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Working-Class Cast

Author

Listed:
  • Erika L. Paulson
  • Thomas C. O’Guinn

Abstract

The authors investigate brand advertising as an instrument of class politics, used to shape perceptions of and beliefs about social groups, specifically the working class. These images are consistent with the prescriptions of capitalist realism. The authors content-analyze representations of the working class drawn from a random sample of ads from 1950 to 2010. Quantitative results are compared to a variety of secondary data sources, including the General Social Survey and public opinion polling. The authors find that representations of the working class do not closely follow social, political, or economic changes. If anything, increasingly nostalgic images contradict the disappearance of blue-collar jobs. The authors examine the ads in more depth to explain why the content does not align with objective reality, identifying a variety of tableaus commonly used in representations of the working class that are consistent with capitalist realism and myths of the American class structure.

Suggested Citation

  • Erika L. Paulson & Thomas C. O’Guinn, 2012. "Working-Class Cast," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 644(1), pages 50-69, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:644:y:2012:i:1:p:50-69
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716212453133
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. O'Guinn, Thomas C & Shrum, L J, 1997. "The Role of Television in the Construction of Consumer Reality," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 23(4), pages 278-294, March.
    4. Hill, Ronald Paul, 1991. "Homeless Women, Special Possessions, and the Meaning of "Home": An Ethnographic Case Study," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 18(3), pages 298-310, December.
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