CHAPTER - IV

COMMODIFIED SURFACES

Postmodem culture has as its inner logic the capitalist strategy of

consunlerlsln. It IS fed by a vast mollopolistic system of production. All aspects

of culture have become integrated into this system. Bradbury refers to the logic

that governs consumer societies:

In consumer societies, of course, the social function of a human

being is not to produce -- we have machines to do that --but, of

course, to consume. For existing, people are paid sums of

rnorley: and they are invited to spend it. Indeed, in a consumer

society, consumingis the real work [. . .I. (Bradbury, AlIDres,sed

IJp And Nowhere To C;o 132)

I':xistence itself' thus bccornes identified with cor~surnption. 13rudbu1y has traced

the gradual evolution of the coxnmodity culture: "If the Fifties had largely read

culture with a inoral vocabulary, the Sixties with a sociological one, the Seventies

with (lie language of personal consciousness, the Eighties quickly introduced a

new discourse founded on myths of money" (The Modern Br~iish Novel

3 5 - 9 6 ) . As tr result, the ccor~ot~~ist has attained the stiltus ofthe pliilosophcr.

'The philosophy of monetarism dictates cultural values. Everything is interpeted

in tenns of' money.

'fhe free market is the central element in the economic structure of the

ciipitwlist society. All ideas that are part of a culture, have come to depend

on this exchange system. It is a system that is subject to disturbances and

upheavals. Contradictions are inherent in its structure. Because of these

instabilities, the bourgeois society becomes just like an image of reality. Even

concepts like freedom and equality are just illusions in the bourgeois society.

These concepts al-e reduced to become Utopian images among the rnultifarious

ones present in such a society. The free market generates consumption, but

tl~c pleasures got fi-or11 consumption are illusory. ' l ' l~e free rnarket and the

i i~tcri~c~~io~~nl inarket-place play an itnportalit role ill detcrlnini~ig the new world

ortlcr. 'l'llcse te1.111~ n i ea~~ Illat there are little rest~.ictions as far as tlic activities

of buying and selling are concerned. This has ui fact resulted in a total

comrnod~fication of culture. This process transcends boundaries and is

decisively global. However the free market is not as free as propagated by the

agencies of capitalism. In fact, it works against the humanistic values of freedom

ant1 ecluality. .l'he free inarket is actually "a mutual conlproirlise and buyingojTof

presswe groups, special interests and the like [. . .I a structure absolutely inimical

to the real market and its establishrnentw(Xi~ek, Mupping ldeo lo~ 284). It is

ti-ue that the free market makes available commodities for which all sections of

the society crave . However it is a system that involves the subjugation of the

human self:

On the basis of the accun~ulatio~l of riches for the purpose of

an eves expanding industrial production, bourgeois society is

tl~c society of Uiings. [. . .] 'I'he object tl.arislatable into money is

worth nlore than the subject who, since he is dependent upon

objects (to the extent that he owns them), no longer exists for

himself and possesses no real value. (Bataille qtd. UI Habennas 224)

'l'llus capi~l is~n ulti~nz~tely works against huintlnistic values.

111 fact, capitalism makes all values irrelevant. It eases all the spiritual

yearnings for transcendence. It also makes insignificant the symbolic resources

ncetled for ~deology to exert its authority. The very concept of natior~ has lost

its relevlnlce. Even knowledge a n d m e a ~ ~ i ~ ~ g have been conunodified. 'I'he people

htlvc withtlt.,~wn fro~n I~istory, and Iticy exist .jtrst i l l " lhc clcr-IIII~ IIOW of

l ii4

C O I I ~ ~ I I I I { . I I S I d~s i r c " (I(ctji~n, Ylre En,qlelo~? Itecrclcr 148). 'l 'l~cy 11avc Sorporlcrl

1hc11 clrltles ;IS efliective citizens of a countly. 'I'hus "anarclly and autocracy,

I I I ~ I I I ~ ~ :IIIO I I I C ~ I I ~ ) ~ I ~ ~ ~ C S . cxcl~a~ige VIIIIJC and 11bso1~1tc vrlluc I I I ~ botli strnngcrs

ant1 brotiiers. swoni foes and intimate bed fellows" (Kegan, llie Lludeton

I(e~ltier. 148 ). ( 'ulture becomes the very terrain on which the battle between

t h r x O ~ I ) C I S I I I ~ elements takes place. Even the vely criteria for the recognition

and sclcc(ron of' values are lost in the midst of this chaos. l'lius capitalism

I I I I ~ I I I ~ I I 11s s t r t ~ t e ~ i e s untler~nines culture. 111 sensc, ct~l)il:~lis~u is inorc

~'iltlici~l t l~a~r ('o~nrnunisrn since it puts all values into question. It makes

evt.rytlling Ilia( is familiar and solid disappear from the field of culture: "It is in

t l~c logir of late capitalis~n to breed a more fragmentary, eclectic, demotic,

~ s 1 1 1 0 o 1 1 t i culture I. . . I t ' (Regan, The Eagle/on Reader 149). Tliis culture

Ilas o ~ ~ l y 5c11 laces and no depth. These surfaces are marked with cornrnodity

Irlis11is111 ' 'I 1 I K I I I I Mt11.x ~ I I I C I Frcr~ci t l ~ c ~ ~ ~ ~ i s c ( l tile / ~ J / I , Y / I . I inki~~g cx11licilly

;I I I ( I 1Ilc01 etici~l l y tnnale lack(osta~sibly palliated t h ~ ~ u g l ~ the substitute penis offered

hy tlie I.~t~utl~ar~ fetish) and the serluctive appeal o fd~e cornrnodity (tvla~x's w>~nnmtity

fe1isl1is111 I " (1011cs 165).

'1 lie capitalist society shows the workings of an excess of desire. Such

tlisl)l;lcctl tlcsilc is ~nanipulated througll atlvertiscn~cnts. In~agcs tl~:tr arouse

tles,~~c. ; I I c ilsctl N I I ~ abuse(/ in Inass culture representations. Iixccss, iioriy, ant1

I ' I ~ I I I I C I I I I I ~ I I becoine part oP the strategies that help to [)ring about the

S I I V ~ S I ~ I I of tlrcse images. Such images celtainly have a great impact on the

colrsclousness of d ~ e consumer. A false sense of' glan~our is created Sor him.

I i i s self f.ceds upon it and revels in the ecstasy of narcissistic consumption.

Sucli ; I I I cxl);uitlrc! sense of glarnour pronlotes an endless, relentless, ant1 restless

165

consumption. 'Jhus capitalism survives on illusory concepts of glamour with

wllicll it syste~natically feeds the masses. The images related to cot~sumptio~l

presented by the media lead the consumer to a stage beyond the consumption

of commociities. Thus situationis again one of excess, which can be interpreted

as the consumption of the very process of consumption itself. Thus

consumption ultimately fails back on the technology of reproduction. The

rnedia creates extravagant images related to the market and these images

lhernselves becorne so many commodities. They form a layer ofculture that

floats above lealily.

(.'tip~taIis111 118s colonised all the sigriifLing patterns of' culture:

"Horkheinrer and Adomo's analysis of the 'culture indusby' in The L)~alec~rc of

l : t d ~ ~ ~ i / c ~ t i t t i c t ~ ~ lnboduces t l~e ~iotioli that the language of advertising and popular

culture debases words [. . .I" (McGowan 17). Words become labels or brand

names attached to certain commodities. Thereby capitalism d~storts and deforms

the signifying order: "Capitalism installs the sign system of the simulacra (images

divorced fro111 all content or referent) in order to secure, itself from any

~~npleasarlt surprises, from the production of any new social demands or new

fonns of social life " (McGowan 18). The sign that refers to the comnodity

precedes the actual production of the cornmodity. Throudl the disl-uption of the

real, this play acquires dominance in the realm of culture. The concepts

associated with nomniality are subverted to make an impact on the consumer's

senses. S u ~ h play is relentlessly carried on because it is considered profitable.

