Cultural Identity and the iPod

We as consumers in this world are what we consume. We are constant consumers of culture. The culture we take in shapes the way we think, the way we act, it tells us what to wear and what not to wear. Culture comes to shape our identity. The term ideology is defined as modes of thoughts that are produced by culture that affects how we act in the world. Since it popularity, the Ipod has come to shape the way we act in the world. The Ipod is more than just a successful product bought and sold; it is an icon of cultural identity.
The products you buy and the information you consume on a daily basis influences your personal identity. My Ipod identifies me as not only a lover of music but also a highly active person. My Ipod has affected my daily life by making a more independent and free sprit. The Ipod exudes cultural ideals that emphasize freewill, purity, and naturalness. Apple advertisers construct this ideology, take for instance Ipod commercials, these commercials display dancers rockin’ out freely with the signature white headphone cord dangling from the ears. The color of most the original Ipods was white, a color that is identified by many as pure, natural and even holy. Apple creates this ideology that its products are natural and pure, which is an ideology that is universally identified and sought after in our culture. In an effort is increase the individuality and mainstream appeal of the Ipod, Apple has integrated different colors, sizes, and models that each produce their own different ideologies to which different consumers can identity themselves with. These different colors have been incorporated to make Ipods more individual but in the process they have become gendered representations. Certain models and colors of Ipods are defined by culture as being either males or females. This is just another way we as a culture attribute human characteristics to inanimate objects. The Ipod is so much a part of our culture that it is given superficial meaning in our society.
The Ipod is so rooted in our culture that it has become a fashion symbol. Today it is very rare to go into public and not see someone sporting the white earphones. Some may say the Ipod is just a product and has no bearing on a consumer’s identity. Then we must ask ourselves what makes a product popular in modern society, is it because it is so much better then all the competitors? The answer is no, popularity is a result of people trying to identify themselves with a popular cultural ideology. People buy popular products that identify themselves with others in a certain ideological group. I knew the Ipod was not the best mp3 player on the market when I was buying; I bought it though because of the cultural identity it would impose on me. Buying the Ipod instantly identifies me with everyone else. This directly refers to our definition of ideology; modes of thinking produced by culture influence the way I purchase certain goods.
Advertisement for the Ipod has given it an artificial image, breathing life into an inanimate object. “The commodification of human relations is one of the most pervasive influences of modern advertising and photography play an important role in creating images expressive of human emotions and relations which are used to give products superficial or false meaning.” This means the Ipod’s ideology to which everyone seems to want to identity themselves with is, in all actuality, a false identity. The ideology associated with the Ipod is a product of constructed advertising.
Every product in modern society is tailored to the needs of our commodity culture. By analyzing a run-of-the-mill advertisement, we can understand how advertisements are constructed and act ideologically to support commodity culture. Products like the Ipod influence our culture and the way we act in it, we must realize that their identities are false. We must view and interpret culture from a skeptical standpoint and see under the superficial surface of our commodity culture. The more we become students of culture the less it will be able to influence us.