On the power lecture
The lecture which had the most lasting impression on me was Julia Crews on power, which offered a stirring look into the inherent inequality that runs throughout the fashion industry, and revealed shocking statistics making the power-hierarchies that consumerism is founded on glaringly obvious. It’s very interesting to see the different levels of power and influence that run society compiled and laid out in such a coherent way, putting numbers and facts to the imbalance that we all know surrounds us – particularly in the fashion industry. Crews questioned who holds power in a consumer driven industry, putting names to statistics and demonstrating the different impacts that different groups have on industry.
Crews analyzed the roles of groups holding different levels of power, looking at; money, media, and the consumer and how we are all impacted by this, as well as the much deeper reaching and systematic problems offered by fast fashion. With consumer drive pushing garment production to be cheaper and faster than ever before, the most underprivileged are being exploited and kept in a vicious cycle of wage slavery and poverty. As consumers in the privileged position of choice, or neoliberal individualism, we all play a role in this cycle, and although we do not profit off of the exploitation of millions as the C.E.Os of these multi billion pound industries, we still cast a vote with every purchase.
We exist in a world where we are bombarded with advertising and marketing from all angles, and all sources, almost all of the time. When most of our information is spooned to us through corporations such as face-book, from the comfort of our own homes, our own phones, exactly how much power are we giving to media? Crews puts into perspective the very real societal hierarchies that keep the rich rich and the poor poor, raising questions about not only the sustainability of this environmentally, but societally.
If this lecture put one thing even more into focus, it would be to distance from your habits and analyze the true cost of fashion, realizing that this situation is far larger than the individual, the importance of understanding where your clothes come from, who made them, and who will profit? Even though it is easy to feel powerless and complacent in such a corrupt corporate cycle, it is crucial to remember that you do have the privilege of choice, and although it is almost impossible to avoid the impacts and influences of mass media marketing and fast fashion, you can make the decision not to support fast fashion through your purchases.
This information will stay with me, and I will try to avoid the wilful ignorance that it is so easy to sink into, and research further into the power systems that lay below the surface.
23rd April 2020 @ 10:42 am
You are totally right! I feel like we have such a common shared belief and in one way or another, we resonate completely. Unlike many other blog posts, I have read before stumbling across yours, I felt like I might never find that one post I will actually enjoy reading. I myself enjoyed Julia’s lecture and POWER has always been a subject of sky-high controversy to me. It is interesting how you pointed out the “distancing” from our usual habits just to put things into perspective. It might actually be easy and truly efficient since we are all at home right now and basically do nothing. This is the time where we can do some soul searching and reflect upon the changes that must happen. Julia’s kind of harsh statements on how the rich remain rich and the poor remain poor were so well received by you and your question truly made me think. I do feel sometimes that the amount we are “bombarded” with just makes things worse, and honestly, I feel like we don’t even read and access all those so-called “adverts” and we simply see them as the built-in design of the website we are on at that very moment. I would love to hear your point of view towards influencers and celebrities. I, now more than ever, feel like those people belonging to the showbiz world are just some entertainers and the real people we should look up to are doctors, crisis management teams of the government, police officers, and even shop assistants and delivery companies. It was nice seeing so many people that have “the power” struggling to find a way to make others stay at home, and even encourage them to donate to NGOs and other initiatives that fight against the virus. Maybe we are all biased in one way or another, but the ones that have the power should actually be humans first and foremost and then dictate where the money goes. I would love to know where your further research has taken you. It is so sad admitting we live in such a cold consumer-driven world, and yes, the impact of fast-fashion is worth a tear! When will we all wake up and realise this is not the path we should follow? When will too much be actually too much? However bad it might sound, I think people will always try to get that power but no one will ever know what that power truly is all about. At the end of the day, we’re all humans and we are all looking for something, but it’s up to us how we decide to value each information we are provided with. I do need to point out what wonderful writing techniques you showed throughout this entire post and for a second I was 100% sure I was reading some famous writer’s review. Keep writing, and keep growing, and keep wanting to make this life better!
29th April 2020 @ 2:31 am
I wanted to review this one as when I was skimming through my peer’s blog posts I was stopped at Rose’s post due to the way she articulated the new knowledge he had obtained. I was especially fond of the way she structured her post as she started with sharing the knowledge she had received from the lecture, continued to follow it up with an opinion and an application to our current society. I think this format as well as her use of rhetorical question made the blog post seem more sincere as it was almost like a reflection of a conversation she was having with herself. I believe she related to better lives strongly in her blog post and was very expressive of the influence of power in the fashion industry. You got a real sense that she had taken a lot from this aspect of better lives when she stated “Crews puts into perspective the very real societal hierarchies that keep the rich rich and the poor poor, raising questions about not only the sustainability of this environmentally, but societally.” I also really connected with Rose’s question of how much power are we giving the media as this is a thought that crossed my mind many times, so it was very interesting to see how both of us left the lecture questioning this.
To summarise my review of Rose’s post, I would like to say it was very well structured and articulated and there is clear evidence that she engaged with the better lives topic in regards to social responsibility through the exploration of power in fashion.