Tliugs as varied as fashion, television, and architecture function according to

this order of signs. The economy thrives by generating a new cultural

sen~iotics related to the exchange system. But the centre of this culture is

bound to be unstable. Such a centre promotes the implosion of culture. The

~ ~ o c ~ s w " ' ~ o ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ o d i I i c ~ t i ~ t l is vc1.y ~I'I'Cclivc W I I ~ I I i l ltlkcs 1)111cc I I I I O L I ~ I I I I I C

166

agellcy of's~gns. 'L'he signs act precisely upon the human consciousl~ess.and nlake

it submit to the domination of the commodity. As a result, the human self

becomes one that is schizophrenically divided. It searches for a11 identity which

IIIIS bcca~ne frag~nented as a result of exposure to a multiplicity of signs.

Ualnillc has mltllysed the condition of excess and waste with reference

to the heterogeneous. According to Bataille, the heterogeneous is fonned of

elements which are superfluous. These include things as varietl ~s dreams,

erotic ten~ptatio~ls, perversions, subversions, luxuries, refuse, and excrement.

'I'lle 01-oliferntion of co~r~tnodities results in an u~lproductive ronn of expenditure.

'The consurner revels in the c o ~ ~ w n p t i o l ~ of luxury items. Thorstein Veblen has

arlalysed tlus excess in 'Ihe iheory of'the Leisure Class: "Throughout the entire

evolutio~~ ol'cor~spicuous expenditure, whether of goods or of senices or human

life, runs the obvious i~~~plication that in order to effectually tnend the consutner's

good fame it must be an expenditure of superfluities. In order to be reputable i t

must be wastef~~l" (77). The consumer loses his sovereignty among Ule material

abundance that surrounds him. Consumption becomes an obsession for him.

I~~tlustrial productioll creates a social ethos that encourages the accun~ulatior~

of goods. 'The capitalist society is a society of commodities, and the

corllrllodity itself determines rank and hierarchy in it. Such excessive

dependence on the comniodity will lead to the disenchantment and nlier~ation of

the collsumer.

Uatallle also draws an iu~alogy between the cycle ofellerby in the industrial

society and that of'the human body. The body reaches a stage UI wluchthe e n e w

it collects b e c o ~ ~ ~ e s surplus. It can no longer use this energy for growth. Hence

illis etlelgy has to be spent uliproductively. The consurner society also faces the

tlr~ct~t 01 i~ ci~ias~rol,l\ic il~~plosion. 7'hc waste and excess causctl by supcrlluous

wealth leads to pollution and war. The unabsorbed surpluses result in orgies of

cxycndilure conducted in agrru~d it1mule1.. '~'IIus il bcco~lles a libertarian society

which wastes its wealth.

Consumer culture can be regarded as negative in its orientation as it

emphasizes the decorative, the wasteful, and the hedonistic. It came into being

as a I-esult of Fordist niass productio~~ at~d the accompanying mass consutnption.

('ol~~lllodities as well US images are mass produced through the capittilist

~)roductio~~ iletwork. 'l'he culture industty "is ellgaged in the productioll and

reproduction of a mass culture needed for mass consumption" (Holub 174). It

is a culture having surfaces displaying the signs of excess.

HM deals with a society that is marked by an economy of abundance.

'The supe~markets and multiple stores are the products of such an econorny.

'l'l~c cill)it;tlist systetn is based on an excess of production atltl i t prornotes

collsuluption by gei~erating desire. In such a systeln, living itself is equated with

slloppil~g. On the other side, is the picture of ir~tlustrinl wage-bal-gait~it~g and

the exploitat~otl of workers for production. The sticker which contains the

slogall : " ' 1 live in an effluent society' " (HM 36) is one tltat points towards the

materialistic values that have come to dominate culture. It gives a picture of a

soclety wl~el-c col\l~tiodities are in excess. 'l'he individual finds himself

insignificant in such a society. Capitalist society assesses the i~idividual only

ill tellus of his econonlic needs. For instance, an ilislu-atce policy deals with a11

accident taking into account only the money involved in it. The condition of

the hum at^ being is not considered relevant.

111 IIM, Howard futictions as a radical sociologist, who professes to

attack tllc consulncr culture. His book is called "7hlle l)f/i'uI (~/!I'I't~i~~u~y'' (HM

5) . I'he book 1s about ihe fact that " 'there are no more private selves, no more

ptivate corners in society, no more private properties, no more private acts' "

(HM 73). He hates the very category called the middle class which is being

pampered rind exploited by capitalism. He equally hates the word 'bourgeois'

whicl~ is dotninating culttu'e. Howard knows tliat capitalistn divides society on

the basis of wealth and creates class struggle . Howard has also w~ittetl a book

called "lire lSeu/h c!/'ll?e Buurgeoisie" (HM 52). He regards bourgeois

capitalism as a temporary phase in the process of evolution of history. The

temporay economic conditions have created it, and hence it will soon disappear.

When t ~ l k i ~ ~ g about Henty's accident, Iloward says that to rclate his accident to

his insurat~ce responsibilities would be the bourgeois reaction. According

to Howard, Henry's life became tragic through his acceptance of the values of

cot~sutncr cultu~.c. I loward analyses tl~e trap in which Henry has lar~ded hirnselt

Ile stopped thinking, he got caught up in this L'ancy, pseudo-

bourgeois rural life-style, he lost his social conscience. He

became repressed and a repressor. As Marx says, the more

you have, the less you are. Hemy's got, and he isn't. And since

he's a serious person, he feels guilt. He knows he's in a context

o l 110 value, but he just can't break out. (HM 119)

.The posbnodem cotmnodity culture offers supertical rewards and expectations.

But i n the long tun it produces alienation and anxiety in the human psyche. It

i~lso erases iiotll the llunta~t mind tlte awareness ol'rcality, to tnake ltitn cvllsutne

all the rrlore

I toward, who csiticises Hemy for accepting the values of bourgeois

society. is himself a following the same lifestyle. He professes radicalism, at

the same tittle he is a victitn of consutneris~n. Howard and his wife Barbara

C I I , J O ~ s I I ~ ~ ~ ~ I I I ~ 11 111s. l l ~ c ~ ~ c is 1111 iti~prcssive LIIKCIY c)1'~<1111111c)~litics i l l 111eir ht)ttsc.

I 60

'l'lie cooker, the stereo system, the television set, the blender, the wickerwork

rocking chair, the Habitat crockery, the filing cabinets, the table lamps, the

rugs, the typewriter, and the toys in their house show the extent of their

corrmrnodification. Even their house is a co~nmodity in this sense. 'I'hey have

bought all these commodities so as to gain acceptance in the society which has

adopted the values of mass culture. In sociological terms, they shopped in

oltlcl lo sllill)~ their ermviro11111cr1t. I loward mmd Barbara like WatcrrnouU~ because

it provides them with a steady supply of commodities. According to Howard,

Watermouth contains luxuries as well as social tensions. By staying there, he

could cany on with his sociological analyses as well as enjoy the cornmodified

urban pleasures. Thus Howard has a schizophrenic personality. His identity as

a radical is at odds with his identity as a consumer. Howard's experience of the

world is " 'fragmentary and disconnected, 'which' in lived experience makes

itself felt by the so-called death of the subject, or more exactly the Fragmented

a id schizoplueliic decentering and dispersion of this last ' "(Jameson qtd. in

Mc(;ow;um 148).

For Barbara, a weekend of shopping in London is the ultimate pleasure

in life, Barbara lias experienced poverty during her early days. Hence in her

present condition of affluence, she is possessed by a fondness for having things.

She is fully aware that she lives in a capitalist society based on production. She

wants to do sorne work and be a part of its economic infrastructure, instead

of sticking onto the role of a traditional wife and mother. She feels that her

self will attain satisfaction only if it becomes apart of the production machine.

