Customer Reviews

Channels Of Desire: Mass Images and the Shaping of American Consciousness

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I read this book when it originally came out and then, recently, came across the revised edition. Reading it in 2001, the book remains fresh offering a brilliant look at the power of images within our lives. The sections on fashion and on early movies, in particular, present a wonderful look at the interface between mass culture and personal lives. A must read.

I studied this book with the author. It is a masterful work written with intense passion and desire to unearth the real drives behind modern consumer culture. Anyone who picks it up will, no doubt, look at the little things in his/her life much differently afterwords. Don't get me wrong, the book is to the extreem left, but the ideals of the left are often true and we are so taken in by the consumer culture that we do not wish to admit them. If anyone feels as though they are living in a daze, giving in to the false demands the culutre puts upon them,, this book will give hope that these things were created and forged by men. Read this with an open mind and a critical eye upon your own life!

In reading this book for a course on gender and consumerism, I found that many of the points the authors made were true, although they tend towards the pessimistic. While criticizing the control aspects of advertising and consumerism, they play into a "conspiracy theory" mindset that the same advertising they're criticizing helped to create. A good read overall, but remember to read it, as all things, critically