Due to my time constraints, there were no final student presentations in my post on the chapter in the Good Prodcts, Bad Products course entitled Symbolism and Cultural Values (Chapter 8). The students did submit individual assignments, which first of all asked them to choose a subculture of which they felt a part and then to choose the product that was most symbolic of this culture, choose the product that was most symbolic of them, and finally choose a product that was not at all symbolic of them. As I have been doing, I will link you to the student submissions from the 2010 class. One of the summary pages lists the responses to the first two “choices” above, and is here. The other lists the responses to the third and fourth “choices” above and is here. The numbers correlate between the two pages, if you want to follow individuals. I did not include responses to the question as to whether the product most symbolic was symbolic of them. They were to some extent, but most of of the students, to their credit, resisted the stereotyping of the product.
I am sorry that the time did not allow more complete coverage of this topic, because it is my feeling that as population densities, and population in general, rise, there is more and more desire, and possibly need, for people to belong to a culture (or sub culture) that they respect and admire and that shares their values. Industrial products play a role in this. Think of the Prius, the Parker shotgun, the slow cooker, the Harley Davidson, the private jet, the home steam espresso/capuccino maker, the recliner, the gas grill, the Ford F-150 pickup, and the iPhone. The traditional direction of industry, has been to try to attract an increasing segment of the population with a product. This results eventually in a situation which we now face with midsize four-door automobiles or kitchen appliances – they vary only slightly in details from one manufacturer to another throughout the world, or at least the “developed” world.
I am a fan of the traditional trucks in India, which have typically been sold without cabs, allowing the owners huge variation in applying and furnishing the cab—a lower income version of the days in which one would have a custom cab built for one’s Rolls Royce chassis and drive train. I suspect this will not last, and within a few years, Indian trucks will start looking the same as those in the so-called developed world.
In my high school and college days, there was a wide variation in personal possessions, partly because there was not much money around. As an example, when I was in high school cars were old and often repaired, and we would modify them partly because we wanted to put a personal mark on our possessions, and in the process became even more closely associated with our cult. Extreme lowering (the forbears of low-riders), extreme funk, extreme (in those days) speed, etc.
The sub-cultures in my high school were both racial and reflections of the income level and urbanity of the junior high schools that fed our high schools. Because of the time and the age group, there was considerable animosity between the sub-cultures, extending to fights, social snubbing, and other painful behavior. But it was exciting and educational, and we all felt good about being members of our “car” club, even the Sultans of Rialto.
Of course there were other more significant sub-cultural divides—Caltech students vs. Pasadena City College students (source of girls, to the annoyance of the male students there), nerds vs. fuzzies, small school vs. big school, etc. I never will forget the thrill and anxiety experienced when I escorted a U.S.C sorority girl to a formal sorority/fraternity dance at U.S.C., and won the presigious raffle prize of the night— a set of Tommy Trojan cufflinks. Fortunately my date did not rat on me, so I returned to Caltech unharmed.
Different cultures and sub cultures cause life to be rich. Stanford is much more interesting now that it has become more global and offers much more cultural diversity. California is wonderful because one does not need to travel far to experience different cultures. A casual trip with local stops from Stanford University into the Central Valley, visiting say Biola and Fresno, and returning by way of Monterey and San Francisco, making sure that the final lap includes Hunter’s Point and East Palo Alto, gives one a fascinating experience with many cultures without the need for a trans ocean flight. Long live cultural diversity. May industrial products encourage it!
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