Experiential consumption emphasizes emotional and hedonic qualities in the marketplace stressing the importance of experiences for ‘the good life’ and positioning consumption as a legitimate way to generate interesting and relevant experiences. The concept of emotional regimes (Reddy, 2001) is used to emphasize the dialectics between structural changes in the modern marketplace and the modern way of perceiving and practising hedonic behaviour. The article considers the main ideas that have furthered modern hedonism and the practices that have transformed the abstract longing for sensitivity into concrete experiential appetites. The development of a regime of experiences is outlined, consisting of a set of techniques to bring about sensual pleasure, a discourse to verbalize the methods of pleasure seeking, and an ideology that turns pleasure into a legitimate existential goal in life for the sake of self-actualization.

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The concept of enchantment offers a plausible explanation of the lures and thrills of consumer culture. We examine the theoretical foundation of the concept through a critique of Ritzer's enchantment thesis. We begin by assessing the enchantment/disenchantment discourse through a review of the main theoretical contributions to the area, first summarizing Max Weber's initial outline of the notion of disenchantment in the Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism. We then consider Colin Campbell's critique of Weber and George Ritzer's development in Enchanting a Disenchanted World. Finally, we apply Jean Baudrillard's Order of Simulacra to further resolve some of the open questions concerning the possibility of enchantment in contemporary consumer culture.

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Trond Berg Eriksen: Freuds retorikk: En kritikk av naturalismens kulturlære

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The connection between consumption and identity construction is a well-known topic in consumer research.Identity has two sides: a social side directed towards an external world of shared values and symbols, and an intra-psychological side directed towards an internal world of longings and bodily sensations.In this study we investigate how women's consumption of lingerie may enhance their experience of inter- and intra-psychological identity.This process of identity formation is analysed with reference to Foucault's concept of ‘technologies of the self’which emphasizes the role of practices and instruments in generating a sense of ‘self’.Lingerie is treated as such an instrument, and the categorizations that consumers use are treated as a form of practical knowledge of how to determine the‘right’underwear for the‘right’occasion. Consuming lingerie with the purpose of experiencing feminine identity is a matter of controlling your bodily performance in social life.This working on identity by purchasing and wearing lingerie may furthermore fulfil or generate longings, thus potentially leading to intensified experiences, feelings and sensations of ‘who I really am’.The article highlights some of the paradoxes in this attempt to manage identity.The analysis is based on interviews with 22 women about their underwear and lingerie consumption.