Customer Reviews

Lead Us Into Temptation

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I first must take issue with a previous review. There is nothing remotely complex about the language Twitchell uses - certainly nothing that would require anyone with a basic vocabulary to need a dictionary. On the contrary, I found that Twitchell is often quite amusing and there were even times I laughed out loud at his astute observations and the entertaining way he presents them. Having said that, I did find one thing slightly irritating - the use of extensive footnotes that could easily have been included in the text without forcing the reader to jump around. Still, that doesn't detract from the important ideas Twitchell presents. You will never look at the world (and particularly the world of adverised products) the same way after reading this. This book, however, goes far beyond merely addressing products and how they are advertised. It addresses the psychology of "meaning" that is fundamental to how each of us construct our innner and outer world. It was given to me as a gift by a friend. I intend to buy several copies and give them to my own friends. I highly recommend it to anyone even if they are not interested in advertising per se. After reading "Lead us Into Temptation" they will be.

An interesting read about the invasive consumerism of the 20th century. His basic take is we buy what we want, it isn't foisted on us by advertsing. All that you see on TV is an ad, including the "news", the sitcom set, ie house, clothes, pots, pans, lamps and has been since the beginning of TV. And that "Democracy" is the freedom to buy what you want when you want it.

He makes a good case that this has been what people "really" want since time imortal. And that no amount of whining about how it isn't good for you can compete with the almighty dollar. Simply put, if you really didn't want it, you wouldn't buy it.

I do agree that he can get long winded in his arguments.

Anyone looking to start up another .com company would do well to read this first.

First, it was quite obvious that the author has some sort of animus against non-materialism, since he seems to glory in taking gratuitous chops at environmentalists, the voluntary simplicity movement, and pretty much anyone who doesn't agree with him. I was thoroughly sick of it by the end of the first chapter.

Second, he does not back up many of his assertions, despite a plethora of footnotes. For instance, he asserts that kitchens have gotten smaller in the last few decades (seemingly as a way of proving that we eat more take out and less home cooked food), without stating whether he means suburban or urban kitchens, new construction or remodelling, apartment, condo or detached kitchens...you get the picture. There are similarly unsupported assertions about trash disposal, landfills, and teenage buying patterns.

Finally, it was *dull*. The only parts that were even vaguely entertaining were the last few chapters, when the polemics were replaced by personal reporting of his trip to a mall. I learned very little about American materialism, and far more than I wished about the author's political biases.

A huge disappointment.

As an academic who loves to shop, I was hoping this would provide a more balanced account of the rise and impact of mass consumerism. He is certainly right that academics and other relatively privileged strata have something of a knee-jerk animus to mass pleasure. But the book is a complete failure. It amounts to little more than a defense brief for mass consumerism--and like a good defense lawyer, he ignores evidence that doesn't fit his case, distorts the arguments of his foes, and offers a rosy, unreal view of his client. ... Skip.

Had to read this one as an undergrad... & I still read it regularly for fun! How many books can you say this of?

Twitchell really cuts to the core of material psychology, branding, and then comparing these cultural phenomena to past Human indentifications: tribal, family, religious, etc. Result? Putting meaning in things is SO much more fun!

In one terrific section (and my favorite) Twitchell attacks the idea of "zombie TV watching" with a simple observation: When he watches TV he finds it to be an incredibly ACTIVE thinking process. Constantly changing channels, actively CHOOSING different paths, & never settling on one thing for too long (sound familiar?). Add TiVo, and who's really in control? The branders? The giant corporations? Some advertising elites in a smoke-filled room?

Answer: YOU.

Twitchell makes some valid points about consumerism--if you can plod through this "hard" read with a dictionary at your side. I disagree with his view that we middle-aged folks of today have selectively forgotten how important consumption was for us. Contrary to his opinion, I believe that we were not consumed by such materialism as the youth are today. It is quite a different "triumph of stuff" today. What a shame that we must give identity to ourselves through the things we purchase. Give me Elaine St. James and her book, Simplify Your Life.

Based on the rejection of the "hypodermic" theory of advertising, the idea that we are not hapless victims is something most students of media will here about. Propaganda is not as powerful as we believe, but our own desire to buy is very powerful. His views on the negativity of our consumerism are what make him and his work so different.