression of the nineteen thirties the prosperity that proceeded it. Now America was in a state of postwar prosperity again and the standard of living had dramatically increased for the majority of the American public over the past twenty years. This rising middle class now saw their improved economic independence being threatened not only from a domestic economic disaster but also from a new outside force, Communism. Communism to the American people was a threat to the American dream, the American way of life, and most important to the basic freedoms and values that this country was

My original insight on this article is that New England’s second largest city was not doing the right research that they needed to come up with a good strategic plan for the community. I believe that the city was more concerned on making a profit when I think they should have been more concerned with the locals needs and wants. In recent years, many malls have been struggling to keep their doors open and have even reconstructed them into a different kind of mall by offering fitness centers and even adding grocery stores to replace the failing department stores. At first, I thought that the city should be considered adding some new features to the malls rather than demolishing these malls all together and replacing them with new buildings. I

Through his piece “Enclosed. Encyclopedic. Endured: the Mall of America.” David Guterson shares his experience of the Mall of America as it opened and its effects of the American culture. From sharing statistics about the amount of jobs available, the number of parking spots, or how much cash is dispersed each week from just the ATMs; Guterson allows readers to feel the massive scale of the mall. He shares stories of the people he met and his own views on the mall, and what it says about America and its people’s values. Guterson makes it clear that Americans have become too absorbed with the thoughts of materialistic belongings; and a mall, such as the Mall of America, only makes those thoughts that much worse and destroys the people’s

The film titled City of God (2002) by directors Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund highlights several issues concerning urban planning. In particular, the movie focuses on the social problems that develop with the emergence of highly-populated cosmopolitan cities like Rio de Janeiro. The entire film is shot in a favela, where gang-related activities are frequent. A critical analysis of the movie would reveal several other themes related to the planning of urban centers. Therefore, by using contents of the film, it would be possible to assess the trivial issues of solving planning problems in modern cities. Rio de Janeiro represents the many cities of developing and emerging economies that face serious planning and social problems as revealed in the film the City of God.

During this time, the United States and Soviet Union competed with each other on a technological level as opposed to a militaristic one. Each country would present consumer products that their respective citizens can attain. Even at this point, Khrushchev’s presentation of what the average person in Eastern Europe can have to Nixon and the United States was relatively lacking; even though Khrushchev’s philosophy was more on building products and infrastructure for the benefit of future generations to truly compete with America, the reality failed to meet expectations (wiki cite) as the communist regimes were ineffective in providing “economic growth, consumer culture, and shopping as leisure” to a similar rate as their western counterparts (Stone

Key factors that contributes for success at Mall of America are as follows (Kerin & Hartley, 2017)

During this second observation at Coastal Grand Mall in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, I learned many things. I went to this location on a Saturday night, where it was full of young people. The weather outside was warm, but rainy, so I believe this caused even more people to look for indoor fun, so the mall was packed on this Saturday night.

In 1959, American Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev came together at the American National Exhibition in Moscow, a “showcase of American consumer goods” (May 18), for “one of the most noted verbal sparring matches of the century,” aptly coined the “kitchen debate” (16). As Khrushchev applauded the Communist system and its hardworking women, Nixon “extolled the virtues of the American way of life” (16), emphasizing America’s “successful breadwinners supporting attractive homemakers in affluent suburban homes” (18). Although Nixon’s emphasis upon the suburban lifestyle may have successfully displayed America’s superiority in consumer goods, Nixon grossly “exaggerated the availability of the suburban home”

According, the United State Census Bureau, the U.S. population is increasing, every eight seconds a child is born. With the population increasing sort of rapidly the construction of new neighborhoods it is going to be necessary to house these prospering families. Also, the establishment of stores are going to be needed. Therefore, neighborhood stores are going to become available and malls too, but they both are going to vary in certain aspects. Neighborhood stores are stores that provides accommodations to the locals. Malls, on the other hand, are large buildings made of multiple competitive retails stores. Nevertheless, neighborhood stores and malls seem very similar, but when looking at their square footages, remoteness from home, and marketability, they are quite different.

The combining of mall shopping experiences and the theatrical touch provides a promising expectation of success. While this is not the first time such an experience has been attempted in malls, it is the first on such a grand scale with so many high caliber theatrical professionals involved. As of 2014, The Westfield Group, out of Australia and New Zealand, separated from its international holdings and in effect created The Westfield Corporation that focuses on its international

The concept of free-market played an essential role in making American people in the 1960s believe that it is important for them to fight communism through any means possible. Consumerism had reached a point where it had become indispensable and the benefits that it brought along made it difficult and virtually impossible for the community to express interest in economic systems other than capitalism. One of the principal reasons why the Cold War occurred relates to the West's obsession with materialism and with the fact that this precious concept could be destroyed as a result of communist ideas pervading the Western society.

To keep a local suburban regional shopping mall from reaching its decline, there are a few things that must be done to keep your mall relevant in today’s society. One must spend time and money during the maturity phase to keep with today’s trends. Getting more or newer department or anchor stores may help to draw in business. Then fill the other empty spaces with specialty stores, offering products that consumers can’t get anywhere else. Another option for managers is to find a niche in the community that will draw consumers in.

Many cities in America are facing sluggish economic recovery, stagnant or failing wages among the lowest-income earners and budget constraints for social welfare programs (1)resulting in more than 46.7 million people in poverty. Poverty in America, and the violence and crime that stems from it helps sustain the most prosperous and corrupt industry of them all, prisons.

The malls were created not just to be able to sell merchandise but also to be able to help the social and civic life of the cities and suburb. There were places that were opened during this time, in the book “Civitas By Design” by Howard Gillette mentions, “Upper Darby Center in Philadelphia, Highland Park in Dallas, and River Oaks Center in Houston” (pg. 77) were great ideas for all of these cities and suburbs. The main purpose was to make it easier for all residents to get their needs, be influential and ambitious. It was influential and ambitious because it would create the idea of building