She thulks so because she has been conditioned by the strategies of the capitalist

syslcrll. Sllc co~~sidcrs cxistcncc itsclf as r~lcarmi~~gful only i f it is associi~tcd

170

with the processes of capitalism. Hence she does past-tune jobs in public opi~uon

surveys and market research. She gradually realises that this is co~nmunity

sel-vice as well as political action. The political power in nod en^ society begins

Iion~ tllc I I I I I ~ ~ C I . JIIIIICSOII analyses the structure ol'tl~e rnarket: "'l'l~e I'orce,

then, of the concept of the market lies in its 'totalizing ' shuctuse, as they say

~luwadays: that is, in its capacity to afford a model of a social totality" (Zirek,

A d i r / ~ p ~ t l ~ ideology 289). The power of the market can also be interpreted as

consumer power. The very concept of the market itselfhas beconle an object

l i ) ~ co~~s~~ lnp l i o t~ .

Shopping is somethingesotic for Barbara. Her shopping hip to Londor~

is also one that facilitates a passionate encounter with her lover Leon. Thus

she combines shopping with lovemaking. It is clear that she is suscel)tible to

the seductive cham of her lover. She also succumbs to the seductive strategies

of the adve~t ise tne~~t she sees in a magazine at the station. Narcisstic

corlsunlption is that which is promoted by capitalism. The self is given a false

sense of glarnour so as to make it smve to attain it through consumption. Women

i~rc tllc i~~iljor victilns of' this i~arcissisrn: "Delined by f'asl~ior~ through the

advertisetner~t, wluch serves as a signiiier of feminine identity, women are thus

consigned to be the sexual objects of men and, marginally, 'subjects' of

consu~nption" (Jones 162). The bourgeois fen~ale is tut-ned into the primary

consumer- for the colmnodities produced on a large scale. This process of

co~lrmoti~ficatiot~ is clearly visible in the case of Barbara. She walks with Leon

staring into the windows of boutiques where the goods are attractively and

culoul-li~lly displitycd. 'I'l~e dcsire for shopping and the dcsire for sex iue aroused

to yet he^. 111 Barbara. Sexual desire is somethittg that gets vicarious satisfaction

I I I o k ~ I I I t l~c siln~c way, the sllol)pcr iilso gcts plcasutc Oy l l~c sigl~t of

171

the goods in the store. The shopping trip offers her a variety of conmodified

~~lcrtsures. Sl~e browses ttuougii a sex magazine, tries on difrerent dresses,

d~.inks tit a pub, visils a restaurant frequented by actors and actresses, and watches

a t i u ~ ~ y a ~ i a l ~ film and a strip show. The erotic pleasure of shopping leads B a r b ~ a

to that of111aking love to Leon.

H M contains Inany other instances of the seductive strategies used

advertisenlents. There is the advertisement that projects a fresh intra-uterine

(lcvicc l l r ~ ~ t is ~oiisitlcrctl to be i~i~tcty-i~inc 11cs c c ~ ~ t snk. 'I'l~c wii~dow dis1)ltiy

ol'thc book "7ltt, Nuked Ape" (IIM 11) is anotl~er kind ofadvertiseroe~~t. 'l'l~e

family butclier has a notice which declares:" 'We keep our meat on ice in hot

weather' " (HM 11). The long glass facades, the fronts of the supennarkets,

delicatessens, boutiques, the familiar inultiple stores, and so on display

advertiser~lents. They distort reality tllrough exaggeration. Even the vely

arrange~llent of the commodities and their display function as a form of

adve~tisrnent. For instance, the symnehy of tins and toilet roles in the windows

oI'S11ins0ul-y's, initkes thc~n nlore nttmctivc. Sl)otligl~ts n~id sl~citlcs t~ccc~~lunle

the colour range of sweaters, shirts, dresses, and skirts. The windows of the

I ,< , t t t ic l t~cb tlispliry f~~br ic it1 a fa~~cilitl wciy. l 'l~cir tiiclilc colour-rnixcs tirc

accentuated by the strobe lights.

Iloward's radical viewpoint which makes a pretence of attacking the

capitalist society do~nulates the novel. However Howard's radicalism itself

is crit~cisetl by his student Cmmody. Cannody exposes the defects it1 the

Mar-xist ideology when he says:

1 I~iippctl to believe in individualism not collcctivisrr~. I hate

this cost-accountancy, Marxist view of man as n unit in the

c l l a i ~ ~ ofpl-oduction. 1 beliovc the superstructure is a damned

sight Inore i~nportant than the substructure. 1 tl~ink culture's a

value, not an inert descriptive term (HM 138).

172

'l-llus Ma~nisni is shown to be as bereft of l~urnanistic values as capitalism.

Both give excessive importance to economic factors.

IU: is set in Slaka which is a country with a very unstable economy.

There is always a shuttling of values and a fixing of rates. The severe restrictions

thcle l~iunper the process ofexclliulge. 'The great deparkuent store "MUG" (IU

7) is well-known for its shortages. This conditiot~ is a reflection of the i~nbalances

i l l the systc~u. 'l'llis is so because money llns no stable vnlue i l l Slnka. I r l tllc

sl)cci&~l fo~eign currency store "WICWOK" (111:' 8 ) , people clalnour for

cotmrlodities from capitalist countries. In Slaka, the state of scarcity induces

this excesstvr desire for commodities. The socialist ideology has not been

able to quench this deep-rooted desire of the human mind. Party officials

themselves are desirous of commodities. They profess ideology, but indulge

i l l consu~ncvis~u. 'l'hc nlasses inea~while show an intense craving for foreign

exchange. i'hey are willing to do anything to get the currency of capitalist

countries as well as the commodities manufactured there: "[. . .] there are

tinlcs I I I Sli~kil W I I C I I i t SCCIIIS life is ~ ~ o t l ~ i n g c l s ~ 0111 il~tlkingt~ ~ C I I ~ C , linding t111

equivalent, snikulg a bargain, forging a value, putting so much person into one

piu~ a11d sceiirg how it mtltclics up wilt1 so inany goods i n tl~e other" ( M i 8). 1 lere

a trading takes place between the self and the com~nodity. In this condition,

the sell'is orlly preoccupied with the changing rates of exchange. The concept

of the niarket has crossed all baniers and is now exerting its oppressive influence

on socialist COLUIII-ies. The idea that no society can exist without the market is

propagated by the agencies of capitalism. The market is projected as an entity,

t l i ;~ t is ;In essential part ofhurnan nnture. Jarncsoll probes illto tl~c strategy used

10 illilhc lllc 111a1.ket ( igl~t~t\ its grip 011 svci~ly: " U u t pt~esu~~li~bly 111~' slogtln of

the inarket a~ld all its acconnpanying rl~etoric was derived to secure a decisive

173

sl~ift and displacement from the conceptuality of production to that of

distl-ibution and consumption [. . .I" ( z i~ek , Mapping Ideolo* 284). The

collectively owned nleans of production are undenni~~ed by the strategies of

the inxkei

I n Slaka, the rules and regulations relating to economic matters are very

st~.ict. 'l'hc i-~rlcs n1.e incant to keep the ccoi~o~r~y II 8triclly socii~lisl onc ficc

li.orn all lbrcign inlluences. l'here a currency otleence is considered as an oll'ence

against the state. Balance of payment problems are treated severely. Money is

considered as something that should be strictly accounted for. Foreign

currency is viewed with suspicion because it is considered to be harmful to the

ideological framework. Hence foreign currency has to be changed everyday at

Illc ollici~ll excl~t~~lycs 01. at ihc oilices of thc statc bt111k. In Slaktt, u pcruorl is

always under scrutiny for economic reasons. Restrictions in the matter of

trade, apply to all con~modities, including language. There are restrictions in

~lictl.adingofwo~.ds. I-icnce words have high value in the market in Slttka.

So a linguist like Petworth who trades in words, has to be vely careful in Slaka.

