Title
Authentic: The Politics of Ambivalence in a Brand Culture (Critical Cultural Communication, 30),Used
Sold by Ergodebooks, an authorized reseller.
Returns accepted within 30 days | support@ergodebooks.com
Shipping Information
- Free Standard Shipping — United States only
- Processing Time: 1–3 business days
- Estimated Delivery: 3–5 business days after dispatch
- Double-boxed, fully insured & discreetly packaged
- Tracking number sent via email once dispatched
- Orders over $250 require signature upon delivery. Taxes calculated at checkout.
Returns & Refund
Returns accepted within 30 days of delivery.
Damaged or Defective Item
Free return shipping + replacement or full refund
Wrong Item Received
Free return shipping + replacement or full refund
Change of Mind
Return shipping at customer's expense · 25% restocking fee applies
Payment Option
A stimulating, smart book on what it means to live in a brand cultureBrands are everywhere. Branding is central to political campaigns and political protest movements; the alchemy of social media and selfbranding creates overnight celebrities; the selfproclaimed greening of institutions and merchant goods is nearly universal. But while the practice of branding is typically understood as a tool of marketing, a method of attaching social meaning to a commodity as a way to make it more personally resonant with consumers, Sarah BanetWeiser argues that in the contemporary era, brands are about culture as much as they are about economics. That, in fact, we live in a brand culture.Authentic maintains that branding has extended beyond a business model to become both reliant on, and reflective of, our most basic social and cultural relations. Further, these types of brand relationships have become cultural contexts for everyday living, individual identity, and personal relationshipswhat BanetWeiser refers to as brand cultures. Distinct brand cultures, that at times overlap and compete with each other, are taken up in each chapter: the normalization of a feminized selfbrand in social media, the brand culture of street art in urban spaces, religious brand cultures such as New Age Spirituality and Prosperity Christianity,and the culture of green branding and shopping for change.In a culture where graffiti artists loan their visions to both subway walls and department stores, buying a cup of fairtrade coffee is a political statement, and religion is massmarketed on tshirts, BanetWeiser questions the distinction between what we understand as the authentic and branding practices. But brand cultures are also contradictory and potentially rife with unexpected possibilities, leading Authentic to articulate a politics of ambivalence, creating a lens through which we can see potential political possibilities within the new consumerism.
⚠️ WARNING (California Proposition 65):
This product may contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.
For more information, please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.