He has to take into account not merely the laws of linguistics but also the laws

ol'Slaka. I'roduction is an important word in Slaka, as it is a socialist country. It

is a word which gives forth the criteria for measuring the slrccess of the cnr;=l;ct

C L O I I U I I I ~ . I ~ I C ' vast iields used for agriculture as well as the state industrial

enterprises are all geared to this end. But as Steadilnan says, " 'For all their

socialist rationalization, they have ended up with about five different rates of

c c 1 1 1 1 c ' ( I 4 ) Steaditnan calls it a " 'lunatic econo~ny' " (Rli 148). I ic

explains that tl~el-e is a diplomatic rate, a business rate, a congess rate, a tourist

riltc. i ~ n d i ~ n ~~n~l'l icial ].ate. The excessive influec~ce of ideology 111 economic

ratters has ~esultetl it1 this condition of i~rationality, There is no utrifon~~ity in

174

the prices of commodities in Slaka. Hcnce people often buy co~nrnoditics

from toutists paying a very high price. People have to stand in a queue in

ordc~ to buy it book. b~ order lo get an ordinary facility like a good apartment,

one l ~ a s to offer bribes.

In splrc of the restrictions of the socialist ideology, tourist^^ is a source

of hclsi~~ess li>r Inany of the people of Slakn. 111 this IIIIIILC~, SIakn Ib l l~ws the

pactice of cap~talist cou11t1-ies. Tourism commodifies sites of cultural and

histol-ical importance. The tourists have to buy tickets in order to visit

tnonu~l~enls. 'l'l~er-e are advertisements which are ~neant to seduce the tourist

like the one on the identity card issued to Petworth, which states:

111 HOTEL SLAKA, do not neglect to visit: [. . .] RESTAURANT

S1.AKA: omcred are sucl~ delicacies as, Kyrbii Churba nutto ton

soap)[. . .] and the notable Boyard Plate, animated with folkloric

singeress and typical orchestra; [. . .I NIGI ITCLUD %1P%II1: the

personal are clothed as pesants from mountains and national

Itllnc tu.tisls give re~narkable pe~.l'orl~~:u~ccs of jiggling, songing,

art-strip [. . .] BARR' I1 TZIGANE: The personal are in

culwnes Romany, and both spiritual and non-alcoolical drinks

~ I I C r~vc~ilctl. (1(l:87-88).

' I l i s adve~lise~nent sells the culture of Slaka to the tourist. The girls in the

llotels a -e willing to offer themselves to any tourist. They have prices chalked

on the soles oftheir shoes. Using the te~minology of M m i s ~ n , it can be pointed

out I I I ; I I "lje~lc:~~ll c i ~ c l ~ lcothcred sllining superstructure tllrre is all econolnic

infiastlc~ctc~r~c. tor- eacl~ tlecorated boot, each shining filshion shoe, bears a

wavir~g chalked 11ie1-oglyp11" (RI? 147-148). Ilcrc we scc t l~c exloll o f

c o n ~ ~ ~ ~ o d ~ l i c a t ~ o n that has occurred in a socialist country.

175

Thougl~ there is the shortage of goods, the presence of'the consumer

culture is vely rnuch evident in Slaka. Department stores like "MUG" (IE 7) do

business with the goods that are available. There is a Wickwok shop with a

collectio~l of tweeds and tartans, and n Hei~nat shop with fine l~and-tnnde

en~broidety and wood cwvu~gs. Tourists from Arab and &can countries do

wl~atever shopping is possible in Slaka. The party officials own luxuries like

Kussian Volgas and spacious apartments. The politically powerful can enjoy a

good meal at a restaurant, see an opera, and even undertake pleasure trips to

other countries without much trouble. Thus consurne~is~n coexists with ideoloby

in Slaka. ' l ' l~e strategies of' capitalism help to spread consumer culture across

the world. They have set uito motion the process of universal commodification.

Multi~iational capitalism has destroyed the sense of identity and the spirit of

oneness of' various i~ations. 'The socialist world is experiencing the slow

encroachment ;uld colonisation by the strategies and products of capitalism.

Meanwhile the Mamian command economy is dying out of exhaustion. The

people ale losing Faith in the Utopia promised by socialis~n, and are instead

getting attractcd towards the one projected by capitalism.

'l'his is :I world which is governed largely by the laws of economics:

"'l'l\c ww Id is i t r l l of'~~lonuy-tnlk, economists tire our new wisc rncn"(/(/< 8).

Bradbury has analysed the growth of monetarism: "It was no longer the

radical sociologists and the consciousness-gurus, but the post-Keynesian

econoniists who provided the times with the growing rates of exchange. The

t1icol.y they dcl~vcrcd. '~nonetaris~ii' canlc to dominate not only the cconomic

arid political but the cultural spirit of the dayU(Bradbury, The Modern British

Nol~r l 396). In 111is world dominated by rnotletaristn, socialist countries like

Slaka sh-tiggle with their fluctuating rates of excliru~ge. Here eve~ythit~g is taken

into considerat~on in terms of its exchange value. Even languages are looked

upon as "si~nplv invented systems of exchange, attempts to turn the word into

tllc wolltl. M ~ I I I I I I O v~tluc, .sc~i[)( if110 CUI . I .C I I~Y, C O ~ C inLo ~~~ality"(l(I:' 8 ) . ' I IIC

176

novelists themselves have become bankers turning pieces of paper into things

that have economic value: "[. . .] for what after all, is our life but a great dance in

which we are all trying to fix the best going rate of exchange using our minds

and our sex, our taste and our clothes, according to Valdopian principles?"(I&'

8). Tlus excessive preoccupatiol~ with the rates of exchange will result in total

I ~ ~ I I I I I I S I ~ I O I I 111 all atte~npt to acquire co~~unodiiics, i l ~e individual will lose

eve~ytluugthat he has. This conditionhas beenmade clear in the novel though

:I scrics ol' s ip~l i l ' i c~ .~ o r t l ~ c consumer culture:

SO you 1.. ] w i t h your customized Volvo and your Seiko

quartz digital, your remote control telephone and your high

opinion, so loudly expressed over the Campari soda [. . .] or

you [. . . j with your Gucci shoes, the tales of ego your

analyst told you, and the buttons o f your designer

dress leli strategically undone, to display the Seychelles

tail and i11at tetnpting mammary interface, so raising the

inter-cst without lowering the price I . . .I what are you doing

h u t putting what you think of as your self in the pati, bartering

~ O U I - ~rli~ld and body, your youth and opinions, on the eco~~ornic

h-ontier in an attempt to find a meaning, invent a value, find

your Ilighest price, trade at the best possible rate of exchange?

( ICI i 8-9)

'I'llough thc 111ajor portion of is set i l l Slaka, i t offers glimpses of the

capitalist society as it exists in Londo~l . London is a prime shoppiuy centre

that attracts tourists from across the world. Hence inany tourists corne there

exclusively f o ~ slloppil~p. 'fhe departme~~t stores like Marks and Spencer,

S i ~ ~ l p s o ~ ~ , tuld l.ortl J ~ ~ I I I attract these tourists because tlley co~ltai~l goods not

ovi~iltible in tlle~r- own counbies. Tl~e tourists buy lrlally co~~unoditiesjust because

of their passion for certain brand names. These commodities appear as a

confusing rriultitude to them. In Framing the Sign: Criticisnl and its

lristit~rtron.~, Jonathan Culler has analysed how capitalism encourages and exploits

lou~ ~ S I I I :

The touristic system accompanies and is tied in with the world

sysIc111 ~ F I I I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I I I I ~ ~ O I I ~ I ~ cnpit~lIi!i~t~, wI1ic11 I I ~ I S C ~ C I I I C ~ I I I I I C I I of

the infrashucture such as airports and Western hotels, on which

tourism depends. Like tourism, this capitalism seeks to make

tile world a series of accessible sites, equivalent as markets for

goods and interchangeable as sites of production according to

the momentary advantages of wage scales and local conditions.

( 166-67)

'I'lle duty-li-ee shops at the Heatluow airport attract alot of tourists. They contain

bright bottles of Scotch and London Dry Gin, long cartons of Players and

1)111111ills. and Joegcr Scnrvcs.

All sorts of advertisen~ents are visible in the streets of London. The

poslcr tlcclnring " 'Fly poundstretcl~er to Australia' " (1Ui 2 1) projccting images

of girls 111 1)ikinis in bright sunshine, is onc that is rneallt to provoke a

person to undertake a pleasure t ip . " 'Your palace in the sky' " (1% 25) is the

advertisement for an Air India Jumbo with windows like the Taj Malial at

Heatlwow airport. The airport displays several advertisements that make use

of cultural signifiers: "Beer advertisements display half-timbered cottages and

old gey churches, the England ofthe heart [. . .] "(lE 22). These advertisements

projecl ;III unreal picture of Englatid and create a false cultural identity, so as to

inc~ease the sale of certain colnrnodities. These coln~nodities acquire greater

c~ctliOili~~ 11s 1211 11s ll1c11. c l u ~ ~ l i l y is C O I I C C I . I I C ~ by gcll i~~g i ~ ~ ~ o c l ; ~ l c d will1 111~

signifie1.s of'Bntish Culture: "The emergence of the sign as the locus of the

1 ~ 1 1 1 i t~~licatcs decisively 1. . .] the poststruciuralist prcoccupatio~l wit11 1. . .] tlre

c~rlrttrul sen1lultc.s of the exchange system in political ecorlolny [. . .I"

( b o k e r and Cook 179).

'Tile ultimate statement in the matter of advertisements is given by the

bright yellow signs on the duty- free shop which make a declaration about the

l~tosl'ccls l o r S I ~ I 111 Ilcri~lrrow r o r I l ~ ~ w c v c t ~ I I I I N cxccsn 01'

con~tnodities only produce alienation in Uie human psyche. But the desire

produced by the111 forces a person to buy them. While at Heatllrow airport,

Petworth filrds himself in a situation in which he has nothing to do except buy

something. He tries to yet relieffrom his anxiety by buying a bottle of Teacher's

whisky and a long thin carton of Benson and Hedge's cigarettes.

Fl~e stewardesses on planes utter siatetnents that sound like

advertisen~erlts. They "serve drink and bargain -- like conunodities, offer smiles

ilttd adul~erous glances. pro~nises of intimate excess, display inade-up faces

and nice legs, utter cries of 'Enjoy your flight' and'Fly us again solnetilne' and

'Have a nice day' " (1G 28). Thus they tempt the passengers to make use of the

same flight again:

1 . . I postmodemis~nu~lders~~~ds contenlporary capitalisln as a11 all-

111c111sive order from wllict~ nothing ant1 no onc can cscapc,

and that this successful appropriation of everything by late

cayilalistn can be attributed to its annexation of culture's

signifying processes to its own need of self-maintenance and

sell-1.cpl-otluction. (McGowan 2 1 )

liven the English l a ~ ~ ~ u a g e has become a commodity. Thus the British

linguist I'etworth "is a valued coml~ercial traveller UI an essential commodity,

a loyal worker in the service of the one British export, that, despite the falling

lislling stocks ;111d the rising oil price, the stl.ikcs and t.cccssio~ls, still boo~ils i l l

l l~e markets of the world" (1U 34). It is a commodity that brings in the rnaxirnum

profit, because it requires no production costs.

111 R E , the diplomat Steadiman and his wife Budgie, appear as

representat~vrs of the consumer culture. Steadirnan has been in different

countries during his diplomatic ~nissions and lie has collected cultural artefacts

lio~ll tllcsc C O L I I I I I ~ C H . I l i ~ 1 . 0 ~ ~ 1 1 1 H ~ I O W L I II co l lec l i i~~~ wl~iclk co~~sittltl 01' I I I I I I ~ I I I I

saddlebags, Mexican dauceniasks, Africanrugs, chairs fi-orn Sweden or Delunask

Indian Coffee tables, and Kurdish camel-drivers trunks. His wife Budgie,

decorates herself with the relics of previous postings, like Arab filigrcc earrings

and Navajo pawn bracelets. Here social status is shown " by conspicuous

cons~unptio~i of the products of the new technology 01- by collecting the artefacts

ot' pre-~r~duu~risl tinlcs, and preferably foreign countries" (Lodge, Ajier Wukhrin

140). l 'he artefacts are turned into commodities by collectors like Steadiman.

I'llcy del-ivc v~cal-ious pleasure by surrounding t l le~~~selves with co~nlnodities.

11 is s s o r ~ ofreification derived from the belief that these objects are absolute.

'I'lus results in tile i'etislism which shows the transl'er of deske to such inanimate

objects t3udg1e 1s seen to take pride in the Marks and Spencer sausage, which

IS a p~oduc t oi' England and hence represents its culture. This sort of

identification that she makes, shows the extent of her cornmodification.

I'l-ofessor Vlic elnesges as the strongest critic of the consulner culture

i I . t le clei~ou~lces the phe~lorne~~on called mo~letarism. Money is now in

excess i l l the capitalist society. It has become an unstable entity: "Money as

v:~Itlc only ; I I ) I>C:I~S III { I I C vi1nishing-ljoi111 ofiis ; ~ l ' ~ c ~ - i ~ l l ~ ~ g c " (lirokc~.rl~ltl ('ook

IV). I'rokssor Vl~c exposes this instability that lies at the core of the consumer

180

I think now money is not making sense any more. All our

cconon~ics are wrong, capitalist and socialist. Of course our

disasters are more rational, we plan them better. And yet

eve~ywhere people seem to have some riches. New clothes, a

lclevision receptor, perhaps a little car. Even our pcoplc here

have many possessions. But I wonder, do these things represent

what truly we desire, or (toes rnoncy rnokc 11s tt~kc thctn7 1

l~ i~vc n r ~ itl)tlrttncnt to sit in, cl ctir to go in, tun I happier n1an7 1

do not laugh any more, my worries are bigger. (RE 266)

Vlic here refers, to a coudition which shows human beings without ally identity,

engaged in inad pursuit of commodities, so as to satisfy their excessive desires.

However t h ~ s produces a mental condition that is alun to schizophrenia:

Schizophre~lia serves thc purposcs of consurrlcr capitalism

precisely because it is such a highly anxious state; the self

will~ou~ i111 identity will be co~~sttu~tly i n search 01' one, seeking

through compulsive consumerism to obtain the identities that society

portrays as accompanying possession of this or that item.

(McGowan 246)

Monetaris111 and the consumerism associated with it merely deceive the self.

111 lict by indulging in consumption, people arc not satislLing their real desires.

They are only running after false desires that can never be satisfied.

I'his he~glitened phase of constunerism and inonetarism is portrayed

Inorc el;lborately in I.)(', There is budget crisis in Washington, high-street

reeession in Britain, other fiscal problems in Tokyo, and bank fiaud evelywhere.

71'l~e decaciel~ce that has affected capitalism is visible here. Reality itself is now

seen in te~lns of money: "[. . .] in vast galleries money-shufflers sat before

co~~lpulcr screens, scanning the datasphere for those pulses that construct the

nlatl liction ol'cconon~ic reality" (Dc 12). Money now appears in new forms:

"It was no 1onge1'the old hard money [. . .] it was plastic, it was the share portfolio,

the cash hspenser, the world money game that flicked on the VDO screens [. . .]

as tlle erotlcs of trading grew" (Bradbury, The Modern Hrilish No\lel398). The

illlage ol'inuney is there everywhere ruid its value has beco~nc associated with

11s irnagc: "It is no longer o~le 'sfi thy lucre, only that of the sanitized electronic

display ol'tllc con~puter monitor" (Kroker and Cook lV).ln the novel,

there is the reference to "the perfect econolnic Euro-toy: a fine electronic

niachinewitli flashing buttons that, at a press, gladly turned any form

of cun-ency into any other, in a hi-tech, silicon chip version of the good old

~ ~ I I I I C o l ' r i~~cs ~ l ' c x ~ l ~ ; l ~ l g c " (I)(: 46). It ~ ~ c t f o r ~ n s 1l1c 111~1gic of Iu~ning j~ot~~lt ls

to schillings, dollars to zlotys, yen tovloskan, and so on. This is a world that has

been divitlcd on the basis of money power. There are ever so lrlany econo~nic

frontiers ill it. The European Union again becomes an instance of this power.

Ix~wpe is being unilied not on the basis of culture, but on that ol'inoney. This

union is a paradise for many as it offers great freedom for financial deals.

'Tl~ert: is also Switzerland which is another such paxadise Gee from restrictions

related to inoney. The borders of Switzerland have thus become venues for

fitla~lcial cnlnes. Euro-fraud has now become vely cornrnon. Even the taxes

given by ihe conlrnou man get involved in fraud. Thus they function as

Instruments of' oppression and deception. Banks are used not to store money,

but to hide it. Special accounts are made to evade the financial police. The

tlillkrcncc 111 lllc litws 1.elalcd to cconornic inalters as exisling in cou~llrics across

111e wo~.lcl, inotivates the illegal iransfcr of money.

182

These illegal financial activities have created the need for investigations

and enquiries. In D(7, Cosirna Bruckner is an agent investigating a "Euro-

fraud" (U( 120 1 ) in which Criminale himselfis involved. The New Europe is

full ol'cows. grains and vines, all supported by subsidies. The statistics give a

pictue of material abundance. It creates the impression that the systern is a

S ~ I C C C S S . 13t1t I I I ~ I I I Y t l~i t~gs exist only i n of terrns of currency notes. Cosi~rla

points out this Iact: "Paper olives which never grow, but still t l ~ e fanners make

il Lbl.tune. Paper cows nobody sees, but they walk across borders and double

their value in one ininute. Paper pigs climb in trucks in Ireland and anive UI

Kornania w ith an export refund" (DC 296). Everything is seen in te~ms of money

atid hence money is regarded as the only reality. So long as it increases nobody

won~cs about what actually exists ornot. Budgets and subsidies all poult towards

Ilugc iu~iou~lts ol~noncy Lllatue missuig. Dwilg Ll~c lilter stages of i~rvcstigalion,

('osinla doubts whether the Deputy-President of the European Cornn~ission

under who~n she is working might himself be involved it1 the fraud. Cosirna's

investigatio~~ does not put an end to anything illegal. It is clear that the fiaud

will soon be forgotten: "As she says herself fraud is sirnply a side show in the

T:u~.ol>einl bul-eaucratic progra~nme[,. . .I" (0(: 342) I ' l~us 110 orlc docs anytlii~~g

against i i~~i i~ici i~l liaudulence that has bcco~t~e a way of life.

Meanwhile Marxisin as well as the command economy has declined.

Budapest ;IS tlescribed in the novel, clearly shows the cllarlge fi-orn Marxist

ideology to corlsu~nerism. The toppling of the Berlin wall signifies the

destruction of'tl~e barriers set up by ideology. The failure of ideology is clear

from the fact that money has no value in socialist countries like Hungary. The

c~u-reilcies of socialist cotu~tries like the zloty, the crown, the forint, the lev,

I I I I ~ 111c r0111)lc 11rc 1111 wo~~ll~less. '1.11~ irony lies il l 111111 II IC cxp1111sio11 ~ I ' C I I ~ ~ I I I I ~ H I I I

Iltls i.esullcd i n 11s ecorlo~nic system i~ifluer~ci~ly tlie pcople of'socialist countries.

'I'hey have recognised the power and worth of the dollar to such an extent that

it can now be regarded as the currency of Marxism. In other words, Marxism

now depends OII tlie money got from capitalist cou11I1.i~~ through illcgol rrlcrills.

111 socialist countl-ies, people are begging on the streets for the currency of

capitalist counties. At the same time, the party onicials make use of the power

of the dollar to buy il~fluence, jobs, sex, black market, petrol, travel permits,

and even forbidden military technologies. The presence of electronic goods

likc the Soriy Walkmall and tlie Ma~u~esma~ln Computer in Budapest, shows

how co~isuniel-isni has replaced ideology. The people there have even built a

monument to express their thanks to the Americans for supplying then with

Coca-Cola. They are proud of commodities like CD Players, video recorders,

mobile phones, BMW cars, and fashion suits.

'l'lie novel also refers to the economic crises that have aff'ectcd many

countries across the world. For instance, the changes brought by t l ~ e sluft in

ideology has created chaos in the economy of East Germany. Inflation in

Arget~tir~a is a hundred and t t ~ i ~ i y percent. C o ~ ~ u p t i o ~ ~ and I I I ~ S I I I R I I ~ ~ ~ I I I ~ I I ~ of

Illolley i s r i ~ ~ n i ~ a ~ ~ t l~ere. Wealill is concentrated and is in excess ill the hands of

a few.

111 Englald, great cllanges were brought about in the economy during the

pe~iod of Thatcher: " I . . .I 'Thatcherism' as it came to be called, proved an

i~lfluential aiid dominant philosophy, and the 'Thatcher Revolution'--real

revolu~ion. which quickly transformed the social, political and cultural cli~nate,

and brought a well-established liberal consensus to an e n d ( Bradbury, The

Moden~ Hrrlrslr Novel 396). Jay considers himself to be a product of the Thatcher

era, and he feels sad when this era comes to an end. In fact he calls himself" ' a

post - 'I'l~ntcllerite cripple' " (OC 18). Jay owes his ambitions, his commodities

and even lus soul to Thatcher: "The ups and downs, the highs and lows, the

booms and recessioas, the Big Bangs and small crashes at her three tenns of

office were nothing less than the swings and cycles of what I liked to call my

adult lil'e" ( I ) ( ' 84).

I.)( ' HISO gives several illstances of the all pewasive con~tiiodification of

society. It is a society in which shopping has become more specialised. Hence

there are shops like the Tie Rack, the Knicker Box, the Shirt Factory, the Sock

Sliol), t lnt l the 13ody Shop at I Icathrow airport. Duty-frec sllol~s arc tllcrc wllicl~

ellcourage the consunler to consume all the inore. Often the label or 111c brand

natne beconies Illore i~nportant than the coiiunodity itself'. l 'he label futictions

as a sign that confers value onto a commodity. There are people like Professor

MoI~L;~, w110 ~ilke pride in the fact that they own a I'orsclie. 'l'lie sa~nc attitude

can be seen in the desire people have for the Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Bloo~ningdale is another name that confers prestige to a com~nodity. The

commodification of culture has reached such an extent that certain places

thenlselves are associated with bmid nanies. Thus Stuttgart is as n~uch connected

wit11 tlic i)riiad 1l;ilnc Mcrccdes-Bcnz as with tllc pllilosophcr I Icgcl.

/ ) ( ' givcs illany exarnples of the signilling patterns employed by

advertisements. 'I'he signs projected through advertiselne~~ts arouse the desire

of t11e inasses. In Pnct, social life itself centres round such signs. The play of

suc11 signs "s11oultL bc recognized, as the do~ninar~t fortn discourse takes in a

society i n which tlie trrsnipulation of images (an economy of reproduction or

orsigniiicatiori) takes precedence over processes of actual production"

(McGowan 118). These signs transcend all barriers of language. In other words,

they form a ur~iversal language that promote a variety of commodities. Jay

realises this fact while at the railway station in Budapest: "The posters on the

slnlio~~ w ~ ~ l l s wcrc i l l a ltu~guagc o f v e ~ y great obscurity but tllcy spoke oftlie

things I immediately recognised -- colas andjeans, television sets and pantihose"

(I)(: 93). Advertise~nents exploit the symbols of national culture. Mozart is a

sy~nbol of the culture of Vienna and hence his name is used to sell many

co~nmodities there: "Here you could fu~d a Mozart delicatessen where you could

buy sticky Mozartkugeln ('the sweet heritage of Anadeus'), rich Mozarttorte,

Queen of the Night olive oil, Mozart mayonnaise" (IX46). Don Giovanni bar

has a chocolate bust of Giovaruli melting. The female body is subjected to the

I I I I I X ~ I I I I I I I I cx1)1oittlli011 for thc purposc of prollioling vclriolrs cot~ll~lotlitics:

"Emphasized [. . . ] is [. . .] the tendency to align the realm of mass culture, with

its fi-ivolous and decorative multiple objects, with a certain notion of femininity

as associated with the commodity (the woman as market for and object of

consumer culture)" (Jones 162). Thus there is the instance of a girl in tricoloured

~)ncities wl~o comes over and sprays perfwne in atelnpting innnncr . Toy rabbits

are sold by a gul in a pink rabbit costume in Viem~a. She tenipts children to buy

the toy rabbits by running a rabbit glove up and down her ~IIII. The girl looks

innocent, but her i~ulocence forms pa13 of just another capitalist strategy to

~ L . ~ I I I O I ~ ~ O I I S U I I I ~ ~ ~ S I I I . liven books function as advel-tisernents i n illis age of'

heightened consu~nerism. Thus Codicil's book 'EnpiricalPhilo.~ophy andtlie

1:'nglisli C:otttiit:y Horrse" (UC 341) actually serves to promote tourism.

The puocess ol'corn~nodification acts vely effectively through the media:

"Aidetl hy highly sophisticated technological advances in the visual and electronic

IIICCII:I. I I I V C I I I I I I ~ C I I I C ~ I I S I I . ~ skiifully I I I I I I I ~ ~ ~ I ~ ~ C S I I IC sy1111)oIic I I I I ~ ~ I I I ~ I ~ I I I I I I , ~

experiences and needs of the people" (Holub 174). The me&a aligns itself with

the centres of political power by facilitating the process of cornmodification.

'lelevision is the most effective tool for disseminating the signs meant for

yrotlloting coriscunption. hnages are used and abused on television as a part of

this capitalist strategy. Thus television becomes the centre of a promotional

c111111rc. I t is the I ~ ~ I I I I wlicre "'c~~lture' is dl.ivc11 ~ I I W I I ~ ~ S by thc univcrstrlisatior~

of the conunodity-form" (Kroker and Cook 269). The novel in fact centres

round a television programme that Nada productions is supposed to make about

Criminale. Kos and Lavulia, the executives associated with it, employ Jay for

l l~e ~ ) u ~ ~ o s c of lkrrcting out the sctuldals in Crinrinale's l ik . 'l'liey feel that

only such details will make the progmtune n corl~rnercial success.

Ncwsl)i~l)ers arc illso corn~nercialiscd Sor survival ill the 1n;~rkct. It sl~ould

be packaged i r ~ the ridit way for people to buy it. The serious sunday newspaper

in wllicl~ Jay works, is a neo-tabloid: "Its sharp vital pages were made up of

politics arid sex, high finance and consumption, opera and custom number plates,

count~y living and rap, intellect and gossip, thought and sneer, in such perfect

combination as to make every sabbath a day of ideal leisure a id pleasure" (K

10). According to 13radbury, newspapers cater to the de~nn~lds oftlie consurlier

society:

Thus traditional societies believe in privacy, whereas the

~onsumer society believes inpublicity. [. . .] hi constuner societies

11cws is concerned with thc marginal, thc dcviani, and ~ I I C

exceptional; and it ignores the necessary and the ordinary, wluch

becolrie increasingly old-hat and unfashionable. ( A l l r)re.c.sed

0 1 7 151)

Thus i t is clear that newspapers have become enslaved to capitalist strategies.

I I I S ~ I C I I CI I~II I I ISII I I ICCS. I I joui*nt~list like Jt~y is Sorced 10 be $1 stre~'t-wise

i~rlcllcclui~l W I N I L I I O W ~ 11ow itr I I I ~ I ~ C ~ I I C I I C W S I ) I I O C ~ sell:

I wrote fragments, in fact I wrote everything: sole~nn pieces

101. the limes Literary Stpplenlen/, essays on South American

tiction for the London lie~lie,,, of' Books, lyrics for pop songs,

scripts for radio commercials. I reviewed and I colu~nnized,

picking up titbits about authors that would make your ears

crinkle. I interviewed, 1 opined. I freelanced, 1 free-styled, 1

I'lcc-loudctl, I frocbicd. I r~lso workcd ~ I I I . I - I ~ I I I C i l l II W ~ I I C I I I I I .

In C'ovent Garden, and sold gossip to Nar~Mti4riculfixptess. (UC 10)

Only this wide range of market-oriented activities will ensure Jay's survival as

ZI ~ ~ I I I I I Z I ~ ~ S ~ ,

'llie process of co~urnodificatio~i has affected also the world of literature:

'Illis is the age of the busy bookstore, and tlie novel as a highly

co~i~inn.cialisedcommodity. [. . .] The climate ofhype, advertising

and literary prizes shapes the market place, there is endless

gellerlc re-duplication, the age ol'tl~e literary sequel arid indeed

t l~e prequel, stories aping other successful stories is upon us.

1,iterary 'classics' are in extensive supply, and we live in a

climate of endless r a ~ ~ d o ~ i l book-talk, and writerly gossip in

the cvcl--fattening culture supple~nents of newspapers. A good

pal-t of this is sililple commerce, but what is ir~teresting is that

I I I ; I I I age i lo~ni~la tcd by tec~~r lo loyic ;~l lllctlia anti new

illformation highways, the book remains a living and effective

comn\oditv (Bradbury. The Modern Hriti .~h Noi~el 456-57)

I88

The publication of books has now become a big business. An author's worth is

;~ssessed not on the basis of his creativity, but wit11 reference to the sale of his

books. Writers are competu~lg with each other in the international market.

Cri~ninale is considered a successful writer since in sales his books are said to

rival those ofmany o t h e ~ writers. The value of books changes according to the

fluctuations in the market. lldiko had published C~uninale's books when he was

not famous. But now the commercial value of lss books is very high and there

arc editions SI-on, the capitalist countries.

C:ri~ninale's analysis of the consunler culture forms one of t l~e central

conceins of the novel. According to Ci-iminale, this "is an age of everything and

nothing. I t is culture as spectacle, designer life, the age of shopping" (UC 149).

As a result, the masses have withdrawn from the social. They now find

sc~lisli~c~con o111y in I I W v ic io~~s cycle o f c o l ~ ~ ~ i ~ ~ ~ l ) t i o ~ ~ . I ; ~ I I . I I I C I I I , LJ1opi11 II ICII I IS

tile illusoly world of the shopping mall:

tlalf of the people of the world starve or fight each other.

Meanwhile where is the new life conducted? In the shopping

rnall. On the one hand, crisis and death, on the other the joys of

the meat counter, the sorrows of the pants department. When

we reach a certain point of wealth, everyone asks, where do I

find inyselfl The answer? Hanging on a pcg in thc clothes storc,

newcst Pishion, designer label, for you reduced by tllirty percent.

( I ) ( . 163)

Criminale feels that it would be useless to resist consumption. Hence he points

(owulvls illc dl-nwhitcks ofthc ccono~ny bttscd on Mz~rxist itlcoloyy 111111 exists i l l

Kussia. - f l~e t~.oubles in Russia can be attributed to the fact that motley has no

value il~er-e and I~ence slloppiny does not exist there. ' l ' l~e people of Kussia crave

for co~nmodities and hence they look towards America. The cornmodification

of culture has ~esulted in people being obsessed with money. Alier reading a

ncwspnpcr whicll contail~s iltI'onnatiorl about li.c~ud, C r i ~ ~ l i ~ l ~ I c ret~~arks: "Drugs

Illoney In~~ntlcrcd. oll'sl~ore accounts seized, bankcrs jailed, jurlk bortds wo~lhless,

of course, or they wouldn't be junk. What a wonde~ful world, money. All the

sins of'the world are there" (UC: 162). Thus even a philosopher like Crimu~ale

has no existence that is free from the values of consumer culture: "1. . .] the

i1111er dyr~a~nic of the culture of conslunptioi~ is a11 infernal tnachine from which

one does i~ot esctlpc Oy the takingoCthouyht (ornwraliziny positio~t), at1 irllinitc

propagation and replica ti or^ of 'desire' that feeds on itself and has no outside and

no fulfilment" (Jatneson 206).

C1.ilninnle's appearance itself is marked by the signifiers of consurncr

culture. I-lis light-blue silk suit, Swiss gold watch, Iranian cufflinks, Gucci

shoes, Hennes tle, and hair bouffanted at Maxim's show the extent of his

co~nrnodificatior~. He makes use of alot of co~ntnodities bearing exclusive brand

rlantes, to e~tl~ance his personality. His Swiss Bank account shows the excess

of ~uoney in his possession, and hence he finds it necessary to hide it. IHe used

his tcl)utntloll as a writcr us n covcr. for his fiaud. I lis westcrn bank accounts

provided fuids to the Marxist party. Gertla is of the opinion that Crinllllale has

double standards. When C~iminale started his caeer as a writer, he believed in

Maxist ideology But now he lm become a supporter of the free market. Gertla

views this shifts in values ironically:" 'You lu~ow what Bazlo is now? ?'he

philosopller ol'tie~~tucky Fried Chicken' "(I)(' 276).Tllus Crilninalc's lifc shows

co~~tradict~ous as far as his attitude towards the consulrler culture is concerned.

Jay also exhibits tl~e symptotns of the commodification of the human

psyche. 111 a way he is "seeking th~.vugli compulsive consurneris~n to obtain U I C

idelltitics I I I ; I I suctcty pol.troys HS ~ C C O I I I ~ ~ I I ~ ~ I ~ ~ ~ O S S ~ S S ~ O I ~ ol'Utis or t l ~ i ~ l itetll"

1 90

(McGowan 246). However he lives in a world where there is no stability in

econo~nic inatters. He does not have a secure job; and when his newspaper

collapses. he signs a deal to work under Nada Productions. Even at this juncture,

he goes on a shopping spree at Heathrow Airport. Jay's superior in the new job,

Lavinia. does not want him to indulge in the excesses of consumption. Jay is

working for Nada Productions under a tight budget and Lavinia inshucts him:

" 'Stay away itom banks, leave money machines alone, forget about rates of

cxcll~~ngc. ' l ' l~i~t's Ibl. the big people, 1'11 see to all that' " ( /X: 47). Lavirlia wit11

her own concept of television economics is exploiting Jay in the true capitalist

way. Jay is also aware of the production mechanism that is dnving him in its

own dil.ectio11. There is no way he can resist because it is the economy that

determines his existence: "[. . .] postmodemism understands contemporary

capitalisn~ as all all inclusive order from which nothing and no one car1 escape,

and that tl~is successful appropriation of everything by late capitalism can be

attributed to its anr~exation of culture's signifying processes to its own needs

of self-~nai~l te~~ar~ce and self-re@roduction" (McGowan 21). Jay is one who

cxpci.icr~ccs sl~ol-~ayc of nlorley as far as his personal matters arc concerned.

However, by chance he comes into contact with some of the excess ruoney that

is floating about in the world. The money appears in the form of some foreign

currency, rnak~ng i t for Jay an entity that is difficult to interpret. The rnoney is

problc~~~iiiic also in llrc scl~sc Ulai it l ~ a s been involvcd in liauds. Jay is

I1;11)py t l ~ ; i t tllc 111o11cy will ctlable hini to enjoy cot~~tnotlifictl pleasures wilhout

any lirnil.

111 lldiko's case, shopping is an obsession. She is eager to visit the West

where the shops are filled with connxnodities not available in her own country.

I lcnce slrc goes on a shoppi~~g trip dulingthe her stay at the Ci~xn llotel Rarolo:

What Ildiko had bought [. . .] was the followil~g: three dresses

I I I Day-Cilo colours; shoes of' electric blue; anoraks ofoutrageous

purple; ritcil~g drivers' sunglasses; a baseball cap saying

'C'lcvcla~~tl I'itchcr's;' skin-tight 1,ycra bicyclillg prlntu will1

startling pink flashes; Stars and Stripes knickers; U~lioli Jack

bras; a tee-shirt that said on it 'Spandau Ballet,' and another

that declared 'Up Yours, Delors.' (D(7 194)

'l'l~csc co~n~~rodities she acquires show her hscir~ation for thc signiliers of

consumer. culture. She displays them before Jay, as if she is revealing her own

self before liilr~. S l~e believes that they confer a new identity to her. But

aclually she gets no itlerltity by subjecting herself to the i~orrns of cor~sulner

cr~lt~uc. 'I'l~c ccooonly of t l~c wcst " 'rci1uil.c~ that wo111cr1 le~ltl il~er~~sclvcs lo

alier~ation 111 consurnptiol~' " (Luce Irigaray qtd. in Jones 165). Her love of

sllol)l)i~lg ltlnkcs Iler. tlcsir.oc19 of lhe currency ofcctl)irclli.sl cou~~lt-ics. Sllc knows

that nlorley has 110 value 111 a socialist country llke Hungary. Hence while UI

Switzerland, she draws money from all the accou~~ts Crill~ir~ale has there. She

could do so because as Ciitninale's publisher she has access to these accounts.

'l 'l~us shc IS so~llethirlg Illore t l~ar~ " 'a chanl~ing little publisher li.0111 Budapest

who has an ut~ib~-t~ulate taste for luxury goods ' " (IX 297).

tiollo is anotl~er persoil who has discarded Ma~xist ideology to e~nbrace

the values of consulner culture. He formerly taught Marxist theory and socialist

correctliess. tie now functio~ls as a fixer in Budapest which is a place that is

exl~erier~ci~lg the u~vasion of co~isumerism. "The seismic change in the fonn of

tnzass cultul.e. as it botl~ p~.oliterated and was subordinated to the drive of mass

~)~ot lucl io~~ i ~ r l t l C O I I S L I I I I ~ I ~ ~ ~ I ~ " (WOIICII 158). hils cre;~Ied ~)co~)Ic like I lollo. I lollo

uses all sol.ls 01 I H C I I G S tu strike A busil~ess deal RY IS C I ~ U I . 1j.011t his wo1.d~ lo

Do you like a nice apartment ill the valley of Roses, a little

I)iscuit buuir~css i n Szczycd'? Do you like a p l ~ o t ~ c l i ~ l c to the

West, a fax machine from Vienna? May be you like a train

wrnpany from Csepel, or a small share in pornography business

a1 Lake Balaton? I can fix. And when you make your film

here, and you need back-ups, transports, locations, hotel rooms,

co~~l i~c ts . I call lix t l ~ n t too. ( I ) ( . ' I03 - 04)

Iiollo explains the rise of consu~leiism in Budapest, with reference to Marxist

ideology. According to him, the cliat~ge in Budapest is the result of the great

historic progress of materialism. This process can take place only in a capitalist

society. I lollo believes in changing according to the times. Being a fixer, lie is

also involved in fraud. He supplies western currency to ildiko. The age of fast

consutnption rleeds no long-tenn philosopliers. It pays respect only to quick

fixet-s like Hollo. Hollo's change becomes a concrete example of the set-back

that Marxist ideology received due to the rise of consumerism. Jarneson tenns

tl~is set-back its something universal: "[. . .] the rhetoric ofthe market has been

a Iu~~datner~tal and central component of this ideological sh-uggle, tl~is struggle

tor the legittit~atioti or delegitlliiation of left discourse. Thesurrender todie various

fomls of rnarket ideology -- on the Left [. . .] has been imperceptible but alarmingly

~r~~ivcrsill" ( % i ~ c k , Mtrppltrg Idcology28 1).

Wh~le OII one side there are those who have discarded Marxism for

consutnel.lsnl. on the other there are rich Marxists like Professor Monza and

c l i i M ~ I I L ; ~ owns a villa, a Porsche, a~ldtlie best collectiol~ ofSouth Arnericatl

art in Italy. Cie~tla is one who enjoys the luxuries of a hacienda. Such people

PI-ove that the co~nmodity fotln has levelled all luerarchies of value. They have

lost their hlstory, and hence can only exist in the present they experience during

co~lsumptio~l.

AII a ~ ~ a l y s ~ s of the surfaces of culture leads to the question as to what

lies behind these surfaces. The following chapter is devoted to a study of the

underlying hstorical and poltical forces. This enquiry places the stress on the

sl:lle of chaos it1 which these forces exist.